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The Lead

@theleaduk.bsky.social
3.2K followers 192 following 1.9K posts

The Lead is a lean, mean mag on politics, culture and everything in between.

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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Burnham’s EU pivot is long overdue realism. Now he needs an argument about security and growth, not a rerun of the referendum. Latest from @zoegrunewald.bsky.social.
national.thelead.uk
Burnham has opened the door to Europe. Now he has to stop looking back
Burnham’s EU pivot is long overdue realism. Now he needs an argument about security and growth, not a rerun of the referendum
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
And how we need your support in Lancashire in this growing world of misinformation
lancashire.thelead.uk
The Lancashire Lead - a request for support
Independent journalism needs your help in a world of misinformation
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
The pottery firm has said the investment will help secure the future of the brand, helping it grow and strengthen specialist industry skills.
theknot.news
Could Duchess China investment help put Stoke ceramics back on the world stage?
Plus City Centre Masterplan for Hanley goes to cabinet, first tile laid at covid memorial in Spode Works, and championing a trio of pottery apprentices thanks to a new scheme
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Residents face another wait for the long-promised removal of the derelict former miners’ baths.
thevalleys.thelead.uk
Llanhilleth Pithead Baths demolition delayed again
Residents face another wait for the long-promised removal of the derelict former miners’ baths.
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
A new initiative, led by Middlesbrough-born Chris Simpson-Daniel has taken over a much-loved community centre in Saltersgill, hoping to give young people the opportunities that sport gave him.
teesside.thelead.uk
“I saw talented kids who didn’t get the same chance” — former rugby pro brings new life to Saltersgill community centre
A new initiative, led by Middlesbrough-born Chris Simpson-Daniel has taken over a much-loved community centre in Saltersgill, hoping to give young people the opportunities that sport gave him.
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
The yoga teacher who survived the Southport attack pressed the need to make changes to knife sales in a summit of government and retail leaders.
southport.thelead.uk
Southport Attack survivor makes safer knife plea in meeting with government and retailers
“Retailers must take responsibility for what they stock and how knives are marketed, stored, displayed and sold”
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Good morning, our latest editions of The Lead Local dropped over the weekend. Starting with a school in Blackpool that focuses on specialist alternative provision has been told it is not safe for pupils - in part because the school does not carry out rigorous recruitment checks on staff.
blackpool.thelead.uk
Blackpool Skills Academy told it is not a safe place for young people
Urgent improvement ordered after first ever Ofsted inspection
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Chaminda Jayanetti @cjayanetti.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
"It isn’t point scoring that has delayed care reform, but disagreements on how to find the money and what to spend it on... What’s been missing is a leader willing to lead." I look at 20 years of failed adult care reform - and what Labour's proposals could miss By me, for @theleaduk.bsky.social
national.thelead.uk
Death tax, dementia tax, no tax at all: Why England hasn’t fixed social care
Fifteen years after Dilnot called adult care "not fit for purpose", reform still hasn't come. As Andy Burnham and Louise Casey try again, Chaminda Jayanetti traces three decades of false starts.
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
The Burnham bounce is real, as Labour hold steady, and the Greens have their momentum brought to a shuddering halt as Polanski’s plight deepens. @zoegrunewald.bsky.social looks at the result from the Holborn and St Pancras by-election and whether the PM may be tempted to ‘go to the country’ now…
national.thelead.uk
Holborn and St Pancras by-election: Labour stays on track in Starmer’s old seat
Holborn tells us very little apart from one thing: Burnham has been given a second hearing.
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Our water is in crisis, the prime minister has now swung behind public ownership of it. What’s next? @kevingopal.bsky.social reports
national.thelead.uk
The Lead Untangles: Renationalising the water industry
Our water is in crisis, the prime minister has now swung behind public ownership of it. What’s next?
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
And @lukebeardsworth.bsky.social reflects on the recent work of The Blackpool Lead as we help tackle misinformation that continues to grow on a local level
blackpool.thelead.uk
The Blackpool Lead - a request for support
Independent journalism needs your help in a world of misinformation
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Family and friends will gather at Bryn Bach Park this Friday to remember the mum of five and raise awareness of neuroendocrine cancer, @laurenmedlicott.bsky.social reports on the death of Ceri Lewis aged just 44
thevalleys.thelead.uk
“Ceri’s last wish was that people knew about this cancer”
Family and friends will gather at Bryn Bach Park this Friday to remember the mum of five and raise awareness of neuroendocrine cancer.
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
A car park attendant who helped save a suicidal man after spotting him trying to end his life has been recognised with one of the country’s top life saving honours, @jamielopez.bsky.social reports
southport.thelead.uk
Lifesaving car park attendant continuing to make a difference one year on
Liam Howard performed an act of true heroism and has been inspiring others ever since
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
In Stoke-on-Trent, the school streets scheme - where cars are banned during school drop-off times - from more than a dozen roads is coming under fire as it continues to expand
theknot.news
Ban on cars around schools at drop-off times criticised
Residents in Newstead, Meir and Weston Coyney have cited a lack of information, unclear signage and traffic displacement among their concerns as MP raises issue with School Streets
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Our latest editions of The Lead Local landed with subscribers this morning, starting in Lancashire where a far-right group filmed themselves on the driveway of a historic tower. And we expose further videos which have surfaced
lancashire.thelead.uk
‘Patriots’ at the gates
Further footage emerges showing balaclava-clad far-right group shouting support for Patriot ringleader Danny ‘Tommo’ Thompson at war memorial
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
New from @cjayanetti.bsky.social in our Burnham's Britain series, fifteen years after Dilnot called adult social care "not fit for purpose", reform still hasn't come. As Andy Burnham and Louise Casey try again, we trace three decades of false starts.
national.thelead.uk
Death tax, dementia tax, no tax at all: Why England hasn’t fixed social care
Fifteen years after Dilnot called adult care "not fit for purpose", reform still hasn't come. As Andy Burnham and Louise Casey try again, Chaminda Jayanetti traces three decades of false starts.
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
And Helen Dalley looks at the legacy of a century of Stoke-on-Trent celebration
theknot.news
Stoke’s centenary hailed a huge success with lasting legacy
Plus new lease of life for former Barclays in Longton, Waterstones set to open at Trentham, and IFK Legacy launches pink Lemmy’s Lounge t-shirts for Breast Cancer Awareness
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
A woman who sold counterfeit goods worth millions of pounds was described as “a stranger to the truth” who was unable to understand her downfall was her own fault as she was jailed, reports @jamielopez.bsky.social
southport.thelead.uk
Pure greed: Downfall of fraudsters’ fake clothes scam that brought in millions
“Despite the money sloshing through your bank accounts, you had to have a bit more”
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The Reform-led administration at Lancashire County Council has revealed it is exploring whether to contest the original four-councils decision and also seeking clarity over the government’s recent announcement
lancashire.thelead.uk
Lancashire County Council mull over legal challenge after Angela Rayner’s local government pause
The Reform-led administration has revealed it is exploring whether to contest the original four-councils decision and also seeking clarity over the government’s recent announcement
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
New research links tens of thousands of cancer cases every year to deprivation, with those living in Britain’s poorest communities more likely to develop the disease than those in its wealthiest. Sarah Sinclair reports on what's happening in Teesside.
teesside.thelead.uk
The hidden inequalities behind Teesside’s high cancer rates
And a reminder of how those who have the least, often given the most
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Campaigners welcome a breakthrough week as Caerphilly Council and the Senedd back measures to investigate and tackle contaminated land, @laurenmedlicott.bsky.social reports in The Valleys Lead
thevalleys.thelead.uk
“Something has to change”: Pressure mounts over toxic waste problem
Campaigners welcome a breakthrough week as Caerphilly Council and the Senedd back measures to investigate and tackle contaminated land
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Starting in Blackpool where A lack of police action against men who ordered a young black man to leave a Thornton park because nearby women and children were “scared” will embolden so-called “patriots”, it has been claimed.
blackpool.thelead.uk
Police take no action after young black man ordered to leave park bench by ‘patriots’
A ‘wishy-washy’ response by Lancashire Constabulary
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Good afternoon from a drizzly North of England, here's our latest editions of The Lead Local which subscribers got first on Sunday morning in their inbox...
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
On his first day as PM, Andy Burnham promised to end rough sleeping by Christmas. @hannahfearn.bsky.social asks whether what worked in Manchester can really work across the country, and what it will take to get there.
national.thelead.uk
Can Andy Burnham really end rough sleeping by Christmas?
Manchester shows Housing First can work, but scaling it nationally is another matter.
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The result for the Claremont by-election is one from which many conclusions can be drawn - it just depends on the outlook you choose and few of them will be safe. @lukebeardsworth.bsky.social on a late night in Blackpool, as Labour hold despite Reform's challenge
blackpool.thelead.uk
Labour hold on in Claremont but Reform UK left to rue votes given to Restore and the Conservatives
What conclusions can be drawn from this result? None of them safe.
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
The prime minister is ready to have some arguments. But is he ready to win them? @zoegrunewald.bsky.social report from Labour Party Conference and untangling what the term ‘NIMTO’ - regularly muttered there - actually means.
national.thelead.uk
Labour Party Conference: Andy Burnham calls time on NIMTO
The prime minister is ready to have some arguments. But is he ready to win them?
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Thanks to everyone who has subscribed recently, knowing there's thousands of people receiving our newsletters each week is really heartening. More about what we're building here
national.thelead.uk
Help our local journalism to keep setting the agenda
Subscribe to support our original reporting at The Lead and across our growing regional network of journalists.
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
After spending his childhood with foster carers Jane and Dave, Daniel faced an uncertain future at 18 — until Shared Lives gave the family a way to stay together. Latest from @laurenmedlicott.bsky.social in The Valleys Lead.
thevalleys.thelead.uk
“He will be part of our family forever”: The foster carers who didn’t stop caring when their foster child turned 18
After spending his childhood with foster carers Jane and Dave, Daniel faced an uncertain future at 18 — until Shared Lives gave the family a way to stay together.
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Care companies owned by private equity firms have been accused of “rinsing council budgets dry”. Southport MP @patrickhurley.bsky.social made the claim during Labour Party conference
southport.thelead.uk
Private equity-backed children’s homes are ‘rinsing council budgets dry’
Southport MP Patrick Hurley made the claim
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Stoke has secured £10.5m in Exceptional Financial Support for the third year running, as opposition councillors accuse the council of becoming a “payday loan” authority.
theknot.news
Stoke’s finances are in trouble. Is the council to blame?
Stoke has secured £10.5m in Exceptional Financial Support for the third year running, as opposition councillors accuse the council of becoming a “payday loan” authority.
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The Claremont by-election is on Thursday in Blackpool, we've spent time there to hear what people have to say ahead of the vote
blackpool.thelead.uk
A portrait of Claremont: What life is like for locals in their own words
The Claremont by-election is on Thursday, 1 October
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Hello! Our latest editions of The Lead Local dropped into inboxes this morning, starting in Lancashire were the city of Preston says it will step up to help refugees after Reform-ed Lancashire County Council announced their withdrawal from a national scheme
lancashire.thelead.uk
Preston puts itself forward to manage refugees after Lancashire County Council’s ‘financially inept’ approach
Preston City Council is the first to put itself forward - amid rumblings that Manchester may step in
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Kevin Gopal @kevingopal.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Will Chancellor John Healey find the missing money that caused defence secretary John Healey to resign? And is there an alternative that provides national security without fuelling ever spiralling demands from the defence lobby? Me for @theleaduk.bsky.social - national.thelead.uk/p/the-lead-u...
national.thelead.uk
The Lead Untangles: Defence spending
As the Chancellor gave a hint of what may be in the budget, has he squared the ongoing pressures over funding the military which triggered him to resign under the previous prime minister?
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
As the Chancellor gave a hint of what may be in the budget, has he squared the ongoing pressures over funding the military which triggered him to resign under the previous prime minister?
national.thelead.uk
The Lead Untangles: Defence spending
As the Chancellor gave a hint of what may be in the budget, has he squared the ongoing pressures over funding the military which triggered him to resign under the previous prime minister?
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
And @jamielopez.bsky.social reflects on 18 months of The Southport Lead
southport.thelead.uk
The Southport Lead - a request for support
Independent journalism needs your help in a world of misinformation
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
With no-fault evictions abolished in May under the Renters’ Rights Act, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, like many other councils up and down the country, has turned its attention to limiting the number of Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) and ensure those that exist are of a high quality.
theknot.news
Is life for renters in Stoke set to improve following the call for a Landlord’s Forum next month?
Plus planning application received for the Leopard, SEND waiting lists drop a bit (though there’s still a long way to go), and free library cards given to more than 700 babies
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The little-known warehouse is home to hundreds of productions, thousands of costumes and some seriously unusual props. @laurenmedlicott.bsky.social reports on Royal Ballet & Opera secret hiding in the south Wales valleys
thevalleys.thelead.uk
The extraordinary Royal Ballet & Opera secret hiding in the south Wales valleys
The little-known warehouse is home to hundreds of productions, thousands of costumes and some seriously unusual props.
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
What could be a pivotal moment in Lancashire's Devolution journey took place last week, and fast-tracking of a Mayor remains a possibility
lancashire.thelead.uk
Repeatedly-delayed meeting over potential elected mayor for Lancashire finally happens
But a mayor election in May 2027 has been described as unlikely to happen
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Uncovering one of the key schemes planned in Net Zero Teesside, Tasmin Lockwood reports
teesside.thelead.uk
Is Teesside the future for carbon investment?
Uncovering one of the key schemes planned in Net Zero Teesside, Tasmin Lockwood reports
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Good morning and happy Monday, here's our latest editions of The Lead Local which subscribers got first on Sunday morning. Starting with a row in Blackpool over the council using AI for its City of Culture bid rather than local creatives
blackpool.thelead.uk
Blackpool Council wants that City of Culture title but has taken its AI off the ball
Seaside Giggles - but nobody is laughing really
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
The first part in our series exploring the dark world of misinformation that is coming into the mainstream. New from @kdenkwrites.com
national.thelead.uk
“Just asking questions”: Inside the ecosystem that turns silence into conspiracy
The first part in our series exploring the dark world of misinformation that is coming into the mainstream
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Zoë has shared her reflections on being on the show in today's edition national.thelead.uk/p/why-were-i...
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
It's been great seeing our @zoegrunewald.bsky.social on the TV for the new Sky series The Wargame. Thankfully, it's not real and neither is the job title!
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
New from @zoegrunewald.bsky.social. Introducing our new series on how misinformation moves from anonymous posts to national front pages, and what, if anything, regulators can do about it.
national.thelead.uk
Why we're investigating Britain's conspiracy media ecosystem
Introducing our new series on how misinformation moves from anonymous posts to national front pages, and what, if anything, regulators can do about it
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
And @leighsus.bsky.social reflects on two years of The Teesside Lead. Thanks to everyone who reads and is supporting us.
teesside.thelead.uk
Two years of The Teesside Lead
We need your support for another two (and many more)
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
A by-election was triggered in Newcastle-under-Lyme when a Reform councillor resigned. We've spoken with Labour, Green and Reform candidates seeking to win the seat. The Tories and Lib Dems did not respond.
theknot.news
Reform resignation triggers Newcastle by-election as candidates set out their priorities
We speak to three of the five candidates vying for a seat at Newcastle Borough Council on 8 October following the resignation of Christine Duffy last month. We’ve made this edition totally free.
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The announcement of a new consultation phase for the £10m redevelopment of Town Hall Gardens marked a hat trick of progress on major Southport projects, reports @jamielopez.bsky.social
southport.thelead.uk
£10m Town Hall Gardens plans mark hat trick of progress on major developments
Projects which many claimed would never happen are taking tangible forward steps
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
A south Wales valleys farmer describes losing livestock and grazing land, as residents in Merthyr Tydfil recall the devastation caused by fires over the summer, reports @laurenmedlicott.bsky.social
thevalleys.thelead.uk
“There was nothing I could do”: Farmer recalls watching his sheep caught in Blorenge wildfire
A south Wales valleys farmer describes losing livestock and grazing land, as residents in Merthyr Tydfil recall the devastation caused by fires over the summer.
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Staying with schools, and in Blackpool a school that has been open in Blackpool for almost 90 years was told that it requires special measures in the same month it was confirmed that it would join a multi-academy trust.
blackpool.thelead.uk
Damning Ofsted inspection sets out exactly why Hawes Side Academy joined a trust
Ofsted inspection sets out significant problems at Hawes Side Academy
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The Lead @theleaduk.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Our latest editions of The Lead Local dropped into thousands of inboxes during Wednesday morning. Starting in Lancashire with accusations of heavy-handed tactics in the plans to turn Catholic schools into academies
lancashire.thelead.uk
‘A threat to education’: Inside the battle to control one of Lancashire’s best secondary schools
Accusations of heavy-handed tactics in the plans to turn Catholic schools into academies
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