Procol Harum: Pandora's BoxThough it was included on the band's 1975 album Procol's Ninth and released as a single the same year, this song was written by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid back in the psychedelic Sixties. (more) |
Chris Coghlan MP writes...SEND reform must put children with complex needs at the centre; not treat them as an afterthoughtI hear the same stories week after week in surgeries and inboxes. Exhausted parents fighting for the support their children need and young people with Education, Health and Care Plans stuck at home for months because no suitable place can be found. Our local schools doing their best under impossible pressure. Surrey has long been one of the areas hardest hit by the national SEND crisis, and families here know the human cost better than most. This is not a partisan issue. I know that cross-party concern is growing, and organisations like the SEND Matters Coalition are right to sound ... (more) |
Caroline Voaden on what Shovegate tells us about Nigel FarageWriting in the Guardian, Caroline Voaden tells us what really happened in the Commons altercation that Nigel Farage later used as his excuse for missing the John Healey's Budget speech: On the day of the king's speech, MPs process through to the House of Lords to listen to it. Leaders of all parties, including smaller ones, lead the procession, but on this occasion Farage didn't seem to get into place in time. So he was stuck behind a load of MPs also trying to join the procession. I was on a flight of stairs and he demanded to get past. ... (more) |
What a night! Democrats smash the midtermsI was not particularly optimistic ahead of the US midterms. I thought the Democrats would make gains, and would almost certainly win the House of Representatives, but gaining control of the Senate was going to be much tougher. Even at the end of last year, Jon Ossoff's Georgia Senate seat looked vulnerable but last night he absolutely smashed it. Not only that, Keisha Lance-Bottoms becomes the first woman of colour to be Governor of Georgia. I am always mindful of "tempting the Wrath of the Whatever from High Atop the Thing" on election day. Feeling confident is not a healthy ... (more) |
The historic link of the monarchy to the slave tradeThe King is in the Caribbean and is shortly to be joined by Andy Burnham, prompting speculation that the Prime Minister will be apologising for Britain's involvement in the slave trade. A lot has been said of course, about how Britain ended the slave trade, but very little at the moment about how instrumental the country was in starting and promoting it. And that includes the monarchy. The Independent reports that King Charles has said in a speech to Commonwealth leaders that the slave trade "fills my heart with horror", but he stopped short of offering an apology. He told ... (more) |
The ghosts of Naseby BattlefieldThis is a short video from the Cromwell Museum that catalogues the many places where the ghost of Oliver Cromwell is said to walk. I have selected the section on Naseby Battlefield and the ghosts, Cromwell included, who are seen there. It lies seven miles south of Market Harborough, The 2008 photograph said to show a Civil War soldier has managed to walk through the Telegraph paywall. (more) |
The old Pontesbury magistrates court and police house are for saleThe courtroom at Pontesbury (photo: rightmove) (more) |
Cllr Kieran Dams, previously with Greens, joins Lib DemsFollowing the news of a Green councillor and a former Green Mayor joining the Liberal Democrats, Councillor Kieran Dams of Sefton Council now makes it a hat-trick of such news in the last few days: Waterloo Councillor Kieran Dams has joined the Liberal Democrats following his resignation from the Green Party last month... Explaining his decision, Kieran said: "What attracted me to the Liberal Democrats is the party's driving principle that everybody is equal and should be able to succeed no matter their background. "The party's heritage is grounded in community politics and locally it is clear to see that ... (more) |
Oh no, it can't be Christmas already.One of the song memes that get stuck in my head at this time of year and particularly in December is, "I wish it could be Christmas every day". Well increasingly often that seems to be what is happening. I read a story recently about someone who likes Christmas lunch so much that he has it 365 days of the year the full works. Turkey, pigs in blankets, the full monte! What has prompted me to think these maudlin thoughts about Christmas is the news which seems to be the most important thing imaginable that the John Lewis 20th anniversary ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1601"This low-cost strategy of largely relying on conditionality and sanctions to get unemployed claimants into work has clearly failed, as numbers have gone up since 2016, and the binary nature of our welfare system pushes our ageing and increasingly impaired population to claim incapacity benefits over limited working with in-work financial top-ups."Paul Gregg introduces the new Resolution Foundation report What's Gone Wrong With Welfare? Flynn Devine and Hannah Perry, meanwhile, introduce a Demos report on how the lack of impartial local news sources fuels asylum housing clashes and what can be done about it. "But what a diagnostic label cannot ... (more) |