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) |
In which D.H. Lawrence visits SnailbeachOn Friday we saw D.H. Lawrence getting all Lawrentian about the Stiperstones: "It was one of those places where the spirit of aboriginal England still lingers." But when did he visit the area? The answer's in the video clip above: January 1924. A paper by Lawrence Jones and Paul Simpson-Housley tells us something about Lawrence and Frederick Carter got up too: They enjoyed a winter's walk together, which they began by climbing Cad's Hill. Later they crossed a narrow gauge railway and ascended the Stiperstones. The tiny Lord's Hill Chapel, located at the edge of the moors, and the works ... (more) |
Lib Dem energy guarantee would cut prices for all householdsBBC News reports today's announcement by Daisy Cooper of new Liberal Democrat proposals for reducing consumer energy prices: Under the scheme every household would receive an "Essential Energy Allowance", which would provide "enough to get by" and be charged at a discounted price. There would be an extra allowance for families with more children. Households that need more help, such as those on the lowest incomes, or with extra needs such as charging an electric wheelchair or a home ventilator, would receive a "discount on all their energy". Cooper said her party estimated it would mean a saving of £100 ... (more) |
Mathew on Monday: "We need to be bold"EXCLUSIVE: "We need to be bold, we need to be relevant, and we need to show people that we're serious" – party figures react to news of strategy review This weekend news broke, via PoliticsHome, that the Lib Dems are conducting an internal review of policy after concerns that had previously been kept mostly behind closed doors became public, with figures including former leadership candidate and current Chair of the Commons Health Select Committee Layla Moran speaking to the outlet about a "frustration" that the party's been talking about the same things and that we "weren't really moving forward." Despite ... (more) |