Yes, we're back from another family trip to see our granddaughter (and her parents, naturally). I even found some time to visit my own family in New York, which was as wonderful as ever. But all I want to do now is sleep. It's one of the things about getting older - jet lag hits harder and for longer. And I know the advice, try to get your routine back to normal, but the temptation of some horizontal oblivion is just too much. Luckily, having travelled on a Friday night/Saturday morning, I've got a weekend to recover, catch up on ...
We had floods in Market Harborough earlier this week but, judging by this newsreel, they were nothing to what the town experienced in the summer of 1958. The Ritz stood opposite the Market Hall - it closed as a cinema in 1978. It's where I saw Jaws and Monty Python and the Holy Grail. My friend Tim Farnsworth knew about the abrupt ending of the latter and insisted that we left tat once to show how cool we were. Look too for the imposing former carpet factory behind The Square. It opened in 1805, and in 1865 was where Robert ...
Lib Dem PPC Caroline Voaden noticed something horrible online today. One of those design your own t-shirt/hoodie/vest companies had allowed a t-shirt to appear on its website, selling for £18.18, which said, shockingly, Eat, Sleep, Rape, Repeat. Caroline is a former CEO of Devon Rape Crisis and has called for this t-shirt to be withdrawn from sale. If you are not on Twitter, you can email the company at support@viralstyle.com. I've done so, asking them to withdraw this vile product, apologise and put processes in place that stop such designs getting on to their website. Surely this must have been ...
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, The Week in Polls: General election voting intention polls PollsterConLabLDGrnRUKCon leadFieldwork WeThink 25% (-1) 47% (+4) 9% (-2) 5% (-1) 10% (-1) -22% 4-5/1 PeoplePolling 23% (+4) 45% (-4) 10% (+1) 6% (-1) 10% (-1) -22% 28/12 Deltapoll ...
For many years Liberal Democrats, like me, campaigned against the closure of Post Office branches, as we believed that every community which loses its local Post Office is poorer in a number of ways. They provided not only essential postal and banking services, but also a social hub and a lifeline for many, who did not have a bank account or access to the internet. Ironically, those Sub-Postmasters whose Post Offices did close escaped the risk of being caught up in what has been described as the greatest ever miscarriage of justice in Britain, with several hundred innocent people losing ...
Here are the scores on the doors for the latest quarter of principal authority council by-elections:
Sussex World reports: Adur district councillor Paul Mansfield ... was accused of stealing a Joie stroller at Itchenor Sailing Club, Chichester, on August 28, 2022. CCTV footage, which was shown in court, showed Mansfield - joined by his aunt, Shirley Cheal, and a friend - putting the pram in the boot of his wife's white Citroen. The councillor, who represents Peverel ward in Sompting, denied it was him who stole the pushchair, claiming his friend had picked it up with a view to recycling it... The court heard Mansfield was given the chance to pay back the value of the ...
The Turnip Taliban are back, says the Independent. James Bagge, one of the Conservatives who resigned from the party in protest at Liz Truss's selection as candidate for South West Norfolk in 2009 amid complaints she had been "foisted" on them by Tory HQ, is to stand against her at the general election. He told the newspaper: "A turnip has deeper roots than a lettuce." I had more sympathy for the Turnip Taliban than was the fashionable at the time, but that's not what's important here. Because Liz Truss would not be the first politician laid low by a turnip. ...
Since the start of November the Houthis of Yemen have launched more than 20 attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. Nearly 15 percent of the world's trade passes through the Red Sea. Already 20 percent of the ships have been diverted around South Africa, adding to transport costs and inflation. Those ship owners who continue to sail through the Red Sea are faced with rocketing insurance bills. NATO ships have rushed to the region and the Houthis have been warned of terrible consequences if they continue their strikes. So, who are the Houthis and why are they attacking the ...
It is not commonplace for Tory MPs to put their principles before career, but kudos to Chris Skidmore, the former net zero tsar and former energy minister, who has said he will resign the Conservative whip and stand down as an MP next week in protest over the PM's climate failures. The Independent reports that in a scathing exit statement Skidmore said he could no longer continue as a Tory or "condone" the government because the PM's environmental stance is "wrong and will cause future harm": Sunak's proposed energy bill - to be introduced in the Commons next week - ...
All are welcome to join the University of Dundee's Discovery Days 2024 from Wednesday 10th to Friday 12th January 2024. Listen to short talks from award-winning researchers, teachers and communicators. Discovery Days offer a fascinating exploration of a wide range of important topics, from health and wellbeing, human rights, and ground-breaking scientific research and arts practice. All speakers are helping to transform lives locally and around the world. Everyone is welcome to join the talks at the Dalhousie Building on Old Hawkhill. Come to listen to 10-15 minute presentations and ask speakers questions about their work. Read more and book ...
