‘Damp squib’: Ed Davey can breathe easy as Lib Dem leadership challenge fails to materialise 18. October 2026 (13:00) Lengthy meeting heard grumbles about ‘blue wall’ policies and ‘Ming vase’ tactics but no real rancourAs political showdowns go, this week’s gathering of Liberal Democrat MPs, billed by some as a crunch moment for Ed Davey, was a touch underwhelming. “I had expected a damp squib,” one attender put it. “It was damper than I thought.”Far from generating a mass of opposition to Davey’s leadership, let alone a formal challenge to his position, the lengthy gathering in a Commons committee room on Tuesday evening brought a few minor grumbles, but little else. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Parisians wake up to protest damage and looted shops 18. October 2026 (12:58) Violence broke out across France on Saturday during the latest day of demonstrations against conditions in schools and the cost of living.(BBC News)
Pro-Palestine campaigners vandalise homes of British defence company bosses linked to Israel in nighttime attacks
British farmers spooked as summer drought ruins pumpkin crops