Embed from Getty ImagesBecause it was about hope and the future, the Conservatives couldn't wait to dismantle the Festival of Britain when they came back to power in 1951. One of the structures lost in the hurry was the Dome of Discovery, which has been credited with giving the public a taste for modern architecture. It was designed by Ralph Tubbs and, says Wikipedia, the consulting engineers were Freeman Fox & Partners, in particular Oleg Kerensky and Gilbert Roberts. Kerensky is a familiar name, and it turns out that Oleg was indeed the son of Alexander Kerensky, who overthrew the ...
"As Putin progressed down the line John immediately said, 'John Sweeney BBC. Would you tell us why you are murdering people in Ukraine'. The President had to answer in English because his interpreter was so taken aback that he was unable to. After the questioning John and his cameraman were taken into a cellar where he was repeatedly punched in the stomach before being released." Richard Kemp listens to John Sweeney at a dinner at the Local Government Conference. Josh Marshall takes us inside Twitter's 'extended weekend of doom'. Justin Ling asks what will happen to Putin's useful idiots without ...
For most current members of the Liberal Democrats, the tensions within the Liberal Party in the late 1960s and the different ways we responded to the student revolts of 1968, the Vietnam War, the apartheid regime in South Africa and the aftermath of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, which ended in the occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, are all ancient history. For those of us who were Young Liberals then, however, this is a key part of what shaped our approach to politics. A phone call last week from Hisham Hellyer to tell me that his father ...
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: Understanding different polling firms You may find these posts useful: 'Waiting for Survation': a reminder of the value of checking the evidence. YouGov: is it biased to the Conservatives? Frequently Asked Questions Why isn't polling company X in ...
Vilnius is about to enter the history books. The capital of Lithuania will next week (Tuesday and Wednesday) be the scene for a potentially historic NATO summit. At the top of the agenda will be the question of NATO membership for Ukraine. Needless to say, a decision to invite Ukraine into the Western Alliance would have global repercussions. It would both deter and infuriate Russia. Extend the Eastern borders of NATO. Strengthen the European arm of the Alliance. Allow the US to move more resources to the Pacific which would anger the Chinese. As of this writing most of the ...
Sat 8th
09:01
I'm taking a break from the lust and political intrigues, betrayal and deceit of modern life
I am on leave from councillor duties until the end of August. Twenty-three years ago, I scribbled the idea for two history books while relaxing in a beach bar in India over Christmas and New Year. It followed a week doing preliminary research in a library in Los Angeles. Over the next decade, I steadily collected information from archives around the UK, in LA and from printed books. More than a million words. Work on the books slowed while I campaigned to become a councillor, and having been elected in 2014, my writing on this project pretty much ground to ...
Very helpful information from Advice Direct Scotland, a Scotland-wide service which provides free advice to citizens. You can read more at www.facebook.com/advice.scot
