The disbanded, Northampton-based cult The Jesus Army is back in the news today. The Northampton Chronicle & Echo reports that the compensation to be paid to survivors of abuse within the cult may reach £10m. I blogged about the Jesus Army a few years ago, and the Chronicle & Echo gives a brief history of it today: Originally set up by founder Noel Stanton in Bugbrooke in 1969, the Jesus Army was a cult-like religious movement, which attracted thousands of members who lived together in close-knit, rural communes. Mr Stanton remained at the helm of the organisation until 2009 when ...
Embed from Getty ImagesOne sign the Conservatives think they are going to lose the election is the number of their MPs who have chosen to retire rather than defend their seats. The Guardian reported this morning: So far, 90 of 650 sitting MPs have announced they will not be seeking re-election. Of those, 14 are former secretaries of state - 11 of them Tory - and nine are select committee chairs. This is the highest number of departing MPs since 2010, with more retirements expected to come. The exodus is greater on the Tory benches, which are on track for ...
Mon 19th
17:37
Shropshire Council approves hike in car parking charges - that's not a surprise but it will damage L...
Parking charges will go up in Ludlow following a decision by the Economic and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee not to refer the proposed increase in charges in our town back to the council's cabinet. Charges for Wem and for Shrewsbury in the evening and on Sundays will be reconsidered by the cabinet. I spoke for Ludlow at the meeting but could not put forward a recommendation because I am not a member of the committee. It was established during the meeting that £4.3m "surplus" had been generated from parking charges in Shropshire over the last three years. I argued ...
Mon 19th
11:58
GUEST POST The Lib Dems approach the general election in a far weaker position than in 1997
However many seats the Liberal Democrats win at the next election, the patchiness of their support and their lack of a clear 'third party' profile will remain a serious problem, argues Anselm Anon. The results from the Wellingborough and Kingswood by-elections were no great surprise. At first glance, by-elections in this parliament look similar to those in 1992-97, with a Conservative government running out of steam, and the Labour Party widely expected to win the next General Election, and the Lib Dems also making gains. In 1992-97, there were 18 by-elections, with four Lib Dem gains from the Tories. In ...
It's not only Lord Bonkers who will be glad of some new characters to write about after the election. Though as to how many there will be... Saturday As ever, Christmas here at the Hall was a highlight of my year. The swelling of our parliamentary party through by-election victories saw some new faces around the table - I was, for instance, able to enjoy a valuable conversation with Sarah Dyke about the latest approaches to liver fluke. Yet, by the Library fire that evening, I could not help but think of past Christmases and old friends. Of how John ...
Mon 19th
10:05
Christine Jardine introduces Bill to give British citizens right to Consular assistance
Back in November, there was not a dry eye in the house when Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her husband Richard Ratcliffe spoke to Scottish Lib Dem Conference. From our piece at the time: One of the most moving sessions was an interview, hosted by Christine Jardine, with Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe and Richard Ratcliffe. Christine said she still has the blue flower Richard gave her when she went to visit him outside the Iranian Embassy when he was on hunger strike during Nazanin's six year imprisonment in Iran. Nazanin and Richard want British citizens to have a right to consular protection after ...
It's been a slightly depressing week in some ways, and promising in others. Two by-elections saw crushing defeats for the Conservatives, which I think would generally be seen as a "good thing", even if we weren't the winners. In truth, it was hard to see a scenario where we would be – in both Kingswood and Wellingborough we've been a long way adrift even in relatively good years – and 2024 isn't that good. There's an increasing clear sense that voters just want to see the Conservatives gone, and will vote for whoever is seen as most likely to achieve ...
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR THE WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2024 Blinshall Street (Douglas Street to 50 metres south) - closed from 27 November 2023 for 6 months for road safety concerns. Brown Street (south of Douglas Street) - closed until May 2024 for construction works. Seafield Road, Dundee - closed from its westmost end (in cul-de-sac) extending for a distance of no more than 20 metres in an easterly direction to facilitate a site access for a new housing development. Commencing Tuesday 22 August 2023 for 15 months. Kirsty Semple ...
It was inevitable really, that after two more devastating by-election losses, nervous Tory MPs would want to cling to hope, any hope that they might survive the coming deluge, by yet again defenestrating their leader. The Guardian reports that Tory MPs critical of Rishi Sunak's leadership are hoping he will stand down voluntarily to avoid the spectacle of a damaging coup and are looking to May's local elections as a potential crunch point. A former minister said several Conservative MPs had contacted Graham Brady, who heads the 1922 Committee of backbench Tories, to say they want the prime minister to ...
