The Joy of Six 1491Mariano delli Santi is concerned by the Information Commissioner's Office and its enthusiasm for age-verification: "The ICO are actively encouraging platforms to adopt more invasive verification technologies, at a time when privacy violations and malpractice are starting to emerge within the industry. Further, the ICO characterisation of age assurance technology as 'advanced' and 'readily available' comes as hundreds of computer scientists call for a moratorium on the roll out of this technology and warn about the technical limitations and infeasibility of this approach." "The parental rights movement frames the conflict as parental rights versus government control, completely disregarding children's rights, ... (more) |
Facial recognition cameras showing racial biasThe Guardian reports that Essex police have paused the use of live facial recognition (LFR) technology after a study found cameras were significantly more likely to target black people than people of other ethnicities. The paper says that the move to suspend use of the AI-enabled systems was revealed by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which regulates the use of the technology deployed so far by at least 13 police forces in London, south and north Wales, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Hampshire, Bedfordshire, Suffolk, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Surrey and Sussex: The ICO said Essex police had paused LFR deployments "after identifying ... (more) |
The Somerset & Dorset Railway branch to Burnham-on-SeaThe YouTube blurb for this video says: The Friendly Line to Burnham was one of a series of delightful programmes in 1980 under the general title of The Seaside Trains. The Somerset & Dorset Burnham branch, which was a casualty of Beeching, typifies many such lines throughout the country. Today, part of the old trackbed across the Somerset Levels is a cycleway and footpath, whilst other sections have more or less vanished from the map completely. A feature of this little line was the number of level crossings, some 14 in total, some of which were manned by (chiefly lady) ... (more) |
Just one council by-election this weekThe principal authority council by-elections this week started and ended with a Welsh contest on Tuesday: Milford Hakin (Pembrokeshire) Council By-Election Result: [IMG: ➡] RFM: 27.1% (New) [IMG: 🌳] CON: 21.8% (+0.5) [IMG: 🙋] Ind: 16.0% (New) [IMG: 🌍] GRN: 12.9% (New) [IMG: 🔶] LDM: 8.6% (New) [IMG: 🙋] Ind: 7.9% (-22.1) [IMG: 🌹] LAB: 4.1% (New) [IMG: 🙋] Ind: 1.7% (New)No Ind (-48.7) as previous.Reform GAIN from Independent.Changes w/ 2022. — Election Maps UK (@electionmaps.uk) 2026-03-18T15:14:15.056Z Thank you to Sam Warden for getting the Lib Dems on the ballot paper here after the party's previous absence. For what all ... (more) |
Landspeed record celebration hit by parking ticketsAs so often these days, BBC News wins our Headline of the Day Award. The judges you thought you would enjoy this from the story below:Southport Liberal Democrats said the parking tickets were an embarrassment to Sefton Council and claimed many tickets have now been rescinded after protests. The council and the office of the High Sheriff of Merseyside have been contacted for comment. Posting on Facebook the Lib Dems also criticised the council for charging the organisers for opening the public toilets and for refreshments provided for the mayor and High Sheriff's party. (more) |
On Liberty: New edition gives Harriet Taylor her dueAn edition of On Liberty published this month is the first to name Harriet Taylor Mill as co-author alongside John Stuart Mill, reports the philosophy news site Daily Nous. John Stuart Mill acknowledged Harriet Taylor's part in the writing of the work in his Autobiography: With regard to the thoughts [expressed in the book], it is difficult to identify any particular part or element as being more hers than all the rest. The whole mode of thinking of which the book was the expression, was emphatically hers. But I also was so thoroughly imbued with it that the same thoughts ... (more) |
Good news! Government is, hopefully, serious about improving poll cardsThe 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: Most of these newsletters are complaints about something the government is doing too slowly or doing wrong. But I've had some good news with an unusually positive and comprehensive reply to a written question. Did someone share this with you? If so, sign up here to get future pieces sent directly to you: ... (more) |
From parking spaces to living spaces: the opportunity hiding in NCP's collapseNational Car Parks entered administration this week, and the coverage has followed a predictable script: jobs at risk, iconic brand in trouble, another casualty of post-pandemic Britain. All true. But the real story isn't about what's being lost. It's about what could be gained. NCP operates 340 car parks across the UK – at airports, hospitals, railway stations, and city centres. That's 200,000 parking spaces sitting on some of the most strategically located urban land in the country. Land with road access, public transport links, and existing planning permissions for intensive use. And right now, it's available at a fraction ... (more) |
This House: James Graham's play reviewedThe latest episode of Political Fictions is all about governments struggling with small majorities in the 1970s: Mark and Cory talk about James Graham's play This House. The hit play, available to stream from the National Theatre, is about party whips trying to prop up a government without a secure House of Commons in the 1970s. Mark and Cory marvel at the kipper ties and rotary dial phones, discuss the importance of treating your political opponents with respect, and ponder whether works of art would be improved if they spent more time celebrating the achievements of Labour governments. Regular listeners ... (more) |
Democratic capitalism should not stop at the ballot boxLiberal Democrats are, at our best, a party of power and of how it is used, utilising social-democratic and liberal ideas. We have long understood that freedom is not secured simply by declaring rights. It depends on how power is distributed across society; who holds it, who can challenge it, and whether it is accountable. That instinct has shaped our commitment to constitutional reform, civil liberties, and the decentralisation of the state. But there is one area where this liberal insight remains underdeveloped: the economy. We pride ourselves on living in a democratic society. Yet for most people, the place ... (more) |