Words can’t really express the horror that is Hillsborough - not just on the day but everything that has happened after. The new Hillsborough duty of candour is a step in the right direction but will it be enough to combat a culture of defensiveness, delay and impunity?

Jenrick’s campaign fuels vile far right attacks. At least 6 immigration judges have been subjected to threats since April. At least 2 have been advised to move out of their homes. One judge received a threat saying: “We know which bus your child catches”. observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

Darren Jones did the best possible job of defending the OBR debacle on the Today programme but it won’t wash. Before he spoke I was minded to accept the argument there was a hole because OBR didn’t include winter fuel and disability u-turns. But they blamed OBR for the hole when it was theirs.

“If #BBC #journalists are not allowed to mention a sentence - in a story about censorship, then the problem is bigger than one line in my Reith lecture. “That is precisely the dynamic I describe: institutions censoring themselves out of fear of those in power.” www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...

This is an excellent, level-headed, informative piece. I'd kill for a government which could discuss the issue with the same sense of objectivity and calm.

Farage has vowed to cut funding to universities that undermine ‘free speech’. This is just the beginning of the Trump playbook and we know from Johnson’s time there are few constitutional guardrails to stop the abuse of power. Cosying up isn’t going to cut it. www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

The referal of the Treasury to the FCA about Budget leaks is one to watch. The Budget process has been shambolic, has undermined rather than strengthened public and economic confidence and potentially allowed some to make money. Whoever is behind this comms disaster should go.

Looking forward to reviewing tomorrow's newspapers tonight at 10.30pm @listentotimesradio.bsky.social @darrylmorris.bsky.social

Equality Trust report on how 'structural corruption' is undermining democracy: the unelected power of the ultra-rich, a small number increasingly dominating our sources of information from media to google and AI, and using donations to influence politics. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Income tax threshold freeze will hit poorer households harder, experts say

New net migration figures at 930am. Net migration fell half a million to 344,000 in 2024 from 848k in 2023 56% of people think it went up last year 17% think stayed the same 14% think it went down 2025 figure to be lower again 16% expect that 38% think it will be up 31% about the same

Pleased Reeves has ended the benefit cap and adjusted the fiscal rules to stop random cuts to due to error prone forecasting every 6 months, and increased headroom. But freezing thresholds may end up undermining trust more than a rise, because it's less fair and done by stealth.

I find this censorship deeply troubling, and sinister that they sought to hide it, and it shows that Trump’s bullying works. www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...

Teenage Farage emerges not just as racist but as bullying and sadistic. No wonder he admires Putin and Trump and people fall out with him. Some say he’s no longer racist but nobody denies the rest. Maybe supporters think these are winning qualities. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Juries protect innocent people against unfair laws eg the jury in Clive Ponting's jury accepted his public interest defence for his Belgrano leaks and a jury cleared the Colston 4 of criminal damage for toppling the statue of a slave trader. Checks on state power, removed.

It was extraordinary when Johnson took government control over the strategy of the Electoral Commission, and now Labour are resisting an opportunity to restore its independence. Election policy should not be influenced by the party that is in government. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

The bad government highlighted here is not unique to Covid, though Johnson is the nadir. Lack of planning and delay is endemic eg successive failures to adapt for global warming or adopt social care recommendations. And ask Streeting about a 'toxic' No.10 and sidelined Ministers.

Just because we all expected ‘too little, too late’, the lack of a plan and the damage caused by ‘a toxic, sexist culture’ in No 10, it doesn’t mean these points from the Covid report should wash over us. Lessons for government more generally, not just in a pandemic.

PAC says abolition of NHS England not “prudent”, was decided with no money set aside for it and no impact assessment, and repeated the “poor practice” already seen with HS2 and the new hospitals programme. Massive distraction and disruption too. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

The basic problem with the temporary refugee status policy - especially one lasting up to 20 years - is it leads to very few removals (based on Denmark's experience) but does significantly worsen integration.

‘Illegal migration is tearing this country apart’ says Mahmood. Her intention may be the opposite but this rhetoric and the tough action that goes with it is potentially throwing petrol on the fire, giving permission to racism and hate. And if her measures don’t work, what then?

Let's not forget that extending the freeze on tax thresholds for a further 2 years to 2030 is an increase in income tax, it's just one done by stealth.

Looking forward to reviewing tomorrow's newspapers tonight with Henry Bonsu on Times Radio at 10.30pm

What is going on? Treasury says it cannot comment on speculation caused by govt briefing last night that tax rises they briefed about over weeks are abandoned, a story possibly released to suppress further coverage of No 10’s denial that it had briefed about the Starmer coup…

It pains me to say it but I think there is a trust issue here, which the Prime Minister promised to restore. Who is telling us the truth? No.10 or the journalists? Because they depend on those 'sources' for their stories, will these journalists now protect them? www.bbc.com/news/article...

Every journalist briefed by No 10 re Streeting knows who did it but now maintains the fiction it’s not clear who did. Treating government as a political campaign feeds journalists but it is bad government eg the huge number of leaks re Budget options has chilled the economy.

As someone who has studied the toppling of recent PMs and experienced Thatcher’s, I would say the next step is likely to be a sacking of a Chief of Staff (cf Cummings, Timothy and Hill) or a Chancellor (Truss) but based on those experiences this is unlikely to save a weak/bad PM.

An inside story on what happened at the BBC, essentially a coup, it seems, years in the making. www.theguardian.com/media/ng-int...

How did Robbie Gibb, who took over the Jewish Chronicle on behalf of an undisclosed owner, after which it lurched to the right and even printed fabricated stories about Gaza, get to be an arbiter on the BBC’s impartiality? The BBC is central to our democracy and deserves better.

Independent Commission on UK Counter-Terrorism Law, Policy and Practice report says official definition of terrorism is too broad and creates ‘uncertainty and overreach in its application’. Comes after 2000 people arrested after banning of Palestine Action www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crim...

Let’s not get into a situation where Trump - who has a vicious agenda against respected media outlets - and his acolytes here are allowed to destroy the BBC because of one highly regrettable mistake. And let’s stop political appointments to the BBC Board. Independence matters.

A genuinely visionary policy announced today -new towns to be built beside newly planted forests so everyone there will be10 minutes walk away from wild spaces. Let’s hope they also build the quality social infrastructure communities need. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Reeves may be trying to soften the political blow of raising taxes by managing expectations but I fear it will negatively impact the economy, as people and companies anticipate the worst on all fronts before the Budget. So many leaks have already started this process, worse now.

According to the FT, Ant Middleton, a former soldier and television personality now rightwing activist, told followers to leave the country for their own safety after reports of the train stabbing, which the FT picked as just one example of overreaction. Are we being wound up?

An update on civic rights. A jury upheld the right to peaceful protest at Stonehenge despite draconian laws. Meanwhile, thousands of protestors are being charged for trying to protect the right to peaceful protest after the banning of Palestinian Action. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Looks like the only accountability of the monarchy is to itself, a principle being fiercely maintained by avoiding a Parliamentary vote through orders in council. Healey now confirms govt is only guided by the king. For years Andrew has avoided consequences. What if he were king?

Genuine question: Johnson’s time showed our unwritten constitution lacked checks to control rogue PMs but Parliamentary scrutiny at least existed and he was forced out by his peers. If Andrew had been the firstborn and was now King, would anyone be able to remove him?

Bad government: Lammy micromanaging the Prison Service by imposing a release checklist which adds to staff burdens - and before the inquiry identifies the problem to be solved - while new Home Office rules for minimum salary levels for migrants denude them of Prison Officers.

Thatcher was born 100 years ago today. Her influence is still pervasive - Tories are still obsessed with her small state, low taxes view, despite failing to control either, Labour's 'Iron Chancellor' pays tribute and the economic north-south divide she created still endures🧵

Heseltine is a brilliant commentator today, but what would Thatcher say, who’d have been 100 years old on Monday? I think she’d advocate a return to the EU for both economic and geopolitical reasons and lament Badenoch’s abandonment of net zero and the ECHR.

The story of how Blair met Epstein - a word from his mate Mandelson - speaks volumes about the private influence and access of the super rich to govt. Often hidden but the effects are everywhere. Look at the funding of the Blair Institute. Larry Ellison. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Badenoch joked yesterday ‘As George Bernard Shaw said: ‘Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig likes it’, apparently referencing Reform. But that’s exactly what the Tories (and Labour) are doing with their ever tougher migration policies. Race to the bottom.

Does anyone else think of McCarthy’s ‘unAmerican’ when politicians brand things as ‘unBritish’? I get what’s being said about sensitivity, intimidation and fighting racism but protests are as British as they come and we already have laws to use against racism, hate and violence.

Thatcher’s clothes at a ghostly, empty conference. I think Thatcher in her heyday would be shocked to see her party abandon international and net zero commitments, carelessly sacrificing our international standing at a time when our leadership matters more than ever.

The last govt introduced multiple restrictions on peaceful protests and this govt is on the same path. Bad laws are made in haste and Mahmood should have listened to all sides before acting. The police already have extensive powers. The banning of Palestine Action has backfired.

I know what Govt is going to do on its political fight against Reform but am hazy about their priorities for governing. First there were 5 missions, then 6 milestones, now 3 things: growth, NHS and security, I think. Any delivery chain needs clear orders, government even more so.

I like Starmer’s focus on giving people and communities agency, working in partnership with them to build a fairer Britain for all. Chimes very much with the Civil Society Covenant launched by the PM and Lisa Nandy in July. www.gov.uk/government/p...

It was striking that Starmer had his audience most behind him when he was attacking racism, and with real passion. I suspect we were seeing the real man there, not the speechwriter, and many would like to see more of this, and not the Reform-lite policies.

Starmer’s vision for Britain is to be a world leader in AI and quantum mechanics. Digital ID will be, as Darren Jones says, the bedrock of modern services. Inspiring for the big tech companies Labour talks to, but what about us? Where do we fit into this future? #Technovision

Conference speeches rarely stick but Davey’s jibe that Starmer’s govt is like Sunak’s made me think. Some policy differences eg net zero but many priorities the same. Starmer’s promise to work with civil society is genuinely new and could be a game changer but who’s heard of it?