Yesterday the mild spell continued and the temperatures from now on should approximate to those of a 'normal' January. At 6.00am this morning, the outside temperature was 3° and is predicted to rise to about 6° at the time we come to walk down into town to see our friends. The overnight political news was the resurgence of the Reform party. Reform UK has grown in support to within one percentage point of Labour according to a new poll for Sky News by YouGov which suggests Britain has entered a new era of three-way party politics. Sir Keir Starmer looks set to spend the parliament locked in a fight with two right-wing parties after Labour support dropped sharply in the first YouGov poll since the general election. The poll shows the Tories have now been pushed into third place - two months after Kemi Badenoch was elected leader. The data collected over the weekend puts Labour on 26%, Reform UK on 25%, Conservatives on 22%, Liberal Democrats on 14% and Greens on 8%.By all accounts, Reform has put its party in the country on a much more professional footing with a proper vetting of parliamentary candidates but the real first test will be the local elections that will be held in May. Voters across England and Wales will head to the polls in a major set of mayoral and local elections. Highest profile were the election of 10 influential metro mayors across England, including in Greater London and all of England’s largest cities. Voters also elected several thousand local councillors, 37 police and crime commissioners and the 25 members of the London Assembly. Apart from Prime Minister's Question Time on Wednesday at noon, the big event upon which the world's press is focused is the inauguration of Donald Trump next Monday, 20th January and what he does (as he has threatened to do) on Day 1 in office.
As yesterday was a Tuesday, we were looking forward to meeting in our new venue of Wetherspoons in the centre of Bromsgrove. So we met with a couple of our friends and ordered some pancakes to accompany the drinking chocolate of which we can enjoy as many refills as we desire. The prices charged are so cheap that the Inveterate Hill walker in our midst was driven to explain the Wetherspoon's model thus: 'They rely upon charging a large number of people very little instead of a small number of people quite a lot' Having consumed our pancakes, we made for home but not before calling in on a local cosmetics and toilet supplies shop to replenish some of our supplies and, in particular, some ointment for cracked heels which always plague me whenever the weather is particularly cold and icy as it has been for the last few days. Whilst we were out on the road, I got called twice by one of the local doctors as I requested a consultation on the practice website when it opened this morning. In particular, I wished the GP to make an onward reference to a SALT (Speech and Language Therapist) as apparently they are also specialists in the swallowing reflex. Patients with Meg's condition often find it difficult to masticate and to swallow food and although I am making the necessary adjustments to Meg's diet, there may be some special feeding utensils and/or food supplements that may assist. The doctor indicated that he would mark his request as a matter of urgency but neither of us are particularly cognizant of when a visit to Meg might be feasible. I also got a second call from the Doctor (when I was out in the street) to ensure that Meg's 'respect' documentation was all in order. This is to ensure that in the event of an emergency, Meg does not necessarily get carted off to an A&E department but will be treated as far as possible at home.
The political news this afternoon is Tulip Sidiq, the anti-corruption minister, has resigned although she claims to have done nothing wrong but, nonetheless, referred herself to the prime minister's ethics watchdog, Sir Laurie Magnus, last week. In a letter to Sir Keir, the independent adviser called it 'regrettable' that Ms Siddiq 'was not more alert to the potential reputational risks' arising from her close family's association with Bangladesh. He said this 'shortcoming' should not be taken as a breach of the ministerial code, 'but you will want to consider her ongoing responsibilities in the light of this' In the face of a comment like this, there was no real option for Tulip Siddiq but to resign. If I had been Prime Minister of an incoming government I would have informed Cabinet colleagues that having elected as the successor to a sleaze-ridden series of governments, the Labour Party needed to appear to be whiter than white and were this not to be the case, then ministers would be asked to resign within seconds and before their feet touched the floor. Naturally, I shall watch the political news with particular interest tonight but I suspect that many in the Labour Party might be relieved that the scandal will not drag on and on. In the middle of the afternoon, I received a communication from the building firm offering me a time-slot to assess the damage to our dining room ceiling and adjacent areas after the bad leak we had last week. I was a bit dismayed to have to wait a week more before we start to get any remedial action but I suppose that with the spell of freezing weather followed by a thaw, there will be cracked pipes followed by leaks all over the country.
It appears that a deal might be close in Gaza bringing something resembling peace to that war-torn area. I wonder though whether Joe Biden who has been very active behind the scenes will get the credit for hi or whether it might be delayed for a few days this enabling Trump. immediately after his inauguration to clam having brought peace to the area even though he as not lifted a finger and he prize of the 'peace deal' might just drop in his lap i.e. whilst he is President.
© Mike Hart [2025]