Embed from Getty ImagesYears ago, Graham Tope came to Market Harborough to help us in the local elections. It happened that one of the doors he knocked on belonged to my mother, and she introduced herself to him as "the Dowager Lady Bonkers". Sadly, the Dowager Lady B. died this morning at the age of 90. It was peaceful, as people always hope deaths will be, and we had been given the time to say the things to each other that needed to be said. For that reason, among many others, I am grateful for the increasing time I have ...
During the week I was on Matt Chorley's Times Radio show talking about five political polling disasters, what we can learn from them and why we should still pay attention to the polls: Find out more about these five disasters, and other triumphs for political polls in my new book, Polling Unpacked: the history, uses and abuses of political opinion polls. According to the Sunday Times, it is "Essential reading for anyone seeking to understand modern politics ... comprehensive yet surprisingly fun". Get polling news and analysis by email Sign up here if you would like to receive the Polling ...
The Liberal Democrats have drawn up draft legislation to force the Chancellor and any other government ministers to reveal whether they or their spouses claim non-domiciled status or have holdings in overseas tax havens. Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Christine Jardine MP has drafted the Ministerial Tax Residency Status Bill and will present it to the House of Commons once Parliament has returned from Easter recess. It was recently revealed that Rishi Sunak was listed as a beneficiary of tax haven trusts set up in the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands and held by his wife Akshata Murthy - ...
Sun 10th
17:01
Covid Watch 179: Cases fall as testing begins to plummet but hospitals still in critical condition
Cases in England and in Shropshire are continuing to fall. We must though be cautious about numbers after the government withdrew free testing and closed testing centres across the country at the end of last month. In Shropshire, for example, PCR testing dropped by more than 70% in a week. However, it seems clear that the trend continues to be downwards. Despite Omicron being milder than the previous Delta variant of Covid-19, the number of patients in hospital with Covid-19 in Shropshire has been rising rapidly in recent weeks. That, along with higher than normal levels of staff sickness, has ...
The Liberal Democrats have drawn up draft legislation to force the Chancellor and any other government ministers to reveal whether they or their spouses claim non-domiciled status or have holdings in overseas tax havens. Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Christine Jardine MP has drafted the Ministerial Tax Residency Status Bill and will present it to the House of Commons once Parliament has returned from Easter recess. It was recently revealed that Rishi Sunak was listed as a beneficiary of tax haven trusts set up in the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands and held by his wife Akshata Murthy - ...
What exactly is falied ex-Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Cressida Dick saying when she warns against the "politicisation of policing"? According to the Guardian, in a farewell letter to London before her last day in post, Dick said there was more she wished the force had achieved during her time at the top. But she added: "The current politicisation of policing is a threat not just to policing but to trust in the whole criminal justice system. Operational independence from local and central government is crucial for an effective democracy and is a model respected around the world. We must all treasure ...
There is a cloud hanging over Party Politics at the moment. Because of the actions of a few people, most it must be said Tories, all politicians are being viewed with suspicion. In fact, my firm belief after being a ... Continue reading →
Here's a good one: In the wake of the Bucha massacres, a Russia Today commentator opined this week that the dead Ukrainians littering the street were killed by British intelligence because Bucha sounds like butcher in English. This made it easier, he continued, for British newspapers to write headlines such as the "Butchers of Bucha." How SIS and/or British troops managed to sneak undetected into Bucha, blow up homes, tanks and roads and kill the inhabitants is left unexplained. But that is of no consequence. The problem is that too many Russians believe him. In fact, what passes for a ...
Lovely to be out campaigning with colleagues in Islington yesterday, including spotting some most lovely letterboxes.
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