Phil O'Neill explains the genesis of his collection of poems in an interview with the Times of Tunbridge Wells: "My paternal grandparents were imprisoned for child neglect in 1923. Their ten children ended up in different places, some on the streets. "My dad was put in an approved school and his two brothers, Dennis and Terry, were put in a foster home on a farm in Shropshire. "Their foster parents abused my uncles and eventually Dennis was brutally beaten and starved to death aged just 12 in 1945." I first came across the story of Dennis O'Neill in a book ...
With the end of another, rather interesting, quarter, another update to PollBase, my database of British voting intention opinion polls since 1943 is now up. This time, as well as another quarter of polls, the update includes more fruits of my new search through newspaper archives, including an extra poll and other polling information from the 1950s. Enjoy! P.S. For the very latest polls, see my polling scorecard and for the history of polls, how to spot the good from the bad and what the future holds for opinion polling, see my book, Polling UnPacked: the history, uses and abuses ...
Ian Bairnson, who played with Pilot and The Alan Parsons Project, has died. Kate Bush News links to his wife's Facebook page, so this is no Chris Farlowe rumour. Bairnson's death is reported there because it turns out that he played the very Seventies guitar solo with which Wuthering Heights plays out. This makes him the posthumous recipient of our Trivial Fact of the Day Award. I played my mother music on my phone in her last days, and she surprised me a couple of times by asking for this song.
[Data from ALDC} In total 38 principal council by-elections were contested in the first quarter of 2023. The Lib Dems are net up by 5 seats, while the Conservatives are down by 9 councillors.
The clergyman and wit Sidney Smith once said a living of his in Yorkshire had been so remote that he was "twelve miles from the nearest lemon". I know how he felt. There were no lemons in Sainsbury's, Market Harborough, this afternoon. Well, it is Brexit Britain. But what are we supposed to use instead? Malt vinegar? The syrup from a tin of fruit cocktail? Sorrel foraged from the fields? More and more, it feels the Tories are not fighting a culture war so much as a war on culture.
Welcome to my summary of the latest national voting intention poll from each pollster currently operating in Britain. If you'd like to find out more about how polls work, how reliable they are and how to make sense of them, check out my book, Polling UnPacked: the History, Uses and Abuses of Political Opinion Polls, or sign up for my weekly email: "*" indicates required fields Email* Enter Email Confirm Email If you submit this form, your data will be used in line with the privacy policy here to update you on the topic(s) selected. This may including using this ...
Sandwell Liberal Democrats report: Former Labour councillor and current Mayor of Sandwell, Richard Jones, has joined the Liberal Democrats and will now sit as a Liberal Democrat councillor. He has enjoyed his time as Mayor and looks forward to fulfilling his remaining duties as the Borough's first LGBT+ Mayor. Richard, a frontline NHS paramedic, has found that his sexuality doesn't matter to most people, and that Sandwell is a diverse borough accepting of various minorities. He hopes that his year as Mayor has served as an example to those struggling to accept their true selves. [IMG: 🚨] It's official! [IMG: ...
Lovely to be out canvassing with Monica Harding and the Elmbridge Liberal Democrat team this weekend in Dominic Raab's backyard.
Fri, 18:11: The HAVOC Files: The Laughing Gnome, ed. ?Shaun�Russell https://t.co/iss3OzWWSh Sat, 10:45: Britain of the welcomes. https://t.co/KmT7JnqJpB </ul
Sat 8th
10:49
Good Friday Agreement anniversary reminds us that politics should be about healing divisions
I grew up at a time when every week had a grim story of loss of life from Northern Ireland. I remember being inspired as a 9 year old by the efforts of Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 for their efforts in trying to bring about peace. It was so disappointing when their efforts failed. I had skin in this game as my favourite Auntie and Uncle lived there – and still do along with my cousins and cousin's children. It was another 22 years before we'd see a stable peace there, ...
I am delighted to say you can now find my Author page on Facebook where I will post up links to my books on Amazon, write the occasional short story or flash fiction and keep you updated with story progress. Just click on the link image above or the link below: P L Herlihy | Facebook
Supreme Court changes. West Bank settlers. Fighting on Temple Mount and renewed missile exchanges between Israel, Lebanon and Gaza. They are the result of growing divisions within Israeli society and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is as much a reflection of these realities as he is a driver and exploiter of the splits. Roughly a quarter of Israel's 9.2 million Jews are Orthodox. Another quarter regard themselves as Secular. The 50 percent balance are a variety of in-between shades which means a more or less even split between the two sides of the debate. And it is a debate. A vicious ...
The BBC report that civil rights groups have claimed facial recognition technology will make racism within the police worse. They say that South Wales Police is set to start reusing the controversial technology after an independent review said it was not discriminatory, but Liberty have said that history showed it would "always be used disproportionately against communities of colour": Live facial recognition enables police to find people at big events suspected of committing crimes. In 2020, appeal court judges ruled a trial project to scan thousands of faces by South Wales Police was unlawful. The force had paused its use ...
Most GP surgeries in Tayside will be closed on Monday 10th April. Please check your practice's opening times. Make sure you get the right care in the right place this Easter. Find out more ➡️ rightcaretayside.scot.nhs.uk
