The Joy of Six 1439"The sections of Restoring Order and Control that mention children are chilling, suggesting that many asylum seekers bring their children not because they love and care for them but as a 'fact' to 'exploit ... in order to thwart removal'."Christopher Betram reads the government's new paper on its asylum and returns policy. Morgan Wild believes municipal bond markets can save Britain: "This is one way to give public servants skin in the game. The team delivering the project should also raise the finance. Their decisions matter to them - cost overruns mean higher local taxes - in a way that ... (more) |
US judge resigns after being disciplined for wearing Elvis wig in courtBBC News wins our Headline of the Day Award. "If judges are allowed to wear silly wigs in court, no one will take them seriously," said the judges. (more) |
Observations of an Expat: Four-sided Asia ConflictJapanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has re-ignited the tense Sino-Japanese relations that underscore the region's volatile politics. The roots of these tensions go back centuries and will doubtless last for centuries more. At the moment the main players are China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan with America playing an important peripheral role. Korea and Japan have a long history involving cultural links, wars and cruel colonisation. According to many historians, the Japanese imperial family originated in Korea. It is a fact that many prominent Japanese have Korean genetic roots. Much of Chinese culture reached Japan through the Korean Peninsula. This included ... (more) |
Latest voting intention and leadership ratings opinion pollsWelcome to my summary of the latest national voting intention polls for the next general election, along with the latest MRP projections and 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 Find Out Now 17% (+1) 16% (+1) 11% (nc) 18% (+1) 32% (-1) -16% (3rd, vs Ref) 19/11 GB ... (more) |
'Sew and Share' from Ninewells Community Garden #dundeewestend'Sew and Share' from Ninewells Community Garden is on Monday afternoons between 2pm and 4pm. Bring along a project or something that needs mending - all welcome! (more) |
An unlikely connectionA new blue plaque has been unveiled at Langland Bay to honour one of the 20th century's most influential philosophers, Ludwig Wittgenstein, in recognition of his lasting connection to Swansea and its university. The plaque is located on the promenade wall near the Hole in the Wall Café — a spot the philosopher is believed to have walked past many times during his visits to the area. Born in Vienna in 1889, Wittgenstein is widely regarded as one of the greatest philosophers of the modern era. His visits to Swansea were prompted by his close friendship with philosopher Rush Rhees, ... (more) |
The murder of Charles Walton at Lower Quinton in 1945You can't beat the local by-election previews that Andrew Teale posts every week. Yesterday there was an election in the Lib Dem held Quinton ward of Stratford-upon-Avon District Council. (Don't worry: we held it.) I wondered if Andrew would know about a notorious murder that took place there. I needn't have worried. Andrew wrote in this week's preview: The Quinton ward extends north-east from here to take in the village of Lower Quinton. This was the scene for the 1945 murder of Charles Walton, with local rumour having it that he had been ritually killed and that witchcraft was involved. ... (more) |
By-election analysisToday we are analysing 7 by-elections, held yesterday. Again, the results were a bit mixed but the trend continues to show no Green surge, Labour and Conservatives doing appallingly badly, Reform's bandwagon is still rolling (though the wheels can sometimes come off) and the Lib Dems doing well but the absence of a handful of votes meant no net gains this week.Let's start with Dumfries and (more) |
ALDC By Election Report 20th NovemberThis week, there were seven local by-elections, of which there was a Liberal Democrat candidate in all but one contest. The six-month rule has now come into effect for seats that are up in 2026, so no more for this cycle will be called. We start in Stratford-on-Avon, where there were two by-elections. One was a Liberal Democrat defence, whilst the other saw the Conservatives defending their seat. In the former, we successfully defended this seat. However, in the latter seat Reform were able to successfully gain off the Conservatives, only 3 votes ahead of us. Congratulations are due to ... (more) |
Love bombed by LabourWe had full a council meeting yesterday in Gateshead. It started off in a rather unexpected manner. Labour leader Martin Gannon addressed us in an unusually friendly manner. He was considerate in response to views and ideas put forward by Lib Dem Leader Ron Beadle. And even more surprising was Cllr John Adams who heaped praise on my skills in checking grammar, punctuation and spelling. I felt as (more) |