Lancashire weather update:

Lancashire councillor Tom Pickup claims the party is showing a moderate face to the public that masks true immigration policies

Breaking: A senior Reform UK politician in Lancashire has been suspended by the party. He will now sit as an independent. lancashire.thelead.uk/p/breaking-s...

Subway saw spuds going viral and decided to start selling spuds. Doesn’t mean anyone is choosing Subway for spuds. See also: Labour trying to out-dickhead Reform. national.thelead.uk/p/new-asylum...

This is part of an ongoing assault on people seeking safety. Hotel contractors take huge sums from the government yet provide poor, unsafe accommodation and food. When someone speaks out, they are punished. It is horrifying and deeply worrying. national.thelead.uk/p/refugee-fa...

Our comment on this horrifying case is featured in @theleaduk.bsky.social. Thanks @lukebeardsworth.bsky.social for reporting on this story. The government must stop wasting billions of pounds of taxpayer money enriching private corporations like Serco & create safe, permanent housing for everyone.

The discourse right now dictates that refugees must integrate and must strive to be useful (when it isn’t rejecting them altogether). But that’s challenging when a nurse studying to adapt her qualifications for the UK is relocated with an hour’s notice. blackpool.thelead.uk/p/palestinia...

Emails seen by The Lead show the councillor, through Lancashire County Council staff, issuing legal threats after his role in private care was questioned.

In Lancashire @lukebeardsworth.bsky.social spoke to parents, organisers and politicians about the failures of the council in getting children the support they need lancashire.thelead.uk/p/send-servi...

Spent the morning outside County Hall in Lancashire speaking with parents who left pairs of shoes to represent their children being let down by the educational system and a lack of support for SEND kids.

Should the man who leads on a review that could see ten care facilities close be the director of a private care company? Perhaps unsurprisingly, an opposition councillor has questions. More alarming in the response. lancashire.thelead.uk/p/reform-gra...

Should the man who leads on a review that could see ten care facilities close be the director of a private care company? Perhaps unsurprisingly, an opposition councillor has questions. More alarming in the response. lancashire.thelead.uk/p/reform-gra...

Atreus waiting for Ruth to come home yesterday evening.

On this week’s Notes from the North, editor @lukebeardsworth.bsky.social shares our top stories from the North, looking at fracking in Lancashire and a Green Party membership boom in Calderdale national.thelead.uk/p/notes-from...

A number of factors contributed to Alistair Taylor’s decision to end his own life - but Blackpool Council’s forced purchase of his home was one of them, a coroner has ruled. A story which came about in part due to eagerness to get Multiversity over the line. blackpool.thelead.uk/p/alistair-t...

A number of factors contributed to Alistair Taylor’s decision to end his own life - but Blackpool Council’s forced purchase of his home was one of them, a coroner has ruled. A story which came about in part due to eagerness to get Multiversity over the line. blackpool.thelead.uk/p/alistair-t...

A driving instructor is one of a number of drivers whose car was damaged by petrol purchased from a station in Penwortham. www.blogpreston.co.uk/2025/10/driv...

Full result for the Ashton ward in Preston City Council by-election www.blogpreston.co.uk/2025/10/pres...

It might be over by midnight, but damn it I’ve still got my Haribo. www.blogpreston.co.uk/2025/10/live...

Walked into 40s after a bad personal week and two years living in shared housing in Brum, wondering what on earth I was doing. A friend dragged me there as I was upset and I think it was the first time I felt at home in that city. Anyway I think this captures that. mailchi.mp/ichoosebirmi...

Pleased that The Lancashire Lead has stayed with this story - and those affected have kept speaking. This will come as some vindication for those left out of pocket by Bodycare entering administration. lancashire.thelead.uk/p/bodycare-a...

It's Wednesday, so it's the latest from our Lead North team. We start with an exclusive in The Lancashire Lead as we reveal a senior government minister has called for an investigation into the collapse of Bodycare and the 'pattern of behaviour' involved

Any government that doesn’t tackle child poverty properly and meaningfully is failing. national.thelead.uk/p/child-pove...

I’m on board with local govt reorg, if only so I never again have to remind people Preston City Council don’t handle roads. It’s also weird that someone in Wyre likely has a Tory local cllr, Reform county cllr and a Labour MP. Still - this is a worthy read. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

I don’t like to think of myself as someone who gets influenced but I’m eating a lot of tinned fish right now.

The latest from our Lead North team, starts with an exclusive for Lancashire Lead subscribers this morning as we revealed the deputy leader of Lancashire County Council and Reform county councillor for Skelmersdale, Simon Evans, is suing his former employer

Anyway, have some good news: www.gamesindustry.biz/after-layoff...

Atreus chinned Cat Bells so thoroughly that they’re now calling it Dog Bells.

Such a remarkable success to harken back to 🥰

Our northern Lead titles won Best Newsletter at the Press Gazette Future of Media Awards this week. If you’re in Lancashire, Blackpool, Teesside, Southport or Calderdale and haven’t signed up yet, why not? national.thelead.uk/p/the-lead-n...

Congratulations to Newsletter of the Year (Specialist/Regional) winner @theleaduk for The Lead North #FutureMediaAwards

We have a new website today! We expect the site to be down for around an hour while this happens. Back very soon!

I’ve seen this be very effective in calming people down when the corners of WhatsApp/FB are doing what they do after an incident. The clear problem is that whenever the information is not released, people will very rapidly assume things about suspects. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

I think this image from the Metropole in Blackpool at the weekend is quite powerful. Refugee toddler watches on as a flag with “send them home” waves outside. 📷 Rob Gomm

Tired of living in the worst rated hotel chain in the country, unable to work, while over a year is taken to make a decision your claim? You could always just go home. blackpool.thelead.uk/p/metropole-...

It’s a beautiful morning to be battered awake by my dog at 5.30am.

Roses are red This looks pretty sinister: national.thelead.uk/p/rushanara-...

EXCLUSIVE: Whistleblower shares the horrifying reality of living in Blackpool's OnlyFans asylum hotel ✍️ @lukebeardsworth.bsky.social for The Blackpool Lead blackpool.thelead.uk/p/the-metrop...

While tough questions need to be asked of the continued housing of asylum seekers in hotels, I don’t believe that demonising the vulnerable has to be part of it. blackpool.thelead.uk/p/the-metrop...

Chloe Kelly and Hannah Hampton are just unreal.

While tough questions need to be asked of the continued housing of asylum seekers in hotels, I don’t believe that demonising the vulnerable has to be part of it. blackpool.thelead.uk/p/the-metrop...

In April, a Reform election candidate posted that a closing care facility was to be used to house asylum seekers. This is how it was worded. There was no evidence and the time and it was criticised.

Common sense politics has arrived in Lancashire. Right? lancashire.thelead.uk/p/lancashire...

There’s no coherent argument for why 16-year-olds shouldn’t be able to vote. Well overdue.

Good news!📣 We’re delighted to tell you the in-depth local journalism we publish twice-a-week across the North of England is up for an award. Press Gazette’s Future of Media Awards has seen The Lead North project shortlisted in the Best Journalism-Based Newsletters of 2025 (Specialist/Regional).

“The first thing that is going to hit is the staffing. They’re talking about not being able to increase staff pay, not being able to fill vacancies and the stark reality is that some are talking about closing and you can't get away from that.” lancashire.thelead.uk/p/reform-uk-...

I took a fantastic picture of Atreus on the evening walk.

Globally, roughly a third more power is being generated from the sun this spring than last. If this exponential rate of growth can continue, we will soon live in a very different world, @billmckibben.bsky.social writes.

Delighted that The Lead North has been nominated in the @pressgazette.co.uk Future of Media Awards, alongside some real heavyweights of journalism. pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/d...

The only surprising thing about Jake Berry joining Reform is that we haven’t seen more Tory former MPs do the same. Yet. He’s the fifth to do so. Over 60 Reform candidates in the local elections were former Tories. The leader of Lancashire County Council is a former Tory. More will follow.