31 March 2026 - today's press releaseRecall Parliament to address ferry crisis say Scottish Liberal Democrats Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has today called for the Scottish Parliament to be recalled to address the crisis engulfing Scotland's ferry network as communities in Argyll & Bute and up and down the west coast face yet more upheaval, with up to eight ferries out of action. The Scottish Parliament can be recalled up until 8th April. Mr Cole-Hamilton made the comments as he and Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey visited the key target seat of Strathkelvin & Bearsden to play tennis with community activist and candidate Adam ... (more) |
Ed Davey on Keir Starmer's "staggering lack of backbone"A Liberal Democrat media release says: Responding to confirmation that the King will make a second state visit to the US, Ed Davey, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: "The Prime Minister is showing a staggering lack of backbone by pushing ahead with this state visit while Donald Trump treats our country with contempt. "To send the King on a state visit to the US after Trump dismissed our Royal Navy as 'toys' is a humiliation, and a sign of a government too weak to stand up to bullies. "What appalling thing does Trump have to do next to make ... (more) |
Something amazing: A Shropshire businessman falling out of the sky and Mystery at WitchendThe latest Secret Shropshire programme on BBC Sounds is intriguing:In 1937 Max Wenner fell to his death from a plane in one of aviation's greatest mysteries. Wenner was a wealthy landowner and pilot living at Batchcott Hall outside Picklescott in the foothills of the Long Mynd. Wenner's frequent flights to Germany in the 1930s and visits from high profile Nazis like Joachim von Ribbentrop led to speculation that Wenner may be leading a double life. In January 1937 his body was found in woodland near Genk, in Belgium. He had fallen out of a passenger plane but no could explain ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1497"A child who grew up in the United Kingdom, attended British schools, made British friends, and considers this country their home will find, at the threshold of adulthood, that the system treats them as a temporary guest. That is a remarkable way to build community cohesion." Labour's plans on earned settlement are a social policy disaster in the making, argues Colin Yeo. Alan Rusbridger asks if Britain has stopped believing the freedom to protest: "The police burst in, broke up the gathering and arrested everyone involved. They carted them off to the cells, confiscated their phones and, in at least ... (more) |
Council by-elections results: the quarterly statsHere are the scores on the doors for the latest quarter of principal authority council by-elections. (more) |
Birtley South action dayI missed the Birtley North and Lamesley action day last week as I was at the Whickham Library easter fair. I was however able to make it to the Birtley South event the following day. 13 of us finished the delivery of target letters in the ward.Birtley South is an interesting ward. We first won a seat in the ward from Labour in 2023. A year later we won another seat from Labour but this time (more) |
Labour's council tax rise in Gateshead(more) |
My existence is not an ideologyI don't usually write in the first person like this. But some arguments are better made from inside the experience than at a careful analytical distance. This is one of them. There's a phrase that's been circulating in certain corners of British public life for a few years now. You'll have heard it. Gender ideology. Sometimes trans ideology. It gets deployed with a specific kind of confidence: the confidence of someone who believes they are simply describing reality, neutrally, accurately, from nowhere in particular. I am, apparently, an ideology. I've tried to sit with that rather than immediately reaching for ... (more) |
Davey: Lib Dems have the wind in our sailsScottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton and Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey yesterday declared that the wind is in the party's sails as they took to the water on a visit in Edinburgh. After sailing a boat under the iconic Forth bridges, the party leaders set out their desire to "smash the Scottish Conservatives and dismantle the acid yellow wall of the SNP" to a horde of party activists. The party is targeting ten constituency seats across Scotland having proven that it can gain seats from the SNP, while taking seats on the peach regional ballot paper by targeting moderate ... (more) |
Reform's disastrous vetting processNation Cymru reports that a Reform UK whistleblower has described the "expensive, flawed and unprofessional vetting process" used by the party to select Senedd election candidates. The news site says that the key member, who does not wish to be named, said they took part in Reform's "full candidate assessment and training process" for the upcoming Welsh election, and has accused the party of a "lack of transparency" and criticised the "calibre of some of the people now being placed in winnable positions": The insider told us: "What I witnessed was not a merit-based system designed to find the best ... (more) |