Another week starts here, and today marks the 165th anniversary of the first passenger train in India, which ran from Bori Bunder (now the site of Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, formerly Victoria Terminus) to Thane.
Closer to home, the Battle of Culloden was fought on this day in 1746, whilst in 1963, Martin Luther King penned his Letter from Birmingham Jail, whilst imprisoned in Birmingham, Alabama when campaigning against segregation.
For those of you who might be wondering, I’m at home in Suffolk today, which is a good link to our first item today, which comes from a near neighbour on the Suffolk Coast. And yes, whilst they don’t have elections this year, campaigning is well underway across the Districts in anticipation of 2019.
It was the Welsh Liberal Democrats Spring Conference over the weekend, and Party President Sal Brinton was there, rallying the troops. We publish her speech, so that you can keep up with the key messages.
I’ve been pretty useless lately in keeping up with events in the Lords, but this week sees the start of the Report Stage of the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, so there’s a review of some of the key amendments up for debate. Bear in mind that you can never tell how far through the business they’ll get, so any prediction is just that, a prediction.
The Brexit debate is, it seems to me, a pretty insular one on both sides, with little time taken to consider the impact it might have beyond these shores, so I’ve taken the opportunity to look at a different perspective, and I hope that you’ll find it interesting.
That’s it at the moment, although there’s still plenty of time if you have something that you’re burning to say. Remember, about 500 words, not published elsewhere…
So, let Monday begin, and the chips fall where they may. Mmmmm, chips…
* Mark Valladares is the Monday Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice.
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5 Comments
Brexit may be set to cause serious upheavals to global economies, but direct effects on Asia’s exports will be minor.
Brexit is likely to have limited direct impact on the Thai economy given the relatively little exposure it has to the British economy with the UK representing only 1.7 per cent of Thai exports, while Thailand accounts for 0.9 per cent of UK’s total imports.
@ Manfarang,
That sounds about right. However, there are corners of the world where the impact of Brexit is far greater, many of which are the very countries which Brexiteers are claiming will provide alternative and better markets for U.K. goods and services.
And perhaps, if we want to trade with them, we ought to develop a greater awareness of their issues and concerns…
Mark
Which countries? Do tell.
We had some interesting travels on Indian Railways in February. I was struck by the Rough Guide’s comment on the Mumbai Terminal (still known locally as “VT”): “it’s an extraordinary amalgam of domes, spires, Corinthian columns and minarets that was succinctly defined by journalist James Cameron as “Victorian-Gothic-Saracenic-Italianate-Oriental-St Pancras-Baroque””.
Gordon
Were you able to include a ride on the Darjeeling train?