Trump's views on Ukraine are like the weather in Scotland: if you don't like it, wait 30 minutes and it will have changed.

All that royal flattery and five days later Trump tells the world that Britain's going to hell and London's governed by sharia law. To repeat: the scorpion always stings.

disinformation from the US president about Britain (and, specifically London) should be challenged by the UN itself - but also by British and international media, if they have any care for facts and for reality.

'The main reason for [Trump's official state visit] is that the US owns so much of Britain already.' There are big risks in giving American tech ever more control over our communications, businesses and government systems.

did Boomers’ wealth come from their wise choices? this myth needs busting www.theguardian.com/business/202...?

Good to see that Max Hastings will be attending this Wednesday's Stop Trump protests (@ukstoptrump.bsky.social) - a good demonstration of the breadth of the coalition building against Trump, Musk, and the rise of the far right in Britain www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...

rents are still sky high. must be sure there's progress to rent stabilisation with the #RentersRightsBill . @matthewpennycookmp.bsky.social @sheltercharity.bsky.social

New towns are coming. But who are they really for?

📈 Official figures show more than 11,000 no-fault evictions in the past year. The government must deliver on their commitment, pass the #RentersRightsBill, and name an implementation date when Section 21 eviction will finally be scrapped. shltr.org.uk/6fQak

The Renters’ Rights Bill will make a difference to millions. Today we tell Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook to prioritise passing the bill and end these delays for renters rights.

it's 'exceptionally well done. Yet the virtues of this renovation are also at odds with the values of an international luxury hotel. The hotel wants exclusivity where Chipperfield hopes for openness, and excess where he aims for restraint.' @rowanmoore.bsky.social observer.co.uk/culture/arch...

Possible causes of your problems. It’s a diagram that (sadly) still seems relevant in 2025, so reposting a year and a bit on.

'joyful work ... designed for children – and delighting adults' - @rowanmoore.bsky.social observer.co.uk/culture/arch...

FT mag piece from me: Spent a long time looking into the Britannia hotel chain, beneficiaries of a vast amount of taxpayer money via the asylum system on.ft.com/47HEE46

✂️ On The Cutting Edge! Modernist Textile Studio Gets Funding Boost. We have awarded an #HESsupported grant to enable @shbt-charity.bsky.social to carry out specialist surveys at the Cat. A listed Bernat Klein Studio - starting a journey to bring this unique place back to life. Read: bit.ly/3VjKv85

'...SHBT have united with the National Trust for Scotland and Bernat Klein Foundation as the Bernat Klein Studio Coalition aiming to buy and restore the building...' > this is very good news. www.shbt.org.uk/2025/07/savi... @c20society.bsky.social @barnabascalder.bsky.social

Senior architects have hit out at price rises by software brand NBS and criticised the RIBA for having sold off its key technology arm brand five years ago

The government has launched the biggest review of design protection in decades and is seeking architects’ suggestions as to how to modernise intellectual property law

Perhaps someone can explain this to me because I thought the government was concerned with growth on.ft.com/4gkup84

Breaking: The universities of Greenwich and Kent have announced plans to form a multi-university group in the first collaboration of its type since the start of the financial crisis in the UK sector #AcademicSky #highered

The robots are stealing our houses! My latest @newstatesman.com column, which leads me from the Isle of Dogs to North Ockendon on the data centre trail:

Budget 2026 : l’imposition des très riches revient au cœur du débat politique La gauche tient plus que tout à instaurer la taxe Zucman. La droite n’en veut pas, mais admet qu’il y a un problème d’équité fiscale en France. www.lemonde.fr/politique/ar...

Thomas Piketty : « Pour réussir la transition climatique, il faut répartir autrement les richesses »

"The country risks serious political consequences from successive generations being locked out of the benefits of homeownership in a country perceived to be failing them" I'm in @labourlist.bsky.social on why Labour must help 1st time buyers onto the property ladder labourlist.org/2025/08/home...

Rayner buys second home maybe. Not sure how many properties you have to own to have an empire but pretty sure that two does not count www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...

#housing policy seems declamatory from government - and conflicted on the right. so it's good to hear an informed conversation. @sjs1869.bsky.social @willdunn.bsky.social podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/w...

We’re now halfway through the UK government’s critical decade for tackling climate change – and 2025 is fast becoming a year of climate U-turns. theconversation.com/the-uks-year...

Ed to Ed (Davey to Miliband), urging government to block Elon. #EdMiliband #energy #Tesla

Best for Britain: "More than 8,000 people have written to UK energy regulator Ofgem to object to an application from Tesla to supply energy to British homes. "If approved Elon Musk’s firm would be able to supply UK households with electricity, giving Musk a role in providing an essential service."

Ofgem should reject Tesla's application to supply energy here in Britain.

We are where we are because financial capitalism and its neo/liberal zealots have systematically undermines democracy, it's a bit naive to see them as ultimate defenders of a political regime that's no longer useful

governments have capitulated to 'a statist policy model that intervenes on behalf of capital' – not to transform it and create the 'big green state' [Gabor] recommends, but to entrench the current balance of power. @danielagabor.bsky.social interviewed. www.newstatesman.com/business/eco...

This chart from @smfthinktank.bsky.social shows the problem. The most selective unis are hoovering up students to manage their finances, leaving others at risk of closure. The market needs managing.

'Universities have come under growing financial pressure as tighter visa rules restrict lucrative income streams from international students.' Populism is already wrecking the engines of our economy. To placate (which it won't) the Reform-curious, the government is strangling our universities.

Allotments have been in the news this week, so I've done a bit of mapping work to understand whether building homes on them might help solve the housing crisis. (Spoiler alert: it won't). russellcurtis.com/2025/08/09/g...

As always, no.

How Labour is making Britain a more European country – my column from the NS summer special. www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

As per Private Eye

Well done, all pushers of “tinderbox Britain” bullshit. We’ve got the first case of “mob attacks paediatrician’s house” syndrome of the season. Plenty more to come.

Latest from me: on "Tinderbox" Britain, how it singularly failed to catch fire this weekend, & how the mainstream right now constantly plays with matches www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

gentle. generous. peaceful. well worth seeing Siân Davey’s ‘The Garden’. Stills Gallery. stills.org/exhibitions/... EAF (Edinburgh Art Festival)

Edinburgh art festival review – regal lusting, sofa-surfing and the perfect painting for our times

a spot of Ecclesiastes in the morning? Brahms ‘Four Serious Songs’. Edinburgh International Festival #EIF

The number of school-leavers planning to study full-time at university has dropped to just over half, with almost two in five now saying they believe they can have a good career without a degree, according to new polling. @patrickjack.bsky.social reports #academicsky #edusky

"The figures simply don’t add up." Tuition fees are rising, staff are underpaid, and universities are in crisis but politicians still won’t face the truth. Thanks to Zoe Williams for highlighting the crisis in The Guardian today. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

deregulation? bad idea. Chancellor 'is in open conflict with [Bank of England ] governor Andrew Bailey over her extraordinary scheme to relax the financial regulation'. - William Keegan, Observer 1/ observer.co.uk/news/busines...

This is absolutely grim, condemning whole communities to isolation and car reliance – we can do so much better than this: www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Right to Buy was a grand heist of state-owned housing which made the rentier class very rich, while pauperising local authorities & contributing to the housing affordability crisis. Everybody knew what was going on. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

'Deprivation and social dislocation, not levels of immigration, were the most common factors in riot-hit areas last summer, according to a report shared exclusively with the New Statesman that has been read in No 10.' - reports @anooshc.bsky.social ‬ 1/ www.newstatesman.com/cover-story/...