Regular readers will know that my great great grandmother's siblings Sandy Campbell and Johanna Campbell were both trusted servants to Queen Victoria at Balmoral. So I take a particular interest in the subject of this podcast. I remember reading a paper that pointed out that Conservative historians hotly denied that Victoria and John Brown were lovers, while left-wing historians sniggered at the idea. The author hoped they were lovers and it made Victoria happy. In this podcast Fern Riddell describes her researches and discoveries, which make you think that - maybe, just maybe - there was such a child. And ...
Fri 29th
18:33
Leicestershire Reform's cabinet member for children and families is a full-time student
Photo by Grant Davies on Unsplash Leicestershire. Northamptonshire. Nottinghamshire. The carousel of stories about East Midland Reform-run councils goes round and round, and the painted ponies go up and down. So it's back to Leicestershire and a reminder from the Leicester Mercury that Reform UK's cabinet member for children's and families' services, Charles Pugsley, is about to start the second year of a computer science degree at the University of Nottingham. Does Pugsley, who was 19 when he was appointed in May, have the time for both these roles? His Conservative predecessor in his cabinet position, Deborah Taylor, has her ...
This week, only one by-election had a Liberal Democrat candidate. The other saw the Conservatives attempting to defend their seat. In London, Councillor Janet Grauberg and the team secured an impressive victory on Camden Council, with an impressive 15% increase in vote share. Congratulations to everyone involved in the local team! Camden LBC, West Hampstead Liberal Democrats (Janet Grauberg): 1,176 (54.4%, +15.4) Labour: 458 (21.2%, -23.4) Conservative: 222 (10.3%, -6.3) Reform UK: 155 (7.2%, new) Green Party: 152 (7.0%, new) Liberal Democrats GAIN from Labour Turnout: 26.44% Here are the results of the by-election in Nottinghamshire, where there was no ...
And so to Spalding for the funeral of Vivien Berry, friend, mentor, supporter, and fellow Liberal Democrat... where I learnt the importance of standing, the handling of losing and the difficulties of being a lone Liberal voice... Vivien and Dick Berry, and their home 33 Halmergate was the location of my first schooling in Party politics. They welcomed me in, made me feel comfortable and made sure I was heard and given space to speak. Over the years I went back, as my political career developed, I kept them informed and they loved hearing about my working with Paddy Ashdown, ...
I came of "political age" in 1997: a politics-mad 17 year old, I won my sixth form's mock election (for the Lib Dems obviously) and marvelled at the idea I was now living under a Government which wasn't Conservative. That year, Labour swept to power on a wave of optimism. But very quickly, politics became about message discipline, media management, and "lines to take." Ministers stuck rigidly to scripts, ducked difficult questions, and avoided risk at all costs. At first it looked professional; soon it looked fake. That culture of spin eroded public trust and, I believe, has left politics ...
Fri 29th
11:39Labour is carrying out a massive local government reorganisation without any evidence it will work
Angela Rayner told the Commons in June that: "Local government reorganisation will lead to better outcomes for residents and save a significant amount of money that can be reinvested in public services and improve accountability." But a story on BBC News reveals that the government has undertaken no analysis to back up these claims. Instead, it has relied upon a 2020 report commissioned by the County Council Network (CCN) that claimed £2.9bn could be saved over five years. But then the CCN was never going to come out in favour of smaller councils. And this BBC story seems to be ...
The Young Liberals and Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine released this statement following a debate on Gaza at the Young Liberals' Conference last week. Young Liberals set new a party precedent by calling out "Genocidal" Israeli activity in Gaza, and urge the UK government to take urgent steps to promote a just and lasting resolution. Cambridge, 22nd August 2025 – At their Summer Conference 2025, the Young Liberals overwhelmingly passed a motion calling on the UK government to take urgent and concrete steps to confront Israel's genocide in Gaza, end the illegal occupation of Palestinian territories, and support a just, ...
The Independent wins our Headline of the Day Award for this story from France.
When I think about the state of healthcare in this country, I sometimes describe myself as both a dreamer and a realist. I'm a dreamer because I can imagine an NHS that works again, one that feels close to the founding vision of 1948. But I'm also a realist because I know that change won't come from wishful thinking it will come from practical, common-sense decisions about where we spend money, how we organise services, and who we put first. Right now, the NHS is struggling not just because of limited funding, but because we don't use the money we ...
So, the starting gun has been fired, and the process of gathering nominations is underway in earnest. As far as I can tell, we have three candidates plus a potential fourth, so it's probably fair to start considering them in terms of potential pluses and minuses. Josh Babarinde An MP is not necessarily the best person to be Party President. They have a responsibility to their constituency electorate, although there's nothing to say that they can't juggle the two competing roles. There will be those who wonder why Josh is doing it, given that of the four MPs who have ...
Our local community policing team will be holding "Coffee with a Cop" at Blackness Library between 3pm and 5pm today. All residents are welcome to come along to have a chat, seek advice or ask any questions. No appointment needed.
Further to my little rant about Nigel Farage and his fan club, there is a more considered response to Reform's proposals on immigration from Jack Dart of Reform Watch, He writes: Nigel Farage wants you to believe that Reform UK can round up and deport up to 600,000 people within the lifetime of a single Parliament. It cannot. This is not a serious policy. It is an unworkable plan built on political theatre, not reality. Reform claims it can create secure facilities to hold 24,000 people every month for deportation, equal to 288,000 removals a year. That would require building ...
Two principal authority council by-elections this week, including one in Keir Starmer's own Camden backyard. That contest was for West Hampstead ward, in the constituency of his controversy-hit fellow Labour MP Tulip Siddiq. It's another polling day! — Mark Pack (@markpackuk.bsky.social) 2025-08-28T09:48:13.717Z In this contest, there was no Lib Dem, as with five of the six previous contests in the ward. For what all this means for the running total of council by-election results since the last May elections, see my council by-elections scorecard here. These by-election results round-ups cover principal authority by-elections as it's only those for which comprehensive ...
