This definitely won’t be at all awkward tomorrow. Though it’s possible that he might simply not have heard about anything that’s recently happened in the news.

If FIFA is feeling embarrassment things must be REALLY bad

What we need is for Loreen to release some kind of anti-tariff techno banger

Tuesday at the US Supreme Court could be a massive, massive deal www.reuters.com/world/suprem...

There is both so very much and so very little to say

This is properly, properly brilliant

Excellent thread from @jenwilliamsft.bsky.social on Northern Powerhouse Rail (in its various guises) - do read the whole things- but as a Leeds resident this is the bit that really stands out. There is a lot of skepticism up here about pretty much any major transport announcement

Going to tell people in the South that this is actually what the North looks like

Being away from the little one update: FaceTimed her and she kissed the phone 🥰 😭

Spending a night away from the little one for the very first time. Torn between being excited for an uninterrupted nights’s sleep and wanting to cry because I miss her so much

IFG and @ukandeu.bsky.social joint event klaxon! Trump, UK, Europe and… the state of 2026 already 20 Jan: Former presidential adviser Fiona Hill Former FCDO top official Sir Simon Fraser @anandmenon.bsky.social @alexgathomas.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/trump-...

Much that is astonishing about this story, buti look, if I had the money, I'd send my hypothetical kids to an elite private school. The schools listed are great. The pupils there who need *further* encouragement from a Cambridge college apply...that's who you want to target to *increase* quality?

New to Bluesky? Or just interested in the workings of government in the UK? Check out our @instituteforgovernment.org.uk starter pack here - find all my fantastic colleagues and follow for their insight and analysis go.bsky.app/P7JZCH

For historical reasons- ie the, uh, unpleasantness between crown and Parliament centuries ago- when the monarch goes to Parliament for state opening an MP (usually a govt whip) is ‘held hostage’ (which these days I assume means is given tea and nice biscuits) until the monarch is safely returned

Will be sorry to miss this- it looks great!

Remember: what Trump and his administration are doing is only possible because Congress and the Supreme Court have abdicated their proper constitutional functions of check and balance.

My new year resolutions by Jan 3

As flagged by @fullfact.org, there's an ENTIRELY AI-GENERATED video of a fake UK politician in the House of Commons doing the rounds on TikTok It has more than 5 million views While the original video is flagged as AI, it has been reposted by many other accounts (where it is not labelled as AI)

A reminder for anyone new to Bluesky (or who just wants to follow more policy wonks here) that I've made a starter pack of all the think tanks I've spotted on the platform and the researchers working at them (if you're missing and want adding in let me know!) - go.bsky.app/Geu9Jd8

The US government is now freely killing people at sea, in other lands, and on its own streets. It is difficult to see what more is needed for Congress and the Supreme Court to exercise their constitutional duty to check and balance what is now a rogue state abroad and a gangster state at home.

the trick for being optimistic about the new year was, in retrospect, not to be optimistic about the new year

🧵Sky News has a piece running today about a big increase in written parliamentary questions. @samcoatessky.bsky.social says a senior government source has suggested MPs may be using AI to submit written questions to ministers. news.sky.com/story/number...

Quite a notable contrast between the British PM committing to giving MPs a debate and vote on any deployment of troops to Ukraine; and the president of the United States saying in a press conference this week that his government will be "running" Venezuela, with zero reference to Congress

Got 2 minutes? Tell us how we can improve our yearly deep dive into public services

Crisps should not be eaten before 12pm

And is this in the room with us now?

At some point in the future, everybody will have managed either the Man Utd, Chelsea, or Celtic men's teams

The government is delivering a radical rebalancing of funding towards more deprived councils, writes @stuarthoddinott.bsky.social. Though, with limited funding, it has required the government to make tough decisions about who loses. www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/deli...

Back at my desk and catching up on the R&R news. Here's a classic QTWAIN (or if yes, they'll change their minds again later). Here for Lord Dobbs' sage advice though: Will 2026 be the year MPs and peers agree on how to repair Parliament? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... #WestminsterRR

A thank-you to Chelsea and Man United for really adding to national levels of gaiety at this time

When you do, in fact, have to circle back

There are just a lot of institutions- and individuals who ultimately comprise those institutions- who are failing to meet and have consistently failed to meet the moment.

What exactly the president means by “we’re there” seems like a fairly urgent and important question for Congress to ask

The House Armed Services Committee also was not briefed, I've confirmed.

Non-zero chance that the person who won the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize at the draw for the 2026 men’s football World Cup in Mexico/Canada/the US ends up being the reason said World Cup cannot take place

Away from, er, everything else- was a pleasure to speak to @jessicaelgot.bsky.social for this v interesting piece on what’s been happening in the Lords

Marco Rubio is reportedly saying Maduro will stand trial in US courts. Which means it’s now the US administration’s position that US courts can hold foreign presidents, but not the US president, accountable for crimes.

Completely understand the sentiment here but equally would argue that it’s such sub constitutional technicalities being constantly eroded and not being enforced over a period of time that allows such huge things as this to happen

Big question for Congress as to whether they will care about their own constitutional role (or, indeed, care about anything at all) I fear we already know the answer to that

Took the toddler to Newcastle and showed her the Earl Grey statue but oddly she wasn’t interested in hearing about the 1832 Reform Act. Nor in hearing about why the 1867 and 1884 Reform Acts were arguably more consequential. Tough audience

Absolutely magnificent

Don’t like to brag but I think my biggest achievement of the year is saying the phrases “please put that down” and “that isn’t for eating” and “you don’t need to drop it on the floor” several thousand times to a baby-becoming-a-toddler

Amid some v good initiatives, lots of the longstanding problems with the civil service got worse again in the past year. If the government wants to 'rewire the state' it needs to set out what that means for the workforce. 👇Sneak peek at some of our @instituteforgovernment.org.uk report, out in Jan.

I have found myself attempting to briefly sketch a diagram of the UK's constitutional system and it already feels like a mistake

If West Yorkshire has X plans for a tram, and central government conducts Y reviews into those plans, how many years will it take for Leeds to get a tram? (answer to the nearest century)

Signing off for Christmas with a toddler who has got hold of a box of bread sauce mix and refuses to let go. May your break be happy and healthy and may your strawberry Quality Street (the best ones) be plentiful

The Council for Science & Technology which advises the PM is looking for a new member ‘with social & behavioural science expertise’. Great opportunity to bring a social science perspective to the heart of policymaking. Apply by 19 Jan apply-for-public-appointment.service.gov.uk/roles/9075

Rewiring the state: Is the government making any progress? Join us at Government 2026 on Tuesday 13 Jan to hear @andyburnham.bsky.social, Michael Gove, Rowena Mason @alexgathomas.bsky.social discuss the govt's attempts to reform the civil service www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/govern...

Ok fine I’ll watch Die Hard for the first time (Yes I am in my mid-thirties, shh)

Vandalism that will kill children.