Lots of cats love shoes… but not many quite as much as Mordred.

Very happy to be back on the Parliament Matters podcast, discussing the latest developments on the assisted dying bill with @ruthfox.bsky.social & @matthewengland.bsky.social. Thank you for having me! Listen to the episode here: pod.link/1714627828/e...

He's already on the first- and third-year undergraduate Politics syllabus here at Cambridge, so perhaps we should add him to the second-year syllabus, too? #zombieuniversity #brains

I'm reading John Major's speech to the Scottish CBI, six days before Black Wednesday. It feels slightly mean to do so, even now. johnmajorarchive.org.uk/1992/09/10/m...

Feel like we should bring back the old twitter follow friday to boost good people on here who maybe didn't get an initial boost from the starter packs. So follow @psurridge.bsky.social and @profjanegreen.bsky.social - two excellent and thoughtful political scientists.

An actual quote from the Secretary of State for Business and Trade Too often people go to university to ‘explore research and knowledge’ Look forward to Wes S saying 'too often people go to hospital to have operations' or Heidi Alexander saying 'too often people go to the station to catch a train'

Sacha's interviews highlight the danger of assuming Reform voters with left-coded economic views can be easily won back to Labour. If someone thinks your party is part of a globalist WEF conspiracy to hide the truth about the pyramids, "renationalised railways" won't get them to vote for you...

"Voters may no longer swim in schools, but the parties fish in different ponds."

Me for SEC Newgate News: ‘What was forgivable in opposition, faced with a long-serving and unpopular Conservative administration, is not enough to carry a party through five years in government.’ www.secnewgate.co.uk/our-insights...

It's complicated, as you might expect. The first attempts to introduce a more majoritarian system by referendum preceded Mani Pulite (1991 referendum versus 1992 investigations), but by the time of the 1993 referendum which made electoral reform necessary, the old parties were falling apart

This is useful. Once you correct for differential currencies, the UK is less of a bond yield outlier. The piece (rightly) shies away from making claims on the back of this about "the view" of the "market". But it's useful work that should warn against simplistic cross-national comparisons.

Very useful piece.

This issue looks fantastically rich -- and urgent, given the times in which we live. I can't wait to dive in.

NEW ISSUE: Renewal Vol. 33 No. 2 Published amidst far-right mobilisation and a Reform surge, the new issue of Renewal (guest co-edited by @sachahilhorst.bsky.social) features activists, journalists, and academics analysing the radical right threat and debating how social democrats can respond

Just for the record, I also am withdrawing from the Presidential race

So now No10 Director of Strategy Paul Ovenden has quit over “lurid comments” made about Diane Abbott. Every time I think I could not rate the judgement on display at the top of government any lower, I’m proven wrong.

Barrister cites fictitious case (from ChatGPT). When challenged by Tribunal, uses ChatGPT to confirm the case exists. This does not go well. tribunalsdecisions.service.gov.uk/utiac/2025-u...

Post no one asked for on how to compare bond yields across currencies (more) properly. on.ft.com/48fJTIf

Gordon Brown has joined the debate on QE reserves. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

good that Keir has broken his silence this morning to ... continue posting on a website run by a man who yesterday addressed a far right rally to call for his overthrow, while not in any way addressing said far right rally

I think this is right.

I learnt a lot from @dmk1793.bsky.social talking about the past and present of PR on @ppfideas.bsky.social. I agree that radical uncertainty of electoral outcomes, rather than unfairness, incentivises (established) political parties to consider electoral reform. open.spotify.com/episode/4bSR...

Shot, chaser Young men more likely to vote Green than Reform. Young men second most progressive group of any demographic. Combined right-wing vote barely bigger than Green vote alone for young men

Starmer as it happens hasn't made a public speech outside chamber since mid-July. Hard to think of a PM who has made so little use of the normative power of his office. Unlike eg Cameron who really did think No 10 had the capacity and obligation to attempt to frame debate on all manner of issues

Absolutely !!!insane!!! to me that the UK government, lobby and newspapers litigate at length every minor infraction by the BBC, rival newspapers, or what some random columnist has posted. But all of them just carry on not even commenting about this media owner. He’s not hiding, he’s telling you!

In a showpiece event they have been trailing for weeks, with the added publicity boost of this week's murder in the USA (which was all over British social media) they still couldn't get more numbers than Trans Pride. Not only are they smaller than Palestinian solidarity marches...

Yeah - this is a key part of @colmpm.bsky.social's terrific history of Labour modernisation from 1973 to 1997, 'Futures of Socialism', which I realise means I can exactly date my moment of going 'oh, the Starmer government is going to be a complete disaster' to whenever I read the proof.

This truly is an excellent article. 👇

👇 Keir Starmer doesn’t like it when the departments bring him their disputes to adjudicate, but in a modern state, loads of disputes don’t have a “right“ answer, they just have a trade off that the prime minister has to rule on.

Peter Mandelson and Keir Starmer: a sorry story that begins and ends with the incoherence of the prime minister’s political project www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...

Can you make it to the end of this column?  economist.com/finance-and-...

case in point

In a long list of extraordinary things that have happened today, this strength of this statement by Andy Burnham's new movement is something else. A proper shot across the bows.

Idly wondering about the long-term career prospects of certain advisors to the Tsar. xcancel.com/SamCoatesSky... (I'm not on X anymore so this is how I can access Coates's tweets). news.sky.com/story/no-10-...

Sick of It has been nominated for the British Academy Book Prize!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am such a fan of this prize, that I've alternated between a weird merry dance and 🙀 since I found out. Congratulations to all of the authors on the shortlist www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/british-acad...

yikes

Mandelson is out - leaving Keir Starmer facing questions about his judgement and much else besides. My quick take on his sacking: www.ft.com/content/1487...

Again, I really do have concerns about exactly how Justin Webb is acquiring his knowledge of US politics or what prompted him to make this exact point.

Migration minister Mike Tapp shudders as Peter Mandelson's emails to Epstein are read out to him on BBC Breakfast He says they are "disturbing" but that we should consider Mandelson's statement expressing regret He says the PM retains confidence in him "as far as I know"

He'll have to go (again).

"According to the BBC, seven members of the gang are in “senior positions overseeing [GHF] sites. They include the gang’s leader, Johnny “Taz” Mulford ... He has the numbers 1095 tattooed across his chest – the year that Pope Urban II launched the first Crusade." www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

I'm horrified by the shooting of Charlie Kirk at a college event in Utah. Political violence has no place in our country.

Why Labour’s deputy leadership contest is - and isn’t - significant. Me for SEC Newgate News ⬇️

It has long been known that Mandelson remained close to Epstein even after he was convicted of sex offences. He shouldn't have been appointed in the first place, and it is very clear that the Prime Minister must sack him immediately. We either stand with victims or we don’t.

On time and on budget? Whaaat? Make this man prime minister immediately www.ft.com/content/639a...

Building political capital by appointing Peter Mandelson to a public office

For both normative and 'it makes my job so much harder' reasons, I really think governments shouldn't appoint people where it is really hard to stretch out commentary on what they have done beyond 'obviously he has to resign'.

Well Mandelson's position is completely untenable. It probably was already this morning. Yet again, truly dreadful judgement from the political operation at No. 10.

This is rather unenlightening. The "break promises" option bundles together taxes and borrowing/fiscal rules. These are very different options!

Starmer became unpopular almost immediately after becoming PM but the idea that there was a backlash because he was "too tough on the protests" is nonsense. In late August 18% of people thought govt had been too tough, 44% about right, 26% not tough enough