Arriving in York, I was reminded of what a wonderful city this is. To watch the beautiful Ouse meandering amidst some wonderful old buildings, is enough to raise anyone's spirits. On Friday evening, at the historic Mason's Arms, it was great to see old friends and enjoy marvellous food. Today, I did a tour of the exhibition hall and bought my customary LGBT+ badge, signed up for Liberal Democrats for Electoral Reform and supported Liberal Democrat Friends of Hong Kong. The "Driving Forward – Road to Access" debate was a reminder that, though we applaud walking, cycling and wheels, driving ...
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% (nc) 11% (+1) 21% (nc) 26% (-1) -11% (4th, vs Ref) 11/3 GB ...
Sometimes I am asked why I, as a Lib Dem councillor in Liverpool, do a lot of blogs about Trump and America. The answer is simple. What Trump's America does affects us all. Two examples. I have friends from Liverpool who went on a 'holiday of a lifetime to the far east who have spent the last ten days worrying about getting home and will arrive at least a week late because of the disruption to transfer. Have you bought any petrol lately? The lowering of pump prices seen at the start of the year has gone into reverse and ...
While the Lib Dem Voice team were having delicious food in the Mason's Arms last night, the loud and raucous Conference rally was taking place. The rally is like Glee Club and marmite and all these things you either love or don't. I'm more on the "don't" side because it just seems a bit like an American convention rather than a British Conference, but others love the fun and spirit and theatre of it. I always feel like you can watch things like this later, but the chance to spend time with friends is precious so that's what I tend ...
On 13th March 1915 Sir George Riddell recorded golfing and lunching with David Lloyd George (then Chancellor of the Exchequer) and Rufus Isaacs (Lord Reading, the Lord Chief Justice). Isaacs had spent the weekend at Walmer with the prime minister, H. H. Asquith, and told Riddell that Asquith's great responsibilities sat lightly on him "except for two hours dealing with business ... he barely mentioned the war". Riddell asked Lloyd George if he thought the war was being prosecuted with sufficient energy, and was Asquith too easy going. LlG replied "Things are very unsatisfactory in that respect. Winston [Churchill] said ...
Some local lithic goodness from the redoubtable Bob Trubshaw.
Greetings from my very comfy bed in York where I have spent most of my time since I arrived at lunchtime yesterday. I did manage to get out to make sure that the Mason's Arms had an adequate of supply of Black Cherry gin and catch up with Lib Dem Voice colleagues, with more of us in one place at any time since Bournemouth 2019. Mary Reid, Mark Valladares, Paul Walter, Charley Hasted and I are all around so do come and say hello. A Q and A from Ed Davey, speeches from MPs Anna Sabine and James MacCleary and ...
Not many people know that Gladstone once visited Swansea. I first discovered this in 1980 when my new history professor, Richard Shannon took up post in Swansea University. He had built his reputation on his studies of Gladstone, one of which can be found here. His inauguaral lecture, 'Mr Gladstone and Swansea 1887' delivered at the College on 18 November 1980, does not appear to be any longer in print. However, I have found this account of the visit: Gladstone visited south Wales in 1887 to draw attention to the support given for Irish Home Rule in Wales in an ...
There is a tendency among liberal-minded people to leave Twitter, saying they cannot justify being in such a toxic environment any more, it has become too right-wing, too Musky. Off to Bluesky, or for a brief time before that, Mastodon, they go. I'm on both, as well as Twitter. But I don't see me making either my primary venue for mumbling into the aether. Not only because some of the most interesting people are still on Twitter, but there is anothe rreason. I think it's a mistake to leave - and worse, I think it is playing into the hands ...
There were five principal council by-elections this week, of which all had a Liberal Democrat candidate on the ballot. Three council seats were being defended by us. We held this seat in the Cotswolds with a solid lead while the right‑of‑centre vote splintered, leaving Reform as the nearest challenger and the Conservatives slipping to third place. Congratulations are due to Councillor Paul Evans and the local Liberal Democrat team for ensuring that this seat remained Liberal Democrat. Cotswold District Council, The Beeches Liberal Democrats (Paul Evans): 390 (52.7%, -3.0) Reform UK: 168 (22.7%, new) Conservatives: 122 (16.5%, -17.9) Green: 53 ...
The threat of another energy crisis raises a simple question: did we actually learn the lessons from the last one? Russia's invasion of Ukraine triggered a surge in energy prices that drove household bills sharply higher. The shock had a profound impact on the UK economy and on household finances. Government support reportedly cost around £80 billion, and without emergency intervention typical household bills could have reached over £4,000 a year. Even now, prices remain more than a third higher than before the war. But the crisis was not just economic. It was also a public health issue. New NHS ...
A workplace duty of care exists in UK law for mental health. But it is not treated the same as physical health and safety by employers. That duty of care fails too many people. The Whole Person Mental Health motion and policy paper coming to the 2026 Lib Dem Spring Conference in York does not address this. The paper is full of great policy and has my support. There is a gap where mental health at work should be. But we have a great platform. I hope our party can keep building on this paper where the current government which ...
There is a deep fault line running through politics today. On one side are those who believe people should be empowered – free to learn, question, create and fulfil their potential. On the other are those who believe society functions best when people are compliant – guided from above and discouraged from asking too many questions. For Liberal Democrats, that divide goes to the heart of our philosophy. Our commitment to liberty, equality and democracy begins with a belief in people. Liberalism assumes that individuals, when given freedom, opportunity and a meaningful voice, are capable of shaping their own lives ...
Lord of the Flies was first filmed by Peter Brook in 1963. Gerald Fell, who died in 2021, was the editor of the film and also a sort of auxiliary cinematographer on the set. Here he talks about the making of the film.
When Liberal Democrats gather at conference, we often debate policy in terms of budgets, systems and reforms. But sometimes an issue comes before us that cuts far deeper than policy mechanics. The injustice faced by women born in the 1950s, or WASPI women, is one of those. This is not simply about pensions. It is about fairness, trust in government, and how we treat the generation of women who helped build the Britain we benefit from today. Millions of women born in the 1950s were affected by rapid increases to the State Pension Age. In some cases, their retirement age ...
As we gather in York for Spring conference, and the Middle East is in turmoil, we must not let the war with Iran and its proxies shift our focus away from the need to take concrete steps towards resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The policy motion on 'Trump and the wider world' rightly reiterates existing Liberal Democrat proposals adopted in conference motions 'The UK's Response to Trump' (Spring 2025) and 'The Israel-Gaza Conflict - an immediate bilateral ceasefire and securing two states' (Autumn 2024). Indeed, as far back as Autumn 2021, the party acknowledged 'that illegal settlements represent a breach of ...
The Independent reports that a parliamentary committee has warned that the BBC World Service is in danger of being supplanted by Russian and Chinese propaganda outlets on the global stage because of funding cuts and poor management. The paper says that the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has issued a scathing report into the state of the World Service, warning that Britain's soft power on the international stage is being put at risk over "poor decision making": While the service, which is funded jointly by the BBC licence fee and the Foreign Office (FCDO), provided in 43 languages across the world ...
The Liberal Democrat History Group are pleased to announce that the latest issue of the Journal of Liberal History (issue 129, winter 2025-26) has just been published. The Journal is published quarterly and can be purchased here or you can take out an annual subscription here. For those of you who are attending the spring conference, the Journal can be bought from the History Group stand in the exhibition area. You can also subscribe there too. The Journal was first published in 1993 as a newsletter. It has come a long way since then and is read by people from ...
I have a new article on Central Bylines this morning: People on the left tend to be uneasy about patriotism - the last refuge of the scoundrel and all that - but it's remarkable how many right-wing politicians and commentators give every impression of disliking their own country. They hanker after the fake past they see online in AI images, but have little love for the country as it really was or is. I wrote this before Ed Davey decided that Nigel Farage is right about badgers being woke and we have to have Churchill on our banknotes.
Five principal authority council by-elections this week, of which three were Liberal Democrat defences. The contests also saw a very welcome full set of Lib Dem candidates, an increase of one on the last time these seats were up. [IMG: Caleb Pell pointing] Prior to this by-election campaign, Caleb Pell already had an impressive pedigree of pointing at things. Abingdon Abbey Northcourt (Vale of White Horse) Council By-Election Result: [IMG: 🔶] LDM: 43.7% (+3.3) [IMG: 🌍] GRN: 32.5% (-2.1) [IMG: ➡] RFM: 13.8% (New) [IMG: 🌳] CON: 6.8% (-7.3) [IMG: 🌹] LAB: 3.2% (-7.7)Liberal Democrat GAIN from Green.Changes w/ 2023. ...