Another previously safe Conservative seat in Shropshire has fallen to the Liberal Democrats in a council by-election tonight. Here is the result from the Alveley and Claverley ward: Lib Dems 662 (58.7%) Conservative 408 (36.3%) Labour 55 (4.9%) I make the swing from Conservative to Liberal Democrat an astonishing 34.6%. Congratulations to the victorious Lib Dem candidate Colin Taylor and everyone who worked to get him elected. This is a large rural ward lying to the east of Bridgnorth. It just goes to show that a leading Shropshire Tory was right the other day when he wrote that there are ...
Six by-elections this week, two Parliamentary and four principal authority local by-elections. Many thanks to Emma, Sunny, their teams and the thousands of members and supporters who helped them in Mid Beds or Tamworth. It's been a huge team effort with many playing key roles, and it's been a pleasure for everyone to be supporting two such great candidates. — Mark Pack [IMG: 🔶] (@markpack) October 19, 2023
Thu 19th
23:10
Sir Peter Soulsby criticises Keir Starmer over his stance on Israel's campaign in Gaza
Middle East Eye reports that Sir Peter Soulsby, Leicester Labour elected mayor, has criticised Keir Starmer for his uncritical backing of Israel's military campaign in Gaza. The website quotes a letter from Soulsby to the Labour leader: "The impression that has been given is that this condemnation of recent events extends to approving uncritically the Israeli government's response and of ignoring the decades of injustice and the oppression of Palestinians and the violations of their human rights," Soulsby wrote. The mayor also said that he had visited the occupied Palestinian territories and believed that Israeli settlement activity, as well as ...
Thu 19th
18:52Sunak's Covid start-up fund invested nearly £2m in luxury underwear firm linked to his wife
From the Guardian website this afternoon: Rishi Sunak's controversial fund to support start-ups during the Covid pandemic invested nearly £2m in companies linked to his wife, Guardian analysis has found. Carousel Ventures, a company part-owned by Akshata Murty's venture capital firm, got an investment of £250,000 from the Future Fund to help fund its ownership of a luxury underwear business called Heist Studios, it can be disclosed. It is the fourth business linked to Murty revealed to have received an investment from the fund set up by Sunak to support start-ups when he was chancellor during the Covid pandemic. None ...
Unfortunately we don't have a graphic for that! The contest in Mid Bedfordshire today is, unusually, a fight between three parties – Conservatives, Labour and Lib Dems. The other by-election today in Tamworth is a much more straightforward affair, between the Tories and Labour. Traditionally on polling day we don't speculate on outcomes (often because we are much too busy!), but in the early hours of tomorrow morning Lib Dem eyes will be turned towards Mid Beds. * Mary Reid is a contributing editor on Lib Dem Voice. She was a councillor in Kingston upon Thames, where she is still ...
In many ways the Welsh Government's updated finance statement was both predictable and tame. As ever the Finance Minister avoided all the hard decisions and instead moved some cash around, sent a begging letter to the UK treasury and trimmed a few spending lines here and there. I suspect the really hard sums will come in the next budget round, but we will see. As Wales-on-line reports, one of the big winners was Transport for Wales, who were given an extra £125m to spend on trains, but that does not avert the real damage to transport from the reduction in ...
Just a reminder that, with the schools closed for the October holidays, Michael's usual weekly ward surgeries do not recommence until after the school holidays. However, we can still be contacted on any local issues or concerns - just e-mail westend@dundeelibdems.org.uk - many thanks!
