The Greenland episode from BorgenThe 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: Greenland] Greenland. Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash. The latest episode of Political Fictions is out: Mark and Cory talk about Scandi Ballot Box dramas for the first time. They discuss the Borgen episode in which there are revelations about how Greenland is being used for CIA rendition programmes. They talk about whether photogenic politicians ... (more) |
What's next? The West Wing and the case for liberal idealismI came to The West Wing late. Not when it first aired, in that long forgotten world before 9/11 when liberal democracy felt like the direction of travel rather than a rearguard action. I found it about five years ago, the way you sometimes stumble into exactly what you needed without knowing you were looking for it. Every year, I have watched it several times. My wife has opinions about this. I am not going to pretend that watching a twenty-year-old American political drama is a political act. But I want to make a genuine case for why it matters ... (more) |
Conservatives lose another by-election to ReformJust the one principal authority council by-elections this week ahead of next week's big polling day, in Malvern Hills: Tenbury (Malvern Hills) Council By-Election Result:RFM: 45.1% (New)CON: 30.3% (-20.2)LDM: 12.7% (New)GRN: 12.0% (New)Reform GAIN from Conservative.Changes w/ 2023 — Election Maps UK (@electionmaps.uk) 2026-05-01T12:11:25.788Z Thank you to Jed Marson for being the Liberal Democrat candidate here and to him and the team for getting the party on the ballot paper here after the previous no-show. For what all this means for the running total of council by-election results since the last May elections, see my council by-elections scorecard here. These ... (more) |
ALDC by-election report, 30th AprilThis week marks the last by-election of the 2025-26 electoral cycle, and this takes us to the small Worcestershire town of Tenbury Wells. Malvern Hills DC, Tenbury This week's by-election was triggered by the resignation of Conservative councillor Andrew Willmont. He came second in this two-member seat in 2023, significantly ahead of his Conservative running-mate, representing Tenbury alongside a Malvern Hills Independent, who topped the polls. Turnout rose 7.5% in this by-election compared to the 2023 all-ups, with Reform coming out on top, from a standing start. The Conservatives slipped to a distant second place, whilst us and the Greens ... (more) |
Happy birthday, The Week in Polls![IMG: Chocolate cake on a ceramic plate] No candles but plenty of chocolate. Photo by Eftychia Syrimi on Pexels.com. On this day in 2022, the first edition of The Week in Polls appeared. My weekly guide to what you need to know about political polling was first a series of pilot blog posts, next an email newsletter on Revue and now, after Elon Musk shut down Revue, a weekly missive via Substack. Looking back to that first edition, it is sadly not a surprise that it highlighted poor media coverage of political polling. But I hope that readers of the ... (more) |
Now the Green Party struggles with an anti-semitism scandalThe Guardian reports that a Green Party local election candidate has been arrested on suspicion of stirring up racial hatred for allegedly posting anti-Semitic content on social media. The paper says that the Metropolitan Police arrested two women under the Public Order Act, one confirmed as one of the party's candidates, on Thursday morning: The posts, seen by The Telegraph, are alleged to have included comments from one of the women such as: "ramming a synagogue isn't anti-Semitism, it's revenge." A now-deleted post from one of the women also claimed the government was overrepresented with "Zionist Jews", and another allegedly ... (more) |
Council by-election results scorecard 2025-2026Here's the tally of seats changing hands in principal authority council by-elections held between the May 2025 and the May 2026 local elections: Con Lab Lib Dem Green Reform SNP Plaid Ind/ Other Net Con [17] +2 (+2/0) -9 (+3/-12) +2 (+2/0) -21 (+3/-24) -1 (0/-1) – +2 (+3/-1) -25 Lab -2 (0/-2) [16] -5 (0/-5) -8 (0/-8) -31 (+1/-32) – -2 (0/-2) -7 (0/-7) -55 Lib Dem +9 (+12/-3) +5 (+5/0) [35] +2 (+4/-2) -2 (+2/-4) +2 (+2/0) – +4 (+4/0) +20 Grn -2 (0/-2) +8 (+8/0) -2 (+2/-4) [8] +2 (+2/0) – – -1 (0/-1) +5 Ref +21 ... (more) |
A topical video: What constitutes "reasonable force"Another video from barrister-at-law Alan Robertshaw. One interesting point he makes is that the common courtroom assumption that a statement given immediately after an event provides the best evidence is mistaken. I also like his favourite line: "cross-examination does not mean examining someone crossly". And there's a useful tip on how to dress if you're planning a robbery. (more) |
For the JCPCP: Norma Varden, the Norman Yoke, Being Normal and Norman BowlerI've just sent another of my columns off to the The Journal of Critical Psychology, Counselling and Psychotherapy, so it's time to publish an earlier one here again. The theme for this issue was "Norma, Norman or Normal". Goodbye Norma Jean. This obviously had to begin with someone called Norma, but Marilyn Monroe didn't make the cut. Instead, I've gone for the English-born piano prodigy turned Hollywood actress Norma Varden, who appeared in both Casablanca and The Sound of Music. In Casablanca she's the wife of the Englishman who has his wallet stolen right at the start of the film. ... (more) |
Another missing Reform candidateIt looks as though Reform in Gateshead are suffering from another missing candidate. In Crawcrook and Greenside ward it was recently reported that Reform's Peter Gray has disappeared from the Reform campaign. Now, another Reform candidate appears to have disappeared.Take a look at the above screenshot of Reform's High Fell Facebook page in which they announce their 3 candidates for the ward (more) |