Wherefore the Indo Pacific? A brief thought pieceThe past week has been an eventful one vis a vis discourses relating to the Indo Pacific. It started for me at a round table held at RUSI's HQ in Whitehall on Thursday 29th June on the topic of "UK & Europe's Relations with the Indo-Pacific". Then to keeping a watching brief on the Shangri-la Dialogues organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in Singapore (30th May - 1st June), and ending with the Government's Strategic Defence Review 2025 which was unveiled on Monday 2nd June. So what is the significance of the "Indo-Pacific" region? A German academic ... (more) |
Disability inclusion can't wait - Why won't Sadiq Khan act?As the Labour Party prepares to make devastating cuts to disability support, the Mayor of London has remained conspicuously silent. While Labour leaders in other parts of the country have spoken out, Sadiq Khan has so far proved content to more or less toe the party line. Yet with hundreds of thousands of disabled Londoners set to be hit by sweeping cuts to Personal Independence Payment, whatever his political calculations may be, there is still no excuse for Sadiq Khan failing to step up now as Mayor and use every lever at his disposal to engage and support disabled Londoners ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1368[IMG: Green redevelopment at Nottingham Broad Marsh] "The answer was a two-pronged attack. The first was a wholesale culture war against 'social justice', which presented BLM, climate, feminist and migrant rights activists as a fifth column determined to bring the country to a halt. The second was passing new and draconian legislation to tackle this so-called left-wing 'threat'."Open Democracy researches the tactics used by the last Conservative government to ban protest. Mic Wright looks at the way the 'no English food on my holiday' woman was stitched up by the local and national press. Chris Taylor pulls no punches on ... (more) |
The effects of mitochondrial DNA damage on neuronsObviously when mtDNA is damaged in neurons that can have various effects depending on the damage. A key point, however, is that if there is a process which is damaging mtDNA then if that continues then the mtDNA will get further damaged. As some relatively minor damage appears to be caused by the replication of mtDNA itself then it is like there is a very slow moving footpath moving towards (more) |
How should the Welsh Liberal Democrats fight the Senedd elections?A few days ago, I authored an opinion piece examining the measures the Welsh Liberal Democrats must undertake to avert total defeat in the 2026 Senedd elections. This piece advocates for a renewed emphasis on federalism, and as one commentator articulated, "Devo-Maxing" (a term I have come to employ quite frequently). In this article, I intend to investigate an alternate approach that embraces the principles of social democracy. It is widely acknowledged that Wales embodies a social-democratic ethos. Since 1999, it has consistently elected Labour into government, routinely repudiating free-market rhetoric in favour of left-of-centre ideals, regardless of whether a ... (more) |
Lib Dems gain control of another council with by-election winEight principal authority council by-elections this week plus a Scottish Parliament by-election. Let's start with a gain for the Lib Dems from the Conservatives, one which gives the party now an overall majority on Wokingham Council: Maiden Erlegh & Whitegates (Wokingham) Council By-Election Result: [IMG: 🔶] LDM: 31.2% (+3.2) [IMG: 🌹] LAB: 24.1% (-0.2) [IMG: 🌳] CON: 23.9% (-4.2) [IMG: ➡] RFM: 14.8% (New) [IMG: 🌍] GRN: 5.5% (-6.2) [IMG: 🧑🔧] TUSC: 0.5% (New)No Ind (-8.0) as previous.Liberal Democrat GAIN from Conservative.Changes w/ 2024. — Election Maps UK (@electionmaps.uk) 2025-06-06T00:09:18.651Z Many thanks to Aisha Mir for being the Liberal Democrat ... (more) |
6 June 2025 - the overnight press releasesLib Dems call on Labour Government to rule out real-terms policing budget cuts as unsolved vehicle theft epidemic continues Water company bonuses: Half baked announcement won't reform industry Government listens to Liberal Democrat calls to end "corridor care" but cannot lead patients "up the garden path" Lib Dems call on Labour Government to rule out real-terms policing budget cuts as unsolved vehicle theft epidemic continues Shock new data crunched by the Liberal Democrats reveals that last year, more than 75% of vehicle thefts went unsolved while just 2% of cases resulted in a suspect being charged or summonsed. 13 police ... (more) |
Victoria Gardens big lunch this Sunday! #dundeewestendAll are welcome at the Victoria Gardens big lunch this Sunday - 8th June - from 2.30pm! (more) |
Dumb and Dumber?It seems that the more we see of Reform the more chaotic they become. The Mirror reports that the party's chairman has hit out at a "dumb" PMQs question asked by the party's newly elected MP. They say that Sarah Pochin, who was elected in last month's Runcorn by-election, yesterday demanded the government ban the burka face covering, the problem is that this is not actually party policy: During Prime Minister's Questions, she asked Keir Starmer whether he would be joining countries including France, Denmark and Belgium in banning the face and body covering worn by some Muslim women. Reform ... (more) |
5 June 2025 - today's press releasesRoyal College of Radiologists report: if Government "doesn't take its head out of the sand" patients will "pay the price" Zia Yusuf resignation: leading UK DOGE by example Lib Dems make final pitch to Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse voters Scotland has worst shortage of oncologists in UK Local MP uncovers rail funding scandal Royal College of Radiologists report: if Government "doesn't take its head out of the sand" patients will "pay the price" Responding to two reports by the Royal College of Radiologists, which revealed that 9 in 10 cancer centre leaders reported delays to patients starting treatment, and 7 ... (more) |