Ryton ward in Gateshead used to be Lib Dem held. Sadly, it went Labour in the Coalition years and before now we were not in a position to mount a strong campaign. But that is changing. We have a new candidate and a new determination to take on Labour in the ward. Steve Kelly has been adopted by the Lib Dems to take on Labour in the May local elections.He had a meet-the-people event outside
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) 44% (-2) 9% (nc) 6% (nc) 10% (+2) -19% 22-23/2 Opinium 27% (nc) 42% (-1) 10% (nc) 7% (nc) 10% (+1) -15% 21-23/5 Techne ...
Click on the image above to go to the BBC Rewind website and see a 1964 report by a bemused Christopher Brasher on the Hallaton bottle kicking. This is in essence one of those football games between villages that claim medieval roots and are the ancestors of modern football and rugby. Wikipedia calls these contests 'folk football', which I rather like. Brasher, incidentally, interviews Jack Stamp, founder of Market Harborough's most celebrated undertakers. Read more about bottle kicking on the Medbourne Village website.
Lee Anderson has spent most of the past 2 years saying horrible things to excite the Tory right. From telling anyone unhappy with how the UK treats migrants could "f**k off back to France" to saying that people should be able to feed themselves for 30p per day, giving him his "30p Lee" nickname, to horribly transphobic comments about Eddie Izzard, he has been one of the commanders of the Tory culture wars. Last night, talking to GB News, he took it all a step further by being unambiguously racist and islamophobic about London's Mayor, Sadiq Khan. From the BBC: ...
In the distant past, 1967 to be precise, world leaders hammered out something called "The Outer Space Treaty." It remains in effect, but for how long? And what would be the result of its disappearance from the international statute books? The reason it may be overwhelmed by circumstances is that thousands of satellites have been launched into space since 1967. They have become an essential part of modern life. They are vital weather satellites; GPS systems that direct are travels; link our mobile phones and banking business and they are the space-based links for the all-powerful worldwide web. The satellites ...
Like many people I worry about Donald Trump and the possibility that he might be re-elected at the head of a serious right wing coalition determined to impose their medieval views on the rest of us, but am reassured here by the checks and balances built into the UK's non-constitution. But could it happen here as well? If it wasn't bad enough having a Prime Minister echoing some of the sentiments that got Enoch Powell sacked from the Tory front bench in the 1960s, we now have a cohort of Tories determined to use the Trump playbook to further their ...
Two years ago we all woke up to the awful news that Russia, after lots of menacing, had finally invaded Ukraine. Honestly, not many of us gave the Ukrainians much chance in fending them off. That they are still standing is down to their charismatic leader and a huge international effort. Ed Davey said: We stand with all Ukrainians as they bravely and brilliantly resist the Russian war machine. The UK will continue to aid their fight for their country, for their democracy and for their freedom. Sarah Green said: Today we mark the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion ...
