Reform UK and the rather damp free speech debateThe decision by the Senedd's presiding officer to block Reform UK's Joe Martin from speaking in the chamber until he apologises for trying to goad a minister with offensive and racist remarks, has generated a huge amount of heat in the media and on socials, though not much light. As the BBC report, Reform UK have partially boycotted the Senedd in protest against the ban. Their Welsh leader has claimed that the freedom of speech of one of her Senedd members is "being curtailed, meaning his constituents are being silenced." Martin represents one of the most diverse constituencies in Wales, ... (more) |
North East Lib Dem conferenceThe North East Lib Dem regional conference took place today in Ashington. Among the debates was a gripping presentation about the regional party's new constitution! But there was a useful debate on bus services, a video presentation by Ed Davey and training sessions on canvassing. Inevitably I was there with my camera. Here are a few shots. (more) |
Alexei Sayle dandled the infant Jacob Rees-Mogg on his kneeCan it be true? It can. Back in 2016 Alexei Sayle gave an interview to the Waterstones website as part of the publicity campaign for Thatcher Stole My Trousers, the second volume of his memoirs. In the course of it he recalled: When I was a student at Chelsea School of Art in the early 70s, feeling very lost and out of my depth, the only lecturer who was really nice to me was a woman called Anne Rees-Mogg who taught Film Studies. Anne involved herself to a greater degree than the rest of the staff with her students, particularly ... (more) |
Faces and Places exhibition at the Alfred East Gallery, KetteringYesterday, after breakfast at Kafe Blok across the road, I visited the reopened Alfred East Gallery in Kettering. The Faces and Places exhibition put on for its reopening fills both rooms of the gallery. One is largely devoted to the work of Alfred East and the other to that of another Kettering artist, Thomas Cooper Gotch. East had a high reputation at his death in 1913, but is not well known today. This video clip from the BBC's Antiques Roadshow gives a fair summation of his strengths and weaknesses as a painter. Gotch is more interesting to the modern eye, ... (more) |
Observations of an ex pat: UN or League of NationsThe tenure of António Guterres as Secretary-Geeneral of the United Nations ends on the last day of this year. His successor will inherit an organisation struggling to maintain its relevance in a world increasingly divided by war, nationalism and great-power rivalry. Guterres is a former Portuguese prime minister and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, His decade at the helm has been marked by the UN becoming increasingly irrelevant as an instrument for resolving international conflicts. His critics argue that Guterres has been too cautious, too willing to accommodate power and ineffective in confronting international aggression. It has, in short, ... (more) |
ALDC's by-election report - 13 November 2026[IMG: 4 parallel white vertical lines on orange background ALDC logo] Six principal authority by-elections took place across England on Thursday 12th November. Labour were defending three seats (Croft Baker in North East Lincolnshire, Cheddleton in Staffordshire Moorlands, and Huncoat in Hyndburn), Independents defended two seats (Hindley Green in Wigan and Failsworth West in Oldham), and Reform UK defended one seat (Bosmere in Suffolk). On paper, it looked like a productive night for Reform UK with three gains against one loss to the Conservatives. Beneath the headlines, however, Reform's vote share fell in five of the six contests—including four double-digit ... (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 21% (nc) 27% (-1) 9% (+1) 12% (-1) 21% (+1) 6% (vs C/R) 11-12/11 GB Survation ... (more) |
A magnificent Norman AbbeyMargam Abbey was a Cistercian monastery, located in the village of Margam, a suburb of modern Port Talbot in Wales. The nave of the abbey church is still in use as the church of St Mary in the Church in Wales. Wikipedia records that the abbey was founded in 1147 as a daughter house of Clairvaux by Robert, Earl of Gloucester, and was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. They say that early Christian crosses found in the close vicinity and conserved in the nearby Margam Stones Museum suggest the existence of an earlier Celtic monastic community: The abbey was ... (more) |