The key issue is whether Starmer misled Parliament. If he did, he has to go: parliamentary democracy cannot function unless we uphold that norm. We'd demand it of Johnson & we should demand it of Starmer. Future PMs (including a possible Prime Minister Farage) must know that this is inviolable. 1/

Excellent "Thought for the Day" this morning by Lucy Winkett, on the way that bureaucratic systems generate "shadow" industries designed to help people get around the rules - whether on immigration, housing or the huge industry helping the rich avoid their taxes. Well worth a listen (at 07:46).

Every time Trump opens his mouth, the markets leap up and down like a spaniel after a biscuit. It's a pretty strong corrective to faith in the rationality of the financial sector,

The impression given in these briefings - that Andy Burnham is bored of being Mayor of Greater Manchester and can't wait to get out - is not very creditable, given that he's less than halfway through his current term. He might want to rein these "allies" in a bit.

It's perfectly reasonable to challenge ministers on N Sea oil & gas as a response to the energy shock. But this is the exclusive framing for EVERY interview on this topic. No minister or opposition leader is ever asked if they'll "max out" wind/solar. It's always framed as fossil fuels v inaction

This paper represents a small but deeply impressive and genuinely important achievement by the much maligned British state in what is probably the most important global issue of our era. Hear me out ( 🧵) 1/ www.aisi.gov.uk/blog/our-eva...

@pjtheeconomist.bsky.social times column this week is an incredibly pithy (even by his standards!) summary of the issues and changes in working age welfare - including why spending on it isn't out of control.

On 25 April, the choir of St Mary Magdalen Oxford (including me) will be singing and livestreaming the complete choral music of Thomas Tallis in 12 hours, culminating in his stunning, 40-part motet "Spem in Alium". Here's a little taster: "If Ye Love Me", plus a rare window into the Mags wardrobe.

This isn't just one man's vanity: it's the natural terminus of MAGA theology. A religion that worships power, wealth & America has little time for a "prince of peace" who submits to death on a cross. Much easier to swap in an AI fantasy of Trump: rich, muscle-bound, with warplanes roaring overhead

It's a good night to read this excellent piece, on the Orban regime's network of financial support for the nationalist right in Britain. For many on the radical right, the tills are about to stop ringing. democracyforsale.substack.com/p/orbans-brits

I always enjoy the box on the front of student essays, in which they can ask for feedback on something specific.

This has also warped our perception of what a "successful businessman" is and who has the economic power to fund political parties.

Excellent piece by @ldfreedman.bsky.social on "The Causes and Consequences of Trump's Defeat". The last sentence is the key: Trump's ignorance, venality & love of violence would matter less if the entire system of government had not subordinated itself to his will. samf.substack.com/p/the-causes...

The Telegraph just gave a convicted criminal a two-page spread to explain why he's pumping £4 million into Reform UK. They tucked his criminal record away in the small print. So as a former financial crime specialist I’ll do their job for them👇

If I were doing comms for any of the progressive parties, I'd be plastering these images - & Badenoch's support for the war - everywhere: "Don't let Trump's man run your services"; "Don't let Kemi put America First"... It's a huge weakness for the right, but it needs punching out to the electorate

Absolutely remarkable statement from Pope Leo today. One for the history books www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

It's good to see theologians and religious leaders - including the Pope - speaking out against the heretical war theology of Hegseth & the Trump administration. MAGA draws on many roots - political, economic, cultural, racial and theological - & the fight-back will need to be similarly broad-based.

The Novo cemetery at Queen Mary full of spring flowers, looking lovely in the sun.

On 10 April 1998, the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement was signed, a major development in the Northern Ireland peace process. One of the crucial figures in the agreement was Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Mo Mowlam. Read Dr Emma Peplow's article for more on Mowlam's impact.

We're delighted that David Torrance is going to be speaking about The Edge of Revolution, his new history of the General Strike, at @qmulsse.bsky.social next month! We'll ask why the strike took place and what the lessons are for the union movement and workers’ rights today. Do join us if you can!

This is a major problem. Certain high-status institutions are hoovering up students for whom they don't have space or teaching capacity. It's not good for students, it's driving other universities to disaster and it has none of the benefits of either a planned or a "market" system.

On 5 May, we'll be marking the centenary of the General Strike at the @mileendinstitute.bsky.social. David Torrance will be talking about his brilliant new book, with me, Carolyn Quinn and more panellists to be announced shortly. 6:30pm, all welcome! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-edge-o...

I enjoyed this - and great to hear @dorianlynskey.bsky.social praising David Torrance's excellent new history of the General Strike, "Edge of Revolution: The General Strike that Shook Britain". And if you want to know more about the General Strike, do we have an event coming up for you...

The "art" is that it's done in crayon, by a child who got bored halfway through and wandered off, but the "grown-ups" still stand around clucking and cooing, and saying how good it is.

A while ago 'the cabinet was asking the PM hard questions' was used as an attack line and, honestly, sometimes I despair.

Great review of my colleague Tom Asbridge's "magisterial" new history of the Black Death: "the most lethal natural disaster in human history". www.theguardian.com/books/2026/a...

It's a mark of the weakness of Reform that it consistently struggles to poll over the mid-20s, despite a sluggish economy, heavy media support, a pet TV-station & a collapse in support for both the traditional parties. "Prime Minister Farage" is a real possibility, but Reform is eminently beatable.

We are delighted to be co-hosting this event with @qmulsse.bsky.social's Centre for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies & @bitebackpublishing.bsky.social. Do join us to launch Dmytro Kuleba's book of wartime speeches with @philippesands.bsky.social, @okhromeychuk.bsky.social & Bjorn Berge!

To add: Johnson & Truss were ousted by the cabinet. It matters, constitutionally, that ministers are mostly MPs with seats to defend, whose careers can continue after a PM goes. The Farage plan - to appoint a presidential cabinet from outside Parlt, dependent only on him - would weaken that check.

A system that made Boris Johnson and Liz Truss prime minister has serious problems of its own, but the UK does have two main protections against a Trump-like figure. One is institutional; the other cultural. The bad news is that the former, in particular, is under serious pressure. 1/n

Something I don't think the UK boasts about enough - and a great rebuttal to Reform and the Tories' anti-net zero propaganda: The UK is home to 7 out of the top 10 biggest offshore wind farms in the world. 10 of the top 20. And 6 in 10 of the largest ones in the world currently under construction.

I was recently at an event with a prominent right-wing ideologue who was just back from Hungary. They'd lauded him as an intellectual, stroked his ego & stuffed him with propaganda about the "threat" from Ukraine (which he duly regurgitated). And he had no inkling how effectively he'd been played.

With so much bad news around, it's important to celebrate the really good news. And this is great news for children & families in need. It's also a reminder of why parliamentary government - in which even prime ministers with huge majorities have to respond to their backbenches - is so important.

There's not much more to say about that Trump post, except that this is not what "the greatest champion of faith that we've ever seen in a president" (Paula White) posts on the most sacred day in the Christian year. Trump evangelicalism needs a serious reckoning with what it has chosen to worship.

The rabbit-duck illusion explained at last.

I just watched this on the iPlayer, and it's genuinely moving. In some ways it's two films woven together: one about what it means to be a "good Catholic", the other about a mother's care for her deeply ill son. www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

This was a really fun episode to take part in. The "Parliament Matters" podcast is really good - do give it a try if you're looking for something new!

Perhaps an unpopular take, but I hate it when MPs are described as out of touch. They meet a greater variety of different people than 99% of the population, often in order to hear their complaints. They think far harder about issues than ordinary voters do.

Music for Good Friday: Bach's sublime "Erbarme Dich", from the Matthew Passion. Stunningly performed here by alto Tim Mead. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zry9...

On Good Friday of all days celebrating a religious & political persecution that involved brutal public executions is crass even for Starkey Wanting it used again against British people now is even worse A better use of today is quiet reflection on such dark human impulses & the damage they caused

On 24 April @mileendinstitute.bsky.social & CEREES are honoured to host former Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, to launch his wartime speeches: "Words of Defiance". With @philippesands.bsky.social @okhromeychuk.bsky.social & Bjorn Berge. Do join us! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/we-know-ho...

Kemi Badenoch: “I have made it very clear that the Conservative party stands behind America taking this necessary action”. 2nd March 2026

As a Christian, I find this obscene. Those churches that have prostituted themselves to Trump should take more seriously their "What Would Jesus Do?" bracelets. Because the answers do not include "lie, cheat, bully, stoke racial hatred, bomb people "to the stone age" or "grab women by the pussy"".

As many others have pointed out, Trump invariably refers to NATO as 'they' and 'them', never as 'we' or 'us'. www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c3...

Looking forward to today's "April Fool" stories. What can the papers have in store? "President Trump makes dignified and truthful statement". "Nigel Farage visits Clacton". "Republicans in Congress fulfill constitutional duties". "Trump rejects bribe". "Daily Mail shows empathy".

Good piece by @jillongovt.bsky.social & @rosahodgkin.bsky.social. Governments have an important "teaching" function. UK govts have been reluctant to use it of late, for fear of looking "out of touch". But it matters, & shouldn't just be abdicated. www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/gove...

I run a team of energy analysts and we're asking ourselves the same question

New 1926 General Strike map online! Using early 20th century Ordnance Survey maps, the online resource shows strike events (through archive sources) in their contemporary landscape. Explore the map, digitised sources and more at warwick.ac.uk/services/lib...

"My Alsatian dog must have jumped up and knocked on the light". The World War Two equivalent of "the dog ate my homework": blaming the pooch for breaching blackout regulations. From the Hertfordshire Mercury, 1940. www.hertsmemories.org.uk/content/hert...

This is a great episode, focusing on Oswald Mosley's rapid descent from "potential leader of the Labour Party" to "head of the British Union of Fascists". @dmk1793.bsky.social is excellent, as ever, & the episode is esp. good on the points of contact (& danger) between opposing political traditions