The Home Office tackles an apostrophe but not Elon MuskThe latest edition of my email newsletter about work in Parliament, A Lord's Eye View, 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: A quick update about the Home Office's social media use policy, which encourages people to use Elon Musk's X. I got excited about an update to it... but the update was, let's say, niche. The Home Office and X [IMG: a close up of a cell phone with social media icons] Photo by ... (more) |
New light on the Mods and RockersI've just got back from an event at Leicester Central Library: High Flying Around: Memories of the 1960s Leicester Arts and Music Scene Join Leicester author and curator Shaun Knapp, author, curator and graphic designer Joe Nixon, musician Kenny Wilson, and the University of Leicester's Colin Hyde for a discussion on the arts and music scene in Leicester during the 1960s. I talk to Kenny Wilson sometimes in my favourite coffee shop in Market Harborough and Shaun Knapp turned out to be a member of Gypsy (who were called Legay earlier in their career), a Leicester band of the late ... (more) |
Secret Nothamptonshire on the building of the Welland ViaductI wouldn't call the Welland Viaduct exactly secret: it's nearly three-quarters of a mile long, 60 feet hight, contains 30 million bricks and is really quite hard to miss. But having been inspired to write posts by the BBC's Secret Shropshire and Secret Leicestershire pages, I though I would have a look at Secret Northamptonshire. And this is the story that caught my eye: Northants'"Grandest and Most Perfect" Structure The Harringworth or Welland Viaduct is one of the longest of its kind in Britain. Stradling the picturesque Northamptonshire valley, it is a magnificent example of Victorian construction and ambition. But ... (more) |
We must stand together against anti-Jewish hatredThe past week has forced many across our country to confront a deeply troubling reality: anti-Jewish hatred is not an abstract concern, but a present and growing threat here in Britain. Yet there remains a striking silence from parts of our society that have long prided themselves on standing against racism in all its forms. In the space of just days, three arson attacks have targeted the Jewish community, including petrol bomb attacks on synagogues in Finchley and Kenton. It is only by sheer good fortune that these buildings did not suffer the same devastating fate as the Hatzola ambulances ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1507"These settings are not registered - as they should be by law - with Ofsted. They are meant to be temporary, but a recent report by the children's commissioner found the average placement lasted six months - one child had been in a 'holiday camp/activity centre' for almost nine months."Alexandra Topping explains why social workers are forced to place children in unregistered homes. Heather Stewart analyses Labour's crabwise approach to closer economic ties with the EU. Richard Kemp condemns the snobbery behind the use of classical music to disperse groups of young people: "I have instead asked the Council and ... (more) |
Why does cautious Starmer keep getting it wrong?Yesterday, Keir Starmer faced Parliament to explain how a man who failed his security vetting ended up as Britain's most important ambassador. It is a question worth asking. But there is a deeper one beneath it: how does a prime minister who presents himself as the cautious, process-respecting antidote to Conservative chaos keep finding himself in exactly these situations? The Mandelson affair is, in miniature, the story of this government. A political decision was taken — to appoint a Labour grandee to a high-profile role. Warnings existed. Red flags had been raised. The vetting process that was supposed to filter ... (more) |
"An ingenious inventor is keeping his secret in some remote farm building between Market Harborough and Peterborough"I've blogged before about the C.W. Allen and the phantom airships of 1909. It turns out that excitement was running so high that the Daily Express sent a special correspondent to Market Harborough. Here is part of his report. THREE EYE-WITNESSES "Express" Special Correspondent MARKET HARBOROUGH, Tuesday Night The mysterious airship with blazing headlights, which is reported to have been seen flying by night round Peterborough and across East Anglia, is being eagerly watched for again to-night. This strange aerocraft, with its suggestion of Mr. H. G. Wells'"War in the Air," has fired the imagination of the countryside, and the ... (more) |
Coalville: Railway ghosts of the town built on coalIn this episode of Lost Railway Towns, we travel to Coalville, Leicestershire - a town built on coal and railways. Once thriving when coal was king, Coalville was at the heart of Leicestershire's industrial revolution, its collieries and railway lines powering Britain's factories and furnaces. We uncover the story of Coalville's lost railways, the lines that once linked the town to Leicester, Ashby and beyond - and explore what remains today. Despite decades of talk about restoring passenger services, Coalville's station remains closed, a ghost of a once-busy transport hub. Joined by Steve, a lifelong resident of Coalville, we hear ... (more) |
Tories seize control of Harborough District Council as their £800k loss is revealedHFM News reports that the Conservatives have seized control of Harborough District Council this evening: A motion to remove Liberal Democrat leader Phil Knowles and replace him with Tory group leader Simon Whelband was approved by 17 votes to 16 at an extraordinary council meeting tonight. Councillor Knowles had led a 16-strong coalition of Liberal Democrat, Labour, Green and independent councillors since 2023, although that number fell to 15 last week following the death of Labour councillor David Gair, who represented Lutterworth. As Phil Knowles has been saying in recent weeks, with investment in leisure centres and a community grant ... (more) |
Mathew on Monday: is Keir Starmer the most incurious Prime Minister in British history?There is something increasingly puzzling – and politically dangerous – about the way that Keir Starmer governs. It is not simply that things go wrong on his watch; every Prime Minister faces crisis, missteps, and the odd unforced error. It is that, time and again, Starmer appears oddly detached from the very events shaping his premiership. As if politics and government are things that happen to him, rather than things he actively directs. That sense of detachment is beginning to harden into something more troubling: a complete lack of curiosity. Effective leadership demands an almost relentless inquisitiveness – a desire ... (more) |