Reform revealed a former Labour councillor from Hartlepool had joined their party on Thursday night. He's an Indian citizen, and has joined a party which wants to take away his right to vote because of what they call the "perverse influence" of voters like him.

hold my beer, hemingway

This is pure Alan Partridge.

Someone in Reform said to me before the by-election: best pick an activist in Denton that nobody had heard of nationally, a community activist, somebody nobody “knew” They were right. It always felt like Reform picked someone for W/minster online, not here That isn’t as parochial as it sounds 1/2

I don’t do this really but I really would read this if you’re a journalist looking to do a hot take tomorrow. Tldr did they see things? On their own measure yes. Is there prosecutable evidence: No. Do we know anything about who is meant to have done this, including ethnicity: No.

Ok. My understanding of the electoral fraud situation is this. 1. Democracy volunteers put out a statement at one minute past poll close. They said this was at a level they’d not seen before

Stafford: none of your London Underground whimsy

Got a sense of this happening in Gorton proper, including genuine enthusiasm for the candidate. So interesting to see that it does appear to have been happening. also The Greens tailored their message depending on the demographic/channel. I’d love to know what the female vote did too

Only took fire, an axe, my dad’s unbreakable 20th century garden fork and three years of rotting but victory is ours: the pampas is defeated

I sense this from @jayrayner1.bsky.social is going to be a treat as.ft.com/r/1e4ca9e2-4...

Watching something featuring the US embassy and noticing afresh how much it reminds me of this NCP car park in Salford

Concerns raised over the financial stability of Vistry, the housing developer much loved by ministers as.ft.com/r/c61ee866-3...

My favourite thing with this vibe recently was from that gloriously unflattering interview with Louis Theroux about his Manosphere doc. It notes one influencer claiming women aren’t to be trusted because you can’t tell when we’re menstruating No offence but have you actually met any of us

Oh yesssss

So grateful to Keir Starmer and his leaked memo for justifying the entire premise for my book on the week it's released. Get your copy here: www.ylolfa.com/products/978...

And populism is generally about pretending there aren’t trade offs, a trait not limited to the greens

Which leading economies will pay the biggest price for the Iran war? Not the US, it turns out Great to end my first week on the @financialtimes.com economics desk working on this story with Sam and Myles as.ft.com/r/7babde76-f...

Not unlike the Derbyshire budget meeting in where a 4.9% increase was unveiled as a tax cut (max is 4.99%)

Not the main matter in hand but interested to know what that local media strategy is

I went looking for this article online last night (it wasn’t there yet) because I suspected it wasn’t what it sounded like. But there’s an implicit glee (is that the word?) to plastering that across the top of your front and it makes me very very uneasy

Don’t think I’ve played this since 1989, not sure if it’s delightful or terrifying that the muscle memory is still there. Hats off Arcade Club

In defence of the Iran war's handwringers and pearl-clutchers. www.ft.com/content/8117...

Nissan Sunderland production only running at 30% capacity + Nissan has been shutting down plants even in Japan, so this is not an empty threat. Nissan warns of Sunderland closure if UK excluded from ‘Made in Europe’ rules - giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @FT

I think Manchester has deployed boosterism well over the last decade, but it has tended to work because it delivered things at the same time. Boosterism without delivery is just words and there’s some risk the city starts to rely too much on narrative for its momentum

This one can be filed under the category of not solved. With @marinovik.bsky.social as.ft.com/r/11fc084c-3... UK by-election council calls for evidence over claims of voter fraud

Had almost forgotten that was there

I have a feeling that the British public are closer to the Starmer position on Iran than this gung-ho commentary suggests www.express.co.uk/news/politic...

Labour council accuses minister of ‘moral bankruptcy’ over children’s social care dispute www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

Stockport: deeply into the ironising phase of its revival

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

This story has been puzzling, because im still not clear exactly what is meant to have happened where, or why DV insists there was egregious family voting but the council seems so sure nothing was raised with them on the day (bar one concern, I’m told, which apparently turned out to be innocent)

Quite a big deal this being here. Lovely antidote to the last month 😎

Well done Noel. Managed to unite and then immediately divide the entire arena. Should go into politics

Quite. One reason why the 'sectarian' stuff rings hollow is if you think that Labour were not doing their own communal campaigning going 'you know what their position on gender is, right?' I have a picture of an ape to sell you.

I have election jet lag. What day is it

I think it fails to understand the coalition of voters that just voted Green, and why. And as usual you won’t get very far by implicitly slagging off the voters. The Green voter coalition was your coalition five minutes ago.

All the political people at this count had been safely out of the reach of journalists, on the counting floor, until these guys walked in and the entire press pack went OMG FINALLY

A lesser spotted early evening coffee

Nearly there, fellow by election travellers. Nearly there

New Swingometer - Gorton and Denton Final Update!! Featuring seat polling, new adventures in abstract leaflet art, and a last word from Liam and Noel: open.substack.com/pub/swingome...

This account is of a pragmatism of necessity: limited powers, limited discretion given legal requirements + responsibilities on councils. But Reform might approach national government differently: if they had a majority, they could change laws + institutions in a way that local leadership can not.

This is not a “haha aren’t they stupid” article. Reform said that local government will be the litmus test for No 10. The polls are what they are, so that should take seriously. So I’ve tried to sum up what their approach to finance so far can tell us as.ft.com/r/407ee315-6...

It’s not all about the national circus as.ft.com/r/25449006-d...

“One of the remarkable things about Reform is . . . they’ve more or less fallen into the pattern of any other authority, Which is: we have to raise council tax, because we have to meet rising demand and the rising cost of providing adult and children’s social care. as.ft.com/r/58ac2974-e...

Spent many months understanding how Reform has approached the first test of its entry into government, from the rhetoric to the budget setting of this month: finance as.ft.com/r/1e92b707-0...

O dear O, Manchester’s an altered town (1839)

when broadcasters repeat Mandelson claim he was “not motivated by financial gain” please also report the $75,000 of financial gain Mandelson received from Epstein in 2004 and 2004 and the £10s of thousands Mandelson’s husband received from Epstein in 2009/10 plus free flights & mansion stays

After watching Reforms campaign in Gorton and Denton I’m intrigued by the “scrapping renters’ rights” policy. Politics is about whose side you’re on and in Mcr, Reform are telling Labour voters often in awful/£££ rental conditions that they’re on their side. While nationally signalling the opposite

Fantastic Inside Politics by @jenwilliamsft.bsky.social:

Spent many months understanding how Reform has approached the first test of its entry into government, from the rhetoric to the budget setting of this month: finance as.ft.com/r/1e92b707-0...