The lesser known parks of Desborough 2: The Pocket ParkYesterday I discovered another park in Desborough. A couple of years ago it was Millennium Green: this time it was the town's Pocket Park. It lies beside the Rothwell Road, but there are a couple of other entrances. I found one of them by wandering some back streets. You never know what you will find if you do that in London suburbs or small Midland towns. (more) |
Reform UK's Council chaos: Why protest politics isn't enough to run local servicesLocal government is about competence, stability and delivering reliable public services — not simply making headlines or winning protest votes. That is why the growing instability surrounding Reform UK councillors should concern voters across England. Reform UK's breakthrough in the May 2025 local elections was undeniably dramatic. According to the House of Commons Library, the party won 677 council seats, 41% of all seats contested, and took control of ten councils. But what has happened since raises serious questions about whether Reform was prepared for the responsibilities of local government. Liberal Democrats Political analyst, Lord Mark Pack, documented that by ... (more) |
The modern "No Blacks, no Dogs, no Irish"I, like many in the LGBT+ community am scared right now. I cried yesterday and today about the uncertainty of my future and my friends' futures. If you are cis or trans it doesn't really matter, it's clear that the guidance from the EHRC is ultimately unenforceable, however it doesn't need to be enforced to make life uncomfortable for many people. You see, this doesn't just make public life hostile to trans women, it erodes all women's rights; trans and cis women alike. If we are not "performing womanhood" to someone else's satisfaction, you can now be called trans – ... (more) |
Lord Bonkers' Diary: A cloud passes over the sunThe new Liberator is out! It's issue 435 and you can download it free of charge from the magazine's website. In it you'll find the usual mix of article, reviews and Radical Bulletin - the section that tells you what's really going on in the Liberal Democrats. And that means it's time to spend another week with Lord Bonkers. It's happens to be Beltane week, which has always been a big deal in the Church of Rutland. Monday "They're back," says a fellow patron of the Bonkers Arms, "I've seen them." "What I don't understand," says another, "is whether they're ... (more) |
Supplementary Vote to be used for any Greater Manchester Mayor by-electionIts attitude towards electoral reform symbolises Keir Starmer's government more widely. Labour has recognised that the previous Conservative government got it wrong when it introduced first-past-the-post for elections for Mayor or Police and Crime Commissioner. But its response has been a timid restoration of the supplementary vote rather than the introduction of a proper preferential voting system. Fun side note: when it comes to their own internal elections for posts in Parliament, both the Commons and the Lords use the alternative vote and even STV. What's good enough for us Parliamentarians apparently isn't good enough for the public. But at ... (more) |
Liberator 435 is outLiberator 435 is out and can be downloaded free here: https://liberatormagazine.org.uk/ where you can also sign up to be emailed when each new issue of Liberator comes out. This time in addition to Commentary, Radical Bulletin and Lord Bonkers' Diary, Liberator looks at why concern at the May election results is echoing from every corner of the party despite these being spun as progress. In this issue: HOLLOWED OUT AND IN A HOLE James Graham says the Liberal Democrats are losing touch with all but a narrow slice of the electorate and should reconnect with the rest of the country ... (more) |
Observations of an expat: Dangerous diplomatic chessIn the wake of his Beijing sojourn, Donald Trump is embarking on a dangerous and complex game of diplomatic chess with Taiwan as the piece most likely to be sacrificed for the greater American good. While in China, Trump became convinced what the rest of the world has known for some time. China cannot be bullied. Threats of escalating tariffs and civilisational extinction just roll off the Chinese political back. They have been around a long time and have seen it all. Next, China is as much of a superpower as the United States. And, if he is going to ... (more) |
Joe Barratt, former Labour deputy leader, joins Lib Dems in StockportHazel Grove Liberal Democrats brings the news: Cllr Joe Barratt has now joined the Lib Dem team running Stockport Council, after leaving the Labour party last September, when he criticised Keir Starmer for "sleepwalking into a Reform government". In the latest elections, Cllr Barratt campaigned for the Liberal Democrat candidate, Cllr Niki Meerman in his ward in the local election, which saw the Labour party crash to just 5% of the vote down from 47% in 2024. He has formally joined the Liberal Democrats, as the best antidote to "divisive and simplistic politics", whilst also criticising the failure of the ... (more) |
Five arrested in Tameside over allegations of fake independent candidatesThe Mill continues to demonstrate what an important part email newsletters have in a modern healthy local news environment with an update on its scoop about the local elections in Tameside: Four men and a woman aged between 23 and 47 were arrested this morning in the Ashton-under-Lyne area, as a result of what the police are calling 'illegality and criminality' in the run up to the St Peter's ward election on May 7th. The arrests were made on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud, and police investigations are ongoing. Our investigation heard that internal messages had been circulated in Labour ... (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. Please note the slight correction to #1 in the list. 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" ... (more) |