Raven: Phil Daniels and archaeology encounter nuclear wasteNuclear site dig will change prehistory, says archaeologist says the headline on a BBC News article about Sizewell C. A nuclear power station being built on an ancient site? That sounds like the plot of an ITV children's serial from the Seventies. And I was pretty much right, because the largely forgotten series Raven from 1977 dealt with plans to store nuclear waste use an ancient cave system. I'm not sure I remember watching it, but I did have the book. So here's the first episode. Note the strong cast: Phil Daniels, Michael Aldridge and Patsy Rowlands. Before I found ... (more) |
The uncanny on the western front in the first world warEmbed from Getty ImagesMalcolm Gaskill reviews A Supernatural War: Magic, Divination and Faith during the First World War by Owen Davies in the London Review of Books (4 July 2019): It's a well-known story that British soldiers at Mons claimed they really did see angels - but that story, too, turns out to be unfounded. In September 1914 the Welsh writer Arthur Machen published a story called The Bowmen in the London Evening News. In it, spectral archers from the Battle of Agincourt come to the aid of the British Expeditionary Force at Mons. To his dismay the story was ... (more) |
ALDC's by-election report - 6 August 2026[IMG: 4 parallel white vertical lines on orange background ALDC logo] Five principal authority by-elections took place across England and Wales on Thursday 6th August. The Conservatives were defending three seats (two in West Norfolk and one in Surrey), while Reform UK were defending one seat in South Tyneside and Plaid Cymru were defending one seat in South Wales. The Conservatives had a disastrous night, losing all three of their seats. The headlining story of the week for the Liberal Democrats came from West Norfolk, where we delivered stellar first-time performances in two coastal wards, shooting straight into second place ... (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 18% (-1) 24% (+1) 11% (nc) 14% (nc) 24% (+1) 0% (vs Ref) 5/8 GB YouGov ... (more) |
Democracy, defence policy, health care and more at Lib Dem Autumn ConferenceThe agenda and reports to conference for the Autumn Conference in Brighton have been published, including the full text of all the motions to be debated. Conference Agenda Also available here. Reports to Conference Also available here. The three policy papers up for debate in Brighton can be found in my policy paper archive (numbers 164-166). Sign up to get the latest news and analysis (more) |
The Independent View: Are mutuals the answer to the water crisis?As public outrage at water companies disregard for the law, abuse of our money, neglect of our water systems, pollution of our waterways, continues to mount it is an extraordinary act of arrogance to see the water companies increase rewards for CEOs and Finance Directors rising to £25M this year (Guardian 2026). Whilst the government has fallen into the trap of believing the problem of water pollution is complex, and the fault of regulation, the People's Commission on the Water Sector undertook a truly independent review and found that the cause was commodification of water and the lack of national ... (more) |
Two more wards become Reform vs Lib Dem in council by-electionsFive principal authority council by-elections this week, and all five with Lib Dem candidates – which is particularly impressive as there was only one Liberal Democrat standing in these wards the last time the five were up. Well done to everyone involved in continuing the spread of the party to more contests. To the results and let's start with two Reform gains from the Conservatives, but note that in both cases the Lib Dems came from nowhere to second place – showing once again how many places are becoming a new two party set-up, but with the two parties being ... (more) |
Churchill and Lloyd George: Rivals for Greatness - new podcast seriesProfessor Richard Toye, author of the classic Churchill and Lloyd George: Rivals for Greatness, and author and historian Dr Warren Dockter, have announced a major new series of their podcast Churchill The Finest Half Hour concentrating on the relationship between two of Britain's greatest wartime prime ministers, David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill. They start by exploring how two men from very different backgrounds crossed swords and then joined forces on the great issues of the day, from the Boer War to Free Trade and Home Rule for Ireland, all while seeking the great offices of state for each believed ... (more) |
William Wallace writes: We should talk more about LiberalismWe're Liberals and we're democrats. So we should be talking much more about Liberal and democratic values, in public: that's what makes us distinctive, what drives us into politics - and what attracts new people to the party. When I first joined the party, everyone from Jo Grimond down talked about redefining liberalism and its implications for our society, our economy and our foreign policy. Now we are too shy about reaching beyond daily press releases and restating the principles on which our politics are based. Others are not so shy. I've read defences of neo-liberalism in the Times and ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1558"Someone who attended a private school in London or the South East is 24 times more likely to become a permanent secretary than someone educated at a state school in the North. For a seat in the House of Lords, the gap is 23-fold. That is not class inequality plus regional inequality. It is what happens when they multiply."Nick Harrison asks if No 10 North will change who runs Britain. Janice Mak says American schools are increasingly questioning whether every student needs a laptop: "This distinction between passive consumption and purposeful use is increasingly shaping school policy. Updated policies also ... (more) |