Monday saw me heading to Creeting St Peter for our final meeting of the 2024/25 fiscal year. I have to admit that it feels a little odd to be chairing a Council that serves a community that I no longer live in, but I still feel that I'm making a contribution, and until my colleagues conclude that they'd be better off without me, I'm happy to serve.The agenda was a fairly light one, but with a vacancy and a colleague unable to attend, it was mostly a meeting of noting reports.We did discuss the proposals for local government reform, benefiting ...
This post was written for Terence Towles Canote's 11th Annual Favourite TV Show Episode Blogathon. "I've given Rigsby some love wood. He's going to burn it outside Ruth's hut." "Will it work?" "I shouldn't think so. It came off the wardrobe."I've chosen Charisma because it displays what was unique about Rising Damp. Here is a Seventies situation comedy with something interesting to say about race. Running to four series and broadcast between 1974 and 1978, Rising Damp dealt with the seedy landlord Rigsby (played by the incomparable Leonard Rossiter) and his tenants. Though other characters came and went, the core ...
[IMG: Paul Duffy] News of the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Runcorn and Helsby Parliamentary by-election, courtesy of the BBC: The Liberal Democrats have chosen their candidate to contest the upcoming Runcorn and Helsby by-election. Paul Duffy will be hoping to take the seat having previously stood as a candidate for Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner. He said he was "determined" to stand up for residents on issues such as cost of living, social care and crime... Mr Duffy said the by-election was a "really exciting opportunity to provide an alternative to the two main parties and to Reform's media ...
Sat 22nd
11:31
Lib Dems urge government to fund scheme that traces Ukrainian children abducted by Russia
Embed from Getty ImagesFrom the Guardian: The Liberal Democrats are urging the government to provide replacement funding to an American project that locates Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia, as the party gathers for a spring conference heavily focused on the response to Donald Trump. British support for the Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale University could be part of a more robust approach towards the US president, particularly over Ukraine, according to Calum Miller, the Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesperson. Earlier this month, Yale said US government funding for the lab, which has attempted to track the fate of the estimated ...
Welcome to my summary of the latest national voting intention polls for the next general election, along with party leadership ratings. 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 PollsterConLabLDGrnRefLab leadFieldwork Opinium 21% (+1) 26% (-2) 13% (+1) 8% (nc) 26% (-1) 0% (vs. Ref) 19-21/3 GB Techne 23% (+1) 27% (nc) 14% (nc) 7% ...
The first shots were fired this week in the war between the White House and the American judiciary. As expected, the courts have moved to block Donald Trump's disregard for the constitution and the rule of law and to nudge him toward legality. Not so expected is the Republicans response: The threat of impeachment. So far four judges have either been threatened with impeachment or have had articles of impeachment lodged against them in the House of Representatives. They are: Judge Paul Engelmayer issued an order preventing DOGE from accessing the federal payments system. Judge John Bates ruled that health ...
In partnership with BT, Ability Net offers free digital skills training for disabled adults and those 65 and above. Support is normally delivered in 1.5-2 hour blocks, across 2-3 sessions, and can be on a range of topics from online banking, to keeping safe online, or getting to know your smartphone. The website can be found at www.abilitynet.org.uk or you can call 0300 180 0028 for more information.
The BBC reports that Nigel Farage called the behaviour of suspended Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe "disgusting" and "contemptible" in private WhatsApp messages. The broadcasteer says that in the messages, which were sent after Lowe criticised the Reform leader in a Daily Mail interview, Farage accused him of "damaging the party just before elections": Reform has always denied there was any connection between Lowe's suspension and his criticism of the party. In his Mail interview on 5 March, Lowe called Reform a "protest party" led by "the Messiah". He was suspended on 7 March and reported to police over claims ...
