Number of serious childbirth injuries spikes by over a fifth Lib Dems winners of by-elections Super Thursday, sweeping the board in once true blue Surrey as Conservative council tries to delay elections again Farron: No Govt change on family farm tax is a "kick in the teeth" to farmers Chamberlain to set out plans to tackle violence against women and girls Number of serious childbirth injuries spikes by over a fifth The number of third and fourth degree perineal tears following child birth has spiked dramatically since 2021 with the injuries now affecting almost 3% of all births. The data ...
My memory of the Eighties is that Peter Wright was seen as being obsessive about Soviet infiltration of British intelligence. But didn't Karla arrange things to make Control look like that? And in this programme from 1984 Wright cuts an impressive figure. No Percy Alleline he. Let's end with a couple of pieces of trivia. Malcolm Turnbull, the future Australian prime minister, who embarrassed the British government in court while fighting to allow Wright to publish his memoirs, is related to both Angela Lansbury and Oliver Postgate. And Roger Hollis, whether he was a spy or not, was the father ...
The National Trust is taking on the running of the 10 museums in the Ironbridge Gorge, with the help of a £9m government grant, reports BBC News. At present they are run by the Ironbridge Gorge Museums Trust, which was set up in 1967. The National Trust is also assuming responsibility for the upkeep of 35 listed buildings and scheduled monuments, including Blists Hill Victorian Town, the Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron and the Old Furnace. When I visited Ironbridge back in 2011, I didn't bother with any maps or guide books, I just set out for a stroll along the ...
Welcome to my summary of the latest national voting intention polls for the next general election, along with the latest MRP projections and party leadership ratings. If you'd like to find out more about how polls work, how reliable they are and how to make sense of them, check out my book, Polling UnPacked: the History, Uses and Abuses of Political Opinion Polls, or sign up for my weekly email, The Week in Polls: General election voting intention polls PollsterConLabLDGrnRefLab leadFieldwork Find Out Now 17% (nc) 15% (-2) 12% (nc) 15% (nc) 32% (nc) -17% (vs Ref) 15/10 GB YouGov ...
A big Liberal England "well done" to Cardiff Council, which is to to become the first local authority in Britain to require large vehicles to pay more for parking. The Guardian reports: Councillors voted on Thursday to approve a new parking plan for the city whereby owners of larger vehicles will be charged more for parking permits because their cars "take up more parking space and are a danger to other road users". The plan states that vehicles that weigh more than 2,400kg fully laden will be subject to a surcharge "to encourage drivers to switch to smaller vehicles"; this ...
[IMG: 4 parallel white vertical lines on orange background ALDC logo] This week saw ten local by-elections across the country, with there being a Liberal Democrat candidate in all of these. We start in Preston, where a close-fought contest emerged between us and Reform UK. We were able to gain this seat from Labour, whose vote share collapsed by over half. Congratulations to Councillor Ronan Hodgson and the local Liberal Democrat team for winning this seat off Labour! Preston City Council, Ashton Liberal Democrats (Ronan Hodgson): 659 (35.5%, +14.0) Reform UK: 548 (29.5%, New) Labour: 429 (23.1%, -35.7) Independent (Cowell): ...
This week, tributes to Ming Campbell were made in Parliament. We always knew how well respected he was across the political spectrum and it was quite emotional to see his wisdom and kindness universally recognised. I wish to add my words of tribute to my friend, Ming Campbell. He had an impact on me long before I met him. The first general election I was active in was 1987. No offence to any other Liberal MP at the time—none of them are present here—but I was very impressed with Ming Campbell. He struck me as not being like other Liberal ...
Fri 17th
11:55
Climate change is here: coral reefs are dying - but ecological economics provides an answer
According to the Global Tipping Points Report published by the University of Exeter and other partners, "The world has entered a new reality. Global warming will soon exceed 1.5°C. [...] where multiple climate tipping points pose catastrophic risks to billions of people." Most tragically, "warm-water coral reefs are crossing their thermal tipping point and experiencing unprecedented dieback, threatening the livelihoods of hundreds of millions who depend on them." This is a betrayal of a generation, and the product of systemic political failure. A failure to recognise the climate crisis for what it is - an urgent crisis with serious, long-lasting ...
I'll be there!
There was a sizeable bag of by-elections yesterday to pick through. The overall pattern was one of creditable Lib Dem performance, a flash in the Tory pan, Labour's continued collapse and a rare reform victory against the Lib Dems.So let's start with the Lib Dem good news stories. We made gains in Preston from Labour, in Surrey from the Conservatives, again in Surrey from RGV (presumably a local
This week, tributes to Ming Campbell were made in Parliament. We always knew how well respected he was across the political spectrum and it was quite emotional to see his wisdom and kindness universally recognised. Here is Calum Miller's contribution: Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. It is an honour to follow the tributes of so many across the House. Ming Campbell was an inspiration to me and to many others who admired his integrity, courtesy and tenacity. I am lucky to have known Ming all my life, and I know how much his death will be felt ...
A bumper ten principal authority council by-elections this week and a bumper set of good news for the Liberal Democrats – with an important caveat. Preston has had much attention as an example of a pioneering Labour authority, getting positive coverage from the likes of The Guardian. But the reality on the ground is rather different and this week served up a Lib Dem gain from Labour: Ashton (Preston) Council By-Election Result: [IMG: 🔶] LDM: 37.3% (+15.8) [IMG: âž¡] RFM: 25.9% (New) [IMG: 🌹] LAB: 24.3% (-34.6) [IMG: 🙋] Ind: 5.7% (New) [IMG: 🌳] CON: 3.5% (-16.3) [IMG: 🙋] Ind: ...
What should our democracy do when a very rich man encourages violence on our streets? That's the question that Britain faces today with Elon Musk's recent behaviour. Traditionally, this hasn't been a problem. While media tycoons like Rupert Murdoch had influence, they did not provoke criminality. They didn't call for violence on the streets. They didn't transfer cash to criminals. And their companies didn't openly flout the law. Today things have changed. A few weeks ago, Elon Musk spoke to a nationalist march in London calling for a dissolution of Parliament, and going on to say: My message is to ...
From Sheena Wellington of Friends of Wighton : Saturday 18th October from 11am to noon Wighton Heritage Centre, Central Library Cappuccino Concert with Woolverstone Woolverstone is an English alternative folk duo formed in late 2019. They are known for their cinematic songwriting and harmony-rich sound. Admission £5; tea/coffee available for donation - all welcome!
