Tag Archives: by-election winners

Mathew Hulbert

Mathew on Monday: Illiberal Labour and the War on Local Choice

By Mathew Hulbert | Mon 26th January 2026 - 4:30 pm

One of the most important questions in politics is a simple one: do those in power trust people to make decisions for themselves? Not to always decide wisely, not to always choose outcomes that ministers like, but to choose at all.

Increasingly, this Labour government appears to answer that question with a quiet but unmistakable no. Across justice, democracy, local government, policing, and even its own internal party processes, a consistent pattern is emerging: when local choice becomes inconvenient or risky, it is removed. That should worry anyone who cares about liberal democracy.

Let’s start with the justice system. Proposals to curtail the right to a trial by jury in significant categories of cases are often presented as pragmatic reforms, designed to ease backlogs or improve efficiency. But jury trial is not a procedural luxury – it is one of the most profound expressions of public participation in the administration of justice. It embeds the principle that the state does not sit in judgement alone; it must persuade ordinary citizens beyond reasonable doubt.

When that right is narrowed for the sake of administrative convenience, the public is not being protected – it is being excluded.

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , and | 17 Comments
Mark Valladares

Welcome to my day: 22 March (with added by-election news)

By Mark Valladares | Fri 22nd March 2013 - 7:52 am

We wake up to two very good by-election gains in Adeyfield West ward on Dacorum Borough Council (think Hemel Hempstead) and Lodbourne ward on North Dorset District Council. First, Dacorum…

Meanwhile, in North Dorset;

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Posted in News | 9 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Willie Rennie and John Prescott crack a joke on Twitter…

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 3rd March 2013 - 10:47 am

The last two big Liberal Democrat by-election winners have not let their place in Liberal Democrat legend go to their heads. Mike Thornton MP (I am not going to get tired writing that in a hurry) was interviewed on BBC News this morning while, as he told us, he was heading to buy a new head for his shaver.

Willie Rennie, who pulled off a spectacular victory in 2006 and has gone on to become leader of the Scottish Party was not too grand to make the tea for us the other night as we were phone banking for Eastleigh.

Willie …

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Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 1 Comment
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