Alan's Green Thoughts

  Readers, with the 2021 local elections in the United Kingdom now definitely taking place (in fact restrictions on canvassing will be lifted soon), it is time to make predictions about how many counties, and unitary authorities covering former county council areas, will change hands in terms of control. The majority of county councils up for election are safely Conservative, but many key battleground constituencies (pending boundary changes from the 2023 review) are within the boundaries of county council areas. Furthermore the aftermath of Brexit could lead to substantial Liberal Democrat and Green gains in county council divisions off-limits to Labour which also have a well-educated population. On recent opinion polls, Labour have been closing the gap with the Conservatives despite Sir Keir Starmer's relative lack of charisma and prowess, although the "vaccine bounce" has allowed the Conservatives under Boris Johnson to return almost to their 2019 vote share, having be...

The Liechtenstein general election of 2021 that took place on Sunday was the first European general election to take place this year, and even with only 25 seats in its Landtag and an 8% election threshold (equating to 2 seats) it produced an interesting result. Both the two largest parties in Liechtenstein, the Patriotic Union and the Progressive Citizens' Party (actually the more conservative of these two), gained seats, but by just 23 votes it was the liberal-conservative Patriotic Union that emerged top of the poll, and furthermore the Patriotic Union gained 2 seats with the Progressive Citizens' Party gaining just 1, giving them both 10 seats. The Patriotic Union gained considerable support from the collapse of the Independents List (a collection of independents rather than a true political party) which lost all 5 of its seats, primarily due to the formation of a splinter group, Democrats for Liechtenstein, in protest against the expulsion from the Independents of Erich Ha...

Yesterday, Captain Sir Tom Moore, famous for raising over £32 million for the NHS during the coronavirus crisis having initially intended to raise the more modest sum of £1000, passed away, from coronavirus. During the first few months of the initial lockdown in Spring 2020, Captain Sir Tom, knighted for his efforts and also given the honorary rank of colonel, inspired so much hope to so many during that difficult time when he completed those walks to raise money for the NHS, and also when healthcare staff were under so much pressure, and still are. He also became the oldest person to record a UK number one single, when he recorded a cover version of "You'll Never Walk Alone" with Michael Ball. That same day, Maureen Colquhoun, the first openly lesbian MP in the UK and an important campaigner for women's rights inside and outside of Parliament, passed away as well. Her time as Labour MP for Northampton North was short and colourful to say the least, but she was clearl...