And Merry Christmas to the "I am from Windows Security" phone scammer who just called. I may have been marginally less polite than usual to them.

Happy seasonal introduction of your choice. Just woken up looking at things to do and having the "what wine goes with kippers" moment.

OK, so M&S Fish and Chip bites aren't bad as party food, but if you throw away the "pea and mint" dip and replace it with some chip shop curry sauce - they slap.

For reference the Christmas cheeses here are Hafod Cheddar, Yoredale Wensleydale, Baron Bigod, Caboc, Minger (carefully contained in its own tupperware), Stitchelton and Wyfe of Bath. I've already eaten the St Jude.

Shelby looking malignant after his breakfast.

The cheese has arrived for Christmas thank goodness.

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co... Yep that feels right.

The Leeds tram news is disappointing but the next steps will be even more disappointing. At some point a BRT scheme will emerge „it will be just as good as the trams“. There will be more consultations for the middlemen to make money, some sort of scheme will be proposed. 1 / 3

Right work over until the 29th thank goodness, it's been a long year.

I must admit, whilst I drive about four to six times a year at most, I am still tempted in four years to spend some of the lump sum on an old Jaaag rather than save it all for the inevitable care home fees.

I am informed that Cllr Sukhbir Singh Gill (Sandwell MBC, St Paul’s) has been deselected by Labour joined Reform found out they weren‘t accepting defections and has now gone Independent.

Shepherds Pie, greens, Fleurie - that will do for the evening.

And basically, if you want a guideline, take UKIPs best result in a ward back last decade and add about 8% to it and that's where the Reform vote might lie in 2026. In a lot of the Black Country boroughs that's a big Yikes, but allow for demographic and boundary changes since then.

The Armitage with Handsacre by-election on Lichfield DC was a Conservative hold which I predicted but with a larger margin for the Conservatives than I expected. Con 630 Rfm 431 Lab 127 LDm 99 Grn 63 I wonder if the Conservatives may have been the beneficiary of tactical anti-Reform votes? 1 / 2

Other half has given me a box of mixed Japanese chocolates. Dear God - Milk Tea KitKat is so so good.

There has been a data leak from Your Party about its number of members, I can't ascertain the veracity of this but for Brum the numbers feel right. Edgbaston 99 Erdington 71 Hall Green & Moseley 143 Hodge Hill & Solihull N 63 Ladywood 114 Northfield 80 Perry Barr 105 Selly Oak 116 Yardley 70

If you are looking for some bad Christmas reading, my alternative history trilogy is on sale on Smashwords at the moment - www.smashwords.com/books/byseri...

No new by-elections have been announced in the West Mids this week. But Lichfield DC, Armitage & Handsacre is this Thursday, candidates are Con Grn Lab LDm Rfm. There is one new vacancy Birmingham MBC, Allens Cross due to the resignation of Jack Deakin (Lab) but that comes under the 6mth rule 1 / 2

Titanic Cherry Porter Grand Reserve - very, very good.

Shelby has found the spot on my laptop bah between the fire and the wine box I haven‘t sorted for recycling yet. #Caturday

Cllr Jack Deakin (Lab, Allens Cross) has resigned from Birmingham City Council after a somewhat turbulent term of office. As the six month rule is in effect, there will not be a by-election leaving this single member ward unrepresented.

It's World AIDS day, always a bit of a difficult day for me, remembering half a dozen friends who didn't make it through the Plague Years, remembering the funerals, the wild homophobia at times and those who did make a recovery when the drugs came through. I was lucky, I didn't get it until 2003.

Was looking up something for work and for once Copilot found some decent sources quoting @oraclebase.bsky.social

Whilst all focus is as, usual, going to be on London borough elections in 2026 and especially on Westminster, K&C and Wandsworth, its worth remembering that there are lots of Mets all up next year and plenty of those are pretty fertile ground for Reform as things stand at the moment. 1 / 2

I will, of course, closer to the event be doing ward by ward predictions for Birmingham in 2026 which I will probably revise after the SOPN's and when I work out who is related to whom. But my current feel is Reform as the largest party, Muslim Indos second, Labour a very poor third.

Right, I've had my annual Festive Bake, so it is now officially the festering season. Also, I think they may have changed it because it was much nicer than last years. Or perhaps I was just very hungry.

And tonight's dinner as we are both in, chicken breast with morel sauce, roast potatoes with rosemary, broccoli and cavolo nero. Worked fairly well.

The by-elections for Stratford DC were held last Thursday, Quinton was a LibDem hold with an increased majority with Reform coming second. Salford Priors and Alcester Rural was a Reform victory with the LibDems coming second just 3 votes behind, the Conservatives who held the seat came 3rd 1 / 3

Ah well, I never liked grapefruit that much anyway.

Harold Wilson said at the Labour conference in 1962 - "This party is a moral crusade or it is nothing". I think we now have the answer - it is nothing.

So if our Home Secretary takes inspiration from Kristi Noem, when is she going to shoot some puppies?

The two by-elections on Stratford DC are this week, both are being contested only by the Westminster Five parties - Con/Grn/Lab/LDm/Rfm. Quinton is a LDm defence, Salford Priors and Alcester Rural is a Con defence. Quinton is probably a LDm/Rfm contest, Salford Priors a possible 3-way. 1 / 3

Cllrs Chris and Paul Bott (Walsall MBC, Darlaston South) have left the Labour party over the representation on the board for the £20m Town Regeneration fund. They have gone Independent, the Bott's were long term Independent councillors for this ward until they joined Labour in 2019.

In west midlands news - Cllrs Jason Thorne and James Clinton (Dudley MBC, Pedmore & Stourbridge East) have defected from the Conservatives to Reform. Pedmore is historically the Tories strongest ward in the Stourbridge constituency.

Just waiting for this idiot government to appoint Darren Grimes as the next DG.

So, no new local government elections announced in the West Midlands this week. However there have been some councillors changing their colours all of them on Stoke-on-Trent UA - Cllr Daniel Jellyman (Hanford, Newstead & Trentham) - Conservative to Reform 1 / 2

Always worth remembering that both billion and trillion have short forms and long form. Billion is now accepted as 10⁹ but was 10¹² in my youth and Trillion is now accepted as 10¹² but was 10¹⁸ in those distant gilded days. 10⁹ was a thousand million or if your were really antiquated a milliard.

Feeling a bit full of cold and not wanting to mess cooking too much - so tonight was sausage, egg, beans and chippings.

It's been quite a week for councillors moving parties, but not in the West Midlands. With the vacancy filled on Worcestershire CC by Sam Ammar(LDm) winning Bromsgrove South. that leaves two vacancies on Stratford DC which will be on the 20th of November both are contested by Con/Grn/Lab/LDm/Rfm.

I'm just an ordinary member, but after some consideration I've decided to give my first preference to @joshbabarinde.bsky.social to be the next president of the LibDems.

In West Midlands politics news - the Liberal Democrats won the Worcestershire CC by-election in Bromsgrove South from the Reform Party with the LibDems increasing their vote share to 50% of the poll.

So in the West Midlands, the Moseley by-election last week was won by the LibDems, this week is the Bromsgrove South by-election for Worcestershire County Council. The two Stratford by-elections are scheduled for the 20th Nov. 1 / 2

Falls victim to a half bottle sale - now where am I going to put it all. Half bottles are good, I can no longer do a full bottle on my own without consequences and HWMBO is on duty so often he can't help out and there were some nice little temptations.

So, the Moseley by-election for Birmingham MBC has been counted and it was a LDM gain from LAB with the following count: LDm 1634 Lab 1149 Ind 923 Grn 474 Rfm 345 Con 101 BCI 80 That's roughly what I expected except I expected Lab and Ind to be the other way around. So what does it mean 1 / ?

As much as the Tories like to pretend the State Pension isn't a benefit because it offends their only remaining reliable voters of 2024, their new IRL proposal surely means if you have ILR you get deported after six months of State Pension. Just not a serious party anymore are they?

I can't help but feel that V-levels is going to be a really unfortunate name.

Meanwhile in West Midlands local council news, the Birmingham MBC, Moseley by-election is this Thursday and the Worcestershire CC, Bromsgrove Sth by-election is on the 30th. Two byes have been called on Stratford on Avon DC for the Quinton & Salford Priors and Alcester Rural on the 20 Nov 1 / 2

So, there was an election petition in The Littletons Division of Worcestershire CC after the election where the result was tied between the Green candidate and the Reform UK candidate and it was decided by, as is the tradition, the drawing of lots. 1 / 3

Oh yeah, if Slimy Jenrick went to Villa Park in the away end whilst he was growing up in the 80's, assuming he was a Wolves fan and assuming he wasn't a babe in arms, that would be once in 1989 when he was 7. I'm calling it pants on fire.

So I put the fire on one bar late this afternoon because it was getting a bit nippy, I would normally turn it off now, but the cat is sprawled full length in front of it asleep so I dare not.