End the snobbery of Merseyside Police and Liverpool Council in tackling street gangsI have written today to written to the Chief Constable and Leader of the Council asking them to desist from the use of classical music blasted out in Whitechapel to try and control street gangs. The use of music in this way is a Stalinist approach to dealing with a problem which is based on an inverted snobbery which will perpetuate a 'them and us' attitude to classical music. Other totalitarian regimes that use music are this way is China and North Korea. Do we really want to follow the appalling example of regimes like those? I have instead asked ... (more) |
The Labour threat to the Right to ProtestLast week, the government forced through parliament the controversial "cumulative disruption" power, which enables police to ban protests on the grounds that they take place repeatedly. This attack on the fundamental freedoms of assembly and expression has been strongly criticised by the UN and human rights organisations. Introduced by the Lords as an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, this legislation was not subject to full debate and scrutiny in parliament, MPs were denied a separate vote on the cumulative disruption amendment, and the vote on the bill was pushed through before the conclusions of the independent review. This ... (more) |
Welcome to my day: 20 April 2026 - the wrong sort of vetting?It's coming to that time when nobody wants to leave anything to chance, when the pressure is on. Yes, I'm talking about the end of the football season, with titles, promotion and relegation still to be decided. I spent part of yesterday at Portman Road, as Ipswich Town fought out a rather nervy 2-2 draw with promotion rivals Middlesbrough, in front of nearly 30,000 spectators, and was struck by the similarities with a political campaign. You bring together the best team you can muster, prepare as best you can, determine the appropriate strategy to defeat your opponent and hope that ... (more) |
18-19 April 2026 - the weekend's press releasesCole-Hamilton urges voters to postal vote for Scot Lib Dems on peach ballot paper Cut the rural cost of living and help farmers to flourish Reid hits out as ministers drop fines for poor ferry performance Cole-Hamilton urges voters to postal vote for Scot Lib Dems on peach ballot paper Alex Cole-Hamilton has today used a visit to a climbing wall in Edinburgh to urge voters voting by post to reach for the Scottish Liberal Democrats on the peach regional ballot paper, saying that more Scottish Liberal Democrat MSPs will get more good things done in the next session of ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1506"A project that ought to be broad, open and compassionate has come to be dominated by a narrow set of ideological demands which leave little room for genuine diversity of political perspective." Vlad Vexler and Rupert Read argue that if the climate movement does not embrace pluralism it risks handing the future to the far right. Laura López-Aybar reminds us of the way society can turn a blind eye to the human rights violations involved in psychiatry. Melinda Wenner Moyer on studies that suggest young people are in many ways doing better than previous generations: "In addition to their interest ... (more) |
Time is ticking: Britain's defences need urgent fixingThis week, the government suffered its latest humiliation when Lord George Robertson, a former NATO Secretary-General, ex-Labour Defence Secretary and chair of the government's 2025 Strategic Defence Review accused the government of "corrosive complacency" in risking the country's security by dragging his heels on how the government will fund rebuilding its military in the face of the growing threat from Russia. A rising crescendo of articles and speeches by ex-military, defence correspondents and experts - and our very own Lib Dem defence spokesperson James MacCleary MP – have been highlighting that the government's Strategic Defence Review remains little more than ... (more) |
'When not if': why the Lib Dems are aiming for secondEarlier in the week I appeared on The Spectator's podcast, Coffee House Shots, alongside Lib Dem MP Al Pinkerton and discussing the party's prospects and ambitions in the local elections. Somehow we cooked up an analogy about the merits of broccoli in politics: Sign up to get the latest news and analysis (more) |
Tom Arms' World ReviewChina The invisible hand of Beijing has been busily pulling the backstage strings to try and organise Iran War peace talks. Pakistan—which has been the lead country in mediation country—is a close ally of China and is clearly coordinating Its honest broker activities with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi who prefers to remain in the shadows. Economically China desperately needs an end to Trump's War. Ninety percent of its oil comes from Iran and, as the world's second largest economy, China needs global stability to maintain growth. At the same time, Chinese President Xi Jinping must be smiling to himself ... (more) |
Military procurement problems, 18th century styleI think this from Gibraltar counts as "technology that didn't work as intended": [IMG: Healy's Mortar, Gibraltar] Photo taken in Gibraltar. If only it didn't also feel like the forerunner of military procurement problems in the succeeding centuries too. UPDATE: For a more positive account of Healy's Mortar, see this account from the government of Gibraltar. (more) |
Theatre: The FallTheatre? Breaking Tunes explains: Hailing from the city of Limerick, Theatre are a rock band formed at the end of 2022 who have made a name for themselves throughout 2023 with their understated and ethereal sound, one which epitomises the guitar melodies of early '90s shoegaze and alternative rock, fused with their own style of unapologetic folk-laden sensibility. With similar sounds to the likes of Lankum, Just Mustard, and Sinead O'Connor, Theatre have spent their time cutting their teeth and making waves as a standout name in Limerick's thriving underground, more recently gaining more attention in Ireland's stronghold Dublin music ... (more) |