We need a healthy and free leadership debateThe BBC reported last Friday that Charlie Maynard, the MP for Witney, has called for a no confidence vote against Ed Davey. For me this has been a long time coming, as I have heard constant rumours circling about the wider Party losing faith in him, but for many this has been a devastating example of Party infighting which will do us little good in the long-term. However, an internal coup is nasty business for everyone involved, if you fail after launching one it can destroy your career, if you lose against one it is an embarrassing end-note to your ... (more) |
'Miriam González launches new party to take on Spain's big two in snap election'Euronews reports: Spain has a new name in the electoral race for 29 November: Miriam González Durántez announced on 10 October her candidacy for the general election at the head of Democracia21 (d21), a newly created party that will make its debut only in Madrid and Barcelona, with plans to expand across the country in future contests at the ballot box. You can read the full article here. * Newshound: bringing you the best Lib Dem commentary in print, on air or online. (more) |
How many councillors has Reform UK lost since the May 2026 elections?Given how popular (and lengthy!) my list of Reform councillor departures after the May 2025 elections turned out to be, here is a new list, this time for councillors on principal authorities elected under the Reform banner on 7 May 2026, or in by-elections after that date, who have already departed the party for one reason or another. Jay Cooper, Sefton: declared "not welcome" by Nigel Farage following reports of him calling the Holocaust a hoax and then resigned from the party (May 2026). Stuart Prior, Essex: expelled by Reform and resigned as a councillor after "he was accused the ... (more) |
IFS warn on the budgetThe Guardian reports that Chancellor John Healey has been warned by Britain's leading tax and spending experts that his budget risks being a "work of fiction" unless he sets out plans to cover £35bn in spending pressures. The paper says that as the war in the Middle East rattles the public finances, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said that the damage from higher inflation meant the chancellor would need to either top up funds for his current government spending plans or impose deep real-terms cuts by the end of the decade: Against a febrile backdrop in the bond ... (more) |
Crash! (1971): An experimental television film with J.G. Ballard and Gabrielle DrakeThis film, made for BBC2 and broadcast in 1971, features J.G. Ballard and Gabrielle Drake. It must have been inspired by one of the linked stories - also called Crash! - from Ballard's novel The Atrocity Exhibition, which was published in 1970. Ballard's novel Crash did not appear until 1973. It was adapted by David Cronenberg for a 1996 film that caused great controversy when it was released. (more) |
Roz Savage and her Liberal vision for a flourishing BritainRoz Savage has written a paper called Liberalism Alive: A Liberal Vision for a Flourishing Britain for Compass. It was published last month and touches upon questions that Liberal Democrats are currently wrestling with, such as leadership and defining what we stand for. It's well worth a read. You can download it from the Compass website. Here's a little of what Roz writes: Britain does not need another political saviour. It needs direction: leadership capable of describing that direction, institutions capable of learning, a state strong enough to protect the public interest, and millions of people with enough security, ownership ... (more) |
Mathew on Monday: Davey has been given a second chance. Now he must show us what his leadership is forEd Davey's leadership of the Liberal Democrats has been given something of a reprieve. Some of his parliamentary colleagues have rallied around him, offering protection at a time when questions about his leadership and the party's direction have become increasingly difficult to ignore. But protection is not the same as vindication. And a second chance must not become an excuse for more of the same. The Liberal Democrats cannot afford another period of drift and dither. We need leadership. We need vision. Above all, we need to know what our party is actually for. I've argued before that our problem ... (more) |
The decapitation strategyThere seems to be a naïve assumption that all the problems of the Liberal Democrats will be solved by a decapitation strategy. During my lifetime there have been 12 Liberal and LibDem leaders and during that same period we have always been told that voters don't understand what we stand for. Yes, occasionally, voters do identify with something we stand for. Our opposition to the Iraq war for example or our support for the EU. They have also recognised stupidity like abandoning our firm pledge on tuition fees. In 2024 I suspect our success was mainly down to being the ... (more) |
Welcome (belatedly) to my day: 12 October 2026 - a leadership challenge, or a challenge to the leadership?...My estimable colleague and our Editor-in-Chief, Caron Lindsay, wrote yesterday asking the question, "Is Ed Davey toast?". And a fine question it is too, although I'm perhaps not the obvious person to answer it. So, instead, I'm first going to look at the mechanics of it all. With the Parliamentary Party in the Commons due to meet tomorrow, what are the options? Charlie Maynard has moved in the confidence that he can secure enough votes to defeat Ed, and Ed knows it. That would potentially trigger Article 18.2(a) of the Federal Constitution: the Leader asking for an election or, Article ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1590Jonathan Wilson explains why we're stuck with a Premier League in the clutches of the global mega-rich: "Clubs represent their communities and for fans support becomes an aspect of identity, a link to family and place and past, a role that has only become more significant as the influence of traditional institutions - the church, the workplace, the social club - has faded. Yet fans in England have almost never owned their clubs, which in part underlies the present crisis." "While investors get richer, the dysfunctional market inflicts a huge cost on children in care. Young people removed from their ... (more) |