2 June 2026 - today's press releases (part 2)Cole-Hamilton calls for SNP inquiry and Sturgeon to assist cops Transport Sec pushed on A9 dualling committee Cole-Hamilton calls for SNP inquiry and Sturgeon to assist cops Responding to Peter Murrell's hearing today and confirmation that the majority of items bought with stolen funds have not been located, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: While there is a comical note to Peter Murrell purchasing shampoo and conditioner for his ill-gotten campervan, it is extremely serious that the SNP Chief Executive was routinely producing fraudulent invoices, especially when the party had received considerable sums of public money over the years. ... (more) |
2 June 2026 - today's press releases (part 1)Rennie puts questions to minister over Lower Melville Wood fire Cole-Hamilton slams SNP for more miserable health figures Youth unemployment in Wales soars nine times faster than Scotland as Welsh Lib Dems warn of "Lost Generation" Rennie puts questions to minister over Lower Melville Wood fire North East Fife MSP Willie Rennie has today written to the new community safety minister, Kirsten Oswald MSP, to raise more than a dozen questions about the Lower Melville Wood fire and how the incident was handled. He has also called for a public meeting to discuss the future of the site. Following the ... (more) |
Professor Quatermass in Hemel HempsteadLast night I watched Quatermass II on Talking Pictures TV - it's currently on the stations catch-up service TPTV Encore. In the clip above you can see Professor Quatermass sweeping into the remote settlement of Winnerton Flats. In reality, it's the new town of Hemel Hempstead under construction. The road we see him driving down is Galley Hill, the houses where he stops of ask directions are in Someries Road and the community centre is on Boxted Road. See Reelstreets for some now and then photographs. This is of particular interest to me as I lived in Boxted Road as ... (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 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. Glenn Gibbins, Sunderland: suspended by Reform following allegations of racism and, so far, has not signed his declaration of office in order to take up his seat (May 2026). Jay Cooper, Sefton: declared "not welcome" by Nigel Farage following reports of him calling the Holocaust ... (more) |
Two snorts and a smile: A new study of James Bryce reviewedJames Bryce was an academic who became a Liberal MP and then a diplomat - he served as Britain's ambassador in Washington from 1907 to 1913. He doesn't sound or look the sort of person to give rise to humour, but Jonathan Parry's review of a new study of Bryce for the London Review of Books won two snorts and a smile from me. First snort (I have a dark sense of humour): His schoolmaster father, a devoted geologist and botanist, taught him to observe the beauties of the natural world, believing that revelation and natural science were God's complementary ... (more) |
Michael Meadowcroft (1942-2026)Embed from Getty ImagesSad news on Liberal Democrat Voice this morning: Michael Meadowcroft has died at the age of 84. His victory in Leeds West in 1983 - the first Liberal gain from Labour at a general election in decades - was one of the few high points of what was, in the context of the Alliance's hopes and ambitions, a deeply disappointing election night. By then Michael already had a reputation as the Liberal Party's thinker - I remember the frisson when he turned up on the final day of a Union of Liberal Students conference in Leeds in ... (more) |
Michael MeadowcroftIt is with great sadness that we note the passing of Michael Meadowcroft. The West Leeds Dispatch reports: "Former Liberal MP for Leeds West, alderman, journalist and political affairs consultant, Michael Meadowcroft, has died at the age of 84 after a short illness, his family have announced." We will, of course, carry a full obituary for Michael in due course. For now, we link to a 2020 piece Michael wrote for Liberal Democrat Voice which politely gave the party a kick up the proverbial, ending with these words: To survive in any meaningful political and electoral presence, the party has ... (more) |
Stopping Billionaires from buying British politicsThere is an interesting article on Byline Times in which Oliver Bullough, who has written a number of books about the way oligarchs and corrupt state players exploit the UK's financial system to launder and hide money, argues that we must act now to prevent a complete oligarch takeover of British politics. Bullough says that when you step back and look at Nigel Farage's £5 million gift from Christopher Harborne, even when you compare it to illegal donations, you can see that there has never been anything like it in British politics, and people are right therefore to be more ... (more) |