The Hillsborough law is a noble, popular and bold idea: to make it a crime for the state to lie. The problem is it may make for a less honest and open state. My note this week on good intentions and unintended consequences www.economist.com/britain/2026...

Britain’s “Hillsborough law”, pledging candour, is avoiding it. The big problem with the bill is that it probably won’t wonk and may even result in less “candour” than before economist.com/britain/2026...

Reminds of that great Charles Kennedy line: “Paddy Ashdown is the only party leader who’s a trained killer. Although, to be fair, Mrs Thatcher was self-taught”

Column in which I ask the important question: has Torsten Bell ever killed a man? economist.com/britain/2026...

Chuffed to be nominated for columnist of the year at the Press Awards 🍾

Farage's stinking personal ratings are massively overlooked

"Cheer Up Mateism"

You know who else had unbelievably strong forearms: Margaret Thatcher

MANNNNNDRRRIIIIINNNNN FIGHTTTTTTTTT

Britain's income inequality is at its lowest since 1986 (Includes tax, transfers and transfers in kind; excludes retirees)

For whom the Torsten Bell Tolls?

Column in which I ask the important question: has Torsten Bell ever killed a man? economist.com/britain/2026...

The alternatives to Sir Keir: Starmer doesn’t command a majority, the majority commands him economist.com/britain/2026... from The Economist

The striking thing about this list from Danny Finkelstein is that Labour is already doing all of this. Call it stealth leftism. www.newstatesman.com/politics/lab...

It’s deeply unsteadily left though - profound distrust of markets in economic/labour policy but acutely shy of incentive skews in tax policy. Spending more on public services, but wilfully insufficient amounts to repair some of the most visible parts. Pro growth in rhetoric, but little in policy.

We have come full circle, people.

“You are wrong. I will prove you wrong. I am going to fight.” In his ace column in this week's @newstatesman1913.bsky.social, Andrew Marr bumps into Keir Starmer and tells him exactly what he thinks:

Trade unions are pretty popular! The reluctance to make the case for strengthening them, seems to stem from a historic and now misplaced belief, that unions are still unpopular. Amazing how people who claim to guided by "what the people want" so often fail to look at actual public opinion.

If Starmer changes tack or is replaced by someone to his “left”, the main shift will be tonal because the government has just been quite left wing. It put up taxes, spent more on public services and gave unions a load more powers

Lib Dems are Keir Starmer's strongest soldiers

Massive canary in the coalmine if even comedy panel shows are too expensive for modern TV tbh.

He looks weak because he is weak

Here is Stephen's piece bsky.app/profile/step... I also cite @duncanrobinson.bsky.social Bagehot's excellent recent column on the cost of the Cost of Living Obsession www.economist.com/britain/2026...

I wish we had France’s problem of too much abundant clean energy.

New post: "After Starmer" The PM will go at some point - even if it drags out for a while - so what would a new leader actually do differently? And would it be enough to change anything? (£/free trial) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/a...

What is the point of Keir Starmer staying as prime minister?

The untold story that is told constantly and isn’t really true

Don’t tend to read political books but enjoyed @morganj0nes.bsky.social on 2nd referendum. No big show off explanations you normally get about “how clever we were inside the campaign”. More an anthropology study of the weirdness of FBPE and a two years of Twitter-driven national psychosis.

i think this book would be best enjoyed with a Wetherspoons curry, regularly breaking off to google who felix marquardt is, with @duncanrobinson.bsky.social also there for some reason

Almost exactly the same Labour fiscal rule has been seen as prudence under Gordon Brown, profligacy under Ed Miliband, Communism under Jeremy Corbyn and austerity under Keir Starmer

The value bet here is Ed Miliband. A competent minister, has an agenda, possesses politics. Who might succeed Sir Keir Starmer as Britain’s prime minister? economist.com/britain/2026... from The Economist

Very bumpy in short term given City assumption is new leader would borrow borrow borrow, so they reallllllllly need to get tax message out quick

Super Janan as per usual www.ft.com/content/ce83... Mandelson and the two elites s

Northern Estate refurbishment - so Norman Shaw buildings and others around there - is expected to be about £2bn which would make it comfortably the most expensive office refurbishment per sqm in British history

Correctly since they jacked up employer national insurance in their first budget, which the tax pledge had ruled out

Need some bucket list politics. YOLO

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.

Why the new narrative that 2024 Labour MPs are Mandelson clones is nonsense. www.newstatesman.com/politics/lab...

Sure. This ignores that the full decant costs are also crackers because it’s not just a repair job

Ding ding ding If we can learn to do things without scope bloat, we can have more things

Absolutely. If you want to build a fantastic new parliament- and it would be glorious - you have to make the case for that, rather than “if we don’t do this, it will burn down”

Do think people need to appreciate that it’s not merely a “do some expensive repairs to stop it falling down” job, but a “spending tens of billions to build a new improved giant temple” job

I'm sorry but it's ridiculous that the taxpayer is being asked to fund up to £40 billion pounds for urgent works to 'save Parliament burning down', which also yknow features Essential Improvements such as a brand new underground visitors centre

The Mandelson saga is doubly bad for Starmer & co. First because it goes against their supposed brand of probity. Second because it fits their actual brand of not listening to concerns from their colleagues and majoring on ideas that only make sense in transactional terms or getting through the week

committees.parliament.uk/publications... since we’re all restoration and renewal fans, have a gander

Need someone to speak for our world class spiv sector

Wrote this column while ill

Still tickled by idea of George Osborne as US ambassador, which would have been crackers are different reasons

And do a lottttttttttttt of chatting to people in the City

Anecdotes kill