Sir Peter Soulsby, Leicester's elected Labour mayor, is not happy, reports the Guardian: Keith Vaz could be re-elected as an MP because Labour is failing to highlight that he was disgraced in office amid drug and sex allegations, the Labour mayor of Leicester has said. Peter Soulsby said he was "disappointed and frustrated" by his party's complacency, which could allow the former Europe minister to win back his former seat of Leicester East. Vaz, 67, is running a well-publicised and slick campaign as a One Leicester candidate to retake his old seat on 4 July in a multicultural area which ...
Another constituency poll is out from Survation, this time for Islington North, where Jeremy Corbyn is standing as an independent.
Some of the best data visualisations in the media during this general election are coming from Tom Calver in The Times.
Conservative fears of an electoral wipe out next Thursday will be deepened by analysis in the Financial Times suggesting that Labour is diverting its activists from Liberal Democrat targets in the South of England: In the Lib Dems' traditional west country heartland, Labour activists in Bridgwater, north Somerset, are being sent to Plymouth, an 83-mile journey that means passing at least four other constituencies. Labour is also asking activists from nine seats across Surrey and Hampshire to campaign in the strong Tory seat of Aldershot. If the army town in Hampshire had the same boundaries back in 2019, the Conservatives ...
This is a long campaign, with more than another week to go. We're no doubt all getting a bit tired, but keyed up by the feeling that things are going very well in our target seats, and that Ed Davey is coming across as the most human and likeable of the contending leaders. But don't forget the strain that an election places on parliamentary candidates. All of us need to care for our candidates, make sure that they eat regularly and sleep enough, are supported by others when campaigning - and thanked and cherished when the campaign ends. I fought ...
I'm now back from my walking holiday based on Arnside, on Morecambe Bay. On one glorious day we crossed the Bay and eventually walked into Grange over Sands, which was festooned with a riot of golden diamonds urging support for the wonderful Tim Farron. There was no sign of any political activity whatsoever in Arnside. I was told that they had formerly been in Tim's constituency but the Boundary Commission review had now "lumped them with Morecambe." The people I asked didn't seem very pleased about it. I am a great admirer of Tim. He is warm, funny, a great ...
Fraser's weekly ward surgeries take place later today and are as follows : Tuesdays at 5pm prompt - Blackness Library Tuesdays at 5.45pm prompt - Ancrum Road Primary School All residents welcome - no appointment necessary. Although Michael will have surgeries on Thursday, these are Fraser's final surgeries of this school term and surgeries return after the school summer holidays in August.
The BBC reports on the conclusions of an Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) study that the UK's main political parties have "ducked" addressing stark choices over public finances in their manifestos and that it will be a "considerable surprise" if taxes are not increased over the next five years. They say that the IFS have accused Labour and the Conservatives of engaging in a "conspiracy of silence" and ignoring "painful choices": It said the UK has the highest debt level for more than 60 years, taxes are near a record high and spending has swelled - but public services are ...
