Andrew Pulver has ranked all 19 Ealing Comedies for the Guardian. In the process, he notices some films that even I have not seen. But I've seen most of them, so here are a few thoughts on his reviews and rankings. Following his counting up the list up from 19th and last place, my first comment is that Hue and Cry is ranked far too low at 16th place. The film a celebration of the way boys ruled London and its bombsites - this would never be seen in such a positive light in a British film again - and ...
Interest rates: Families are still facing a mortgage cliff edge Khan 'failing' on Met Police reform – Lib Dems slam mayor's record on first anniversary of Casey report Cole-Hamilton challenges Yousaf on SNP Government's climate record Rennie responds to poverty statistics Water Industry Commission for Scotland branded an embarrassment Interest rates: Families are still facing a mortgage cliff edge Responding to the Bank of England's decision to keep interest rates at 5.25%, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said: This is cold comfort for millions of homeowners who still face massive hikes in their mortgage bills after Liz Truss ...
Chris Nelson was first selected as our PPC for Kettering for the 2010 General Election. He was selected again for the forthcoming election. Sadly he has had to stand down because of the abuse he has received as a stammerer. He spoke to STAMMA – a charity that supports people with a stammer. Chris says he is used to a certain level of abuse but was shocked at how personal and unpleasant it became once he stepped into public life. Clips of him stammering were circulated by political opponents , and some imitated him "as a joke". He felt supported ...
Bob Hardy, the late Bishop of Lincoln, once described his diocese as "two thousand square miles of bugger all". But it used to be even bigger. In 1837 it reached as far south as Hertfordshire. In the same year, the Archdeaconry of Nottingham was transferred to Lincoln from York. In 1884 it became a diocese in its own right with Southwell Minster as its cathedral. But Southwell has never been a city, even though the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica described it as one. According to the Wikipedia article on city status in the United Kingdom it was not made one in ...
I often retweet Matt Green's videos, but this one is particularly good so I'm blogging it. Reader's voice: You mean you can't think of anything to write. Anyway, don't we stand for office rather than run in Britain? Liberal England replies: Thank you for voicing that observation, which I was far too polite to make myself.
As the government rushes through the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) bill before Parliament, it was encouraging to see its unanimous rejection at York conference, which adopted 'Beyond Rwanda: a fairer way Forward on Asylum'. In my speech I highlighted the farce in three stages that is the government's 'Rwanda plan': First, the government passed the Nationality and Borders Act, creating a two-tier system of refugees (which it never activated), proceeding to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Rwanda. Second, the Supreme Court finds the plan to be unlawful. Third, the government signs a treaty, which the cross-party Lords ...
There is a new First Minister in the Welsh Senedd and it looks like his first test will be how prepared he is to change direction in a major policy area where his government is failing badly. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has published a damning report which concludes that education policy in Wales faces major challenges including low outcomes across a range of measures and high levels of inequality. Amongst their conclusions are that PISA scores declined by more in Wales than in most other countries in 2022, with scores declining by about 20 points (equivalent to about 20% ...
Michael's ward surgeries take place today and every Thursday during school term time. They are as follows : Thursdays at 5.45pm prompt - West End Campus (come to reception area of St Joseph's RC and Victoria Park Primary Schools) Thursdays at 6.30pm prompt - Harris Academy reception area All welcome - no appointment necessary!
