A year after the ICJ ruling, the UK is still complicit in Israel's unlawful occupation112 Parliamentarians, including 19 Lib Dem MPs and Peers, have this week sent a letter to the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and the Attorney General, calling on the Government to fulfil its promise to formally respond to the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) advisory opinion on Israel's illegal occupation of the Palestinian territory. The letter states that the UK's obligations under the ruling are immediate and "crystal clear," warning that continued delays place the Government in breach of its legal obligations. Issued almost exactly a year ago, the ICJ ruling found that Israel's continued presence in the occupied Palestinian ... (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% (-2) 20% (-2) 13% (nc) 12% (+3) 30% (-1) -10% (vs Ref) 16/7 GB Focaldata ... (more) |
Chancellor announces £1.5m fund for Britain's elite chess playersRishi Sunak established a £500,000 fund to support Britain's elite chess players when he was prime minister. The new Labour government scrapped it. But now Rachel Reeves - a former British under-14 girls champion herself - has announced that a larger sum is ea rmarked forthe same purpose. Leonard Barden, in his Guardian column, quotes her as saying: "We are allocating £1.5m to help identify, support and elevate top tier players who have the potential to compete at a global level."And he explains: The new support, announced along with a £500m grant for youth service projects, is more precisely targeted ... (more) |
ALDC by-election report, 17th JulyIn Market Harborough, the Conservatives secured a close-fought victory against us. Commiserations to Roger Dunton and the local team for the result here. Harborough DC, Market Harborough-Logan Conservative: 410 (31.3%, +4.1) Liberal Democrats (Roger Dunton): 355 (27.1%, -19.8) Green Party: 290 (22.2%, +14.5) Reform UK: 190 (14.5%, new) Labour: 44 (3.4%, -9.1) Independent: 10 (0.8%, -4.8) Communist: 9 (0.7%, new) Conservative GAIN from Liberal Democrats In Liverpool, the Green Party successfully defended seat, albeit with a decrease in their vote share. Well done to Tristan Paul and the local team for increasing our vote share by over 15%. Liverpool City ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1386"The government is about to publish a White Paper on Election Regulation, in preparation for the Elections Bill it will bring forward in the next parliamentary session. Both have major implications for British democracy; both take us away from a Liberal approach."William Wallace on Liberal localism and Labour centralism." Phoebe Weston reports from the biodiversity desert that is Dartmoor today: "We have become so used to these landscapes," says author and campaigner Guy Shrubsole, who advocates for Right to Roam on Dartmoor. "Good geology hides a lot of problems. We're admiring rocks and not what should be a living ecosystem." ... (more) |
Reform fails, again, to defend a seat in council by-electionsNine principal authority council by-elections this week, along with a referendum in Plymouth on introducing a Mayor. The latter was likely to be overtaken by local government reorganisation even if it had voted for a Mayor to be introduced, but for the record the vote went against. (Oddly, both the BBC and ITV coverage online, when I checked, said the vote was against, gave the turnout figure but did not give the percentage voting figures. ITV at least gave the vote totals, while the BBC did not even give that. For all the talk of data journalism over the years, ... (more) |
Should the government lower the voting age to 16?Wow! The Mayor of Welwyn Hatfield and I, only a week or so ago, spoke with students from Stanborough School about whether the voting age should be lowered to 16. We divided the Council Chamber into two groups and we encouraged a healthy and respectful debate on a topic, which is truly important and fascinating. Who would have said that the Labour Government will propose potentially the biggest reform of the electoral legislation since 1969? Have they secretly listened to our conversation? Who knows! Interestingly, the minimum voting age is already 16 for e.g. local elections in Wales and Scotland. ... (more) |
Labour's cultural vandalism in Dovecot and Breck RoadI have been appalled by the recent decision by the Labour controlled Liverpool Council to defund libraries in Dovecot and Breck Road which I can only describe as 'mindless cultural vandalism'. For 10 years the council has been getting two libraries in two of the most deprived areas of Liverpool on the cheap. In 2015 the council arranged for the transfer of two libraries that they were unable to make successful. It was actually one of the best things that former Mayor Joe Anderson did. Since then, Alt Valley Community Trust has successfully kept open the libraries and down other ... (more) |
T10 Cricket Tournament and Family Fest this Sunday #dundeewestendWith thanks to the Minhaj Welfare Foundation and sponsors, all are welcome at a T10 Cricket Tournament and Family Fest this Sunday - 20th June - at the Elliot Road recreation area, here in the West End! More details : Free entry Sunday 20th July Harris Academy's playing fields at Elliot Road Match starts: 9am | Festival starts: 12 noon What to expect? Sizzling BBQs Dessert & Tea Stalls Mehndi & Face Painting Bouncy Castle Fun Meet & Greet with Omar & Hana! Plus, catch Mr Tee King Of Desserts - Innovator, Original and iconic ice cream van Free entry ... (more) |
The seriousness of date leak becomes apparentThe seriousness of the Afghan data leak is highlighted in the Guardian which reports that details of members of the SAS are among more than 100 Britons named in the database of 18,700 Afghans, the accidental leak of which by a defence official led to thousands being secretly relocated to the UK. The paper quotes defence sources as saying that the highly sensitive document contained names and email addresses belonging to people sponsoring or linked to some individual cases. Personal information about MI6 officers was also included: The identities of members of the SAS and MI6 are a closely guarded ... (more) |