The latest edition of the email newsletter for my podcast, Political Fictions, is out and you can 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: [IMG: Greenland] Greenland. Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash. The latest episode of Political Fictions is out: Mark and Cory talk about Scandi Ballot Box dramas for the first time. They discuss the Borgen episode in which there are revelations about how Greenland is being used for CIA rendition programmes. They talk about whether photogenic politicians ...
I came to The West Wing late. Not when it first aired, in that long forgotten world before 9/11 when liberal democracy felt like the direction of travel rather than a rearguard action. I found it about five years ago, the way you sometimes stumble into exactly what you needed without knowing you were looking for it. Every year, I have watched it several times. My wife has opinions about this. I am not going to pretend that watching a twenty-year-old American political drama is a political act. But I want to make a genuine case for why it matters ...
Just the one principal authority council by-elections this week ahead of next week's big polling day, in Malvern Hills: Tenbury (Malvern Hills) Council By-Election Result:RFM: 45.1% (New)CON: 30.3% (-20.2)LDM: 12.7% (New)GRN: 12.0% (New)Reform GAIN from Conservative.Changes w/ 2023 — Election Maps UK (@electionmaps.uk) 2026-05-01T12:11:25.788Z Thank you to Jed Marson for being the Liberal Democrat candidate here and to him and the team for getting the party on the ballot paper here after the previous no-show. For what all this means for the running total of council by-election results since the last May elections, see my council by-elections scorecard here. These ...
This week marks the last by-election of the 2025-26 electoral cycle, and this takes us to the small Worcestershire town of Tenbury Wells. Malvern Hills DC, Tenbury This week's by-election was triggered by the resignation of Conservative councillor Andrew Willmont. He came second in this two-member seat in 2023, significantly ahead of his Conservative running-mate, representing Tenbury alongside a Malvern Hills Independent, who topped the polls. Turnout rose 7.5% in this by-election compared to the 2023 all-ups, with Reform coming out on top, from a standing start. The Conservatives slipped to a distant second place, whilst us and the Greens ...
[IMG: Chocolate cake on a ceramic plate] No candles but plenty of chocolate. Photo by Eftychia Syrimi on Pexels.com. On this day in 2022, the first edition of The Week in Polls appeared. My weekly guide to what you need to know about political polling was first a series of pilot blog posts, next an email newsletter on Revue and now, after Elon Musk shut down Revue, a weekly missive via Substack. Looking back to that first edition, it is sadly not a surprise that it highlighted poor media coverage of political polling. But I hope that readers of the ...
The Guardian reports that a Green Party local election candidate has been arrested on suspicion of stirring up racial hatred for allegedly posting anti-Semitic content on social media. The paper says that the Metropolitan Police arrested two women under the Public Order Act, one confirmed as one of the party's candidates, on Thursday morning: The posts, seen by The Telegraph, are alleged to have included comments from one of the women such as: "ramming a synagogue isn't anti-Semitism, it's revenge." A now-deleted post from one of the women also claimed the government was overrepresented with "Zionist Jews", and another allegedly ...
Here's the tally of seats changing hands in principal authority council by-elections held between the May 2025 and the May 2026 local elections: Con Lab Lib Dem Green Reform SNP Plaid Ind/ Other Net Con [17] +2 (+2/0) -9 (+3/-12) +2 (+2/0) -21 (+3/-24) -1 (0/-1) – +2 (+3/-1) -25 Lab -2 (0/-2) [16] -5 (0/-5) -8 (0/-8) -31 (+1/-32) – -2 (0/-2) -7 (0/-7) -55 Lib Dem +9 (+12/-3) +5 (+5/0) [35] +2 (+4/-2) -2 (+2/-4) +2 (+2/0) – +4 (+4/0) +20 Grn -2 (0/-2) +8 (+8/0) -2 (+2/-4) [8] +2 (+2/0) – – -1 (0/-1) +5 Ref +21 ...
Another video from barrister-at-law Alan Robertshaw. One interesting point he makes is that the common courtroom assumption that a statement given immediately after an event provides the best evidence is mistaken. I also like his favourite line: "cross-examination does not mean examining someone crossly". And there's a useful tip on how to dress if you're planning a robbery.
I've just sent another of my columns off to the The Journal of Critical Psychology, Counselling and Psychotherapy, so it's time to publish an earlier one here again. The theme for this issue was "Norma, Norman or Normal". Goodbye Norma Jean. This obviously had to begin with someone called Norma, but Marilyn Monroe didn't make the cut. Instead, I've gone for the English-born piano prodigy turned Hollywood actress Norma Varden, who appeared in both Casablanca and The Sound of Music. In Casablanca she's the wife of the Englishman who has his wallet stolen right at the start of the film. ...
It looks as though Reform in Gateshead are suffering from another missing candidate. In Crawcrook and Greenside ward it was recently reported that Reform's Peter Gray has disappeared from the Reform campaign. Now, another Reform candidate appears to have disappeared.Take a look at the above screenshot of Reform's High Fell Facebook page in which they announce their 3 candidates for the ward
I'm sure people in all parties have dogs – but one thing I have learnt is that dogs and animals matter for Liberal Democrats. Animal welfare runs at the very core of much of what we stand for as was illustrated by the campaigns of Adrian Sanders MP, for example. At parliamentary by-elections, so often the vital injection of electoral energy into our party lifeblood, there is often an animal hero at the heart of our campaign, the result and our story-telling. Last night, Nina, beloved dog of Cllr Pete Roberts, and by-election stalwart, crossed the rainbow bridge after 14 ...
I am signed up for a postal vote so although polling day is on Thursday 7th May, I've already completed my ballot paper. It will go into the post tomorrow.This is probably the longest ballot paper I've ever had. We have the unusual situation of all seats on Gateshead Council being up for grabs plus there are lots more parties contesting elections. Hence the reason for the ballot paper doing
Stamford, Lincolnshire: Nowhere near Newcastle upon Tyne Watch a few TV quiz shows and you will realise there are that two subjects the British public knows nothing about. More than that, they think it's funny if they are expected to know anything about them. Those subjects are British politics and British geography. Kemi Badenoch is bound to know more than most of us about politics - she's heard of Kemi Badenoch, for a start - but she's no better than the rest on geography. Over to John Crace and his Guardian sketch on her series of short interviews today with ...
Thu 30th
12:23
Owen Hart deserved better: The Liberal Democrat case for fairness, safety, and dignity in profession...
For as long as I can remember, I have loved professional wrestling: the pageantry, the storylines, the ability to suspend reality, even for an hour, and immerse myself in the world of powerhouses and body slams. But as I've gotten older, I've begun to appreciate the pressure that professional wrestlers are under to perform, night in and night out. For many people, wrestling is simply "fake", but it's more than that. The family of Owen Hart knows all too well about the human cost of the industry, as do thousands of other families. In 1999, during the WWF pay-per-view "Over ...
Thu 30th
10:22
Police watchdog investigates Northamptonshire force over allegations of perverting the course of jus...
BBC News has reported the extraordinary story of Nadine Buzzard-Quashie's arrest by Northamptonshire police:Body-worn video of a woman's "degrading" arrest, which police falsely told a court did not exist, has been shared exclusively with the BBC. It shows officers in Northamptonshire throw metal spikes in front of Nadine Buzzard-Quashie's car and force her to the ground after responding to a concern for her welfare, whereupon she says her face was pushed into stinging nettles. The Chief Constable of Northamptonshire, Ivan Balhatchet, was found guilty of contempt of court in November and fined £50,000 for failing to release the body-worn videos ...
At the heart of British liberalism lies a steadfast commitment to the individual their dignity, their rights, and their potential. We believe that by empowering individuals, we can enable people to lead richer lives while building a stronger, more cohesive society. But liberalism is not simply about individual freedom. It is also about community – the relationships, institutions, and shared responsibilities that bind us together. Indeed, it is the politics of community that has underpinned Liberal Democrat success in places like Sutton, Three Rivers, and Watford, where local leadership has demonstrated the power of collective action electorally. Yet when we ...
Liberal Democrat Newswire #209 came out yesterday and you can now also read it in full below. The version below includes a correction, with thanks to the reader who pointed out the error. 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 #209, which is a special edition ahead of the May elections, looking at six key yardsticks for judging the Liberal Democrat election results. Chances are you know others who will enjoy reading such news about the Lib Dems too, so please do ...
The Guardian reports that Nigel Farage was given £5m by the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne shortly before announcing he would stand in the 2024 British general election. The paper says that Farage had stated he did not intend to stand as a prospective MP but U-turned in June 2024, within weeks of receiving the personal gift from the Thailand-based businessman: After being approached by the Guardian about the gift, neither he nor Harborne provided a comment - instead lawyers for Reform UK and Harborne pleaded for more time. Farage then confirmed to the Daily Telegraph that he had received the ...