I once dreamt that I bumped into Taylor Swift in Windermere - it was after she split with Joe Alwyn so it's pretty unlikely that she'd've been in the UK and I haven't been to Windermere since I moved away from southern Cumbria 6-7 years ago.

I already agree with this in principle - citizenship is an untouchable status or it is nothing - but also for reasons of prudence. “The Home Sec can revoke citizenship when he/she deems someone’s online output sufficiently offensive” is a v dangerous precedent to set with Reform leading all polls.

This is an almost shockingly wise essay. I'm glad I've finally read it.

Anyone who cares about Europe's future and loathes Putin should want this plan to succeed. It's the single most important decision Europe can take for its own defence and Ukraine's survival. America is lost. www.ft.com/content/3c23...

I swore an oath to the Constitution in 1986. I've upheld it through 25 years of service and every day since I retired. If Trump's trying to intimidate me, it won’t work. I’ve given too much to our country to be silenced by bullies who care more about power than the Constitution.

Please sign this petition for a public inquiry into Russian influence on UK politics. I don't care if you're left or right, Reform or Corbynite - we can't allow a hostile foreign nation to run riot in our political ecosystem. Sign and share. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...

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Really good to hear Stella Creasy on @newsagents.bsky.social saying students should be removed from immigration figures. Of course they should! And they make up a huge chunk of the figures - around half. They’re part of the success story of global Britain - coming here to get a great education.

Whoopi Goldberg at 70: her 10 best films – ranked!

Even I thought this was one of mine!

Daniel Hannan was born in Peru.

X is a cesspit led by an unhinged billionaire who is desperately trying to stir up civil war in Britain. Nobody with any sense or decency should be there. No organisations, government departments, or politicians should be there. Everyone who is, is enabling this monster.

Wow - the BBC getting in early on a potential next Taylor Swift "backlash".

This is a huge story. Don't let him get away with it. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

@iandunt.bsky.social @davidallengreen.bsky.social Randomly, I started re-watching the Harry Potter films the other day. Tonight was Deathly Hallows pt I. Weirdly, so many scenes feel like steampunk versions of what is happening in the US right now.

Reform UK, which has a grand total of four MPs, was just given an uninterrupted platform for an hour and a half on the BBC and Sky News channels, in order to talk about its plans for mass deportations When was the last time the Greens (with four MPs) or the Lib Dems (with 72) were given the same?

'Honest Bob' Jenrick, a politician obviously & deliberately embracing xenophobia, does some weapons grade xenophobia & the BBC *apologises* for a Thought For The Day contributor calling it xenophobic. Licence fee payers need to know who makes these decisions & why. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

One of the dumbest times I went viral on Twitter was for a thread about this and there were creepy people in my mentions for days. So: fun fact, the average age of a bride on her first marriage in 18th-century England was 26.

Is this Olga Korgbut? Or Nadia Corgăneci?

I've spent a lot of time thinking about this fascinating exchange Colbert had with Dua Lipa, when she asked him about the role his faith plays in his comedy.

I suspect I am a member of a *very* small set of people currently listening to "Making Waves" by The Nolans - on vinyl.

The thread about the Salisbury Arms and the famous literary association that never was My eye was caught by a claim in local news that the author Arthur Conan Doyle once frequented the Salisbury Arms. In the best spirit of Sherlock Holmes, this thread sets out to thoroughly and factually debunk…

There is signal in the Musk/Cummings noise if you clear away the ridiculous egos - reforming the modern state via brute force is, basically, impossible. You can damage things, fire people, cut spending but the vast majority of things the state does are deeply embedded and critical functions.

Seven truths about trade: timharford.com/2025/05/seve... (When the FT published this a month ago, it really struck a chord with lots of people. ICYMI, enjoy.)

Fascinating to see "Perfect Day" on 1997 @bbc4.bsky.social TOTP - and realise the BBC was trying to protect itself from the Tories even back then.

Thank God for immigrants open.substack.com/pub/iandunt/...

Trump is urging GOP lawmakers to defund PBS "immediately". He's not the first right-wing crook to wage war on public broadcasting. Here's what national treasure Fred Rogers told Congress in 1969 when Richard Nixon tried to gut PBS.

This letter appeared in the Bloomsburg PA Press Enterprise this morning. I am assured the writer is who he purports to be, an Air Force veteran.

The Conservative party accuses Keir Starmer of refusing to take child abuse seriously. In other news, here's former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson complaining about £60 million being "spaffed up the wall" investigating historic child abuse cases

Criminal that Tom went out in week 1 - #Strictly

I should have said @realjakebroe.bsky.social

Thread - The most important battle in the world for AI supremacy/ impact of Trumps election on Musk’s AI firm value/ OpenAI court emails reveals the real story… but let’s start here with my earlier #Newsnight interview with the now Nobel prize winner Geoffrey Hinton: m.youtube.com/watch?v=MGJp...