Will local voices ever be heard?
Top-down 'plans' for Combined Derbys-Notts Authority are fantasy solutions
This section contains News articles written by local members on both local and national issues that we feel are important to the lives of those living in Derbyshire Dales. We hope that these give you an understanding of the values that we, as Liberal Democrats, feel are important.
Top-down 'plans' for Combined Derbys-Notts Authority are fantasy solutions
The local elections for Derbyshire Dales District Council on 4th May will be the first when photo ID will be needed to vote in person. The government claims that this is necessary to combat voter fraud, of which there have been the tiniest number of examples. At the 2019 General Election for example, the Electoral Commission reports that were no cases at all which led to a conviction. Unlike Labour, the Liberal Democrats strenuously opposed this unnecessary measure which is likely to prevent some legitimate electors, particularly younger voters and those from minority groups, from voting. Please note that your polling card and your word will no longer be enough to get your ballot paper.
I wrote the article below over 3 years ago, in December 2019. Since then the Conservative controlled Distict Council has done nothing - except trim a few trees in the front that were close to the road.
The theme for this year's Holocaust Memorial Day is "ordinary people". Hidden in these simple words is a universal truth that 'ordinary people', when fed denigrating, demeaning words and images of 'other' people, can become inhuman in their behaviour towards them. Words have consequences when they distort and dehumanise other races, groups, religions or creeds.
Why is the country only belatedly becoming aware of Boris Johnson's tendency to weasel money out of distant relatives and cronies of the Conservative Party? Can it be that his own party is embarrassed by his sponging off others to support a lifestyle that he obviously cannot actually afford and yet clearly feels he is somehow entitled to?
This graphic from a Guardian article is both informative and profoundly depressing. It is clear that people are striking not from greed but from a sense of desperation. This government does not listen. Our nation is in a crisis that has been brewing for years. A series of wounds that have been festering through the intransigence and incompetence of this government have finally overwhelmed our ability to heal.