Liberal Democrat MP suspended from party after arrestFrom the Guardian website this evening: A Liberal Democrat MP has had the whip suspended pending the outcome of a police investigation, a party spokesperson said. Cameron Thomas was arrested by Gloucestershire police on Wednesday night, it is understood. His office has been contacted for comment. A Lib Dem spokesperson said the party was unable to comment further while an "investigation is ongoing". Thomas's party membership is also understood to have been suspended. The former RAF officer has served as MP for Tewkesbury since the 2024 general election. This is credited to the Press Association and appears to be all ... (more) |
Joseph Wright of Derby: From the Shadows exhibition comes homeAfter six months at the National Gallery in London, the art exhibition Wright of Derby: From the Shadows has come home. It's now being shown at Derby Museum and Art Gallery and will run there until 1 November. Its billing on the Derby Museums website says: Wright of Derby: From the Shadows is the first major exhibition dedicated to the British artist's 'candlelight' paintings. Join us as we celebrate and look again at his most admired works. Illuminated faces gather around a variety of objects, from classical sculptures and scientific instruments to bones, bladders and animals. Through his unflinching scenes ... (more) |
Replacement?Runes of wisdom, rings of power fused in silicon's pale mirror; reflected through a changing line whose alchemy brings nemesis. (more) |
The government's £1bn school sports revamp talks a good game on SEND inclusion. So why are disabled children being benched?The government's headline-grabbing £1 billion overhaul of school sport is wrapped in the shiny vocabulary of modern progressive policy: equity, accessibility, and an explicit promise to end the "fitness postcode lottery." On paper, it looks like a long-overdue victory for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The policy promises a needs-led system where "one-size-fits-all" gym classes are scrapped, replaced by specialist coaches from Paralympics GB, adapted sports like boccia, and a massive facility fund to tear down physical barriers. But talk to any headteacher or parent of a disabled child this week, and the mood is not one ... (more) |
Don't slam the brakes on Britain's EV revolutionReports that the Government is considering watering down the 2030 Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate should concern anyone who cares about Britain's economic future, energy security, and the cost of living. At a time when other countries are racing to adopt the industries of the future, weakening the UK's commitment to electric vehicles would be a step backwards. It risks leaving Britain tied to the economy of the past rather than embracing the technologies that will drive growth, create jobs, and reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels. What is particularly disappointing is that ministers appear not to have learned ... (more) |
Reform inadvertently lose their majorityGateshead Planning Committee met yesterday. Reform, reflecting their overall control of Gateshead Council, have a majority on Planning. Or do they...? Of the 13 Reform members of the committee, 8 were missing yesterday. The combined opposition of 8 could out vote the 5 Reform members who managed to get to the meeting. Reform aren't exactly off to a flying start. (more) |
"How will you pay for it?"- The reply I'd love to hear Ed Davey givePicture the scene. Ed Davey is on Question Time. He has just made the case for fixing social care, rescuing our crumbling roads, or matching our European allies on defence. And then it comes, the question every politician dreads: "That all sounds lovely. But how are you going to pay for it?" Here is the reply I would love to hear. "I'm glad you asked, because it's the wrong question, and I think most people at home suspect as much. You're asking how we'd fund twenty-first-century public services with a tax system built for a different century. Council tax based ... (more) |
The Major Oak is dead and Phil Harding has discovered another ancient site near StonehengeForget Sycamore Gap: this is real tragedy. The Major Oak in Sherwood Forest is dead. The Guardian reports: The Major oak, one of Europe's oldest, largest and most celebrated ancient trees, has died. The huge tree, which has grown in Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, England, for at least 1,000 years, failed to produce any leaves this year, after becoming stressed by a series of hot, dry summers. Thousands of visitors admire the oak each year, with its great age, enormous 11-metre girth and 28-metre canopy inspiring a forest of folklore. Although the oak would not have been hollow in Robin ... (more) |
Reform own goalsI feel it is necessary to quote two items from Will Hayward's twice-weekly newsletter to illustrate the chaos that is the Reform Senedd group at the moment. Please click on the link and subscribe, it is well worthwhile. The newsletter tells us that Reform have been on quite a journey when it comes to childcare: During the election campaign, their manifesto didn't even mention it. Then last week 11 of their 34 MSs - a third of their members - bizarrely voted in favour of an amendment that criticised its absence from their proposals for Wales. We asked Reform why ... (more) |
Following the course of the River Leen through NottinghamOur History Underfoot - like and subscribe, my children, like and subscribe - follows the course of the River Leen through Nottingham. Just as in John Rogers' London river walks, we are taken to parts of the city we wouldn't normally see. Except that I have been to some of these places. To prove it, here are my photographs of the railway bridge - I was surprised at how low it was, but didn't guess the reason - and the start of the Tinker's Leen beside the Nottingham Canal. (more) |