A senior councillor from Brighton and Hove has been criticised for calling a resident a “nutter” in his correspondence. David Smith has been cleared of breaching the council’s code of conduct but was told to change his writing style.

Tory councillor Jonathan Gilbert may be expelled after failing to attend council meetings for nearly six months. The representative for Whittlefield-with-Ightenhill was warned by Burnley Conservatives but has not given any explanation for his absence yet.

Bexley councillor Katie Perrior has defended the council after allegations that none of Bexley’s seven community centres have received their annual council grants yet. One of the centres is still waiting for funds from 2008. The council claimed it has not provided financial support yet as there are disagreements over the terms of some licences.

A union official from Medway has been granted compensation after Conservative Ken Bamber made a joke about his Irish background during a break at an official meeting in 2007. Full time Unison official Brian Kelly took offence after being called "paddy" and filed a complaint with the council. He has received a payout from the council as well as discrimination payment from councillor Bamber.

On his way to see Gordon Brown at Number 10, Joseph Stiglitz stopped by the London School of Economics to make a brief speech. What do we think the former winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics said to our prime minister? Well, on the back of this talk he would have been delivering a clear, concise message to tell Gordon to keep going with his economic programme.

The former vice-president of the World Bank is unique in world politics: a left-wing economist of real intellectual clout who delivers a realistic message of change. He focuses on fiscal and monetary shifts rather than structural changes in the make-up of capitalism. But his message is clear - economic regulation works and government interference is needed to ensure the financial sector does not destroy the world economy again.

In fact, he will also almost certainly have told Brown he needs to spend more, not less. In between quips about Margaret Thatcher and Alan Greenspan, Stiglitz argued: “We need a second round of stimulus,” to ensure the economy grows and to a double dip. This may not be the message that Brown wants to hear in the new ‘age of austerity’ but Stiglitz points to worrying trends of long term unemployment, a collapse in the housing market and rising debt levels to suggest that the average citizen is far from ready to start spending again.

Undoubtedly a man of huge intellect, Stiglitz is also witty, erudite and self-reflective. If Gordon Brown is looking for an economic adviser, he could do far worse than Clinton’s former aide.

The think-tank Barred From Voting has declared that the upcoming British election ‘may be illegal’ as prisoners are banned from voting. An 1870 British law declares that anyone convicted of a felony loses their right to vote whilst in jail but in 2004 the European Court of Human Rights declared this illegal as it violates Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

This is obviously problematic: giving voting rights to prisoners is unpopular with much of the population and Labour is keen to avoid the accusation of being weak on crime. But in this case, as much as the government may procrastinate, international law takes precedent over British law and Gordon Brown will eventually have to accept the ruling.

There are a number of options and in April last year the government suggested staggering the right to vote – criminals who have done less serious crimes will be granted the vote but those convicted of murder and other serious crimes will not get the privilege. This, however, will not solve the problem in international law as even serial killers have human rights.

While ‘Votes for murderers’ is far from a popular electoral strategy, ultimately the government will have to accept that European law must be implemented. They may be able to avoid their international commitments for a little while longer but this issue will rumble on on the back burner. The hope for Gordon Brown is that he can keep it off the front pages, at least until after the election.

David Cameron has launched a very personal attack on Gordon Brown over the expenses issue. In his midday speech, the Tory leader called Gordon Brown “secretive” and “power-hoarding”. Labour politics were just a “demented branch of the entertainment industry”, he added.

Both party leaders have been robust with each other before, but the overall tone of the election campaign changed to a very biting one today. Cameron also detailed his plans to reform Parliament and the lobbying industry.

Fair enough that the Tory leader tries to separate the Conservatives from a Westminster culture tainted with scandal. But is it really clever to try to pin these problems personally to Gordon Brown?

Hearing a former member of the Bullingdon Club make claims that the PM is a “shameless defender of the old elite” is slightly odd. And failing to mention that Conservative MPs were also well involved into the expenses scandal gives it a rather doubtful connotation.

The Conservative campaign strategy has appeared confident so far. But today is a different tactic. It remains to be seen whether David Cameron’s biting rhetoric today will rectify the wobbles of airbrushing and marriage tax.

Arbroath councillor Jim Millar is facing calls to stand down after he uploaded a video to the internet which portrayed first minister Alex Salmond as Hitler. The clip, which was made by Mr Millar, uses the 2004 German film Downfall but changes the subtitles to imply that Mr Salmond was the first minister. In the clip Hitler makes references to the recent cash-for-access row involving Mr Salmond and complains about Scottish cabinet ministers.

The Lord charged in the expenses scandal has stepped down from his role of leader of the Essex County Counil. Lord Hanningfield was charged on Friday with six charges of false accounting and now faces legal prosecution. He announced his immediate decision to step down, a decision that has been welcomed by local councillors.

Councillors in Blackburn have been heavily criticised by a local hairdresser after telling him he cannot keep his customers’ hair. Jeff Stone has been using the used hair from his clients to fuel his compost heap for 40 years but has now been told his is breaking the law. Mr Stone said “a man from the council came in and threatened me with legal action – I was astounded.”

An allotment keeper in Swansea has revealed her anger at being told by two separate councils that she will no longer be able to keep her allotment. For the second time in two years Christine Ford has been told that she is to be turfed from her plot – but this time by a different council. In 2008 Hextable Parish Council told Mrs Ford to move, a battle which she then won. But changes in the boundaries mean that she now falls under the jurisdiction of Swansea Town Council who are now attempting to evict her.