"As much as I wish it weren't true, there is a fundamental difference that Starmer can't "bridge", no matter how noble his aims. It is this: the Europeans (including the UK) see Ukrainian security as European security. They are the same. The US (under the current leadership) views Ukraine as a transaction in which they favour the Russians over the Ukrainians." Lib Dem MP Mike Martin says its time for Keir Starmer to face the new reality and lead Europe into becoming a military power. Samantha Hancox-Li argues that "The constitutional settlement that once governed the United States has broken ...
Yesterday Jim Coupland offered us his election predictions. Here is his follow-up. Well, it's done. We've seen the overall results of the local elections and what a brilliant result for us Liberal Democrats! Congratulations to all the fantastic Liberal candidates and members for their hard work and success on the campaign. As I said in my prior prediction, Reform made massive gains, and we made considerable gains too. Conservatives are the biggest losers and the public's current view of the Labour government has been delivered... and they're not happy. Of course, these are only the local elections and the big ...
Lots of results to come in the May 2025 local elections, but regardless of how they do one thing will be true: that a huge number of people deserve sincere thanks for the work they have put into the Liberal Democrat campaigns: Polls have now closed.Thank you to everyone who has voted Liberal Democrat today.Thank you also to all our fantastic candidates up and down the country, and the thousands of members and volunteers who've joined us on the campaign trail.It's been a brilliant campaign. [IMG: 🔶] [IMG: 🗳] [IMG: 🧡] — Liberal Democrats (@libdems.org.uk) 2025-05-01T21:02:38.052Z
We have much to be pleased about. As I write Lib Dems have 327 County Council places, up 131 on the previous results in those seats. The big story, of course, is that Reform has gained 575 while the Conservatives have lost 566 and Labour lost 160. As hoped, the good news is that we have gained Oxfordshire with 36 seats out of 69, and Cambridgeshire with a knife-edge 31 seats out of 61. Congratulations to both teams! Late news: We also control Shropshire, with 39 seats and counting out of 74. Brilliant news! On top of that we are ...
People vote all sorts of ways in parliamentary by-elections for all sorts of reasons. But when the candidate has a majority of only six votes, the temptation to find a single cause is overwhelming. So let me try this theory on you: it was Tony Blair who won Runcorn and Helsby for Reform UK. It was clear at once that the by-election was going to be a close contest between Labour and Reform UK. And, sure enough, analysis of the result shows that the Conservative vote largely went to Reform and the Liberal Democrat vote largely went to Labour. The ...
Results have been relatively quiet overnight. And there is a hiatus this morning until the next wave of results start after lunch. Most Councils are counting today, which makes sense from a human resources standpoint but is rather frustrating for those of us who love the drama of election night. Some ward results are trickling in, but we will have to wait until this afternoon to see whether we have managed to take control of councils in those areas where we bucked the trend last summer and gained Westminster constituencies before winning the local council. Watch Devon, Oxfordshire and Shropshire, ...
Literacies Dundee has a superb team of adult learning workers offering support with reading, writing, numbers and computing. This includes : + dealing with official letters+ getting your point of view across+ using a mobile phone+ putting things down on paper+ searching for information+ tips on spelling+ online applications+ working out change or payments+ organising yourself for important meetings+ overcoming feelings of panic, stress or embarrassment+ coping with dyslexia+ helping with your children's homework+ getting online to access services or keep up to date with your claimant commitment ... so it is more than just reading, writing and numbers! The ...
According to the Democracy for sale website official data shows that UK government transparency has fallen to its lowest level since records began. The site says that Whitehall departments and government agencies responded in full to just 29% of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests in 2024 — down from 34% in 2023, which was itself a record low at the time: The Cabinet Office, which oversees FOI policy across government, responded in full to just a quarter of all "resolvable" requests. Six departments — including the Treasury and Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) — granted full responses to 25% ...
