The historic link of the monarchy to the slave tradeThe King is in the Caribbean and is shortly to be joined by Andy Burnham, prompting speculation that the Prime Minister will be apologising for Britain's involvement in the slave trade. A lot has been said of course, about how Britain ended the slave trade, but very little at the moment about how instrumental the country was in starting and promoting it. And that includes the monarchy. The Independent reports that King Charles has said in a speech to Commonwealth leaders that the slave trade "fills my heart with horror", but he stopped short of offering an apology. He told ... (more) |
The ghosts of Naseby BattlefieldThis is a short video from the Cromwell Museum that catalogues the many places where the ghost of Oliver Cromwell is said to walk. I have selected the section on Naseby Battlefield and the ghosts, Cromwell included, who are seen there. It lies seven miles south of Market Harborough, The 2008 photograph said to show a Civil War soldier has managed to walk through the Telegraph paywall. (more) |
The old Pontesbury magistrates court and police house are for saleThe courtroom at Pontesbury (photo: rightmove) (more) |
Cllr Kieran Dams, previously with Greens, joins Lib DemsFollowing the news of a Green councillor and a former Green Mayor joining the Liberal Democrats, Councillor Kieran Dams of Sefton Council now makes it a hat-trick of such news in the last few days: Waterloo Councillor Kieran Dams has joined the Liberal Democrats following his resignation from the Green Party last month... Explaining his decision, Kieran said: "What attracted me to the Liberal Democrats is the party's driving principle that everybody is equal and should be able to succeed no matter their background. "The party's heritage is grounded in community politics and locally it is clear to see that ... (more) |
Oh no, it can't be Christmas already.One of the song memes that get stuck in my head at this time of year and particularly in December is, "I wish it could be Christmas every day". Well increasingly often that seems to be what is happening. I read a story recently about someone who likes Christmas lunch so much that he has it 365 days of the year the full works. Turkey, pigs in blankets, the full monte! What has prompted me to think these maudlin thoughts about Christmas is the news which seems to be the most important thing imaginable that the John Lewis 20th anniversary ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1601"This low-cost strategy of largely relying on conditionality and sanctions to get unemployed claimants into work has clearly failed, as numbers have gone up since 2016, and the binary nature of our welfare system pushes our ageing and increasingly impaired population to claim incapacity benefits over limited working with in-work financial top-ups."Paul Gregg introduces the new Resolution Foundation report What's Gone Wrong With Welfare? Flynn Devine and Hannah Perry, meanwhile, introduce a Demos report on how the lack of impartial local news sources fuels asylum housing clashes and what can be done about it. "But what a diagnostic label cannot ... (more) |
Choosing a new leader in Wales: why the process mattersAt the Welsh Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference in November, members will debate a constitutional amendment I've submitted to broaden eligibility for the leadership of our party and make the nomination process more accessible. It raises an important question: when our parliamentary representation is small, should our constitution restrict members' choice of leader before potential candidates have even decided whether to stand? Following Jane Dodds' decision to stand down, David Chadwick has put himself forward as her successor. Under our current rules, he is the only other person eligible to stand. These proposed changes are not about David's suitability for the ... (more) |
Labour's freeze on housing benefit to increase povertyThe Independent reports that leading charities have warned that nearly 200,000 families will be pushed into poverty or deeper poverty due to Labour's decision not to end the freeze on housing benefits at the Budget. The paper says that in an open letter to prime minister Andy Burnham groups, including the Trussell Trust, Generation Rent and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation say that maintaining the measure will "critically undermine" his commitment to end rough sleeping: The formula used to calculate housing benefit levels - the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) - has been frozen since April 2024. The mechanism is designed to ... (more) |