"Demonic" Wind in the Willows jumper banned from Westminster AbbeyToday's Headline of the Day Award, which is sponsored by the Great God Pan, goes to the Guardian. Photo by Linsey Teggert, whose jumper it is. (more) |
Lib Dems hold another council seat in constituency gained in 2024Five principal authority council by-elections this week and let's start with a successful Lib Dem defence, once again showing the party's ability to see off Reform and hold a seat in a way that other parties struggle to do: [IMG: Hannah Griffin and Olly Glover] Ridgeway (Vale of White Horse) Council By-Election Result: [IMG: 🔶] LDM: 43.1% (-15.0) [IMG: 🌳] CON: 24.4% (-17.6) [IMG: ➡] RFM: 19.9% (New) [IMG: 🌍] GRN: 11.9% (New) [IMG: 🌹] LAB: 0.8% (New)Liberal Democrat HOLD.Changes w/ 2023. — Election Maps UK (@electionmaps.uk) 2025-11-14T00:14:48.255Z Françoise Johnston was the Lib Dem here – thank you. One result ... (more) |
Ian Hamilton Finlay exhibition special events #dundeewestendFrom the Curator of Museum Services at the University of Dundee : Drawing on the University's outstanding collection of nearly 300 works by the extraordinary artist, poet and gardener Ian Hamilton Finlay, the current exhibition in the Tower Foyer Gallery, Ian Hamilton Finlay: Works on Paper, draws you into an enticing but dangerous world of prints and poems, sails and sundials, gardens and guillotines. There are special events coming up to accompany the show: Tuesday 18th November at 5.30pm - we're delighted to be one of the first venues to screen a new film about Finlay, The Boat in the ... (more) |
Labour to reject amendments to planning bill that protect natureThe Guardian reports that housing secretary Steve Reed has told Labour MPs to vote down an amendment to the new planning bill intended to protect British wildlife and its habitats from destruction. The paper says that the amendment, which was passed with a large majority in the House of Lords, restricts the most controversial part of the draft bill by removing protected animals such as dormice, badgers, hedgehogs, otters and nightingales, and rare habitats such as wetlands and ancient woodlands, from new rules which allow developers to sidestep environmental laws to speed up house building: Under the draft legislation proposed ... (more) |
A conspiracy theory from Neal Lawson: Keir Starmer was never meant to be prime ministerEmbed from Getty ImagesThere influence on the far right means I don't enjoy conspiracy theories as much as I used to, but let's give a hearing to Neal Lawson in the Guardian: Wes Streeting was always meant to be their Labour prime minister. The plan, hatched by a tiny clique of rightwing faction fighters, was this: find a candidate on whom they could fake a continuation Corbynism project to win the leadership. Then kick the ladder away from the people who backed them and the promises they made. At the next general election, given the scale of the Tory majority ... (more) |
A refusal to mourn the demise of police and crime commissionersHome secretary Shabana Mahmood announced today that police and crime commissioners will be abolished in 2028 when their current terms expire. A home office press release says: Since 2012, PCCs have been elected to hold forces to account, but turnout at the polls and public knowledge of who their local PCC is has been incredibly low. Public understanding of, and engagement with, PCCs remains low despite efforts to raise their profile. Two in five people are unaware PCCs even exist. Their roles will be absorbed by regional mayors wherever possible, meaning measures to cut crime will be considered as part ... (more) |
Axing the Police and Crime Commissioners - 6 years lateSix years ago I was the Lib Dem candidate in the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner by-election. I campaigned simply to have the PCCs abolished. Our regional newspaper, The Journal, put my call on the front page! All the other candidates campaigned to keep the PCCs in place. Today I'm pleased to see that the government are planning to scrap the role. Not before time! PCCs were an (more) |
Strength in solidarity: masculinity and the fight for trans rightsMy journey in powerlifting spans over a decade, a journey that has not only shaped my physical strength but also my outlook on masculinity. For those unfamiliar, powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three movements: the squat, the bench press, and the deadlift. Each competition allows competitors to attempt each lift three times, with the heaviest successful attempt from each forming a competitor's overall total. Powerlifting, for me, has transcended the mere act of lifting. It has sparked profound introspection about the essence of strength. The finest lifters are not defined by their volume or aggression; they are ... (more) |
Some thoughts on the current trans quota chaosA recently published analysis on "lawfare", where changes in organizational policy are attempted through legal action, has looked at cases related to the Equality Act since 2018. The key finding is that there has been a concerted attempt to sue trans-inclusive organisations into a position where they become trans exclusive - a pattern not seen in any other equalities strand, and one which indicates a substantially well-funded and organized campaign. So organisations like the Girl Guides, the Quakers and, yes, the Liberal Democrats are threatened with court action or, in some cases, taken to court to be walloped over the ... (more) |
The way we talk about and portray children in care really mattersPhoto by Phil Hearing on Unsplash In the report of his inquiry into the death of Dennis O'Neill in 1945, Sir Walter Monckton wrote: It is first necessary to explain the basis of the policy of committing children to a local authority which may board them out. The "fit person," local authority or individual, must care for the children as his own: the relation is a personal one. The duty must neither be evaded nor scamped. That does not appear to be the view taken by the Reform UK member of Cambridgeshire County Council Andy Osborn. He told a meeting ... (more) |