The Boss claims another photobomb victim in my very own @albomp.bsky.social. All in a day's work for him. Diplomacy at its finest.

"Everyone knows that there’s nothing edgier than saying fuck on stage. Repeatedly. And shit. And bitches. Especially when reimagining boring old Greek tragedy as a rebellious rap battle all about girlboss feminism and refugees and blowjobs. So shocking! So subversive! Suck on that, Euripides."

"It might be entertaining, but it won’t make you think, and it won’t make you feel" My review of The Bacchae at the National Theatre - a production based on the premise the audience won’t notice how little sense it makes as long as the cast say fuck enough www.newstatesman.com/culture/thea...

After years of making the running on immigration, Farage may this week have handed the initiative back to his opponents'. @robfordmancs.bsky.social for @ukandeu.bsky.social on the unpopularity of Reform's proposals on ILR ukandeu.ac.uk/reforms-radi...

"However, Sky News understands the Arena and Convention Centre (ACC) Liverpool was unaware of any event bookings for the dates of the conference." Arena and Convention Centre Total Landscaping...? news.sky.com/story/corbyn...

Mrs R: "There was a woman on the ward today who didn't want to take paracetamol. We've had to explain that we're not giving it to her because she's got a fever and we want her to feel better, but because she's got a fever and if we don't get her temperature down then her baby is going to die."

Has anyone had any luck with companies that illegally scrape, store and sell contact data, like email addresses and numbers? Clearly a breach of GDPR. Clearly they do not care. Multiple emails have gone unanswered. Contact Out sold my personal (non-work) email address that was never public. Tips?

"It always seems you’re not doing pregnancy, birth or baby-raising right unless you’re really suffering through it. This is not the preserve of any one ideology or industry; it’s everywhere." @anooshc.bsky.social on what the anti-Tylenol rhetoric is really about www.newstatesman.com/internationa...

One party conference down, two more to go - and I have managed to acquire not only the requisite conference cold but also a fractured toe

"'I *actually love* Britain,' Davey told the conference. A deliberate Love Actually reference, to those listening out for it? This is the Hugh-Grantification of politics. It’s Maga through the looking-glass." On how the Lib Dems became the anti-Reform www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

Trump’s name was mentioned 24 times in Ed Davey's speech closing the Lib Dem conference. Farage got 30 mentions (and also one or two Nigels). Elon Musk got 10. Badenoch got one direct reference. Starmer none at all... No prizes for guessing how the Lib Dems are positioning themselves

“Who can feel settled in a system this arbitrary or a state this cruel? I suspect that no matter what my immigration status is, I may never feel secure here. My husband is right; we will need a back-up plan.” Megan Gibson, bring brilliant www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

“This is far more extreme than anything we have seen so far… It carries the implicit assumption that some people, no matter how long they have lived in this country or what they have contributed, do not belong here” On Reform and Indefinite Leave to Remain www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

All party conferences should take place by the sea

“This is far more extreme than anything we have seen so far… It carries the implicit assumption that some people, no matter how long they have lived in this country or what they have contributed, do not belong here” On Reform and Indefinite Leave to Remain www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

Everyone even thinking of going into politics should read Terry Pratchett

And because that's all a bit, well, bleak, if you subscribe to the Extra Bit you can hear us all talking about Larry the Cat and political pets, for some much-needed light relief!

"Keir Starmer’s party, with the most state educated cabinet in history, enjoys a decisive lead among alumni of private schools. Why?" On @moreincommonuk.bsky.social's voting-intention-by-school analysis and the new left-right divide: pro vs anti system www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

What's going on with Your Party? @meganekenyon.bsky.social joins me on today's @newstatesman.com podcast to explain, as does Ethan Croft, making his NS debut as we try to untangle the split between Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTn4...

Cats! Cats and politics! Cats meeting presidents and delaying press conferences and attending Cobra meetings - all while utterly failing to catch mice! Also dogs! Dogs used in diplomacy and counter-espionage! And alligators! And even a duck-billed platypus! www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...

It would take a heart of stone not to laugh: Your Party schisms before it even launches. Again. Looks like Jeremy Corbyn’s faction didn’t know about the membership launch today. Zarah Sultana notably not a signatory here.

Sometimes it's nice to remember that even Marcus Aurelius was like "you don't have to comment on everything bro"

"It’s interesting to see the issue spoken about in terms of civic cohesion, with a responsibility on us all to tackle demographic challenges, rather than a burden for the young alone" On the German idea of a "Boomer solidarity tax" and national service... www.newstatesman.com/politics/202...

All political tribes can be hypocritical but the right's current level of hypocrisy on free speech is deliberate. It's an assertion of power not a blindspot.

cato institute analysis of murders by political ideology since 1975, excluding 9/11

In which I argue that: a) The Paul Ovenden messages about Diane Abbott are really repugnant, and b) We might want to be careful about deciding anything bad anyone has ever said online, however long ago, even in a private message is grounds for resignation www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

"The commitment to free speech extends, it seems, to conservative speech only – conservatives are gunning to use the power of the state to squash speech they don’t like, ruin the lives of the speakers, and impose a kind of right-wing omni-thought on the nation" www.newstatesman.com/internationa...

This news reminds me of when Maria Caulfield told me I was wrong, live on air, to say she'd voted for a particular bill. I later found her voting record which showed she had indeed voted for it. I emailed, maybe expecting an apology. Instead, she tried to argue we'd been discussing a different bill

"One MP called him a 'Conservative revolutionary', someone critical to the rebuilding project. His departure sends the message that he considers that project pointless." On Danny Kruger, Reform, and the reconfiguration of the right www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

That is literally the opening of Les Miserables.

Updated list of MP defections since 1995 (excl independents)

"Isn’t accepting that people have views you might find abhorrent what free speech is supposedly all about?" On Charlie Kirk, George Abaraonye, the rush to find someone to hate, and allowing people to say provocative things in spaces they think are private. www.newstatesman.com/internationa...

Timeline cleanse: Zoom parrot friends

Weird things start to happen when a two-party voting system tries to cope with European-style voting patterns. “People are voting as though they already have proportional representation" - head of the Electoral Reform Society when I chatted to him after May's local election

5 parties on more than 12%, winner gains seat with under 30%. Results like this used to be rare, freak outliers. Now they are routine (there was a second just like this yesterday). Electoral chaos.

First Past the Post cannot handle this level of fragmentation. It will produce completely freak results. We can grasp this problem now, or wait for the train to crash.

A lot of people slagging off Justin Webb. But here's an experiment you can do at home. Run "Charlie Kirk" through the search function. Click "latest" to create what is effectively a river-sample. You'll see that perhaps 1 in 3 English-language tweets are expressing either glee or satisfaction.

So, right now, the only reliable way to diagnose endometriosis is with exploratory surgery. But finally, real scientists (instead of male scientists), are on the job & of course they’ve identified multiple markers in menstrual blood that point to noninvasive testing. www.science.org/content/arti...

PMQs review: Badenoch hammers Starmer on Mandelson 🖊️ @RMCunliffe.bsky.social

PMQs review! Badenoch made things awkward for Starmer on Mandelson...and then changed her mind But this was not a good week for Starmer... www.newstatesman.com/politics/202...

Three strong questions from Kemi Badenoch on Mandelson/Epstein... and then she steps on her own momentum, going off on a rant about reshuffles. Starmer looks relieved he can use his line that "she’s finally catching up with the questions she should have asked last time" She was doing so well!

I know this isn't the point, but would we call Wes Streeting's constituency of Ilford North a "north London constituency"?!

Kemi Badenoch hopes the economy can save her. The Tory leader is pitching her party as the grown-ups in the room. But is anyone listening? @RMCunliffe.bsky.social

According to Kemi Badenoch, Reform are “just as bad as all the other left-wing parties” when it comes to spending promises. That actually has the potential to be a relatively useful argument for the Tories. ...Or it would be, if anyone were listening www.newstatesman.com/politics/con...

"he's not a judge, he's a violent auctioneer in a wig"

Personal News 🚨: I'll now be writing Morning Call five days a week, giving the inside track on Labour and trying to make sense of this extraordinary era. You can subscribe for free here: morningcall.substack.com/subscribe

Departure of Angela Rayner and wider reshuffle mean it's a big moment for the Employment Rights Bill As the TUC gathers for its annual congress, I spoke to general secretary Paul Nowak on why workers' rights are key to tackling the appeal of Reform www.newstatesman.com/politics/pol...

Last month's fire (neighbour's garden - everyone is fine!) means there is a huuuge gap in the fence, so this little visitor has become a regular. We have been making friends. Yesterday s/he (name TBC) actually tried to come into the house while the door was open. Clio is obviously horrified

Sky News…

Departure of Angela Rayner and wider reshuffle mean it's a big moment for the Employment Rights Bill As the TUC gathers for its annual congress, I spoke to general secretary Paul Nowak on why workers' rights are key to tackling the appeal of Reform www.newstatesman.com/politics/pol...