The proud independence of the Isle Of ManRecently I had the great thrill of visiting the Tynwald – the Isle Of Man's parliament. The Isle Of Man is, of course, proudly a separate nation – a self-governing British Crown Dependency. Jersey has the same status, but there is something a little more accentuated about the Isle Of Man's independence – the distinctive flag with the motto of the three legs, which is seen everywhere; much evidence of a separate historical narrative etc. So, it was worth visiting the island just because of its independent status. The Tynwald tour was very interesting – we were told about the ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1544"The plunder of children's services by business is one of the big scandals of our time. Children's homes, special schools and foster care services are increasingly run for profit. Almost every time a child is removed from their family, somebody, somewhere cashes a cheque."Martin Barrow looks at one company that received £500m from local councils last year for the care and support of children and young people. Rory Jones finds that "England is beginning to develop a cooling divide, one in which access to protection from extreme heat increasingly depends on where people live, how much they earn and the ... (more) |
Let's be honest. Regeneration of some areas will take decadesI am sure that Andy Burnham is being both honest and hopeful when he says that he wants to bring improvements to every post code in the country. The way he proposes to do it involves devolution to Mayors and Combined authorities. Regrettably, what he is suggesting is not really new. Both Tory and Labour Parties tried elements of it in the 1990s and the first decade of this century. They produced an alphabet spaghetti of projects. Let's begin to play regeneration bingo. CATs (City Action Teams, (DCs) Development Corporations, CCs (City Challenges) SRBs (Single Regeneration Budgets), EZs (Enterprise Zones) ... (more) |
Why Plaid should not repeat their badger cull policyWhen Wales last tried to cull badgers it was under a Plaid Cymru rural affairs minister, so it is hardly surprising that experts and animal welfare charities are concerned that a new government will try to repeat the exercise. An article by Billie-Jade Thomas, the Senior Public Affairs Manager for the RSPCA, on the Institute for Welsh Affairs site reports that while it is still very much early days for the new Plaid Cymru minority government and the expanded Senedd, tackling Bovine TB (bTB) has already been raised in Plenary on several occasions, by parties for and against badger culling. ... (more) |
A Liberal England guest blogger shows us around Snailbeach MineGinger Beard Mark and the musician Eric Loveland Heath visit the old lead mine at Snailbeach in Shropshire. In its heyday in the second half of the 19th century, it was the most productive lead mine in the country. Eric Loveland once wrote a guest post for Liberal England about growing up in Snailbeach and his reaction to it today. And you can download his digital album Snailbeach Mines Trust. See? It's not just me who's taken with the place. (more) |
Mathew on Monday: Carl Cashman is a Liberal Hero - and his critics would love his media reachThere has been no shortage of criticism directed at Carl Cashman over the past few days following his appearance as the cover star of Attitude magazines Pride edition. Yet, looking at much of the reaction, I cannot help but conclude that there is more than a hint of the green-eyed monster at work. The truth is that many of those complaining would love to have Carl's reach, his charisma and his ability to connect with audiences far beyond the traditional Liberal Democrat bubble. His interview is an excellent one. He speaks about the importance of promoting positive masculinity to young ... (more) |
Parents shocked after children's paper hedgehogs found to contain pages from explicit novelThe Guardian wins our Headline of the Day Award for this worrying one from the Wirral. (more) |
ALDC's by-election report - 2 July 2026Twelve principal authority by-elections across England, Wales and Scotland took place on Thursday 2nd July, carrying on a trend of unusually high numbers of by-elections over the past few weeks. Reform UK were defending three seats. The Liberal Democrats, Labour and Independents/Localists were defending two each. Plaid Cymru and the Conservatives were defending one each. Wales Three by-elections took place in the county of Powys, with one in Torfaen. All four by-elections were triggered by a councillor winning a seat on the Senedd, and unlike in England, Welsh law dictates that you cannot hold both a council and Senedd seat. ... (more) |
Welcome to my day: 6 July 2026 - a nation dares to dream?We don't often "do sport" here at Liberal Democrat Voice – perhaps a reflection of the Editorial Team's interests – but it would seem strange not to mark last night's extraordinary events in Mexico City's Azteca Stadium where an English team put up one of its most memorable performances to win 3-2 against Mexico. From an English Nationalist (a.k.a. Reform) perspective, it's obviously a mixed blessing. England win – good – but with a team mostly consisting of people whose families would be on the next available plane out if they could gain power at the next election. I'd argue ... (more) |
Dan Boatright-Greene re-selected by Lib Dems for West Worcestershire[IMG: Dan Boatright-Greene and Liberal Democrats] A party press release brings the news: West Worcestershire Liberal Democrat members have re-selected local councillor Dan Boatright-Greene as their Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the next general election. Dan finished second in West Worcestershire at the 2024 general election, receiving 13,236 votes and reducing the Conservative majority from 24,499 in 2019 to just 6,547. Living near Pershore, Dan represents the town on both Wychavon District Council and Worcestershire County Council. A former teacher, he leads the Liberal Democrat group at the county council and currently serves as Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Education, Special ... (more) |