Before Yes Minister made him famous in 1980, Nigel Hawthorne served a long apprenticeship in the acting profession. But I had not grasped till recently just how long that apprenticeship had been. If you click on the arrow above, you will see him in a scene from Going Straight, the short-lived sitcom that followed Norman Stanley Fletcher after his release from the Slade Prison of Porridge. That scene dates from 1978, but he had a bit part in an episode of Dad's Army as early as 1969. I recall a story that someone had gone to David Croft on Hawthorne's ...
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) 16% (nc) 11% (nc) 20% (nc) 26% (+1) -10% (4th, vs Ref) 15/4 GB ...
There were two principal council by-elections this week, both of which had a Liberal Democrat candidate on the ballot. Northumberland Council, Cramlington South West The Conservatives have gained the seat of Cramlington South West from Reform UK, who only won it themselves in last year's local elections. But the incumbent councillor had to step down owing to illness. The seat was newly created in 2025. Generally, the Conservatives tend to do quite well in Cramlington, though in this specific seat they finished third behind Reform and Labour last year, while the Liberal Democrats did not put forward a candidate. This ...
It is rare that a podcast will make me immediately stop what I am doing. However, this was the case last summer, when the brilliant 'Since Churchill and Attlee' podcast highlighted a study from The Bible Society called 'The Quiet Revival'. The report claimed to show that 16% of 18-24 year olds surveyed (by YouGov) in 2024 were Christian and went to church at least once a month, rising from 4% in 2018. This survey result was not just extraordinary, but frankly, unbelievable. As I read the Bible Society report for myself and googled the coverage surrounding it, I realised ...
Things are worse than the judges thought. Our Headline of the Day Award goes to the Suffolk pages of BBC News.
Bee Boileau, Lucas Conwell ans Peter Levell find that Help to Buy schemes don't help the people who most need it: "The affordability gains from the equity loan schemes were concentrated among higher-income individuals. Since these individuals would normally be expected to be able to save for a minimum deposit quite quickly even without Help to Buy, it is likely that these schemes accelerated their first home purchase by a few years rather than making the difference between becoming a homeowner or not in the longer term." "Rebekah Pierre, deputy director of the charity Article 39, said ... posters advertising ...
We are at our best, as Liberal Democrats, when we have radical vision, challenge the status quo, AND have the plan to match. Too few people in positions of power truly realise just how deep the failing of the current economy goes. It does not work for too many people. But the question is not just what a new economy looks like, but how we unpick the old one and move forward. This article outlines how the Liberal Democrats could construct and communicate a plan for a Wellbeing Economy in the UK. You can find more detail on each of ...
Fri 17th
09:16
Labour is allowing a much needed and potentially innovative school to close in a deprived area of Li...
Following the announcement of the permanent closure of the LIPA junior school, I have asked the City Council's Director of Children's Services seven key questions about the build up to the closure and the future of the children. I am doing this because I believe that this is a much-needed facility in a part of the city which lacks the quality cultural infrastructure that is available to children who live in wealthier areas. The children of the Kensington, Toxteth, Granby and Vauxhall areas have as much right to access a good life via the arts as do children in wealthier ...
Two principal authority council by-elections this week, both Reform defences as councillors elected last May have stood down, part of a widespread trend of Reform shedding councillors. Here's what the voters decided: Cramlington South West (Northumberland) Council By-Election Result: [IMG: 🌳] CON: 34.2% (+9.0) [IMG: ➡] RFM: 26.1% (-13.3) [IMG: 🌹] LAB: 23.0% (-5.8) [IMG: 🌍] GRN: 14.3% (New) [IMG: 🙋] Ind: 1.6% (New) [IMG: 🔶] LDM: 0.9% (New)No SDP (-6.6) as previous.Conservative GAIN from Reform UK.Changes w/ 2025. — Election Maps UK (@electionmaps.uk) 2026-04-16T22:36:01.858Z These by-election results round-ups cover principal authority by-elections as it's only those for which comprehensive ...
The Independent reports that Wes Streeting has become the first senior cabinet minister to appear to suggest that increased defence spending could be found from welfare savings. The paper adds that the health secretary said that "the money has to come from somewhere" in a move interpreted as backing Labour's former defence secretary and ex-Nato secretary general George Robertson earlier this week, but has since issued a clarification denying that he specifically wants to slash benefits to fund defence.: However, they say that there is growing alarm at Sir Keir Starmer's failure to decide on the UK's defence spending, with ...