Last night I sat on the candidate’s panel of the very first Unsworth ward local election debate, featuring the 3 candidates vying for your vote in the upcoming local election on Thursday 3rd May 2018. Seated from left to right, Satyen Sinha (Conservative), Steve Middleton (Liberal Democrat), Michael Hope (Spotted Unsworth: uncut & chair of…
On Monday 30th April, Spotted Unsworth: Uncut will be hosting a special Question Time-style debate. The three Unsworth ward local election candidates vying for your vote on Thursday 3rd May will be on the panel, to answer questions from the moderator and local residents. The debate starts at 7.30pm at Hollins Community Centre and the…
The Liberal Democrats have become the first major party to commit to ending the “national scandal” of rough sleeping across Britain, including across Greater Manchester. The latest figures show there were 189 people sleeping rough in Greater Manchester in 2016, many are young people and many believe these figures to be only the tip of…
Just a quick update to everyone know that the application to move the Unsworth Smile Clinic from its current Parr Lane location to 247 Sunny Bank Road has been considered by council officers and permission has been REFUSED. I’ve attached the council refusal notice, so you can have a look for yourself in case you…
At meetings of Bury’s ‘Full Council’ the Liberal Democrat group of councillors normally only get one question answered by the the Council Leader at each meeting. Two weeks ago the Lib Dem group asked our one question about the role Bury can play in the current refugee crisis in Europe and in Syria. It has…
Tim Farron said that under his leadership, the party would oppose the cuts to tax credits and other benefits in the Conservative’s budget and push for greater spending on infrastructure such as transport and broadband. At his first speech as leader, Tim said “If you care about human rights join us. If you think you…
Last month I wrote this post about the lack of maintenance to the parks in Unsworth and Whitefield. In particular, I noted that a vandalised bin in Sunny Bank Wood had not been repaired by Bury Council, even though regular grass cutting was taking place. I reported the vandalised bin to Bury Council on May…
On May 7th I am hoping you will vote for me as your next council representative for Besses ward. I want to represent the area where I grew up on Bury Council as I am tired of seeing my home town wither under our current Labour-controlled council. Potholes go unrepaired, pavements are uneven and dangerous,…
This is an interesting article detailing how the last 6 general elections have affected the UK stock market. In 5 out of the last 6, the market has increased. The article is reproduced here in an easier to read PDF format.
Peter Kellner, President of YouGov, has written a very interesting piece in this months Investment Times (a free magazine published and circulated to members of financial services company Hargreaves Lansdown) giving his thoughts on the potential outcome of next year’s general election. While not providing any groundbreaking or new thoughts on the possibilities, his article…
A Facebook status update shamlessly stolen from my US friend Ian Dickson:- Ok, I think I’ve had enough. I have to institute a zero-tolerance policy on any US political argument that has no obvious merit or serious intelligence behind it. Way too many are spouting vitriol and blaming the current administration for their own problems,…
A £3.5bn tax cut for working people Biggest single ever uplift in the tax threshold 21 million working people getting an extra £220 tax cut Tycoon Tax raises FIVE times as much from the super-rich The Liberal Democrats have ensured this is a budget for the millions not for the millionaires, delivering a £3.5billion tax…
President of the Liberal Democrats, Tim Farron MP, has written to Lib Dem members today. Here’s his letter in full:- Are two Eds better than one? I’m not sure – but the two Eds said something very interesting over the weekend: apparently they don’t have a ‘Plan B’ for the economy after all. You’ll have…
Who could not be inspired by these words of encouragement from Jason Hunter: “Liberal Democrats – In Government, On Your Side……20 months on from the creation of the coalition…. A labour supporter said about the LibDems: “why would we want to be in a Coalition with a party who have been more than happy to…
After nearly two years of no fiscal policies whatsoever, current Labour leader Ed Miliband and Labour’s shadow chancellor Ed Balls have both made similar statements over the last 24 hours defending the coalition government’s public sector pay freeze. This is in stark contrast to just a few weeks ago when both were still spurting out…
You may have seen or heard misleading news reports today suggesting that the UK Border Agency is breaking its pledge to end the detention of children. UKBA has responsed to these misleading news reports and has emphasised the need to hold families at the border, while making clear the bold changes the agency has made to the…
Tim Farron’s speech to Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference Speaking at Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference on Sunday, Liberal Democrat Party President, Tim Farron said: So, well done – you all got past security clearance! Incidentally I’m very grateful to the police, they’ve now provided me with all the detailed personal information on party members that I…
I was watching the BBC’s Politics Show on Sunday and there was a very interesting feature about how much of the Liberal Democrat and Conservative manifest promises had become reality. Lib Dem blogger Mark Pack wrote a brilliant and succinct blog post about the BBC segment and I shamelessly reproduce it here: Sunday’s Politics Show…
Politicians get a lot of grief – in many cases, because they have said one thing and then done another. The Lib Dems, in particular, got into sticky water with the electorate over Tuition Fees (which we still want to get rid of as a party, but it is just not affordable at the moment).…
