Some thoughts on Chris Wormald's short stint as cabinet secretary, and what Starmer needs from his next pick - which includes someone who's going to be a much more visible leader for hundreds of thousands of civil servants. 👇 www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/next...

Ahead of Starmer addressing the Women’s PLP at 1pm today we report: - Starmer has been having meetings with women across the party in recent days to listen to their concerns - Some MPs pushing for more women in Cabinet reshuffle - What MPs think Mandelson revelations mean for VAWG strategy

Thought Ed Miliband was really enjoying himself on the morning round today, getting to properly stretch his legs - this extravagant “Yes!” being a highlight

I’m sure this will be great, but I kind of like the mystery? I feel as though I know as much as I need to, the gaps are fine (Also, all caps please when you use his name)

Keir Starmer has told Labour MPs he will not "walk away" from No 10 and that he will keep fighting "as long as I have breath left in my body” A minister told PolHome the Prime Minister was “stronger than he was at the beginning of the day” after addressing a restless Parliamentary Labour Party

The Ministry of Justice has ordered the deletion of the UK’s largest court reporting archive. This risks undermining open justice, and I believe, undermines the public accountability role of the press by making it harder to see what is going on in the courts. www.thetimes.com/article/77b0...

I’m sorry, Jordon Hudson did what now www.tmz.com/2026/02/08/j...

Quite a good hit rate if your true aim is to end up in the House of Lords though

This week's episode of The Rundown is such a great conversation about the student loan debate ft @theifs.bsky.social's Kate Ogden, the @smfthinktank.bsky.social's Dani Payne, Labour MP @chriscurtis94.bsky.social and colleague @siennarodgers.bsky.social Hosted by @alaintolhurst.bsky.social

🚨 OUT NOW 🚨 Solving the student loan 'scam' 💰Labour MP @chriscurtis94.bsky.social, economist Kate Ogden & head of education and social policy @danihpayne.bsky.social join @alaintolhurst.bsky.social to discuss the long-simmering row over student finance 🎧 Listen: bit.ly/4qof0H8

As first reported by top colleague @siennarodgers.bsky.social for PolHome way back in September last year!

I think about this man often

The growing Mandelson scandal has resulted in renewed pressure on the position of Keir Starmer's chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, who was instrumental in the decision to bring him into government, reports PolHome's Tom Scotson

Peter Mandelson To Retire From House of Lords www.politicshome.com/news/article...

New Interview: www.newyorker.com/culture/q-an...

London schools face losing £45m in funding over the next 4 years as a result of falling pupil numbers, analysis shared exclusively with @politicshome.bsky.social suggests

I'm being sued for libel by a man who ran a rental arbitrage scheme involving some of London's priciest properties. The Londoner have been brilliant in standing behind me & refusing to give into this naked attempt at silencing the truth. Read below - www.the-londoner.co.uk/the-londoner...

One more plug for my Substack piece on the by-election everyone's talking about, which is taking place right down the road from me... open.substack.com/pub/swingome...

NEW: Howard Lutnick, the billionaire who serves as President Trump’s commerce secretary, planned a visit to Epstein’s island in 2012. Lutnick previously claimed that he was so revolted by Epstein that he had cut ties with him years earlier. 1/6 www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u...

I'm not prone to exaggeration but this is probably the biggest scoop I've ever been involved in Mandelson's partner took £10,000 from Epstein to pay for his osteopath course while Mandelson was de facto UK deputy prime minister, according to new files more to follow www.ft.com/content/c950...

The Scarlets match in Benetton is an absolute farce, this is an all-time pea souper

🚨 OUT NOW 🚨 The second referendum campaign revisited 🇪🇺 Labour MP & founder of Remain Labour @andrewlewinmp.bsky.social, @anandmenon.bsky.social & @morganj0nes.bsky.social join @alaintolhurst.bsky.social to look back at the anti-Brexit movement following the EU referendum 🎧 Listen: pod.fo/e/383e5e

a) a century is not a long time in the context of the UK parliament and the law b) it's only a century old if you count the 1911 Parliament Act and ignore the 1949 Parliament Act which amended it c) Parliament Acts are established parts of the UK system- reporting them as "old" is a weird framing

"All governments decay eventually. What distinguishes Keir Starmer’s is the speed with which the necrosis has set in. After little more than 18 months in office, it already resembles the last months of Rishi Sunak’s premiership" as.ft.com/r/44182887-8...

recently learned about “dek bass”, a sound system culture in rural West Bengal, using cassette decks and homemade systems, and it’s remarkable because 1) the music and equipment are sick and 2) the DJ always looks like he’s being briefed on a national security issue

SCOOP: Trump aide Stephen Miller behind misleading claim that slain Minn. protester wanted to "massacre" agents

Grape Nuts (holding me back): Whoa whoa whoa, hey man, just let it go! This asshole isn't worth it!

When this isn’t the first time, or even the 5th or 6th time, that you think ‘crikey the windscreen’s dirty’ - only to realise it’s actually your glasses that need cleaning, then you really do start to question your own brilliance

big papa huge time is a jovial…JUBILANT cat as proven by his big grin and closed eyes…whenever you can, be happy like big papa huge time! he is happy and joyous, enjoying the moment; just like how you should allow yourself to be! be like big papa huge time!

Mamdani wandering through a darkened dungeon, hidden away in the bowels of a forgotten library, pulls an ancient crumbling tome off a forgotten shelf, blows the dust off the cracked cover to reveal the words "How To Do Retail Politics"

Burnham has publicly criticised how Labour is "being run" after his bid to be its candidate in an upcoming by-election was blocked The Manchester mayor said journalists found out about the NEC denying his bid before he did "You would think that over 30 years of service would count for something.."

Is it really an alien abduction if I want to go with them

Western countries are hitting refugees twice: they are making it harder to claim asylum *and* they are cutting aid to troubled regions. I went to Sudan, the world's worst humanitarian situation, where the UN refugee agency has had to cut half its staff. Please have a read: as.ft.com/r/df593f1e-e...

🚨 OUT NOW 🚨 Too late to rewire the state? 🔄🏛️ @instituteforgovernment.org.uk's @hannahkeenan.bsky.social, TBI's @iosad.fyi and Keir Starmer's former political director Luke Sullivan join @alaintolhurst.bsky.social to discuss Labour’s attempts at civil service reform 🎧 Listen now: pod.fo/e/37edab

Keir Starmer allies have told PolHome that Andy Burnham won't be allowed to stand as Labour's candidate in the by-election in a newly vacated Greater Manchester seat Sources have suggested to Sienna Rodgers that the party NEC could draw up a list of female candidates only, or an all-BAME shortlist

NEW: In January 2024, a man purchased Meta's newly AI-infused smart glasses. He went on to experience a devastating break with reality that played out across Meta platforms — with Meta AI as his companion, entertaining and affirming his worsening delusional beliefs. futurism.com/artificial-i...

Photo by Pierre Lavie. Yes this is me. And I threw my Leica. It landed on the bass plate with hardly a scratch. Another Photographer grabbed it along with my phone and I was able to track him later. I was held face down tear gas deployed right in front of me and pepper sprayed directly into the eye.

🚨OUT NOW🚨 'Our democracy is being attacked' 🗳️ Electoral Commission chief exec Vijay Rangarajan, the Jo Cox Foundation's Hannah Phillips & Labour MP John Slinger join @alaintolhurst.bsky.social to discuss rising threats, abuse & intimidation facing politicians Listen: podfollow.com/politicshome...

MPs are "self-censoring" public statements for fear of threats and intimidation, a Labour MP has warned John Slinger, vice-chair of the defending democracy APPG, said abuse towards candidates at the last general election was "off the scale" He spoke to The Rundown's @alaintolhurst.bsky.social

❌Kemi Badenoch has sacked Robert Jenrick, removed the whip and suspended his party membership "with immediate effect" In a post on X, Badenoch said she was presented with "clear, irrefutable evidence" that Jenrick was "plotting in secret to defect in a way designed to be as damaging as possible"

Tell me you worked at the Home Office without telling me you worked at the Home Office...

I need the most “the problems with police culture in England and Wales” paragraph you can find:

I’ve been thinking a lot about dog poo | Adrian Chiles

Typically insightful from Fletty - and reminds me of my perennial peeve; restaurants masquerading as pubs, I just hate it

Yeah so under weaknesses you’ve written “cares too much about solving crime if anything”

Incredible posting

👇In which I explain that while civil service reform may not be the most glamorous thing a government could focus on, they absolutely need to do it. A year and a half on from entering gov the civil service hasn't meaningfully changed. Gov needs a plan to make that happen.

EXCLUSIVE: Leaked WhatsApp messages show Labour MPs urging govt to leave X, arguing that it should "show direction to others in the UK" The MPs said X owner Elon Musk is "fascist" and that the platform's AI tool, Grok, had put "children in harm's way"