Trump may not carry out the threat. But the fact he even made such a threat means he should immediately be removed from office. For that is the purpose of a constitution with checks and balances.

The American President just threatened genocide in very blatant terms.

"i have two Microsoft Outlooks, and neither one of those are working." The Astronauts truly representing us all up there.

It's me, I'm nobody! Massively agree about not fetishising books or being weird about using them for decor, but e.g. I found this excellent 1930s political encyclopedia in a decor bookshelf. I think it's produced by the Labour Party/movement in some way and is touchingly optimistic about Lansbury.

the left is so factional that even Jeremy Corbyn has split into two Jeremy Corbyns

Yes I think! Maybe self-serving as an example think tanker, but Westminster think tanks are much smaller and lower capacity than I expect many people imagine. And the Greens especially poorly served relative to their potential influence.

Matt Goodwin has written a new book: Suicide of a Nation Andy Twelves has suggested some of the direct quotes appear hard to verify, or do not exist, and so may come from AI hallucinations x.com/andytwelves/...

Hi, I’m the constructive conversations witch.

Why is there a witch involved in these negotiations? What will she continue doing?

Why should you have to tell firm after firm that you’re vulnerable? Our new @moneyandmentalhealth.org campaign is for a ‘tell us once’ service for those with mental (or physical) health conditions, to minimise stress in a crisis. Do watch and read more: www.moneyandmentalhealth.org/press-releas...

Common misconception that duelling was legal. Admittedly I don't know about in the US, but certainly private duelling was never recognised by English common law - it may have been tolerated by society in some circumstances but criminal prosecutions could be and were brought.

I wonder if it's possible that people can both oppose UK action in Iran and also think Starmer is being weak for refusing to get involved? Assuming it's not just a complete misread of the public mood, that must be the Tories' view.

Not for the first time, see also denial of citizenship for refugees based on manner of entry for example, Labour appears to have forgotten that Article 34 of the Refugee Convention exists. It very explicitly was the intention of the framers that refugee protection would lead to naturalisation.

In the example given, they both work at a bank. It is the bank that makes the economic contribution - and who decides to pay bankers more than cleaners. It couldn't function without either of them though.

"would otherwise receive immediate access to welfare and social housing" is BS. Correct: "after 5 years working in a care home, would be eligible to apply for welfare and social housing on the same basis as the rest of us." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... Deliberately misleading/disingenous.

OK, there is a slight shift here. Rather than not trying to do any persuasion work, they're now trying to explain why they are right. It is good they are at least setting out the case... it means there can be dialogue. 1/ www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

My mum died a couple of months ago and I'm sorting out closing her accounts. A bank just said they want to "express our sincerest apologies for your loss." I really rather hope they have nothing to apologise for!

Greg Davies: Great task, well done. Didn‘t eat a thing. Persephone: Thank you. Alex Horne: Ah. Well. Let’s take another look at that pomegranate.

It took months of national and international debate, diplomacy, parliamentary scrutiny and public protest before Blair managed to involve the UK in an illegal war. Starmer has done it within a single news cycle. That's just how supine he is to Trump.

Khan too. London going Green is a real possibility. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Streeting actively moving to Starmer's left is interesting.

What's been surreal to me is the lack of public debate on Iran. The buildup has been happening for months, but compared with Iraq or Libya there has been very little public cutthrough.

The ridiculous extension of the wait for settled status isn't about putting up barriers to arrival, it's about putting up barriers to integration for people who have already been here for years. It's agreeing with Farage that these people should be treated with suspicion - and leaving it at that.

This could be a mistake - Reform's voters are not libertarians on the whole, nor, I suspect, are many of them career landlords.

We've had questions from three broadcasters so far, and they have all been about the practicalities and costs. None has asked about the legal/moral issue of retrospectively changing laws so huge numbers of people who have made their lives in the UK will be expelled.

A retired British primary school administrator with a British passport and a valid visa was shackled, chained and detained for six weeks by ICE www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Absurdly, I could imagine a situation where the UK becomes a republic but has still not managed to get rid of the hereditary Lords.

If you publicly comment that you think someone is guilty when they've been arrested and not yet charged you are (a) a dickhead (b) an absolute GIFT to trial lawyers like me who can argue my client cannot possibly have a fair trial as no jury can be unbiased with the volume of social media posts.

Not the point, but I'm fairly sure the English realm isn't a thing and hasn't been since the Acts of Union.

This explainer is very good on the topical offence of Misconduct in Public Office. Useful detail on when it has been used re politicians.

I don't disagree with the sentiment, but I do think you should go to the effort of ensuring it can be sung to the tune of We Didn't Star the Fire.

Genuinely good point; people who don't like cities are often people who also don't like anonymity. I actively like being able to walk into a pub I've been going to for 17 years with the confidence I won't know anyone there and no-one is going to say hello and try to start a conversation.

Oh absolutely not, nope, nope. No.

Yes, on this basis, orchestra conductors are complete freeloaders...

I will die on this hill: medal is a noun not a verb.

Extraordinarily, the men’s figure skating was won by the skater who *who didn’t fall over.* Which is not usually the bar we look for people to beat at this level. #WinterOlympics

Exciting news! 🎉 Today the Treasury has recommended Money and Mental Health for super-complainant status. This gives us the power to take issues facing people with mental health problems straight to the FCA or PSR – and they must respond to us. @helenundy.bsky.social explains what this means 🎬

Right that the prime minister has resigned. His successor, Keir Starmer, has a very difficult inheritance.

Very strong FBPE vibes. holdtheline.org.uk

How could I have possibly known that Peter Mandelson couldn't be 100% taken at his word, says Keir Starmer, about a man whose public nicknames include 'the Prince of Darkness' and 'the Dark Lord'

For a long time I thought Starmer would hang on. But now I think he might be done. This feels Johnsonian.

I'd sort of assumed most murders happened at home?

Amazing news! 🎉🚌🎉🚌🎉🚌 Well done @mayoroflondon.bsky.social "If a private company is making profit, would it not be nice if it was run by us, and we made the profit and reinvested it in public transport rather than in our shareholders getting dividends?" 👏👏👏 www.cityam.com/tfl-wants-to...

We've just published this report - it's well worth a look. Income maximisation is an issue that doesn't get nearly enough attention. We have a system that can, in principle, make a lot of money available to people who need it, money that can be vital - but it's too hard to access for way too many.

The government’s suggestion that rolling out 20 minute courses on writing “AI“ prompts, sponsored by Google, Microsoft and Amazon, is somehow comparable to the founding of the Open University (the Wilson government‘s, & Jennie Lee’s, proudest achievement), is an insult to our human intelligence.

The events of the last 24 hours show why it's important to build functional verification structures in public and counterpublic spaces to resist the authoritarian erosion of our democratic systems, as described in this thread.

Some of this, I think, is the Labour leadership's distaste for activism. They see their role as positioning, not persuading. They haven't built the skill set to convince any more of the public they're in the right than already believe it.

Trump's theory of government does not accept the existence of independent committees.

It's probably nothing and will clear up in a couple of weeks if we don't scratch it, but if not they'll give us some steroid cream.

During lockdown I ran straight into a bike that had been secured to some railings at head height, but had been obscured by the overgrown foliage.