Burnham: "I believe strongly now we need electoral reform, political reform, the replacement of the House of Lords with an elected senate of the nations and regions" www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

Reform UK have rejected ‘policies involving the rewilding of productive farmland or the destocking of upland farms’, stating they “are not aligned with its principles or objectives”.’ Lest we be in any doubt about how disastrous Farage would be for nature… www.fwi.co.uk/news/reform-...

Great to see this profile of Rethinking Economics, the project to challenge neoclassical economics co-founded over a decade ago by @yuanfenyang.bsky.social, now a Labour MP. I hope its thinking now starts to permeate the Labour government more! www.theguardian.com/environment/...

A great day for cheap power enthusiasts as 5GW of solar comes in at £65/MWh and 1.3GW of onshore wind comes in at £72.24/MWh. Both prices are in £2024 and are below the wholesale price, meaning that these projects will cut costs. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/698a0d...

This follows the record 8.3GW offshore wind secured in the first part of this auction in January www.carbonbrief.org/qa-what-uks-...

BREAKING: UK govt auction secures 4.9GW new solar at £65/MWh and 1.3GW new onshore wind at £72/MWh, 13% and 21% below the price cap respectively. All due online by 2029.

The relieved residents of this terrace in South Wales are some of the first 'climate evacuees' in the UK, but they won't be the last. This piece is right to point to similar communities on the climate frontline in Hemsby in Norfolk & Fairbourne in North Wales: www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

🧵 / To be more serious, one of the advantages of Westminster types taking more than a surface-level interest in elections would be to stop falling for this 'great man theory of elections'.

This is the key point that is lost in so much Westminster bubble talk on net zero. It is popular. It’s hugely popular with Labour’s base and with the progressive voters it needs to vote tactically to defeat Reform. And it’s even popular with Tories who Labour needs not to switch to Reform.

Ossoff: "You're seeing what I'm seeing, right? The president posting about the Obamas like a Klansman."

I do wonder about anyone who thinks McSweeney single-handedly won Labour its majority. They do realise they were up against a catastrophically unpopular government? The 2024 result was very much an underperformance against the fundamentals.

“To put it bluntly, politicians need people they can throw under the bus when necessary. Starmer has no one left to throw, and no shortage of traffic barrelling directly towards him.” www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-m...

With McSweeney now gone and presumably with it his grip on the NEC; with Streeting too close to Mandelson to challenge Starmer, & Rayner still embroiled in tax dispute; how long before another Manchester MP offers their seat for Burnham to run? bsky.app/profile/pipp...

BREAKING: Morgan McSweeney quits as Keir Starmer's chief of staff amid fall-out from the Mandelson scandal

1/2 The "Community Right to Buy" theme is one of the richest (and possibly the only coherent) thread in this government's programme. They should be making much more of community ownership & democratic business models (for community assets like shops & pubs, but also energy, water, & social care).

Remember the controversy when Obama was accused of intervening in UK politics? This is the current US government openly seeking to undermine liberal democracy in Europe.

Interesting poll of Labour members. Starmer 42-30 > Streeting 37-48 < Rayner 37-53 < Burnham (not MP) Least likely contest of all is Starmer-Mahmood: wins 55-17! But if a 2026 contest did happen, my hunch is q.difficult for incumbent to run (without unified ministerial + backbench support).

There's no reason to accept this as normal, though. Much of Starmer and Labour's unpopularity is not misfortune but his own doing. Mandelson was a choice. Consistently pursuing policy positions designed to appeal to people who will not vote for you - and alienating core supporters - is a choice.

Yet this is a government with three years left to run and an enormous Commons majority. For all the problems, there is an enormous opportunity there for someone with the political nous to take it and use it.

Email the General Synod members representing the diocese you live in to add their name in support of the motion! actionnetwork.org/letters/help... 2/2

'The Church of England must use its immense wealth to invest in nature' Wild Card & @deborahmeaden.bsky.social are calling on @churchofengland.org to restore nature on their land… but we need your help! 1/2 youtube.com/shorts/W9ax2...

🔴 BREAKING: Labour Together paid controversial PR firm £30k to investigate journalists who were digging into how its undeclared funding Reporters from Sunday Times, Guardian and other outlets targetted *And* Morgan McSweeney knew about it Full story: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/exclusive-...

Child at the podium: “A woo woo woo.” Mamdani: That’s how I felt when we came up with this plan. Together, we will expand the idea of what is possible in our city—and what sounds and noises we can make at a press conference.

No 10 defies calls to sack Morgan McSweeney over Mandelson appointment www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

‘HOPE IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS,’ EMILY DICKINSON famously wrote, and that often leads to pictures of doves sitting quietly and looking sweet, but what if hope is an albatross that can soar for years without stopping, or an osprey that can haul a thrashing salmon out of rough waters?

Can you find, identify & record 100 wild plants in 2026? BSBI is confident that (with our support) yes, you can! Beginner botanists, will you accept the challenge? Sign up today for #100Plants2026 challenge: bsbi.org/take-part/ac... Check out the webinars & #WildFlowerID help we've prep'd for you!

NEW – Analysis: Clean energy drove more than a third of China’s GDP growth in 2025 | @laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social @belindaschaepe.bsky.social Read here: buff.ly/M7N4yjx

Still reckon they're terrorists, Mr Starmer? www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

The tone of this debate about releasing the Mandelson info is really fascinating. It's become a matter on the sovereignty of parliament itself. Owen Patterson has been mentioned. And Labour MPs are standing firm against the government. Starting to really wonder how Starmer gets through this

The main argument against removing Morgan McSweeney as chief of staff now—at least according to some within Labour I’ve spoken with—is that it means he wouldn’t be around in May, to a sacrificed then over the local election results. It’s not a *great* position for either the PM or McSweeney, is it?

I have never seen anger like this on the Labour benches in private and in public. This is the kind of territory where things can move very fast.

Just recalled the advice Mandelson offered the Labour leadership on how to tackle the decline of nature. www.businessgreen.com/feature/4117...

Voters in focus groups are contrasting Labour’s treatment of Burnham and Mandelson – that’s a dangerous comparison for Starmer. www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

Peter Mandelson is telling the truth on one thing: the idea he was bought for a $4k “bursary” or a $75k gift is ridiculous The real incentive was a post-government payday - one so big he *rejected* a $3–5m-a-year offer And Epstein enabled that payday Here’s the evidence. 🧵

Communities need the power to own environmental assets like rivers, moors & woods. Very grateful to Baroness Freeman and Baroness @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social for tabling these amendments to the Devolution Bill to strengthen community right to buy: bills.parliament.uk/publications...

‘Homes may have to be abandoned’: how #climatecrisis has reshaped Britain’s flood risk - As rivers swell and homes are cut off, scientists say UK winter rainfall is already 20 years ahead of predictions #flooding 2/2 www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...

The Government has today released a disappointing Forever Chemical Action Plan which will leave people and nature exposed to forever chemicals The action plan does not address PFAS emissions at source but instead leans heavily on more monitoring and guidance.

The UK government has finally issued a plan for tackling "forever chemicals". Except the PFAS plan isn't much of a plan — it's a promise of more tests and more consultations later down the line. Doc here lnkd.in/enArqKPs

“Jaywalking is permitted in London. In 1966, the police tried to crack down on it, but gave up after three months.” People walk and cycle on roads by right, people drive under licence. Jaywalking is not a thing in English law and Waymo must not change that. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Definitely seems like they destroyed the country on purpose.

'South Wales council to buy and demolish homes prone to repeated floods caused by climate crisis' As the climate crisis accelerates, more people are going to be forced to move; more settlements abandoned. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

In Wales, support for Reform is plateauing and Labour has collapsed - with enthusiasm for Plaid Cymru and the Greens surging: www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

A critical election for the job security of a certain advisor in Number 10

This is becoming a critical election for control of the left bloc samf.substack.com/p/whats-the-...

My column in the Guardian today on the incoherence, so far, of Labour’s effort to tackle Reform. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Why isn't this a major news story?

With more evidence coming to light of Bannon’s interference in British politics - plotting with Johnson, Rees Mogg and Farage and bigging up Yaxley Lennon while working with Epstein, thought I’d re-up this bylinetimes.com/2025/11/19/d...

This is good. "Perhaps Goodwin was always like this… Or perhaps he… was gradually radicalised by the thing he was studying. Who knows? Who cares? Life is short and we must not squander it wandering in the psychological wastelands of deeply average people." iandunt.substack.com/p/matt-goodw...

Currently the government has said it intends to pick up environmental interests in the regulations and guidance. But it's daft not to also put it on the face of the bill. It seems to have got itself in a real muddle about what ACVs are supposed to be for.