The significant year on year fall on boat arrivals is broadly unreported by BBC or other media. It has less to do with imminent government changes currently going through than a fall in "push factors" that is Europe-wide

As Hungary votes, would recommend this piece about how Viktor Orban has used public money to bankroll an international ultraconservative network - including Roger Scruton cafes and €10k a month for failed Reform candidate Matt Goodwin democracyforsale.substack.com/p/orbans-brits

The gov’ts plan for immigration will keep people working in key industries like care in temporary status for a decade or more, it will keep people in insecure work, make them more easily exploitable, poorer & marginalised -when did that become policy of a Labour gov’t? youtu.be/G7uTFllI5ks?...

This is extraordinary … worth a watch.

📢 new blog post ✍️ Some comments on the Green Party's call for a maximum pay ratio of 10:1... 🤔 julianhjessop.substack.com/p/the-green-...

You need to read this. @timothysnyder.bsky.social has been warning us since 2016 about Trump. He knows: he’s one of world’s leading experts on authoritarianism & always ahead of the game. V proud to publish him in @thenerve.news. He’s an essential voice. www.thenerve.news/p/donald-tru...

Here’s chart from MAC of lifetime Net Fiscal Contribution of UK residents by Age Group. The net for a group is the dot. Given clarity of MAC analysis, it seems unlikely that Home Sec chose the wrong number in error. Adults contribute a lot during a working life. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Now up to 39% in favour, 45% against …so a good hard push should be able to turn that poll around

🚨 OUT NOW 🚨 💥 For all the latest in UK-EU regulatory alignment and divergence, check out our regular tracker by @jreland.bsky.social 🔎 It identifies all the cases of active and passive divergence and alignment, as well as any convergence between the two sides 🔗 ukandeu.ac.uk/reports/uk-e...

Shoutout to @jdportes.bsky.social for getting this info as Govt. have been refusing to publish economic impact assessments. That £600m "saving" will end up being spent on managing hate crime/community cohesion and trying to fix an utterly decimated care system. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

The Strategic Defence Review, which Robertson spearheaded, came out in September 2025, as I was writing the last chapter of my book, which is focused on foreign policy and strategy. I read that entire document and interviewed a number of experts about it. A few thoughts. 🧵

💥 This piece that I published on Sat has now shot up in relevance, thankfully! Pls read the bits about: - the importance of the 2/3 majority - the frozen €20B EU funds that can now be released - the €90B that can now go to Ukraine - how this blows Trump’s National Security Strategy

I know it’s amusing to say Vance lost the election for Orbán, but he didn’t. This win for Magyar has been brewing a *long time*, and the anger is deeper towards Putin than towards Trump

Interesting development. Very interesting. ‘Britain could adopt single market rules without MPs’ vote as part of UK-EU reset’ www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Interesting development. Very interesting. ‘Britain could adopt single market rules without MPs’ vote as part of UK-EU reset’ www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Excellent analysis. All you need to know about tomorrow’s critical Hungarian election …..

Interesting on the way that even his most committed supporters in the U.K. are distancing themselves from Trump. Ofcom needs to get a grip on GB News which is clearly an agent of foreign influence.

A primer on Hungary’s electoral system. Hungary has a mixed-member pseudo proportional electoral system. 106 elected in first past the post constituencies 93 by proportional representation in closed lists 1/

The EU should enlarge to Canada (and Ukraine and the UK). It would be in the economic and strategic interests of all concerned.

I stumbled upon an interesting essay about EU communication problems this week, so I’ve tried to connect it to my experience in my #CrossBorderRail project in this response Communication about something that matters can cause discomfort in the Brussels EU bubble jonworth.eu/my-railway-w...

Excellent analysis. All you need to know about tomorrow’s critical Hungarian election …..

Yvette Cooper is troubled, says Michael Rosen. #Palestine

Just after Israel's attack on Hezbollah in 2024, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government offered issistance to Iran, the key sponsor of Hezbollah. And now Vance is in Budapest, supporting Orban. From Catherine Belton wapo.st/41RvEFd

Devils in the details.

@thehistoryguy.bsky.social Dan, fascinating take on your episode of ‘The great commanders: Rommel from page 495 on NAM Rodger’s The Price of Victory

Another one who thinks the response to a global shortage of something which makes it more expensive is to subsidise people to buy more of it. Truly British politics is blessed with genius.

Genuine tragedy: @carolecadwalla.bsky.social on the monstrous Israeli war on beautiful Lebanon www.thenerve.news/p/lebanon-wa...

I very rarely do petitions, but please sign this one. Reverse the visa brake on Study Visas for citizens of Myanmar. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/76...

My experience of working with Americans is that they really don’t like dumb decisions. After the horrific Iran fiasco, the average American will be finished with Trump .

My experience of working with Americans is that they really don’t like dumb decisions. After the horrific Iran fiasco, the average American will be finished with Trump .

Brexit. Something's got to give......

Impossible to disagree with a single word that Ben Rhodes (Obama era NSC official) is saying here:

No wonder that British MPs and cabinet ministers on Twitter/X have distorted views of public opinion.

How ambitious should Sir Keir Starmer be for the UK at the next annual UK-EU summit? Please see my article just published by @padamson.bsky.social at @encompasseurope.bsky.social encompass-europe.com/comment/timi...

Hungary relies on Russia for something like 75% of its natural gas and 50% of its oil.

This is the ultimate test for a constitutional order. Either constitutional mechanisms are used to check and balance this, and remove him from office, or they are not. For there can be no greater test for any constitution.

How ambitious should Sir Keir Starmer be for the UK at the next annual UK-EU summit? Please see my article just published by @padamson.bsky.social at @encompasseurope.bsky.social encompass-europe.com/comment/timi...

#Iran official response to US proposal through Pakistani mediators, rejecting US conditions for end to US- #Israel War Response consists of 10 clauses, including end to all conflicts in region, protocol for safe passage through #StraitofHormuz, lifting of sanctions, & provisions for reconstruction

No wonder that British MPs and cabinet ministers on Twitter/X have distorted views of public opinion.

Given Trump’s Easter threats to carry out new war crimes in Iran, we should think one or two steps ahead about a coup attempt connected to the war. And then deter it. (1/17)

There should be no surprise that there are more and more calls for Britain to rejoin the European Union: encompass-europe.com/comment/is-b...

This is a nonsense Guardian article The UK has cabinet collective responsibility The whole cabinet would have agreed Mahmood's immigration plans before they were made public. The issue here isn't just Mahmood but the whole Labour government. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Looks like Orban’s Russia-backed false flag operation could be underway to lead to the cancelling of the Hungarian elections. Predicted recently. Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić has informed Orban of “explosives of devastating power” found at the gas pipeline connecting the two countries. 1/2

We are seven months away from the most consequential midterm election in US history. Meanwhile, we are fighting a war. These are the structural conditions for a coup attempt in which a president tries to nullify elections and take permanent power as a dictator. snyder.substack.com/p/the-next-c...

@youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com Might be of interest

Different scales but quite a contrast between the trends of monthly active users of #X (declining sharply) and #Bluesky (growing but at a slowing rate). h/t #Claude

Deeply depressing. Just lazy soundbites and bad economics. Populism without racism is infinitely preferable to the combination. But Greens badly need something that actually resembles a coherent economic strategy. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Powerfully told story of the tragedy of one family business that brings to life the devastating effect of #Brexit on thousands of small & medium-sized UK businesses that used to trade with the EU but don’t anymore. Behind each SME statistic there’s a human story. brexitfactbase.com/5-2-trade/br...

My Trade Secrets today. Trump’s trade misadventures so far are weirdly like Richard Nixon’s: aggressive protectionism foundering on rising inflation and an oil shock. But Nixon turned to freer trade and multilateral liberalisation: not much chance of Trump doing that. as.ft.com/r/7123477f-4...