[IMG: Caroline Pidgeon] ... but not as Mayor of London – that will be Labour's Sadiq Khan, although it has yet to be announced officially. Instead she has won a seat on the London Assembly from the party list. Sadly she will be our only Assembly Member. The constituency seats have been shared between Labour (9) and Conservatives (5). The final result for the London Assembly, including the seats allocated from the party lists, is: Labour – 12 Conservative – 8 Green – 2 UKIP – 2 Lib Dems – 1 The names of all 25 Assembly members can be ...
I was in the Langtons this afternoon, so I visited the grave of my hero J.W. Logan. You can find it in the churchyard at St Peter's, Church Langton. His son Hugh, who died from pneumonia in a casualty clearing station in Belgium in 1919, is remembered on the war memorial there. Note that, like many such memorials, it gives the dates of the First World War as 1914-19. This is because an Allied expeditionary force intervened on the anti-Bolshevik side in the Russian Civil War.
Embed from Getty Images One of the features of yesterday's local elections in England was that Labour managed to hold on to what the Telegraph calls "key southern outposts like Exeter, Southampton, Crawley and Slough". Earlier today I heard someone on radio or the television suggest that this was because Jeremy Corbyn's views go down better with university-educated Southern voters than they do with more traditional working-class voters. And I thought of the Richmond and Barnes constituency in the 1983 general election. This was a knife-edge contest between the Conservatives and the Liberal Party (or Liberal Alliance, as we called ...
Fri 6th
21:44
Hinstock warehouse collapse: Worker freed after more than nine hours under cheese and shelving
The Shropshire Star wins Headline of the Day. You will be pleased to know that Tomasz Wiszniewski has only minor injuries.
Former Manchester Withington MP John Leech has been elected as councillor for Didsbury ward. He will be the sole voice of opposition on Manchester City Council. John said: In 2005 I promised not to give up on the residents of Manchester Withington. I haven't and I'm not going to. I will continue to fight for south Manchester as I always have done. I'm not going anywhere. I couldn't be happier to be back on the council and back in a position to help local residents. Tim Farron said: John is one of the hardest working people I've ever known and ...
In advance of the Housing and Planning Bill coming back to be debated by MPs in the Commons I sent this letter to our two local MPs, Paul Scully & Tom Brake: THE HOUSING AND PLANNING BILL I am writing on behalf of the Sutton Liberal Democrat Group on Sutton Council and in my role [...]
We won Warley. Not only did we win Warley, but we won it with a stonking majority. We held Elland. Not only did we hold Elland, but Pat's majority is something to warm the cockles of any lib dem heart. We held G&S, despite the tories throwing everything they had at it, and despite the much beloved sitting lib dem councillor standing down. We lost Calder. We lost Janet. We lost Janet at least partly due to blatant lies from a Labour candidate I had previously believed to be honourable - no more. But: where we work we win... well, ...
If you had told me six months ago that we would retain 5 seats in the Scottish Parliament and win mainland constituency seats from the SNP, I'd have laughed in your face. It didn't seem possible when polls were giving us 3% and 4% in the polls. It's a testament to the bright, bold and ambitious campaign he's run. @timfarron saying congratulations to @agcolehamilton and @willie_rennie for GAINING constituency seats. pic.twitter.com/c5PxBsf53l — Lib Dem Press Office (@LibDemPress) May 6, 2016 * Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
Last night was a bad night for Labour on Sefton Council they lost 1 seat to the Tories and 3 to Independent Green Belt campaigners. But the Tories also lost a seat to the Lib Dems in Southport where all 7 Council seats that were up for grabs in the Southport Parliamentary Constituency were won by Lib Dem candidates. The last time Liberals won all 7 seat in Southport was 1856! Lib Dems take all 7 Council seats up for election in Southport [IMG: Southport's victorious Lib Dem Team - Photo credit Jamie Lopez] Southport's victorious Lib Dem Team – ...
Today I met with two teaching assistants who had been summoned before their head teachers to be given a dressing down for having the temerity to oppose proposals to cut their pay by a minimum of 10%. On both occasions the summons had resulted from pressure exerted from County Hall where, apparently, some councillors have been irritated by the emails they have been receiving. According to the two teaching assistants, no suggestion was made that they had the right to have a union representative with them, nor was there any suggestion that governors were aware of the pressure being exerted. ...
Embed from Getty Images This morning I covered how Gloucestershire police launching fraud investigation into Tories. Now there's more: UPDATE At least EIGHT police forces are actively investigating Conservative election expenses from the 2015 General Election — Daniel Sandford (@BBCDanielS) May 6, 2016 All of which makes it rather surprising that when political pundits speculate about the future – such as Jeremy Corbyn's odds of being Labour leader for the 2020 general election – they are, so far, almost never mentioning the possibility of legal action resulting in the Tories losing their Parliamentary majority. Interested in more stories about how ...
[IMG: Kirsty Williams] Kirsty Williams has announced that she is standing down as Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, following the bruising results in the Assembly election. She explained here: I can't tell you how much of a privilege it has been to serve this party as leader over the last eight years, but with that privilege comes responsibility. Despite our best efforts, and a positive campaign, it has not been enough. And for that, I must take responsibility. In these new circumstances, the party will want to reflect and consider the way forward and that will require new leadership. ...
Second paragraph of third chapter: Smoke and chemical fumes belched from the shattered glass windows. Occasionally another pane gave up the ghost; a brief burst of light colored the sky, and fractured crystal rained into the streets below. Sequel to Streetlethal, which I read earlier this year. I liked it better - a bit more variety of scene and tone, while still restricted to a dystopian future California and points north; we explore genetic mutation and single-sex societies. It still didn't grab me particularly hard, and I don't think I shall seek out the third of the trilogy. This reached ...
The great news is that Ludford Bridge reopened at 4pm this afternoon, 6 May - a full week ahead of Shropshire Council's most recent predictions. Even better news, is that this is a first class repair expertly supervised by mason Paul Arrowsmith. The stonework does look rather new, pretty much as the bridge might have... Continue reading Ludford Bridge reopens - be prepared for the shock of the new →
Fri 6th
17:08
++BBC: At least EIGHT police forces are actively investigating Conservative election expenses from t...
BBC News' Home Affairs correspondent, Daniel Sandford reports: Eight police forces are investigating whether Conservative MPs filed election expenses illegally after the 2015 General Election, the BBC understands. The allegations centre around failing to register the accommodation costs of party activists who were involved in the "battle bus" operation. The party has blamed an "administrative error". A Conservative spokesman said the party had already brought the error to the attention of the Electoral Commission. The activists on the party's battle bus targeted marginal seats. The police probe will ascertain whether the expenses for the people using the bus should have ...
Sadiq Khan's victory as London Mayor seems inevitable. London Mayoralty, provisional result so far: Khan: 44% Goldsmith: 35% Berry: 6% Pidgeon: 5% Whittle: 4% Walker: 2% (96.6% verified) — Britain Elects (@britainelects) May 6, 2016 Four of the constituencies have declared so far, with two electing a Conservative Assembly member and two Labour. Update: make that three Conservative and four Labour. Our eyes are still on the London-wide lists, and here Green, UKIP and Lib Dems are in competition for the last six or seven places. It now looks likely that we will get two, as last time. * Mary ...
[IMG: IMAG0652] Sometime around 4am on Friday morning, I was declared elected as a councillor for Castle Ward, and not only that I'd got the most votes of all twelve candidates and topped the poll. You can see the full results by clicking here (pdf file). Sadly, my colleagues Bill Frame and Jo Hayes weren't also elected, with two Conservatives filling second and third places. I'll write more over the weekend when I've had some more sleep and returned to something that feels more normal, but for now I just wanted to thank everyone in Castle Ward who voted for ...
Embed from Getty Images The BBC reports that the government have climbed down over enforced academisation. What they are now proposing seems to be what they were doing before this crazy scheme was mooted. They've sneaked out this "trash" on a busy Friday afternoon hoping no-one will notice. The mystery is why the Tories came up with this obviously ludicrous, yap-yap barking mad nonsense in the first place. Did they lose completely their minds? It is a clear example of top-down lunacy. * Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist in Newbury and West Berkshire. He is part of the ...
The Scottish Liberal Democrats are celebrating today after two stunning gains in the constituency section of the Holyrood parliamentary elections last night. The night started well with strong holds for Liam Macarthur MSP in Orkney and Tavish Scott MSP in Shetland, both of whom enjoyed a large swing away from the SNP despite pre-poll predictions [...]
[IMG: Watford march action day] The @libdems have GAINED Watford council. A brilliant result and testament to @MayorDorothy and the team. — Tim Farron (@timfarron) May 6, 2016 The final result from Watford today – 25 LD, 11 Lab, 0 Con. Lib Dems gain 7, Conservatives wiped out. #WinningHere — Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) May 6, 2016 * Newshound: bringing you the best Lib Dem commentary published in print or online.
When I started publishing on my own account at the end of last year, I don't think I realised how satisfying it would be to publish other people. This, is of course, a symptom of a writer's self-obsession. I was explaining to an old friend of mine what I was doing and, quick as a flash, she said she had a novel I could publish, if I wanted. Did I want to read it? I suppose the slightly flippant way I was introduced to the idea rather blind-sided me about what I was about to encounter. The truth is that ...
The level crossing at Bebside will be closed from 10pm Sunday (8th May) until 6am Monday (9th May) By keeping to these times disruption will be kept to a minimum, but traffic wanting access to Horton Lane, Heather Lea etc will have to be via Bebside Road and Horton Road ( aka the long way round) I'm not sure if the X8 route runs within the 8 hour period, but if so it will be re-routed
Hooray. A new sidebar menu is coming to the Connect database used by Liberal Democrats: With Sidebar, users have a simple way to access our most-used features from every single page without having to return to Main Menu. Sidebar can save everyone valuable time and our power users will love the search functionality. [IMG: Lib Dem Connect dashbaord]
Embed from Getty Images The interim figures for the London elections are being declared throughout the day on London Elects. Counting is being carried out electronically. In the contest for Mayor of London around 50% of the votes have been counted and verified. Progress in counting is being revealed in each of the large Assembly constituencies. The bar chart (which tantalisingly does not show the percentages – where did they get that idea from?) indicates that Sadiq Khan is substantially ahead of Zac Goldsmith on first preferences at the moment. Caroline Pidgeon is lying fourth just behind the Greens, but ...
[IMG: PCC Election details]
Whilst I was catching a few hours sleep – I find 24 hours with no sleep is pretty much my limit – the results were declared for all but one of the regional lists. Sadly we lost out, mainly to UKIP, in four of the regions and our hopes were pinned on Eluned Parrott gaining a seat in South Wales Central. But once again we came fourth behind UKIP and missed out. So the final position is that we only have one Welsh AM, Kirsty Williams, who bucked the trend, got 52% of the vote and increased her majority in ...
Liberal Democrat councillor Barbara Johnson has tweeted the news that the Hammond Arboretum at the Robert Smyth Academy, Burnmill Road, Market Harborough, is open to the public on Sunday. It will be open between 2 and 4.30pm - adults £4, children free. The tree expert, Owen Johnson, has described the collection there as being of national importance. I visited it and blogged about it back in 2009: When I heard that the Hammond Arboretum was going to be open to the public last Sunday I was keen to visit it. Because the last time I went there I got sent ...
The votes in yesterday's election for the Northern Ireland Assembly are being counted today and tomorrow. (Elections here use the Single Transferable Vote, because unlike in England, they have to be fair.) I've already done one stint in radio studios for Good Morning Ulster, with presenters Conor Bradford and Julie McCullough, and Father Alan McGuckian gathering inner strength for his Thought For The Day: If you want to, you can hear me at 0750 here, and then saying much the same to BBC Radio Foyle at 0820 here. (I believe that radio can be listened to anywhere in the world.) ...
Has the worm turned in Sefton Central? For years Labour has trained it's voters to vote on national issues and to pretty much ignore local matters and for years it has worked. But in May 2016 things changed and voters started to look at local issues which did Labour no favours at all. Labour had a terrible secret and it has certainly been outed. Well it was no secret really but voters attention turned to it; just what Labour did not want them to do. The issue – THE GREEN BELT – which Labour said they would defend but then ...
Unsworth 2016 local election ward results: Tony Clough UKIP 411 Nicole Haydock Green 66 David Jones Labour 1365 (elected) Steve Middleton Liberal Democrats 114 Bernard Vincent Conservative 885 Turnout 40% Thank you to everyone who voted for me. Your support is very much appreciated. Overall: Labour lost 3 seats (2 to Conservatives, 1 to Lib Dems) and gained 1 Conservatives gained 3 seats (2 from Labour, 1 from Independent) Lib Dems gained 1 seat (from Labour) Greens lost their only seat A few notes from the results: Labour only held St. Marys (Prestwich) by 19 votes The Conservatives took Ramsbottom ...
More comedy genius from The Capitol Steps: After the Democrats' debate in Brooklyn turned into a screaming match, the candidates agreed on a new format for their next debate.
Fri 6th
10:42Tim Farron on last night's results: "When we get knocked down, we refuse to get knocked out"
[IMG: Tim Farron's q and a at Newcastle Uni] Tim Farron has just sent the following email to party members: 12 months ago we suffered the worst defeat in our party's history, yet in this election we have shown that when we get knocked down, we refuse to get knocked out. I'm incredibly proud of all our candidates and grateful for their hard work and the commitment. We are starting to see the result of our hard work and determination, and recognition of an unwavering commitment to the communities we wish to represent. These elections are starting to show that ...
I'm writing this the morning after a reasonably confusing set of local election results (I'll leave it to others to unpick those) but what really caught my eye was the following comparison: PCC elections (Cornwall) Eligible electorate 409,571 Votes verified 76,635 Turnout 18.71% St Ives Referendum Eligible electorate 7,300 Votes verified 3,696 Yes votes 3,075 (83.2%) [...]
A superficial look at the Scottish Parliamentary election results would suggest that Scotland has divided along Nationalist and Unionist lines. Two unexpected and impressive victories by Willie Rennie in North East Fife and Alex Cole-Hamilton in Edinburgh Western have made us harder to dislodge and re-established a core for our party. It is tempting not just to attribute that to the marshalling of a tactical Unionist vote but to act accordingly. This should not be a reason now to be cautious: to justify Unionist opposition for opposition's sake. The fact that the SNP have failed to win a majority offers ...
[IMG: Always say "Thank You" - win or lose] Whether you won or lost, or just helped out, there is one vital task immediately after the election is to say thank you to your helpers, deliverers and campaign colleagues. Use letters, cards, phone calls to people who helped in your election, don't forget paper candidates and people who helped on polling day. Hold a [...]
Another step in the story of the Conservative general election constituency expense returns: Gloucestershire Police have launched investigation into allegation of electoral fraud relating to 2015 general election #electionexpenses — Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) May 5, 2016 The Western Daily Press adds: The force would not be drawn on which constituency or constituencies the allegation may refer to or even which party, but it is understood to be related to the ongoing claims of a scandal involving the way the Conservatives accounted for the travels of its 'battle bus' to specific constituencies in Gloucestershire... In Gloucestershire, the county's only constituency ...
You can read all the articles that have caught my attention this week here: https://delicious.com/stephentall Below are a selection... Sponsored: 64% off Code Black Drone with HD Camera Our #1 Best-Selling Drone–Meet the Dark Night of the Sky! They didn't win Bury* — Medium Fascinating glimpse of how gullible journalists can be, by Theo Bertram ?They didn't win Bury* http://bit.ly/1WLqVgx The moronic middle-class Sats warriors are entrenching class divisions | Coffee House I'm with Toby Young on this one: the anti-Sats brigade aren't remotely progressive. http://bit.ly/1UA4URP YouGov | Lessons from the Scottish referendum Looking at the EU ref thru the ...
We're a long way from knowing the full picture (we will by early tonight), but there a few things that are becoming clearer already regarding yesterday's elections. Let's start with Scotland. It looks as though just when you thought Scottish Labour couldn't fall any further, another negative milestone is reached. The Tories have beaten Labour for second place, replacing them as the official opposition, with seven more seats than their red rivals. While I flirted with predicting this, in the end I figured Scottish Labour would be able to hang onto at least this measure of dignity. This is a ...
Below are the brilliant results from Southport. Never before throughout the whole history of the borough have we won every seat. That goes back to the granting of the borough's charter in 1858! Lynne Thompson Liberal Democrats 1713 42% Elected Jamie Halsall Conservative Party 1149 28% Not elected Mhairi McLeod Johnstone Doyle The Labour Party 729 18% Not elected Duncan Browne United Kingdom Independence Party 394 10% Not elected Barbara Ann Dutton The Green Party 133 3% Not elected Birkdale - resultsElection CandidatePartyVotes% Richard Ronald Hands Liberal Democrats 1443 46% Elected Ged Wright The Labour Party 717 23% Not elected ...
There are already plenty of individual good news stories for the Lib Dems from the election results, including Mark Hunter making it another ex-MP who has returned as a councillor with a stonking majority, Alex Cole-Hamilton winning in Edinburgh Western (one of the 'seats to watch' from Liberal Democrat Newswire #74) and a remarkably strong council hold in Eastleigh. That's what you call a win. Well done Mark. @nwLibDems @LibDemsTeam2016 pic.twitter.com/ja9Vy3ZQ1M — Lord Goddard (Dave) (@davegoddardsk2) May 6, 2016 In the meantime, you can browse the previous editions online.
Thank you to everyone who supported Keith and the Lib Dems in the local election in Cheadle and Gatley. Here's the result (2015 figures in brackets for comparison). Keith Holloway – Lib Dem 2,037 – 42% (36%) Conservatives – 1536 – 31% (31%) Labour – 850 – 17% (20%) UKIP – 337 – 7% (8%) Greens – 144 – 3% (5%) Keith Holloway was re-elected with a majority of 501 over the Conservatives. Cheadle and Gatley has three Lib Dem councillors – Keith Holloway, Iain Roberts and Graham Greenhalgh. Can we also thank not only everyone who voted, but also ...
Mark Hunter took 60% of the vote in Cheadle Hulme South A year after the 2015 General Election the people of Cheadle constituency have had their first chance to give a verdict on our Conservative MP, Mary Robinson. Across the parliamentary constituency as a whole the Lib Dems got 38% of the vote with the Conservatives on just 31%, Labour on 13, UKIP 8 and the Greens 3. In Cheadle Hulme South ward, former MP Mark Hunter stood for the council against Stephen Robinson – an experienced councillor from South Ribble and Mary Robinson's husband. The Lib Dem share of ...
Politics can feel like a funny old business sometimes. On Thursday 5th May the Lib Dems won the most seats across Stockport, doing better than we have in several years, and yet Labour ended up as the largest party on the council. We had some thumping wins. Cheadle Hulme South – a close contest last year – was won this year by Mark Hunter with 60% of the vote. Stephen Robinson, our new MP's husband, got just 23%. The Conservatives were targeting Lib Dem seats and went into the election believing they could win at least five from us. In ...
Portsmouth News reports: THREE Liberal Democrat gains saw the party grow in Gosport. Now the party has nine councillors, after plucking two wards from the Conservatives and one from Labour. New councillors Dawn Kelly, Richard Earle and Angela Prickett were victorious as the Tory majority shrank. Lib Dem leader Peter Chegwyn said: 'I'm over the moon. 'It's a fantastic night for us.' * Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist in Newbury and West Berkshire. He is part of the Liberal Democrat Voice team and blogs at Liberal Burblings.
Eastleigh summary. Lib Dems win all 13 seats in Eastleigh constituency. New council 38 Lib Dem 6 Con. No gains or losses. Tory MP looks sick — Keith House (@CllrKeithHouse) May 6, 2016 * Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist in Newbury and West Berkshire. He is part of the Liberal Democrat Voice team and blogs at Liberal Burblings.
Well done to Gerald and the team! Portsmouth final council results Lib Dem 8 seats, Cons 4, Lab 2, UKIP zero. A really excellent result for the Lib Dems. — Gerald VernonJackson (@geraldvjuk) May 6, 2016 The full results are here. * Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist in Newbury and West Berkshire. He is part of the Liberal Democrat Voice team and blogs at Liberal Burblings.
Oddfellows in the Park is the new boutique hotel in the grounds of Bruntwood Park. It went through planning a while back, where a number of issues including parking were looked at. Their website is up and running. It gives a number of different opening dates on different parts of the site but rooms can be booked fro December 2nd 2016 onwards.
Brecon and Radnorshire LDEM: 52.4% (+9.3) CON: 25.4% (-7.9) LAB: 8.9% (-8.0) UKIP: 7.1% (+7.1) PLAID: 3.9% (+2.8) Kirsty Williams elected. — Britain Elects (@britainelects) May 6, 2016 And with a big majority of 8170. * Mary Reid is the Monday Editor on Lib Dem Voice.
Liberal Democrat GAIN Edinburgh Western from SNP. — Britain Elects (@britainelects) May 6, 2016 With a great result... Edinburgh Western: LDEM: 41.9% (+14.1) SNP: 34.4% (-1.4) CON: 14.3% (-0.8) LAB: 9.4% (-12.0) — Britain Elects (@britainelects) May 6, 2016 * Mary Reid is the Monday Editor on Lib Dem Voice.
I think this should say "Lib Dems or predecessor parties".... Lib Dems win every council seat in Southport for first time since 1858 — John Pugh MP (@johnpughmp) May 6, 2016 * Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist in Newbury and West Berkshire. He is part of the Liberal Democrat Voice team and blogs at Liberal Burblings.
Embed from Getty Images Hard on the heels of a stunning result in Orkney: (Shetland Islands) LDEM: 67.4% (+19.9) SNP: 23.1% (+11.0) LAB: 5.9% (-0.7) CON: 3.7% (+0.2) Lib Dem Hold. — Britain Elects (@britainelects) May 6, 2016 * Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist in Newbury and West Berkshire. He is part of the Liberal Democrat Voice team and blogs at Liberal Burblings.
Congratulations to Irene Davidson and the Rochdale #libdems team, who have gained Milnrow & Newhey ward from Labour. pic.twitter.com/72BGOSqG7U — ALDC (@ALDC) May 6, 2016 * Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist in Newbury and West Berkshire. He is part of the Liberal Democrat Voice team and blogs at Liberal Burblings.
Leo Madden gains Portsmouth's Nelson ward from Labour; Fratton and Baffins wards both held #libdems. pic.twitter.com/ACljou0TSN — ALDC (@ALDC) May 6, 2016 * Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist in Newbury and West Berkshire. He is part of the Liberal Democrat Voice team and blogs at Liberal Burblings.
