Mary Hannity, in the new London Review of Books, reviews a work on the social care of children between 1870 and 1920. In the process she reminds us that Thomas Barnardo ('Dr Barnardo') was not all be purported to be - and not just because he never qualified as a doctor. Barnardo opened his first children's home in Stepney in 1870. Children were not "taken out of the gutter" but most often accompanied to the institution by a parent who used it as a last resort, having "drifted downward" after illness, had an accident, or suffered the death of a ...
I'm blogging about this because the story does not seem to have been covered by any general news outlets. From Quakers in Britain: Police broke into a Quaker Meeting House last night (27 March) and arrested six young people holding a meeting over concerns for the climate and Gaza. ... Just before 7.15pm more than 20 uniformed police, some equipped with tasers, forced their way into Westminster Meeting House. They broke open the front door without warning or ringing the bell first, searching the whole building and arresting six women attending the meeting in a hired room. The Police, Crime, ...
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 Techne 23% (nc) 25% (-2) 14% (nc) 8% (+1) 24% (+1) +1% (vs Ref) 26-27/3 GB Find Out Now 22% (+1) 23% (+1) 12% ...
The Melton Times calls it the final feature in a major refurbishment of the historic Nottingham Street bakery site, which began 15 months ago and has seen the shop being made open plan, heritage displays installed and refurbished sales areas created. Yes, Ye Olde Pork Pie Shoppe, Melton Mowbray, is opening a tasting room - or. to be precise, The Tasting Room: The Tasting Room, which is at the back of the shop in a unit in the adjoining Bell Centre mall, has seated areas where products ranging from Dickinson & Morris pork pies and Mrs King's Traditional black pudding ...
I've just finished this book, having ordered it when it was published. It's the edited diaries of Simon Hart, who was Conservative MP for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire from 2010 until 2024. He was Chief Whip under Rishi Sunak, Secretary of State for Wales and Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office under Boris Johnson. He was previously Chief Executive of the Countryside Alliance. The book starts in the heady hours after the 2019 general election victory for Boris Johnson. The Conservatives are returned to office with an overall majority of 40 seats in the Commons, sweeping all before them. ...
Three principal authority council by-elections this week, featuring a full slate of Liberal Democrat candidates – one up on the last time these wards were up. Penllergaer (Swansea) Council By-Election Result: [IMG: 🙋] I@S: 63.9% (-23.9) [IMG: 🔶] LDM: 13.6% (New) [IMG: ➡] RFM: 10.7% (New) [IMG: 🌹] LAB: 6.6% (-5.6) [IMG: 🌳] CON: 3.1% (New) [IMG: 🌍] GRN: 1.8% (New) [IMG: 🐉] GWL: 0.3 (New)Independent @ Swansea HOLD.Changes w/ 2022. — Election Maps UK (@electionmaps.uk) 2025-03-27T23:26:08.308Z
In his recent speech to the Lib Dem Spring Conference, Ed Davey reminded us of one way in which the Lib Dems stand out from other parties. He said the Lib Dems were 'The only party that has consistently opposed the Conservatives' damaging Brexit deal from the start. The only party arguing for a new deal with the EU, with a Customs Union at its heart - putting us on a path back to the Single Market.' In this as in so many other areas of policy, the Lib Dems have the courage that Labour lacks. Returning to the Single ...
Firstly, to introduce myself, I'm Amanda Clark and a proud mum of two adult children. Brooke, 26 and Archie, 22. I took early retirement from teaching three years ago and we moved up to Kinross, Scotland in 2022- returning to my husband's homeland. He now runs a small manufacturing business in Fife. We love it here. We really should be 'Empty Nesters' – kids independent albeit physically- not necessarily financially...... A bit more disposable income and more time on our hands...we could go to the pub with friends, travel to those bucket list locations and take advantage of cheap last ...
[IMG: Some of the recipients of the Citizen of Honour awards pictured with the Lady Mayoress and I before the ceremony.] It was both a pleasure and a privilege to preside over and speak at a very special ceremony at Liverpool Town Hall on Wednesday. For the first time ever, we brought together all the Citizen of Honour awardees and presented their scrolls of honour at one event. Previously we have done it one by one with just friends and families of the recipient present. I think that this is the right way to do it. For the recipients it ...
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (Photo: AP) Rachel Reeves is right on one point - the world has changed since October 2024. Of course, the chancellor didn't say how or why the world has changed, but the implication is obvious. The presidency of Donald Trump is creating uncertainty and anxiety. This is creating economic turmoil, which is likely to worsen as the "trade wars" become more aggressive. The Labour government's response to this is to do nothing that might upset the US president, even going so far as to consider a tax reduction for US tech companies. Meanwhile, the need ...
Our Health and social care spokesperson Helen Morgan made a keynote speech to Conference this weekend. Watch here.
Occasional readers (and in fairness, this is an occasional blog these days) will recall that in the dying days of last year, I was elected to my Regional Candidates Committee. I had a slightly naïve notion that, especially in the early stages of the Parliamentary cycle, my knowledge of both process and the rather less tangible morality and ethics aspects of candidate selection and approval might prove useful. And then it went quiet. Someone rather better connected to the internal politics of the Liberal Democrats might have wondered if it wasn't too quiet. But that really isn't me now - ...
There's fun activities for all children, young people and families during the Easter school holidays right across the city. You can find out what is available at https://bit.ly/Easterhols25
Chancellor Rachel Reeves may feel that she has created some breathing space for herself with Wednesday's mini-budget statement, but not everybody agrees. The Guardian reports that the Institute for Fiscal Studies are arguing that there's good chance she will have to raise taxes in autumn. They say that the IFS has also released its considered verdict on the spring statement this morning: Here are some of the key points from the opening presentation by Paul Johnson, the IFS's director. Johnson said that there is a good chance that Rachel Reeves will have to raise taxes in the autumn. And he ...
