Welcome to my summary of the latest national voting intention polls for the next general election, along with 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 Techne 25% (-1) 26% (-1) 12% (nc) 7% (nc) 23% (+2) 1% 15-16/1 GB Find Out Now 25% (+5) 24% (-1) 12% (+1) 10% ...
There were two principal council by-elections running this week, both Lib Dem defences in the Western Counties. We successfully defended one and just barely lost out on the other. In Cotswold DC, Cllr Andrea Pellegram comfortably won the seat over second place Reform in the Chesterton ward. Congratulations to Andrea and the local team for getting almost half of the votes and holding the seat! Cotswold DC, Chesterton Liberal Democrat (Andrea Pellegram): 296 (48.1%, -15.8%) Reform: 152 (24.7%, new) Conservative: 106 (17.2%, -7.6%) Labour: 61 (9.9%, new) In the other election in the Western Counties, Hossein Pirooz placed a close ...
@CalumMillerLD We have deliberately cut off our access to our biggest market the European Union. Audience claps 👏 The solution to growth is to have a much tighter relationship with the European Union over the next 5 years.#bbcqtpic.twitter.com/Hpm7yumh3N — Mike H (@mikoh123) January 16, 2025Calum Miller, MP for Bicester & Woodstock and the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesperson, was one of the panellists on Question Time last night. The show came from Northampton, the largest town in a county that voted solidly for Leave. Notice the audience applause as he makes the case for much closer relations with the European ...
Congratulations to Grace Goodlad and Duncan Borrowman whose Oswestry pub The Bailey Head has been named Pub of the Year by the Campaign for Real Ale . Grace and Duncan were both Liberal Democrat councillors in Bromley. Duncan is also a former Lib Dem parliamentary candidate and was a member of party staff at Cowley Street for many years. I visited their pub last summer. Grace told the Mirror today: "We are thrilled, we hope we can live up to the award. In our wildest dreams we never thought we would win CAMRA Pub of the Year. From small beginnings ...
Oxygen is essential for human life. That is well known. However, the level of Oxygen in the atmosphere has interesting effects. I wrote previously about The Hypoxia Inducible Factor (HIF). HIF (particularly 1 alpha) is a molecule which signals cells to create proteins to build in response to stress. This can involve building new mitochondria or recycling old inefficient mitochondria. In
For those who, like me, prefer to absorb information, arguments, proposals and inspiration from reading print rather than listening to podcasts I present below what I believe to be the key points from the Green Book podcast featured on LDV on Wednesday 15th January, in which Chris Bowers chairs contributions from Layla Moran, Lynne Featherstone and Timothy Garton Ash. An important feature of Liberalism is its (our?) capacity for self-criticism. Fundamental to Liberalism is to place limits on ALL forms of power. Over the centuries in the West Liberalism has had considerable success in placing limits on public power. However, ...
Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them, Volleyed and thundered; Stormed at with shot and shell, Boldly they rode and well, Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of hell, Rode the six hundred. The poem quoted above is a very famous poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson. It describes a battle more than 200 years ago now when although the leading colonels, majors and the top brass had absolutely blundered, misread a situation and made orders which led some gallant cavalry into almost certain death. They did what they were told, ...
Lib Dems are renowned for their love of real ale, so perhaps it is no surprise that nine years ago Duncan Borrowman and Grace Goodlad decided to transform a failing pub into a community hub dedicated to real ale and craft beers. Many a party activist has made their way to The Bailey Head in Oswestry, especially during the by-election campaign in North Shropshire. And now the couple have just been awarded the highest accolade in the pub world – CAMRA's Pub of the Year. The Bailey Head in Oswestry, Shropshire has been named the Campaign for Real Ale's overall ...
Two principal authority council by-elections this week, both Liberal Democrat defences. First, a successful defence of a ward in the South Cotswolds constituency, gained by Roz Savage last year: Chesterton (Cotswold) Council By-Election Result: [IMG: 🔶] LDM: 48.1% (-15.8) [IMG: ➡] RFM: 24.7% (New) [IMG: 🌳] CON: 17.2% (-7.6) [IMG: 🌹] LAB: 9.9% (New)No GRN (-11.2) as previous.Liberal Democrat HOLD.Changes w/ 2023. — Election Maps UK (@electionmaps.uk) 2025-01-16T23:31:57.058Z
A new series of Gaelic lunch time concerts in 2025 - Tea and Tunes - organised by Leisure and Culture Dundee - start soon - see below :
The Independent reports on comments by the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, that the danger posed by potential US tariffs is greater for the UK than other comparable countries. The paper says that Reynolds admitted that Trump's presidency will be a "challenging time for anyone responsible for trade", amid fears of a global trade war: In the run-up to his election, the Republican promised to implement 10 to 20 per cent tariffs on all goods coming into the country - a figure that rises to 60 per cent for those from China. Asked about his incoming presidency, Mr Reynolds told Sky ...
I've spent the last few weeks watching every edition of Downton Abbey (and 2 films) checking for historical inaccuracies. I only found 3. See the video to find out what they were. Last week I put the box set of Downton DVDs into the Sunniside History Society raffle. I'm now trying to watch all 52 editions of Blake's 7. The special effects budget for this was clearly tiny compared to Downton!
Here's the tally of seats changing hands in principal authority council by-elections held between the May 2024 and the May 2025 local elections, including those held at the same time as the 2024 general election: Con Lab Lib Dem Green Reform SNP Plaid Ind/ Other Net Con +11 (+18/-7) +2 (+8/-6) +2 (+2/0) -1 (0/-1) +4 (+4/0) – +4 (+6/-2) +22 Lab -11 (+7/-18) -4 (+2/-6) -6 (0/-6) -4 (0/-4) -2 (+1/-3) – +3 (+3/0) -24 Lib Dem -2 (+6/-8) +4 (+6/-2) – – -1 (0/-1) – -2 (0/-2) -1 Grn -2 (0/-2) +6 (+6/0) – – – – – ...
GDP Figures: Government must see sense and scrap jobs tax Liberal Democrats table motion forcing Government to release analysis of potential Trump trade war Badenoch speech: half-hearted apology does not absolve her from toxic legacy Triple lock: "bungling Badenoch's" first policy is to slash the state pension Carmichael welcomes RFA vertical launch licence McArthur calls for clarity over BP job losses GDP Figures: Government must see sense and scrap jobs tax Responding to GDP growing by 0.1% in November, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said: The Chancellor has put the handbrake on the economy with her misguided jobs ...
Gateshead Lib Dems (or at least the social media group) decided not to meet on-line last night. Instead, we met in person at the Tilley Stone pub on Jackson Street, Gateshead. I think my role there was to be the old guy who doesn't understand TikTok! But a useful meeting nonetheless! (Picture: Liam Bowering, Amanda Wintcher and me)
The billing on YouTube says of this film: These pieces of originally silent film appear to have been either outtakes, film made for atmosphere or just as a recce of the area. They were made for two British feature films made in the 1950s. Most of the clips are connected to the film Hunted which starred Dirk Bogarde, and was released in 1952. Some are connected with the later film Innocent Sinners starring Flora Robson and David Kossoff, and released in 1958. Both these films use extensive outside shots in and around the Pimlico area, and for lovers of this ...
"With Meta's recent speech policy changes regarding immigration, in which the company will allow people to call immigrants pieces of trash, Mark Zuckerberg is laying the narrative groundwork for President-elect Trump's planned mass deportations of people from the United States."Joseph Cox points to parallels between these changes and events in Myanmar in 2017, when Facebook was used to spread anti-Rohingya hate, and the military ultimately led a campaign of murder, torture and rape against the Muslim minority population. Eliza Mackintosh has better news from Finland, which is winning the war on fake news - a war it sees as crucial ...
As we reported earlier, Ed Davey gave a significant speech today, and here is the full text. This year, we will celebrate eighty years since the end of the Second World War. Eighty years since Britain and her allies defeated the Nazis. Ended the Holocaust and liberated the concentration camps. Brought peace to Europe. One of our country's finest hours. We led the world - not just in standing up to Hitler and winning the war, but in building what came next. Creating new forums to foster peace and uphold human rights: The United Nations, led at its birth by ...
You can read his speech in full on the Liberal Democrats' website: Let's not kid ourselves. The incoming Trump Administration is a threat to peace and prosperity in the UK, across Europe, and around the world. For the next four years, the UK cannot depend on the President of the United States to be a reliable partner on security, defence or the economy. So how do we deal with Donald Trump? We need to do it from a position of strength. And that means urgently strengthening our relationships with the UK's other partners - most importantly our European neighbours, whose ...
Every three years the Liberal Democrat embark on a series of elections to Federal (ie national) Committees. These include the Federal Board, Federal Council (which scrutinises the Board), Federal Policy Committee, Federal Conference Committee and Federal International relations Committee. In addition, the roles of President and Vice President are also up for election. The party is recruiting a voluntary Returning Officer to oversee all these elections later this year. Full details of the requirements can be seen here Volunteer role: Returning Officer (Federal Elections). In short, they are looking for "an organised, authoritative and impartial person" who can oversee the ...
You might find it peculiar for me to write a blog about my relationship or rather my company's relationship with a major utility provider but for the last year I have struggled to make sense of any of the people or the systems within SSE one of the UK's leading energy providers. I find this particularly galling as in fact I have a small number of shares in this company because I had some faith in it. The whole problem started about a year ago when the company which effectively, owns the Liberal Democrat HQ in Liverpool, moved into new ...
Thu 16th
09:02
Ed Davey speech: Negotiate a UK-EU Customs Union to "turbocharge economy" and strengthen hand agains...
Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey will today call on the Government to negotiate a new UK-EU Customs Union, to boost Britain's economy and ability to deal with the incoming Trump Presidency from a position of strength. In his first major speech of the year, Ed Davey will criticise the Labour Government for ruling out a Customs Union with the EU, saying it would be the best way to tear down trade barriers and "turbocharge our economy in the medium and long term." He will call on ministers to negotiate a new deal with the EU this year, with the goal ...
RCN survey: "Harrowing" corridor care testimony reveals a government leaving staff with "hands tied behind their backs" Cole-Hamilton comments on embargoed RCN report on overcrowding RCN survey: "Harrowing" corridor care testimony reveals a government leaving staff with "hands tied behind their backs" Responding to a Royal College of Nursing survey which shows that two-thirds of NHS nursing staff are saying they are delivering care in over-crowded or unsuitable places such as corridors, converted cupboards and even car parks on a daily basis, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said: This report is harrowing. To think that ...
Michael's ward surgeries take place today and every Thursday during school term time. They are as follows : Thursdays at 5.45pm prompt - West End Campus (come to reception area of St Joseph's RC and Victoria Park Primary Schools) Thursdays at 6.30pm prompt - Harris Academy reception area All welcome - no appointment necessary!
The UK government has already lost one anti-corruption minister, after Tulip Siddiq resigned after an investigation by Laurie Magnus, the adviser on ministerial standards, into her use of properties given to herself and family by allies of the regime of Sheikh Hasina, now it appears that there is controversy surrounding her successor. The Independent reports that the Treasury has become embroiled in a new row with questions mounting over the appointment of Emma Reynolds as minister, who previously lobbied on behalf of Chinese interests. The paper says that until last year's election, Reynolds served as managing director at banking trade ...