Oh gawd….Silicon Valley Is Bracing for a Permanent Underclass www.nytimes.com/2026/04/30/o...

"The Devil was so tired that he had retired: not into a desert, but into the hearts of men. His presence was no longer necessary, for men had learned to do everything themselves, and better than he could." From Leonardo Sciascia The knight, Death and the Devil

In the same manifesto, Palantir's owners argued that we need a national military draft, that soft power is over, and that we were too hard on Germany and Japan after World War II. I don't think that company should be allowed to exist anymore.

Voodoo polling at work :)

Who is spending? The top 10%….

All those fawning stories about Noma, its 'food innovation lab' and its 'social mission'.

The train has left the station: Agentic AI and the future of social science research www.brookings.edu/articles/the...

Trump supporters still behind him on Iran but only 27% of Americans per @ipsosgroup.bsky.social

We have an “unregulated sexual economy” what does that mean - more regulations needed?

Will AI ultimately cause a slump/ Depression? open.substack.com/pub/citrini/...

US govt stops collecting data that it might not want to hear …. www.notus.org/trump-white-...

The shift by social media owners from a chronological approach to one driven by engagement (and thus outrage) from c2012 onwards will be seen by future historians as a key event - discuss….

Read this and weep. c1,500 homes out of 88000 annual target built in London in ‘25. “botched implementation and a failure to anticipate how policies would interact have created a perverse situation where it is no longer economical to build homes in London” H/t @jburnmurdoch

I have just discovered the The Holy Roman Empire is still kept alive by an association of aristocratic descendants based in Belgravia and my day is complete #historyneverdies holyromanempireassociation.org

At the #unsungbritain @resfoundation event in Westminster - the change in WHO inflation is affecting is dramatic -

After a certain point the sanity of Palantir's leadership does matter to the national security of the UK and other European states buying its software

Great essay by Martin Sandbu on how triumph of neoliberal globalism/Third Way neglected communitarian belonging - with inevitable consequences #populism giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... The pessimist who became a prophet

Well here’s Jeremy Clarkson on what happens after Reform win…

Trump going “under water” on every element including immigration

Your regular reminder that headline leads in opinion polls may matter less than details inside them #Reform #Labour

Great piece on the insane amount of cash being burnt on at AI at @openai vs @google - something has to give! www.adweek.com/brand-market...

Say what you will about Hitler, at least he knew which countries he was invading.

Full text of @MarkJCarney speech here. Great use of metaphor to describe old “rules based Western international order” being an illusion breaking down…. www.weforum.org/stories/2026...

So far the "Board of Peace" is Trump, Orban, Lukaschenko and Netanyahu. Which if you wrote in a satire would be considered too outlandish and sent back.

Seems appropriate today - Goya - the “sleep of reason produces monsters”

“Before we have learned to deal with things in a given position, they have already changed several times. Thus, we always perceive events too late, and politics always needs to foresee the present.” Turgot 1844 H/t @adamtooze future scenarios are now the only way to think about politics!

Off to Davos? You lucky lucky person. Here’s a handy guide on how to interpret what people say to you…. H/t @henrymance.ft.com

Happy Birthday @Number10cat Larry - you have been a more permanent fixture than most of my politician clients during my career!

Wow #Hamnet forgot exactitude but what a great film

Great piece on why “purpose” is pointless open.substack.com/pub/hefferna...

What japes Pip, what japes!!!

Has there ever been any poll showing the public this united? yougov.co.uk/technology/a...

Brits aren’t fans of Trump. 👎66% say they don’t like him (up from 61% in Sept) and 67% say Britain doesn’t need a leader like him. 👍27% say they do like him - and a similar percentage (26%) believe that Britain does need a leader like him. Full findings 👉 bit.ly/3Nj60VW

Why government is trying to tighten eligibility for SEND plans … pretty compelling - every time you meet local govt CEOs they gossip about how many “million quid” kids they are responsible for - although cost is actually not just extremes. Cameron’s good intentions got punished

One of the most lopsided results you'll ever see in a poll, from our weekend Washington Post poll www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...

We all know very few trust politicians or estate agents - but did you know the vast majority of us DO trust artists (73%) and historians to tell the truth (79%)? #art #history

..describes a lot of social media “We must picture Hell as a state where everyone is perpetually concerned about their own dignity and advancement, where everyone has a grievance, and where everyone lives the deadly serious passions of envy, self-importance, and resentment.” CS Lewis

Happy St Lucy’s day. Traditionally last night was longest night of the year (Julian calendar) love to think of kids in Brescia and Verona waking up to presents from her (on a flying donkey) today and wish was in Syracuse or Sweden to see how celebrations there go!

Imagine paying £500,000 to be a founder-member of a private members club fronted by Liz Truss.

Loved this story about how historic businesses are being listed and preserved as part of protecting the character of Lisbon. Time for other London and other cities to do the same or should we let capitalism just do its thing? monocle.com/affairs/urba...

Walking home In Roma. Thank you @bsrome.bsky.social thank you for a lovely lunch today.

Really interesting on Mamdani’s grass roots victory in NYC and his support - and use of - low key food/hospitality networks - we all have to eat and combining politics deftly with relatable small businesses = effective open.substack.com/pub/vittles/...

📊Highest vote share Ipsos has ever recorded for the Green Party 📊Labour drops to 18%, equal to their previous lowest vote share recorded by Ipsos (in May 2009) 📊Reform UK drop 1 point since September, but Labour’s 4 point slide means Reform’s lead has extended to +15

The economy stupid! Real wages in NYC versus rest of USA. One reason for #Mamdani win…

Much smaller lead for Farage when it’s a straight head to head with Starmer. But even here, a lead…..

Babe, what's wrong, you haven't touched your remembrance day pizza

Nothing to see here folks, all completely normal

Sometimes, as a public service, I read a book so you don't have to... ... this is one of those times www.ft.com/content/7ad4...

One for all the #historians #curators etc. The most popular subject globally is….history #humanitiesmatter. And if you don’t study it you will repeat it….