I welcome guest posts on Liberal England and am happy to publish ones on subjects far beyond the Liberal Democrats and British politics. If you'd like to write for this blog, please send me an email so we can discuss your idea or DM me on Twitter. Here are the 10 most recent guest posts on Liberal England: Around Tolworth in the footsteps of Richard Jefferies - Lucy FurlongThe Brexit hustle - Stuart WhomsleyCarry On up the Brexit - Stuart WhomsleyWhy the Progressive Alliance is irrelevant in Batley and Spen - Matthew PennellIs a Yellow Wall emerging? - Matthew PennellWe ...
Welcome to Today at the Tory Hustings.
There has perhaps never been a week like the last in British politics. Faced with the obstinacy of Boris Johnson refusing to resign as prime minister, senior ministers, junior ministers, parliamentary assistants, envoys and others resigned from the government in droves. Recognising the reality that he as soon as he filled cabinet posts, ministers were either walking out or lashing out at him, Johnson finally stepped down on Thursday. Channel 4 will elect and "alternative prime minister" in the autumn. It is being described as a political reality show. A dose of reality is certainly needed in national politics in ...
The latest edition of my weekly political polling round-up, The Week in Polls, is now out. As it says: Back before 2010, one of my roles in the Liberal Democrats was often to be the person to come up with a bar chart for use in a particular campaign. They had to pass the double-M test... Find out what the double M test is and why there's polling you should ignore by reading it in full online here or sign up to receive future editions here.
By-elections are back in the spotlight and the Lib Dems kicked off the second half of the year much the same as the first, another successful night in the world of council By-elections. With Boris gone, Tiverton and Honiton won and few new Lib Dem councillors on the roster, it really is a great time to be a Liberal Democrat. With eight principal elections up for grabs, of which seven saw a Lib Dem on the ballot, and a straight shoot out Town Council By-election, July 7th was sure to be an interesting affair on the By-election front. We kick ...
"We gave them hope, but they gave us much more," Mike Mathews owner of the Prince Rupert Hotel. This book begins with Mike Mathews, owner of the Prince Rupert Hotel, contemplated lockdown while Boris Johnson continued as nothing was happening in the world. He saw the writing on the wall as the Covid-19 ravaged Italy. Expecting the Shrewsbury events that drew people to his historic hotel would be cancelled, he spent the next day trying to find a use for his hotel. But there were no takers and the future of the hotel looked bleak. Boris Johnson's held his first ...
Young performers pose problems for music management. In his newly published memoirs, Chris Blackwell, the founder of Island Records, reveals that to make it possible for them to tour abroad he became the legal guardian of, first, Millie, who gave him his early big hit with My Boy Lollipop, and then Steve Winwood of the Spencer Davis Group. Winwood's next band was Traffic, who famously "got it together in the country". Blackwell describes life at their cottage near Aston Tirrold in Berkshire: Traffic soon settled into a musical routine, which involved a lot of aimless jamming through the day into ...
On Wednesday, amid the mass resignation of ministers, Layla Moran spoke passionately in the House of Commons on the government's strategy and funding for international development. Anticipating that Boris Johnson's time in office was limited, she called on the new administration to restore international aid to 0.7% of GDP. She criticised the new strategy for international development for being more concerned with promoting British trade than it is with alleviating poverty. Moran spoke of her experiences as a child in Ethiopia, meeting children of her age who were emaciated, did not have clean water and were not able to go ...
Sat, 14:12: Up the Lesse, with a paddle (and @ChairmanYaffle) https://t.co/Bnm5FOUv39 Sat, 18:08: Intimacy aka The Wall, by Jean-Paul�Sartre https://t.co/adW85ZxDPR Sat, 18:35: OK, so I was completely wrong about that. https://t.co/OihuZKeBm5 Sat, 21:17: Saturday reading https://t.co/qw8vBUPwxF </ul
"We gave them hope, but they gave us much more," Mike Mathews owner of the Prince Rupert Hotel. This book begins with Mike Mathews, owner of the Prince Rupert Hotel, contemplated lockdown while Boris Johnson continued as nothing was happening in the world. He saw the writing on the wall as the Covid-19 ravaged Italy. Expecting the Shrewsbury events that drew people to his historic hotel would be cancelled, he spent the next day trying to find a use for his hotel. But there were no takers and the future of the hotel looked bleak. Boris Johnson's held his first ...
Shinzo Abe – Japan's longest-serving prime minister who was assassinated on Friday – was best known for three things: His tough anti-Chinese stance; his efforts to beef up Japan's military and Abenomics. The first secured him the ire of Beijing which he wore as a badge of honour. Of course, as soon as the news of the shooting crossed the East China Sea, the official Chinese line was shock, horror and dismay. But on social media Chinese nationalists were busy expressing their glee. One of the reasons for the Chinese dislike of Abe was his skewed view of history and ...
From the City Council : THE ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 - SECTION 14(1) THE DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL AS TRAFFIC AUTHORITY being satisfied that traffic on the road should be prohibited by reason of carriageway resurfacing works being carried out HEREBY PROHIBIT the driving of any vehicle in Minto Place (west leg), Dundee. This notice comes into effect on Monday 11 July 2022 for 5 working days. Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained. Access will be maintained where possible. No alternative routes for vehicles are available. For further information contact 433082. Executive Director of City DevelopmentDundee City Council
Embed from Getty ImagesI love Milton Jones's comedy. He doesn't just use puns and word play. If that was all he did, he's be Tim Vine. It's because every funny line of his creates an alternative world. And that world exists for a second or two on stage with him until its bubble bursts and it is no more. I suspect Boris Johnson's promises are like that. He's a narcissist, so when he announces his 40 new hospitals, his Restoring Your Railway fund, his £3bn bus revolution or his levelling up agenda, just for a moment he believes in the ...
