This is a story about power, about politicians becoming distracted by a shiny new thing, without stopping to ask what it might cost. www.newstatesman.com/technology/2...

A single line in this piece just made my day: “The electricity system operator is understood to be preparing to run the grid without any gas for short periods as soon as this summer, in a first for the UK energy system.” Renewables *work*. And progress matters🎉 www.theguardian.com/environment/...

AI companies: still hilariously concerned about other people helping themselves to their work www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Each year, the UK spends about half a billion pounds covering redundancy payments to the laid-off workers of collapsed companies. It's very important the government does this! But whose responsibilities are we covering? (1/3)

Each year, the UK spends about half a billion pounds covering redundancy payments to the laid-off workers of collapsed companies. It's very important the government does this! But whose responsibilities are we covering? (1/3)

How some of the world's richest people ditch their responsibilities to their employees... @willdunn.bsky.social explains: When a foreign billionaire sacks British workers, the taxpayer gets the bill www.newstatesman.com/busine...

The UK's biggest water company is being offered a license to pollute. But: - pollution is much worse than the government thinks it is - the financial case against administration is much weaker than the government thinks it is www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

Unsurprising that a festival sponsored by Pepsi, Budweiser and Captain Morgan would turn out to have basically no taste

In case you missed it at the weekend! @willdunn.bsky.social and my @newstatesman1913.bsky.social pod weekly round-up of the politics stories you may have missed - from Orwellian trains to Chatham House chemsex:

Liz Truss is plotting her comeback Real Trussism has never been tried By @willdunn.bsky.social

Good news! At a conference this week, the answer to fixing Britain's Broken Economy was revealed: www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

Really good profile by Will Lloyd on Ed Miliband. I have a feeling that, when histories of British politics between 2010-2030 their will be the stories of two, maybe three, contrasting politicians, none of whom became PM but who defined the era: Miliband, Farage and Gove.

If you've wondered why the UK government continues to have contracts with Fujitsu, despite Horizon, defence is one reason - and looks to continue to be one thanks to the search for alternatives to US companies + need to increase defence spending across Europe. asia.nikkei.com/business/aer...

A bad week for Stonehenge tunnelers and VR headset wearers. On the latest @newstatesman1913.bsky.social pod - @willdunn.bsky.social and I round up the week in stories you may or may not have missed:

this is completely insane: since when is it acceptable for a tech company to rewrite news outlets' headlines without their consent? especially at a time when audiences are sensitive to how stories are framed in headlines? (ie Israel/Palestine, the Trump admin, ICE) www.theverge.com/tech/896490/...

This by @anooshc.bsky.social is a masterclass in nuanced, attentive interviewing of a divisive character. Also some really funny bits, including:

Make no mistake that any weakening of FOI is an attack on all of our civil liberties, and would be a clear example of democratic backsliding. It is clear that the government is now seriously considering an attack on your right to know. www.ft.com/content/2c34...

This raised memories of washing dishes in a (Michelin-starred) kitchen as a teenager. Junior chefs would throw red-hot pans at/past us into the sinks, and shout at the plongeurs at every opportunity. Fancy restaurants are cauldrons of male insecurity www.newstatesman.com/culture/food...

What could be the cause of this mystery www.newstatesman.com/politics/202...

Can I pass the UK citizenship test? Will I be deported to Cornwall?Answers revealed exclusively here:

Thames Water's lenders have proposed a new £10bn "rescue" plan to avoid the company falling into administration. Last month I reported that the scale of pollution by TW is even greater than previously thought. It increasingly appears beyond rescue: www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

Pretty good description of the Twitter ‘For You’ feed from @willdunn.bsky.social www.newstatesman.com/politics/the...

Big Tech is buttering you up Called before MPs, tech execs display their constant vigilance against threats By @willdunn.bsky.social

Cost-of-living populism is Keir Starmer’s last hope The war in Iran loomed large among shoppers at London’s biggest supermarket By @anooshc.bsky.social

When Lambo, 2026 edition

A question answered www.newstatesman.com/politics/the...

On the latest @newstatesman1913.bsky.social podcast episode, @willdunn.bsky.social and I discuss the return of cost-of-living populism in light of the Iran war (feat. a trip to Big Tesco):

5/ And on the Strait of Hormuz, they had NO PLAN. I can't go into more detail about how Iran gums up the Strait, but suffice it say, right now, they don't know how to get it safely back open. Which is unforgiveable, because this part of the disaster was 100% foreseeable.

This is so great - @willdunn.bsky.social finds the real Britain, at a trade show for trade shows. And no one's heard of the "lanyard class":

Eating the God, conference edition www.newstatesman.com/politics/eco...

Eating the God, conference edition www.newstatesman.com/politics/eco...

I had a magical day out at a trade show for the trade show industry www.newstatesman.com/politics/eco...

🚨CAN YOU AFFORD TO IGNORE THESE FACTS about the carpet at trade shows? www.newstatesman.com/politics/eco...

🚨CAN YOU AFFORD TO IGNORE THESE FACTS about the carpet at trade shows? www.newstatesman.com/politics/eco...

I had a magical day out at a trade show for the trade show industry www.newstatesman.com/politics/eco...

A wonderful line from the big magic egg inventor, who has been “doing this for probably 3,000 years”

Just because you're paranoid, etc www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

Just because you're paranoid, etc www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

I get why people compare worries about kids on social media with previous moral panics but I think an important difference is that when previous generations worried about computer games or rock music they were worrying about things kids did that their parents didn't understand.

Now for my last, soothing, bedtime check on The War so I can really lie awake and think about it

NEW: Treasury confirms the Spring Statement would have been better like this www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

Tune in to hear about the EXPLOSIvE government files released this week that NO-ONE ELSE is talking about (unless they're REALLY into sea bass)

@anooshc.bsky.social & @willdunn.bsky.social I really enjoyed your latest podcast episode, thanks. It's so refreshing to hear about some of the other things that happened this week when one political event risks becoming the sole topic of every political podcast (I know you covered this well too).

Great article on the Thames Water disaster, driven by Wall St vulture funds, who profit from pollution and fleecing British billpayers. Over double the % cost of your mortgage is the price we're paying in debt via water bills. By @willdunn.bsky.social www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

I watched nine hours of Your Party hustings to bring you the inside story on this week's most important election result, for this week's Sketch: www.newstatesman.com/politics/the...

Abandon all hope at the Your Party hustings Zoom-related difficulties besieged the party’s CEC election hustings By @willdunn.bsky.social

Shocking scale of Thames Water's vandalism revealed by the always excellent @willdunn.bsky.social:

Revealed: Thames Water's environmental and financial disaster. New research reveals Britain’s biggest water company has been illegally polluting rivers at an even greater scale than previously thought. 🖊️ @willdunn.bsky.social

New: the biggest ever study of Thames Water reveals the huge scale of the company's illegal sewage spills www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

Surely the AI answer to this question is: "just take it, pretend you need it to cure all disease or destroy all jobs or whatever"