It's not clear this is about funding. They are keeping the archive going but aligning it with their 'business priorities'. In any case it is a tiny, tiny piece of their budget.

John Wyver (as above) has done his best to raise awareness but more people, at the highest levels, need to take this up as a matter of urgency.

You'd think it should be 'Playing at Hazard' (the dice game), which was the subject of at least one popular print in the 19th century.

It is bad practice, but on the other hand we don't own our primary sources, and sometimes our work is/should be a guide to where those sources are. If someone follows them up, absorbs them properly, and comes up with their own original view, then citing the primary sources is job one.

Defections since Local Elections in May this year (to 31st Oct):

LAB: 153↘ ↗11 (-142)
CON: 147↘ ↗17 (-130)
IND: 61↘ ↗278 (+217)
LOC: 38↘ ↗21 (-17)
RFM: 27↘ ↗94 (+67)
LDM: 20↘ ↗14 (-6)
GRN: 8↘ ↗22 (+14)
SNP: 3↘ ↗0 (-3)