When I was taking my MA in Victorian Studies at Leicester, I was told that it was enlightening to look at what contemporary reviewers had made of classic novels when they came out. The lecturer who mentioned this was fond of quoting such a verdict of Vanity Fair. It said, in so many words, that Thackeray's libel against womankind in the book was not Becky Sharp but Amelia Sedley, because she was so wet. More support for my argument that the Victorians were much less Victorian than we imagine. We have the picture we do of 19th-century England because we ...
This, as far as I can establish, is Leicester's only Edward VIII pillar box. You will find it on Windley Road, where the Saffron Lane Estate reaches the ring road. Edward VIII's rounded monogram didn't grab me. It might have looked better on some experimental plastic box of the 1970s had he managed to retain the throne that long. I can't find an authoritative list of where all the Edward VIII boxes are, but it seems they number something over a hundred. There seem to be two more to be found in Leicestershire: look in Earl Shilton and Hugglescote.
There's been a lot of debate about when Rishi Sunak will choose to go to the country, and a range of theories have been offered, many of them entertaining, credible or logical. And, evidently, with the Conservatives holed beneath the waterline, opposition parties would really like to get on with things. But, the more I think about it, the harder it gets to formulate a credible path to a May election. Yes, it's entirely possible that things get worse as time passes, suggesting that a May election might limit the scale of the seemingly inevitable defeat to be suffered. But ...
There's a massive gulf between where our democracy is and where it should be. Time and time again, First Past the Post distorts the link between seats and votes in the House of Commons while the House of Lords makes a mockery of the notion that we have a representative democracy. Not to mention the stark reality that our political system is far too centralised – despite almost 25 years of devolution. Of course, we've made some great steps forward. The devolved parliaments and assemblies, as well as the introduction of Proportional Representation for Scottish councils, are great achievements of ...
Liberal Democrats care about our country's problems. We have solutions for them. And we know how to pay for them. A new Labour Government coming this year? They are going to need our help. And what they failed to address in their manifesto; we will need to persuade them to fix. Some of our country's worst problems were brought home to me in a Guardian front-page story last Friday. It was reporting on a survey from MDDUS, a medical defence organisation, of 1671 doctors from the four home nations. The survey found that 65% of doctors overall, including nearly four ...
Labour strategists are warning their party not to take it for granted that they will sweep into power in the coming general election with a large majority. They point to earlier campaigns, in the UK and elsewhere, during which substantial initial poll leads have evaporated, to leave either no overall majority or even a surprise victory for the incumbent government. It looks extremely unlikely that the Conservatives can recover that far; but it may be wise to reflect on the possible implications of Labour failing to win a comfortable majority. Many of us, while desperately anxious to see the back ...
A review of evidence by the Badger Trust after 10 years of culling in England killed 210,237 badgers, costing £58.8m, without a significant easing of cattle TB, has found that improved cattle testing, better financial and mental health support for farmers, and cattle and badger vaccination will more effectively tackle bovine TB in cattle than culling badgers. The Guardian reports that the disease has cost taxpayers more than £100m each year, with 20,000 cows prematurely slaughtered: The government promised in 2021 to end intensive badger culling by 2025 but is now expected to consult on replacing it with "epidemiological culling", ...
Constituents have been in touch seeking more detail about the Scotland-wide ban on pavement parking that launched last month. The City Council's Team Leader, Parking & Sustainable Transport has updated councillors as follows - but please get in touch if you have any further queries : "The Scottish Government's national prohibition on pavement parking, double parking and parking across dropped kerbs came into effect on 11th December 2023. Dundee City Council has begun to issue Warning Notices to vehicles which are in contravention of the new rules. We will continue to issue warnings during December 2023 and January 2024 and ...
