Now I admit, I'm highly unlikely to be ever mistaken for a Conservative. I might be fiscally cautious, conservative even. And I'm never likely to be accused of being a radical thinker. But am I the only person that wonders why this country doesn't appear to have a traditional, averse to change, cautious centre-right political party any more? Clearly, there's a space in the British political market for what one might describe as a European-style Christian Democrat type of party. Because, equally obviously, the culture war fighting, counter-institution group that leads the current Conservative Party isn't it. A properly conservative ...
Paul and Rebecca Whitewick take us to Oxenhall and Ashperton, the two abandoned tunnels on the Hereford and Gloucester Canal. For more about this lost waterway, see the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal Trust website.
WFP People's Health Trust: every day we hear more about just how difficult it will be for millions of pensioners GDP: Last govt left our economy on life support 100 days since GE: Govt should act "bolder and faster" to tackle the issues the country is facing Rennie: Reckless behaviour of education secretary undermines Scottish education Perth & Kinross Lib Dem secures Dunkeld housing deal WFP People's Health Trust: every day we hear more about just how difficult it will be for millions of pensioners Responding to the People's Health Trust report that says vulnerable pensioners face 'impossible choices' around ...
This was a mammoth week with of by-elections: 21 were held across the country, with 1 in Wales on Wednesday and the rest on Thursday across the country. Overall, the week saw Labour and independent losses while other parties have made gains. The Lib Dems, in particular, have doubled the seat count from 1 to 2, both victories being gains from the two major parties. The first belongs to the Lib Dems in Southampton City Council, where Cllr George Percivall doubled the Lib Dem vote share in the Shirley ward and triumph over the second place Conservatives. Labour, who had ...
In 2024, 'the year of elections', the UK's general election saw the end of fourteen years of calamitous Conservative governance, while the ongoing US election campaigns have proved tumultuous, to put it mildly. Regardless of the changes to the Democratic ticket, the presidential and vice-presidential debates gave Americans the chance to know who they are voting for in that race. In the UK, however, such debates have made things less clear. The 2010 general election saw the advent of televised debates. Originally proposed in 1964, they were opposed in the belief that presidential-style debates were alien to British political culture ...
Election campaigns often put significant effort into persuading voters that their candidate(s) could win. But does such campaigning really change people's expectations of who might win? And even if it people's views do change, does being seen as a more likely winner really help you win the election? Or in other words, are all those "winning here" posters and bar charts worth it? The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts welcomes back to the show Justin Fisher to discuss just that, courtesy of new research from himself and two colleagues: Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast ...
Ian Sollom, MP for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire made his maiden speech in the debate on the NHS on Tuesday 8 October. The text is below: I congratulate the hon. Member for Gloucester (Alex McIntyre) on an excellent maiden speech. He packed an awful lot into just over five minutes and set the bar very high for me. I am aware that I am being watched by you, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is an immense honour and hugely humbling to address the House for the first time as the first ever MP for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire. The ...
Embed from Getty ImagesI've been moaning about the way the BBC is presenting Young Musician of the Year this time. It's being treated as though it were The X Factor or Master Chef. Give it a couple more years and the contestants will all have stories about their dying granny's wish that they should play the bassoon and cry when they are put through to the next round. But there's something even more depressing at work this year, as Richard Morrison points out in an article that has somehow escaped The Times's paywall: None of the six semi-finalists for the ...
Whether by accident or design the Conservative Parliamentary Party have nominated two populists, both positioned towards the right wing of their party, as candidates to be their next leader. In the 24 hours before the final stage of voting, it appeared James Cleverly had the momentum. Perhaps as Conservative leader, Cleverly might have been able to reach moderate voters who abandoned the Conservatives in 2024, towards Tory gains in 2029. We now know that for the foreseeable, the Conservatives will be occupying political space much to the right of that claimed by the party David Cameron led until 2016. There ...
Fri 11th
11:18
Are some premature births caused by a average lower mitochondrial membrane potential in the baby?
When it comes to development there are a number of steps which can be quite well defined. One, of course, is death. Another is birth. Then there is sexual maturity and for some people menopause. There are plenty of papers which link precocious puberty with early menopause. There are also those which link early menopause with higher mortality and earlier age based diseases. This points to
We have an extraordinary group of new MPs, bringing a wide range of experience to our Parliamentary team. But one of them is truly unique. Dr Roz Savage, MP for South Cotswolds, is the only woman in the world who has rowed solo across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. She holds four Guinness World Records. And Roz is also very lucky because she drew the third ticket in the private members bill ballot. Not surprisingly she is very interested in environmental issues, so she will be reviving the Climate and Nature Bill, which had previously been proposed on two ...
A bumper set of 21 principal authority council by-elections this week, with another non-Thursday contest to warm us up first before 20 on Thursday. Across the 21 there are 18 Lib Dem candidates, a very promising up 5 on the last time these seats were up. There were impressive gains for the Lib Dems in both Southampton and Ealing. But let's start with the non-Thursday contest, which this time was Welsh and on a Wednesday: Machynlleth (Powys) Council By-Election Result: [IMG: 🌼] PLC: 35.9% (-6.2) [IMG: 🙋] IND: 30.5% (New) [IMG: 🌹] LAB: 15.5% (New) [IMG: 🔶] LDM: 10.9% (New) ...
BBC News wins our Headline of the Day Award. Congratulations to them and best wishes to Boki.
From the Curator of Museum Services at the University of Dundee : We're delighted to be taking part in Black History Month this year with several events and activities: Throughout October, Monday to Friday - 9am-5pmDalhousie Building FoyerExhibition - Dundee and Empire Connections with the Caribbean (exporting linen) and South Asia (importing jute) provided the basis for much of Dundee's wealth and this legacy is evident today in the city's buildings and amenities. Many Dundonians left the city to work in parts of the Empire and later many others came from previously colonised countries to make Dundee their new home. ...
