I filmed this at the Gateshead Lib Dem annual dinner last week - members and guests assembling at the Rosa 12 restaurant in Low Fell. A good turnout for our first annual dinner. Sorting the dinner for autumn next year may be a bit more challenging. It is looking increasingly likely that the general election will be held then!
There were 5 principal council by-elections this week. There were some great performances from Lib Dem candidates to enjoy. First of all though we would like to celebrate a fantastic gain on Oswestry Town Council as newly elected Lib Dem Councillor James Owen gained Cambrian ward from the Green Party. This was an excellent result on so many levels. Having not stood in the ward previously our win was achieved with over 55% of the vote (and a 43.8% swing from the Green Party!). James becomes our first councillor on Oswestry TC. A council that is in the constituency of ...
"Like a partner in an abusive relationship, the BBC is desperate to be loved by those who despise it and everything it stands for. So, even as this tired and disgraced Government, reeling from a series of catastrophic by-election defeats, is limping timidly towards its reckoning with an increasingly hostile electorate, the BBC's Director-General felt it necessary to abase himself before its baying backbenchers." Patrick Howse on Tim Davie's self-basement before the 1922 Committee. Johnny Rich says the government is wrecking its own reforms of technical education. "Young Deer's version of the Osage tragedies opened just four months after the ...
Parliamentary by-election winner Sarah Dyke sees he seat of Somerton and Frome undergo major boundary changes for the next election. She's now decided which new seat to stand for: The MP has now announced she will be contesting the new Glastonbury and Somerton seat, setting up a rematch with Conservative candidate Faye Purbrick. The new Glastonbury and Somerton seat essentially comprises the western half of Ms Dyke's current constituency... Ms Dyke said: "These boundary changes have been forced upon us – this is not a decision I would like to have made so close to having won the by-election. Somerton ...
The North West Relief Road (NWRR) has always been controversial. It is environmentally destructive. It has been subject to delays and ever increasing costs. It will spend scarce funds that could be used elsewhere in the county. It will promote car travel at the expense of other modes of travel. Shropshire Council has not produced a business case for the road. That will be produced after the planning application has been approved. It hasn't assessed whether the road construction will lead to pollution of the water supply for Shrewsbury. That again will come after approval. This is clearly back to ...
It's not easy being human. Especially at the moment, with the world becoming more complex and less comprehensible by the day. It can be difficult to discern what is right, what is wrong and what (if anything) we should do about it all. However, a strong ethical stance can help to bring order to the chaos. And I'd like to tell you a little about mine. I'm a humanist. Humanism is a philosophical stance – a way of seeing the world – that focuses on the inherent value in all human beings. And it's been around for a while. It ...
I was horrified to wake up on 7th October to the awful terrorist attacks in Israel, which we have condemned unequivocally. I have been heartbroken and dismayed to see the scenes of violence in Israel and Palestine over the past two and a half weeks.It is hard to watch the news right now. We continue to hear reports of the brutal terrorism of Hamas, which still holds more than 200 Israelis hostage in Gaza. And now we have a situation in Gaza which is frankly devastating. The 2.2 million residents of the Gaza Strip, over half of whom are children, ...
I've been called Paki, terrorist, told to "go home", "go back to where you belong" and one person said he would "bomb me". Not just online, but to my face. The problem is that I've got so used to it that I don't react. I don't get angry anymore. I just accept I will always be attacked. I've learnt a lot the last few days. I've cried too. The tensions in the Middle East have impacted me quite personally and I see the ripple effects it has in London acutely. Luckily, I am surrounded by caring friends and family who ...
As readers may know I have been helped in my court cases over the past few years by Samuel Collingwood Smith. As well as being a law graduate and former councillor, Sam is also a software developer and recently he has begun two article series on artificial intelligence. One focuses on neural networks, one more on the tensor mathematics used in modern AI and neural networks. These are intended to
Good news for inspirational Eastbourne Lib Dem Josh Babarinde: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 A decade ago, Dominic Grieve was a Conservative MP in David Cameron's cabinet. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 This week, Dominic came to support me at a campaign fundraiser. Politics is changing! Thanks so much for your mentorship and support, Dominic [IMG: 🙏] pic.twitter.com/au4OXFqsDc — Josh Babarinde OBE (@JoshBabarinde) October 26, 2023
The Guardian reports on comments by the new head of the House of Lords appointments commission that peers should be more robustly vetted for suitability. The paper says that Ruth Deech was speaking in the light of public "disquiet" over candidates who appear to have been picked for being big donors or friends of those in power, though why it takes a public furore to come to what is a logical conclusion is not clear: Ruth Deech, a leading lawyer and academic who was chosen by the government to lead the commission, said she wanted to push for peers to ...
Residents recently contacted us about the deteriorating state of the road surface in Shaftesbury Park - see photos. We therefore took up this matter with the council's Roads Maintenance Partnership requesting improvements - ideally resurfacing should be considered in a future roads capital programme.
Five principal authority council by-elections this week, with four Liberal Democrat candidates, the same number as last time around in these wards. Higham Hill (Waltham Forest) Council By-Election Result: [IMG: 🌹] LAB: 57.2% (-3.6) [IMG: 🔶] LDM: 16.6% (+7.0) [IMG: 🌍] GRN: 12.3% (-7.9) [IMG: 🧑🔧] TUSC: 8.9% (+4.1) [IMG: 🌳] CON: 4.8% (+0.3) Labour HOLD. Changes w/ 2022. — Election Maps UK (@ElectionMapsUK) October 26, 2023
One of my favourite cricket writers, Matthew Engel, was this evening elected as councillor for Golden Valley South ward of Herefordshire Council. He was standing as an Independent in a by-election caused by the death of the sitting Independent councillor Peter Jinman. Later. Engel received over 60 per cent of the vote, beating Conservative, Labour and Lib Dem candidates, as well as another Independent.
