"A child who grew up in the United Kingdom, attended British schools, made British friends, and considers this country their home will find, at the threshold of adulthood, that the system treats them as a temporary guest. That is a remarkable way to build community cohesion." Labour's plans on earned settlement are a social policy disaster in the making, argues Colin Yeo. Alan Rusbridger asks if Britain has stopped believing the freedom to protest: "The police burst in, broke up the gathering and arrested everyone involved. They carted them off to the cells, confiscated their phones and, in at least ...
Here are the scores on the doors for the latest quarter of principal authority council by-elections.
I missed the Birtley North and Lamesley action day last week as I was at the Whickham Library easter fair. I was however able to make it to the Birtley South event the following day. 13 of us finished the delivery of target letters in the ward.Birtley South is an interesting ward. We first won a seat in the ward from Labour in 2023. A year later we won another seat from Labour but this time
I don't usually write in the first person like this. But some arguments are better made from inside the experience than at a careful analytical distance. This is one of them. There's a phrase that's been circulating in certain corners of British public life for a few years now. You'll have heard it. Gender ideology. Sometimes trans ideology. It gets deployed with a specific kind of confidence: the confidence of someone who believes they are simply describing reality, neutrally, accurately, from nowhere in particular. I am, apparently, an ideology. I've tried to sit with that rather than immediately reaching for ...
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton and Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey yesterday declared that the wind is in the party's sails as they took to the water on a visit in Edinburgh. After sailing a boat under the iconic Forth bridges, the party leaders set out their desire to "smash the Scottish Conservatives and dismantle the acid yellow wall of the SNP" to a horde of party activists. The party is targeting ten constituency seats across Scotland having proven that it can gain seats from the SNP, while taking seats on the peach regional ballot paper by targeting moderate ...
Nation Cymru reports that a Reform UK whistleblower has described the "expensive, flawed and unprofessional vetting process" used by the party to select Senedd election candidates. The news site says that the key member, who does not wish to be named, said they took part in Reform's "full candidate assessment and training process" for the upcoming Welsh election, and has accused the party of a "lack of transparency" and criticised the "calibre of some of the people now being placed in winnable positions": The insider told us: "What I witnessed was not a merit-based system designed to find the best ...
Teacher numbers in STEM subjects fall by 900 606 fewer modern language teachers than when SNP came to power Greens scrapping road projects will kill Highland communities Greene: Calamity Kemi should apologise for cheerleading Iran War which is sending prices soaring If you've been to A&E, you shouldn't trust Swinney Teacher numbers in STEM subjects fall by 900 Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie MSP has accused the SNP of "playing fast and loose" with Scotland's economic future, as new figures revealed there are 900 fewer teachers in STEM subjects than when the SNP first came to power New ...
A story in York's daily paper The Press covers Minsters Rail, a group campaigning to reopen the railway line between the city and Beverley: The group's primary aim is to see the rail route between restored as a modern heavy rail line, providing a fast, resilient alternative to the "congested A1079" and the existing rail corridor along the Humber. Reinstatement of the railway route would provide an alternative means of transport for residents of York Pocklington, Stamford Bridge and Market Weighton, the campaign added. They argue the route would reduce car dependency, cut emissions, support new development and dramatically improve ...
Gateshead Lib Dems meet for a monthly social gathering at the Tynesider on Gateshead High Street. The last gathering was on Thursday last week. We are however returning tomorrow. We will be launching the Gateshead Lib Dem manifesto "Get Gateshead Going". There is a 6pm kick off. I will be there with cameras!
There have been grumblings of discontent within Labour's ranks in Gateshead about our recent leaflet which included a page about the Lib Dems being the main challengers to Reform in the borough. The Labour vote, reflecting what has happened across the country, is collapsing. Labour, in by-elections and polls, are lucky to hold on to half their vote share.Anyway, above is another graphic to
Summerisle Young Liberals, 1973 Anselm Anon and Wighard of Canterbury find that The Wicker Man is steeped in the debates of 1970s Liberalism. A great deal has been written about The Wicker Man (1973). Often heralded as Britain's greatest horror film, its shocking climax has obscured other salient features - most notably, the political alignment of Lord Summerisle (portrayed by Christopher Lee) and the impact of that on the socioeconomic construction of the island. For those unfamiliar with the setting, Summerisle lies off the west coast of Scotland - in the 'Celtic Fringe' that constituted the post-war Liberal electoral bastions. ...
As some of our readers will know, I'm a Parish councillor in deepest Mid Suffolk, chairing my council as I have for most of the past eight years. Creeting St Peter is a "micro council", as defined by the National Association of Local Councils (NALC), with a precept of just over £6,000 a year, and a professional staff of approximately 0.05 full-time equivalent. We don't do "big stuff", like providing services, but what we do is represent our residents and lobby principal authorities on their behalf. I like to think that we're quite good at it, in our own modest ...
Published on 16th March 2026, the Gaza Tribunal Report follows a two-day tribunal held in Westminster in September 2025 at which evidence was taken from 91 witnesses. The Tribunal Members who wrote the report were Jeremy Corbyn, the Independent MP and well-known critic of Israel, as well as Dr Shahd Hammouri, a Palestinian/Jordanian Lecturer in International Law from the University of Kent and Professor Neve Gordon, an Israeli who is Professor of International Law at Queen Mary University of London. The inquiry was launched in response to what organisers described as a lack of political or legal response to Israel's ...
No recording of George Orwell's voice has survived, but in this extract from a 1965 BBC programme you can hear his wife Sonia, sister Avril Dunn and friends Malcolm Muggeridge and Cyril Connolly talking about him. I review Rob Colls'George Orwell: Life and Legacy in the current issue of Liberator.
On Thursday, 7 May, Wales will go to the polls to vote for a new government under a new closed-list voting system. Every seat is up for grabs, and the Liberal Democrats will be contesting all of them. In my local area, Swansea and Gower, Councillor Sam Bennett will be advancing the Liberal Democrat cause, hoping to provide a measured, liberal voice in the Senedd. His dedication to fighting for Swansea and Gower communities, social justice and equality is a testament to his politics and to the liberal flame that continues to burn in Wales. I'll be joining his campaign ...
As we navigate the current political landscape of 2026, our party needs to develop a clear-eyed, long-term vision for rebuilding our relationship with our European neighbours. At the heart of this mission is the Liberal Democrat European Group (LDEG). We are a dedicated associated organisation of local activists, policy-makers, and internationalists working to ensure that the UK's European future is not just a distant dream, but becomes once again a practical reality. LDEG sees its role as a bridge between our party and other organizations in the UK and across the continent, particularly through our work with the party's Federal ...
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another Monday morning. No, really, it's not that bad... Polling day is getting ever closer and predictions on how the various parties will get on are beginning to emerge, as Mark Pack has noted. I'm of the view that it's harder and harder to make predictions based on national data, and that, as we saw in the 2024 General Election, voters will make decisions based on who they think the best alternative is where they are. Where Liberal Democrats are active, they're likely to be seen as the best bet to keep Reform out, ...
The Mirror reports that Kemi Badenoch has been accused of trying to "outsource" Britain's energy security to fossil fuel markets. The paper says that the Tory leader was ridiculed ahead of launching a "Get Britain Drilling" campaign calling for the UK to maximise the use of its oil and gas reserves: It follows a spike in energy prices caused by the war in the Middle East, something Ms Badenoch had supported joining only to U-turn a week later. Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has led to a drastic rise in oil prices across the globe. On Sunday Ms ...