I probably heard the repeat of it near Christmas in 1968, but it was this BBC Radio adaptation of The Box of Delights from 1966 that introduced me to the book's magic. And I discovered recently that Stanley Unwin was in it. Click play on the video above and you will hear a short scene between Abner Brown, Sylvia Daisy Pouncer, Rat and Rat's nephew Alf. The nephew is played by Stanley Unwin. Unwin understood that his act worked best in small doses, which is why he turns up making cameo appearances in all sorts of unexpected places.
The usual: cat reported missing. Then it was found dead in the street; its stalk and mewl and problematic claws no more. Perhaps hit by a car... The neighbourhood has grieved: 23 have posted sad emojis, 8 sent their condolences. Now. Black or white, that cat does not catch mice.
Liberal Democrat Newswire #207 came out last week and you can now also read it in full below. But if you'd like to get future editions emailed direct to you as soon as they are published, sign up now: Welcome to Lib Dem Newswire #207, which includes a look at why the Lib Dems need more local election candidates, a discussion of James Graham's hit play This House, news of how the Cabinet Office moved very slowly to correct an error in government pay and more. First, however, congratulations to the new Lib Dem councillors since last time, and their ...
Here at LDV Towers, we receive all sorts of interesting invitations, most of which we can't respond to. You know, we're busy people with jobs and other commitments. But here's one that we've been asked to share with you... The BBC Wales Your Voice Live: Ask the Leader is on Wednesday, April 8th in Haverfordwest. The audience will have the opportunity to put questions to the leaders of the Welsh Conservatives, Plaid Cymru and Welsh Liberal Democrats ahead of the Senedd election in May. BBC Cymru are looking for audience members and, as they are obliged to try to balance ...
The latest annual report from 5654 & Company and MessageSpace into the social media usage of MPs is out and it shows a drop in use of Elon Musk's X: [IMG: Social media consumption table for MPs] Note also, though, that after the promising debut of Bluesky in the statistics last year its usage among MPs has, on this measure at least, dropped. It usage varies hugely by party: 54% of Lib Dem MPs say they visit Bluesky every day, compared to 29% of Labour and 0% of Conservative MPs. Here is the full report. Sign up to get the ...
Wed 25th
12:00
Straits of Hormuz blockade shows that we must all reduce our dependence on fossil fuel
There are many lessons to come out of the deluded Trump actions in the Middle East. This is a conflict which will take time to evolve and, in some ways, will never be completed as people will hold resentment for what has happened down the decades. However, there are already a number of things that have become clear. The most important of these is that we must look to renewable energy and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. That is why I am delighted with an announcement that has been made that the Government has taken a 'Sunshine' Bill promoted ...
"After months of rhetoric from Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves blaming newts and bats for supposedly blocking growth, it's good to see the Land Use Framework recognises nature restoration is a priority, underpinning all our other uses of land. Senior civil servants in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs now view their ministry as a 'department of land', and regard implementing the Land Use Framework as their overriding mission."Guy Shrubsole welcomes the news that revealing who owns England has just become government policy. Josiah Mortimer finds that Reform UK councils are dismantling the fight against climate change. Sarah ...
Somewhere in England right now, a teenager and their family are waiting. They have been waiting, in many cases, for more than five years just to see a specialist. Not for a diagnosis of cancer or a referral for surgery. For someone to talk to about their gender. While they wait, puberty continues. For some of them, that process is a cause of profound, daily distress. That is what this debate is actually about. Earlier this week, Westminster Hall debated a petition calling for the cancellation of the PATHWAYS clinical trial into puberty blockers for children with gender dysphoria. The ...
The old boy pays tribute to the hard work, much of it performed out of sight of members, that ensured our spring conference in my old stamping ground of York was a success. Wednesday For many years our hard-working conference stewards received back up from Violent Bonham Carter's boys. Now that, depending which account you believe, Violent is either lying low after a failed attempt to steal the Crown Jewels or inside a concrete pillar under the Chiswick Flyover, other groups are asked to lend a hand. You will recall Tom Brake's fearsome Carshalton Casuals, while the sisters from Our ...
Blur were better than Oasis. Modern Life is Rubbish was better than Parklife. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
Liberator 434 is out and you can download it for free here. You can also sign up for an email when each new Liberator comes out here. What's in this issue? There's Commentary, Radical Bulletin, Letters, Lord Bonkers' Diary and: WHY AREN'T THE LIB DEMS DOING BETTER? Pursuing remaining Tory seats puts a ceiling on Lib Dem ambitions when greater opportunities lie among left-leaning voters, argues Paul Hindley SPREADING POWER Radical change is needed to defend what we value most, says Roz Savage MP FIX THE NHS FRONT DOOR An over-stretched health service must be rebuilt from community level, says ...
It's that time of year again. My social media feeds are all full of pictures of groups of people out canvassing or leafletting, of people handing in their nomination papers. It must be the start of the "official" campaign for the huge array of national and local elections coming up on May 7th. The Scottish Parliament, the Senedd in Wales and every Council seat in London is up for grabs along with local elections around the country from Liverpool to some places where they didn't know until a few weeks ago that the elections were back on again. I have ...
Stephen Bush, in his newsletter on the Financial Times website, makes an interesting point, suggesting that John Major's much-maligned 1990s 'cones hotline' was both a) an idea ahead of its time and b) illustrates why our electoral system is under growing pressure. He quotes a recent speech by Major in which the former Prime Minister argued that recent General Elections have thrown into doubt the continuing validity of the "first past the post" system of voting, and that as voting preferences spread more widely it provides distorted results. Major argued, quite correctly that the democratic case for examining this is ...
The late breaking decision to reinstate the County Council elections in May means that the new boundaries for Suffolk County Council kick in. And yes, the elections should be taking place but, for Creeting St Peter, it comes with a bit of a sense of loss. I don't tend to be too kindly towards non-Liberal Democrat councillors - for obvious reasons - but the new boundaries mean that our current County Councillor will be fighting a division that doesn't include us, and it must be said that he has, from our perspective, done a very good job, attending as many ...
Cole-Hamilton responds to embargoed A&E analysis Cole-Hamilton comments on drops in cancer survival Cole-Hamilton comments on avoidable mortality Cole-Hamilton responds to SNP missing key health target Welsh Lib Dems respond to RCEM report – nearly 1,000 deaths linked to long Emergency Department waits in Wales in 2025 Greene responds to Malcolm Offord homophobia report EU-Australia deal: a strategic milestone for Europe's security and prosperity Cole-Hamilton responds to embargoed A&E analysis Responding to new analysis from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, which reveals that it could take more than 200 years to reduce the number of people waiting 12 hours ...
G. H. Bennett's Lloyd George and the Coalition Liberal Party - The Papers of Lieutenant-Colonel Scovell, General Secretary of the Party, 1919-1922 arrived at Ducky Towers yesterday. It's a welcome addition to the literature, looking at the role played by a much-neglected figure in the working of the Coalition Liberals, and giving a fuller picture of the workings of the party leading up to the 1922 general election. Dr Harry Bennett is Associate Professor in History at the University of Plymouth. His previous books include Hitler's Admirals, Hunting Tirpitz, and Destination Normandy: Three American Regiments on D-Day. Of particular interest ...
Don't believe in ley lines? I'd like to, but I don't either. So let's just enjoy this as Shropshire hill porn. This is freely adapted from the blurb on YouTube: On the final part of the quest, we trek six rugged miles from the ancient Mitchell's Fold stone circle across windswept hills to the mysterious ruins of Simon's Castle, perched just east of Churchstoke. Along the way, we follow the straight-line path of a 14-mile ley line that links Caus Castle near Westbury and Simon's Castle. Expect stunning Shropshire scenery, hidden historical gems, medieval fortress vibes, and plenty of on-the-ground ...
What if historians have got one of the most crucial assumptions about one of England's most pivotal battles completely wrong? asked the Guardian the other day. Its report continued: That's the claim of one British academic, who argues that the notorious "forced march" of the English army to Stamford Bridge - interpreted for centuries as a sign of Harold's recklessness and a key factor in his defeat - in fact never happened at all. What's more, he believes that as well as their clash on land at Hastings ... Harold also attempted to resist William's invasion by sea, sending ships ...
Another day, another Reform candidate suspended. This time it is Rear Admiral Chris Parry CBE who had already been in the news over controversial and unpleasant comments. Although Reform kept him as their candidate during the earlier controversy, this time he's gone as their Mayor candidate for Hampshire and the Solent. The Hampshire Chronicle reports: This comes after Dr Parry described a Jewish community group as "Islamists on horseback" and "cosplayers" in the wake of the North London arson attack. Liz Jarvis, Lib Dem MP for Eastleigh, had called for Reform leader Nigel Farage to sack Dr Parry following his ...
The Liberal Democrats have long prided themselves on being upholders of the rule of law and defenders of legal principles – a David standing against the philistine Trump in defence of the rules-based international order. This plays well within the party, but it is worth asking whether this framing is as effective with the electorate as we assume. We risk misreading the national mood and how international law is understood by many voters. More importantly, our own policy positions do not always reflect the consistency that this stance implies. Take illegal immigration, one of the most emotive issues in British ...
On Friday, 30 January, my piece introducing the Jenkinsite Group was published. At that time, we had been active for roughly a fortnight and boasted 94 members. Since then, some things have certainly changed. For one, we now have 203 members, a welcome increase. We also have more regular discussions about our party's history, book recommendations, and deep dives into what the party is doing well and what it could do better. But the biggest development is arguably the most exciting. Following a membership consultation period, we have decided to add a new dimension to the group's purpose: we will ...
At his first inauguration as US President, back in 1933, Franklin Roosevelt famously said "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.". Over 90 years later, that phrase could be applied to the Palestine/Israel conflict or, more precisely, to Palestinians and Israeli Jews. The biggest driver in preventing a solution is that Palestinians fear Israelis and Israelis fear Palestinians. Of course, many individual Palestinians and Israelis have friends, good friends, on the "other" side but there are also many more who do not have any contact across the divide except through the ongoing violence as participants, as victims, ...
This review appears in the latest issue of Liberator - no. 434. You can download it free of charge from the magazine's website. A Shellshocked Nation: Britain Between the Wars Alwyn Turner Profile Books, 2026, £25 The most startling thing about Britain in the inter-war years is what didn't happen. Across Europe, Communist and Fascist regimes took power, but neither force ever came close to it here. George V's verdict on the General Strike was "That was a rotten way to run a revolution, I could have done it better myself," but few on the left had revolutionary ambitions and ...
I have a shrewd suspicion that Lord Bonkers has his eye on the Liberal Democrat presidency himself, but maybe we should be asking his television repair man to stand? Tuesday The television repair man arrives. "Chris Mason been on, your lordship?" he asks, assuming I have fired my shotgun at the set again. But I have quite another problem: "Josh Barbarinde's supporters told us he has an unequalled ability to attract the media and that we should therefore elect him as President of the Liberal Democrats. Yet I can't remember seeing him on here once. Do you think I need ...
In early November 2021 as a brand new Regional Development Officer still trying to find my feet and figure out who everyone was, the party was suddenly swept up in a huge by-election on my patch. "The little by-election that could" was a phrase one member used to describe this period where a small dedicated team convinced the party that against all odds their seat was winnable. The party gave them a chance and before long their lovely local council candidate became Helen Morgan MP. North Shropshire had a brilliant candidate, a small but hard working team, and an opportunity. ...
The Guardian reports that MPs have urged the government to halt its latest contract with Palantir after the paper revealed that the US spy-tech company is to gain access to a trove of highly sensitive UK financial regulation data. The paper says that the Financial Conduct Authority, the watchdog for thousands of financial bodies from banks to hedge funds, has hired Palantir to apply its AI systems to two years' worth of internal intelligence data to help it tackle financial crime. They add that the Liberal Democrats on Monday called for a government investigation into the contract, which the party ...