I interviewed Operation Black Vote founder Lord Woolley for the New Statesman. We talked about his childhood, the hustle, racism and his role as Principal of Homerton College: www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

“Keir Starmer’s raid on overseas aid has led to a 40% cut in funds for countering Russian aggression and misinformation in a region of Europe described by the prime minister as vital to the UK’s national security.” www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Dog-whistle and factually incorrect. Ladies, raise your hand if you were sexually assaulted by a boy at school? I’d wager this or a family member is most women’s first experience of sexual violence

Worth noting that Councillors have had to declare membership of the Masons since 2004: www.lgcplus.com/archive/coun...

Halal food fraud reports to the Food Standards Agency hit a five-year high in 2024, @hyphenonline.com can reveal 🔴 Labour MP @nazshahbfd.bsky.social said allegations of halal food fraud were 'deeply disturbing' hyphenonline.com/2025/12/16/h...

I would like to let you know that I am reviewing Sarkozy's prison memoir for the Observer and reading it is making me lose my mind, he wrote a 213-page book about being in prison for twenty (20) days, the minutiae of it is exactly as agonising as you'd imagine, fucking *hell*

Pretty sure this tweet would have been career-ending not so long ago.

Reform is a minority administration in Worcestershire, meaning they need opposition votes to pass a budget.... I've flagged them here as the Reform Council most likely to go bankrupt, in part for that reason. www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

My piece on why Britain's inquiry culture is no good for victims:

This is classist AF. I remember the CEO of a big national charity giving a speech about how he was the son of an unskilled refugee who had come to Britain, built a life and worked to ensure his kids had choices he never did.

But the good news is, by doing this, we defeated racism in the UK.

On reading with my toddler, and proportionate universalism - my column for the @newstatesman1913.bsky.social's books special issue:

Feedback from a staffer for a parliamentarian from another Party: “That really is one of those things to read if you're having a bad week and want to remind yourself of how it is for others.....”

I wrote about how Labour staffers feel about nearly 18 months of being in government.

Labour bearing down on immigration will fix this any day now.

Lessons in universalism from reading 'Space Baby', 'Roar! Roar! I'm a Dinosaur!' and 'All Aboard Train' with my toddler. My column for the @newstatesman1913.bsky.social books special:

My column for this week's @newstatesman1913.bsky.social - on how organised crime is creeping into the banal day-to-day:

Spot on. The terms of the plan 2 loan are utterly usurious. Notably the budget has not frozen just the threshold for repayments at a marginal rate of 9%, dragging more and more graduates into it, but it also freezes the interest of those loans which is as much as 6.2%! Which is ridiculous!!

Great analysis from @zoegrunewald.bsky.social for @theleaduk.bsky.social on today’s budget. Echoes my own thoughts about an overall sense of unambitious tinkering, despite some clear positives (2 child cap finally lifted) national.thelead.uk/p/the-leads-...

OBR employee pleads for understanding pbs.twimg.com/media/Dltzz1...

BREAKING The entire Budget has leaked early - £22BN of headroom - £26bn tax rises - Freeze on tax thresholds - Pay per mileage confirmed - Changes to capital gains

Which Reform Council will go bankrupt first? 🖊️ @sajeraj.bsky.social

I’m very in favour of min wage increase but this will have a significant impact on local council finances, unless Reeves can boost funding for social care: www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Why the two-child limit has to go, in a chart.

Interested in what you make of this @stephenkb.bsky.social. I remember you writing(tweeting?) about the limited prospects for religious politics in the UK and potential role of London as a pretty religious city: www.theguardian.com/world/commen...

The Greens are now winning *20%* of Labour’s 2024 voters, far ahead of the Lib Dems on 11% and Reform on 10%. www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

Reform took control of ten councils this May and lead several more, but not all is working as they might have hoped. Me for the @newstatesman1913.bsky.social www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

This is just insane for a number of reasons. Why is it the responsibility of ethnic minorities to ask “what is the cause of our division”? Who the hell thinks this is a good stance to hold?

It’s just nuts. Even if you accept Labour’s policy diagnosis, we “lost control” of our borders, and concern about immigration was rising long before the alarming rise of racism. The big change on racism has been we traded an anti-racist government for one that is at best Trappist on it.

Echoes the excellent point made by @stephenkb.bsky.social

Genuinely baffled as to what qualifies Jonathan Hinder to intervene in a discussion about race: www.newstatesman.com/politics/lab...

My colleague @robevansgdn.bsky.social reports on the latest from the Spycops inquiry, where Doreen Lawrence has said the police’s priorities were “completely misplaced” and they should have been concentrating on bringing the racist murderers of her son to justice, rather than spying on her family.

Will Labour sacrifice a functional NHS in their pursuit of an immigration policy that is unlikely to work even on its own terms? www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Great thread here on the missing part of the equation: bsky.app/profile/coli...

Why should people who “look like” the home secretary be on the hook for immigration policy? This is great by @stephenkb.bsky.social:

Includes this titbit -

Labour’s asylum plans are horribly cruel – but they’re also a mix of hype, old policy and unachievable promises | Diane Taylor

Hundreds of low-paid NHS hospital staff win improved terms after strike threat

Jewellery is still used as a means to identify bodies. Here's a recent example: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/21/w...

How many people would be comfortable buying a wedding ring that had been seized from a refugee. Maybe it was the last item they had to remember a loved one. Is that the world we want our government to actively encourage?

This sounds incredibly exciting www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n...

pray for the media correspondents, the proudest and noblest of all the specialisms. They've had a hell of a week.

Lunch with the FT this week is a proper scoop: our editor in chief Roula Khalaf with Richard Moore, outgoing head of MI6. Yes they have wine and talk about spies on.ft.com/43pMdJQ

‘Where's our protection?’ Cabbies voice their concerns about new, ‘driverless’ taxis coming to London next year. Samir Jeraj has more👇🏽 https://hyphenonline.com/2025/11/10/driverless-cars-london-waymo-taxi-minicab-drivers-protest/

Met the former editor of the York Evening Press last night, who said in the mid-90s he had 85 people working directly for him, including nine staff photographers. All that to serve a city and surrounding area of about 200k people. Local news was wilddddd.

"it is striking how many of the key players we have looked into — the people who have gone out of their way to put up hundreds of flags — seem anything but ordinary." manchestermill.co.uk/the-men-who-...

Lowering the voting age to 16 will enfranchise an estimated 156,000 young Muslims — that’s more than 10% of new voters. What impact could this have on the next general election? Samir Jeraj explains ⬇️ https://hyphenonline.com/2025/10/29/votes-at-16-young-muslims-156000-birmingham-bradford/

156,000 Young British Muslims will be enfranchised by the lower voting age of 16 at the next election. That’s just under 11%, largely concentrated in seats Labour needs to hold in Birmingham, Bradford and east London. My story for @hyphenonline.com hyphenonline.com/2025/10/29/v...

Reeves let out a home in a selective licensing area (all rented properties in that area must be licensed) without a licence. Blames letting agent (depending on contract, she may have a point), but an up to £30,000 civil penalty & a potential rent repayment order. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Why are more people dying homeless?