A night at the AGMIn truth, I haven't really engaged with my current Local Party - Ipswich - as much as I perhaps have done in the past. I've attended the odd meeting, delivered leaflets when asked and vaguely offered my services as required. So far, so good, especially as my services haven't been required. But I do take an interest and, when I received an invitation to the Local Party Annual General Meeting, I checked my diary and concluded that I might turn up, if only to see what was happening. Ipswich Liberal Democrats do remind me of many of the Local Parties ... (more) |
David Chadwick launches bid to be Welsh Lib Dem LeaderFollowing Jane Dodds saying that she will not seek re-nomination as Welsh Lib Dem Leader, the only other person eligible to stand under the current constitution is David Chadwick MP. He has now formally thrown his hat into the ring. He will be confirmed in post and will set out his vision and strategy then. David was elected in 2024 and is the Wales spokesperson in Ed Davey's Shadow Cabinet. He said: Wales is a country with enormous potential. We have talented young people, innovative businesses and communities with the ambition to achieve great things. But too often, that ambition ... (more) |
Joe Jackson: Breaking Us in TwoBreaking Us in Two comes from Jackson's 1982 album Night and Day. The railway in the video is the Keighley and Worth Valley. And the station is Oakworth, which was the station in Lionel Jeffries' film of The Railway Children. (more) |
The Joy of Six 1598"The world's solar power is crossing a threshold. A decade ago, it barely registered on a global scale, providing just 1 per cent of the world's power. In 2026, it will almost certainly increase to 10 per cent of power, and overtake nuclear, a mainstay of electricity since the late 1970s."Jocelyn Timperley on the reasons for solar's success and where it may go from here. David Gauke asks: "What were they thinking of? All those British right-of-centre politicians who had wholeheartedly backed the Ukrainians in their brave resistance to Russian aggression, who then declared their support for Donald Trump's candidacy ... (more) |
A Liberal Vision for Britain's Overseas TerritoriesThe Liberal Democrats' Defending Democracy policy paper calls for a codified UK constitution. If democratic consent and self-government matter at home, they must also shape our relationship with Britain's 14 Overseas Territories, ten of which have permanent populations. In 2025, UK and Territory leaders agreed to develop voluntary Partnership Compacts, and in September 2026 the UK published a Charter affirming "devolution and democratic autonomy" and "nothing about you without you". These are welcome commitments, but they must translate into a more equal constitutional partnership. Recognising national identities "Dependent Territories" became "Overseas Territories" in 2002, reflecting a move towards partnership. Yet ... (more) |
Reform's overseas donors exposedThe Independent reports that an astonishing 80 per cent of donations to Reform UK in the past 12 months have come from donors or companies recently based overseas. The paper says that an analysis of data from the Electoral Commission shows the amount received from donors who were based abroad in the past two years by Nigel Farage's party dwarfs that of other parties amid growing concern about overseas influence in British politics: In comparison, Labour and the Conservatives received just 0.15 per cent and 3.57 per cent of their donations from people or companies based abroad respectively during the ... (more) |
Myth and mystery on the Stiperstones ridgeThis video from Britannia Unconsidered has a little Shropshire hillporn and rather more folklore. It's Wild Edric and his Hunt that Jenny fears she and Peter are seeing in Malcolm Saville's Seven White Gates - see my recent article on Saville for Lion & Unicorn. (more) |
Perhaps the most pointless question PMs are asked (LDN#215)Liberal Democrat Newswire #215came out last week and you can now also read it in full below. But if you'd like to get future editions emailed direct to you as soon as they are published, sign up now: Welcome to Lib Dem Newswire #215, which takes a look at when the next general election might take place, the problem with fake number plates, what Lib Dems want to do to the House of Lords, and more. First, though, congratulations to the new Lib Dem councillors since last time – Mac Brown, Julie Calder, Lawrence Gillies and Mary Ryan – along ... (more) |
Wes Streeting is a twerpIt's now six years since we were starting to get over COVID the summer of 2020 brings back so many memories to me. Some of them were incredibly sad: Her Majesty the Queen sitting alone at the funeral of her husband, Prince Philip. People saying goodbye to their loved ones from the other side of a window with a lot without a last chance of a hug or cuddle. Funerals taking place with a maximum of six people permitted to be present. People being extremely lonely in small, confined apartments whilst trying to work from home and teach the kids ... (more) |
David Chadwick set to become next leader of Welsh Lib DemsDavid Chadwick, the MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe, has announced his bid to become the next leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats. He has set out plans to rebuild the party around economic growth, enterprise and opportunities for young people, reports the Pembrokeshire Herald. Showing a nice appreciation of the Welsh Liberal Democrats' constitution, the paper says: The 35-year-old ... is the only candidate currently eligible to succeed Ms Dodds, meaning the leadership will not be contested provided he secures the required backing from party members. Under the Welsh Liberal Democrats' internal election rules, leadership candidates must gain ... (more) |