Lessons from SpartaBack in the Brexit years, the European Research Group of hard-line Conservative MPs christened themselves the "Spartans". Perhaps they were drawn to the image of an elite warrior brotherhood, standing firm against overwhelming odds. Or perhaps they admired Sparta's reputation as one of the most austere and uncompromising societies of the ancient world. Either way, they might have profited from a closer look at how Sparta's story actually ended — and why. Sparta guarded its citizenship with exceptional rigidity. Full political membership was reserved for those born to two Spartan parents, and even then only after passing through an unforgiving ... (more) |
Courts grant Reform legal relief over missing imprintA reminder of the importance of ensuring that political leaflets have imprints on them: Reform had to go to court (at their own expense) to secure legal relief for a missing imprint on some of their literature in the Gorton and Denton Parliamentary by-election: I've been in the Rolls Building this morning, where Justice Christopher Butcher granted an application on Goodwin's behalf to formally exempt him from any actionThe judge said he was satisfied that the evidence met these requirements because it "arose from inadvertence" via an error by printers — Lizzie Dearden (@lizziedearden.bsky.social) 2026-02-25T12:28:28.316Z (more) |
Multiculturalism at its finestThere is so much talk these days about integration, multiculturalism and ways in which people settle in after moving to a different area, country or a continent. The narrative, driven by a number of politicians and media outlets, is most of the time negative and selective. It is not created for a reasonable debate, rational discussion, but rather to steer division and hatred. Now...I am saying that the multiculturalism doesn't bring social, cultural and economic challenges. I am also not saying that I naively believe in open borders and building "happy-clapping" society. I am talking about finding a balance, pragmatic ... (more) |
Keir Starmer's 10 pledges from his leader leadership campaignIt's clear Keir Starmer never believed in much of what was contained in these pledges. They were written for him so he would appeal to Labour members in the party's last leadership election. More and more, I favour Neal Lawson's account of how we ended up with a prime minister who possesses so few of the qualities you look for in a political leader:Wes Streeting was always meant to be their Labour prime minister. The plan, hatched by a tiny clique of right-wing faction fighters, was this: find a candidate on whom they could fake a continuation Corbynism project to ... (more) |
John Rogers explores Acton Town, Turnham Green and Chiswick House ParkTime for another London walk with John Rogers: A walk from Acton Town Tube Station down Bollo Lane looking at the changes taking place there, then across Turnham Green where I talk about the Civil War battle that took place there in 1642. The video ends at the beautiful Chiswick House Park. This walking tour explores West London history, urban change, and hidden landscapes, moving through Acton, Bollo Lane, Turnham Green, and Chiswick. Along the way it touches on London regeneration, psychogeography, Civil War history, grand houses, and the last industrial London. Most signs of the Acton Town to South ... (more) |
Welcome the complications...From time to time on this site there has been reference to the limited usefulness of left and right in terms of describing political parties and the boundaries between them – including Roz Savage's recent piece. In a less fluid political landscape I can remember the Huddersfield West Liberal MP wrestling with this in the 1960s. One of the curious features of left/right models is that parties find it easier to use the tags to describe their opponents than to define themselves. So what alternative labels are there? Are progressive and conservative any use? The former tends to be more ... (more) |
Bad loser Farage plays the Trump race cardThe Bloomberg site reports that Reform Party Leader Nigel Farage has accused the Greens of winning the Gorton by-election by "cheating," after independent observers reported several instances of the banned practice of family voting. Farage wrote on Twitter after the count that"This election was a victory for sectarian voting and cheating." Farage later issued a statement saying he'd reported the matter to the Electoral Commission and the police: "What was witnessed yesterday is deeply concerning and raises serious questions about the integrity of the democratic process in predominantly Muslim areas," he said. Farage's remarks appear to follow the same playbook ... (more) |
How many councillors has Reform UK lost since May?Here is a list of the councillors which Reform has shed from the May 2025 local elections and from those elections in by-elections since. The latest update is the pair of councillors in West Northamptonshire becoming independents. Donna Edmunds (Shropshire, suspended by Reform UK and then quit the party) Luke Shingler (Warwickshire, now an independent) Desmond Clarke (Nottinghamshire, resigned as councillor) Andrew Kilburn (Durham, resigned as a councillor) Wayne Titley (Staffordshire, resigned as a councillor) Mark Broadhurst (Doncaster, expelled by Reform) Adam Smith (West Northamptonshire, suspended by Reform and then expelled) John Bailey (Durham, resigned as a councillor) Daniel Taylor ... (more) |
Some staggering moments from 75 years of The ArchersA fellow Liberal Alliance councillor told me back in the Eighties that, when he was a small boy, he and his friends were avid listeners to Dick Barton - Special Agent. When they heard that a new series called The Archers was to occupy its slot, they naturally assumed it would be about Robin Hood and his Merrie Men. Imagine their disappointment when they tuned in for the first episode... At the start of this year, the Guardian celebrated 75 years of The Archers with 75 of its most staggering moments. Here are few they chose:Outsiders have always been treated ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1482Writing in the wake of the Gorton and Denton by-election, Hannah White says our political institutions are dangerously underprepared for a multi-party future. Jane Green and Marta Miori argue that the electoral challenge Reform represents to Labour is widely misunderstood: "Focusing on Labour voters misses the much bigger threats to Labour from Reform, which is Reform overtaking the party in Labour councils and constituencies by continuing to capture Conservative voters and 2024 non-voters - the latter small in proportion, but currently larger in size than for other parties. This is made likelier if Labour's vote continues to splinter broadly, to ... (more) |