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 ...
I'm just breaking into our festive break to offer our congratulations to the four Lib Dems honoured by the King in the New Year's Honours. Tilly McAuliffe, the Party Treasurer with the job of bringing the money in, gets a CBE for parliamentary and political service. I first met Tilly at Autumn conference in Glasgow either 12 or 13 years ago. She is bright, engaging and she gets things done and I'm thrilled to see her work recognised. Peter Dunphy was a brilliant chair of the Federal Finance and Resources Committee when I was Scottish Party Treasurer. We worked together ...
Embed from Getty ImagesProfessor Hugh Macmillan had a letter published in yesterday's Guardian: Patrick Wintour begins his excellent article (Into the void: how Trump killed international law, 25 December) with a quotation from Antonio Gramsci: "The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born." This idea is frequently attributed to Gramsci but surely, as a critical sociologist, he must have been aware of Matthew Arnold's lines: "Wandering between two worlds, one dead / The other powerless to be born..." In 19th century Britain, cultural criticism was a recognised literary form and practically a profession. And Matthew ...
People deeply attached to politics in the UK (you) are well aware that we've been stuck in an identity politics play since 2014 when Brexit moved from fringe to the mainstream. This hasn't happened in isolation and populism in various forms has gone from insurgency to government in many countries across Europe. The mainstream media has reported this with alacrity, I remember the BBC making a Spanish general election all about the success of Vox, despite the fact they finished fifth (I don't recall a fifth placed party ever getting such coverage before). While the rise of the far right ...
Following the four Lib Dems honours in the King's Birthday Honours earlier this year, here are the Liberal Democrats spotted in the New Year Honours List for 2026: Peter Dunphy: "Common Councillor, City of London Corporation. For services to Amenity Conservation and to Volunteering" (MBE) Susan Goodchild: "Councillor, Central Bedfordshire Council. For services to Local Government and the community in Bedfordshire" (MBE) Tilly McAuliffe: "Treasurer, Liberal Democrats. For Parliamentary and Political Service" (CBE) Simon Taylor: "Volunteer, Liberal Democrats. For Political and Public Service" (OBE) As ever, do let me know if I have missed anyone, and apologies if I have. ...
As I was away for a few days before Christmas, my look at the by-election results from 18th December are somewhat late. So here they are.Greenlands (Blackpool)Another Reform gain from Labour, this contest was a bit unusual in that there had been a Reform candidate in the ward who got 6% last time. This time, Reform leapfrogged everyone from 4th to 1st place. Reform's share of the vote was
"By restricting jury trials, removing protest rights and expanding surveillance, Labour is entrenching an authoritarian legal infrastructure that a far-right government will not hesitate to exploit."Karl Hansen says Labour is building Farage's state for him. Phoebe Weston reports on the French ski resorts that are closing as the snow line in the Alps edges higher: "In France, there are today 113 ski lifts totalling nearly 40 miles (63km) in length that have been abandoned, nearly three-quarters of them in protected areas." Catherine Rampell says Trump is misusing Norman Rockwell's art to promote Gestapo tactics and nativist ideas: "The works have ...
Huge thanks to all my guests and listeners for my podcast, Never Mind The Bar Charts, through the last year. The most popular episodes this year were: In second place: Local elections 2025: the Lib Dem verdict with the Lib Dem Pod team. And topping the charts: Liberal trends, populist politics: who is going to win out? with podcast regular guest Rob Ford, who has a new book out. As well as being available in all the usual podcast feeds, the episodes also go up on YouTube, such as that Rob Ford one: Now, let's see what 2026 brings... Previous ...
The Guardian reports that survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire have called on the government to stop companies implicated in the disaster from receiving public contracts, after it was revealed several were still in receipt of multimillion-pound deals. The paper says that new analysis by Labour MP, Joe Powell found that at least 87 contracts across the public sector in the government's own database involve companies criticised in the phase 2 report into the Grenfell fire, published in September 2024, though some contracts may have since expired: Two large companies linked to the disaster - Saint-Gobain and Rydon Maintenance - ...