Author: Miles Donavan

Caroline Lucas, George Monbiot and Alice Oseman are among the signatories More than 600 prominent public figures have signed a public statement calling for the government not to proscribe the direct action group Palestine Action. If proscribed, Palestine Action would be listed as a terrorist group and being a member of it or expressing support for it would become a criminal offence. The statement – coordinated by Fossil Free Books – has been signed by authors actors, comedians, politicians, campaigners and journalists. Among the most high profile signatories are the former Green MP Caroline Lucas, the journalist George Monbiot, Hearstopper…

There are many barriers to building the new homes we so urgently need, but puddles are perhaps the most surprising Paul Smith is Managing Director of The Strategic Land Group There are many barriers to building the new homes we so urgently need, but puddles are perhaps the most surprising – and one of the easiest to fix. Surface water flooding is the planning jargon for what happens when it rains so hard that drainage systems become overwhelmed – puddles, in other words, albeit often big ones. Current planning policy requires surface water flooding to be dealt with in exactly…

The very founding document of liberal free speech principles makes the argument that free speech is context-dependent, not absolute Patrick Hurley is the Labour MP for Southport The online right wing of the UK political community has become, since the landslide election of a Labour government in July last year, increasingly libertarian in their outlook. Notably, they – and increasingly, their supporters both in Parliament and on television newspaper review shows – are becoming more and more fixated on the concept of free speech, and the commitment or otherwise to it of the government.  In recent days, this defence has…

The government has rightly prioritised housebuilding, committing to build 1.5m net new homes this parliament. But existing homes need investment too. Ben Cooper is Research Manager at the Fabian Society. Our home is supposed to be a place of safety and security but for nearly 1.5m renting households, this is not the case. Over 16 per cent of all households who rent, live in a home that harms their health, wellbeing and education. And nearly three-quarters (71 per cent) of those living in poor quality accommodation rent privately. Many will have struggled to keep their home cool in the recent…

‘We don’t know what is happening to that money’ A new report has found that £2 million in donations given to candidates during the 2024 general election campaign “essentially disappeared” from public scrutiny.  The research by Lib Dem peer Mark Pack and academic Chris Butler reveals that 170 candidates received a total of almost £2 million more than they were allowed to spend on their campaigns. This raises questions about where the excess funds went after the campaign. The details of who donated the money are also difficult to find, particularly if the candidate did not become an MP. Only…

Nigel Farage’s party have also set made clear their intention cut back on expenditure in local authorities, setting up the DOGE unit, and Farage warning workers in a speech celebrating his party’s gains, to seek “alternative careers” if they worked on diversity or climate change initiatives. With workers worried about what Reform taking power means for them, the UK’s largest trade union saw its membership jump by 200% in the 10 local authorities won by Nigel Farage’s party at last month’s local elections. Sky News reports: “Unison figures show its membership increased by an average of 272% in the week…

Farage chooses to ignore that the rich not paying their fair share of tax. So much for being a ‘man of the people’. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has admitted he doesn’t want to tax the rich anymore, as he sets out further details of his party’s policy platform. Answering a question from journalist Ava Santina from PoliticsJOE at a press conference, Farage said he didn’t want to raise corporation tax or taxes on wealthy people, despite trying to portray himself as being concerned with the interests of working people. Asked about Arron Banks, a major Reform UK donor and…

Jamie Stone MP remembers his friend and colleague Jamie Stone is the Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross and the chair of the House of Commons Petitions Committee. Long ago, when I was a Highland Councillor, I saw somebody who I really didn’t like going into Charles Kennedy’s advice clinic – let’s just say somewhere in Ross-shire. I knew this person was struggling with their business and admittedly took a little pleasure from it. Later that same day, I asked Charles about the meeting.  “Och, pretty severe financial problems. You don’t like to see any local business…

The sale of the Telegraph saga goes on. The sale of the Telegraph saga goes on. Dovid Efune, the British-born publisher of the online-only New York Sun, is vowing to press ahead with his bid to buy the Conservative newspaper, despite a rival deal that appears to give control to a UAE-backed firm. Efune acquired what was a nearly defunct New York Sun five years ago. Since taking over, he has expanded the Sun’s reporting beyond New York, with a strong presence in Washington as well as in Europe and Israel. The title gained the attention of Donald Trump, who regularly posts its articles on…

The Greens gained 44 seats The votes from this year’s local elections have now all been counted. While much of the media coverage has been of Reform winning big at the expense of the Tories and Labour, the Green Party also made significant inroads across the country. In total, the Greens made 44 net gains, unseating councillors from the Tories, Labour and the Liberal Democrats. In some areas the Greens broke through on new councils for the first time, Leicestershire, Cambridgeshire and Staffordshire. Elsewhere, the party made substantial advances meaning they could have significant influence on some County Councils going…