Widdecombe fuels election pact scandalFollowing Ann Widdecombe's comments on LBC on Thursday evening that she was offered a role in the Brexit negotiations to stand down in the general election, Liberal Democrat Shadow Brexit Secretary Tom Brake said:"This revelation by Ann Widdecombe is yet more evidence that the Conservative Party may have acted illegally in offering her a job in the Brexit negotiations in return for her standing aside in the 2019 election."The allegation must be added to the police investigation into whether peerages were offered to Brexit party candidates to stand down.This is just further evidence that Boris Johnson's Conservatives are not fit ... (more) |
21 November 2019 - today's press releasesDavey: Labour maths do not add up Labour's police pledge an "empty promise" without extra funding Lib Dems: Widdecombe fuels election pact scandal Davey: Labour maths do not add up Responding to the Labour Party Manifesto launched today, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Ed Davey said: As long as Jeremy Corbyn continues pursuing his Brexit policy, the maths in his manifesto simply do not add up. The Liberal Democrats will stop Brexit and use the £50 billion Remain Bonus to invest in public services and build a brighter future. We'll prioritise tackling the climate emergency and investing in housing, education and ... (more) |
I disagree with NickThat hardy annual, the tuition fees slur, has raised its head again. An outfit named Novara Media, which describes itself as independent, but one of whose prime movers has published a book entitled ""Fully Automated Luxury Communism"", has restated the belief that "George Osborne even told Nick Clegg to not vote for the tripling of tuition fees in 2010. The Lib Dem leader did so, however, saying it was the best policy." To go from that to "The claim that the Liberal Democrats moderated the worst excesses of the Tories in government simply isn't true." misrepresents the history. Clegg was ... (more) |
Is there a danger that our politics is spiralling into a moral void?I don't consider myself to be an exceptionally good person. I have, I admit, flaws. I have an erratic attention span, don't always deliver entirely what I promise to, and could be better organised. But I like to think that I'm pretty loyal, prefer facts to rhetoric, and that I care about the people around me. If given a choice, I will tend to avoid personal attacks and make a positive case for the things I believe in rather than tear down my opponents. And that, perhaps, is why I find modern retail politics so uncomfortable. I almost enjoy canvassing ... (more) |
Chuka on Question Time - open threadChuka Umunna is about to be on Question Time. I should be going to bed, but I can't resist staying up and watching. Who's with me?Chuka's first intervention came to the first question, about the Labour manifesto. He talked about how Brexit would make it impossible for Labour to implement what it promised – especially as it would be tougher for people to come here to build the houses it said it wants. "You cannot ignore the elephant in the room which is Brexit"@ChukaUmunna says ending free movement will make it 'incredibly difficult' for political parties to carry out their ... (more) |
The Bluest Eye, by Toni MorrisonSecond paragraph of third chapter:Sunk in the grass of an empty lot on a spring Saturday, I split the stems of milkweed and thought about ants and peach pits and death and where the world went when I closed my eyes. I must have lain long in the grass, for the shadow that was in front of me when I left the house had disappeared when I went back. I entered the house, as the house was bursting with an uneasy quiet. Then I heard my mother singing something about trains and Arkansas. She came in the back door with ... (more) |
A derelict house in South KilworthBecause I travelled to South Kilworth on a whim, I managed to miss the two buildings Pevsner notices there besides the church. That does give me an excuse for returning to the village and the White Hart, though I had better hurry because the Tories may scrap the 58 bus soon. And I did find this splendid derelict house hidden away in a backwater. (more) |
How Conservative policy doomed Stiperstones SchoolOver the years this blog has followed the campaign - at first triumphant and later doomed - to save Stiperstones primary school in Shropshire. I have been sent a letter about its imminent closure that was written for publication in the Shropshire Star. As I cannot find it on the newspaper's website, I shall keep the letter anonymous while from quoting it: I have just learnt that this term Stiperstones School is to close after more than a century. It follows Westbury a couple of years earlier and, no doubt, others will follow. ... These closures are due to the ... (more) |
Delivering in KibblesworthToday's leaflet delivery was in Kibblesworth. Just a modest sized patch this time, fitted in between feeding the goats and going to full council. (more) |
"That's the first and last time you'll see a Labour MP elected for Harborough"The Liberal Democrats came within four thousand votes of winning Harborough at the 2005 general election, but slipped into fourth place in 2015 and third in 2017. Thinking of Labour's brief revival in the constituency has reminded me of John Shaw, one of the two Labour councillors Lutterworth sent to Harborough District Council when I was a member. He was a good man, but like so many of the people I served on the council with, he is no longer with us. I believe he died in the summer of 2017. I remember John telling me that his father had ... (more) |