Civil society is gonna have to start punching back at the far-right bullies in politics and the media, and a big part of that is having a government that gives people confidence that it will side with them as they stand up for social liberalism rather than try to appease its political enemies

Slightly increase a band Dave, Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Titch

I think Starmer is on borrowed time but this seems like a golden opportunity to turf Mahmood out of the Home Office so it must be taken.

If Starmer had fired the lot of them a year ago, there would be far fewer people currently calling for him to go.

Probably best if the King just uses state opening to make his debut in standup comedy, at this point

So satisfying to explain to someone that their landlord's last ditch attempt to slide under the s21 wire by issuing a notice on the 28 April won't work because they appear to have forgotten to obtain a selective licence...

Meet one of our members, Phil Winter, who was recently awarded Mammal Wildlife Photographer of the Year by the Mammal Society for this terrific photo of a young Fox.  https://sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/news/behind-the-lens-with-phil-winter

Whilst I appreciate Stephen’s point about Labour, I’m going to argue that the Labour Party isn’t the load bearing force against the far right. It’s the Tory party, and our issue here is they’ve decided instead to join in.

VE day doesn't mark the end of the Second World War.

It. Is. Time.

I like the idea that barbers are stuck in a The Producers style romp, where they want to do money laundering but are instead vastly popular salons

like, a key part of eurovision's drama (and fun) was that the votes reflect the weird - and sometimes fluid - biases of participant populations. but once it becomes a reflection of state-engineered foreign campaigns, it's time to rework voting once again. as has happened many times before.

Markus Campbell-Savours, the son of Dale Campbell-Savours and the first British MP of Icelandic descent (through his mother) has just called for Keir to go and I’m sorry but this is a guy someone has made up as a joke right? Set up a Wikipedia and a Twitter account and bam. You aren’t fooling me.

Eurovision voting has ALWAYS been dodgy. i talk about this on the Eurovision ep of Untitled History pod later this week. the difference now is that Israel weaponises the public voting in multiple countries. it doesn't break the rules. but it is so far beyond the spirit, it stains the whole event.

Ouch.

If anything, the focus on horse race helps Keir Starmer. One of very few questions at his press conference that asked him about policy was from my colleague Jim Pickard, and it was the one he struggled with most. As Ian says it is the MOST important topic.

Pharmacy First was one of the best things Rishi Sunak did*, but could have gone further: there are still so many things that your pharmacist is qualified to do, but can’t! *I accept “things Sunak did” is not a long list even before “which of these were any good?”

I love a good field experiment…

QR codes are effective for posters (with the caveat that I hate QR codes and they're far too easily hijacked by scammers and really you should avoid the fucking things anyway). What works on a poster does not necessarily work for online socials. Thank you for coming to my free masterclass.

Yeah, I've made this observation before, but the fact that I could no longer find basically any Tory voters amongst my cohort of university educated higher rate tax payers really could have been a transformational moment for Labour and Britain's oldest party.

There's a sort of core to Labour support, of people who feel a genuine connection to the party and see voting for - even working with - those of other parties as a betrayal. This group seems chronically unable to understand that *even among historically reliable Labour voters* they're a minority

it’s such shibboleth of modern politics to blame politicians for failing town centres when the primary driver is - surely - all of us buying more and more stuff online

Seems CW has now read the rule book. Would have been a good idea to start with that, TBH.

This isn't the main point of the day, but coverage of the Labour leadership election that isn't seems based on the history and rules of the Conservative Party. Possibly because there really isn't a history of Labour leaders being thrown out against their will.

This is true, and I think it's a lot of the reason why Blue Labour is failing even on its own terms. But I'd add that while this isn't true of most of the Starmer group, the people at the heart of the Blue Labour project are people I find it hard to distinguish from Reform.

Some #carrotsandpeas seen in N. Wilts. for #WildflowerHour. IDs given in the Alt Text. @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

sitcom sitcom sitcom [banging clipboard] SITCOM SITCOM

Most mountain pansies in the #Ochils in #Scotland are purple, but in one wee glen, yellow or intermediate ones occur, such as this wee stunner today #wildflowerhour

Subterranean clover @bsbibotany.bsky.social #wildflowerhour

Stunning Menyanthes trifoliata, Bogbean just coming in to flower on Lowick Common. #wildflowerhour @cumbriawildlife.bsky.social #Cumbria

Black Medick for the #WildflowerHour #CarrotsAndPeas challenge (it's in the pea family). Taken last night in failing light; the plant growing in a crack in the paving on my front yard. On the right of the photo is a ladybird, I think possibly a 16-spot? #invertebrates

Common Vetch, Vicia sativa on the heath #carrotsandpeas #wildflowerhour

Easy to overlook, the tiny flowers of Early Forgetmenot growing near the lake at Beaconsfield motorway services on Monday. #WildflowerHour

Given how often I've been to Church Norton, you'd think I'd have spotted Sea Milkwort there before now. But this was a first for me yesterday. #WildflowerHour

Two weeks of botanising for this week's #WildflowerHour, there's even some non-orchids!: sainfoin

I've heard tell that some people go to RSPB Pagham Harbour at this time of year for the birds. How strange. The big attraction is definitely the large numbers of Slender Thistle growing in the area around the car park. #WildflowerHour

Seeing a plant you’ve not seen for a while is just like catching up with an old friend. So happy to see some gorgeous Fly Orchids this weekend too! Fascinating & enchanting in equal measure! 🥰 Ophrys insectifera #Wildflowerhour

I went to Church Norton mainly to admire the Little Terns which breed there, but also to catch the end of the flowering season for the Sea Kale which is very common at the top of the beach. #WildflowerHour

Common Broom growing in the exotic location of ... Beaconsfield Motorway Services. On Monday evening. It's in the pea family, as you may be able to tell from the shape of the flowers. #CarrotsAndPeas #WildflowerHour

Off the mark at last for this year's #dragonfly season - Azure Damselfly in the car park at RSPB Pagham Harbour when I stopped to see the Slender Thistle colony they have there. #invertebrates #UKWildlife

Two weeks of botanising for this week's #WildflowerHour, there's even some non-orchids!: Once, twice, three times a Lady #Orchid

*My “let me be clear: this is not a golden calf” statement is raising a lot of questions already answered by my statement.*

The biggest divide in politics in the UK is between those parties who think a vote is a vote and those parties who despise their own core supporters and fetishise voters who at best resent them.

As I wrote a while back, it's a consequence of presiding over a crummy economy! www.ft.com/content/664e...

When the inevitable leadership vote happens, my vote will go to someone who admits that our core vote is now socially liberal/progressive graduates who think redistribution of wealth is a good idea. Anyone up for a dose of reality? Anyone??

Apparently, we have somehow sleepwalked into a reality where most people only care about antisemitism if it comes from someone they disagree with on Israel-Palestine (one way or the other) and this stance isn't even exclusive to goyim anymore.

Cheers, Kemi's crying, nice one.

The best sandwich of my life was the roast dinner sandwich at Fuzzie's Grub, the first major British casualty of the global financial crisis, followed shortly by New Labour's economic model, the United Kingdom's decent growth rate, our EU membership and perhaps eventually our liberal democracy.