I wasn't the only member from Gateshead to attend conference. Steve Kelly (Ryton) and Jamie Rickelton (Saltwell) also attended. Jamie attends as a steward (he is pictured above). Steve was attending for the first time. Alas, I didn't get round to getting a photo of him in Bournemouth.
There seems to be some significant entertainment value in the Reform group on Northumberland County Council. The party is the official opposition to the ruling Conservative group on the council and is led by Councillor Mark Peart. It appears however that Reform councillors are revolting. They recently passed a vote of no confidence in Cllr Peart. That however was not the career-stopping vote that
Earlier this month I wrote a blog post about defections to Advance from Reform. The party set up by former Reform deputy leader Ben Habib is looking to be even more right wing than Reform. All was set for a big launch party in Newcastle on 27th September at a secret location. Alas for Advance, they are not advancing far, or indeed at all. Instead, their big launch has been cancelled for now. 
This is significant. Michael Heseltine once described Boris Johnson as: "a man who waits to see the way the crowd is running and then dashed in front and says 'Follow me'."
Reform has shed the following councillors so far: Donna Edmunds (Shropshire, suspended by Reform UK and then quit the party) Luke Shingler (Warwickshire, now an independent) Desmond Clarke (Nottinghamshire, resigned as councillor) Andrew Kilburn (Durham, resigned as a councillor) Wayne Titley (Staffordshire, resigned as a councillor) Mark Broadhurst (Doncaster, expelled by Reform) Adam Smith (West Northamptonshire, suspended by Reform and then expelled) John Bailey (Durham, resigned as a councillor) Daniel Taylor (Kent, suspended by Reform UK) Sam Booth (Doncaster, resigned as a councillor) Ed Hill (Devon, expelled by Reform) David Maclean (Isle of Wight, resigned as a councillor) Robert Bloom ...
Three podcasts to enjoy. Susan Calman and Mike Muncer have begun going through the Carry On films one by one. I listened to their edition on Carry On Sergeant, the very first of them. The makers had no idea they were launching a franchise and national institution, though several actors who were to become Carry On actors were in tha cast. It comes over as a gentle and likeable British film comedy. Camper Donovan spoke to the Agatha Christie International Festival in Torquay last week and that talk is now an edition of his podcast All About Agatha. His subject ...
Watch our Science and Technology spokesperson Victoria Collins address conference with subtitles. Enjoy.
Here is Alex Cole-Hamilton's speech to Lib Dem Conference with subtitles: Enjoy.
Here is Ed Davey's speech to Lib Dem Conference in Bournemouth for anyone who hasn't seen the whole thing, whether they were busy at work or at Not the Leader's Speech. https://youtu.be/ZzB2uumO568?si=bk39gBAGQGh0qFoi Enjoy!
Here is Ed Davey's closing speech to the Autumn 2025 Lib Dem Federal Conference: What a time we've had here in Bournemouth. Lots of lively debates - on so many important topics. And somehow we've managed to get through it all without bringing someone up onto the stage to argue that it was Covid vaccines that caused cancer in the Royal Family. See, Nigel? It can be done! Friends, when we were last here in Bournemouth - two years ago - I challenged us to get more Liberal Democrats elected to Parliament. And you rose to that challenge. Thank you. ...
During her last weeks, I played my mother music on my phone. and she surprised me a couple of times by asking for Wuthering Heights bu Kate Bush. The other LP I played to death while I was in the sixth form, besides Bush's The Kick Inside, was Songs from the Wood, but sadly my mother never asked for anything by Jethro Tull.
Please see notice below regarding a temporary closure of the library from tomorrow for the rest of this week for maintenance work reasons :
The Guardian reports that Gatwick airport's £2.2bn second runway plan has been given the go-ahead by the transport secretary, Heidi Alexander. The paper says that with the privately financed project, the West Sussex hub is aiming to increase its capacity by 100,000 flights a year: Alexander backed the scheme as a "no-brainer" for economic growth, a government source said on Sunday, suggesting flights could take off from the new full runway by 2029. The cabinet minister is satisfied with adjustments made, covering issues such as noise mitigation and the proportion of passengers who would travel to and from the airport ...
