Quite apart from the obvious, MMA (not 'UFC', that's a league not a sport) is made up of: Boxing (British), Catch Wrestling (British), Brazilian Ju-Jitsu (Brazilian & Japanese), Greco-Roman Wrestling (French, ironically), Judo (Japanese) and half a hundred other styles from across the globe.

To add to John's point here, traditional conservatism has always had a streak of pragmatism that kept it successful & relevant. A clear eyed look at the long term trajectory of the British economy shows that as an ageing society, the welfare budget is going to rise and that will need to be funded.

Having read the replies OP is responding to, I'm going to be real here and say that if you genuinely think that Britain giving up its legal (but more importantly *moral*) commitments to defend our allies in Eastern Europe is a good thing, then you are not a progressive of any kind.

Very good article here, in fact I wish it was less about this specific US senate election and more about the broader issue of populist antifeminism on the online left. It is especially entrenched in the US, but you do see it elsewhere as well, and @quinnae.com skewers its contradictions nicely.

I think this is true in general, but then again some of the best regarded eras of the show do centre the doctor quite a lot (JNT did it with the 7th Doctor, RTD with the 10th Doctor and Moffat with the 11th Doctor). There's definitely an issue with diminishing returns, but it can be done well.

Big big news here for Doctor Who. Not only is Christmas special not happening, but the BBC is putting the show up for tender. This is the best outcome IMO, Dr Who desperately needs new blood and a new perspective if it is to remain relevant.

This genuinely makes me proud to be British.

I am *very* happy to announce that have been made the new Policy & Public Affairs Manager at the National Council of Voluntary Organisations! (@ncvo.bsky.social) Ending my freelance work means that I will be posting here less than I have in the past, but I'm sure I'll still be around here & there.

King Charles hosts Zelenskyy.

@samfr.bsky.social has a nice run down of evidence that points uniformly to Britain being one of the most successful at integrating migrants from different ethnic groups in various ways. It can sometimes feel like our press actively conspire to make things worse. samf.substack.com/p/the-truth-...

This is *such* a consistent feature of living in the UK - the actual day to day experience of people in this country is so much nicer than what the press or our leadership cadre would have you think - it is remarkable in a somewhat destabilising fashion just how stark the difference is.

What gets me about Morris' statement here is that 'mired [in] illegality, punchdrunk, bedraggled, and can't limp on in government' could easily have been a description of the UK-wide Tory party in early 2022. And yet they still managed to eke out another two years in government.

I still need to get around to writing it, but I think there's a decent amount of mileage in my thesis that 'Englishness' is an cultural identity (and a very contested one across e.g. North vs South), while 'Britishness' is a more unifying, outward facing and political identity.

I think the problem with going "Oh but there's never been a debate over the definition of Englishness and Britishness" is 1) there has been 2) it's a well studied debate 3) We literally teach undergraduates about it

Oh, I know this one, it's literally anybody else.

I've talked before about the yellowing (orangeing?) of traditionally conservative minded institutions (consulting, law, classics), and this is the result. When the most right wing person most people under 40 know is a Liberal Reform type Lib Dem, there is just no social base there for the right.

I know I'm not the first person to point this out, but it's the abusive relationship dynamic. 'If you ever try to leave I'll hurt you' is widely accepted as a terrible and abusive thing to say in a relationship, but then when it comes to international relations it's suddenly pragmatic and sensible.

The experience of watching any nature documentary is basically going ‘aww’ and then thirty seconds later going ‘oh no’ in a constant loop

The right wing vote being so heavily tied to age is one of those things that you'd think would be a major cause of alarm on the right. Instead they just...don't seem to think it's an issue?

During russia's attack on Kyiv on June 2, Veronika, a mother of two was killed while running with her children to a shelter. Her sons, aged 2 and 4, were taken to Okhmatdyt children's hospital. The mother did everything she could to save her children. She did not survive. 💔 Source: Suspilne, TSN.

Henry Nowak’s father’s words outside court, who is probably the person we most need to hear from today.

Genuinely I think Games Workshop is a load bearing pillar of male British (arguably global) culture at this point. Want something to do offline on a rainy day? Want complicated lore to argue about online? Want an excuse to go out and interact with other men? Warhammer has you covered.

"after years in prison for turning a child into a blueberry"

Alan Turing, one of Britain’s most renowned humanists, was a visionary whose genius helped the Allies win WWII. Yet despite his extraordinary contributions, he faced horrific treatment at home – persecuted for being gay and subjected to chemical castration. #PrideMonth

This reminds me of the debate about whether a war film can ever *truly* be anti-war, or if the nature of depicting war inherently glamourises it. The 2022 version of All Quiet on the Western Front is probably the most 'anti' war film I've seen, but even then it still has its moments.

One interesting parallel between the early 21st and early 19th centuries is a broadly 'left' movement that is opposed to high levels of taxation. This worked for the Whigs, I am less sure it will work for us.

I think modern UFC style MMA (as a spectacle, not as a sport) is probably the closest thing to a major right populist artistic movement. Old school 90s/early 2000s MMA had a populist edge but was too focused on the actual skills of the combatants to be truly populist.

UK politics is SOOOO febrile right now. Farage under pressure about £5m plus Reform flailing around in Makerfield. Polanski stepping on an endless series of social media rakes. The current PM going through the motions like a doomed Chelsea manager. No idea what polling will be like in six months...

This is quite possibly the most impressive thing I've ever seen. Scaling a tree with no rope, no harness and no helmet, just a hammer and a bag of nails. Then cutting open a wild hive, collecting the honey while balancing over a god knows how many ft drop. Absolutely terrifying to watch, 10/10.

Good to see our Liberal party stepping up here. It is clear that the new EHRC code is bad for trans people, bad for businesses and bad for anyone who does not conform to gender norms. It provides no legal clarity, and runs counter to the British traditions of tolerance and individual rights.

So these are the people who stopped me getting a pint anywhere in Soho past 1am except the Albert Schloss! Soho is going to lose its reputation for nightlife pretty soon if this keeps up, the fact that even clubs have to close at 1am is madness.

Bound for Glory - Black Star Riders

It is great to see the absolutely cratering numbers of lung cancer patients across the developed world. And I am very proud that we at the APPG for Respiratory Health played our small part in helping that happen. www.appg-respiratory.co.uk/sites/appg/f...

A fascinating article here summarising (as yet unpublished) research into the genetic lineages of Britain. It suggests that there was significant diversity even before the Romans came (and interestingly they had little impact on the genetic heritage of Britain).

Ah yes *Bread*, that well known food of toffs and elites.

The lady opposite me on the train was reading this. To be fair she was only on the first chapter.

The Greens and Lib Dems officially went into coalition in Southwark yesterday - the council homes portfolio is going to Reginald Popoola, interesting to see his views, moving away from a developer-led model. It will be interesting to see what this translates to in reality >

Excellent article here by Chaminda, explaining how the number of households that are fully supported by housing benefit has cratered since the Local Housing Allowance freeze. It's a topic you don't here much about in general, so it's good to see it covered by a specialist.

Good example of a genuine editorial line emerging on X. The argument that platforms should not be held accountable for content posted there breaks down if the platform itself starts picking winners and losers (especially if it's done by the platform's CEO).

FWIW I agree with Burnham here. You can get away with a lot of constitutional change without a direct mandate (as New Labour showed). But a change to the GE voting system is perhaps the most important form of constitutional change there is, and you really *cannot* have it be seen as illegitimate.

This combined with @anooshc.bsky.social's NS article pointing out that the highest rate of NEETs are in deprived areas like Blackpool bolsters my assumption that this is a two pronged issue, one about lack of access to jobs and one about a decline in mental health. Neither is an easy fix.

It does say something about how far our politics is running behind the unpopularity of Brexit that Reform's own candidate in Makerfield thinks it was a terrible idea. It's partly a story about Reform's vetting failure, but also how the ocean liner of public opinion is starting to turn in earnest.

Damn! I wish I'd thought of that lol. I'd go for: The Woke is Not Enough

This honestly looks so cool, the colour scheme here looks better than in the original poster! It's also just a funny complaint in itself given how Bond is obviously going to have to be reinvented for a new generation, and indeed has already been about half a dozen times at this point.

A livestream of a volcano in the Philippines captured a meteor crashing to Earth today. What are the odds? Mayon Volcano, Location: Albay, Luzon, Philippines

Second is Dragon's Dogma by Capcom Release Year: 2012 Genre: Action RPG Replay length: 50hrs A well known cult RPG of the 2010s, Dragon's Dogma places you in the role of the Arisen, a fisherman plucked from obscurity when a Dragon steals your heart and forces you on a perilous quest to reclaim it.

Positives: Combat - DD has some of the best combat in any action RPG ever, every boss fight is a treat Class Variety - The Arisen has access to 9 different classes that are all interesting and viable Pawns - A unique idea that allows for desynchronous multiplayer & almost endless party building

Negatives: Narrative - What story there is stops being interesting or relevant very quickly, only returning at the very end Visual Design - The overall look of the game is fairly bland and generic Wordbuilding - The world of Gransys is standard European fantasy, with very little unique about it

Final Thoughts: Dragon's Dogma feels more like a tech demo than an actual game, which is a shame because the last few hours show that the developers had an interesting vision for their story, it just never develops. The combat alone saves it from mediocrity, but only just. Final Score: 6/10

It's particularly mad because even in the event that Farage does keel over tomorrow, that doesn't mean the right will just forgive the Tories. Farage only surged the way he did because their failure gave him an opening, it's not going to be 2019 all over again just because!