How politicians speak is sometimes more important than what they sayThere can be little doubt that the language used by politicians has coarsened over the past few years. Just look at this exchange between a Democrat pundit and the Republican White House as reported in the Independent newspaper. "In an expletive-laden video on the Politicon YouTube channel posted earlier this week, Carville said if the Democrats take control of the House of Representatives and the Senate, they will launch investigations into Trump and his family, which will eventually lead to the president's resignation. "The Democrats are going to investigate you to no end," Carville said. "Then they're going to go ... (more) |
Green gain from Reform in this week's by-electionWith the big May local election polling day nearing, there was only one principal authority council by-election this week, in Kent. Remarkably, 10 of the councillors elected for Reform last year have departed the party. As for this contest: Cliftonville (Kent) Council By-Election Result: [IMG: 🌍] GRN: 38.8% (+26.7) [IMG: ➡] RFM: 33.1% (-7.0) [IMG: 🌳] CON: 15.2% (-4.5) [IMG: 🌹] LAB: 10.4% (-11.6) [IMG: 🙋] Ind: 1.3% (New) [IMG: 🔶] LDM: 1.2% (-1.9)No Ind (-3.0) as previous.Green GAIN from Reform UK.Changes w/ 2025. — Election Maps UK (@electionmaps.uk) 2026-04-10T11:26:43.554Z Thank you to Mo Shafaei for being the Lib Dem ... (more) |
Ed Davey sews a blazer in Stockport and plays chess in HullMost Liberal Democrat MPs, and most of the limited number of target seats we have yet to win, are in the South of England, with inevitable consequences for the policy positions we adopt. So it's good to see two reports on BBC News about Ed Davey visiting areas in the North where we hope to do well in next month's elections. One is about a visit to Stockport, where the report says we are "eyeing full control". Ed also spoke of the party making gains "in places like Preston and Manchester and Trafford". He is pictured sewing a blazer at ... (more) |
Drink-drive ban for alcohol-free bar's general managerLike Alanis Morissette, the judges are amused by irony, so BBC News has strolled away with our Headline of the Day Award. (more) |
The irony of it!I wonder if Labour spot the irony in this banner. The issue at hand here is the closure of the Gateshead flyover which, a year and a half ago, was found to be in a poor and dangerous state. The resulting closure has added to the congestion next to a zone where Labour's one way system has itself added to congestion in the town centre. "Brought to you by Gateshead" - the words are really (more) |
Watch our party political broadcast for the local electionsAnd here it is: * Mary Reid is a contributing editor on Lib Dem Voice. She was a councillor in Kingston upon Thames, where she is still very active with the local party, and is the Hon President of Kingston Lib Dems. (more) |
The bleak prospects for our future cost of livingThe Independent reports on warnings by a senior MP that Britons could face higher household bills for years to come - even if the fragile ceasefire in the Middle East holds. The paper says that Graeme Downie, a Labour MP who sits on the energy select committee, has warned it "will still take a long time for prices to return to normal" and the full impact of the crisis on the cost of living could be felt "until 2027/28 at least": His comments follow warnings from experts and industry figures that the two-week ceasefire - which is already in jeopardy ... (more) |
9 April 2026 - today's press releasesCole-Hamilton sets out plan for a skills revolution Scot Lib Dems call for investment in affordable housing in Mid Scotland & Fife Cole-Hamilton sets out plan for a skills revolution Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has today set out plans for a skills revolution as he met with young scientists at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh today. The Scottish Liberal Democrats will: Create a new industrial strategy that focuses on what we're really good at and what we can be good at, and throw the weight and levers of government behind businesses that can help us achieve greater success in ... (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 (+2/-23) -1 (0/-1) – +2 (+3/-1) -25 Lab -2 (0/-2) [16] -5 (0/-5) -8 (0/-8) -30 (+1/-31) – -2 (0/-2) -7 (0/-7) -54 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) |
Lord Harborough's Curve and Oscar Wilde's first biographerLord Harborough's Curve: photo by John Sutton Many railway enthusiasts will know the story of the Battle of Saxby and Lord Harborough's Curve, told here by the Leicestershire Museum Collections site:In mid-November 1844, railway surveyors were making their way slowly through the Leicestershire countryside. George Stephenson had sketched out his preferred route for the Syston & Peterborough Railway and now they were taking the levels. Four miles east of Melton, near the village of Saxby, they reached the estate of Lord Harborough, whose ancestral home of Stapleford Hall stood nearby. His Lordship hated the very idea of railways and had ... (more) |