Liberal Democrat Newswire #183 takes a look at both lessons from the 1920s for the Liberal Democrats, and what a successful general election looks like for the party. You can now read it in full below, but if you’d like the convenience of getting it direct by email in future just sign up for it here. This time I’m taking a rummage around the wild story of British politics in the 1920s to find some lessons for the next general election. Regular readers will also notice a change in format for the ‘Lib Dems in the news’ section. Feedback very welcome. Meanwhile, cong ..read more

Letters sent to voters by the Conservative Party fail to mention their own Mayor candidate (except in the imprint) and admit they think they are not going to win. Instead they ask people to vote Conservative to reduce the scale of their defeat: New: A letter issued by Susan Hall's campaign and written by Tory MP Steve Tuckwell urges Londoners to ensure Sadiq Khan "wins by a smaller margin than he's expecting". It suggests voting for "someone else" than Khan, without naming Hall (except for in the imprint). pic.twitter.com/nRi4CgSYxb — Noah Vickers (@noahvickers14) April 19, 2024 All the m ..read more

Only two principal authority council by-elections on Thursday. Both had Liberal Democrat candidates, which is one up on last time around. The result in that ward which the party fought this time after a no show last time shows the value of expanding the number of wards the party fights: Farnham Castle (Waverley) Council By-Election Result: FR: 32.5% (-17.6) LDM: 29.6% (New) LAB: 23.0% (-11.7) CON: 14.9% (-0.2) Farnham Residents HOLD. Changes w/ 2023. — Election Maps UK (@ElectionMapsUK) April 18, 2024 Congratulations to Theresa Meredith-Hardy and the team for beating both Labour and t ..read more

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill had its second reading in the House of Commons on Tuesday. It was a free vote for the Lib Dem Parliamentary Party and five voted in favour of the bill proceeding to the committee stage: Daisy Cooper (speech in debate here) Ed Davey Richard Foord Christine Jardine Sarah Olney The other ten Liberal Democrat MPs had no vote recorded. Sign up to get the latest news and analysis "*" indicates required fields Email* Enter Email Confirm Email Name* First Last What would you like to receive?* Liberal Democrat Newswire: monthly newsletter The Week in Polls (once a week ..read more

I joined Times Radio this week for a panel with Matt Chorley discussing Kate Dommett’s research into how political parties spend money: Luckily the Lib Dem LEGO expenditure didn’t come up. She’s also an expert in how political parties use data, and I discussed her new book on that recently on Never Mind The Bar Charts. Among Kate Dommett’s great finds digging through election expense invoices was one to the Brexit Party for “emergency chair removal”. Quantity: 1. Cost? £5,000, plus VAT. Sign up to get the latest news and analysis "*" indicates required fields Email* Enter Email Confirm Ema ..read more

Two principal authority council by-elections this week, both Lib Dem defences and both tricky in their own way. The contest in Harrogate, caused by the previous councillor having to be suspended by the party, saw a comfortable Liberal Democrat hold: Stray, Woodlands & Hookstone (North Yorkshire) Council By-Election Result: LDM: 43.8% (-7.8) CON: 30.8% (-4.0) GRN: 15.1% (New) RFM: 5.7% (New) LAB: 4.6% (-2.6) No IND (-6.4) as previous. Liberal Democrat HOLD. Changes w/ 2022. — Election Maps UK (@ElectionMapsUK) April 11, 2024 Congratulations to new councillor Andrew Timothy and th ..read more

The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts took an unexpected turn when I was discussing the track record of polls closing in previous Parliaments with Professor Will Jennings. One of the most dramatic such examples was with Jeremy Corbyn in 2017… so perhaps he should be the role model for Rishi Sunak as he looks to rescue the Conservatives? Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. Show notes Have the polls closed in previous Parliaments? What are MRPs and can we trust them? Voting intention by supermarket. Sign up to the newsletter from W ..read more

Although the descriptions and logos next to candidate names on ballot papers are regulated, the field is free for candidates to change their own names. Hence this imaginative entry on local election ballot papers for this May: No cunning use of name change though to get to the top of the ballot paper or to copy the name of a party leader. UPDATE: Their real name is Terry Marsh, the former world champion boxer who was nearly a Lib Dem Parliamentary candidate in 1997 until the police intervened. He was later found not guilty. He changed his name to stand as a ‘none of the above’ candidate in th ..read more

Three principal authority council by-elections this week, starting with a Lib Dem defence in Cornwall: Looe West, Pelynt, Lansallos & Lanteglos (Cornwall) Council By-Election Result: LDM: 44.8% (-16.6) CON: 30.7% (+0.5) LAB: 18.9% (+10.5) GRN: 5.6% (New) Liberal Democrat HOLD. Changes w/ 2021. — Election Maps UK (@ElectionMapsUK) April 5, 2024 Congratulations to Jim Candy and the team. Uckfield New Town (Wealden) Council By-Election Result: IND: 37.0% (New) LAB: 36.7% (-7.5) CON: 26.3% (+0.3) No IND (-29.8) as previous. Independent GAIN From Independent. Changes w/ 2023 ..read more

A ..read more