How did I not know that from 1999 to 2002 the Monster Raving Looney Party was co-led by a cat

On rising hostility against politicians, security threats, attacks on democracy, double standards, and why language does matter, actually www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

I've just seen about 40 kids sneak into watch 'The Odyssey' without paying by hiding in a giant wooden coat.

That means every second generation immigrant could potentially have their citizenship stripped, as well as every Jewish person in the UK. The result is a law which applies to some people and not to others. How it is implemented depends almost entirely on the good faith of the home secretary.

Sometimes columns can raise some unexpected questions. For example, I was not expecting people's takeaway of this to be "wait, your husband's a Tory?". Especially not people who have met him. Like my sister. But there you go! Musicals opening minds everywhere! www.newstatesman.com/culture/life...

Umm, guys…

Rounding up some translations of Count Binface that have been appearing in foreign press 🇷🇴 Romanian: Contele Tomberonez 🇫🇷 French: Comte Tête-de-Poubelle (bin-head, more accurate than bin-face) 🇮🇹 Italian: Conte Faccia-da-Bidone 🇪🇸 Spanish: "un hombre con un cubo de basura en la cabeza" (!) Cont...

40% of Reform UK voters view Nigel Farage as sleazy For Andy Burnham, Ed Davey, Kemi Badenoch and Zack Polanski, the comparative figure is 13-19% of their respective party’s 2024 voters, rising to 32% for Keir Starmer yougov.com/en-gb/articl...

In which you get to hear me rant about student loans AND argue with @rostaylor.bsky.social about novelty candidates AND reveal Count Binface’s classics-nerd alter ego

Remember the pattern: Boring competent group stage <——— YOU ARE HERE Scrappy second round victory [English Fans start believing they will win the cup] Generally impressive quarter final Heartbreaking Semi Final Defeat Hastily purchased flags torn down Gritted teeth congrats to the Germans

Different but related: even real products by big-name brands are of terrible quality now - clothes, shoes, electrical appliances etc. It's really hard to choose to invest in quality now. The "buy cheap, by twice" maxim doesn't hold when you can buy expensive and still have it fall apart

My cat

"Classics?" they said. "How is that going to be useful unless you're a teacher or work in a museum?" *me 20 years later writing a column analysing Count Binface's assessment of finer points of ancient Athenian democracy* "Take THAT!"

Important update on my love of Pride, the new musical (of the 2014 film) at the National Theatre about gay activists forming an alliance with Welsh miners in the 1980s! I dragged my husband along. He loved it too. So will you. www.newstatesman.com/culture/life...

Makes you proud to be British

In worrying news, the cat seems to have realised that Outside exists out of the front door as well as the back and has decided is obviously (because we keep trying to stop her) FULL OF FUN THINGS FOR CATS* whereas the back door Outside is BORING and POINTLESS. *like cars. Not good.

Surely the BBC, ITV, Sky has to give equal time to the bin.

“Spend a month campaigning with a bin” God bless you British politics

Much more interesting than Farage’s diversionary stunt was Tim Mongomerie telling #wato earlier that Reform is a dictatorship & Farage has been incapable of transitioning from running a fiefdom to prospective PM leading a party of Government.

It was a pleasure to join The Week in Westminster on BBC Radio 4 alongside @rmcunliffe.bsky.social to discuss Andy Burnham's evolving public persona and what happens when a politician's personal brand meets the demands of high office. Thank you to @soniasodha.bsky.social and her team for having me.

I am confused. I thought when Josh Simons quit as an MP to call an unnecessary by-election it was a huge waste of taxpayer funds and an insult to voters?

Jeremy Clarkson now has the chance to do the funniest thing...

CLACTON BY-ELECTION KLAXON Now read Ruth's thread on how, even if Nigel Farage fights and wins a by-election, parliament could still continue its investigation into whether he broke the MPs' Code of Conduct

One of them days before the EU referendum - to which Farage's response was that he got unfair abuse after it

This is... weird. The money Farage received was a "personal gift", akin to a "lottery win"... but it also shows he knows how to "make money" and succeed in business and therefore belongs in government

🧵 Amid all the speculation about Nigel Farage's 2pm statement, it's worth noting paragraph 40 of the Procedural Protocol to the MPs' Code of Conduct. If he announces he's resigning and seeking a by-election, that would not automatically end the investigation into whether he breached the Code in...

So it turns out the "contract" teenagers signed for their student loans wasn't actually a contract at all, the government always had the right to retrospectively change the terms, and at no point was this explained to those taking out the loans... www.newstatesman.com/politics/edu...

I would just like to thank Trump and FIFA for making the World Cup suddenly interesting for all us nerds with no interest in football but an unhealthy obsession with political scandals. It's been a difficult time for us these past two weeks. You've really come through

On this occasion I do in fact have to support this kind of silliness

New from me, and my debut in the I: Why Mary Whitehouse broke Britain. inews.co.uk/opinion/anti...

Wondering if a bit like Boris and partygate, we are reaching the point of "None of this matters until suddenly all of it does".

This is insane

[I didn't write the headline though] [[But I did write the piece. All about Turi Munthe's new(ish) book one why we think what we think and how we can learn to argue better - which I don't entirely agree with but do think is fascinating to consider.]] www.newstatesman.com/internationa...

[I didn't write the headline though] [[But I did write the piece. All about Turi Munthe's new(ish) book one why we think what we think and how we can learn to argue better - which I don't entirely agree with but do think is fascinating to consider.]] www.newstatesman.com/internationa...

Happy Friday to everyone, especially any cats - naming no names - who managed to hunt some new treats my husband left in a bag and then forgot about, disembowel the packet, and eat goodness knows how many before being caught and is now utterly unrepentant

The noise I made on reading the final line was frankly Lovecraftian.

“As I descend the stairs I enter not a museum, but a reconstruction of the festival itself. There are psychedelic posters espousing the values of Nova: ‘Find Your Peace’, ‘Good Vibes’.” The Nova Exhibition is in its final week in London. If you have time, go. www.newstatesman.com/culture/2026...

“As I descend the stairs I enter not a museum, but a reconstruction of the festival itself. There are psychedelic posters espousing the values of Nova: ‘Find Your Peace’, ‘Good Vibes’.” The Nova Exhibition is in its final week in London. If you have time, go. www.newstatesman.com/culture/2026...

What a description

A year on from Louise Casey's "rapid audit" of the grooming gangs scandal, what has actually changed? I spoke to Maggie Oliver who raised the alarm 15 years ago to find out. The answer is maddening. For all the talk of urgency, we are still failing victims www.newstatesman.com/the-weekend-...

Alas, the genius RobotHugs webcomic is no longer online, but thanks to the Wayback Machine I have recovered what I think is the best depiction imaginable of the past week: Summer Cats. Choose your champion. I am Quiet Dark Undercat with a hint of Loooooong Cat

Who grew this cat when I wasn’t looking?!

Almost as darkly ironic as the longevity conference I’ve been at all day, which has no aircon and I swear has lowered the life expectancy of the participants on average by increasing their risk of dying of heat stroke www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Lucky enough to have seen this in Cardiff and at the NT. A stunning adaptation of a phenomenal film. Hits the beats of joy & solidarity of the film while building on bits the film didn't cover in depth: the song about the AIDs crisis is heart-wrenchingly beautiful. The message needed more than ever.

Here’s to you, Mark Ashton www.newstatesman.com/culture/thea...

Aaaand here are my thoughts on Pride - an adaption which is both a perfect musical, and an antidote to today’s politics. The narrative now is that left-behind communities like the Welsh miners have no time or interest for progressive ambitions like LGBT rights www.newstatesman.com/culture/thea...

I feel seen

Not a dry eye in the house for the press night of Pride at the NT. I often complain that too many things get tuned into musicals that shouldn’t. This is not one of those times. Captures the spirit of a moment so perfectly it’s hard to find words, which is unfortunate as I was there to review it

oh my god this is my marriage