It's 31st December - which means it's time for me to make a few predictions for the coming year. I've done this for the last 15 years so it feels like a tradition I have to continue. As always, it's interesting to look over last year's predictions. I predicted "a difficult time for Labour, much of it of their own making" and to "expect more of the same... poor communication, the absence of a coherent policy direction and a lack of coherent strategy in dealing with the media." I also forecast a tough 2025 for the Conservatives, commenting that "Kemi ...
Here is Lib Dem leader Ed Davey's New Year message: And here is the one from Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton: As the Scottish Parliament election draws ever closer, I sometimes think about that fateful night in November, when fans quite literally shook the earth with their belief in this country. A small earthquake was recorded when Kenny McLean scored that final miracle of a goal. Moments like that show you just how much Scotland has going for it. But right now, too many people feel like things aren't working. Their household bills are soaring, they're waiting too long ...
And not before time, you may very well think. BBC News reports: A film producer who lied about his income to secure a £519,000 loan has been jailed for more than three years. David Shipley, 37, admitted editing images of his payslips and P60 to "over-inflate" his income to obtain money, Southwark Crown Court heard. He is credited with producing the 2016 documentary film Brexit: The Movie, which promoted the UK's departure from the European Union. Judge Martin Griffith said his actions were "a blatant piece of dishonesty". Quite. And to be precise, he got three years and nine months ...
Many thanks to everyone who has been a reader in the last year, whether on the web, via my email lists Liberal Democrat Newswire The Week in Polls and A Lord's Eye View, or on social media. Your time, suggestions and feedback are all hugely appreciated, as is the very kind generosity of those who help with the costs of running all this. Thank you, one and all. May your health be good in 2026 and your life feature as much chocolate as you wish. May it also be free of political gaffes involving fictional harbours, your interviews be free ...
Yesterday we congratulated four Liberal Democrat members who had been given honours in the New Year list. Thanks to Mark Pack we can now add two further names. John Housley has been awarded the British Empire Medal in this year's New Year Honours List, in recognition of his services to the community in Chapeltown. He has served as Chairman of Ecclesfield Parish Council on three separate occasions over a long period of service as a councillor. David Lerner, an active member of Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel, has also been awarded the British Empire Medal for services to the Jewish ...
With most of the low-hanging fruit having been picked, canal "restoration" projects now tend to involve the digging miles of new route. The Derby Canal is no exception. This video illustrates plans the Derby and Sandiacre Canal Trust has had for years. They obtained planning permission for the scheme back in 2011, but funding it in the current economic climate will be a much greater challenge. Still, it would be great to see boats on the Derwent in the centre of Derby.
It's become a tradition of mine to pile up the books I've read each year for a once-a-year bookshelf filing binge. Which also means I can handily record in one photograph what I've read in the last year. Here's what 2025 brought: [IMG: Books read in 2025] The pile of books to be read in 2026 is already starting to pile up at the side. The slowest read was certainly that Gallup volume of poll data, full of extra bits and piece of information to help fill out my Pollbase records. I also finally got into reading books about road ...
In Aubrey de Grey's 2015 Paper Do we have genes that exist to hasten aging? New data, new arguments, but the answer is still no he puts forward a number of arguments as to why he believes aging to be other than programmed aging (PA). One of these argument is his "COA Cancelling out argument". I extract from the paper his reasons for this. STRONGER CHALLENGES TO PA A simple but remarkably
Scottish Lib Dem Leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has issued his New Year message ahead of the vital Scottish Parliament elections in May: As the Scottish Parliament election draws ever closer, I sometimes think about that fateful night in November, when fans quite literally shook the earth with their belief in this country. A small earthquake was recorded when Kenny McLean scored that final miracle of a goal. Moments like that show you just how much Scotland has going for it. But right now, too many people feel like things aren't working. Their household bills are soaring, they're waiting too long to ...
The BBC reports that the Secretary of State for Wales has said she will not apologise over plans to fund town centre improvements without involving the Welsh government. The broadcaster says that Jo Stevens spoke after Labour Senedd member Alun Davies said ministers in Cardiff were being "humiliated" by the UK government's stance on devolution: Davies was one of 11 Labour backbenchers in Cardiff Bay who signed a letter attacking how funding for the Pride in Place scheme was going directly to local councils, bypassing Welsh ministers. But Stevens said "my job is to make sure that we get more ...
