A bit of variety from all the stories of Reform UK shedding councillors as this time it is a story about Reform having too many council candidates. The election for two councillors in Higham Ferrers ward, North Northamptonshire was scheduled for the start of May. But it got postponed due to the death of a Liberal Democrat candidate, John Ratcliffe. The new contest, with a new set of nominations, will be on 12 June. The official list of candidates from the council is now out with other parties putting up one or two candidates. But Reform UK? They nominated four ...
Lib Dems say shocking hospital wait stats should "shake us to our core" GDP: Govt must now use UK-EU summit to boost growth Sneaky Kemi needs to "take head out of the sand" on EU Lib Dems move to quash sell-out law allowing foreign stakes in UK newspapers Cole-Hamilton to First Minister: SNP have failed social care and NHS Lib Dems say shocking hospital wait stats should "shake us to our core" Responding to the Royal College of Emergency Medicine estimating that there were more than 16,600 deaths of patients linked to long waits in A&E for hospital beds last ...
Another councillor elected in May with Reform UK next to their name on the ballot paper is now no longer a Reform UK councillor: Wayne Titley. As Staffordshire County Council reports: A by-election is to be held in the Eccleshall & Gnosall ward of Staffordshire County Council following the resignation of a councillor. Wayne Titley from the Reform UK party has decided to step down for personal reasons. Details of the by-election will be confirmed in due course. The BBC adds: He attracted criticism for a post on his Facebook account in March that called on the navy to intercept ...
Councillor Dylan Tippetts (left) with Stuart Bonar, Chair of Plymouth Liberal Democrats Plymouth City Council has been without a Lib Dem councillor for over 20 years – until this week, when Councillor Dylan Tippetts joined the Lib Dems. When he resigned from Labour last Friday Dylan stated that the party "has thrown transgender people under the bus and has taken us back decades." The Guardian has the story here: Labour 'throwing trans people under the bus', says transgender councillor. Dylan said: I first got into politics to give people a voice who may not otherwise have one. For me, that ...
This blog just celebrated its 16th birthday. Its mainly concerned itself with raging into the void about politics and a little bit about pop culture...remember when Dr Who was good? Today is a very rare personal post. I've taken a day trip from Hull for a funeral where I grew up so i'm in a very reflective mood as I ride the train back to Hull. One of the things i've always felt blessed by is that I have had a very tight knit group of friends since I was very young. The more I speak with people the more ...
I am concerned about the persistent and systemic challenges faced by African nationals in obtaining visas to enter the United Kingdom. Despite longstanding diplomatic and trade relations between the UK and numerous African countries, the visa application process for African citizens remains disproportionately complex, opaque, and frequently unsuccessful, particularly for those travelling for business, academic, or cultural exchange purposes. African applicants must navigate a rigorous and often burdensome visa application system. This includes submitting extensive documentation, providing certified translations of any non-English materials, proving financial solvency for the duration of their stay, and paying significant fees to the UK Home ...
I sent this letter to the Pride organisers yesterday. I was proud to be described as an LGBT+ ally some years ago at a Pride event - indeed I have been supporting LGBT issues all my adult life at both a personal and institutional level. I have also been proud of what my party, the Liberal Democrats, has achieved in this area – from opposing Section 28 to proposing the Alan Turing Law, bringing in equal marriage and championing trans rights. I was therefore deeply shocked and unhappy that political groups are being banned from Pride marches this year. In ...
This is the text of a speech I delivered at a demonstration in London on 11 May 2025 organised by 'We Democracy'. Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against the Israeli PM Netanyahu and the then defence minister Yoav Gallant. Among the many charges, one egregiously stood out: the war crime of starvation: already then, there were reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and his government have been 'intentionally using starvation of civilians in Gaza as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies'. ...
As a solo consultant, you'll get to know lots of people. And keeping track of who you know and how you know them is critical. Because you never know when you'll want to get in touch with that marketing person you met at that conference that time. Or to find someone who works in a particular organisation or in a particular sector. I used to manage my contacts by keeping them in my phone. It worked fairly well. And it all backed up to my cloud account, so it wasn't just tied to my phone and I could access the ...
Nigel Farage can congratulate himself. His party did well in recent local elections; but so did the Liberal Democrats and Reform's support may not last. What he can be especially pleased about is to have reduced the leaders of the Conservative and Labour parties to quivering jelly: terrified that their supporters will abandon them unless they are fed a diet of dog-whistle slogans and impractical but draconian-sounding immigration policies. The Conservatives' odd Soviet era obsession with planning targets for net immigration comfortably meets Einstein's definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. They ...
Pink News reports that Dylan Tippetts is now the newest Lib Dem councillor: A trans councillor who quit the Labour Party after accusing the party of "throwing trans people under the bus" has joined the Liberal Democrats, PinkNews can exclusively reveal. Dylan Tippetts, who is Plymouth's first out trans councillor and has represented the Compton ward on Plymouth City Council since 2022, will now sit as a Lib Dem councillor. Welcome, Dylan. You can follow Dylan on Instagram at @dylan4compton. Sign up to get the latest news and analysis "*" indicates required fields Email* Enter Email Confirm Email Name* First ...
Yet more from "Bridges not Borders." (see previous posts) "Immigration control, in the modern sense of the term is a relatively recent concept. Before the 1962 Commonwealth Immigration Act, people from places like Kenya and India could come freely to the UK. We rarely hear opponents of free movement arguing to curtail their own rights to move, live, work , study or travel where they please. Arguments for preventing free movement are always presented with the assumption that it's the movement of "others" that's being stopped. The current system of border controls is such that the accident of birth determines ...
We are holding a street surgery tonight to speak with residents on any local issues or concerns they may have. Should you have an issue you wish to discuss with us, e-mail us at westend@dundeelibdems.org.uk or call Dundee 459378 and we will be pleased to meet you - many thanks.
"Adults are going hungrier to keep children better fed. The most vulnerable - infants, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and others needing special diets - are already starving. The very poorest, those unable to call on better-off relatives, those cut off by military checkpoints, are already wasting away as their internal organs suffer irreparable damage."Alex de Waal on starvation in Gaza. Ben Jackson says the government must change direction on child poverty: "When governments are remembered after they lose office, their achievements are unforgivingly distilled into a few pithy bullet points. Does Keir Starmer really want one of his bullet points ...
It's all kickimg off over at Nigel Farage's place with furious former Reform MP Rupert Lowe accusing his ex-party leader of a "sinister" attempt to use the police to silence him. Nation Cymru reports that Farage's hope that the police would help to make his problems with Lowe go away was dashed when it was decided that no criminal charges will be brought against the Great Yarmouth MP. Lowe had been accused of making verbal threats against party chairman Zia Yusuf. The website say that the Crown Prosecution Service have found that there was not enough evidence to bring charges ...
