Happy birthday RonGateshead Lib Dem Leader, Councillor Ron Beadle, has turned 60. To celebrate, he had a birthday party at the Valley Farm restaurant on the Team Valley. A ridiculously large meal followed by birthday cake. Lots of people there. It was good to see Frank Hindle. He had been the leader of the Lib Dem group before me, a role from which he stepped down in 2015. Yes, eleven years ago! How (more) |
And another!Yesterday was Saturday. And that means it was another action day. This time it was in Saltwell. I was paired up with a member from Chowdene and the two of us together delivered 400 Focuses. She then went back to HQ to get another patch to deliver. Alas, I headed home. I had two more Focuses to write. (more) |
The Liberal Prime Minister Who Wasn't: Part 1 - Road to PowerOften in Liberal circles, the question comes up as to Prime Ministers we should claim the legacy of; this is understandable considering the Party hasn't had a PM since 1922, over a century ago now. Usually the chief candidate for this position is Winston Churchill, who was a key player in the Liberal Governments of 1906-1922, and whose stint as Conservative Prime Minister during World War 2 is so ingrained in British memory that I don't even have to write anything about it for you to understand my point. Churchill consistently topped most rankings among academics, the public, and journalists ... (more) |
Sir Walter Scott invented "The Wars of the Roses"Here's an interesting passage from Chris Given-Wilson in a recent London Review of Books: There are several earlier references, dating back at least to the early 14th century, to red and white roses being used occasionally as insignia by the families later associated with the Lancastrian and Yorkist causes, but it was not until Shakespeare picked up on the idea in Henry VI Part I... that it entered the popular imagination. ... It was another two hundred years before Walter Scott's novel Anne of Geierstein, published in 1829, brought the idea of the 'wars of the White and Red Roses' ... (more) |
Ed Davey's message for LGBT History MonthIt's 1st February today so Ed Davey has written an article on the Lib Dem website in which he highlights this year's theme, science and innovation and looks at the Lib Dems' strong record in advancing the cause of LGBT+ rights. He said: This LGBT+ History Month we celebrate the contributions of LGBT+ people throughout history, reflect on the struggles they have faced and reaffirm our determination to make progress on equality. LGBT+ people have always existed. From artists, activists and athletes to scientists, innovators and pioneers, they have helped shape our country and our world, even when their sexuality ... (more) |
A Week in Politics #5Ben Langmead (Photo: BBC) I'm a bit short of time today and only have a few minutes to put together my weekly round-up of political events. Consequently, my usual ramblings have been replaced by a few snippets in the "Cheers and Jeers" style I used a few years ago. It has been another eventful week in UK politics, including the now seemingly obligatory defections from the Conservatives to Reform. In addition to former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, Reform have also gained a councillor - Daniel Hampsey - in Argyll and Bute, where St Columba once landed in a small boat. ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1469"What matters is not the books themselves, but the thinking they reward. They cultivate a taste for compression over depth, for transferable lessons over context, for confidence over uncertainty. They attract people who want the world to be legible in a handful of rules, who prefer inspiration to explanation, and who mistake momentum for understanding. Over time, this becomes a habit of mind: a way of approaching problems that privileges clarity and speed over patience and complexity."John Oxley fears British politics is suffering from Airport Book Brain. Rosalind KennyBirch looks at the way Finland counters fake news. "There is no ... (more) |
die UrquelleImbolc. Candlemas. Nameless. Sunlight creeps back on fragile, tilted earth (more) |
Liberal Party General Election Manifesto 1906I recently noticed the usual source for most pre-2005 Manifestos is noticeably missing the 1906 Liberal Manifesto; a speech delivered by Henry Campbell-Bannerman to his Constituents at Stirling Burghs ahead of the General Election and published in type form alongside other pamphlets relevant to the issues of the election. This is an important Manifesto in many ways, as it preceded the final Majority Liberal Government and cautiously outlines some of the tenents of 'New Liberalism' - better known today as Social Liberalism - which rejected the Classical Liberal ideas of Limited Government and instead argued that safeguarding freedoms required an ... (more) |
Lord Bonkers' Diary: it would be a pity if anything happened to themChristmas week ends on a downbeat note. I've never been convinced that it was a good idea for F&F (that's Freddie and Fiona - the old boy has taken to using abbreviations in his diary, but then why shouldn't he?) to buy a weekend cottage in Rutland; they were always likely to upset the locals. And as Lord Bonkers has often remarked of the Elves of Rockingham Forest, "you don't want to get on the wrong side of these fellows". Sunday Back to St Asquith's - I ought to get a season ticket what? - and then, after sherry with ... (more) |