Embed from Getty ImagesHistory has decided that Mike Brearley was a great captain, particularly because of his effect on the 1981 Ashes series, but never a test batsman. But it did not always look that way at the time. As I once blogged, Brearley was selected for an England touring party as early as 1964, when he was aged only 22. You can see him in the photograph above in the middle of the back row, next to a bespectacled Geoffrey Boycott. The two of them were to play their last test together in 1981, Brearley was not picked for ...
Yahoo! News reports that the former Liberal Democrat MP Dr Evan Harris has settled his claim for unlawful information gathering against News Group Newspapers, publishers of The Sun and the now-closed News of the World. Dr Harris told the High Court that he believes some of his close friends and associates, including Vince Cable and former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson, received calls from NGN journalists which cannot be "explained by anything other than voicemail interception". Representing Dr Harris, barrister David Sherborne read a statement to the court, as the claim was formally settled: Mr Sherborne said Dr Harris "believes ...
Four in ten crimes went unsolved by the police in 2021, new official figures show, with an average of 5,000 unsolved crimes every day. New figures from the Office for National Statistics show that overall crime was 18% higher in 2021 compared with 2019, driven by a 54% increase in fraud and computer misuse. Liberal Democrat analysis of new Home Office figures show that 1.8 million cases were closed by the police in 2021 without a suspect even being identified - 39% of all cases closed. Responding to the statistics, Liberal Democrats Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP said: "Crime ...
Wed, 16:05: Florida bans ranked-choice voting in new elections law https://t.co/ivwupN4gPd "What do you think about democracy?" "I think it would be a fine idea." Wed, 19:18: Hive Monkey, by Gareth L. Powell https://t.co/4RrV3uXJXD https://t.co/oR6bQq8Jav Wed, 20:58: RT @tconnellyRTE: A former senior Stormont official, who for five years was central to the Brexit negotiations and their impact on Northern... Wed, 21:28: Shame that I only found out about this three days before the deadline - great initiative sponsored by my formerr @NDI colleagues. https://t.co/LmLIHEVdRU Thu, 06:56: "Mrs. Annette Caroline Clayton-Browne-Pack-Beresford, whose name is a household word amongst the peasantry..." Thu, ...
Yep, I've been on a podcast again talking about opinion polls. This time with Professor Tim Bale (role-reversal for us there!) on the Mile End Institute podcast: NOW AVAILABLE: Polling Unpacked: the history, uses and abuses of political opinion polls which, according to the Sunday Times, 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 UnPacked newsletter, highlighting the best in analysis and news about British political opinion polling from a carefully curated range of high-quality ...
In many ways the ministerial code over Rishi Sunak's wife's tax affairs by the cabinet's ethics adviser, Lord Geidt was a classic piece of misdirection. The Guardian reports that the chancellor asked the adviser on ministerial interests to look into his case amid accusations he had failed to be transparent about the non-domicile tax status of his wife, Akshata Murty, which meant she did not legally have to pay UK tax on her foreign earnings. She has since said she will voluntarily pay the tax. They add that Sunak was also forced to confirm he had a US green card ...
Less than half a mile from where I live there is a very good nursing home for people, mostly elderly, with severe dementia problems. It is well regarded by families, the community and the medical profession. It's where I will ... Continue reading →
In the Times Red Box yesterday, Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Alastair Carmichael said a functioning liberal democracy relies just as much on self-restraint as on the wielding of power while in government. Recently found to have hypocritically broken his own laws, a populist authoritarian leader now seeks to curb the right to protest and rewrite election law to favour his party. No, it's not the latest press filing out of Hungary or Venezuela - it is the rushed final week of parliament before prorogation, as the lawbreaking prime minister Boris Johnson looks to rewrite the law to his own ...
Residents will recall that, prior to the COVID health emergency, I had met with Millhall Crescent residents and an environment officer from the City Council about the overgrown embankment at the north side of the street. At the time, environment management gave a commitment to improve the banking through weeding and planting. However, that has not happened during the pandemic period. I therefore recently went back to the City Council's environment officer regarding this and have received the following helpful response : "Yes remember it well and actually drove past the other night and thought about it. I will catch ...
Responding to Chancellor Rishi Sunak claiming it would be "silly" to give more support on energy bills, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Christine Jardine MP said: "These comments are totally tone deaf in the middle of a cost of living emergency. "Families being hit by soaring energy bills need support right now, instead Rishi Sunak is clobbering them with unfair taxes. "The Chancellor should offer an emergency tax cut to help families now, not make more vague promises about the future."
Gateshead Labour Councillor Anne Wheeler is on a bit of a journey. She arrived on the council in 2010, winning back a seat from the Lib Dems in Pelaw and Heworth ward which we had held since taking it from Labour in 2000. Having served 2 terms Anne moved ward to Wardley and Leam Lane in 2018. Whether this was a voluntary switch of ward or imposed on her I do not know. Either way, it was for her a
For the last couple of local elections, the Greens in Gateshead have fancied their chances in Crawcrook and Greenside ward. Labour's majority over the Greens last year was 321, bringing the ward into the realm of the marginal. The Greens last year were disappointed by the result but it was their best chance of winning a seat on Gateshead Council. Since then a change of candidate has probably not
