Strangest myth in British politics, it was a speech blair gave, was mentioned as an 'aspiration' in the 2001 manifesto and an 'aim' in 2005 manifesto, not mentioned in 2010. Was never a formal government target like e.g. housebuilding. Politicians are obsessed with dropping the non existant target.

Reading a series of live tweets as someone reads some important document/book, starting with 'librarian here buckle tf up' and intersected with 'hooo boy' every 3 lines is my favourite way to consume commentary.

trains - they're good! build more of them! in other cities too!

Please clap.

So tldr, the mayoral electoral system will revert to supplementary vote the day after the Makerfield by election. Unusually effective movement for this government.

So many problems are the result of England's institutions being in a transition state to full communism (List PR, regional parliaments and a directly elected presidency)

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... rare government w

While it appears that the government has successfully pushed back on some particularly harmful elements in the previous draft, the new Code of Practice will still lead to the exclusion of trans people from services and facilities that they have used without issue for a very long time. [1/5]

Was sceptical about Burnham but now he's making us argue about our favourite voting systems for the next 3 months I'm massively pro.

Incredibly how many people have convinced themselves of something absurd on its face and trivially disprovable thanks to social media.

poll.qu.edu/poll-release... bizarre to think that these are numbers any uk politician would absolutely kill for

Latest data due tomorrow but your regular reminder: net migration is *plunging* without these plans being enacted.

This is why the Democrats' current obsession with tax cuts is so dangerous. They're paving the way for more extreme proposals like ending progressive taxation altogether. Again, we don't need "Republican lite." We need a party that affirms that paying for the things government does is good.

🚨Exciting policy news 🚨 The Chancellor has announced that the government will consult on devolving 'Transport and Works Act Order' decisions to mayors. This would give them the power to get on with building transport networks, speeding up delivery like other countries. 1/2

Raising taxes to pay for expanded and improved government services is literally the opposite of austerity politics. Anti-tax leftism has got to be strangled in the crib before it destroys what scant hope we have of ever implementing a social democratic system in America.

Instead of having it pass by unnoticed as your leadership challenge (which you hope to win) dominates the headlines, instead have it take place during a slow news period where people will be talking about and noticing winter fuel price increases.

Mindful that its incredibly easy to do a "If I were the manager I'd simply do x" critique but god the policies coming out of the government are such a muddle

Normally have no idea what my gf is watching on tiktok, but just heard the 5th andy burnham fancam be watched in full

HS2 announcement - bad & disappointing imo

Americans talking about any other country's food is a great insight into the American imperial mindset. They are, of course, the objective arbiters of all other civilisations, who can be understood without context or history, as presented in the imperial core, or as experienced on a 5 day vacation.

So much about this has me screaming into my motonormativity cushion. Why further subsidise all the wealthy people who drive? Why NOT subsidise the poorer people who don't drive?

The, um, three genders

When I fit the entire roast dinner and trimmings in the oven despite the wifes pleas to use the airfryer for the potatoes as there isn't enough space

He's right, he should say it, and you should want even politicians you dislike to say things you agree with.

I will say, when your leader was a Liberal Democrat until comparatively recently, this isn't a very convincing line

Here's to the overnight toilers The breaking news spoilers The 'well actually you need to watch the price of oil' - ers For the armchair analysts The news night panelists The folks convinced Polanksi is the protagonist You've all got your takes But its you that makes British politics Bluesky

All these statements happening on X is sooo depressing! Use Instagram or something

Love being in central London when there is political drama and all the low flying news helicopters create a distinctive noise as they make the old brick buildings vibrate.

We're the new Italy, time to embrace it

I find this argument somewhat sympathetic but then am also left with the question: why would you join a party if you don't get that choice?

Underrated element of university collapses/cutbacks via mergers is that tuition fees have been eaten by inflation. What was 9 grand in 2012 is now equivalent to 6 and a half. The pressure to reduce overheads with even bigger class sizes at mega institutions is massive!

King (1975).

Rayner raises the exciting prospect of our first PM who vapes.

www.newstatesman.com/politics/202... how spot on was this analysis by @dmk1793.bsky.social from almost 3 years ago

Reminder that Ed Miliband won't see your posts calling his podcast cringe but the guests who've been on it will.

I sometimes think of how the Swedish Social Democrats at a relatively early stage of their history went 'oh well it's fine to campaign for middle class votes because actually they're proletarians too' and think how much healthier of a rationalisation that is than what our social democrats do

Reasons to be Cheerful walked so The Rest is Politics could run.

Notable that Ed Miliband is the only member of the cabinet who spent the Corbyn years writing a long book about policy and hosting a cringe but detailed podcast about policy. He's probably got the best understanding of how to execute policies of any of the cabinet.

Social care reform, immediately. Bon the commission, give task force 3 months to propose final recommendations building from Dilnot proposals, implement immediately with penny on basic and higher rates of income tax to pay for it. Immediately transforms local govt fortunes too…

Drinking a kombucha followed by a diet coke to simultaneously save and destroy my gut microbiome

Getting a proustian rush for the theresa may permacrisis

I think its by not having a plan for government beyond some vague platitudes, seeing internal debate as a weakness and being irrationality uncomfortable with the people who had actually voted for you.

One of the things I've come to appreciate about New Labour through the last year is that their use and obsession with targets was actually pretty good! It provided a clear mission and a regular, easy to understand comms opportunity.

The take that Andy Burnham, one of the few popular politicians in the country, could not win a by election in a safe ish Labour seat to be prime minister MIGHT be right but if that's the case the party is so dead and we are all so fucked anyway you might as well not worry

🇭🇺🎶 For the first time in Hungarian history, 'The forest is green / Pădure vergyé', the Hungarian Roma community's anthem — which gained that status after a 1993 civil rights protest — was played in parliament, at Prime Minister Péter Magyar's suggestion. Many MPs were in tears, and so was I.

As if Keir Starmer needed another reason to leave X - this is the community note currently displayed under his Harriet Harman tweet! Everyone who sees the tweet sees this!

www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/2609191... quite grim that reform are now the largest party in one of the most diverse cities in the UK.

Fgs

The three pillars of American innovation - pick your own skittles vending machine, drugs vending machine, and scratchcard vending machine