To the random people asking under stories/videos of mine on FB - no, my dad isn't a property developer and I really don't understand where on earth that suggestion has come from?

213 hours of delays in 12 months for local passengers after rail cable thefts Network Rail, the publicly funded body maintaining our railway lines says crime incidents in the North and North East cost them £1.3m in 2025.

Cable thefts on railway lines between Sheffield and Doncaster have delayed passengers by 213.5 hours over the last 12 months

They also come with a repair bill, paid from the public purse, each time

Council under 'active monitoring' by Government amid 'serious' concern Government engagement is an escalation in the growing trust problems threatening to snowball into a crisis.

These tensions are arguably the driving force behind Reform UK's recent commitment to rescind permission for a £57m loan supporting the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport

It must be stressed, "monitoring" is not Government intervention

Read below

Big news story out of Doncaster 🚨

Council documents have confirmed the Government is "actively monitoring" Doncaster Council over "sufficiently serious" governance concerns

It comes amid worsening tensions between opposition councillors and senior officials

I suppose it will come down to whether you believe Starmer would not have appointed Mandelson if he knew he failed the vetting.

He was prepared to overlook all the issues already flagged by the Cabinet Office. If they were the same issues, would he really have said, actually let's cancel it?

“His questions” is referring to Cllr Jason Charity’s questions in full council in January 2025

Proof reading is important even for tweets 😬

Doncaster Council lodged rival claim on £630,000 building during VAT sale dispute City of Doncaster Council intervened during a disputed sale of a £630,000 property by its subsidiary to a private buyer by lodging its own ‘intended purchase’ of the building.

Another story in the developing saga over the ongoing sale of DBIC in Doncaster...

@chrisburn.bsky.social is also able to reveal the 'former Labour cabinet member' in his questions, which I covered for the LDRS recently, was Cllr Joe Blackham

Do Reform UK or Labour control Doncaster Council? The elected mayor system explained Which party controls the City of Doncaster Council? Is Reform UK in charge, or is Labour? How much power does the elected mayor hold? The Local Democracy Reporting Service explains who the top dog in ...

I actually did a quite useful explainer about this not long ago

Pls read

Local elections PSA for national newspapers that Reform uk DO NOT control Doncaster Council 🚨

They have a majority, but the council uses the directly elected mayor system. Labour won the 2025 mayoral election. The cabinet is 100% Labour. Cabinet makes ~95% of key decisions

Feels like the PM is routinely "not told" important things...

Date set for critical council meeting over £57m airport loan Reform UK look unmoved after a week of Labour pressure suggesting the meeting could “kill” the airport reopening.

The date is set

An extraordinary meeting called to reconsider approval of a £57m loan for Doncaster Sheffield Airport will go ahead later this month

Mayor Ros Jones' cabinet endorses new strategy to improve safety Local leaders hope to change public perception on safety in Doncaster, after statistics show improvement in crime rates.

Story from yesterday I had forgotten to share with you all

Cabinet endorsed a new Community Safety Strategy on Weds, priorities include tackling anti-social behaviour, organised crime and substance abuse

No update on airport lease renegotiation two months after 'almost complete' claim Silence on renegotiation progress will do little to ease nerves as future of Doncaster Sheffield Airport remains uncertain.

NEW: No update on DSA lease renegotiation, two months after Mayor Jones said it was "almost complete"

We were expecting an update in cabinet on Weds, when none came, I asked for one

Silence will do little to ease nerves as DSA's future remains uncertain

Tighter coordination in local domestic abuse strategy to protect survivors Tighter coordination across the multi-agency partnership will protect survivors and manage perpetrators in Doncaster.

Cabinet approved Doncaster's new domestic abuse strategy to 2030 today

Priority given to closer working across the partnership to protect survivors and manage perpetrators

Councillor claims children are 'trained to comply' with SEND criteria by parents David Knight’s business, Ward Transportation Ltd, will no longer provide school services after his unevidenced claims about SEND children and their parents.

NEW: Reform UK Cllr David Knight's taxi firm will no longer provide school transport services to Doncaster Council after he claimed children are "trained" by their parents to meet special educational needs criteria so they can claim benefits

My story for the Doncaster Free Press

MP calls on South Yorkshire Mayor to introduce free city centre bus service Sally Jameson wants to see a free-to-use bus service introduced in Doncaster city centre - like the Connect service in Sheffield.

The LDRS can reveal Sally Jameson is launching a new campaign to bring a free-to-use bus service to Doncaster city centre, connecting key destinations

The Labour MP's proposal is modelled on the Connect service in Sheffield

Back to work and back to my semi-permanent seat in Little Goat Coffee Co in Doncaster

On annual leave this week.

Back on the 13th.

Calls for government intervention at council amid collapse in relationships A long-standing councillor has called for government intervention at the City of Doncaster Council as a collapse in the relationship between senior officials and opposition councillors was thrust into...

A collapse in the relationship between councillors and staff was thrust into the public eye today, after calls for government intervention in Doncaster

Reform UK also said they’d refer the chief executive to the chief officers investigatory sub-committee

DSA reopening at risk as Reform UK reveal intention to reverse £57m loan approval The reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport faces crisis as Reform UK Doncaster revealed it wishes to reverse the approval of a £57million loan previously approved to support its reopening.

A potentially pivotal moment in the council's mission to reopen the airport

My story in the Doncaster Free Press

www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/news/politic...

🚨 The reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport could be at risk as Reform UK announced intentions to rescind the approval of £57m loan to used support the project

The party says it still supports reopening, but did not believe the approval in November 2025 was properly informed

Plot holders slam 'unsympathetic' council's 'policing' of local allotments Residents with plots at allotments managed by the City of Doncaster Council have shared concerns over how the local authority has been handling their tenancies.

Allotment users have slammed Doncaster Council's "policing" of their plots

Incredibly wet weather over the winter has made it very difficult to maintain the plots, but tenants claim the council has been unsympathetic to the difficulties

My story in the Free Press

Question cut from Council recording asked if Mayor told staff to act on building sale The City of Doncaster Council has refused to deny the Mayor of Doncaster instructed senior officers to act on the sale of the Doncaster Business Innovation Centre, after a question on the matter was e...

The question cut from a council recording asked Mayor Ros Jones if she'd instructed senior staff to act after the sale of a big city building, the LDRS can reveal

The council refused to confirm or deny if this had happened when asked this week

Row over independent legal advice erupts after audit committee meeting is cancelled City of Doncaster Council officials have been accused of blocking councillors from obtaining legal advice, despite commissioning advice for themselves, as an extraordinary meeting of the audit committ...

A row has erupted in Doncaster over councillors' access to external independent legal advice, after the audit committee claimed it had been blocked from getting it

This is despite officers reportedly commissioning legal advice of their own in relation to the committee's functions

Sources from Reform UK HQ in London have text to ask if this was an early April Fools joke

Alas. It is not.

Advance UK to join Labour Mayor's unofficial 'executive group' Members of Advance UK Doncaster will sit in meetings of the Labour Mayor of Doncaster’s “executive group” after accepting an offer previously refused by the Conservatives and Reform UK.

Advance UK Doncaster 🤝 Doncaster Labour

Advance's two city councillors will sit on the Labour Mayor's executive group - an offer rejected by Reform UK and Conservatives last year

St Leger Homes boss 'busts some myths' on non-decent council properties One-in-10 council properties not meeting the Decent Homes Standard is not due to lack of investment, Doncaster’s housing tzar has said.

1-in-10 Doncaster council homes not being the Decent Standard was a headline stat a few weeks ago, but there is a story behind the numbers

St Leger Homes boss, Chris Margrave, on the key driver behind 10% of their properties being "non-decent"

Mayor issues update on city centre NHS scheme vital to Waterdale redevelopment Doncaster’s first Health on the High Street scheme on Waterdale in the city centre will focus on children and young people’s mental health services, Mayor Ros Jones has revealed.

Health on the High Street Doncaster will have an "overwhelming focus" on children and young people's mental health

The scheme is vital for the regeneration of Waterdale, but crucial lease agreements have not yet been signed

NEW: Doncaster city centre's Health on the High Street scheme will have an "overwhelming focus" on children and young people's mental health

Mayor also reveals leases with the building owners and RDaSH (the NHS Trust to run it) are not yet completed, but hopes for an update in the coming weeks

Hero Leeds hospital patient who talked terrorist out of detonating bomb to be awarded George Medal A hero hospital patient who talked a “lone-wolf terrorist” out of detonating a bomb in a maternity wing said the would-be attacker “asked for a cuddle” before telling him to “phone the police before I...

A genuinely incredible story and an incredible man