Pollution from Shropshire lead mines still reaches the SevernThis information from an Environment Agency page will come as no surprise to regular readers: There is evidence of lead mining in the Minsterley area of the Shropshire Hills since pre-Roman times. The importance of lead mining grew during the medieval period and had become a major part of the economy of Snailbeach and Minsterley by the late 16th and 18th centuries, respectively. This continued to grow throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, until the 19th century, when the mining activity was at its peak. During the 1870s the Stiperstones area was one of Britain's main sources of lead. But ... (more) |
The Government is right to ditch Elected Police CommissionersOur manifesto for the last General Election included a pledge to abolish the post of Elected Police Commissioners. No other Party mentioned this none-role, but we Lib Dems are pleased to support the Government in their unscripted decision. If I were to go out on the street of my ward and ask about the Police Commissioner for Merseyside, I suspect that the vast majority had never heard of the position; had no idea what it did; and even less idea who was the current incumbent. This is not a reflection of the work being done by our current incumbent but ... (more) |
Marie Goldman's statement for Trans Awareness WeekLib Dem spokesperson for Women and Equalities Marie Goldman has issued a statement for Trans Awareness Week in which she reaffirms the Lib Dem commitment to fight for a society where everyone is free to be who they are and where trans people are protected from discrimination. She said: Many trans and non-binary people – in the UK and across the world – face unacceptable barriers to healthcare, employment, education, and public life. In the UK, an estimated 62% – 73% of trans people have experienced harassment and violence because they were identified as trans. Hate crimes have risen sharply, ... (more) |
Chris Dillow explains our incompetent political cultureWhen the centenary of Margaret Thatcher's birth was marked last month, the consensus view on Bluesky was that she had made everything in Britain worse. Not only that: it was all down to her personal wickedness. Whatever happened to the left having a knowledge of the tides of history that is denied to the rest of us? One writer who offers a more sophisticated analysis is Rutland's own Chris Dillow. In his latest post he looks at the travails of the government and the BBC asks why so much of our political culture is fundamentally incompetent. Here's the crux of ... (more) |
Observations of an Expat: China's Environmental ParadoxChina is both the world's biggest environmental villain and - paradoxically– the greatest hero when it comes to the development and export of green renewable energy. The Middle Kingdom is the world's biggest emitter of CO2 gases—more than the US, India and EU combined. It burns more coal than the rest of the world combined and it continues to build coal-powered plants. But at the same time it produces 80 percent of the world's solar panels; 70 percent of lithium-ion batteries, 65 percent of the world's wind turbines and the world's most affordable electric vehicles. China has vast resources of ... (more) |
Latest voting intention and leadership ratings opinion pollsWelcome to my summary of the latest national voting intention polls for the next general election, along with the latest MRP projections and party leadership ratings. If you'd like to find out more about how polls work, how reliable they are and how to make sense of them, check out my book, Polling UnPacked: the History, Uses and Abuses of Political Opinion Polls, or sign up for my weekly email, The Week in Polls: General election voting intention polls PollsterConLabLDGrnRefLab leadFieldwork Find Out Now 16% (nc) 15% (nc) 11% (nc) 17% (-1) 33% (nc) -18% (vs Ref) 12/11 GB YouGov ... (more) |
A Tudor farm and a Roman fortHaving recently taken over as chair of RSPCA Llys Nini, a branch that covers most of south Wales from Carmarthenshire to Cardiff, I thought it would be interesting to look at the history of the charity's animal centre. As the Llys Nini site records, the branch was established by animal-loving volunteers in the Swansea and Neath areas nearly 200 years ago, with its first animal centre being situated in Singleton Park, leased from Swansea Corporation in 1935, with the capacity to house 31 dogs and 18 cats. When the lease of the old Swansea Dogs' Home expired in the early ... (more) |
Pest Control issuesThe City Council has a team of Pest Control officers who have a wide experience in delivering a full range of pest proofing and pest control treatments. You can report pest control concerns online. All you have to do is complete the online form at http://tiny.cc/Pest-Control (more) |
Asquith: The MovieThis television play, screened in 1983 as part of the ITV series Number 10, deals with Asquith's battle with the House of Lords to secure the passage of the budget in 1910. That measure has gone down in history as Lloyd George's budget, but Asquith himself had done much of the work on it while he was still chancellor. One thing that must have confused viewers at the time is that Asquith is played by David Langton, who had become well known a few years before for playing a Tory MP, Richard Bellamy in the wildly popular series Upstairs, Downstairs. ... (more) |
ALDC By Election Report, 13th NovemberThis week saw five local by-elections, four of which had a Liberal Democrat on the ballot. Congratulations are due to Cllr Hannah Griffin and the team for the Lib Dem hold in Vale of White Horse. Vale of White Horse District Council, Ridgeway Liberal Democrats (Hannah Griffin): 442 (43.1%, -14.9) Conservative: 250 (24.4%, -17.6) Reform UK: 204 (19.9%, new) Green Party: 122 (11.9%, new) Labour: 8 (0.8%, new) Liberal Democrats HOLD Turnout: 38% Friday's count in Canterbury delivered less pleasing news, as the Green Party gained from the Liberal Democrats. Commiserations to Guy Meurice and the team. Canterbury City Council, ... (more) |