In Leicester this afternoon, I called in at the launch of Shaun Knapp's book High Flying Around: Memories of the 1960s Leicester Music Scene Vol II. As the publisher's website says: High Flying Around Volume II continues the remarkable story of Leicester's 1960s arts and music scene via the people who were there. Their memories and reminiscences bring back to life the buildings long since demolished, the groups who packed out the venues and the people who filled the halls and clubs. Find out how some of the biggest names in music performed in some of Leicester's smallest and long-lost ...
I've popped up on a movie podcast: A 1964 film about accidental nuclear war from a legendary director and featuring a German scientist with homicidal ideas? That's right, it's Dr Strangelove... hang on, no, it's Fail Safe. Overshadowed on release because of a lawsuit from a rival film (you can guess which), this parable from Sidney Lumet has come to be regarded as a classic, with fans including George Clooney. The Ocean's 11 star couldn't be with us to make the case for it himself, so we're joined by a man known to many as the Clooney of British politics, ...
It has been a bad week for President Donald J. Trump. He was overwhelmingly trounced in every election held this week. The Democrats exceeded all expectations. Then Pope Leo criticised his human rights record. A former chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court said that his missile attacks on Venezuelan boats were a "crime against humanity". The government shutdown entered a record week and Transport Secretary Sean Duffy warned that he would have to start cancelling flights. But perhaps the most impactful event occurred not at the polling stations but in the dusty and cerebral corridors of the US Supreme ...
Welcome 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 Opinium 17% (-1) 20% (nc) 12% (nc) 11% (-1) 33% (+3) -13% (vs Ref) 5-7/11 GB Find Out Now ...
The judges were in no doubt: Notes from Poland wins Headline of the Day. There will, as they observed, be dancing in the streets of Kraków tonight.
The Bank of England is holding a Citizen's Forum meeting here in Dundee on the 19th November and looking to add to its Citizen's Panel. The bank explains : "We launched our Citizens' Forum in 2018 to improve engagement with members of the public. Our forum consists of about 4,500 people from across the UK. Joining allows you to put your views directly to the Bank of England. It is also an opportunity for you to ask questions about our policies." You can sign up to the 19th November meeting using the QR code is on the poster or it ...
Morris Castle or Castle Graig (Castell Morris or Castell Craig) is a ruined residential building situated on the Cnap-llwyd common in the Trewyddfa area of Swansea. It was constructed by Sir John Morris to house the families of workers and is one of the earliest examples of a tenement building. This website takes up the story: In the late 18th century industry was booming in the area around Swansea in Wales. Ever more sophisticated machines were powering the various works, and coal was required to fuel the industry. With copper works and coal mines, John Morris was a wealthy man ...
I came across a new podcast today - Garlic & Pearls- via a really good episode on Agatha Christie's play The Mousetrap. It's thoroughly researched and emphasises how far from cosy Christie's works can be. The Mousetrap is set in a dislocated postwar world in which the class structure has been shaken and there is an air of paranoid watchfulness. The BBC's adaptations of the Miss Marple books, which starred the incomparable Joan Hickson, were set firmly in this world. And it's noticeable that when Bertram's Hotel appears to have survived the changes unscathed, it turns out to be too ...
I took delivery of 2000 Sunniside Focuses yesterday. My next job is to bundle them into their patches. Tomorrow we start delivering them! They all have to be out before 26th November. That's when the Christmas tree lights switch on is happening, and the front page of the Focus is all about it.
This week, there were ten by-elections, of which two were on Tuesday. Three by-elections did not have a Liberal Democrat candidate. Congratulations to Councillor Jan Goffey and the local Liberal Democrat team for gaining a seat in Devon, despite beginning from a standing start. We were able to secure a decisive victory, whilst both the Conservatives and an independent were vying for second place. West Devon BC, Okehampton South Liberal Democrats (Jan Goffey): 356 (57.1%, new) Conservative: 152 (24.4%, -5.9) Independent: 116 (18.6%, - 17.0) Liberal Democrat GAIN from Green Party Turnout: 22% Congratulations are also due to Councillor Martin ...
In an era when populism erodes democratic norms and insecurity pervades the modern workplace, the defence of liberal democracy must extend beyond parliaments and ballot boxes. It must reach the factory floor, the classroom, and the hospital wards. The right to organise, to be treated fairly, and to have a voice at work are not socialist luxuries. They are the foundations of a free society, and the current situation demands our immediate attention and action. More than twenty years ago, Charles Kennedy understood this. In 2002, addressing the Trades Union Congress in Blackpool, he declared: We Liberal Democrats believe in ...
I've noticed here on LibDemVoice that when we have a discussion about the economy and what the Government can afford, it usually descends into a very technical argument about the nature of money: is money a flow, as mainstream economics says, or is it destroyed by tax, as Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) advocates believe? Wouldn't it be nice if there were an alternative way to think about expenditure that avoided these arguments and got to the root of what is really going on when we decide whether something is affordable? Well, there is! Instead of counting money, try thinking about ...
They don't quite have the sparkle of the results of the past couple of weeks but nonetheless, yesterday's by-elections were still favourable for the Lib Dems.Let's start with Okehampton, West Devon:The Greens were defending but lost. They weren't helped by their own failure to field a candidate. Why didn't someone from their surging claims of new members come forward to defend the seat? Anyway
One of the things I enjoy most about blogging these days is publishing guest posts. Have you thought of writing something for Liberal England yourself? I'm happy to entertain a range of political views, but I'd hate you to spend time writing something I wouldn't want to publish, so please get in touch first. These are the 10 most recent guest posts on Liberal England - as you can see, I welcome posts on subjects beyond politics:Dad's Army and the decline of the Conservatives - Anselm AnonThe state of our canals - and canalside pubs - today - Peter ChambersForget ...
Rose Runswick argues against building Liberal Democrat strategy on an attempt to win over one-nations Conservatives. They are not natural Liberals and our advance at the last general election came through tactical anti-Conservative voting. "Our polling suggests that a clear divide exists in local government along overlapping economic and cultural lines. Reform councillors typically take the most right-wing positions (except on the NHS), followed by the Conservatives, including on the tax and spend question. There is often little difference between Labour and the Liberal Democrats on the centre left/left, and then the Greens take the most left-wing position."David Jeffrey and ...
Ending Wars is the bold title of a new book co-edited by Lord John Alderdice and Padraig O Malley and published earlier this year by the New England Journal of Public Policy. Its companion publication entitled The Changing Character of War and Peacemaking (2023) was curated along the same lines as a compilation of articles penned by a wide range of contributors to the conferences organised by the Centre for the Resolution of Intractable Conflicts (CRIC) held at Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford in 2023 and 2024 respectively. Most would remember Francis Fukuyama's End of History and the Last ...
The next West End LCPP meeting is on Thursday 20th November from 9.30am until 11am at The Friary in Tullideph Road. Working with What Matters to You this will be the first Café Conversation in the West End. The LCCP Chair said : "These sessions have been held in other parts of Dundee and offer a relaxed space for community members, practitioners, and strategic leaders to come together. The aim is to talk about what's working well, what could be better, and how we can improve things together. We're encouraging people to share real experiences. We'll spend time listening, identifying ...
The Independent reports that Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has admitted to breaching the governance code for public appointments regarding her choice for the new football watchdog's chairman. The paper says that in a letter addressed to Keir Starmer, Nandy apologised for contravening the rules by not disclosing that David Kogan, her appointee, had previously donated to her leadership campaign. They add that a report by the Commissioner for Public Appointments, investigating Mr Kogan's selection as chairman of the Independent Football Regulator, concluded that she had "unknowingly" committed this "error". I know Labour party members who will put this down to ...
Ten principal authority council by-elections this week, split across Tuesday and Thursday. Although not all the vacancies had a Lib Dem candidate, the number of wards contested by the Lib Dems was up two on the previous time these places were up. The contests included a Green Party defence, except that – for the third time since May – this is no Green candidate to defend their own seat. That was in Conservative Shadow Cabinet member Mel Stride's constituency – and resulted in the third Lib Dem gain in his seat in recent months: [IMG: Jan Goffey pointing] Jan Goffey ...
