"I don't want a small minority with right wing extremist intentions to hijack our flag. That's not who we are a a British people." @munirawilson.bsky.social on reclaiming the flag for those who want to reunite and rebuild, not divide and destroy. #BBCQT

It would be really good to see MRP versions of the preferred PM polling that we've seen showing Davey ahead against Farage - it would give LDs a sense of where there is potential electoral upside in a fight against Farage.

Just finished Middle England. What a fantastic book. It's the first @jonathancoe.bsky.social I have read and it was brilliant.

BBC News - Farron drapes himself in flag as Lib Dems seek to reclaim patriotism www.bbc.com/news/article... In the hall, this was an incredibly powerful speech. Well done @timfarron.bsky.social - I was so proud to witness this.

Dualling just a three-mile section of track around Cranbrook and Whimple would give the West of England line the capacity it needs to run twice-as-frequent services from Axminster, Honiton, Feniton and Whimple to Exeter.

Ultimately the American right's conception of free speech has devolved into "the right to say slurs". This is why they can talk about free speech with a straight face even whilst cracking down on political dissent

Nothing tastes worse than a bad cup of tea, because it carries with it the disappointment that it should've been a good one.

Yesterday in Parliament, I raised that one of the greatest barriers to neurodivergent people entering employment is the crisis in our SEND system. In Somerset, pupils receive £4,000 less than the most funded areas, denying early support and holding children back long before they reach the workplace.

Well...I went to see The Roses. What an enjoyable film. I tend to prefer positive depictions of romance on screen, but actually, that was spectacular. Colman and Cumberbatch are *so* good in it. And it was nice to be in a film where everyone was laughing!

Appalling that Policy Exchange’s offices were violently attacked last night - just the latest in a lengthy series of such intimidatory attacks targeted at think tanks and campaign groups, doing perfectly legitimate work that is part of our democratic process.

It is quite astonishing how many people- and the institutions that they are part of- appear not to have realised or simply do not care that “a republic, if you can keep it” implies the need for the active upholding of the Constitution

You know, maybe it wasn't great that the last administration was filled with oil executives and generals but...maybe it was better than this?

Members of my family were tortured and killed in the Holocaust because countries like Britain said it wasn't their problem. Everyone said never again. And here we are. It's sickening beyond belief.

Dead cat strategy to distract from the inflation figures.

They should put see-through doors on dishwashers. It would be far more interesting to watch than the washing machine.

It’s Philp, so it is probably nothing more than lizard-brain twitches, but I wonder if the Tories/ Reform will either restrict jury trials or impose a property qualification for jury membership.

Really excited to canvass for @jgrauberg.bsky.social this evening. Janet is one of the best people in the Lib Dems. She has worked tirelessly for years to help people across West Hampstead and is such an inspiration. We must get her back on Camden Council! 🔶🔶🔶

Think this was probably less true in, say, 1950 or even 1985 and is probably one of the long term reasons for the decline of both Toryism and the Conservative Party.

She took over a party that was polling in the mid to high 20s and occasionally flirting with first place in the polls, to one that is in the mid to high 10s and flirts with third, and has suffered what may be irrevocable damage to its reputation as 'the anti-Labour alternative'!

I worked with Janet at the DfE - she was my fellow policy adviser (supporting Lib Dem ministers). She was brilliant and cares more about local government than anyone I've ever met so if you happen to live in her ward do vote for her.

Agatha Christie and PD James for a start. (James was more clearly Conservative but Christie was, in her way, very conservative).

Disappointed this isn't a big budget film about the life of Paul Eddington.

As a caseworker this sort of thing makes me deeply uncomfortable. Not just because it would increase job insecurity but when a constituent takes the step to reach out to their elected rep it is usually their last resort at trying to find a solution to particularly harrowing situations.

The word is "centrist" not "central" or "centralist".

The moment Rod Liddle took over from Sandi Toksvig on Call My Bluff is surely the start of the decline of 20th century liberalism, isn't it?

I can't be certain, but I don't think Thangam Debbonaire likes Zia Yusuf. #newsnight

@gwr.com Hello. I bought an Off-Peak Day Return for Tuesday 29th July. The train is at 08.23 but looking around Off-Peak starts at 9am. Is my ticket valid? It was the one your website suggested. Thanks!

"Legitimate concerns", "it's for the sake of the kids" etc.

Everything - well, pretty much everything outside of climate change - can be explained by the increased atomisation of society. Churches, trade unions, societies, social clubs - all gone or on their last legs. This means people are increasingly having parasocial relationships, and a lot of the time

there’s always going to be a party of the right and a party of the left, and sometimes the other side is gonna win the election. you want them to be sane. this is not rocket science

Mass starvation in Gaza and over 1,000 Palestinians killed while seeking aid since May. The government says the situation is intolerable yet they continue to tolerate it. The UK needs to stop all arms exports to the Israeli Government - today.

This Judeo-Christian nonsense again. Traditionally, the "Judeo" reaction to people talking about "a Christian restoration" is to start thinking about getting the suitcases out of the attic.

A controversial thing to say, perhaps, when quoting Stephen, but: I'm willing to give them a try. It won't be the worst adaptation of all time, anyway. I've seen ITV's version of Nemesis and nothing could be worse than that.

As an Aussie abroad, I’m flummoxed as to why more countries don’t implement compulsory voting. Just seems a no brainer. Elected reps should represent the whole populace, more or less. A small disincentive against non-participation helps ensure that.

More like the Fault Path, amirite?

I seem to remember reading somewhere there was some academic research which suggested that candidate attractiveness actually helped at the margin, so...maybe it will!

Well, that episode went down in flames.

"Shouldn't be able to get away with" What are you proposing? The ducking stool? Transportation? The guillotine?!

The second series of 'The Gold' was absolutely fantastic.

I really dislike this sort of view. "The BBC are doing something I dislike!" Well, yes. They are serving a nation of seventy million people. It's fine that they cover things we all have no interest in, and things we all have a lot of interest in. It's the thing that makes it great.

Every time one of these More in Common polls comes up, with non-political questions broken down by political party, I realise how stereotypical a Lib Dem I am. 😳

Again, I struggle to see a future for a centre right party that doesn't want the vote of, say, a British Asian manager at KPMG.

If a Reform MP argued as regularly and consistently as Neil O’Brien does that people who aren’t “white British” don’t count as properly British and are in fact just foreign, then they would lose the whip, let alone be on the frontbench.

Cometh the hour...

think there's a similar problem in London tbh - if you try to complain about the (many, many) twats on e-bikes acting like an absolute menace you just get shouted down by people saying BUT I LOVE MY LIME BIKE - ok! sure! but a lot of people are using them very unwisely! we can talk about that!

It's impossible to take an opposition party seriously when they just disagree with the government on everything by default. They'd disagree that grass was green. Just every now and again throw in a 'yeah that's a decent idea actually'. Would be much more believable.

Honestly...the first one was absolutely incroyable! The next one, with such an iconic episode, will be unmissable! Book now!

Classical music has an image problem. It's perceived as being exclusively white, middle-class, clique-y and unwelcoming. Mainly because it is. Lots of classical music is great - especially live - so it's a shame there seems to be so much gatekeeping around it.

Instead of closing schools because there aren't enough kids, we should celebrate the opportunity to put kids in smaller classes and so meet their needs better. There should be a commitment to classes of 15 max by 2030.

Judi Dench-backed rebels seized a nature site 250 miles north of the capital today.