Was an absolute pleasure to have my story on MPs using ChatGPT picked apart by @timharford.ft.com and Lizzy McNeill on BBC Radio 4's More or Less… And thankfully they seemed to think my analysis holds up! 📈✅

Andy Burnham's pre-conference media grid hasn't gone down well with many Labour MPs One, who admits they're open-minded to Starmer going, tells our Harriet Symonds that the mayor's "overt" approach "will do him no favours" A raging minister said if he wants to "mess around", he should resign

It’s more or less taken me all summer, but as I approached the final pages I really didn’t want it to end. Finished, appropriately perhaps, in Lucca’s Piazza Napoleone, extraordinarily rich in detail right until the closing syllable. What a read!

The best quote from @politicshome.bsky.social’s Lib Dem conference wrap Courtesy of @matildamartin.bsky.social

Several sources involved in the new party told PoliticsHome that a formal split in 'Your Party' now appears inevitable www.politicshome.com/news/article...

FT mag piece from me: Spent a long time looking into the Britannia hotel chain, beneficiaries of a vast amount of taxpayer money via the asylum system on.ft.com/47HEE46

EXC: East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward has endorsed Bridget Phillipson @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social to be the next Labour deputy leader "What we don't need is internal warfare," Ward tells @politicshome.bsky.social

Is a Labour leadership challenge a realistic prospect? @patrickmaguire.bsky.social www.thetimes.com/article/4961...

Labour MPs, including two committee chairs, have urged government to take stronger action against X after owner Elon Musk's "dangerous" remarks at a rally organised by Tommy Robinson @zoecrowther.bsky.social reports

As Kevin rightly says, it won't be a huge story but this is a big loss for Starmer Gov source: "Paul's been one of the best enablers of talent and a genuine force for good in the party. In government, he has been one of the few people cutting through the nonsense to make sure we deliver for voters"

This feels like a big one and one that’ll spook Tory MPs. Former Cameron speech writer, ran Jenrick’s leadership campaign, and the first sitting Tory — and shadow minister — to defect to Reform. It bursts Badenoch’s bubble after her boost last week, as well.

A hugely exciting week for me as I: 1. vanquish memories of myriad ticket-buying failures 2. tick off a massive bucket list gig

Very interesting piece.

'Why is the tiny clique at the top of Labour so brilliant at ruling the party but so terrible at running the country?' Neal Lawson, council member at new Labour group Mainstream, backed by Andy Burnham, says the 'Morgan Tendency' government is putting 'faction before party, before country'

“Having an Ed Davey interview just after a Madonna song and before Teenage Dirtbag is so much better than leaning into Wato" An insightful @sophiealichurch.bsky.social piece on the Lib Dem ‘jam & Jerusalem' comms stategy — inc the voter they're now going after www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Neal Lawson, council member of the new Andy Burnham-backed group Mainstream, writing for us today about the 'Morgan Tendency'... 'Why is the tiny clique at the top of Labour so brilliant at ruling the party but so terrible at running the country?' Things are not well

We’ve covered some very furious Tory parties in recent years but today’s mood in Labour was right up there in terms of sheer anger and frustration w/ PolHome colleagues

NEW: Labour ministers & MPs have strongly criticised Starmer’s decision to wait days before sacking Peter Mandelson as US ambassador One minister told @politicshome.bsky.social he should "never have been appointed" "It’s another shitshow."

Phase 2 feels like a distant memory as Labour ministers & MPs fume over how the Mandelson saga has been handled at the top "Another shitshow," complains one minister, another bemoans "bad judgement" in No10 The Red Wall chair tears into the Labour peer, saying he must "never return to politics"

Breaking: Lord Mandelson has been sacked by Prime Minister Keir Starmer over his links to Jeffrey Epstein

Tom Tugendhat refers to my story about MPs using ChatGPT to write their speeches in the chamber 🫣

"When I was in Washington DC for the inauguration, maybe 1,000 people showed me photos of Mandelson and [Jeffrey] Epstein together, blowing out birthday candles and buying clothes together. And I did say then that this maybe was an unwise appointment," Lord Glasman tells PolHome

It'll be interesting to see how Reform handles the Mandelson / Epstein story Here's what Farage told Harriet Symonds and Tom Scotson in their recent interview... www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Paula Barker, Labour left MP for Liverpool Wavertree, has confirmed her bid to be Labour's new deputy leader She said her party had "stepped too far away from traditional Labour principles" and cannot fight Nigel Farage's Reform UK "at their own game, nor should we want to"

Andy Burnham is not gonna become Labour's next leader, come off it, I mean how would that work, needs a winnable by-election in frankly, a handful of seats, to be able to quit as mayor, this is 'Ruth Davidson to save the Tories' all over again.

Another e.g of the risk for Reform in alienating potential voters through odd/conspiratorial/online takes. The anti-vax stuff is most shocking. But here's (h/t @noahvickers.bsky.social) some climate change scepticism, + Tice playing down species decline in his Express iview ("dinosaurs disappeared")

This is the timetable for the Labour deputy leadership contest, Pol Home understands MP nominations will close 5pm this Thursday, with candidates needing the support of 20% Members will vote 8-23 October, with the winner announced on Saturday 25 October www.politicshome.com/news/article...

James Lyons, who left No 10 comms last week, says on LinkedIn the original plan was to depart later this year but that Starmer’s reset meant it was “sensible” to go sooner He says the Downing St New Media Unit must be replicated across Whitehall, warning some gov comms has “barely changed” in 25yrs

This doubly telling because 1) being totally batshit on the internet as a British MP can now give you a 50% uplift on an MP's salary! bit of a worrying incentive! 2) being one of the most shared politicians on X only earns you £40k, meaning most of the blue ticks are debasing themselves for pennies

Who'll replace Angela Rayner as deputy Labour leader? Emily Thornberry, Rosena Allin-Khan & Dawn Butler are seen as leading 'soft left' candidates But there's concern that the leadership risks being too London-heavy, meaning an MP like Lou Haigh could be well-placed @siennarodgers.bsky.social

@zoecrowther.bsky.social's latest graph shows how Rupert Lowe is comfortably out-earning other MPs, including his former Reform colleagues, when it comes to posting on X “This is the most expensive job I've ever had. Trust me - if I wanted financial gain, I wouldn't be doing this," he told PolHome

Fascinating article. Problematic for the new party that so many of its supporters seem to enjoy factionalism as a hobby

You’ll do well to find a better read on Your Party — its genesis, strategy, and many internal tensions — than this by colleague @siennarodgers.bsky.social So many nuggets to choose from, like this: what’s in a name? A lot, actually www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Here's a slightly crazy diagram illustrating today's major Cabinet reshuffle You're welcome

In the end, then, it wasn't really a reshuffle for newcomers, with just two junior ministers (Emma Reynolds, Douglas Alexander) getting the nod, but more a Cabinet musical chairs as illustrated by this arresting graph courtesy of @zoecrowther.bsky.social www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Surely, the first time that the offices of prime minister and deputy prime minister have been occupied by Arsenal and Tottenham fans? Political historians please assist

Follow our coverage of what is shaping up to be a very significant Cabinet reshuffle

Reform pledged to cut wasteful council spending following its success at the May local elections However, the party's Trump-inspired DOGE unit has since struggled with the realities of local pressures like social care and homelessness, report @zoecrowther.bsky.social and @matildamartin.bsky.social

Rayner’s resignation letter

🚨 OUT NOW 🚨 Labour's Autumn of discontent 🌹 Labour MPs Antonia Bance & @jessasatomp.bsky.social & Savanta's @chrishopkins92.bsky.social join @alaintolhurst.bsky.social & @adampayne26.bsky.social to discuss the potential pitfalls coming up for Keir Starmer 🎧 Listen now: podfollow.com/politicshome

A troubling bit of data journalism on the closure of the social care visa, from @matildamartin.bsky.social www.politicshome.com/news/article...

@matildamartin.bsky.social's latest data dive finds London councils stand to be most impacted by the closure of the social care visa Axing it without an immediate scheme to boost domestic recruitment was "extremely risky" — IfG's @stuarthoddinott.bsky.social www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Two MPs suspended from the Labour Party write for @politicshome.bsky.social that MPs shouldn’t be expected to just blindly follow government without any challenge And if that is the expectation, they argue AI bots might as well do the job instead

The government is considering bringing in more restrictions on international student visas, PolHome understands Officials believe some universities are using a loophole by pushing research Master's degrees that allow students to bring family members to the UK, reports @matildamartin.bsky.social

Think 2 big risks in No.10 shake-up are (a) more big figures & no clarity on who does what means duplicative work gumming up the system, and (b) the 'change the way the state works' bit of missions gets totally cannibalised by the 'deliver the plan for change targets' bit of missions.

No better moment to re-share @siennarodgers.bsky.social & @sophiealichurch.bsky.social's June piece on the Greens' crossroads moment Unsurprisingly, they opt for eco-populist Polanski Supporters say he'll hover up ex-Labour urban voters, but critics fear an unwise descent into student politics

The IfG analysis of Starmer's No 10 shake-up: For the reset to pay off, the PM must provide clarity, @instituteforgovernment.org.uk associate director @hannahkeenan.bsky.social writes for us www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...

The thing about mid 2020s Manchester United is that it shouldn’t be possible for them to be this bad. The sheer weight of their commercial income and their spending should make finishing 15th impossible. All of football since 1992 has been geared around creating and sustaining an elite. And yet.