Nick Cohen
@nickcohen.bsky.social
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British journalist and author Read me on Substack
https://nickcohen.substack.com/
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cohen.substack.com
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Writing from London | Nick Cohen | Substack
Politics and culture from the UK and beyond by Nick Cohen. Click to read Writing from London, by Nick Cohen, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.
https://nickcohen.substack.com
2 months ago
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“Farage and the Tory right will destroy the UK” Interview with historian James Hawes on how English extremism is inciting Scottish and Welsh nationalism and bringing the reunification of Ireland ever nearer.
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English right-wing extremism will destroy the UK
Tories, Ireland and the ironies of history
https://open.substack.com/pub/nickcohen/p/english-right-wing-extremism-will?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
1 day ago
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Ben Ansell
about 23 hours ago
The thing about weaponised interdependence is that other people, including your allies, might try and escape it, even if you don’t actually weaponise it.
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UK bank bosses plan to set up Visa and Mastercard alternative amid Trump fears
Exclusive: First meeting to be held over domestic payments system aimed at reducing reliance on US networks
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/feb/16/uk-bank-bosses-plan-visa-mastercard-alternative
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Dorian Lynskey
1 day ago
Reform could potentially win the floating protest voters but lose its far right base to Restore and thus lose the election for being insufficiently racist
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“Farage and the Tory right will destroy the UK” Interview with historian James Hawes on how English extremism is inciting Scottish and Welsh nationalism and bringing the reunification of Ireland ever nearer.
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English right-wing extremism will destroy the UK
Tories, Ireland and the ironies of history
https://open.substack.com/pub/nickcohen/p/english-right-wing-extremism-will?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
1 day ago
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Byline Times
1 day ago
The messages between the far-right former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein reveal how Bannon worked with Boris Johnson and Farage to “overthrow” Theresa May at the height of the 2018 Brexit crisis in the UK
bylinetimes.com/2026/02/16/b...
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Bannon, Epstein, Farage and Johnson and the Plot to 'Topple' Theresa May
The far-right former Trump adviser told Jeffrey Epstein that "we are overthrowing May right now" as he worked with Boris Johnson to remove the then Conservative Prime Minister from office
https://bylinetimes.com/2026/02/16/bannon-epstein-farage-and-johnson-and-the-plot-to-topple-theresa-may/
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Orban’s Hungarian autocracy inspires Trump’s America Today Marco Rubio is paying court to Viktor Orban – the greatest enemy of press freedom in modern Europe, Piece from me on the emptiness of conservatives’ commitment to free speech
nickcohen.substack.com/p/trump-and-...
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Trump and Rubio praise Orbán: the godfather of Western corruption
And copy his attacks on free speech and press freedom
https://nickcohen.substack.com/p/trump-and-rubio-praise-orban-the
2 days ago
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Tom Scott
2 days ago
2/
@jamesbloodworth.bsky.social
's piece on Goodwin for Prospect is excellent & identfies what looks to be his driving motivation. Standing in Gorton & Denton may well prove more humiliating than he hopes.
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/philos...
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"Sources close to" Bob Borsley
1 day ago
Good piece by
@nickcohen.bsky.social
on the corrupt Putin-aligned autocracy that Trump, Rubio and their fans would like the rest of Europe to emulate:
open.substack.com/pub/nickcohe...
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Trump and Rubio praise Orbán: the godfather of Western corruption
And copy his attacks on free speech and press freedom
https://open.substack.com/pub/nickcohen/p/trump-and-rubio-praise-orban-the?r=20gqnr&utm_medium=ios
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2 days ago
Hungary is the size of Indiana, with the population of London. The population of Hungary is declining as young people leave, people keep dying, and couples decline to have children despite government incentives. 2014-2025 saw emigration increase under Orban and his collaborators.
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Caroline Russell
2 days ago
Politics London discussing driverless taxis casually referring to “jaywalking pedestrians”. Jaywalking is not a thing in UK law. Transport for London and Government had better not be asleep at the wheel on this.
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Anthony Painter
2 days ago
Two-dimensional piece on AI adoption from Sunak. Basically, adopt or die. Inject it into every nook and cranny of the public sector and people will love it, you'll see. This is a recipe for corporate welfare rather than public good.
www.thetimes.com/business/com...
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Rishi Sunak: Every CEO is talking about AI — why aren’t our leaders?
Britain will become a tourist theme park if we don’t fix our productivity problem — Keir Starmer has an opportunity to solve it with technology
https://www.thetimes.com/business/companies-markets/article/rishi-sunak-ai-keir-starmer-5rdfwjq6n
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Chris Dillow
2 days ago
New substack: politics is not about cosy debates or soundbites on silly TV shows. It’s about conflicts of interest.
chrisdillow.substack.com/p/economic-g...
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Economic growth as social change
Raising economic growth requires the government to defeat some vested interests.
https://chrisdillow.substack.com/p/economic-growth-as-social-change
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Orban’s Hungarian autocracy inspires Trump’s America Today Marco Rubio is paying court to Viktor Orban – the greatest enemy of press freedom in modern Europe, Piece from me on the emptiness of conservatives’ commitment to free speech
nickcohen.substack.com/p/trump-and-...
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Trump and Rubio praise Orbán: the godfather of Western corruption
And copy his attacks on free speech and press freedom
https://nickcohen.substack.com/p/trump-and-rubio-praise-orban-the
2 days ago
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Darth Putin
3 days ago
OTD in 2022 George Galloway released one of the absolute, all-time classics. He has yet to delete it, show humility, or confirm/deny if this means he in fact being paid to act like an idiot, or if he just does it free.
#JustAskingQuestions
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Tim Bale
3 days ago
I never really sign stuff. But this was different. It's not about trying to facilitate or block a particular party's route to power. It's about an electoral system that's unsuited to the political realities we face today and risks giving us government after government with no convincing mandate.
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Over 50 Academics Warn That Voting System Is Not Fit For Multi-Party Politics
Dozens of academics have written to the government to warn that the current voting system risks producing distorted results on an 'unprecedented' s...
https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/academics-warn-voting-system-not-fit-multi-party-politics
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James Austin
4 days ago
Fuck, quite frankly, Farage. Sprouting Putin's lines vertabin
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I had a wide-ranging and tough-minded interview with Ben Cohen of the Banter in Washington on the fate of Keir Starmer after the Epstein crisis
nickcohen.substack.com/p/live-with-...
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Live with Nick Cohen!: Is Keir Starmer Finished After Epstein Revelation?!
A recording from Nick Cohen and Ben Cohen's live video
https://nickcohen.substack.com/p/live-with-nick-cohen-is-keir-starmer
4 days ago
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I had a wide-ranging and tough-minded interview with Ben Cohen of the Banter in Washington on the fate of Keir Starmer after the Epstein crisis
nickcohen.substack.com/p/live-with-...
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Live with Nick Cohen!: Is Keir Starmer Finished After Epstein Revelation?!
A recording from Nick Cohen and Ben Cohen's live video
https://nickcohen.substack.com/p/live-with-nick-cohen-is-keir-starmer
4 days ago
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The Epstein network: Sex, moles and Mandelson Piece from me on how the Epstein worked like a spy master to infiltrate banks and governments
comment.press/eppy1202
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The Epstein network: Sex, moles and Mandelson
How to corrupt the system
https://comment.press/eppy1202
5 days ago
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The Epstein network: Sex, moles and Mandelson Piece from me on how the Epstein worked like a spy master to infiltrate banks and governments
comment.press/eppy1202
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The Epstein network: Sex, moles and Mandelson
How to corrupt the system
https://comment.press/eppy1202
5 days ago
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays)
6 days ago
It would be good for GM Mayor Andy Burnham to challenge Jim Ratcliffe's false numbers and ugly language
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays)
6 days ago
Manchester Utd owner is giving media interviews claiming UK "colonised" by immigrants He thinks population rose 12 million snce 2020! 11 million people born abroad; this was 9.5 million in 2020, so that is up 1.5 million (not 12 million) but rose 7 million in 30 years from 4m before 1997
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Jeremy Cliffe
6 days ago
Today, the NPP published the Hungarian political scientist Zsuzsanna Végh on the foreign policies of Tisza, the opposition party challenging Viktor Orbán's authoritarian rule at the election there in April. It includes exclusive new polling of Tisza and Fidesz supporters.
ecfr.eu/article/tisz...
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Tisza’s foreign policy offer: Plans for a post-Orban Hungary    – European Council on Foreign Relations
After nearly 16 years of Fidesz rule, the centre-right Tisza party stands a chance of winning Hungary’s April election. Under their rule, Budapest would work wi
https://ecfr.eu/article/tiszas-foreign-policy-offer-plans-for-a-post-orban-hungary/
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Ian Dunt
6 days ago
It is so embarrassing that it has taken nearly a decade for a British minister to say this, a statement of the absolute bloody obvious
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Arthur Snell
6 days ago
Brilliant an disturbing reporting from
@sianushka.bsky.social
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Elizabeth Taylor
7 days ago
This convo has been had so many times but it’s worth repeating - most left wing people in 2026 are progressives who aren’t keen on things like Reformy style immigration policies or cuts to welfare for disabled ppl. They aren’t checking state spending rates in their analysis of left vs right
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Resolution Foundation
6 days ago
An 11 ppt swing from mortgagers to renters over the 3 decades since 1995 means that 8.6 million people in lower-income families rent from a private landlord. These people spend on average 43 per cent of their total household budget on rent. Read Unsung Britain now ⤵️
buff.ly/7WcqrbQ
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Glen O'Hara
7 days ago
This is what we're up against. Bangor University, that fine and noble institution where I've spoken twice, nearly 150 years young and still going strong. The sheer hatred they reserve for us shows what could happen after 2029, but also that they're frightened of knowledge and learning.
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Dr Emma L Briant
8 days ago
"They won’t like me saying it, but for Labour to save the country, it must embrace its inner hippy."
@nickcohen.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/nickcohe...
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Keir Starmer’s electoral suicide – and how to fix it
Labour must abandon its “punch a hippy” strategy
https://open.substack.com/pub/nickcohen/p/keir-starmers-electoral-suicide-and?r=97fyx&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay
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McSweeney and Starmer’s epic failure. Piece and podcast with Labour thinker John McTernan on how Labour’s crazy determination to punch its natural supporters has opened the door for the far right
nickcohen.substack.com/p/keir-starm...
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Keir Starmer’s electoral suicide – and how to fix it
Labour must abandon its “punch a hippy” strategy
https://nickcohen.substack.com/p/keir-starmers-electoral-suicide-and
8 days ago
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McSweeney and Starmer’s epic failure. Piece and podcast with Labour thinker John McTernan on how Labour’s crazy determination to punch its natural supporters has opened the door for the far right
nickcohen.substack.com/p/keir-starm...
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Keir Starmer’s electoral suicide – and how to fix it
Labour must abandon its “punch a hippy” strategy
https://nickcohen.substack.com/p/keir-starmers-electoral-suicide-and
8 days ago
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Nick Cohen
Glen O'Hara
11 days ago
In case you missed it earlier, my NEW BOOK on the Blair years has arrived! It seems crass to promote it given everything that's happening, but I think it's a fair and balanced take. Here's a non-Amazon link where you can pick up a copy:
www.waterstones.com/book/new-lab...
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You don’t need to believe the conspiracy theory that Epstein was providing kompromat to the Russians. What we know for sure about Mandelson, Trump and the plutocracy is already bad enough Piece from me
comment.press/eppy0206
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We don’t need the Putin-Epstein conspiracy theory…
…What we already know is bad enough
https://comment.press/eppy0206
10 days ago
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Dr Emma L Briant
3 months ago
NEW: My Udemy course 'Propaganda & Disinformation for Beginners' has helped students in 26 countries worldwide strengthen their armour against disinformation since it launched 2 years ago. Techniques Cambridge Analytica used to secretly profile millions have become a vastly profitable industry.. /1
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Alexander Clarkson
9 days ago
After a certain point the sanity of Palantir's leadership does matter to the national security of the UK and other European states buying its software
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Duncan Robinson
12 days ago
What is the point of Keir Starmer staying as prime minister?
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Dr Robert Davis
10 days ago
We don’t need the Putin-Epstein conspiracy theory…
open.substack.com/pub/nickcohe...
(Epstein said:)“Brexit, just the beginning.” Thiel replied: “Of what?” To which Epstein replied: “Return to tribalism, counter to globalisation, amazing new alliances.” HT
@nickcohen.bsky.social
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We don’t need the Putin-Epstein conspiracy theory…
…What we already know is bad enough
https://open.substack.com/pub/nickcohen/p/we-dont-need-the-putin-epstein-conspiracy?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
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You don’t need to believe the conspiracy theory that Epstein was providing kompromat to the Russians. What we know for sure about Mandelson, Trump and the plutocracy is already bad enough Piece from me
comment.press/eppy0206
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We don’t need the Putin-Epstein conspiracy theory…
…What we already know is bad enough
https://comment.press/eppy0206
10 days ago
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“If Russia was spending heavily to influence the Brexit referendum, then it was money well spent.” Devastating interview with Mark Urban, formerly of the BBC, on how an isolated UK cannot cope with Trump and Putin
comment.press/uk020226
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Britain Alone: Isolated from the EU, bullied by the US
The Lowdown with Mark Urban
https://comment.press/uk020226
15 days ago
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Greg Sargent
11 days ago
Trump's FBI raid in Georgia is potential model for getting search warrant to seize 2026 ballot boxes, says
@rickhasen.bsky.social
. "Once those ballots are out of control of election officials we’ve lost chain of custody." On the pod Rick illuminatingly explains all:
newrepublic.com/article/2062...
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Trump Press Sec Snaps at Media as Spin on Threat to Rig 2026 Goes Awry
After Trump called for Republicans to “nationalize” the midterms, Karoline Leavitt struggled to spin it away. We talked to an election law expert who explains the nightmare scenarios we should fear t...
https://newrepublic.com/article/206228/trump-press-sec-snaps-media-spin-threat-rig-2026-goes-awry
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Matthew Holehouse
11 days ago
Starmer's reported condition - incredibly unpopular, shorn of authority, probably un-reelectable and yet will stagger on for want of an alternative - is just the new normal of how Britain is governed. It was also true for two-thirds of May's premiership, half of Johnson's and all of Sunak's.
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Peter Stefanovic
11 days ago
“The combined tuition fees of the entire Question Time panel would not cover my cost for 1 year of uni. Is that fair?” Oli Dugmore It’s absolutely NOT fair. This outrageous scandal must end
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James Austin
11 days ago
We should be clear: Reform are the quisling's party and just a extension of Trump. This should be everywhere
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“Activists destroy the arts” Piece from me on how the liquidation of Glasgow’s Centre for Contemporary Art shows how activists can sabotage the institutions they depend on. If you want to see the cultural discontents of our time in miniature, look no further than Glasgow
comment.press/arts0502
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Activism destroys the arts
John Henry Fuseli - The Nightmare
https://comment.press/arts0502
12 days ago
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Giles Wilkes
11 days ago
Theory, serious, developed listening to Unhedged: price of bitcoin matters to the real equity market because it signals to proper traders what the supply of idiots, fools and dumbasses is looking like: when it falls, the supply of greater fools on which all manias rely is weakening
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Will Jennings📉🗳️
11 days ago
My first-past-the-post system, it's very sick...
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PJ Holden
11 days ago
Bezos burning the Washington post to the ground is as firm a reason for the continued bbc licence as ever there was. Eventually everything that can be owned by a billionaire will be owned by a billionaire and at that point its future will be determined by the whims of a man making 166k per minute.
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"Sources close to" Bob Borsley
12 days ago
And anyone who wants some understanding of his linguistics should take a look of Geoff Pullum's review of a relevant book (also reommended by Oliver Kamm):
www.nationalreview.com/magazine/202...
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Chomsky’s Forever War | National Review
A review of The Linguistics Wars: Chomsky, Lakoff, and the Battle over Deep Structure, second edition, by Randy Allen Harris.
https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2022/03/07/chomskys-forever-war/
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"Sources close to" Bob Borsley
12 days ago
With Chomsky in the news because of his links with Epstein, anyone who wants some understanding of his politics should take a look at chapter 6 of What's Left?: How Liberals Lost Their Way by
@nickcohen.bsky.social
:
amzn.eu/d/01zonCKW
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What's Left?: How Liberals Lost Their Way eBook : Cohen, Nick: Amazon.co.uk: Books
What's Left?: How Liberals Lost Their Way eBook : Cohen, Nick: Amazon.co.uk: Books
https://amzn.eu/d/01zonCKW
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