Latest news with #Royalist
BBC News
22-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Worcestershire's Tory stronghold facing an unpredictable election
It's been 20 years since Worcestershire's county council wasn't run by the Conservatives but politicians have said nothing can be taken for granted in the upcoming local elections. "I've absolutely no idea what's going to happen," one long-serving councillor tells a decent forecaster of which way the county's political winds are blowing, this time they are struggling to predict how the votes will fall on polling since 2005, all 57 of Worcestershire's county council seats will be contested on 1 May. At the local authority's last elections in 2021, the Conservatives won a decisive victory, securing 45 of those seats. No other party managed more than a on a campaign visit to Worcestershire earlier this month, the party's leader Kemi Badenoch acknowledged the role the so-called "vaccine bounce" had played in that during the Covid-19 pandemic. A lot has changed since the general election last July, the Conservative vote in Worcestershire more than halved when compared to the previous election in county now has two Labour MPs, one in Redditch and another in Worcester, while both the Greens and Liberal Democrats appear confident of making gains in local polls and of playing a role in any future don't discount Reform. Four years ago the party fielded only seven candidates. This time it has mustered a full slate of 57. Elected, but for how long? Normally, county councillors are elected for four not this election is unusual because it is almost certain to be the last time we see elections to Worcestershire County Council before the government pushes ahead with its plan to streamline local authorities. For 27 years, voters in Worcestershire have elected a county council to run services like roads, social care, public transport and libraries, as well as six district councils to run services like bins, parks and now the Labour government wants those authorities merged and for a regional mayor to be elected. On its current timeline, a new council system could be in place by April 2028. Despite that outlook for the county council, this year's elections are still important because the politicians that voters pick here on 1 May will have a key role in shaping what comes the Conservatives want a single county-wide authority, Labour, the Greens and Liberal Democrats have all suggested splitting the county in two. Dividing Lines A former Royalist headquarters during in the English Civil War, Worcester's Commandery museum offers a view back of the city's turbulent of polling day, it played host to BBC Hereford and Worcester's local election debate between the county's five main political well as answering questions from voters, party spokespeople set out their key priorities. "Conservatives have a strong track record of delivery across Worcestershire and a clear plan for the future," said Simon Geraghty, the Tory leader of the council since party's six-point plan includes a £64m investment in road and pavement maintenance over the next three years and a £173m investment plan for extra school Labour candidate Beverley Nielsen said her party would prioritise growing the local economy, using the county council's procurement powers to help businesses thrive."We've had 20 years of Tory leadership and where has it left us: with a budget deficit, with £604m of debts and a government bailout," she said. Reform candidate Max Windsor-Peplow said Worcestershire's services were "in crisis". "We are standing on a manifesto pledge of auditing the council's finances immediately. We can't carry on like this."If successful in securing a role on the council's administration, he said his party would carry out an immediate review into SEND [Special Educational Needs and Disabilities] provision to understand its April, a joint Ofsted and CQC inspection found there were "widespread failures" within SEND provision in Worcestershire with some children waiting two years for local authority is currently working on an action and improvement plan it was instructed to produce. Liberal Democrat candidate Mel Allcott hopes to attract voters by steering a middle course. "We're not so far right that we're unreasonable… and we are not so far left that it just doesn't work for a lot of the population."We're here to listen," she said, highlighting adult social care, children's services and public transport as the party's main focus for change. Matthew Jenkins is standing for the Greens and said his party "works hard all year round" and would introduce measures to tackle congestion and pollution."We get things done locally. We hold the council to account and we have fought against bus cuts and the crisis that is SEND at the moment."More information on the election and how to make sure you are registered to vote is available on Worcestershire County Council's lists of candidates in each of the county's six districts are also available. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X, and Instagram.
BBC News
30-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
Survey starts for Worcester military views on new gallery
People in Worcester and from further afield are being asked what parts of the city's military history they would like to see showcased by a museum have been drawn up to move the Worcestershire Soldier Gallery from Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum to The for initially with £243,200 lottery funding, a spokesperson for Worcester City Council said they now wanted to hear from people about how the gallery could meet their online survey has been started on the authority's website and several consultations are planned in the coming months. The scheme is being overseen by The Mercian Regiment Museum (MRM), Museums Worcestershire and the Worcestershire Yeomanry Trust. Royalist headquarters Dr John Paddock, curator of MRM, said they wanted to hear from local residents and those interested in military history."It's a great moment to find out what people enjoy in our current exhibition at Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum and think about how they'd like to see and learn about Worcester's military history in future," he team previously said they were looking to apply for a full grant for the work this summer and Dr Paddock said responses from the surveys would feed into will be held at the The Commandery on 15 April, at the Yeomanry Memorial Event on 26 April and at the Worcestershire/WFR regimental reunion on 7 June, organisers the English Civil Wars era, The Commandery was the Royalist headquarters during the Battle of Worcester in 1651. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
24-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Inverness Castle ticket prices announced
Entry fees for Inverness Castle have been former sheriff court and prison is being redeveloped as a visitor attraction at a cost of about £30m, and is due to open later this Life Highland (HLH), which will operate the site, has released the ticket prices which range from the cheapest - £14 for a child - to up to £65 for a family of two adults and three said deals would be available to Highland residents. The redevelopment has received funding from the £315m Inverness and Highland City Region the Inverness Castle Experience, it will have an interactive "journey" taking visitors through the history of the Highlands. How much will tickets cost? HLH said tickets would be cheaper if booked online in costs include:Adult - £20 (online)/£22Seniors - £18/£20Child - £14/£16Family (two adults and two children) - £46/£54Family (two adults and three children) £55/£65HLH said Highland residents who pay for its High Life Highland card would have access to more booking options, and 10% discount on food and drinks after purchasing full-price tickets. Ian Brown, a councillor and co-chairman of Inverness Castle Delivery Group, has welcomed ticket deals for Highland added: "The Inverness Castle Experience is set to become a key landmark in the region and ensuring that our Highland communities can enjoy it throughout the year is a great move. "This initiative encourages local engagement and fosters pride in our heritage and Highland stories."The Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service moved out of the castle in 2020, and Highland Council has been leading the month, public agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) put an extra £863,000 towards the project. What is the castle's history? The sandstone Inverness Castle was built in 1836 to plans drawn by architect William was constructed on a mound overlooking the city and the River Ness. In 1848, a building known as the North Block was added and served as a a castle had occupied the site from possibly as far back as the 11th the centuries, the fortification fell under the control of the forces of Edward I, Robert the Bruce and James I, II and 1562, it was attacked and damaged by soldiers loyal to Mary, Queen of Scots, before it was almost destroyed by Royalist troops in the Prince Charlie's forces blew the castle up in 1746 to prevent it from falling into the hands of government was said that a French sergeant, who had brought his poodle with him to Scotland, set off the soldier was caught in the blast, and his body was blown across to the opposite side of the River Ness. His dog survived.
BBC News
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Shakespeare sonnet copy from 17th century found by Oxford researcher
A rare hand-written copy of one of the most famous love poems ever written has been discovered after hundreds of Leah Veronese uncovered the version of William Shakespeare's Sonnet 116 tucked away in a 17th-century poetry collection at the University of manuscript was found among the papers of Elias Ashmole, founder of Oxford's Ashmolean Emma Smith, an Oxford expert in Shakespeare, said the "exciting discovery" would help researchers understand the Bard's popularity in the decades following his death. Dr Veronese found the sonnet featured in a miscellany - a type of manuscript which contains a selection of texts from different authors on various subjects - stored at the Bodleian Library."As I was leafing through the manuscript, the poem struck me as an odd version of Sonnet 116," the university researcher explained."When I looked in the catalogue (originally compiled in the nineteenth century) the poem was described, not inaccurately, as "on constancy in love" – but it doesn't mention Shakespeare." In Ashmole's version, parts of Sonnet 116 - also known as Let me not to the marriage of true minds - have been altered, and additional lines Veronese said she thought the changed first line and the lack of mention of Shakespeare were the reasons "why this poem has passed un-noticed as a copy of Sonnet 116 all these years".The sonnet sits in the miscellany alongside "politically charged" works from the 1640s - the decade of the English Civil War, fought between Royalists and was a strong supporter of the monarchy, and the lines added to the sonnet could be read as an appeal towards religious and political loyalty. The added lines "potentially transform" the sonnet from "a meditation on romantic love into a powerful political statement", researchers Smith said: "Let me not to the marriage of true minds is now one of Shakespeare's most famous sonnets, but it doesn't seem to have been very popular in his own time.""What Dr Veronese shows in her investigation of this new version is that the sonnet being understood in the context of Royalist politics – a long way from its role in modern weddings," she added. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
