“The MOD wastes money hand over fist. We need to give it more money.” www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

‘If Burnham wants to “beat Reform”, he could point out that Farage wants to chain us to the fossil fuel market, with all the wonderful results for “cost of living” and “national security” we see around us – along with the little matter of heating the planet.’

“The most persuasive narratives on climate were not transactional arguments about jobs or bills, but simple, values-driven stories rooted in our shared future: ‘global leadership’, ‘climate impacts’ and ‘future generations’.”

Watching the Commons debate on CB7, it's clear that Claire Coutinho is modelling her parliamentary style on her leader's. That's not a compliment.

As retired generals call loudly for an indiscriminate rise in defence spending as a proportion of GDP, do listen to this podcast from @steverichards.bsky.social. The argument isn't cut & dried - in fact, we've hardly had the argument. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/w...

Good report on extreme heat on the World at One, but I wish it had joined the dots. Tomorrow, the Conservatives & Reform are set to vote against meaningful action to combat climate change! Worth mentioning? #WATO

At which, on the eve of a Met Office red extreme heat warning, Mrs Badenoch will explain why it is responsible citizenship to reverse all meaningful climate action.

Very good statement. I wonder how long it will be before PM Keir is missed?

Essential thread. I hope (against hope) that it will be read by lobby journalists, union leaders, prospective prime ministers etc. Net zero really isn’t the cause of all our ills; rather, it’s the solution to some of them!

This is flat wrong from Unite. It’s just not true there’s been ‘almost no thought for jobs, skills and national security’. There’s been a huge amount of thought on all these issues and a decision has been made that jobs, skills, and security all benefit from a faster clean energy transition.

There's the normal quota of terrible articles in today's Sunday Times (eg Jason Cowley on "the cult of net zero" - yawn!) but Rishi Sunak's is genuinely interesting. "Burnham has one chance to argue that the world has changed & so must the government’s approach." www.thetimes.com/business/eco...

The idea that the Aberdeen by-election was a meaningful referendum on North Sea oil & gas (Kemi Badenoch, the discussion on R4’s The Week in Westminster) is bonkers. It was *Aberdeen*!

Listening to Andy Burnham today I worry that he’s fallen into the trap of all recent party leaders: suggesting that noticeable, positive change is easy to achieve. It isn’t.

RIP Roy Hattersley. His memoirs are the funniest, least pompous & shortest I have read by a politician. And “Choose Freedom: the future for democratic socialism” is also well worth reading, though it’s probably too dangerously left-wing for these times.

Great news, well done @laurenedwardsmp.bsky.social!

If this Sunday Times story is true, it's very bad news for the UK's credibility as a climate leader, for consumers & for the long term future of the UK car industry. The world is going electric & the UK needs to ensure it's not left behind.

Fascinating discussion but it made me think the main issue is not the money, it’s sorting out defence priorities (we can’t do everything) & procurement. We also need to be clearer on what exactly is the threat from Russia, economically weakened & mired in a long war it seems unable to win.

Anna Foster on #r4today says the defence sector is calling for more investment in defence. There’s a surprise.

I’m sorry the government is losing John Healey, but I don’t understand why the government made a fetish of a single figure for military spending rather than aiming for, say, better defence & better defence spending)ie less waste).

The World at One asks what can be done about Elon Musk stirring up division. How about getting off X, which has become a platform for promoting fascism in the UK and beyond. The same should apply to the BBC and other institutions. #WATO

"Mandelson files reveal Labour party is riddled with doubts and infighting." Has there ever been a government in British history not "riddled with doubts and infighting"? www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

I don’t think Labour having debates it should have had years ago amounts to the party ripping itself apart. As for Tony Blair, he’s hardly Labour these days. That doesn’t mean he or his funders should be ignored, they have a legitimate point of view. But he’s a bit grand for mere party politics.

One of the many depressing things about Tony Blair's recent essay was his evidence-free attack on the government's climate policies. It's good to read Keir Starmer's response. "Investing in clean British energy strengthens our agency..." keirstarmer.substack.com/p/tony-blair...

Do listen to Daniel Levy on today's #wato, about 30 minutes in - a blistering analysis of what Netanyahu's government is doing in Gaza and the West Bank & how the world is looking the other way. (Not the main point, but it's also yet another reason to doubt Tony Blair's judgement...)

In fairness to Blair in the full essay he doesn’t say ‘abandon net zero’, it’s just more of the same talk we’ve seen from TBI about slowing the pace of the transition and allowing more oil and gas production.

I hope Nick Robinson is going to ask Tony Blair who funds the Tony Blair Institute. All his prescriptions would benefit his funders. That doesn't mean that he's paid to say them, it's more complicated than that, but funding is relevant. #r4today

"A period of silence from you would now be welcome, Tony." (And, top tip, if you want to attack climate action, again, don't pick a day of record breaking temperatures.) www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

'She pointed out that... now the country was "importing from Russia instead of drilling in the North Sea".' Kemi Badenoch says she's honest & serious & tells it like it is. It's an attractive pitch but on climate & energy, she's neither honest nor serious. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

On this slow news day, hold the front page! I’m delighted to be joining the LCEF board. In all the (often excessive) gloom about Labour’s time in government it’s worth celebrating its good record on climate, energy & many aspects of the natural environment. Now let’s crack on & go further & faster.

So interesting to hear Justin Webb and Katya Adler's views on the European reset. Inevitably, they don't think it's up to much. #r4today

This must be deeply embarrassing to the many green Tories out there. To paraphrase Clement Attlee, "the words you read are from the Conservative Party, but the thoughts are those of Reform UK". Forward to the 1980s!

"I don't like to have the last word in an interview", says Nick Robinson on #Today. Perhaps the biggest news of the morning so far.

I understand Labour MPs wanting a change in leadership, & no one should tell the electorate it’s wrong. But talking up their own government’s mistakes & accusing it of “failure” is a dangerous game. If Labour MPs think the government’s been rubbish, why should anyone else think differently?

This is an excellent book, a plea from a distinguished Holocaust scholar “not to accept the logic of the fanatics & the extremists, who keep seeking the destruction of the other”. You can support the state of Israel while utterly condemning the actions of the current Israeli government.

This is a first on my regular evening walk.

“We need to heed the anger, not feed the anger.” Well said Eluned Morgan.

My heart sinks to hear Zack Polanski on #r5live say the battle is now between the Greens & Reform. Both parties play an important role in pulling politics in their direction, but has there ever been a populist government that's improved people's lives in the long term? Beware easy answers!

Happy birthday Sir David. On the day after polling day, let’s join the dots between his status a a national treasure who speaks out on climate change )based on deep knowledge), & Reform’s climate denialism & the Conservatives’ determination to trash their legacy on climate action.

Kemi Badenoch & Nick Robinson say the Conservatives want to scrap "net zero targets". What they mean is that the Tories want to scrap climate action & end UK climate leadership. You can't be good on the environment unless you're also good on climate. #r4today

Recommended: "I'm opposed to indiscriminate increases & then working out how it's going to be spent." There are many good points in the podcast. I'd also ask what we're defending - the Indian Ocean, Cyprus, Gibraltar, the Falklands?... We need an affordable, post-imperial defence policy.

What a terrible summary on @bbc5live.bsky.social 6 o’clock news of why the assisted dying bill fell. The bill might have had flaws, but that’s not why it fell. The Lords could have addressed them & tried to improve it. Instead, unelected peers set out to sabotage it. #Shameful

Nick Robinson really is a terrible interviewer, far keener to get his views across & get a gotcha moment than in listening to what his interviewees have to say. #r4today

How did oil and gas nan Nick Butler come to be the Prof #r4today turns to for commentary on drilling for more oil and gas?

The question should be, what forces do we need as a relatively small, post-imperial power, & where should we deploy them? We can't afford to do everything (including maintain costly, US-dependent nuclear weapons) & operate everywhere (the Med, the Indian Ocean...). tinyurl.com/mn9cx9mm

If it’s such a ‘gold mine’ why did the 14 year period of the last Conservative government, throughout which it pursued a policy of issuing licenses and maximising oil and gas production, end up being defined by austerity and the worst wage growth since the Napoleonic era?

When it comes to the energy transition I'm a glass half full person. I know: plenty of people would say that's terribly naive. They point to the scale of the challenge. They point to vested interests. They point to hard-to-abate sectors. And they're not wrong. But here's what they miss. 🧵

From @patrickwintour.bsky.social - this just about what Trump has achieved through his war.

The UK Government could be aiding and abetting US war crimes. While remaining silent on the legality of the war is bad, assisting another state to commit international crimes could be leading to individual criminal responsibility of those in charge.

Trump: “happy Easter, we had a great Easter, this is one of our better Easters, I think, in a lot of different ways. I can say, militarily it’s been one of the best.” Blessed are the war makers.

Once again, the enthusiasm of #r4today for fossil fuels & scepticism about renewables (“to move to renewables can take decades to put in place”, says Anna Foster) is striking.