Could Hitler have won?Could Hitler have won? - that's the title of my next talk to Sunniside History Society. I will be looking at various wartime events and explain how a different outcome to them may or may not have influenced the course of the Second World War. I will be keeping the shocker to the end of the talk when I explain how Hitler could have won control of Europe and then the world. (more) |
The social media ban is illiberal, unworkable, and our stance is the wrong oneWell, after much haggling there is actually going to be a social media ban for under 16s, alongside social media curfews for those aged 16 and 17. Luckily for me, it won't be introduced until Spring next year—by which time I will be over 18. But this social media ban still affects all of us, and spells the end of a free internet. A social media ban seems good, and well meaning – protecting vulnerable children from the risks the being online can pose—but a well meaning policy does not necessarily mean good policy. For many, social media can help ... (more) |
Say hello to the Act that successfully set rules 1,050 years into the future - Calendar (New Style) Act 1750[IMG: Calendar. CC0 1.0] The Calendar (New Style) Act 1750 deserves a double presence in contemporary knowledge. First, its authors deserve credit for what must be the most successful piece of future proofing legislation. Second, for the myth which illustrates how the powerful can ridicule the powerless. Calendar (New Style) Act 1750 was the legislation that moved Britain, and British dominions, over to the Gregorian calendar, which was several days different from the previously used Julian calendar. It includes a set of rules for which years should be leap years, complete with special provisions which come in every hundredth year ... (more) |
Caring doesn't STOP at 67- so why should Carer's Support Payment or Carer's AllowanceMy husband and I are not typical empty nesters. True, we have a daughter of 27 and a son of 23, but Archie has a learning disability and autism so he will never live independently. He requires constant attention and all our energy to manage his behaviour. Evenings and weekends are full on for us as he needs his exercise (usually swimming or a hike) meals, medication and bathing- none of which he can manage himself without support. We liken it to having a 23-year-old toddler Tigger bouncing about the house. Now in our late fifties, with a wee bit ... (more) |
Away dayThe term "away day" suggests a meeting well away from home. Gateshead Lib Dems had an away day on Sunday but for me it was not far away. Indeed, it was a three minute walk to get there from my house. Our thanks to Sunniside Club for being the venue. Good and thorough discussions held on the recent local elections and on campaigning over the year ahead. (more) |
WATCH: Charles Kennedy Memorial LectureYou might remember that a few weeks ago we told you about the Charles Kennedy Memorial Lecture organised by the European Movement. Nick Clegg talked about the path to closer alignment with the European Movement. You can watch his speech courtesy of the European Movement's You Tube channel. The text is below: We are here in part to remember a much-missed friend and colleague, Charles Kennedy. It has been just over a decade since Charles passed, and we are all the poorer for it. He was one of the lights of liberalism in this country, and his absence in public ... (more) |
The Keir Starmer we never gotThe 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: Usually the starting point for these newsletters is something I have done in Parliament, but this time it's the work of a colleague, William Wallace, that is the trigger – and it's shown us a glimpse of what a different Keir Starmer premiership could have been like. The Cabinet Manual is getting an ... (more) |
Indecision costing the taxpayers millionsThe Times reports that delays and indecision over plans for the restoration of the Palace of Westminster are costing the taxpayer up to £420 million a year, while the historic estate faces an increasing risk of "catastrophic failure". The paper says that a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) found that parliament currently spends about £1.5 million a week on maintenance of the palace, including refurbishment projects and that this is forecast to increase to about £2 million a week between 2026 and 2030: The Palace, a Grade I listed building within a Unesco World Heritage site, requires extensive ... (more) |
Back on the campaign trailIt feels as though election campaigning is never going to end in Gateshead. We have a by-election in High Fell caused by the resignation of a Reform Councillor after only 11 days in the job. Polling day is on 9th July. Lots to do and my Saturday morning was taken up trudging the streets of High Fell delivering the next leaflet for the Lib Dems. We have 18 patches in the ward. Most were done (more) |
1963: London's summer of the HoverbusJago Hazzard looks back to a short-lived transport experiment that took place in London in the summer of 1963. From 1 July to 31 October, a hovercraft service operated on the Thames in London between Festival Pier at Waterloo and Tower Bridge. The experiment was not a success and the Hoverbus's manufacturers, Denny, went out of business the following year. But Jago is right: hovercraft were once seen as the future. Later in the Sixties, I can recall, you often got mini-hovercraft rides at more ambitious fetes. But then, as Jonathan Meades once pointed out, the future happened briefly in ... (more) |