Blunders for Mr Burnham to AvoidAndy Burnham has successfully changed the mood music of our politics to inject a soupçon of confidence and even optimism, but there are various potential stumbling-blocks which could dent if not destroy his and our hopes. Top of the list in my view is: North Sea Oil Rumour has it that he is "minded" to authorise more drilling in the North Sea Oil Field. Anything which provides jobs (and the elusive "growth) is always a temptation for Labour politicians (the clue is in the name) but he should resist it - even the device of attaching new drilling to an ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1557Stefan Wolff, Elīna Šteinerte and Hervé Ascensio have investigated Russia's military indoctrination of Ukrainian children in its occupied territories: "The headteacher of the local school, accompanied by heavily armed soldiers, went from house to house to question parents who do not send their children to school and had not yet applied for Russian passports. He threatened them with the removal of their parental rights. He also said their children would be placed in institutions if they didn't yield to the pressure to do so." "The university's own financial reports show that 16 members of the University Executive Board are paid ... (more) |
Man vows to "never travel to Lincolnshire again" after Humber Bridge finesThe judges were aghast. What, never again see Lincoln Cathedral or the stone buildings of Stamford? Nevertheless, they gave Hull Live our Headline of the Day Award for its tale of a pissed off hedgehog rescuer. (more) |
The government's near-invisible power to veto legislationThe 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: Welcome to my latest update on work in the House of Lords, this time mentioning a welcome move by the Hansard Society. The problem of commencement [IMG: brown concrete building during sunset] Photo by Ian Kelsall on Unsplash As someone who has written about, and repeatedly raised in Parliament, questions about the quality ... (more) |
Public urged to help complete landmark survey of Welsh chapelsA rare mid-week local history related post today, as Nation Cymru reports that the organisers of a major national survey of Welsh chapels are appealing for public help after receiving responses for just one in 10 of the buildings identified so far. The news site says that Capeli Cymru, a new project from The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, has launched a census to map Wales' chapels in April 2026, which aims to build the most comprehensive picture in over a century of their condition, use and future, safeguarding one of Wales' most distinctive cultural ... (more) |
The hidden history of Euston, a lost canal and Cumberland MarketJohn Rogers takes us on a walk through a quarter of Camden that surprises even him. His blurb on YouTube says: From the Euston Station redevelopment, the site of the Euston Arch and the Bree Louise pub we go looking for a reservoir of the New River. In this area, North Gower Street, we have Speedy's Cafe and the filing location used in the TV show Sherlock for 221b Baker Street. From here we go to Cumberland Market, once London's last hay and straw market and look for the location of the Canal basin that served the market right until ... (more) |
Lincolnshire - a flawed reform of local government and why it mattersIn the excitement of appointing a new Prime Minister, the Manchester Mayoral election, and Count Binface's adventures in Clacton, the government's proposals for local government reform in England have been overlooked by the media. This is a pity, as the implications of the changes will stay with us for a long time. How local government is organized affects how efficiently services are delivered to residents, and what they cost. Mathew Hulbert pointed out eloquently in LDV a fortnight ago that the government's proposed changes are not a technical administrative reform, but a profound political change. The motive behind current government ... (more) |
Liverpool Labour's lack of ambition over the Commonwealth and EuropeAsk almost anyone who is not a member of a hard right political party about the effects of Brexit, and they will tell you the Brexit has been a failure for our country. Economists have a consensus that financially Brexit has reduced our GDP by between 4 and 8%, that means tens of thousands of jobs lost. Anyone going on holiday to continental Europe this summer we'll find out or already have found out the delays because we have become a third country at the decree not of the EU but of Boris Johnson. And anyone with any sense can ... (more) |
Northwood Lane, Bewdley: The Elan Valley Aqueduct, The Singing Detective and Jonathan MeadesFire broke out beside the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) bear Bewdley yesterday, reports the Shropshire Star. I don't know if it was caused by a spark from a train, but many preserved lines have gone over to diesel-only operation because of the tinder-dry state of lineside vegetation this summer. This fire took place near Northwood Lane, which is a long road that runs beside the River Severn north of Bewdley. And this post is about three things you can see along its course. The first is an aqueduct that carries drinking water from the Elan Valley reservoir in Mid Wales ... (more) |
First Clacton by-election opinion poll releasedWe have had some national polling pitting Nigel Farage against Count Binface already, but now we have the first constituency poll for the Clacton by-election. As The Times reports: Constituency polling by Survation, for Mandate Research, found that Farage could win the seat with as much as 73 per cent of the vote on a very low turnout. However, opposition to Farage has crystallised around support for the joke candidate Count Binface, who is polling at about 20 per cent. In a direct head-to-head between Farage and Binface, support for the Reform leader falls to 69 per cent while Binface's ... (more) |