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) |
Prince Philip sent 12th-century font to Charles' boarding school in the 1960sThe Independent wins our Headline of the Day Award. Apparently the font wasn't academically gifted, but it had character and played in the front row for the first XV. It later became a management consultant. Our photograph shows this very font, now to be found back at Upton Cressett in Shropshire. (more) |
Welcome to my day: 3 August 2026 - some thoughts on migration...I read the piece by Oliver Jacques earlier this week with some interest. As a second-generation migrant myself, you might not be surprised to find that my views on migration are relatively liberal. I tend to the view that migration can be a good thing, which in turn tends to put me amongst that group that right-wing campaigners describe mockingly as "open door liberals". But migration is like free markets, in that nobody really believes in an unfettered free market in the same way that nobody really believes in open borders – there have to be rules and limits. Indeed, ... (more) |
The funding fog surrounding Nigel Farage and Reform UKThe Times reports that Nigel Farage struck a secret deal to return as leader of Reform UK months before the general election. The paper says that Farage negotiated the pact with Richard Tice, then the leader, in March and April 2024. George Cottrell, the convicted fraudster who had been secretly bankrolling Farage, supervised the discussions. They add that under the terms of the deal, once Farage became leader Reform would repay or write off more than £1 million in outstanding loans it had received from Tice's company: The deal was first presented by Farage and Cottrell to the party's treasurer ... (more) |
BBC Radio Leicester's Secret Leicestershire on Oakham CastleIt's not in Leicestershire and it's no secret, but Oakham Castle is the subject of the latest short programme in BBC Radio Leicester's Secret Leicestershire series. The programme talks about the wider castle site, not just the wonderful Norman great hall you see above. If you want to know more about the archaeology of this fascinating site, you can listen to an online lecture by Matthew Morris from University of Leicester Archaeological Services, who has led digs there. (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 Opinium 17% (-3) 27% (+5) 12% (+1) 12% (-2) 23% (nc) 4% (vs Ref) 29-31/7 GB Find Out Now ... (more) |