Delighted to be back into Stoke-on-Trent, thanks to excellent work done by The Knot and James so far. They've done mega work establishing a title that does things a little differently. We'll be adding The Lead's in-depth journalism on top of that. pressgazette.co.uk/the-wire/med...

Staying up late with Rachel and Tom this evening covering the Chorley Council local election results. Pray for 3am us. Reform will almost certainly make gains but Labour’s majority is extremely strong here. www.blogpreston.co.uk/2026/05/live...

Scenes from a protest at the Jameson Road landfill in Fleetwood this morning, where residents continue to be understandably enraged by the smells and gases affecting every day life.

It's the Proud Preston Awards tonight! We're looking forward to celebrating people and organisations doing fantastic things across the city. We'll have live updates this evening from the ceremony - good luck everyone

Ed Miliband has not told pubs to serve warm beer - or even anything adjacent to that. Dig into any coverage of that story and it boils down to pubs being advised to turn fridges off overnight. And not even by him.

Calling it The Heating Games.

I sincerely hope the Gorton & Denton by-election gets a do-over. It could be a tremendous waste of time and resources but I think the result would be very funny.

A great reminder of the power of local journalism. Credit to @lukebeardsworth.bsky.social and our sister publication @theleaduk.bsky.social Lancashire who drew attention to this story first! national.thelead.uk/p/prime-mini...

Prime Minister calls on Reform UK to sack their deputy council leader in Lancashire after he re-shared a social post calling for an MP to be shot. The story was first reported by @lukebeardsworth.bsky.social yesterday in our Lancashire edition.

‼️🚨Exclusive from @theleaduk.bsky.social’a @lukebeardsworth.bsky.social Reform UK will take no action against their deputy leader in Lancashire after he reshared social media content calling for a Labour MP to be shot lancashire.thelead.uk/p/lancashire...

No action from Reform UK after the councillor apologised and removed the post. But the post itself was a ‘grotesque and misogynistic call to violence’, according to Labour, who say he should be suspended. lancashire.thelead.uk/p/lancashire...

Kudos to The Guardian for linking to The Lancashire Lead in their version of this (despite going out and getting their own response etc). Shouldn’t be uncommon, but is. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

It is a ridiculous thing to allow your local cllrs to say they don’t want elections, then tell them they’re going ahead. Every leader who wrote, and not all councils could change hands, made their position weaker because they assumed they were safe to do so. www.blogpreston.co.uk/2026/02/pres...

The Reform UK cabinet member responsible said that the decision was made because the scheme wasn’t a good use of taxpayer money. Cost of scheme: zero. lancashire.thelead.uk/p/reform-uk-...

Fly-tipping isn't unique to Nelson, a town in the south Wales valleys, but as with widespread issues, the impact on locals is no less disappointing. The latest long read for The Valleys Lead. thevalleys.thelead.uk/p/fly-tippin...

The Valleys Lead is here. Based in or near the South Wales Valleys? You should be signed up. thevalleys.thelead.uk/p/welcome-to...

Surely the party of free speech will intervene on this one?! lancashire.thelead.uk/p/cat-smith-...

Hundreds of people gathered on the Flag Market in Preston to protest against plans which could see ten elderly care facilities in the county close.  www.blogpreston.co.uk/2026/01/hund...

Big turnout at Preston Flag Market to protest against Reform UK plans that could see ten care facilities close, hearing from cllrs from Progressive Lancashire and Labour, affected families and Lorraine Beavers, MP for Blackpool North and Fleetwood. LCC insists no decision has been made.

🗞️ The Valleys Lead is coming - led by the fantastic @laurenmedlicott.bsky.social Sign up early here: thevalleys.thelead.uk

Council tax increase at Lancashire County Council all but confirmed this morning. lancashire.thelead.uk/p/lancashire...

More relevant.

Still relevant.

From child poverty to the first 'Reform pub' – our editors dive into the things they have loved reading, commissioning and working on this year in a special edition of The Lead In Conversation with @nmozz.bsky.social @zoegrunewald.bsky.social and @lukebeardsworth.bsky.social 🎧

Behaving like grown-ups for a change is it www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

Speaking of Reform, @lukebeardsworth.bsky.social has been digging into pothole data to see if the claims by Lancashire County Council are as they seem

Good morning from a chilly Lancashire, here's our latest editions of The Lead North this Sunday morning. Starting right here, as the leader of the Reform-led county council faces questions over why he missed Remembrance in the county

The Stranger Things episodes out are incredible and don’t let anyone con you into thinking otherwise for engagement.

The figures rise every summer (which this data shows) and dip in winter. An increase in this period doesn’t demonstrate anything. www.lancs.live/news/lancash...

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...