I'm just breaking into our festive break to offer our congratulations to the four Lib Dems honoured by the King in the New Year's Honours. Tilly McAuliffe, the Party Treasurer with the job of bringing the money in, gets a CBE for parliamentary and political service. I first met Tilly at Autumn conference in Glasgow either 12 or 13 years ago. She is bright, engaging and she gets things done and I'm thrilled to see her work recognised. Peter Dunphy was a brilliant chair of the Federal Finance and Resources Committee when I was Scottish Party Treasurer. We worked together ...
Embed from Getty ImagesProfessor Hugh Macmillan had a letter published in yesterday's Guardian: Patrick Wintour begins his excellent article (Into the void: how Trump killed international law, 25 December) with a quotation from Antonio Gramsci: "The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born." This idea is frequently attributed to Gramsci but surely, as a critical sociologist, he must have been aware of Matthew Arnold's lines: "Wandering between two worlds, one dead / The other powerless to be born..." In 19th century Britain, cultural criticism was a recognised literary form and practically a profession. And Matthew ...
People deeply attached to politics in the UK (you) are well aware that we've been stuck in an identity politics play since 2014 when Brexit moved from fringe to the mainstream. This hasn't happened in isolation and populism in various forms has gone from insurgency to government in many countries across Europe. The mainstream media has reported this with alacrity, I remember the BBC making a Spanish general election all about the success of Vox, despite the fact they finished fifth (I don't recall a fifth placed party ever getting such coverage before). While the rise of the far right ...
Following the four Lib Dems honours in the King's Birthday Honours earlier this year, here are the Liberal Democrats spotted in the New Year Honours List for 2026: Peter Dunphy: "Common Councillor, City of London Corporation. For services to Amenity Conservation and to Volunteering" (MBE) Susan Goodchild: "Councillor, Central Bedfordshire Council. For services to Local Government and the community in Bedfordshire" (MBE) Tilly McAuliffe: "Treasurer, Liberal Democrats. For Parliamentary and Political Service" (CBE) Simon Taylor: "Volunteer, Liberal Democrats. For Political and Public Service" (OBE) As ever, do let me know if I have missed anyone, and apologies if I have. ...
As I was away for a few days before Christmas, my look at the by-election results from 18th December are somewhat late. So here they are.Greenlands (Blackpool)Another Reform gain from Labour, this contest was a bit unusual in that there had been a Reform candidate in the ward who got 6% last time. This time, Reform leapfrogged everyone from 4th to 1st place. Reform's share of the vote was
"By restricting jury trials, removing protest rights and expanding surveillance, Labour is entrenching an authoritarian legal infrastructure that a far-right government will not hesitate to exploit."Karl Hansen says Labour is building Farage's state for him. Phoebe Weston reports on the French ski resorts that are closing as the snow line in the Alps edges higher: "In France, there are today 113 ski lifts totalling nearly 40 miles (63km) in length that have been abandoned, nearly three-quarters of them in protected areas." Catherine Rampell says Trump is misusing Norman Rockwell's art to promote Gestapo tactics and nativist ideas: "The works have ...
Huge thanks to all my guests and listeners for my podcast, Never Mind The Bar Charts, through the last year. The most popular episodes this year were: In second place: Local elections 2025: the Lib Dem verdict with the Lib Dem Pod team. And topping the charts: Liberal trends, populist politics: who is going to win out? with podcast regular guest Rob Ford, who has a new book out. As well as being available in all the usual podcast feeds, the episodes also go up on YouTube, such as that Rob Ford one: Now, let's see what 2026 brings... Previous ...
The Guardian reports that survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire have called on the government to stop companies implicated in the disaster from receiving public contracts, after it was revealed several were still in receipt of multimillion-pound deals. The paper says that new analysis by Labour MP, Joe Powell found that at least 87 contracts across the public sector in the government's own database involve companies criticised in the phase 2 report into the Grenfell fire, published in September 2024, though some contracts may have since expired: Two large companies linked to the disaster - Saint-Gobain and Rydon Maintenance - ...
