💯. Progressives have to stop franchising out their consciences to the courts. Politics is about moral choices. The problem with Reform's proposal isn't that "the courts won't allow it". It's that it's grotesque and inhuman. If we're democrats, we must believe that this argument can be won.

I don't think it's wise of the Lib Dems to promote the idea that asylum constitutes a national emergency, justifying use of the Civil Contingencies Act. That Act bestows enormous powers on ministers, to be used only in "the most serious of emergencies". Would Davey want Farage having those powers?

I don't think it's wise of the Lib Dems to promote the idea that asylum constitutes a national emergency, justifying use of the Civil Contingencies Act. That Act bestows enormous powers on ministers, to be used only in "the most serious of emergencies". Would Davey want Farage having those powers?

This clear declaration that Trump views the DOJ to be an entity designed to impose his political retribution - alongside the clear evidence that it is already being used in this way - is impeachable.

The problem is that the centre-left can't win every election. And trying can make them cautious, when they need to be bold. Really successful govts - Attlee, Thatcher, Blair - secure the things they believe in by forcing their opponents to change. But that requires a confident project of their own.

Tony Blair used to talk about the difference between the 3-second, 30-second & 3-minute conversation - the point being that simplistic policies, that poll well, collapse under the more sustained scrutiny of an election or time in govt. So what happens when there is *only* the 3-second conversation?

I learned most of what I know about the world from The Beano.

It's astonishing that what threatens to snap Trump's patience with Putin isn't the invasion of another country, the thousands dead, the children abducted or cities destroyed, but his sense of personal grievance. "He's let me down". I can't think of a president so incapable of seeing beyond himself

Exactly right. It's not hypocrisy, it's hegemony.

There's a moral confusion in this kind of coverage. Anyone can condemn the killing of people they like.What matters is that we condemn the killing of those we dislike & disagree with (as Maguire does). We blur that message if we insist on making those killed into saints or try to silence criticism

There are no formal rules. After 1918 William Adamson (Labour) & Donald Maclean (Liberal) shared the Leadership of the Opposition. Labour had more seats, but the Liberals had more experience. But the big problem is the privileging of one "Official Opposition" party in an age of multi-party politics

There's a moral confusion in this kind of coverage. Anyone can condemn the killing of people they like.What matters is that we condemn the killing of those we dislike & disagree with (as Maguire does). We blur that message if we insist on making those killed into saints or try to silence criticism

This is a good example of the "America brain" that has afflicted large parts of the British right. It's discussed - with some input from me - in today's Wednesday Briefing by @archiebland.bsky.social. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

Starmer is slowly being pushed by his party towards a tougher position on Musk & the far-right. It's a reminder of one of the most important features of parliamentarism: that a prime minister will fall if they lose the support of MPs. We should be very wary of any attempt to break that dependence.

This is just utterly craven. (Do watch the videos in this thread). To quote - checks notes - Kemi Badenoch, in a lecture on "courage": "A strong nation is clear about who its enemies are and what its interests are. [Thatcher] knew that appeasement never works and that weakness invites aggression".

Ah, the joys of spending £95 to stand in the aisle of an overcrowded train. #backtocommuting

This is a step in the right direction, but it isn't enough. The issue here isn't an isolated statement, but that Musk is waging a concerted campaign (in part through exploiting his control of X) to foment ethnic and political violence in the UK in the apparent hope of overthrowing the government.

Another thing I love about the present moment - Musk regularly goes 'don't worry, we are going to change THAT' whenever Grok produces an answer that doesn't align with his priors, yet the British Labour government thinks that they are going to be able to land an argument on there in 2029.

Amol Rajan: Do you condemn Musk's words on Saturday? Jacqui Smith: "Absolutely I do. Those words were wrong & they were dangerous… For Elon Musk to talk about violence in our political system… is wholly unacceptable." Good to hear a minister speak out at last. This should have happened much sooner

It was a very great pleasure to appear on one of my favourite podcasts, and to talk with David Runciman about the Past, Present, and Future (!) of electoral reform & proportional representation

Yes thousands turned out - which is far more than I’d like - but that is dwarfed by the millions that understand real patriotism means loving your country as it actually is, not hating its diversity or trying to exploit its challenges. That’s what our flags actually represent

Important piece by John Simpson in @theobserveruk.bsky.social, on the American money funding Yaxley-Lennon and the far-right in Britain. observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

A rally organised by Tommy Robinson should be a slam dunk for a Labour government. Most people will recognise it as being led by the far right (and will not identify themselves as such). Violence is predictable too. The PMs and ministers should have been ready to respond immediately.

"Musk marches on London. America's richest man calls for overthrow of British government". The British Government can't just wish this problem away. It can stay silent as night falls, or it can light the beacons and go out to meet it. observer.co.uk

"To Sam, these were not just flags but a “statement” to “show that we are united as one in this country. If you’re not united as one in this country, then feel free to leave"". This is what "Uniting the Kingdom" means to this movt: "unite on my terms or get out" www.newstatesman.com/politics/soc...

Govt should take this message seriously. The far right, backed by the world's richest man, is actively stoking racial & political violence. Staying quiet, flattering them, saying "we hear you" won't work. Stand up for decency, for respect, for the best of modern Britain or watch those things burn

Foreign billionaires don’t get to incite violence against Britain. We cannot stay silent. 1/5 www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

Given the context and the crowd, despite Musk’s weasel words, this was a call for violence against the British state, from a foreign national who controls a major propaganda engine, and has engineered it to monetise hate

When Ted Heath sacked Enoch Powell he was acting in the face of a majority in favour. Harold Wilson backed him up and called the speech “evil”. Long past time for Keir and Kemi to do the same.

A bit of joy for the weekend: Kermit the Frog and Sandra Bullock perform "mahna mahna". www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxmP...

There's a good book to be written on the rise of the "political strategist" - in particular, the "senior strategist", with a directing role in government - and the damage it has done.

First Past the Post cannot handle this level of fragmentation. It will produce completely freak results. We can grasp this problem now, or wait for the train to crash.

This is a lovely story. I once almost missed a wedding because I'd got the time wrong - which was particularly unfortunate as I was the organist. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Another problem is that UK politics has a serious "pipeline problem". If Starmer keeled over tomorrow, I've no idea who would replace him. I don't even know who the frontrunners would be. There are no experienced, tested candidates in either main party, because UK politics no longer develops that

I suspect Starmer would be in more peril if MPs still picked the leader. Under the present rules, Labour MPs can fell a prime minister but they can't replace him. And right now, no one can predict who the membership would choose. That will make many MPs nervous. www.ft.com/content/1487...

The murder of rightwing political activist Charlie Kirk at a uni campus event is a deplorable illustration - like the assassination of a legislator in June - of how heightened polarisation combined with gun culture makes political violence much much too common in America news.sky.com/story/who-wa...

Linking green energy to your local school, your hospital, your workplace is a really smart thing to do. The anti-Net Zero movement wants to cast it as some top-down, abstract diktat that will make "ordinary people" cold and poor. So the fightback needs to emphasise its tangible, local benefits.

Justin Webb just referred on Today to "platforms like Bluesky, where you can see the celebration of the killing" of Charlie Kirk. What I'm seeing on here is overwhelming condemnation; despair at the violence of US politics; alarm at where this might go; & calls for equal horror at other shootings.

Quite apart from the moral issue, Mandelson's position is now a major political problem. The Epstein case, & what to release, is an extremely hot issue in US politics. The UK can't have an Ambassador who's implicated in that story & who might be thought to have a personal stake in these decisions.

Giving Peter Mandelson a major diplomatic position was always going to end in disaster. Mandelson is undoubtedly talented, but he has persistently shown extremely poor judgment and a magnetic attraction to wealth and power. Making him Ambassador was another predictably bad appointment by Starmer.

Josephine Butler (1828-1906) declares holy war on the Contagious Diseases Acts - really foul measures passed in the 1860s, allowing the detention and compulsory inspection of women suspected of prostitution. Looking forward to seeing what my students make of this in a few weeks' time! (She won.)

It's always worth asking, "would you want this to stay up if you didn't agree with the message?" If an artist had painted Lucy Connolly on the side of the court, holding a sign saying "Two-Tier Keir", would the GLP also want it to stay up?

"One does not have to be a theologian to be aware of the frailties and errors inseparable from the use of power in the conduct of human affairs; it is sufficient to be a political historian". Great quote from Norman Gash, in Richard Gaunt's excellent article. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

'"As Long As It Takes": What does it mean to commit to Ukraine's security?' We are thrilled to welcome Sir Lawrence Freedman (@ldfreedman.bsky.social) to Queen Mary to deliver our 4th distinguished Hennessy Lecture on 8 October, 6:30. Get your free ticket here! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/as-long-as...

The word "Blairite" is often used to mean "bloodless technocrat with no ideals or vision". Yet Blair was a relentless optimist who was excited by ideas, utopian about "change" & a gifted story-teller. Which "Blairite" today would say: "The kaleidoscope has been shaken. Let us reorder our world"?

UPDATE: Reform is excited to tell you that freedom of speech is now bad. thecritic.co.uk/free...

Congratulations, Tom! We're looking forward enormously to launching this book in 2026.

Trump minimizes domestic abuse during a talk at the Museum of the Bible: "Things that take place in the home, they call crime ... If a man has a little fight with the wife, they say this was a crime, see?"

It's almost like young people are interested in institutions facing up to their history in a frank and nuanced way www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

A man whose patriotism is so fragile that he refused to watch his national football team because he didn't like them taking the knee.