The Stone Roses: Waterfall"Ian Brown said in an interview that this is about a girl whose fed up with everything, drops an acid and goes to Dover. What would Vera Lynn make of that?" (more) |
Dog owner fined after man bitten on penisNominated by a reader in Rutland who also liked the story's notion of a "scuffle" between two dogs, and originally skeeted1 by someone because it involves "a disused railway line between Stamford and Ryhall, and Ryhall is never in the news", this has won BBC News are esteemed Headline of the Day Award. Personally, I liked the defence solicitor's statement that "This was a particularly unfortunate incident, perhaps not helped by the layout of the location." That may have swayed the judges, though they do seem to like headlines involving the word "penis" in general. Notes Can't we just say ... (more) |
More ministerial dissent over Labour's immigration policiesThe Times reports that the energy secretary has become the latest cabinet minister to criticise Shabana Mahmood's plans to make it harder for foreign workers to claim permanent residence in the UK. The paper says that Miatta Fahnbulleh said that extending the time that foreign citizens had to wait before being granted indefinite leave to remain threatened "the process of building cohesion", she also warned that Labour needed to "raise the level of the debate" around migration and "challenge divisive political rhetoric": Under plans set out by Mahmood last year, foreign citizens would have to live in Britain for 15 ... (more) |
Jane Dodds stands down as Welsh Lib Dem leader[IMG: Jane Dodds being interviewed for Lib Dem conference] Senedd member and former MP, Jane Dodds. Jane Dodds is standing down as leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats. Earlier today she said: I have decided to stand down as Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats. Leading this party has been the honour of my life. When I was elected leader in 2017, I said I wanted to bring like-minded people together and make the Welsh Liberal Democrats a radical, progressive force in Welsh politics again. Nearly nine years on, I hope we've done that together. We've won councillors in every ... (more) |
The straight and narrow path to Marzipan TunnelOur History Underfoot takes us to the site of the once-massive Steveley Ironworks. He searches for a railway footbridge, because legend persists that the path crossing it leads to Marzipan Tunnel. (more) |
Jane Dodds to step down as Welsh Lib Dem Leader[IMG: Jane Dodds on Conference stage in front of banner saying "none shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity"] For nine years, Jane Dodds has led the Welsh Liberal Democrats through some very challenging times. By the time she took office, the party had been brutally punished at the ballot box for its role in the Coalition and the ensuing decade has not provided the most fertile of territory for us. However, Jane has stood up consistently for our values in that challenging environment. She has always stood up for human rights, proposed ways to alleviate child poverty, including ... (more) |
Jane Dodds to stand down as leader of Welsh Lib DemsEmbed from Getty ImagesJane Dodds has announced she is standing down as leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, saying the work to increase its presence in Wales's parliament "should be led by a new generation", reports BBC News. She will remain as the party's only Member of the Senedd. BBC News goes on to say: "Leading the Welsh Liberal Democrats has been the honour of my life," she said in a statement on Tuesday, adding "now is the right time" to hand over the role. Only Welsh Lib Dem MP David Chadwick is eligible to seek nomination to replace Dodds ... (more) |
The silent scandal of ME...and in praise of Tessa MuntI wrote on the subject of ME back in February 2025. Sadly no progress seems to have been made, questions to the government receive "dead bat" pro-forma answers and still the silent scandal of 1.35 million people in the UK suffering from ME/CFS (or Long Covid with ME-like symptoms) continues. That's about 2,000 on average per UK parliamentary constituency. Some figures: The average lifetime costs per patient with ME are £4.7 million on average. There are £20 billion per year costs to the economy due to ME - and this is rising. (This includes loss of productivity and the fact ... (more) |
The Lib Dems should be bolder. Here's how....It is no secret that the party is narrowly focused on retaining the 72 seats we won at the last general election and expanding further into triple digits. Local election results in those constituencies are a sign that it seems to be working. Recently, the Guardian published a sensible editorial pointing out that it is imperative for the Lib Dems to achieve this goal to keep an unholy Tory-Reform alliance at bay in the next general election. Furthermore, it will maximise our influence over a Labour minority in a potential hung parliament. So yes, in our FPTP system, and facing ... (more) |
Before we talk about coalition, we must ask: What are the Liberal Democrats for?Today, a Liberal Democrat friend suggested that perhaps the best way forward for our party would be to enter into a coalition with Labour. It was an interesting proposition. Could the two parties work together? What might they achieve? What compromises would be necessary? And what would happen to our political identity? But as I explored these possibilities, I realised that a much more fundamental question had emerged. Before we decide whom we might govern with, shouldn't we first be absolutely clear about what we want to govern for? This is not an argument against coalition government. It is an ... (more) |