What to make of the constituency poll showing Luciana Berger ahead?A constituency poll commissioned by the Liberal Democrats shows Luciana Berger in with an excellent chance of winning the Finchley & Golders Green seat she has chosen to contest: We conducted a telephone method constituency poll (f/w) Oct 2nd) on behalf of the Liberal Democrats in Finchley & Golders Green. Headline GE voting intention with named candidate prompt was: Conservative – 29% Liberal Democrat – 41% Labour – 25% Green – 3% Brexit Party – 2% — Survation. (@Survation) October 16, 2019 (more) |
Press: If you care about the kids, there's no excuse not to legalise cannabisIf we have the chance to reduce harm, we should take it. That idea - harm reduction - lies behind much of what any government seeks to do. It is an uncontroversial principle. Yet there is a key area of government policy which does not abide by it: drugs. Our government's approach is to pursue a misguided and ineffective War on Drugs, which does not reduce use, but instead makes things worse for individuals and for society.... continue to full article on CityAM View Norman Lamb's paper "Protecting Children and Young People from Harm: The public health case for legal ... (more) |
Northern on the rocks and not before time in my view'The government is considering whether the management of the North of England's largest rail commuter service should be taken into public hands' – BBC website The BBC has the article on its website – see link below:- www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50067806 Northern Rail Class 319 electric unit at Liverpool Lime Street Station (more) |
A winning plan for the Liberal DemocratsDuring the recent online hustings, the chair Lorely Burt produced a horribly complicated diagram from a few years back showing how the Liberal Democrats are structured. (more) |
The Tiptree/Otherwise Award, Peter Handke's Nobel, The Sparrow and Mountain WaysThe James Tiptree Jr Award, "encouraging the exploration & expansion of gender", has announced that it is changing its name to the Otherwise Award, based on feedback received after the similar decision of Dell Magazines to change the John W. Campbell Award to the Astounding Award (also in the context of the 2015 decision a couple of years ago to redesign the World Fantasy Award so that it no longer looked like H.P. Lovecraft). It's their decision, of course; I think it is regrettable. I understand the hurt and discomfort felt by disabled people who felt that it was wrong ... (more) |
The irony of the Tory Voter ID plansOur democracy in this country is pretty much broken. On one hand we have a government that constantly bangs on about the will of the people, whilst simultaneously doing its damnedest to undermining it. The irony of that is not lost on me. A Government that actually did care about the will of the people would make sure that the people got the parliament they asked for, for a start, by introducing a proportional system of voting. This is not boring constitutional stuff – we should be doing more to frame it as a fundamental issue of trust. In recent ... (more) |
Woodford - a lesson in hubris, both for individuals and councilsThe story of the Woodford Equity Income fund should give investors great pause for thought concerning how many eggs to put in one particular basket. The Guardian reports: The high profile career of investment manager Neil Woodford appears to be over after the one-time star stockpicker was fired from his flagship fund and quit as manager of his remaining two funds. Woodford was sacked on Tuesday morning from his £3.1bn Equity Income fund, which will be wound up in an effort to return cash to investors more than four months after its shock suspension. The move was a major embarrassment ... (more) |
Where do the Parties Stand on Brexit?As we approach the crucial votes on Saturday over our future with Europe, I have tried to sum up for myself where the main English Parties stand on the issue. I omit Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland not because of ... Continue reading → (more) |
Is Canada heading for a coalition?'Lawn signs' are being banged into front gardens across Canada with the 2019 Federal Election taking place on Monday (21st). With the polls close between the incumbent Liberals and the opposition Conservatives, and with neither looking likely to pull away, 'The Hill' could be a hung parliament. This would be truly historic as Canada has never previously had a formal coalition in Ottawa. In recent weeks, the Liberals have pulled themselves level with the Conservatives after falling far behind the Tories in February. The polls suggest that the Liberals could win more seats than the Conservatives, but not enough to ... (more) |
My tweetsTue, 12:36: RT @EndPolioNow: On 23 November, @Rotary staff will join @JohnHewko & Rotary members from around the world as cycle up to 100 miles to rais... Tue, 12:38: RT @MichelBarnier: I have just debriefed EU27 Ministers in Luxembourg. 🇪🇺 unity remains strong. We want an agreement that works for everybo... Tue, 12:52: RT @Mij_Europe: So I hate to be a #Brexit downer. But signals I am getting this morning from very well placed EU sources is much, much more... Tue, 12:56: RT @adamparsons: This, from @thetimes, is horrible. Not least because, special needs students are, er, pupils. Actually, the ... (more) |