John Maynard Keynes: A very political economistEmbed from Getty ImagesPaul Addison reviewed Robert Skidelsky's biography of John Maynard Keynes for the London Review of Books in 1993. Keynes remains an attractive figure to British Liberals but, Addison suggests, a hard one to pin down: As Skidelsky emphasises, Keynes was at all times a political economist: "He invented theory to justify what he wanted to do. He understood that theory had to be usable for politicians and administrators." But if so, what were Keynes's political objectives and how radical was he? The ultimate objective of the General Theory was to save the capitalist system from the two ... (more) |
Lib Dem Federal Conference: use the drafting advice serviceI've just sent off to the drafting advice service a possible amendment to a motion up for debate at the party's Autumn Federal Conference in Brighton. The drafting advice deadline for amendments and emergency motions this time around is 1pm on Tuesday 25 August 2026. More information and the link to the advice form is on the party website. I've asked for the drafting advice even though the amendment is on a topic which falls within my area of responsibility in the House of Lords, and even though I've therefore also already checked it with relevant Parliamentary and staff colleagues. ... (more) |
Is the market for flats in England/Liverpool dead?So, what is happening with the market for flats in Liverpool? In June, the property website Zoopla issued data showing that the average price of a house was up 43% since 2016 across the UK, but flats had increased by only 10% over the same period. Zoopla said, "uncertainty around leasehold in England is affecting the pricing of flats versus houses" and that flats were taking longer to sell as a result. Most flats listed for sale in England are leasehold. And the long list of scandals and controversies associated with this form of ownership - from high service charges ... (more) |
Zack Polanski on the Fringe[IMG: Iain Dale and Zack Polanski] My weekend at the Edinburgh fringe continued with Iain Dale's All Talk event with the Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, Zack Polanski. I'm usually one of the younger people at Iain Dale's shows. This time I felt positively geriatric. The audience was very young. The event didn't have to be moved to the bigger theatre, like Nicola Sturgeon's earlier that day, but the smaller theatre was full. Polanski talked about his decision to change his name to one that reflects his Jewish heritage. He had thought originally that his family ... (more) |
X-Ray Spex: Germfree AdolescentsThis is wonderfully bleak. So bleak it reminds me of Vanbrugh College snack bar on the original campus at York. (more) |
Nether Hambelton emerges from beneath Rutland WaterThe remains of a lost Rutland village can currently be seen because of the drought, reports ITV News: Low water levels at Rutland Water reservoir in the East Midlands have uncovered the remains of the buildings which were once part of the village of Nether Hambleton. Residents in the hamlet, along with other small villages including Middle Hambleton, were relocated to other areas before the buildings were demolished and the area flooded in the 1970s to create the reservoir. Lord Bonkers has been known to give those who believe the reservoir dates from the 1970s the disparaging label "Rutland Water ... (more) |
The targeting of journalists is a real threat to democracyThe Guardian reports that the businessman and Reform UK backer Arron Banks is facing calls to lay out the extent of his surveillance of journalists, described by an industry body as an "attack on our democracy". The paper says that the News Media Association (NMA), which represents regional and national media, has raised concerns after Banks appeared to admit over the weekend to hiring private investigators to spy on a Sunday Times journalist. They quote New Statesman who have said that Banks instructed Precision Risk and Intelligence, a private investigations company he once owned, to examine Gabriel Pogrund, the editor ... (more) |