The pine martens of ShropshireHere's Quentin Shaw writing in the London Review of Books in November 2022: In September a camera trap monitoring hedgehogs in Kingston upon Thames caught an astonishing snap of a pine marten, the most elusive of English mammals. There had been no confirmed sightings in England for a century until July 2015 when a naturalist in Shropshire took a photo. There, gambolling in broad daylight, was an animal from the wishful world of cryptozoology, a fantastic beast, previously no more substantial than a plesiosaur in Loch Ness or a big cat in Surrey. There had been fleeting hints: a strange ... (more) |
Josh Babarinde writes...The Lib Dem Summer of StrategyThe May local elections have shown us we're at a critical point for this party, and we need to decide where to go next. There were some great results to celebrate. We gained three councils, 153 councillors, and hit double figures in Scotland. We knocked on over three million doors, and had more than a million conversations on the doorstep. Our canvassing was up 25% on four years ago. Our polling day activity was so strong, it was nearly at General Election levels! Our members, activists, councillors, staff and parliamentarians pulled out all the stops. It was an incredible effort ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1530"The big red 'stop nudes' button is appealing because it's a lot easier than investing in proper services to protect children and in the kind of education that will help them grow up in the world as it exists rather than the sterile bubble of Starmer's imagination. Bad actors will circumvent these measures while ordinary people's privacy is undermined, and health information and even art is censored. The design choices that have led to this environment are the same choices that the government courts when it tries to partner with these tech companies."Mic Wright looks at the media's uncritical coverage ... (more) |
WATCH: Daisy Cooper's plan to cut energy billsYesterday, Daisy Cooper announced measures to cut energy bills. Under Lib Dem plans everyone would get £100 off their bills with more targetted support for, for example, households with disabled people or children or low incomes. Watch her speech here. She said: Energy is not a luxury. It's a basic human need. It's essential. Every single household in Britain should be able to afford their basic everyday energy needs regardless of what happens in global energy markets, and regardless of who happens to be sitting in Number 10. For too long, governments have responded to every energy crisis with short-term ... (more) |
When the caring stopsIt's Carers Week 2026! Once a year, between 8 – 14 June, carer charities and groups come together to raise awareness of the work carers do, what impact caring has on carers and those around them, and what we can do on a societal level to better support them. The theme this year is "Building Carer-Friendly Communities", highlighting how communities can better support carers, empowering them and easing the strain of their responsibilities. I'd like to contribute to this week by talking about my mum's experience as a carer, and what I believe can be done to better support her ... (more) |
The shame of Liverpool Labour councillors taking their allowances but not turning up to do the workI am one of only 3 Liverpool councillors who, elected in the 1970s, received a daily allowance of £10. It was not much then and there was no Special Responsibility Allowance on top of it. I chaired a major committee which involved 5 days a week for £50. Gradually the daily rate went up to allow for inflation, but it was not until the Blair Government came in that councillors began to get a sum which made an allowance for the input that they made inside the council and inside our communities. The money is not a commercial rate but ... (more) |
Should Labour reconsider the Brexit red lines?The Independent reports that a UK Minister has suggested that Labour will revisit its Brexit "red lines" as the government seeks to create closer ties with the European Union. The paper says that the minister tasked with leading the UK's so-called reset negotiations with the EU has suggested that the government may have to reconsider its manifesto red lines, which rule out rejoining the customs union and single market or allowing free movement of labour: European affairs minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said Labour currently did not have a "mandate" to begin talks on its red lines, but added: "It is something ... (more) |
Raising a flap about letterboxesThe latest edition of my email newsletter about work in Parliament, A Lord's Eye View, is out and you can also read it in full below. But if you'd like to get future editions emailed direct to you as soon as they are published, sign up now: It had to happen... I asked a question about letterboxes in Parliament today. They are a great British invention, later patented by an American and more recently sullied by decades of poor design. (Though I have a soft spot for those that come with music.) But there is a safety issue too. The ... (more) |
Arriving at one of East Finchley's ghost platformsGeoff Marshall is our guide to the charms of East Finchley station before he contrives to arrive at one of a pair of little-used platforms there. (more) |
Matt Sanders selected by Lib Dems for South West Hertfordshire[IMG: Matt Sanders and Daisy Cooper] Matt Sanders and Daisy Cooper. A press release from the local party brings the news of the selection of Matt Sanders: Liberal Democrats in the battleground seat of South West Hertfordshire have chosen local campaigner and education champion Matt Sanders to contest at the next general election. Matt has already been campaigning across the constituency. He is proud to return to the county where his Mum went to school, and will be a strong voice for our towns and villages. Matt's local priorities include: Fighting for better health provision including a new hospital at ... (more) |