Gervais’s Law: celebrities should never share their political views except in a sitcom, Netflix comedy special or national arena tour where they can pretend they’re just joking even when they’re clearly not

Mandelson has resigned from Lords. So why is he still a Lord? Because the process of retiring from the Lords, or expelled, is not the same as removing their title. See our explainer on how Lords are appointed, vetted, retired or expelled www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/jo...

Reform will support pubs by impoverishing children. Trussell Trust found that 3.8 million children faced hunger in 2024. JRF 2025: 'Our most recent survey found five in six families on Universal Credit had gone without essentials. That means going without basics like food, heating & toiletries.'

'Nearly 40% of new cancer cases worldwide are potentially preventable.' 'In 2022, roughly seven million cancer diagnoses were linked to modifiable risk factors.' 'Overall, tobacco smoking was the leading contributor to worldwide cancer cases, followed by infections and drinking alcohol.'

In April, Universal Credit's basic rate rises to £98 a week for a single adult, far short of what’s needed to afford essentials like food and bills. This forces people to skip meals & turn off heating to get by, with 5 in 6 low-income families on UC going without essentials. 2/4

Incredible story. After swimming for four hours in stormy seas, the 13 year old had to then run 2k to raise the alarm and save his family

Snowdrops are not indigenous to Britain, & likely introduced around the 1500s, but now fully naturalised They likely began their life here in monastery herb gardens, perhaps used medicinally They have long been linked to celebrating light's victory over darkness

And yet, in the House of Lords, we still have Lebedev - a national security risk if ever there was one; Mone - who defrauded all of us of tens of millions - and countless other unsavoury characters elevated by Johnson, Cameron and all the rest of their corrupt ilk.

I know it is pointless saying this but I will do it anyway. Just imagine the coverage there would be if a ferry or cruise ship had sunk in a storm in the Mediterranean with the loss of a thousand lives and compare it with the attention given to a thousand people in migrant boats drowning in a storm.

'People experiencing greater deprivation were 36% more likely to be admitted to hospital with pneumonia.' 'Prof Nick Hopkinson... a specialist respiratory consultant said pneumonia rates had been high since the... government introduced austerity.' “Lung disease is very tied up with inequality"

Peter Thiel has been open about this for a long time. Trump is a way to break the republic, which can then be replaced by “free economic zones” with oligarchs as dictators and tech as a taskmaster for helpless humans without any rights. (1/2)

'People experiencing greater deprivation were 36% more likely to be admitted to hospital with pneumonia.' 'Prof Nick Hopkinson... a specialist respiratory consultant said pneumonia rates had been high since the... government introduced austerity.' “Lung disease is very tied up with inequality"

The artificial lung system kept the man alive without his lungs for 48 hours before he could receive a double lung transplant go.nature.com/4kawiWV

And more detail on our latest estimate of what’s needed to afford essentials is here: 4/4 www.jrf.org.uk/social-secur...

It's 1998. Peter Mandleson has resigned in disgrace from Labour. It's 2001. Peter Mandleson has resigned in disgrace from Labour. It's 2025. Peter Mandleson has resigned in disgrace from Labour. It's 2026. Peter Mandleson has resigned in disgrace from Labour.

The Times has now published a correction of some of the multiple errors in its front-page splash interview of Alan Milburn on NEETs/SEN. Of course, having published Milburn's invented numbers, they don't bother to give their readers the actual ones. Original article here: archive.ph/I0f49

Private equity owns lion’s share of children’s foster services in England, ‘bleeding the sector of money’. Profits margins of 19%. Money extracted in interest payments, intragroup charges. Children suffer. Ban profit-taking entities from foster services.

With Palantir and Mandelson both back in the news, it’s worth revisiting this — the Epstein/Mandelson/Thiel connection, and how Mandelson’s lobbying company introduced Starmer to the Palantir team bylinetimes.com/2025/09/12/p...

Why isn't this a major news story?

"Four hours after his arrest, he was taken to a hospital emergency room in Edina with swelling and bruising around his right eye and bleeding. A CT scan revealed at least eight skull fractures and life-threatening hemorrhages in at least five areas of his brain..." apnews.com/article/immi...

Aww, the Brexit racists are falling out. #RichardNorth #Farage

Harvard professor Steven Levitsky, who studies democracy backsliding, on Don Lemon's arrest: “This is a new dimension. In democracies, journalists don't get arrested. In authoritarian regimes, journalists get arrested." More in @status.news: www.status.news/p/don-lemon-...

Until 1982 Andrew was second in line to the throne. He could very easily have been king - as so many spares were before him. And really he's only been (superficially) stripped of his titles and privileges because this stuff became public and because Virginia Giuffre dared to speak out.

Almost 4000 people have done this quiz so far, although younger groups still under-represented in case you know anyone who'd like to give it a go and see how they compare to others! probability.kucharski.io

'Ceasefire' latest: 'Children and police officers among at least 30 killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza.' One 'strike hit an apartment in Gaza City, killing three children and two women, while seven more people were killed when Israel bombed tents in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.'

'Universal Credit’s standard allowance leaves single-adult households facing a shortfall of at least £22, and couples a shortfall of £51, forcing families to skip meals, switch off essential appliances and turn off their heating.' An independent, evidence-led process could help prevent destitution

Apple & Google removed ICE tracking apps in their app stores. TikTok reportedly suppressed videos criticizing ICE & the shooting of Alex Pretti. Meta blocked Facebook groups tracking ICE & links to a database of agents that the government wants to keep secret. Big Tech is enabling Trump's regime.

This isn’t about convicting Don Lemon. It’s unlikely that will happen. It’s about intimidating journalists & making them censure themselves out of fear of consequences. It’s about eroding the free press because the administration can’t afford the criticism.

Left: Konstantin Kisin denies calling Rishi Sunak a 'brown Hindu' on #BBCQT Right: Konstantin Kisin, "He's a brown Hindu"

I cannot tell you how much doubt was consistently directed at the Gaza Health Ministry’s casualty numbers and how much pressure was put on news organizations to couch those numbers as unreliable. Biden himself said they were fabricated! www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...

Incredible to brag about the modest rise in the Universal Credit standard allowance without even hinting at the *huge* cut - nearly 50% - to Universal Credit's disability element from this April www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

'Universal Credit’s standard allowance leaves single-adult households facing a shortfall of at least £22, and couples a shortfall of £51, forcing families to skip meals, switch off essential appliances and turn off their heating.' An independent, evidence-led process could help prevent destitution

Ending recording of non-crime hate incidents is a 'disaster for disabled people'. “repeat hate incidents are the hidden day-to-day reality for many disabled people" "the kind of behaviour that can often escalate into stalking and harassment, incitement of violence or serious assaults.”

Such a misleading headline. Further down the article: 'While this is unexpected good news for these Arctic predators, the researchers think it is unlikely to last.' "In the long term," he told BBC News, "if ice loss continues unchecked, we know the bears will eventually disappear."

WOW! New #BrokenNews arrival IMMINENT: youtu.be/TWPOfVdmYig

WARNING, fellow journalists: As @nicoschmidt.io explains, attackers are trying to hijack reporters' Signal accounts by tricking people into handing over their 2FA codes. www.linkedin.com/posts/nicosc...

The anger is real and visceral. I'm not sure Trump and his street thugs no what they have unleashed. #ReneeGood #AlexPretti #ICE bsky.app/profile/ceek...

This is absolutely shocking. Something has to be done about this appalling situation in which so many now find themselves. The government needs to act

'This is not a progressive system, it's a regressive one.' @lewisgoodall.com explains how the student loan system has 'quietly shifted the burden' from higher earners onto those 'least able to bear it'.

- Almost 1/2 of all people in poverty in deep poverty - More than 1/4 of disabled people living in poverty - Around 2/3 of working-age adults in poverty live in a household where someone is in work 💭 Feelings of frustration - and the need for urgent action - were evident.

Why no acknowledgement in this that the health element of UC (sickness benefit) has just been halved for new & returning claimants? That will cause real (potentially lifelong) hardship for ill & disabled people. The govt is also planning a huge cut to contributory ESA by time limiting payments.

This is essentially blackmail and could endanger vaccine supply for many countries that need thiomersal in vaccines to keep them stable when they lack infrastructure to keep vaccines cool in transport and storage 🧵

Journalist Sandi Bachom on ICE: "Because I filmed the Proud Boys for years, because I was in Charlottesville and at the January 6 riot, and spent five months filming the ICE agents in Federal Plaza I’m convinced they are the same people"

@mrjamesob.bsky.social @lbc.co.uk PMQs: The Tories are desperate to slash welfare, yet a report from JRF yesterday showed that poverty 'is deeper and more damaging than at any point in the last 30 years.' Recent estimates show that '3.8 million UK people experienced destitution...'

NEW: Planned welfare reform could see big benefit cuts for disabled people who can't work, Citizens Advice has warned The government wants to replace long-term ESA disability benefits with a new, much more time-limited benefit called Unemployment Insurance (UI) www.bigissue.com/news/social-...

@mrjamesob.bsky.social @lbc.co.uk #lbc Poverty 'is deeper and more damaging than at any point in the last 30 years.' Recent estimates show that '3.8 million UK people experienced destitution – a category...in which households cannot afford to stay warm, dry, clean, clothed and fed.'

Thank you to Christine Barker (@kissipants ) for this morning's #FoxOfTheDay amongst the holly !

The global climate consequences are dire on two fronts, sea level rise and weakening of the AMOC. Both are risks that humanity should have no appetite for, but is steaming towards with inadequate preparations for the impacts. #amoc #risk #adaptation #climatechange

Benefit rates 'remain inadequate, with the basic rate close to destitution levels.' The same groups are 'disproportionately trapped in poverty - with disabled people, people from some ethnic minority groups, people in larger families and renters all experiencing elevated rates.'

'Poverty...is deeper and more damaging than at any point in the last 30 years.' 'The most recent estimates show about 3.8 million UK people experienced destitution – a category even more extreme than very deep poverty, in which households cannot afford to stay warm, dry, clean, clothed and fed.'