Campaigning is not a burdenAs the Scottish Lib Dems prepare on gather for Autumn Conference in Glasgow on Saturday, we have a long campaigning slog ahead of us.....a Holyrood General Election May 2026 and then straight into preparing for the five yearly Council elections in May 2027. And we will be campaigning hard to gain seats in both! That may sound daunting but I'm sure I'm not alone in actually looking forward to it. I joined the party in my late teens (during the merger debate) because I actually want to campaign for a better world. I'd rather do that than sit at home ... (more) |
The Sunniside Christmas treeI attended a meeting of Planting Up Sunniside on Monday. They are planning the event to switch on the Christmas tree, the first in the village since 2018. The switch on event is provisionally in the diary for 26th November, subject to confirmation from the mayor. I will be supplying the reindeer (2 of my goats cunningly disguised.) There are lots of details still to sort out but we are (more) |
Hina Bokhari writes: In these divided times, the Liberal Democrats must be the voice for fairness and communityEditor's Note: In November party members will be voting to elect our next Party President. At Lib Dem Voice we welcome posts from each of the candidates - one to launch their candidature plus a maximum of one per week during the actual campaign. When marginalised communities around the UK are under constant attack by populists looking for easy solutions to complex problems, it is more important than ever for the Liberal Democrats to champion fairness, openness and community. That's why I'll be voting for Josh Babarinde MP to be our next Liberal Democrat President. I first met Josh when ... (more) |
Action day in the Racecourse EstateAnother Sunday and another action day in Gateshead for the Lib Dems. This time it was in the Racecourse Estate in Bensham. Again, a positive response from residents and a dire performance by Labour. Sadly, I wasn't able to be there myself as I was moving around sheep and goats on my farm! (more) |
New hope for Leicester's former Black Boy pubBecause I don't spend so much time wandering the back streets of Leicester these days, I was surprised to learn that the former Black Boy pub is still standing, but the Leicester Mercury reports that it may yet be saved. Under plans approved by the city council two years ago, the Mercury reminds us: Just the facades of the former public house as it looks into Albion Street and Chatham Street were to be retained and a new five-storey building built behind these. Now, says the paper: That proposal now appears to have been abandoned, however, and a new project ... (more) |
Mathew meets: Carl Cashman Part 3 - A Lib Dem vision for Liverpool[IMG: Mathew Hulbert and Carl Cashman resplendent in yellow] This is the final part of my interview with Liverpool Lib Dem Council group leader Carl Cashman. In this instalment, we talk about the sort of city he wants to see. So what is the Carl Cashman vision for Liverpool? One of the first things I want to do is get the Council in the service of people and when you've got Labour Councillors saying 'shouldn't we move to four weekly bin collections' that's a Council that's out of touch with people and for me if you go round Liverpool, it's ... (more) |
Why the Welsh Lib Dems must confront Reform on UkraineWales has shown the world what solidarity looks like. We became a Nation of Sanctuary, opened our homes to thousands of Ukrainian refugees, and stood firmly on the side of democracy and the rule of law. Yet at the same time, Reform UK, the party now desperate to present itself as the Voice of Wales, was long represented by Nathan Gill, a former Brexit Party and Reform UK politician who pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery payments in return for pro-Russian statements. This is not some abstract Westminster scandal, but one too close to home, in Wales. It strikes ... (more) |
Judy Tzuke: For YouThis was Judy Tzuke's first single, issued in the summer of 1978. Interviewed on The Strange Brew podcast, she says it topped a chart for the records with most radio plays, because the DJs all loved it, but was still only a minor hit. I think the DJs were right. (more) |
Swallow Roundabout - a further update #dundeewestendAs residents will be aware, we had called for some time for the proposals to improve the Swallow Roundabout arising out of the safety audit to be implemented and this was originally to have happened at the end of August. However, the Western Gateway housing developer Springfield, who has overall responsibility for the roundabout changes, did not obtain necessary permissions in time and we have now received the following update from the company : "We have had confirmation that all required permissions and permits are in place to carry out the remedial items at the Swallow Roundabout. This includes changes ... (more) |
A threat to financial and political transparencyThere was an interesting article in Observer a few weeks ago suggesting that hard-to trace digital transactions could lead to hostile states or criminal organisations secretly making political donations and threatening democracy. The paper says that when Elon Musk appeared on huge screens dotted along Whitehall calling for thousands of attendees at far-right campaigner Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom rally to "fight back... or die", the tech billionaire's image was accompanied by the logos of the event's sponsors. All but one were cryptocurrencies. They say that these images highlighted the arrival in Britain of a global pattern: the embrace by ... (more) |