Shelagh Delaney's Salford (1960)After I posted a clip from A Taste of Honey as a tribute to Dora Bryan, a reader kindly tweeted me the link to this short film. Shelagh Delaney's Salford was made by Ken Russell and broadcast on 25 September 1960, when I was precisely six months old. She comes over as a striking and attractive figure. The story of A Taste of Honey is worth retelling. Michael Billngton did so after Delaney died in 2011: Shelagh Delaney ... was almost as important for what she symbolised as for what she wrote. She was, as Jeanette Winterson wrote in the ... (more) |
"We want five green laws for a green Britain," an interview with Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey MP (Part Two)The Liberal Democrats clearly have a mountain to climb when it comes to next year's General Election but one area where we do have a broadly positive tale to tell is that of the green agenda, but how well does that play with voters and what can we do-as activists and elected representatives-to help trumpet [...] (more) |
Liberal Democrats apologise to Chris Rennard for mishandling investigationFrom the Guardian website - and tomorrow's newspaper: The Liberal Democrats have apologised to Lord Rennard for mishandling part of his disciplinary process and dropped their investigation into whether he brought the party into disrepute by refusing to say sorry to female activists who accused him of inappropriate sexual behaviour. The peer and former chief executive is now under investigation only over the issue of whether his "criticisms of party processes" on social media and in the press have harmed the reputation of the Lib Dems, which means he continues to be suspended from the party in the House of ... (more) |
I'm challenging Severn Trent on unlicensed roadworks in Ludlow's Corve StreetI've had a number of number of complaints today over temporary traffic lights on Corve Street. They are holding up traffic and the roadworks don't even have a permit. Water company Severn Trent is responsible. Shropshire Council gave Severn Trent a permit for work to be undertaken on the footway opposite the bus stop at [...] (more) |
Focus on SunnisideMy latest village Focus has now been written, printed and delivered. Focus on Sunniside, Streetgate, Marley Hill and Byermoor was written after Gateshead's planning committee agreed plans for opencast mining at Marley Hill. We held this edition back to be able to report the news to residents. I was planning to deliver my patches on Wednesday but I was in a planning appeal that day for much (more) |
Linkblogging For 25/7/14Just a few links today, it's too hot to write properly. Top Shelf Comics have a digital sale on. You can get the complete Alec by Eddie Campbell, DRM-free, for just $5. A map of the DC multiverse, by Grant Morrison and Rian Hughes Leonard Pierce on the death penalty Jack Graham gives a Marxist [...] (more) |
Economy Now Bigger Than Pre-Crash LevelsLiberal Democrats have cleared up Labour's economic mess with GDP now above pre-crash levels, new figures show. The UK economy is now larger than before the financial crisis in 2008 according to ONS quarterly data released today. It comes as the IMF predicted Britain will be the fastest-growing advanced economy in 2014. Lib Dem Treasury Minister Danny Alexander has said it vindicated the party's decision to form the coalition in 2010. Commenting, Danny Alexander said: "Today we are passing a major milestone on the long road back to full recovery. There is still a long way to go but Britain ... (more) |
@BaronessRos in the Lords: Agriculture and Food Industry - Motion to Take NoteLord Plumb, a former EU Commissioner and President of the National Farmers' Union, had sought a debate on the role of agriculture and the food industry in the economy of the United Kingdom and, in her capacity as Chair of the relevant European Union scrutiny committee, Ros felt that she should make a contribution to it... Baroness Scott of Needham Market (LD): My Lords, I join the thanks to my noble friend Lord Plumb for securing this afternoon's debate. As chair of EU Sub-Committee D, which has agriculture within its remit, I appreciate enormously his long experience of both agriculture ... (more) |
An interview with the PAFEC Post, June 1990While I've been trying to find the PAFEC 10th anniversary photograph (no joy so far), I did come across an edition of the PAFEC Post – our customer magazine – from June 1990. I was interviewed! That's me, having a bad hair day, second from the right, in the Stapleford offices with some of the other members of the Product Services Department. [IMG: Interview in the PAFEC Post from June 1990.] (more) |
Bedroom tax, sanctions and other benefit issues....The news that Liberal Democrat policy has turned against the bedroom tax is very welcome indeed. My only regret about it is that it does not go far enough, but it probably went as far as could be reasonably achieved. Largely this is a move in a political game, using a formal report that tells us what we already knew (and only some of it) as cover for a change of policy that is carefully designed to distance us from the Tories enough to be able to make a separate space for ourselves, but not so far as to endanger ... (more) |