John Rogers takes us on a fantastic stroll around South KensingtonJohn shows us Exhibition Road, the French district of Kensington and Benny Hill's blue plaque. (more) |
Burnham, Andy: Could do betterAndy Burnham became PM by surfing a wave of dissatisfaction with the Starmer government. This is now his honeymoon period. The whole thing is extraordinarily like the arrival of a new Labour government after a long period of Conservative domination: think 1945 and 1997, and maybe 1964 - not 2024. There are lots of hopes and not all can be realised. Starmer's managerialist centrism had opened up a gulf on the liberal left which the Lib Dems seemed unable to fill and into which the Greens were advancing; but the many questions about them left many currently Labour-inclined people deeply ... (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 20% (nc) 26% (+4) 10% (-1) 14% (+1) 21% (-4) 5% (vs Ref) 2/9 GB YouGov ... (more) |
ALDC by-election report, 3rd SeptemberSix principal authority by-elections took place across England, Scotland, and Wales on Wednesday 2nd and Thursday 3rd September. The Liberal Democrats were defending two key seats - one on Stroud District Council and another on Oxfordshire County Council. The SNP were defending two seats in Edinburgh, while the Greens defended one seat in Somerset and the Conservatives defended one seat in South Wales. It was a fantastic week for the Liberal Democrats as we successfully held both of our defended seats with strong performances. We earned a commanding 64% of the vote in Stroud and surged by nearly 9 percentage ... (more) |
Assorted MaximsToday is my birthday, a traditional time for reflection. Here are a number of maxims on how we conduct our lives (and politics) which I find of interest. 1. 1. This is from a talk by a humanist which I I heard on the radio some years ago. I can't remember the speaker's name or the title of the broadcast. It can't have been "Thought for the Day" as humanists weren't allowed on that and maybe still aren't. Beyond our physical needs for safety, warmth, shelter, drink and food everyone has three psychological needs: - that someone cares what happens ... (more) |
Could Andy Burnham rival William Beveridge in impact?In the midst of the Second World War, the Liberal Civil Servant William Beveridge wrote of the terrible state he saw that Britain was in, and in his report, 'Social Insurance and Allied Services' published by the wartime Government in December 1942, he proposed remedies which gained immediate attention and after the war much Government-directed successful action. Can Andy Burnham, despite the threat from hostile powers requiring now major escalation of British Defence forces, find remedies for the terrible mess which so many Britons believe defines the current state of our nation? Are the perceived problems comparable? Beveridge defined Five ... (more) |
Richard O'Sullivan's This is Your Life from 1974The actor Richard O'Sullivan has died at the age of 82. He was never out of the studio as child star in the Fifties and early Sixties, and became a sitcom heartthrob of the Seventies. Talking Pictures TV is currently running the children's show Dick Turpin that he made at the start of the Eighties. O'Sullivan retired from acting after suffering a stroke in 2003. This edition of This is Your Life was filmed just as O'Sullivan's adult career had taken off because of his starring role in ITV's Man About the House. Look out for an appearance by a ... (more) |
The Death of Stalin: Armando Iannucci's 2017 black comedyThe latest edition of the email newsletter for my podcast, Political Fictions, 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: Get the books As well as covering some books in the podcast, we also mention others in the newsletter's bonus content. You can browse all the books mentioned and get them for yourself via my Bookshop.org page (affiliate link), such as in this case the graphic novel which inspired the film. The Death of Stalin [IMG: ... (more) |
Lib Dems gain majority control of Oxfordshire County CouncilThe principal authority council by-elections this week started with a relatively rare Wednesday contest and good news for the Liberal Democrats: Kingswood (Stroud) Council By-Election Result: [IMG: 🔶] LDM: 64.0% (-18.1) [IMG: 🌳] CON: 15.8% (+6.4) [IMG: ➡] RFM: 10.1% (New) [IMG: 🌍] GRN: 5.8% (+1.0) [IMG: 🌹] LAB: 4.3% (+0.5)Liberal Democrat HOLD.Changes w/ 2024. — Election Maps UK (@electionmaps.uk) 2026-09-02T22:22:05.515Z Note also the continuation of two patterns we've seen in recent weeks: Reform's progress in by-elections stalling, and Labour's tide of defeats in by-elections being stemmed. For what all this means for the running total of council by-election results ... (more) |
World Suicide Prevention Day, 10th SeptemberThis article discusses suicide and could cause distress to some readers. On the 10th September The World Health Organisation will promote World Suicide Prevention Day. This is a three-year programme, supported by The Samaritans, MIND, and ithrive Edinburgh as well as other organisations, with the theme "Changing the Narrative". This initiative is aimed at encouraging people to speak about mental health, the complex reasons why people take their own lives, extending empathy and confronting stigma. Good early intervention can help a person in crisis so that they can be supported at crisis level then have timely access to treatment which ... (more) |