Gill Ower

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Reform UK lose their first by-election defence in Durham.

Reform UK’s Councillor David Cumming quit in December due to overseas work.

PM Sanchez is right

Donald Trump’s economy is a disaster. Prices are far too high.
He stole thousands from every American through tariffs. His ICE goons are killing people

So what does the Epstein-in-Chief do? Starts a war with Iran

Naturally, gas prices are skyrocketing

Yet HE rakes in BILLIONS

Books for Year 4 children aged 8-9 in KS2 Books for Year 4 children aged 8-9 in primary schools including titles by SF Said, Malorie Blackman, Cressida Cowell and Roald Dahl.

Year 4 KS2 recommended reading list for books for school pupils aged 8-9. Authors include Jenny McLachlan, Kate Wilkinson, S.F Said & David Solomons schoolreadinglist.co.uk/reading-list... #kidlit

Reform are denying me access to the Welsh manifesto launch...

Remember a few weeks ago when Reform UK threatened to defund Bangor University in the name of "free speech"?

Well despite repeated requests, Reform are not allowing me to attend their manifesto launch.

1/3

Striking that Reform have now overtaken Labour as the party people would most like to vote against - very much matches what we heard in Gorton with many voters primary concern less merits of Lab/Green but who could best stop Reform.

💡 What actions could government take to reverse the decline in reading for pleasure?

This is how our Co-CEO @anniecrombie.bsky.social responded when she was giving evidence at the Education Committee's #ReadingForPleasure inquiry today.

📺 Watch the full session here: https://bit.ly/4cpynwm

Labour is stubborn in defeat because it knows this: we face the belated end of the political 20th century | John Harris In Gorton and Denton, I heard again and again that people wanted seismic political change – Labour and the Tories are no longer part of that conversation, says Guardian columnist John Harris

"Whereas so-called 'red wall' residents who have moved to the right have been lionised by Labour insiders as 'hero voters' to be chased and never criticised, Labour-Green switchers must apparently be scolded for being seduced by indulgent and reckless gesture politics."

A colourful collage of book covers. Dark blue text on a green background says books we love in March.

Books we love in March 💙

Every month, we review dozens of books for children and teenagers.

Here are our top picks this month 👇

https://bit.ly/487zIVT

What a gorgeous cover - makes you want to dive right in!

Why is it sectarian when parties campaign for Muslim votes (all trad parties have at some point) but not when they campaign to Anglican (Tories) Catholic (Labour) Jewish (Labour anti semitism row). Is it possible that many Muslims just didn’t want to vote for you, because you didn’t appeal to them?

Labour must stop channelling Reform and unite with progressives. That’s the lesson from Gorton and Denton | Sadiq Khan The threat to the party in some parts of our country is now existential. But we can progress, as we have in London, by being bold and strong in our core beliefs, says London mayor Sadiq Khan

"Trying to compete with Reform not only feels inauthentic... but a betrayal of what Labour is supposed to represent. We must address the concerns and fears of voters, not play on them."

Damning stuff from Sadiq Khan

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Meltdown in Gorton puts wind in the sails of Labour’s imm... Feeling vindicated by the Greens’ byelection win, MPs hope to force the home secretary to rethink her plans

Exc: As many as 80 Labour MPs are braced to oppose the home secretary's immigration policies

Dozens of backbenchers and ministers are understood to be hostile to Shabana Mahmood's reforms. After the Gorton by-election they're pushing for a "recalibration"

observer.co.uk/news/politic...

The many tactics of Nigel Farage How does he get away with it?

The many tactics of Nigel Farage
How does he get away with it?

westenglandbylines.co.uk/politics/the...

The real threat to democracy doesn't come from 'family voting'. It comes from the losing side refusing go accept they've lost

Trump’s attack on Iran has me seriously questioning the legitimacy and value of the FIFA Peace Prize

Plans to make refugee a status of perpetual limbo will do nothing to stop people who need help seeking it nor make it possible for them to rebuild their lives and contribute. I call for humane and effective asylum reforms because I am true Labour, not blue Labour. www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

I'm with Ian. My first response yesterday morning was - great, maybe now Labour can start talking about wealth inequality being a 'legitimate concern'. Instead, Starmer decided to label Hannah Spencer, a working class, white woman, an extremist. He has got to be toast.

There is always a tweet.

An illustration of colourful books flying through a purple sky. Red text says Read it Forward! 10% of bookshop.org children's book sales go to BookTrust and Scottish Book Trust in February 2026.

Last chance to #ReadItForward💙📚

For one final day, the amazing @bookshop-org-uk.bsky.social will donate 10% of every children’s book sale (including pre-orders) to BookTrust and @scottishbooktrust.bsky.social – helping to get more children reading.

Don't miss it! Shop now: https://bit.ly/4rsegSW

Books for Year 1 children aged 5-6 in KS1 Year 1 books for children aged 5-6 in primary school with a hand-picked selection of diverse and interesting texts picked by expert teachers and librarians.

Year 1 recommended reading list of books for school pupils aged 5-6 including stories by Elena Mannion, Will Mabbitt, Eric Carle & Chris Haughton schoolreadinglist.co.uk/reading-list... #kidlit

Dear Matt Goodwin, why are you such a bad loser? The Reform candidate in Gorton and Denton tried to blame "woke" ideology and "Islamism" for his by-election defeat. Might it be that actually, he and his politics are just not very appealing? ZOE GRÜNEWALD

Perhaps the deeper problem is that Goodwin and his allies simply do not understand this country. That may not be surprising. They claim to speak for ordinary people while observing them from a distance, through the distorting lens of X, a social media ecosystem that rewards outrage and strips away civility and accountability. They tour Hungary and the US in search of ideological inspiration, nod approvingly at Viktor Orbán's pronatalist experiments and Trump's ICE deployment, and circulate among the uber-wealthy and uber-aggrieved. Their "outsider" insurgency looks, on inspection, rather establishment: privately educated, well-connected, and perpetually resentful. The irony is hard to miss. A party styling itself as the revolt of the "silent majority" was beaten by a candidate speaking plainly about work, public services and the cost of living. For all his accumulated titles and platforms, Goodwin scraped second - and responded not with reflection, but with sour grapes. Blaming "Islamists" is easier on a man's ego, I suppose, than taking a long, searching look in the mirror.

“Gorton and Denton…. was a stress test for grievance politics, and grievance cracked first. Reform’s instinct when challenged is not to persuade but to tantrum; not to build trust but to erode it. That’s the playbook. Win, or cry foul”
@zoegrunewald.bsky.social
www.thenewworld.co.uk/zoe-grunewal...

I’m afraid this letter shows why so many Labour MPs think Starmer needs to go. His political antenna is non-existent. If you have just been humbled in a by-election it might not be the best idea to slag off the choices of the voters who deserted you in their droves.

Spectator headline "The Green party is playing with fire in Gorton" by Ed West.

Dunno Ed, if I had to pick a party in Gorton that's "playing with fire" I think I might take a closer look at the Blood and Soil chaps micro-parsing who gets to call themselves English and flirting with Great Replacement Theory, not the nice Greens lady encouraging brown people to vote.

Compare with Angela Raynor's post.

It also makes him look sad & lonely, devoid of supporters.

That's the way to do it. So good to see progressive politicians pushing back hard on Reform's messaging. Highly effective and so refreshing and Labour could learn a lot from Polanski in this regard. Take the attack to the Faragists - don't let them get away with it.

If you live in the Gorton and Denton constituency and spoke to a Reform party member on your doorstep or in the streets then I'd like to speak to you for an article. My DMs are open.

Cover of the book This Book Will Make You an Artist written by Ruth Millington and illustrated by Ellen Surrey, published by Nosy Crow. It won the ALCS Educational Writers' Award.

Cover of The Adventures of Rap Kid by MC Grammar. The author, aka Jacob Mitchell won the ALCS Ruth Rendell Award for Services to Literacy.

Congratulations to the winners of the @alcs.co.uk
Annual Awards, incl winners of the Educational Writers' Award, in partnership with @societyofauthors.bsky.social, and the Ruth Rendell Award for Services to Literacy, in partnership with @literacy-trust.bsky.social
booksforkeeps.co.uk/2026-alcs-an...

No, Chris Mason, the big story today is that the Greens smashed Reform by 4,000 votes.