Write a guest post for Liberal EnglandI love publishing guest posts here on Liberal England. Why not try writing one yourself? It could be on the Liberal Democrats, politics more generally or... anything really. Why not an article about a local campaign or quirky piece of history? Please drop me an email if you want to discuss your idea first: I'd hate you to spend time on a piece I really wouldn't want to publish. Here are the 10 most recent guest posts published here:What is the technical debt of Thames Water? - Peter ChambersThe Tyranny of Numbers by David Boyle - Anselm AnonDefections Update: Lib ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1484"It's easy to believe that this is all a blatant and shameful effort by Republicans to distract from the Epstein files, shift focus from ICE's domestic terrorism, seize another massive cache of global oil production, and fuel the cancellation of an upcoming election reckoning. These would all be correct assessments, at least from Trump's self-serving, narcissistic point of view, but there's another, more alarming motivation for religious Conservatives dragging the planet into a self-destructive, full-scale bomb-a-thon: the second coming of Christ." John Pavlovitz takes us inside a scary place - the Republican-Evangelical mind. Helen Amass talks to Uta Frith about ... (more) |
Today is World Book Day and books are still importantI woke up this morning and looked out of the window only to see a succession of princes, princesses, wizards, pirates, and assorted other characters on their way to Dovedale School. I imagined something dreadful was taking place and thought that the headteacher might be boiled alive in a cauldron fuelled by school books when reality hit home and I remembered that today is World Book Day. That is not a day to be feared but a day to be welcomed and embraced. I well remember the magic of books when I was a youngster. My mum would take me ... (more) |
New Chinese spy case and our Defending Democracy policy draftWednesday's disturbing news on UK democracy interference is the Met's arrest and a new Chinese espionage case. Among the suspects is the spouse of an MP. Nigel Farage — the leader of a party with a senior member convicted for aiding Russia — has rushed to attack Labour and Keir Starmer. To rebut this hypocrisy, we must press ahead with our efforts to get the Government to place China in the Enhanced Tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme ('FIRS') in the planned Democracy Bill. We must not only defend our democracy from foreign interference; we must also keep our ... (more) |
PODCAST: Election with Reese Witherspoon and Matthew BroderickThe latest episode of Political Fictions is out, this time taking a look at the movie Election: Cory and Mark watch Election, the 1999 film starring Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick. They talk about whether any of the characters in this film are actually likable, the importance of tying string to your pens, and how although so many commentators have compared Reese Witherspoon's character to Hillary Clinton, maybe the best historical parallel in this film is with the Miliband brothers. Next time we're talking about This House, which you can watch on National Theatre Online here. Show notes You can ... (more) |
"My life's defeat would be emigration": Encounters in Palestine during my recent visit in January 2026Last month, I visited the occupied West Bank – against Foreign Office travel advise - to meet with Palestinian communities, hear their stories, and bear witness to the daily realities of life under Israel's illegal occupation. As the daughter of a Holocaust survivor and a long-standing campaigner for Palestinian rights, I did not arrive uninformed. I have travelled regularly to the West Bank over many years and am well acquainted with the apartheid regime that Israel has established there. Yet the horrors I encountered still shocked me - not because they were new, but because of their scale, pace, and ... (more) |
The Housemartins: BuildThe Housemartins once appeared as guests on Mavis Nicholson's afternoon chat show. They sang a perfect live a cappella version of Caravan of Love, and Paul Heaton (often billed as P.D. Heaton in this era) said he didn't like discussing his lyrics because it was "like having your work read out in class". (more) |
Trump misreading history againThe Independent reports that Donald Trump has criticised Keir Starmer for not allowing American planes to launch their initial strikes against Tehran from British bases, saying that the Prime Minister is "not Winston Churchill". That comment demonstrates that once again Trump has shown that he does not understand history nor the nature of the special relationship between the UK and the USA. The President has spent the last twelve months trashing his country's allies, abusing them for their over-reliance on the United States, imposing tariffs and trying to bully them into giving him what he wants. In the last few ... (more) |
Jane Dodds says she won't be beaten by online death threatsEmbed from Getty ImagesJane Dodds, the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats and are only Senedd member, told a BBC Radio Wales phone in today that death threats won't force her out of politics. BBC News quotes her remarks: "I've had a number of threats made against me, all online, they are very serious threats... for being a politician, for the views I've held and sometimes they are not extreme. "For example when I made a statement when I came off [social media platform X] and somebody wasn't happy with that because they wanted to scrutinise me and made threats ... (more) |
How many councillors has Reform UK lost since May?Here is a list of the councillors which Reform has shed from the May 2025 local elections and from those elections in by-elections since. The latest update is the suspension of a Walsall councillor. Donna Edmunds (Shropshire, suspended by Reform UK and then quit the party) Luke Shingler (Warwickshire, now an independent) Desmond Clarke (Nottinghamshire, resigned as councillor) Andrew Kilburn (Durham, resigned as a councillor) Wayne Titley (Staffordshire, resigned as a councillor) Mark Broadhurst (Doncaster, expelled by Reform) Adam Smith (West Northamptonshire, suspended by Reform and then expelled) John Bailey (Durham, resigned as a councillor) Daniel Taylor (Kent, suspended by ... (more) |