The world's first passenger railwayIf you happen to wander into Dylan Thomas Square in Swansea's Marina the first thing you might see is a statue of the poet himself, looking more like Max Boyce than anybody else, but turn around and there is a part of a tram displayed behind glass in a large building. Apart from a few tracks built into the square as a feature, this is all that remains of the world's first passenger railway. As Wikipedia recalls, originally built under an act of Parliament, the Oystermouth Railway or Tramroad Act 1804, to move limestone from the quarries of Mumbles to ... (more) |
Is The UK heading for divorce? An interview with James HawesI referred to James Hawes's The Shortest History of Ireland the other day, and I've just sent Liberator a review of the book by fast orphan. Here Hawes raises wider issues about the future of the United Kingdom, and he's well worth a listen., Among his insights are that "England", to the Conservative Party, ultimately means the South East of England and the elite institutions to which it is home. And that the Reform vote is not working class, but a vote for a more hard-line Tory party. I suspect, though, that a good chunk of it is the sort ... (more) |
Southport Liberal Democrats are on the way backAmid the concern at what this month's local elections revealed about the concentration of the Liberal Democrat vote in the prosperous South, it's worth celebrating one of the exceptions. As the Liverpool Echo reports: In Sefton's local elections last week, Labour's seat share was reduced from 51 of 66 down to 36, while other parties and Independent candidates made significant inroads. The Liberal Democrats went into the election with nine seats on the council, but almost doubled this share to 17 on May 7, taking 15.6 per cent of the vote and only losing out in four of the seats ... (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 YouGov 17% (nc) 16% (-2) 13% (-1) 16% (+1) 28% (+3) -12% (3rd, vs Ref) 10-11/5 GB More in ... (more) |
Popularity without clarity: communicating our values through policy52% of Britons don't know what the Liberal Democrats consider the most important issue facing the country. Compared against Labour, Conservative, Green and Reform, the electorate have the poorest recall on what the Liberal Democrats are focused on. I argue that this is a result of political parties moving away from values and visions and emphasising radical policy that draws attention to their cause. Where the Liberal Democrats communicate values and not policy, we risk getting lost in the noise of our evolving media landscape. Radical policy from both Reform and the Greens hint at their underlying values, drawing attention ... (more) |
More improvements planned for the River Welland through Welland Park, Market HarboroughThe East Mercia Rivers Trust (EMRT) is to carry out improvement work on the River Welland where it flows through Welland Park in Market Harborough. HFM News reports that the EMRT will increase water flow during the summer by clearing weeds and adding gravel and small structures to the river. It will also create better access points for education and community use and install new interpretation boards. The report quotes the EMRT as describing the Welland through the park as "a heavily modified urban watercourse, with weed growth restricting flow and causing both visual and ecological concerns". So I went ... (more) |
Espensive manoeuvringIn 2016 the television actress Tracy Brabin was elected as Labour MP for Batley and Spen, the constituency in which I live. (It has now been re-drawn to become Spen Valley.). In 2022 M/s Brabin decided she would rather be, or the Labour Party thought she had the best chance of winning the election for, the Mayor West Yorkshire. She did win, so resigned as our MP and was replaced after a by-election by another Labour MP, Kim Leadbeater. The average public cost of a parliamentary by-election is just short of a quarter of a million ponds. (£228, 000 - ... (more) |
Stagnating here - West Sussex at the 2026 local electionsSince the results of the 2026 Local Elections, there has rightly been some deep analysis of where we are as a party. Colleagues have argued that we are abandoning the North of England, only focusing on leafy rural areas and are ignoring our cities. While I wholly agree with this criticism, I think it misses an even more crucial point. Even in areas which are becoming our 'new heartlands', we are stagnating or even slipping back. This brings us to West Sussex. As a local member, I do have more to celebrate than some around the country. For the first ... (more) |
eventuallyBorn a dissenter; fear turned my folds by steps, to order, truth and right (more) |
Farage in Downing Street or work with the Greens?The recent elections confirmed what opinion polls have been saying for some time. Unless something radically changes, we are heading towards a Reform UK government, possibly with Conservative support. To illustrate what this would mean, consider just one of Reform's flagship policies: the retrospective removal of indefinite leave to remain. People who were told by the British state that they could settle here, people who have lived here for decades, people who have worked, brought up children, bought their homes, integrated into local communities - our friends, neighbours or family - would be deported, by force if they resist. Only ... (more) |