This week in the Lords - 13-16 April 2026it looks like a relatively gentle week in the Lords, although there will be an opportunity for the Lords to ask the Commons to think again... again... on the Victims and Courts Bill and the Crime and Policing Bill. Yes, it's ping-pong time in the Lords... Bills Today sees Day 3 of the Report stage of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. Kath Pinnock has two amendments down promoting the Town and Parish Council sector, whilst John Shipley and Shaffaq Mohammed are attempting to persuade the Government that there are alternatives to the "strong leader" model of local government ... (more) |
Is Football losing its head?English football likes to think of itself as the most competitive, compelling league system in the world. And in many ways, the Premier League still delivers on that promise every weekend. But financially, the game is drifting into something far less credible: a system where losses are disguised, rules are gamed, and profit increasingly exists only on paper. The rise of intragroup sales is not a clever innovation. It is a symptom of a broken model. When clubs such as Newcastle United or Chelsea can transform massive losses into tidy profits by selling assets to companies owned by the same ... (more) |
Who lost in Hungary? Orban, Trump, Putin, and FarageYou really could not make this up. The Vice President of America goes to take part in a General Election in Hungary and then complains about foreign interference in that country's election. Did he not know what he was saying or did he believe that God had sent him to save Hungary from Satan's spawn. What happened in Hungary yesterday was utterly amazing not only for the people of Hungary but also for the rest of the free world. You could only envy the huge celebrations of the young people of the Country as they looked forward to a new ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1503Marcus Hughes on the many problems the Welsh government must overcome in achieving its laudable aim of removing private profit from the care system. "The anxiety inducing question from those working in the sector is what happens if local authority and not-for-profit provision can't replace that offered by the private sector in time? Finding places for some young people is already a challenge even with the current options available." "Could the bellicose, belligerent and braying Hegseth - with his Crusader tattoos, his disdain for diplomacy, and his evident taste for violent domination - have convinced Trump to start a war ... (more) |
Rejoining the EU: A £180 Billion‑Per‑Year Power‑Up for Britain (Part One)Imagine the UK economy suddenly becoming £180 billion richer every single year - not as a one‑off sugar rush, but as a permanent, compounding uplift. That is what rejoining the European Union could mean: a structural transformation that boosts national income, raises living standards, strengthens public finances and restores Britain's economic confidence. It would mark a deliberate, strategic shift away from managed decline and towards a confident, outward‑looking economic future. An economy on turbo Britain's economy today is worth around £2.7 trillion. Add £180 billion more in real GDP each year and you get a 6-7 per cent permanent uplift - a lasting improvement that ... (more) |
A rather unusual local election leafletThis leaflet for independent candidate Nick Picton comes from Cambridge, and note the pledge not to canvass any voters. [IMG: Nick Picton election leaflet 2026 front] [IMG: Nick Picton election leaflet 2026 back] Nick Picton election leaflet. The leaflet comes from ElectionLeaflets.org and hat-tip to Phil Rodgers for spotting it. You can add to the site any leaflets that come through your door with a simple upload. Sign up to get the latest news and analysis (more) |
The Market Harborough woman who gave birth to a catAgnes Bowker, the Market Harborough woman who claimed on 16 January 1569 that she had given birth to a cat, is the subject of the latest short podcast in the BBC's Secret Leicestershire series. The photograph shows the ruined church of St Mary in Arden by Market Harborough railway station, where the story begins. (more) |
Another cockup by this ham-fisted governmentFor years, our political opponent, especially the hypocritical Labour party, have lambasted us for our role in tuition fees during the coalition, conveniently overlooking Labour's role of introducing them in the first place after saying they wouldn't and then introducing top-up fees when they said they wouldn't. This ham-fisted government has messed about with student fees ever since getting back into power, first raising the interest rate and then capping it. Saying they would reintroduce maintenance grants and then not doing so. Now a group of mainly poor working-class students are being told that the people responsible for student loans ... (more) |
Welcome to my day: 14 April 2026 - Hungary for change?I'm in a good mood this morning, following the glorious victory for the Hatters over... the Hatters... I've been doing European politics with the Liberal Democrats on and off since 1989, long enough to know that it's always worth waiting a little before declaring that a change of government is good news or not. Indeed, I've been around so long that I remember when FIDESZ were a welcome part of the liberal family – and Viktor Orban was its leader in those days too. But the news that FIDESZ have suffered what looks like a pretty crushing defeat, despite controlling ... (more) |
No change hereI am reading and enjoying the fourth (?) volume of Alan Bennet's "Diaries," published last month. Here are two highly prescient entries: 7 January 2019: When Trump destroys the world those who are left will look at one another and wonder why nobody stopped him." And, a few days later: 16th January, 2019: ". . .Jacob Rees -Mogg . . .Boris Johnson, 'Sir' John Redwood . . .gentlemen who have never been in two minds about anything except where their own self-interest lies." (more) |