New Makerfield by-election poll gives Burnham a five point leadSo far we've had polls giving Andy Burnham a three, ten and five point lead. Now a new poll from Opinium also gives him a five point lead: [IMG: Opinium Makerfield poll] This is the first of the by-election polls to have some face-to-face fieldwork in the mix, and as with the other three, the sample size is large enough that any problems with the sample are almost certainly going to be due to its quality rather than its size. Similarly, although the poll was commissioned by two organisations with a clear political viewpoint – Forward Democracy and StopReformUK.Vote – ... (more) |
Sighcology: The Snake Pit, Out of True and Nellie BlyIt's time to post another of the Sighcology columns I write for the Journal of Critical Psychology, Counselling and Psychotherapy. It used to be called Changes, which must have saved a lot of typing. You can watch Out of True for free on the British Film Institute Site, and The Snake Pit is not hard to find online. The Snake Pit, Out of True and Nellie Bly Olivia de Havilland is sitting on a bench in the sun. We hear a man asking her questions, de Havilland's thoughts and then her replies. The camera pans a little, but we still ... (more) |
What people get wrong about secondary legislation: interview by James O'MalleyThe latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts is not really an episode of the podcast but rather a rerun of an interview I did for the YIMBY Pod with James O'Malley, talking about the problems with secondary legislation – and why they are problems we all should be interested in. Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. Show notes The YIMBY Pod. (It used to be called The Abundance Podcast.) One of my pieces about secondary legislation: Why does so much of Whitehall move so slowly? A reminder about ... (more) |
Lib Dems in Birthday Honours listI've had a look at the King's Birthday Honours list this morning, searching under "political service" and "local government". I've only found two Lib Dems so far. That doesn't mean that I've found everyone, so please, hive mind, let me kmow who I've missed. Lib Dems may be honoured for things that aren't politics. And indeed, this was barely published when I discovered a third, honoured for non Lib Dem reasons. And the Noble Lord Packula found another I didn't know about. So the two I have found and the one our Charley Hasted told me about are: Ruth Williams ... (more) |
Lib Dems in the King's birthday honours 2026Congratulations to the following Liberal Democrats spotted in the 2026 King's Birthday honours: Clare Apel: "Chair, Chichester District Council. For services to the Voluntary Sector, to Local Government and to Holocaust Education" Elizabeth Plummer: "Chief of Staff to the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, House of Lords. For services to Parliament" Terry Stacy: "For services to the LGBTQ+ Community" Ruth Williams: "For Political and Voluntary Service" Ed Davey has said: Congratulations to all those recognised in The King's Birthday Honours List. In particular, these great Liberal Democrats – Clare Apel, Elizabeth Plummer, Terry Stacy and Ruth Williams. Clare Apel has ... (more) |
Party leadership plotting: Yes, Minister's Party Games episodeThe latest edition of the email newsletter for my podcast, Political Fictions, 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: [IMG: Party Games - Yes Minsiter episode] Happy Leadership Plotting, er... Christmas! The latest episode of Political Fictions is out. It's about a Christmas special featuring plotting to become Prime Minister. So we'll let you decide if our scheduling is way off or spot on. Here are the details: Mark and Cory talk about the O.G. ... (more) |
From cinema to book shopSwansea is starting to get its act together in repurposing old and listed buildings and one of the best examples of that is the former Carlton Cinema in Oxford Street. A website called Cinema Treasures has more information on this building: Situated on Swansea's Oxford Sreet, next door to the now demolished Empire Theatre, the theatre opened as the Carlton Cinema de Luxe on 31st January 1914. The Carlton Cinema has a very beautiful facade with bay glass windows on the first and second floors. There are decorative freizes in Doultonware featuring dancing cherubs. Inside the foyer was a very ... (more) |
District council backs a parish council for Market HarboroughAn extraordinary meeting of Harborough District Council has voted unanimously in favour of a parish council for Market Harborough, reports BBC News. This vote, which took place on Monday, followed a public poll in which 86 per cent of those who voted supported the establishment of a new council. I was one of them. The BBC report makes great play of the fact that only 24 per cent of those eligible cast a vote, but I wonder if this is such a bad figure for such a poll. Given the possibility that Market Harborough will be governed from Glenfield in ... (more) |
New by-election poll gives Burnham 5 point leadWe've already had two Survation polls for the Makerfield Parliamentary by-election, putting Andy Burnham first three and then ten points ahead. Now a new More in Common / UCL Policy Lab poll puts him five points ahead: [IMG: More in Common graph of Makerfield Parliamentary by-election poll] The sample size of just over 500 for the mixed phone and online poll is, as with the earlier Survation polls, large enough that any problems with the sample are almost certainly going to be due to its quality rather than its size. The fieldwork dates for this poll, understandably, stretch over time ... (more) |
Lib Dems force government to end Russian sanctions exemptionA party press release brings the news: The Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the Lords, Lord Purvis, has secured a commitment from the government that it will close the previously open-ended exemption on the ban of trade in Russian refined oil products. A previously open-ended exemption on the ban of trade in Russian refined oil products will now cease no later than the end of the year. After pressure from the Liberal Democrats the government has announced it will now set a clear end of January 1st 2027, with a sunset provision, which had not been in place when ... (more) |