In the Britain of 1940 cars were deadlier than German bombsEmbed from Getty ImagesHere's a remarkable quotation from a judge that I found in the Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette (24 July 1940). After a defendant had been found not guilty of manslaughter and of dangerous driving, Mr Justice Stable said: "I hope this will be a warning to him and I hope that he and other members of the public will appreciate that during June the whole forces of the German Empire succeeded in killing exactly 100 fewer people in this island with bombs than were killed by motorists by accidents." (more) |
Exploring the Ivanhoe Line east of CoalvilleWith the Leicester Mercury reporting a new push to restore passenger services to the railway line from Leicester to Burton upon Trent, it's time to visit it again with Our History Underfoot. In May we saw the line between Burton and Coalville, which hasn't carried any goods traffic for two years and is already showing signs of decay. This time we go east from Coalville about half the way to Leicester. Matt sees, or at least hears, more quarry traffic than he expected and comes across relics of the district's early railway history. A third video will complete his journey ... (more) |
An open letter to Andy BurnhamDear Andy, Like you, I'm an advocate of taxing differently, so as to stimulate economic growth in a fair and sustainable way. We shouldn't be taxing workers and businesses more. Every Lib Dem Conference I'm there with colleagues promoting "Action on Land-value Tax and Economic Reform (ALTER ). Along with the late Dave Wetzel, chair of Labour Land Campaign, ALTER helped found the Coalition for Economic Justice (CEJ ) in 2004. CEJ was Secretariat to the APPG on Land Value Capture , chaired by Vince Cable from 2017 and then by John McDonnell. The mantra: "Let us keep what we ... (more) |
Standing up for London, for your community and placeWhen people talk about London and London politics, they more often than not immediately think of the Mayor of London. And over the years we have had some high profile characters such as Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson. However the Greater London Authority (GLA) is unique in the UK, in that it is made up of a Mayor and the London Assembly, the body that holds the Mayor and their agencies to account and represents Londoners at City Hall. The next elections will be in May 2028, so London Region is already planning ahead to get our team in place! ... (more) |
"Winston and David" on stageRobert Lloyd George's play Winston and David, a sell-out hit at Edinburgh in 2022, will have a limited run at London's Tabard Theatre in Chiswick this August. The play is performed by Maverick Theatre and directed by award-winning Fringe regular, Maverick's Nick Hennegan (Henry V, A Christmas Carol, Hamlet-Horatio's Tale with Sir Derek Jacobi, Romeo and Juliet, and P.A.L.S.). Drawing on family documents, Winston and David is an intriguing insight into the relationship between two of Britain's most famous Prime Ministers. Tickets are available from Tabard Theatre at https://tabard.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/1173681058 The post "Winston and David" on stage appeared first on Cymdeithas ... (more) |
Four challenges in Andy Burnham's in-trayEmbed from Getty ImagesWe have a new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, who has successfully pulled off a bloodless coup more akin to the Glorious than the French Revolution. However, now he is in office, he cannot escape the reality of four core issues that he will need to fearlessly take on if he is going to get economic growth going again. Bringing Investment into the UK In 2025, we had a trade deficit of about £39 billion, this is principally because we import more in goods and services than we export (mainly a deficit in goods and a surplus in ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1551Vince Cable makes the case for building more council houses: "The most compelling argument for councils becoming developers is that the private developer model, however valid for most housebuilding most of the time, depends on a set of circumstances - the ability to earn a profit margin above rising land and property prices - which may not exist. Public sector developers can build through economic cycles and where market conditions are unattractive for private developers." "Changes in public spaces (including increased provision of green parks, lakes and water fountains) enable easy public access to cooling. Everyday heat adaptation is not ... (more) |
A plea to our new Prime Minister - abolish me!It has been a big week for me, personally. On Thursday 16 July, the government announced 26 new members of the House of Lords – and I am one of them: I am to be Lord Leunig. Since it is His Majesty's Government, the official announcement read "The King has been graciously pleased to signify His intention of conferring Peerages of the United Kingdom for Life upon the undermentioned:" Sixteen new peers will be Labour, five Liberal Democrat (including me), and three Conservative. These twenty four were nominated by their political parties. The remaining two will be "crossbenchers", that is, ... (more) |
Reform MP starts digging her own Standards holeThe Guardian reports that a Reform UK MP has complained that the standards system investigating Nigel Farage over undeclared gifts is a "kangaroo court". The paper says that Sarah Pochin, the Runcorn MP, said Farage had called a byelection in his Clacton seat so voters could decide whether they backed him or not, and argued that "the media, the British state and the old parties have mounted a vicious and desperate campaign to stop Reform UK": She posted on X: "We can't call a general election, so rather than submit to a kangaroo court in parliament, Nigel Farage has handed ... (more) |