Author: Editor-in-chief

Dear Editor, In the July 2024 UK General Election, the limited company known as Reform UK ended up with five MPs, having received 14 per cent of the votes cast, some 4 million votes. Under proportional representation they would have gained about 94 MPs. This is a problem, because Reform UK has a political ideology […]

With some polls suggesting that the Lib Dems could push the Conservatives out if (a distant) second place, I asked Phil Moorhouse of popular YouTube channel ‘A Different Bias’ for his views on the matter. Could the Tories come third? PM: “Current polling suggests it’s unlikely…but only just. They are predicted to retain about 100 […]

Just because the Conservatives are set to lose power nationally, they are still able to hang on to seats where the progressive vote is split and/or ambiguous, thanks to our anachronistic and undemocratic first-past-the-post system (shared only by Belarus…) Fortunately, we can turn to the big aggregator sites like www.stopthetories.vote and Best for Britain’s www.getvoting.org […]

The Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for South Devon, Caroline Voaden, has thrown down the gauntlet to her Conservative rival, Anthony Mangnall, asking him whether he condemns the lying and the breaches of the ministerial code by Sunak, Coutinho and others. We think that all Conservative candidates should be prepared to answer this same question: Are […]

STOP PRESS: ALREADY FULLY BOOKED! BE QUICK NEXT YEAR, IF YOU WANT TO TAKE PART! A leading local conservation charity is calling on people in Devon to help it discover more about the county’s bats. Devon Wildlife Trust is about has embarked on the ninth year of its Devon Bat Survey. The research is believed […]

Dear Editor, “I so hate this f*cking government!”: my all-too-familiar comment on political events of the day  to Anna over morning tea and toast. The Today programme on Radio 4 announced that Sunak had emphatically rejected the EC’s tentative suggestion that a post-Brexit Youth Mobility Scheme should be put to member states. And Labour had […]

Dear Editor, We are drawing close to the first local election since Dorset Council became a unitary authority in 2019, which the Financial Times (FT) recently dubbed as: “… the most keenly watched ‘blue wall’ battle in a crucial set of local elections on May 2.” Under the headline “Dorset Tories tell Sunak’s MPs to […]

Dear Editor Much of the publicity about William Wragg and his indiscretion (notwithstanding the Conservative party’s best endeavours to suppress it) has tended to focus on the perils of modern social media. Surely, the blindingly obvious point is that the issue is blackmail, and blackmail is as old as time. As a former civil servant, […]

Dear Editor, ‘Disgusted’ doesn’t come close. Although even now I am still sometimes surprised by how badly these Tories behave, I am genuinely shocked at what Simon Jupp is up to. Jupp, the Conservative elected as East Devon’s MP in 2019, is attempting to deceive voters by purloining – for his own purposes – the […]

The statistics keep coming. 14 years of Tory rule leaves us with eight per cent of pensioners failing to eat regularly because of heating costs and other bills. Nine kids in any state school class of 30 are living in poverty (defined as family income below 60 percent of the national average). The Government has allocated […]

People’s primary organisers side-step party HQs’ attempt to block their new grassroots movement to unite the progressive vote. South Devon Primary is a community initiative to unite the progressive vote around a single opposition candidate at the general election, healing the division which time after time hands victory to the Conservatives. The primary took place […]

On Saturday 23 March 2024, Cornwall for Europe hosted Molly Scott Cato, a former Member of the European Parliament, at a meeting at Truro School. Over 50 local members of Cornwall for Europe heard Molly Scott Cato’s talk entitled The Journey Home: how can we return to the heart of Europe? Molly Scott Cato is […]

Dear Editor, So the biggest donor to the Conservative Party in the last year (whatever happened to the Russians?) seems to be getting away with the most blatant racist comments and views, pathetically defended by those who have received what we now know to be 15 million quid from him. I wonder why he gave it?  Surely […]

Dear Editor, As I watch the Channel 4 documentary ‘The Rise and Fall of Boris Johnson’, I despair at how such a totally unsuited and unsuitable person was given free rein to wreak such havoc on our country. I remember how, many years ago, a couple of friends said it would be good if Johnson […]

The founders of the South Devon Primary, a community initiative to choose one progressive candidate to unite behind at the general election, are delighted to announce that Dr Hannah Bunting will be chairing two of the seven Town Hall hustings being held over a two week period from 2 March to 16 March. Dr Bunting […]

Dear Editor, What is happening to our nation when MPs need bodyguards?  What are the influences that have created such an unprecedented decline in what we are told by some is still a world-leading democracy?  Yes, we must acknowledge that the mainstream press and TV and social media have played a deeply significant role in threatening the foundations […]

A new climate and nature café is to be launched by Extinction Rebellion (XR) Wimborne for people suffering from eco-anxiety over the climate and nature crises. The pop-up café is at the Cafe @ The Allendale in Wimborne on Thursday 15 February from 4pm to 6pm. XR Wimborne say it is an opportunity for people […]

Dear Editor Re: Physician Associates I am writing to give my perspective on the role of physician associates( PAs).  I am a recently retired Consultant Physician who was  involved in the initiation of a PA programme in Devon over 10 years ago. Workforce planning in the NHS is notoriously difficult and an issue that central […]

Dear Editor, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the NHS is falling apart. Doctors are striking, but the government say their salary demands are unaffordable. I don’t what the roads are like where you live, but round here there are huge potholes that risk taking your wheel off. But the county council have no […]

Enough is enough. Time to stop the destruction of the fabric of our society. Brexit has been the unmitigated failure it was always destined to be. Ideologues, fantasists and proto-fascists are taking the country in a disastrous direction. Corruption is rampant. Sickness and poverty are rife. Victorian diseases of poverty and malnutrition are back – […]

Dear Editor, I wonder if you would be good enough to check my figures? In 2022, I took out my car insurance policy with Aviva at a cost of £494. In 2023, I renewed the policy at a cost of £584 as the other quotes I found were comparable, hence an increase of 18.2% This […]

Dear Editor, I suspect I am not alone in being very distressed by the dreadful situation in Gaza, in which the Israeli government seems to be using the outrageous terror attack by Hamas as an excuse to eradicate (by accident or design) the civilian population. I had hoped that the British government would, by now, […]

Dear Editor, I was very surprised to hear that the authors of ‘Mr Bates vs the Post Office’ were amazed at the public reaction to their excellent docu-drama, All around the country people were, like me, shouting at the television with complete indignation and disgust at the awful treatment of innocent folk by an uncaring […]

Dear Editor Power cuts remind us of the need for infrastructure investment The power cuts experienced by 860 properties in the Crediton area just after Christmas remind us how important our infrastructure is. The shocking truth is that much of the United Kingdom’s infrastructure is ‘not fit for purpose’. The most glaring examples are our water industries and […]

Councils have been facing a growing funding gap since the Conservatives came into power in 2010. It is estimated that one in ten councils face bankruptcy. The government has just announced the first increase in funding, following this protracted period of austerity, but councils maintain that it is still not enough to meet rising costs […]

The charity Mid Devon Mobility is based in the town of Tiverton in Devon. It provides multiple services that meet the needs of residents in Mid Devon and North Devon, as well as those visiting the area and passing through it. The charity is a finalist in multiple in the Community Transport Awards 2023: 1 […]

In the run-up to COP28, where governments will discuss urgent measures to mitigate the worst effects of climate breakdown, a new online poll has revealed that British adults have, in Bristol Energy Cooperative’s opinion, shockingly low awareness of a climate solution that’s potentially right on their doorstep: community energy.   The new Ipsos poll commissioned by Bristol Energy Cooperative (BEC), a community-owned energy coop, shows, when […]

As those who attended last night’s session, either in person or via YouTube, will know, we empty-chaired representation from the Plymouth and South Devon Freeport. Towards the end of the session, a Liberal Democrat councillor pointed out that an official response had been sent at 15:50 on the day of the event , which started […]

What exactly is ‘one of the largest economic development projects in the South Hams’ – and why has no-one heard much about it? Why did South Hams District Council enter into a legally binding agreement with multi-million pound risks and liabilities over a year ago without asking its tax-paying residents? Is anyone pulling the strings of […]