DCMS logs off X: a second Whitehall exitThe latest edition of my email newsletter about work in Parliament, A Lord's Eye View, 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: Lisa Nandy announces an end to using X [IMG: Close up photo of a smartphone with the X/Twitter app in use] Photo by Joshua Miranda on Pexels.com. Regular readers will know that I've long been pushing the government to stop expressly singling out X for preferential treatment, with the government's own communications efforts ... (more) |
Ian Holm as Richard III in the BBC's Wars of the Roses from 1965First, Fergus McClelland led us to Brecht on television. Now, bless his little khaki shorts, he has led us to Shakespeare. Ravensbourne University London explains the origins of the BBC's Wars of the Roses: This production had had a highly acclaimed run on the RSC stage in 1963 and was directed for BBC Television in 1965 by Robin Midgley and Michael Hayes. It was filmed on the stage at Stratford-On-Avon using a multi-camera set up, resulting in a much more fluid filmic result with a greater variety of shots and even the use of hand-held cameras for the battle scenes. ... (more) |
Liverpool Lib Dem boss accused of using "sex appeal to build fanbase" in cover shootToday the Liverpool Echo walks off with our Headline of the Day Award. The judges requested several copies of Attitude. #JustSayin (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 Find Out Now 19% (+1) 21% (nc) 10% (-2) 16% (+1) 25% (+1) -4% (vs Ref) 1-2/7 GB YouGov ... (more) |
Liberalism must mean something againI have been a Liberal Democrat, and part of the wider liberal tradition, for my entire adult life. I believe there has rarely been a more important time for liberal politics to be at the forefront of British public life. Yet too often, our party seems more comfortable talking about blocking 16 and 17-year-olds from social media than trusting the same young people we have long argued should have the right to vote. That matters. Liberalism is not meant to be timid. It is not meant to chase every passing moral panic. It is not meant to dress itself up ... (more) |
Lib Dems return to winning ways in council by-electionsTwelve principal authority council by-elections this week and, after last week's blip, a return to winning ways for the Liberal Democrats. [IMG: Colin Millichap with David Chadwick] Colin Millichap with David Chadwick. Yscir with Honddu Isaf & Llandew (Powys) Council By-Election Result: [IMG: 🔶] LDM: 39.7% (-1.1) [IMG: ➡] RFM: 34.6% (New) [IMG: 🌼] PLC: 12.8% (New) [IMG: 🌳] CON: 9.1% (-50.2) [IMG: 🌍] GRN: 2.0% (New) [IMG: 🌹] LAB: 1.9% (New)Liberal Democrat GAIN from Conservative.Changes w/ 2022. — Election Maps UK (@electionmaps.uk) 2026-07-03T11:14:57.127Z Thank you to Patrick Doddy for flying the Lib Dem flag here. For what all this ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1542"Multiple sources inside the children's home division said that, as they prepared for sale, they were pressed to rapidly open more homes and take on more children, even when they didn't have the staff to keep up. They claim they were told this was so the company could be sold for the maximum amount of money."Jessica Murray says that when private equity takes over a UK care home it can mean the children are treated like cattle. Ben Worthy argues that, if he is to succeed as a prime minister who takes over in mid-parliament, Andy Burnham will need to ... (more) |
Farage in trouble again?The Guardian reports that the standards watchdog has been urged to investigate whether Nigel Farage lobbied the Bank of England to drop a cryptocurrency plan that could be costly for the billionaire bankrolling his party, potentially in breach of parliamentary rules. The paper tells us that the Reform UK leader has said his party's major donor, Christopher Harborne, wanted nothing in exchange for the £15m he donated to the party and the undeclared £5m gift to Farage the Guardian revealed in April. But, Farage used a private meeting at the Bank to urge its governor, Andrew Bailey, to drop plans ... (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 [6] – 0 (+2/-2) -1 (0/-1) -2 (+2/-4) -1 (0/-1) – 0 (+1/-1) -4 Lab – [5] – -1 (+1/-2) -4 (0/-4) – – +1 (+1/0) -4 Lib Dem 0 (+2/-2) – [9] – – -1 (0/-1) – +1 (+1/0) 0 Grn +1 (+1/0) +1 (+2/-1) – [5] – – – – +2 Ref +2 (+4/-2) +4 (+4/0) – – [3] – -1 (0/-1) +1 ... (more) |
The making of Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)Television series that didn't take themselves too seriously in the first place, such as The Avengers or Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), seem to last better than most. This documentary looks at the latter show, whose 26 episodes were first broadcast in 1969 and 1970. It features interviews with Kenneth Cope, Annette Andre, Cyril Frankel, Harry Fielder, Ray Austin, Ken Baker, Guy Pratt and Malcolm Christopher. If you've not seen Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) - the original version, not the later one with Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer - then my edited version of the YouTube blurb for this documentary will ... (more) |