I would simply express national pride by identifying good things about the country as it is right now.

OK, so Dad has just been to dinner with a submariner former member of HMS Trump's ships crew, her ship's bell having been presented to Donald Trump by the king. Perhaps predictably known as the "Fighting Fart" within the navy at the time.

For me it's the fact there was a rebuke to the American legislature in there about checking executive power.... And they cheered like simpletons. It's not just Trump's head some of it went over.

Americans very sad about this article but people are people and I think it just shows how we must fight for an actually good media and social media environment. Some shared facts are absolutely essential. Be really good if we had a culture secretary in these time, ey?

Terrific column this:

The Welsh Christian Party want to get rid of indoctrination school classes like RSE

re Labour leadership - there's three years to the next general election, and the "controllable" that will have the biggest impact on Labour's fortunes will be how well (or badly) they do at running the country. So just go for the person you think will be best at running the country for three years.

I am absolutely shite at recognising when someone is flirting with me. Like, comically bad at it. My mates would mock me about it. But something happened today that made me so happy. 1/?

I think from her POV resignation ASAP is the best possible play. Two alternatives. 1) hang on. You ride this out. Now you are hitched to a dying administration, your signature legislation gets smashed up by a back bench rebellion. You never get near a ministerial role in Rayner/Millie and govt. 2)..

Ok this is a great thread about the process and overturns some assumptions I had made about how it works.

I had an idea, cos this keeps coming up and it's daft. Grid solar, as opposed to micro schemes, anywhere you have to faff connecting it up to grid, are basically built in sheep fields right? So why don't we redesignate it as agricultural use, in the same way I can farm barley I am now farming

🔥 Incredible footage of Ukrainian Yak-52 crews in action. Pilots of the 11th Separate Army Aviation Brigade “Kherson” clear the skies of Russian drones.

ME: [wincing, covering up Starmer's ears] sorry, do you mind not talking about politics around Keir? He doesn't know about scary things like nuclear war or poverty or Peter Mandelson and we'd like to maintain his innocence for a bit longer KEIR: my father was a drill bit ME: that's right Keir!

If I was in the BlueSky tech team I would simply devote all available bandwidth to UK politics BlueSky at least until the next resignation.

Nothing to add

Incredible sequel. Edge of my seat!

Raise taxes. That’s your answer. Raise personal taxation. Don’t do this MURR MURR MURR we are paying the disabled too much nonsense

Front row for Wales Scotland W6 Nations! Actually disrespectful to the players this cost £5 p/p. Welsh rugby needs to get on the marketing. Anyway we're winning at the half and I have a pint.

Agreed. Speaking from experience, Iran's SOP in negotiations is to up the ante with fresh demands as soon as an agreement appears to be in sight. Since that also appears to be Donald Trump's SOP, these talks in Islamabad should be interesting.

Cry harder. "I didn't manage to rig the media environment as much as previously."

I recall a similar thing with Brexit. Some of the true believers, that as a liberal you disagreed with the most, caused trouble for the government that had ridden the tiger to get there, because they were mad/principled but consistent, whereas the careerists trimmed their sails and moved on.

This is how his deactivated conscience shows up isn't it? As projection directed at his opponents. "This thing I did is bad somewhere I have never looked inside, so obviously *HE* did it.

Ok, so I think the starting gun has been fired, following @cjterry.bsky.social's example I will do a thread of election leaflets received here in Cardiff and Penarth. I will do count of policy statements per party detected. Think I missed a greens one from a week or so ago, no policies in it though.

Police putting this out to defend themselves that they didn't look for MsM's phone because they didn't know it was a government phone just an admission that you can basically not expect them to ever investigate a normal phone theft.

Blue Labour in a panicked retreat. Let’s keep the pressure up until this iniquitous policy is buried five miles underground.

Citizen, you don't know the height of the London eye as per the citizenship test? To the mines.

Narratively having Ever Given getting stuck in 2021 to set up Hormuz in 2026 is great foreshadowing. You want your audience to understand the basics of international shipping in a lower stakes context so you drop the real plot without a lot of saggy exposition about the minutiae of cargo logistics.

Wait Kier Starmer is the God Emperor of Dune from the later books that get weird? On our money? I have so many questions. Who is the Duncan Idaho clone that keeps trying to kill him? Who is the dwarf that talks in riddles?

Ok this is funny.

The dictionary woke up this morning and chose violence.

All the talk of Claude is very weird for me personally, because it’s my brother’s name. So seeing people saying things like “is Claude conscious?” just has me like “Well he’s terrible at replying to texts and is often hungover on Saturdays, so I can see why you’d be asking”

We actually did manage both! She's a year into her build! (Obviously Tall is correct to rip into a silly man here, but I am entitled to pedantry on here of all places)

None of this is real to these fucking ghouls. Honestly what is wrong with them.

The relative straightness of the line is the problem. That represents the subsidy that it's ownership is willing to pay for it to exist....

Bugger me, have I just been shielded working in a charity? Did some training today online and basically everyone but me and the trainer had the cameras off, except right at the start. Is this what everyone is living through? No wonder I am relatively up for WFH compared to most. In this breakout

Like this is the main thing I ask of people and the main reason I end up blocking folk. Journalists especially get this a lot. Equally you shouldn't need to signal your values in every post.

Have to report the greens put a leaflet through my door today in Cardiff South and Penarth. Not especially focussed on assembly elections either.

Director General Of The Government Standards Watchdog: You got that propriety and ethics team yet? Experienced Safecracker: Sure did boss, real fuckin dodgy just like you asked

This is 100% going to blow up and take down the PM. Great journalism this.

Absolutely bonkers story about the Cabinet Office propriety and ethics team and its then head Darren Tierney. One for PACAC, surely. Fun fact: PET is currently the team investigating Josh Simons re Labour Together.

John Adams has entered the chat.

Wargh

Fun fact, this Hannan nonsense aside (you'd have to be 73 to remember decimalisation as an adult) you still sell rams in guineas (£1.05)

What I really fucking love about Hot Fuzz is that it is a rare piece of artwork that unapologetically defends liberal modernity. A representative of the impartial, uniform rule of law & depersonalized state beings justice to a lawless, backward community run by a wretched clique of local grandees.

Hah, Antonia Romeo, an appointment which is about to blow up for reasons in the public domain via a highly unusual, on the record briefing by a permanent secretary? Sorry I am 6 months too early.

So what Marie is saying, reader, is that you should be PM.

I thought it was mad at the time not to appoint a career diplomat. By appointing a politician, no. 10 owns all the risk and this will be an ongoing disaster for them. Didn't make any difference with Trump either, ultimately as American continues to unravel.

Not sure I think it looks destructively ambitious. Not sure how I would feel if I lived in Manchester. Probably balances out and he comes away with a tiny bit more name recognition?