Invisible at Wembley: what the Liberal Democrats keep getting wrong on trans rightsOn Wednesday night, ten thousand people filled OVO Arena Wembley for Trans Mission: A Solidarity Concert. It was a four-hour, star-studded declaration that trans people in this country are not alone – and that the hostility directed at them is not going unanswered. Olly Alexander, the Sugababes, Wolf Alice, Adam Lambert, Ian McKellen reading Shakespeare. A mother speaking about her daughter Alice, who is no longer alive, asking the crowd to dance for those who can no longer dance for themselves. A standing ovation that shook the building. One politician was on that stage. Zack Polanski, leader of the Green ... (more) |
Are parcel firms getting away with poor service?The 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: I am hoping to trigger a debate in Parliament on the state of parcel delivery services and would like your views. Read on to find out more. Did someone share this with you? If so, sign up here to get future pieces sent directly to you: What's your experience of parcel delivery services? ... (more) |
T.S. Eliot rejected George Orwell's Animal Farm for Faber & FaberStefan Collini has reviewed the latest volume of T.S. Eliot's letters for the London Review of Books. It covers the years 1942-4, and the most striking thing about the review is the revelation of how little time Eliot spent writing poetry and how much he devoted to his duties for the publishers Faber & Faber. One advantage that firm had over other publishers was that it was based in Russel Square rather than the traditional book-trade quarter of Pasternoster Row, which stood in the shadow of St Paul's and was heavily bombed in the London Blitz. Collini also writes about ... (more) |
Now Ed Davey is implying that Nigel Farage is rightPhoto © BadgerHero Early last week I sent off my latest piece for Central Bylines. In it I praised Ed Davey's willingness to challenge the right's claims to patriotism: People on the left tend to be uneasy about patriotism - the last refuge of the scoundrel and all that - but it's remarkable how many right-wing politicians and commentators give every impression of disliking their own country. They hanker after the fake past they see online in AI images, but have little love for the country as it really was or is. By the time it appeared, Ed Davey had ... (more) |
One Hub, Two Services: Why Police and Healthcare Should Share the Same Front DoorAcross the United Kingdom, the role of the local high street is changing. Many of the civic buildings that once anchored communities, such as local police stations, small health centres, and council offices, are gradually disappearing as services modernise and budgets tighten. While change is inevitable, it raises an important question: how can we keep public services visible, accessible, and connected to the communities they serve? One promising answer is the Integrated Community Hub. This would be a shared public building where Community Minor Injury Units (MIUs) and Neighbourhood Police Teams operate under the same roof. Rather than maintaining separate ... (more) |
Another Reform tax scandalThe Mirror reports that Reform UK's deputy leader is under pressure to "urgently" explain himself over reports he avoided paying nearly £600,000 in corporation tax. The paper says that Richard Tice reportedly avoided paying corporation tax on his property company Quidnet Reit Ltd over a three-year period after gaining a rare legal status for his firm: The Reform MP is accused of avoiding hundreds of thousands in corporation tax by listing his firm on the Guernsey stock exchange and applying for it to become a real estate investment trust (REIT), according to the Sunday Times. Mr Tice's firm reportedly did ... (more) |
When John Smith's Magnet Ales were advertised across YorkWhen I was a student in York the corner shops in the backstreets all had advertising John Smith's Magnet Ales. The shops have mostly closed and, while the name Magnet still survives, the beer is no longer brewed at John Smith's Tadcaster brewery but produced under licence by Cameron's in Hartlepool. I did find a couple of relics of Magnet advertising when I went hunting for the blue plaque on Frankie Howerd's childhood home in York. (more) |
Mathew on Monday: Serious Times Demand Serious Leadership - Ed Davey needs to stop with the clowning aroundThese are not normal political times. These are not easy times. And they are certainly not times when large swathes of the electorate is crying out for gimmicks, distractions, or anything that looks remotely unserious. They are times of international instability, economic uncertainty, pressure on public services, and a deep distrust in politics. In moments like these, what voters are looking for above all else is seriousness, serious ideas. Serious tone, serious leadership. Which is why, for many of us watching Ed Davey's speech at Spring Conference in York yesterday, there was such deep frustration. Because there were good things ... (more) |
NullWide gunmetal skies. Plans reach an end. Nemesis falls in flakes like snow. (more) |
Sign up to be informed each time a new issue of Liberator dropsThe next issue of Liberator - "The magazine for all Liberals"- will drop in a couple of weeks. If you'd like to be notified as soon as it's posted on the magazine's website, then add your email address to the magazine's mailing list. Liberator publishes six issues a year. Once you're on the list you will receive an email each time a new one appears. You can download issues from the magazine's website as a pdf free of charge. There's also a large archive of back numbers of Liberator to explore there. See the recent issues and the archive of ... (more) |