Do we have Elizabeth Anscombe to thank for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe?When it comes to famous clashes of philosophers, Cambridge has Wittgenstein's poker and Oxford has the night that Elizabeth Anscombe bested C.S. Lewis in debate. Reviewing A.N. Wilson's biography for the London Review of Books back in 1990, C.H. Sisson took seriously the idea that this rout had much to do with Lewis's turn to writing for children:Lewis was unpopular 'in the English Faculty in Oxford, and indeed in the University at large'. 'He disliked his colleagues at Magdalen.' 'Even colleagues who were Christians ... noticed that his variety of Christianity did not extend to meekness, or even necessarily to ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1603"More than 74,000 people have been killed in Gaza according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, and up to ten thousand are missing under the rubble. More than a hundred thousand Palestinians have managed to leave. The survivors are corralled into a concentration area along the coast, living in dense tent encampments among ruined buildings, mountains of rubbish and rivers of sewage, under the constant hum of drones."Eyal Weizman reviews Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor's film Naza. Gaby Hinsliff says the Russell Brand verdict is a landmark in the judicial system's understanding of consent: "For too long, cases involving young ... (more) |
Observations of an Expat: Post Election WorriesThe confetti has settled, the champagne is flat and the celebratory balloons have floated to the ground. The midterm elections are over. MAGA and Trump have been well and truly trounced. Now is the time to worry about what Donald J. Trump will do in the next two months while he still has a sycophantic Republican Congress for the next two months—especially in Iran. The new Democrat-controlled Congress does not start business until January 3rd. One of its first orders of business will be to start circumscribing the president's war-making capabilities. The Constitution gives Trump considerable leeway in foreign and ... (more) |
Methodism at Horton, GowerHorton is a very pretty little village in South Gower, set on a steep hill that stretches down to the beautiful beach. It shares the bay with Port Eynon which is located at the Western end. Like many Gower villages its roots are mainly agricultural, but Horton also has a long connection with the lifeboat and Methodism. In the centre of the bay are two orange buoys that mark the remains of the Prince Ivanhoe. The Prince Ivanhoe was used a pleasure craft, but on the 3rd August 1981 it hit something just off the edge of Port Eynon Point. ... (more) |
A promotional film for Northampton from 1965Judging by the electrification work taking place on the West Coast Main Line at Roade, this film dates from 1965 or thereabouts. Northampton town centre is made to look rather more prosperous in it than it does today. Much else has changed: there is no longer a convent and school in Abington Street, for instance, though the convent's graveyard is still there if you know where to look. I have some photographs of it and will post them one day. (more) |
ALDC by-election report - 5th November 2026This week there was just one principal authority by-election. The Liberal Democrats were defending the seat of Penn Hill on Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. An eight-way contest in a seat that was Conservative until 2023, in which all major parties stood, makes a useful test of how our councillors in power are holding up against both a Conservative comeback and the challenge from Reform UK. The answer in BCP was emphatic! Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Penn Hill - 5 November 2026 The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Liberal Democrat councillor Jo Clements, who was first elected in ... (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 20% (nc) 28% (-2) 10% (nc) 11% (+3) 21% (-1) 7% (vs Ref) 4-6/11 GB Find Out Now ... (more) |
How Liberal Democrats can ride Britain's youth wave on the pro-EU shiftIn the exit polls, 73% of American 18- to 29-year-olds backed Democrats. Not a freak result but rather confirmation of an emerging global pattern - after nearly two years of well-organised student protests, Serbia's Student List took 140 of 250 seats in October and almost two-thirds of Hungary's under-30s backed the winning party, Tisza, in pre-election polling, whilst in Brazil, a self-organised 'Lula's army' of young voters helped the 80-year-old incumbent to a come-from-behind win. India's Cockroach Janta Party, named after a Chief Justice's jibe at activist unemployed youth, has drawn millions of young Indian followers online, helped force out ... (more) |
Christmas gift ideas for your political friendsFive Christmas, birthday, wedding, graduation, driving test pass, citizenship acquisition or candidate selection victory gift ideas for that special person you know. (And more tasteful than some festive options.) A Parliamentary murder mystery [IMG: UK Houses of Parliament] Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay. Ellen Wilkinson was the first female Minister of Education and also wrote a murder mystery set in the worlds of politics and in the Palace of Westminster. The place being what it is, those familiar with the Palace will recognise many of the detailed locations and are likely to have noticed what turns out to be a ... (more) |
Lib Dems win this week's local council by-electionJust the one principal authority council by-election this week and it brought a comprehensive Liberal Democrat win: Penn Hill (Bournemouth, Christchurch, & Poole) Council By-Election Result: [IMG: 🔶] LDM: 43.6% (+0.9) [IMG: 🌳] CON: 26.1% (+1.0) [IMG: ➡] RFM: 17.8% (New) [IMG: 🌹] LAB: 4.6% (-6.7) [IMG: ◼] RES: 3.6% (New) [IMG: 🌍] GRN: 2.2% (-6.5) [IMG: 🙋] Ind: 1.9% (New) [IMG: 🙋] Ind: 0.2% (New)No PE (-12.2) as previous.Liberal Democrat HOLD.Changes w/ 2023. — Election Maps UK (@electionmaps.uk) 2026-11-06T12:48:07.774Z Many congratulations to new councillor Amanda Jellicoe and the team. The result was rather different from what the Conservatives had ... (more) |