Ed Davey, Nick Clegg, Paddy Ashdown... and hedgehogsEd Davey has posted this charming photo of him and Victoria Collins visiting a hedgehog sanctuary in Harpenden. It puts me in mind of a Liberal England post from New Year's Day 2016: Today in someone's review of the year I came across an interview Nick Clegg gave to the Evening Standard on the eve of the general election: Looking back at the campaign, it is the comic moments he remembers. For instance, his first visit was to a hedgehog sanctuary, with Paddy Ashdown. Ashdown muttered under his breath to Clegg: "When I was in the Special Boat Service we ... (more) |
Lee Dillon's former seat held by Lib Dems in council by-electionFour principal authority council by-elections this week, including another one caused by a Liberal Democrat councillor becoming an MP: Thatcham North East (West Berkshire) Council By-Election Result: [IMG: 🔶] LDM: 40.7% (-15.3) [IMG: 🌳] CON: 25.2% (-0.2) [IMG: ➡] RFM: 21.6% (New) [IMG: 🌍] GRN: 7.5% (-11.1) [IMG: 🌹] LAB: 5.0% (New)Liberal Democrat HOLD.Changes w/ 2023. — Election Maps UK (@electionmaps.uk) 2025-04-25T09:04:57.379Z Thank you to Kelly Turner for flying the Lib Dem flag here – and scoring such a promising vote increase. For what all this means for the running total of council by-election results since the last May elections, ... (more) |
Russia sanctions ten Lib Dem ParliamentariansThe Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry have banned 6 peers and 15 MPs from entering the Russian Federation for: Hostile statements and unfounded accusations coming from members of the UK Parliament, including public statements in favour of seizing Russian assets "immobilised" in Western jurisdictions Lib Dems are very well represented on the list. Among the peers are Lord Purvis and Baroness Smith (and Lord Alton, a cross bencher was a Liberal MP for 18 years ) and Russia has sanctioned no fewer than 8 of our MPs - Alistair Carmichael, Chris Coghlan, Helen Maguire, James Maccleary, Mike Martin, Manuela Perteghella, Cameron ... (more) |
Try bowls! #dundeewestendBalgay Bowling Club has published the dates for this year's "Try Bowls" events. Whether you have played before, or are hoping to try out bowls for the first time, the club has lots of equipment and plenty of qualified coaches who will be there to help you out. The club also offers free coaching sessions in the following weeks and a half price first year membership. All welcome at the "Try Bowls" events and for any more information please contact Alan McDonald at alan.mcdonald96@gmail.com or call Alan on 07732 679604. (more) |
Is a Tory leadership contest inevitable?The Independent reports that Robert Jenrick has fuelled speculation that he is preparing a leadership campaign to replace the beleaguered Kemi Badenoch with just a week to go before the local elections. The paper says that a letter to local election candidates offering his support was revealed just 24 hours after a recording emerged of him laying out a pledge to unite the Conservative Party and Reform UK. In the letter, Mr Jenrick said: "I firmly believe that the best way to defeat our opponents is to champion Conservative values. We must not only stand by our Conservative principles but ... (more) |
Council by-election results scorecard 2024-2025Here's the tally of seats changing hands in principal authority council by-elections held between the May 2024 and the May 2025 local elections, including those held at the same time as the 2024 general election: Con Lab Lib Dem Green Reform SNP Plaid Ind/ Other Net Con +13 (+20/-7) +2 (+10/-8) +3 (+3/0) -3 (0/-3) +4 (+4/0) – +3 (+5/-2) +22 Lab -13 (+7/-20) -6 (+2/-8) -8 (0/-8) -8 (0/-8) -4 (+2/-6) – 0 (+3/-3) -39 Lib Dem -2 (+8/-10) +6 (+8/-2) – -1 (0/-1) -2 (0/-2) – -1 (+1/-2) 0 Grn -3 (0/-3) +8 (+8/0) – – – – ... (more) |
Eurovision is fabulous but is it scandalous too?Fil from Wings of Pegasus has been looking at what exactly it is that we hear in the Eurovision Song Contest final. The rules now allow a prerecorded backing track, and that track can choose to use pitch correction and autotuning as an artistic choice. And guess what? Everyone makes that choice. That in itself is worrying, but what Fil uncovers here is that, for some songs, the backing track contains a fair part of what we think is the lead vocal. So it looks as though Eurovision isn't particularly interested in enforcing its own rules. Fil has disappeared down ... (more) |
If Enid Blyton was the Beatles then Malcolm Saville was the KinksNow here's a title for a blog post: The Famous Five vs The Lone Pine Club. It's on the blog Unpopular Culture. I shall resist the temptation to quote it in its entirety, and give you just a taste: Enid Blyton is perhaps like The Beatles. Certainly she was massively globally successful and subsequently went through dips of critical and popular appeal, before becoming established again as a recognisable global brand whose enormous material success insists on being endlessly reproduced and extended. I rather enjoy drawing this parallel partly because I know many Beatles devotees will prickle at the thought ... (more) |
Local election predictions for May 2025Here are the predictions from various election experts as to what is going to happen in the May 2025 local elections: (more) |
Georges I-IV, Boy George, George Harrison and Henry GeorgeHere's another of my columns for the Journal of Critical Psychology, Counselling and Psychotherapy. This time the theme of the issue was Georges - they've already done Davids. I wish I'd thought of including George Eliot. Georges on my Mind The future George I and his wife Sophia Dorothea fought all the time. He once pulled out her hair and throttled her until she lost consciousness - her life was saved by attendants who intervened. When George inherited the British throne, he had already forbidden his 11-year-old son, the future George II, to see his mother or even mention her ... (more) |