Reform chaos reaches GatesheadIt didn't take long! Reform chaos has started lapping at the political shores of Gateshead. Peter Gray, one of the three Reform candidates for Crawcrook and Greenside has resigned. Except it is not as straightforward as that. His resignation was too late to remove his name from the ballot papers. So Reform hobble forward in the ward with only 2 cylinders firing, dragging along with them their (more) |
Only 14 ConservativesNominations for the local elections in Gateshead closed on Thursday last week and candidates were announced on Friday. One of the notable points to emerge is that the Conservatives have put forward only 14 candidates for the 66 seats available. The last time the Conservatives failed to field a full slate of candidates was in the late 1980s. Since then they have fielded candidates for every (more) |
The Team photoThe Whickham South and Sunniside team. Polling day is 7th May. (more) |
Election slidesAlong with my colleagues Jonathan Mohammed and Marilynn Ord, we have been nominated for Whickham South and Sunniside ward of Gateshead Council. Polling day is 7th May. (more) |
A BFI Q&A with members of the cast of Oliver! (1968)This session was recorded in 2012, three years before Ron Moody died. As well as Moody, who played Fagin in the 1968 film of Oliver! having first created the role on stage, it features Kenneth Cranham, who was Noah Claypole, and Mark Lester, who was Oliver himself. As Kenneth Cranham says, it was Moody's reinvention of Fagin that made the film's worldwide success possible by moving the story away from the medieval antisemitism that Dickens drew upon. I wrote about this aspect of the novel in a book chapter a few years ago - there a short extract in another ... (more) |
Who is to blame for three young girls being murdered in Southport?The simple answer to the question of who is to blame is that their murder was the one to blame. Rudakubana was not an immigrant, terrorist, or Moslem. He was born in this Country, educated in this Country and his parents were regular attenders at a Christian Church. So, the people who created havoc throughout the Country can be confirmed as racist bigots who just wanted a riot. However, is he the only one to blame? Well, the report from the Inquiry chair, Adrian Fulford made clear that there were many people and organisations who should have intervened, or should ... (more) |
Ed Davey: Hillary Clinton told me to "stand up to bullies" like Reform UKOver on PoliticsHome there's a full interview with Ed Davey. It covers the wide swathe of politics in the run-up to the May elections: Davey revealed that he had a "long chat" with the former US secretary of state when she spoke at a business reception in the capital late last year. "We talked about how we need to fight Reform in the way they need to fight Donald Trump, and she gave me some choice advice, which I'm not going to repeat because that would be unfair on her," he said. When pressed, he added: "She said you have ... (more) |
Two steps forward but also two missed opportunities to improve our democracyThe latest edition of my email newsletter about work in Parliament, A Lord's Eye View, is out and you can 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: There were two steps forward but also two missed opportunities in Parliament last night to improve how our democracy works, one on voting systems and one on holding elections in the first place. Read on for details. Helpful but insufficient: the government's moves to improve our democracy On voting systems, Labour is going ... (more) |
A very warm Highland welcome for soft southernersIt was a huge privilege and pleasure to spend an extended weekend in the Highlands. Blue letter delivery rarely comes with such a vast helping of scenic delights. We were very fortunate to have very sunny weather as we delivered in Fort Augustus – a fine tourism centre for Loch Ness (above) visitors. A stiff breeze on Saturday made our Isle of Skye (below) outing even more photogenic – with white horses on the surrounding sea. My heartfelt thanks go to the MacDonald family who gave us a very warm Highland welcome – the highlight of which was an enormous, ... (more) |
LlG Society Event - Lloyd George at the Fleet Street Festival of WordsTuesday 12th May 2026, 5pm to 6pm at Temple Church, London, EC4Y 7BB David Lloyd George knew Fleet Street well throughout his adult life. He took his exams at the Law Society building, at the Fleet Street end of Chancery Lane, and as a politician would cultivate the support of the editors and proprietors whose newspapers dominated its landscape. Lloyd George knew Fleet Street and Fleet Street knew Lloyd George. On Tuesday 12th May, Lloyd George will return to Fleet Street for the second Fleet Street Quarter Festival of Words, where we'll be discussing his unique qualities as a leader ... (more) |