The Joy of Six 1592Thom Hartmann says Trump is teaching America what every dictator knows: "When we think of strongman dictatorships we often imagine tanks in the streets, but those usually come in the later stages of repression (think Tienanmen Square) and often are never even needed (think today;s Russia). Instead, as every dictator on Earth can tell you, you don't have to silence the entire country; all you have to do is shut up a few strategically selected people visibly and publicly enough and the rest of the country will get the message and back away." Zack Polanski did not handle the Green ... (more) |
A pair of Liberal Democrat by-election winsWe had another unusual non-Thursday principal authority council by-election this week, on Tuesday in Stroud: Rodborough (Stroud) Council By-Election Result: [IMG: 🌹] LAB: 47.0% (+13.2) [IMG: 🌍] GRN: 31.7% (+1.5) [IMG: ➡] RFM: 12.9% (New) [IMG: 🌳] CON: 6.9% (-3.9) [IMG: 🔶] LDM: 1.5% (New)No Ind (-25.2) as previous.Labour HOLD.Changes w/ 2024. — Election Maps UK (@electionmaps.uk) 2026-10-13T22:27:05.861Z (For my statistics, this counts as an Independent/Other hold.) 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 by-election results round-ups cover principal authority by-elections as ... (more) |
Labour to shun pacts with GreensThe Independent reports that Labour has told all of its local councils that share power with the Green Party that they must terminate their pacts if local Greens do not condemn its motion declaring 'Zionism is racism'. The paper says that although Andy Burnham has ruled out a future power-sharing deal with the Green Party, it was unclear whether this would extend to local councils. However, the party has now asked its councils in joint administrations with Zack Polanski's party to "review" its arrangements, saying if Green groups did not issue a "clear and unambiguous statement" condemning the motion within ... (more) |
Council by-election results scorecard 2026-2027Here's the tally of seats changing hands in principal authority council by-elections held between the May 2026 and the May 2027 local elections: Con Lab Lib Dem Green Reform SNP Plaid Ind/ Other Net Con [15] +1 (+1/0) +1 (+3/-2) -2 (+2/-4) -6 (+3/-9) -1 (0/-1) – +2 (+3/-1) -5 Lab -1 (0/-1) [15] -1 (0/-1) -1 (+3/-4) 0 (+8/-8) +1 (+1/0) – 0 (+1/-1) -2 Lib Dem -1 (+2/-3) +1 (+1/0) [19] +1 (+1/0) +2 (+2/0) -1 (0/-1) – +3 (+3/0) +5 Grn +2 (+4/-2) +1 (+4/-3) -1 (0/-1) [7] – +1 (+1/0) – – +3 Ref +6 (+9/-3) ... (more) |
How many councillors has Reform UK lost since the May 2026 elections?Given how popular (and lengthy!) my list of Reform councillor departures after the May 2025 elections turned out to be, here is a new list, this time for councillors on principal authorities elected under the Reform banner on 7 May 2026, or in by-elections after that date, who have already departed the party for one reason or another. Jay Cooper, Sefton: declared "not welcome" by Nigel Farage following reports of him calling the Holocaust a hoax and then resigned from the party (May 2026). Stuart Prior, Essex: expelled by Reform and resigned as a councillor after "he was accused the ... (more) |
If you want a picture of the future, imagine a man falling off a paddleboard - for everEmbed from Getty ImagesSo what went on in that meeting of Liberal Democrat MPs on Tuesday evening? The fury with critics of Ed Davey we were told about beforehand seems to have evaporated overnight, as everyone has told us how positive it was. Zoe Crowther and Harriet Symonds say on PoliticsHome: Supportive MPs described Davey as having been "in listening mode" at the meeting, with most MPs keen to join in a discussion on how the party can grow ahead of the next general election and build on its record number of MPs. PoliticsHome understands that only three MPs spoke ... (more) |
Lord Bonkers 30 years ago: David Chidgey in the Bird of LibertyIt's high time (it says here) we saw again what Lord Bonkers was up to 30 years ago. So here's an extract from the diary he contributed to Liberator 239, which was dated September 1996 and available from our stall at the Liberal Democrat Conference in Brighton. The late David Chidgey, I should explain, as well as being MP for Eastleigh from 1994 to 2005, was in 1996 the pilot of the Liberal Democrats' own spacecraft Bird of Liberty. He was eventually rescued from a tropical island paradise after being downed in a collision with a Russian (or Commonwealth of ... (more) |
Gophers! - The strange strange show that no one remembersAs I have long been convinced that I am the only person who remembers Gophers!, a bizarre comedy series screened by Channel 4 in 1990, I'm pleased to see that some of it has reappeared on YouTube recently. You can see the whole of the second episode above. Wikipedia does its best to explain what the series was about: Gophers! is a Channel 4 children's programme about a family of American gophers who move into a new neighbourhood, called Sycamore Heights, living next door to a family of uptight but well-intentioned rabbits, The Burrows. There were many recurring jokes within ... (more) |
Delivering in WhickhamWe couldn't let a few days go by without delivering some more surveys. So this morning I had a couple of patches to deliver across two patches in Whickham. I was slowed up by conversations with residents and then,five minutes before I finished, it started raining. I'm not complaining. We need the rain! (more) |
Pensions and social care: Ed Davey must offer more than reassuranceI am a pensioner and a Liberal Democrat. I believe in freedom, fairness and the responsibility we share to ensure that everyone can live with dignity. Those convictions are why I want our party to speak more clearly about pensions and social care. My concern is not with Ed Davey's commitment or compassion. It is with whether our leadership is giving people enough substance to understand the choices ahead. As someone who served as a Southwark councillor for twelve years, including working on health and social care scrutiny, I know how closely these issues are connected. A pension provides an ... (more) |