Good to hear detailed coverage of the scandalous closure of the @essexuni.bsky.social #SouthendCampus on #bbcpm this evening @evanhd.bsky.social. We need to think differently about what a university is for.

“With what can you whet our palate from the ballot Nick?” Asks Paddy O’Connell #newsnight #gortonanddenton

Spoiling a lot of takes but begging a large number of other questions... "Worsening graduate fortunes, it turns out, are a particularly British problem" www.ft.com/content/649d...

Self-proclaimed ‘friend of the King’ suggesting there might be closet Republicans on #Newsnight undermining the royals is beyond parody. Who needs Republicans when the royals are busy sh*tting in their own best hat? #Andrew

Not for the first time…thank goodness for @carolinelucas.bsky.social and her knowledgeable take-down of right-wing nonsense on #Newsnight

Yet another “sex offender lied as well as abused people” surprise revelation www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Starmer has had his chips. I can’t see a way out of this. Barry Gardiner on #Newsnight unwilling to defend him (probably no surprise there, but still). The only question is will it be a slow or quick political death? #mandelson

You can’t call many things distinctively British, but the misnomer of ‘Humble Address’ for a political device that compels someone to disclose information is surely quintessentially so. #mandelson

Greenwich and Kent announce merger to become UK’s first ‘super-university’

What a tragic waste. The UK is completely wrongheaded about what the role of a university is and what it means for society. So weighed down by the baggage of elites and class contempt. #universities www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Dan Neidle’s analysis and his knowledgable eye for detail is precious in making sense of a murky story such as this #Newsnight @danneidle.bsky.social

Man implicated in multiple serious scandals with the rich and powerful over many years such that he was widely known as the ‘Prince of Darkness’ turns out to be massive moral-free zone shock #Newsnight #Mandelson

“Board of Peace” inaugural meeting.

Mark Carney's speech really is terrific: full text is here and very much worth your time.

The patience of these two women calmly and intelligently rebutting the stupidly bizarre macho ramblings of this Republican on #newsnight is staggering

The fight for the right is not going to be just between reform and the tories but within reform. Farage has never had to deal with ambitious and ruthless competition for leadership before - he has specifically managed to avoid it - and will not handle it well. 🍿 #newsnight

“It’s been an explosive day in the fight for the Right” great intro sequence on #newsnight tonight. #Jenrick

The same policy will have v different meaning according to the party that promotes it. #DigitalID from Reform, for example, wd be seen as creating hostile environment for migrants. But from Labour govt it’s understood as meaning something else. Shift in public opinion is unsurprising. #politicslive

Mandelson’s apology over #Epstein about as sincere and credible as Zahawi’s explanation for defecting to Reform #Newsnight

“The key to understanding the relationship is recognition of the importance of empathy and emotion for political representation” blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...

An emotional connection cannot be conjured up by PowerPoint presentation. This deficit is another reason to listen to backbench MPs. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

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

Fascinating and rare insight into this moment in history #TiananmenSquare “I said I had a different opinion on this matter. I said this was a mass political incident, and it should primarily be resolved through political means.” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

“Dao said its research had found 18- to 34-year-olds send two to three times as many letters as other age groups, citing the trend researcher Mads Arlien-Søborg, who puts the rise down to young people ‘looking for a counterbalance to digital oversaturation’.” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

A reminder, if any were needed, of how unpleasant Johnson was and still is. And the Daily Fail continues to give him space for this poisonous stuff.

🙄 This is not a new rule folks.

Some of the best political reporting these days is coming out of Rolling Stone magazine. This piece is among the most important I've read recently: www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

“3 questions on eponymous facial hairstyles: first, a moustache named after a fictional criminal mastermind…it is long, thin and styled downwards…” #universitychallenge

God turns out to be a rather fickle entity that will bat for any and every side that cares to ask shock www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

Glorious weather for #parkrun this morning #sutcliffepark

What will it take to rein in the most disgusting elements of our press? #Leveson2 now. #Newsnight

Gosh, Vicki Young’s interview with Sebastian Gorka on #politicslive is worth a watch if you can stand it. She handled it well. It’s very telling that his patronising and aggressive tone goes off the scale when asked perfectly reasonable Qs about US policy on Europe and Russia.

OBR and Treasury rn #Budget2025 youtu.be/084ndDTxTps?...

Person from this group #epping4everyone was excellent on #PoliticsLive today, giving voice to people currently being silenced, including asylum seekers and also local kids fearful of the protests. So refreshing to hear.

So, hang on, someone is now briefing against the briefer? #No10 #PoliticsLive

Important account by @dramirkhangp.bsky.social about the increase in racism experienced by #nhs staff and the politics of division that has promoted it #newsnight

“An argument between Wes Streeting and Keir Starmer is like an argument between Narcissus and his reflection” says Barry Gardiner. Blimey. It’s all kicking off #newsnight

Fascinating if depressing #newsnight debate rn about current state of Labour government.

“You can blame the professionalisation of politics, which has given us a frontbench that, throughout their careers, have been insulated from public argument.” Yes, this is an important point about Labour’s present woes.

Mmm…perhaps the legal profession needs all those graduate trainees to do the donkey-work afterall… www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Sometimes justice does prevail #violenceagainstwomenandgirls www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Persuasive argument from @zoesqwilliams.bsky.social #toryconference “When the mainstream right loses its confidence, when it starts to chase the buzzwords and symbolic politics of the far right, it hands them the steering wheel.” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Entertaining phone-in w Clare Foges on @lbc.co.uk on, ‘Can there be a renaissance of the Tory party?’ … “What’s Michael Heseltine up to these days?” texts one Tory ruefully #toryconference

Beautiful story: “These women are saying to us: ‘Before I was just doing hair, now I do healing.’” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Blimey, Steve Baker making an awful lot of sense on #Newsnight discussing the hotels issues and the politics of the flag.

Ailbhe Rea of Bloomberg is always worth listening to - clear, thoughtful and concise as ever on #politicslive today, discussing the #afghandatabreach #superinjunction @pronouncedalva.bsky.social

Surely, there was only ‘no expelling’ under Blair because Kinnock had already done it all and set the party on its centrist way? @tomclarke.bsky.social @prospectmagazine.co.uk