The Joy of Six 1562"Every large fire has two causes, the spark that lights it and the conditions that let it become so severe. Naming the fire, though, can hide this, as does reporting. A fire is named in hours, blamed in days, and attributed a true cause in weeks."Doug Specht argues that we should reterg 'wildfire' in favour of 'landscape fire', stating the spark where it is known and explaining the conditions that allowed it to spread. "Judge Paul McCloskey scanned a group of immigrant children, none of whom had lawyers present, in his windowless suburban Virginia courtroom this past Thursday. Where's the ... (more) |
Observations of an Expat: The Mecca AgreementIt is time for another round of musical chairs—Middle Eastern style. The region's countries are notorious for changing their friends and allies as often as their socks and the Mecca Agreement announced this week complicates the issue by throwing up a sandstorm of unresolved questions. But start with history. The region's first postwar security alliance was the British-inspired Baghdad Pact. Formed in 1955, it included the UK, Iraq, Iran,, Pakistan and Turkey. After the Iraqi revolution in1959, Iraq pulled out. At that time the Americans—who had been active non-members of the pact—became even more active non-members. Thus the Central Treaty ... (more) |
Yet another mock castleWhen I was a student Clyne Castle was student accommodation and one that hosted legendary summer balls, that often ended up on the beach at 5am the next day. It is now luxury flats, a victim of the trend by universities to cash in on their assets and contract out student digs to outside providers. Wikipedia, describes the Castle as a Grade II*-listed building situated on a hill overlooking Swansea Bay, adjacent to the Clyne valley, near Blackpill, Swansea. They say it was originally built in 1791 by a wealthy landowner, passed into the hands of the Vivian family and ... (more) |
Five reasons to stop our sending future leaders to boarding schoolPiers Cross blends the psychological and the political to produce a convincing list. I wrote about Richard Beard's book Sad Little Men in my first column for the Journal of Critical Psychology, Counselling and Psychotherapy. I like its original subtitle 'Private schools and the ruin of England'. (more) |
Latest voting intention and leadership ratings opinion pollsWelcome to my summary of the latest national voting intention polls for the next general election, along with the latest MRP projections and party leadership ratings. If you'd like to find out more about how polls work, how reliable they are and how to make sense of them, check out my book, Polling UnPacked: the History, Uses and Abuses of Political Opinion Polls, or sign up for my weekly email, The Week in Polls: General election voting intention polls PollsterConLabLDGrnRefLab leadFieldwork Find Out Now 20% (+2) 22% (-2) 11% (nc) 14% (nc) 24% (nc) -2% (vs Ref) 12/8 GB Survation ... (more) |
Helen Morgan on the importance of external scrutiny of the NHSEmbed from Getty ImagesHelen Morgan has been interviewed by Healthcare Management about the Liberal Democrats' concern at government plans to reduce external scrutiny of the National Health Service. She says: "We know from polling back in 2024 there are people who feel their care has been poor, but they don't want to report that back into the NHS because they are dependent on that care, and they think it might impact on the care that they're receiving, and that's the value of Healthwatch because it's so independent of the NHS." There are a number of changes involved, so it's all ... (more) |
ALDC by-election report 13th AugustThere were two principal authority by-elections across England, Wales and Scotland this week, both held on Thursday 13 August. The Liberal Democrats were not defending either seat, with Reform UK defending Almondbury on Kirklees MBC and Labour defending Honiton St Michael's on East Devon DC. It was an excellent night for the Liberal Democrats, with gains in both wards. In Almondbury, Paola Davies returned to the council just three months after losing her seat as Reform swept all three positions at the May local elections. In Honiton St Michael's, Rhys Wallis took a seat which Labour had won in 2023 ... (more) |
A Canterbury Tale, Richard Rorty and Stanley KubrickGuy Stagg understands A Canterbury Tale: A Canterbury Tale suggests that love of country does not mean some romanticised retreat into the past, but rather drawing on England;s heritage to navigate the uncertainty of the modern world. As a result, the film floats free from its origins as wartime propaganda to become one of cinema's most beautiful explorations of history and belief. Though the pace is slow and the plot dreamlike, it finds space for art and nature, friendship and love, nation and faith - all the things people sacrifice their lives for. I'm reminded of something the American philosopher ... (more) |
Buy an 'honour' says Labour think tank - they are just like the ToriesSome people reading this might think that I am a little biased when it comes to defending the honours system, after all both my wife and I have a CBE which is the second highest civil honour. But this is not about the position of Erica or I, it is a defence of a system in which anyone can be nominated for an honour by anyone. The applications are then impartially vetted by people expert in the field and then a recommendation is made to the Prime Minister who issues an invitation to accept the award on behalf of His ... (more) |
Lib Dems gain seats from both Reform and LabourTwo principal authority council by-elections this week and two Liberal Democrat gains – adding to the other two councillors the party had already picked up this week. Almondbury (Kirklees) Council By-Election Result: [IMG: 🔶] LDM: 43.9% (+14.5) [IMG: ➡] RFM: 27.0% (-10.0) [IMG: 🌳] CON: 13.2% (+4.4) [IMG: 🌍] GRN: 8.7% (-8.0) [IMG: 🌹] LAB: 4.5% (-3.4) [IMG: 🙋] Ind: 2.6% (New)Liberal Democrat GAIN from Reform UK.Changes w/ 2026. — Election Maps UK (@electionmaps.uk) 2026-08-14T06:04:07.364Z Note that Reform under-performed compared with the one full poll carried out for the by-election, a topic that I will return to in the next ... (more) |