The 2022 Somerset Council results were terrible for the Conservatives and the biggest falls were in the wards that make up Somerton and Frome. But they have been trending away from the Tories. The population is largely older than average and less exposed to interest rates, with more than 43% of households owning their home without a mortgage. He had built a substantial majority of more than 19,000 votes, but this seat has often been competitive. Unlike Tiverton in Devon, this Somerset market town has substantial Lib Dem pedigree.įor 18 years it was represented by the former Lib Dem minister David Heath until the Tories gained it in the 2015 post-coalition sweep of the South West.ĭavid Warburton was the winner then, and it is his departure after allegations of cocaine use, which he admits, and sexual misconduct, which he denies, that has triggered this contest. Just a year ago the Liberal Democrats made by-election history, overturning a record 24,239 Conservative majority in Tiverton and Honiton - and now they're back in Somerton and Frome. In the West Country, the Conservatives face a feeling of deja vu. Watch the full interview with Ms Keegan below:īy Dr Hannah Bunting and Professor Will Jennings, Sky election analysts "While schools clearly have an important role to play in supporting good attendance, we should not lose sight of the basic reality that bringing children to school on time is the role of parents." "For many years schools had local authority teams employed to do exactly this job, but we have seen them largely disappear after a decade of cuts. "School leaders quite obviously need to be in school leading their schools – asking them to drive around the local area collecting children is not practical, nor would it be a good use of their time. James Bowen, assistant general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: "These comments are unhelpful and demonstrate a worrying lack of understanding of how schools operate. Unions were quick out the gate to criticise Ms Keegan. "It is right that of course headteachers are proactive in tackling this, and indeed the vast majority do an excellent job in ensuring all children are regularly attending school." Speaking to journalists at today's briefing, the prime minister's spokesman said "different schools will take different approaches" to the issue. Well, it looks like Downing Street might not be on exactly the same page. Sometimes you just have to do whatever is possible." Sometimes you have to go or sometimes you have to text the parent in the morning. As long as Ukraine is deprived of those formal article 5 NATO security guarantees that ensure the collective defence of all members, Putin will continue to inflict murder and mayhem - and to destabilise the world and the world economy."Įarlier, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan told Sky News that sometimes headteachers should collect children and take them to school if the youngsters are missing lessons. He wrote in the Daily Mail: "As long as he thinks he can get away with violence against Ukraine, and others, he will use violence. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy was angered by the lack of the timetable, tweeting it was "unprecedented and absurd" not even to know when an invitation may come - and claimed this was being done so his country's membership of NATO could be used "in negotiations in Russia". The former prime minister made the intervention following the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, earlier in the week.Īt the meeting, the security organisation said it planned to invite Ukraine into the group "when allies agree and conditions are met" - but did not reveal a timeline for this to happen. Boris Johnson has called for NATO to set out a clear timetable for Ukraine to join the alliance - and claimed some member nations still want to negotiate a peace deal with Vladimir Putin.
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