I caught the bus to Braybrooke this morning. It was mainly to have breakfast at The Swan, but also to photograph the plaque there commemorating the fact that the actor Graham Moffat was its landlord for ten years. Moffatt, along with Moore Marriott, supported Will Hay in his comedy films during the 1930s. I find that Hay's comedies of baffled and venal authority has lasted much better than the work of comics we are meant to feel sorry for, like George Formby and Norman Wisdom. And Jimmy Perry had the trio of the pompous man (Hay), the old man (Marriott) ...
I joined John Potter from the Lib Dem Pod podcast, along with Welsh leader Jane Dodds and Scottish campaign maestro Kevin Lang to talk about the 2022 local elections. Here's what we made of the results and what to do next... Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. Show notes The Lib Dem Pod podcast.Theme tune by Hugo Lee.New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts. Enjoy the show? Spread the word Follow the show on Twitter.Like the show on Facebook.Share the show's website, ...
Sat 7th
20:02
The relevance of local elections and something Leavers and Remainers agree on: The Week in Polls #2
This week's national polling intention polls are less interesting than usual with such big political news – the local election results – coming at the end of the week. But for the record, there were three polls with fieldwork in the last week, all painting a consistent picture of Conservatives on 33-35%, Labour on 40-41% and the Lib Dems on 9-12%. Given that we have national polls, the question of how much attention should really be given to the local elections as a sign of the national mood popped up on Twitter in some thoughtful (yes, Twitter and thoughtful – ...
The BBC and The Guardian are reporting markedly different figures for seat changes in this May's local council elections. How come? The BBC have done their own calculations while The Guardian, and some other media outlets, are using data from the Press Association (PA). Although you might expect those numbers to end up the same, they're not doing so. There are three reasons usually why such numbers vary between sources, so let's take them one at a time. First, during the first few hours of results, it's common for different sources to be out of synch on what results they ...
I could easily blog today on the phenomenal success of the Liberal Democrats and the awful showing by the Tories, that appraently makes a challenge on Boris Johnson's leadership inevitable. However, anotner cheering statistic caught my eye in the Independent, namely their conclusion that far-right and conspiracy theorist political parties have so far won zero seats in the local elections. The paper says that with almost all the results declared on Friday evening, none of their candidates had been elected and few had received more than a handful of votes: Counter-extremist group Hope Not Hate called the results "disastrous", adding: ...
If last week Ed Davey had been heard to claim that in England that the Lib Dems would end up with 191 seats gained and the control of three very big councils and one medium sized one, he would have ... Continue reading →
President Joe Biden is attempting a pivot back to Asia. After months of being forced by Ukraine to re-focus on Europe, the American president is organising an Asian month and his first presidential trip to the region. It starts next week with a US-hosted summit of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) leaders on 12-13 May and ends with visits to South Korea and Japan on 20-24 May and finally, a "Quad" summit in Tokyo on 24 May. The trips to Seoul and Tokyo are an opportunity for President Biden to hold his first face-to-face meetings with Asia's new diplomatic ...
Today sees the first anniversary celebrations of Victoria Gardens - all welcome! More details at www.facebook.com/events/666042974697015 :
By Dr Catherine Beanland, Senior Partner, Ludlow Portcullis Surgery It is an honour and a privilege to write this tribute to Peter—a friend, health campaigner, loving father and husband and chair of the Ludlow Hospital League of Friends since 2006. In whatever role we knew him, from whatever vantage point, he stood apart as someone very special. Peter was the leader of the campaign for the new hospital and health village on the Eco Park that was approved in May 2012 only to be blocked in July 2013 on the grounds that it was not economically viable. He was awarded ...
