Yesterday I discovered another park in Desborough. A couple of years ago it was Millennium Green: this time it was the town's Pocket Park. It lies beside the Rothwell Road, but there are a couple of other entrances. I found one of them by wandering some back streets. You never know what you will find if you do that in London suburbs or small Midland towns.
Local government is about competence, stability and delivering reliable public services — not simply making headlines or winning protest votes. That is why the growing instability surrounding Reform UK councillors should concern voters across England. Reform UK's breakthrough in the May 2025 local elections was undeniably dramatic. According to the House of Commons Library, the party won 677 council seats, 41% of all seats contested, and took control of ten councils. But what has happened since raises serious questions about whether Reform was prepared for the responsibilities of local government. Liberal Democrats Political analyst, Lord Mark Pack, documented that by ...
I, like many in the LGBT+ community am scared right now. I cried yesterday and today about the uncertainty of my future and my friends' futures. If you are cis or trans it doesn't really matter, it's clear that the guidance from the EHRC is ultimately unenforceable, however it doesn't need to be enforced to make life uncomfortable for many people. You see, this doesn't just make public life hostile to trans women, it erodes all women's rights; trans and cis women alike. If we are not "performing womanhood" to someone else's satisfaction, you can now be called trans – ...
The new Liberator is out! It's issue 435 and you can download it free of charge from the magazine's website. In it you'll find the usual mix of article, reviews and Radical Bulletin - the section that tells you what's really going on in the Liberal Democrats. And that means it's time to spend another week with Lord Bonkers. It's happens to be Beltane week, which has always been a big deal in the Church of Rutland. Monday "They're back," says a fellow patron of the Bonkers Arms, "I've seen them." "What I don't understand," says another, "is whether they're ...
Its attitude towards electoral reform symbolises Keir Starmer's government more widely. Labour has recognised that the previous Conservative government got it wrong when it introduced first-past-the-post for elections for Mayor or Police and Crime Commissioner. But its response has been a timid restoration of the supplementary vote rather than the introduction of a proper preferential voting system. Fun side note: when it comes to their own internal elections for posts in Parliament, both the Commons and the Lords use the alternative vote and even STV. What's good enough for us Parliamentarians apparently isn't good enough for the public. But at ...
Liberator 435 is out and can be downloaded free here: https://liberatormagazine.org.uk/ where you can also sign up to be emailed when each new issue of Liberator comes out. This time in addition to Commentary, Radical Bulletin and Lord Bonkers' Diary, Liberator looks at why concern at the May election results is echoing from every corner of the party despite these being spun as progress. In this issue: HOLLOWED OUT AND IN A HOLE James Graham says the Liberal Democrats are losing touch with all but a narrow slice of the electorate and should reconnect with the rest of the country ...
In the wake of his Beijing sojourn, Donald Trump is embarking on a dangerous and complex game of diplomatic chess with Taiwan as the piece most likely to be sacrificed for the greater American good. While in China, Trump became convinced what the rest of the world has known for some time. China cannot be bullied. Threats of escalating tariffs and civilisational extinction just roll off the Chinese political back. They have been around a long time and have seen it all. Next, China is as much of a superpower as the United States. And, if he is going to ...
Hazel Grove Liberal Democrats brings the news: Cllr Joe Barratt has now joined the Lib Dem team running Stockport Council, after leaving the Labour party last September, when he criticised Keir Starmer for "sleepwalking into a Reform government". In the latest elections, Cllr Barratt campaigned for the Liberal Democrat candidate, Cllr Niki Meerman in his ward in the local election, which saw the Labour party crash to just 5% of the vote down from 47% in 2024. He has formally joined the Liberal Democrats, as the best antidote to "divisive and simplistic politics", whilst also criticising the failure of the ...
The Mill continues to demonstrate what an important part email newsletters have in a modern healthy local news environment with an update on its scoop about the local elections in Tameside: Four men and a woman aged between 23 and 47 were arrested this morning in the Ashton-under-Lyne area, as a result of what the police are calling 'illegality and criminality' in the run up to the St Peter's ward election on May 7th. The arrests were made on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud, and police investigations are ongoing. Our investigation heard that internal messages had been circulated in Labour ...
Given how popular (and lengthy!) my list of Reform councillor departures after the May 2025 elections turned out to be, here is a new list, this time for councillors elected under the Reform banner on 7 May 2026, or in by-elections after that date, who have already departed the party for one reason or another. Please note the slight correction to #1 in the list. Glenn Gibbins, Sunderland: suspended by Reform following allegations of racism and, so far, has not signed his declaration of office in order to take up his seat (May 2026). Jay Cooper, Sefton: declared "not welcome" ...
When I first came to Swansea in 1978 to attend university the legend that was Mumbles was on everybody's lips, and in particular the infamous Mumbles Mile. As this article in Wales-on-Line says, for a lot of people of a certain age, the Mumbles Mile was a legendary night out. The idea was to walk for a mile and drink a pint in each of the ten pubs on the mile before ending up in Cinderellas' night club: The Swansea seafront pub crawl was a long-standing tradition, a coming-of-age ritual, and a rite of passage which was not for the ...
Ever since I was a councillor in the Eighties, the reopening to passengers of the line from Leicester to Coalville, Ashby and Burton upon Trent has been high on the agenda of transport campaigners in the East Midlands. Which makes this video following the line between Coalville and Burton concerning. No train has run west of Coalville for a couple of years and, as a result, that section of the line is rapidly being reclaimed by nature. This is doubly worrying because, though what people in Coalville want is a train to Leicester, it is this section between Coalville and ...
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% (-2) 17% (+2) 13% (nc) 17% (-1) 26% (+1) -9% (vs Ref) 20-21/5 GB YouGov ...
"Why, if the homes are unregistered and therefore illegal, are English councils still placing children in them? And how can the system be reformed so this doesn't continue to happen?"Noel Titheradge investigates a continuing scandal. James Meek looked at housing in Andy Burnham's Manchester om the eve of the last general election: "Burnham presides over a scale model of a future Starmer Britain, one where a social democratic leader full of genuine desire to mend the broken, over-marketised public realm is hamstrung by lack of resources and constrained by fear of frightening away the wealth-holders. Like England, Greater Manchester has ...
[IMG: Chris McSweeny] Winning Lib Dem by-election candidate Chris McSweeny. Four principal authority council by-elections this week to kick off the new cycle. Good to see a full slate of Lib Dem candidates, up one on the last time these seats were contested. Those candidates also scored two important wins for the Liberal Democrats: Alfrick, Leigh & Rushwick (Malvern Hills) Council By-Election Result: [IMG: 🔶] LDM: 25.8% (+10.6) [IMG: 🌳] CON: 22.3% (+3.2) [IMG: ➡] RFM: 19.4% (New) [IMG: 🙋] Ind: 16.9% (New) [IMG: 🌍] GRN: 10.8% (New) [IMG: 🙋] Ind: 4.7% (New)No MHI (-65.6) as previous.Liberal Democrat GAIN from ...
[IMG: Jake Austin - Makerfield candidate] Jake Austin. A Liberal Democrat press release brings the news: Jake Austin has been selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Makerfield in the upcoming by-election, pledging to champion local issues that matter most to residents. Jake is passionate about revitalising our high streets, improving public transport across the North West, and providing affordable homes for the next generation. Jake was born and raised in Hindley, and has lived in Greater Manchester his whole life. Working in fundraising, Jake is also a Liberal Democrat Councillor. In 2024, Jake was the Liberal Democrat candidate in ...
When 88-year-old Holocaust survivor Stephen Kapos addressed last Saturday's London peace rally for Palestine he confronted some upside-down thinking, and turned it the right way up. "These are NOT hate marches", he said, "Quite the opposite! These are NOT no-go areas for Jews...Quite the opposite! A majority of Jews of the world do NOT support Israeli policy...Quite the opposite!" A good number of Lib Dems attend these Palestine marches each month. We all know the misconceptions spread by journalists and politicians. Few have attended a march, yet they're happy to label them extremist, pro-Hamas, hate-led, and often predict arrests. This ...
Fri 22nd
12:02
The amended EHRC code is an attack on trans rights. Lib Dems should be at the forefront of challengi...
The amended Equality and Human Rights Commission Code of Practice on services, public functions, and associations was laid before Parliament yesterday. It will become law in 40 days unless Parliament acts. That window matters, and Liberal Democrats should be using it. I have read the code carefully. The headline is this: it does not just reflect the Supreme Court's ruling in For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers. It goes further, resolving almost every area of discretion against trans people and in favour of those who want to exclude them. It makes inclusion legally risky and exclusion legally safe. That ...
Readers may have noticed over the past few days a few personal announcements as to what certain Peers will be doing now, so we thought that we'd better provide readers with a complete list. And, with thanks to Humphrey Amos from the Lords' Whips Office, we can announce that our Lords Spokespeople are as follows: Leader – Jeremy Purvis Deputy Leaders – Kath Pinnock and Mike Storey Chief Whip – Dave Goddard Attorney General – Martin Thomas Business and Industry – Chris Fox Cabinet Office – Mark Pack Culture, Media and Sport – Jane Bonham-Carter, Dominic Addington (Sport) and Liz ...
In my eight years as Chair of the Parish Council, I've held a number of roles. At one point, I was Chair, Acting Clerk and Responsible Finance Officer, a period which caused me huge levels of stress and was, in organisational terms, highly unsatisfactory. But sometimes, especially with a micro-parish, needs must. The show must, if you like, go on. In my earlier incarnation, I was the Wildlife portfolio holder, which was a source of great amusement given that I still couldn't confidently identify even the obvious stuff and was still convinced that wolves stalked the land. Now, I hold ...
Congratulations to the Daily Star. Thanks to a nomination from a Liberal England reader, it has won our Headline of the Day Award.
It is a sure sign that the government is getting too obsessed with social media when the Speaker of the House of Commons scolds Labour ministers for making major announcements on TikTok before Parliament. The Guardian reports that, speaking in the House of Commons yesterday, ahead of Rachel Reeves' cost of living plan announcement, Lindsay Hoyle criticised ministers for announcing policies on social media before updating MPs: The chancellor received a dressing down from deputy speaker Judith Cummins as she prepared to set out measures to mitigate the economic impact of the Iran war, several of which had already been ...