The UK's cover-up culture alive and well "war crimes allegations against the SAS were not referred to military police out of concern an investigation could disrupt operations and negatively affect morale" Allegations include "the killing of children and civilians." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Stick that where the sun don't shine, Starmer www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

It's another day where the UK media excites itself over the latest corporate-sponsored utterings of a war criminal.

On hottest May day recorded, reanimated corpse funded by fossil fuel interests recommends abandoning efforts to tackle climate crisis www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Disability Rights UK is conducting a survey on disabled people’s experience of Personal Independence Payment (PIP). If you want your experiences to inform research, policy discussions and recommendations on PIP, please fill out the survey in the link below.

The Labour Together technique: Get exposed for undeclared dodgy donations ... just simply claim, "The Russians did it" www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Part of a BBC News report on the ongoing ethnic cleansing in the occupied West Bank.

The biggest impediment for Wes Streeting's policy promises is the memory of this ...

Labour lost almost four times as many voters to the Greens as they did to Reform UK in the local elections, according to new YouGov polling

With alleged 'allies' like these who needs enemies ...

In April when the SNP suggested caps on the price of some goods at supermarkets, Labour described it as "incoherent" and "undeliverable" One month later ... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Thames Water workers have had two years of uncertainty. A short-term private sector fix will not cut it. Water needs long term stability to clean up the environment and guarantee jobs. We need to bring Thames Water back into public ownership.

NEW: Unemployment has risen slightly this month to 1,806,000 - down 77,000 on 3 months ago, but up 192,000 in the last year. The wider underemployment measure rose to 5.19 million people underemployed. There are now 7.3 people seeking work for every vacancy Vacancies slowing, wage rises slowing.

"Liars often set their own traps" - Aesop www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Have any pollsters actually asked if people are in favour of rejoin - and spelled out the probable path, i.e. committing to joining the euro, and paying more than before (ie. without rebate)? Because otherwise it's just a "do you regret Brexit?" question

Every. time. "A leading ‘Raise the Colours’ flag campaigner, who has claimed that he is fighting to “protect our women and children” from migrants, has pleaded guilty to assaulting a woman." bylinetimes.com/2026/05/18/f...

Net favourability 🔴Andy Burnham +8 🟠Ed Davey -7 🟢Zack Polanski -21 🔵Kemi Badenoch -21 🟣Nigel Farage -27 🔴Keir Starmer -38

Lots of (often very good) pieces about this weekend lamenting Britain being ungovernable/too fast turnover of PMs. I think “why do we keep getting ineffective/bad PMs?” is a better question than “why do we get rid of them?”

Will be on Sky News shortly - just after 5:30pm - discussing the Makerfield by-election. Please tune if you can ...

This week's top posts: Earthquake election but Croydon only felt some small tremors insidecroydon.com/2026/05/11/e... #Croydon #LocalElections2026 @fisherandrew79.bsky.social @bylinetimes.bsky.social

🧵 With a leadership contest apparently imminent, it got me thinking about the first Labour leadership campaign I worked on … No, not Jeremy Corbyn in 2015, but nine years earlier – the John4Leader campaign, which began in 2006 shortly after Blair had set a timetable for his departure ... 1/n

@fisherandrew79.bsky.social on what he thinks will happen over the next few months.

The standards committee must decide if this gift could be related to political/public role. A defence could that a £5m gift was "purely private" + "wasn't political in any sense at all" (May 5th) www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... To say "reward for campaigning for Brexit for 27 years" disrupts that

Good news for the NHS that 'Palantir Wes' is apparently resigning tomorrow Will be welcomed by NHS workers who have no faith in him bsky.app/profile/youg...

This polling of Labour members is damning for Wes Streeting's waning leadership aspirations

But Nigel Farage said that £5m was for his security which he claimed costs several hundred thousand pounds a year ... Surely he wasn't misleading?

🧵 With a leadership contest apparently imminent, it got me thinking about the first Labour leadership campaign I worked on … No, not Jeremy Corbyn in 2015, but nine years earlier – the John4Leader campaign, which began in 2006 shortly after Blair had set a timetable for his departure ... 1/n

Now that is timing ... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Times like these really bring out the egos don't they?

Will be on the BBC News Channel discussing the Kings Speech (and no doubt the Government's other issues) shortly ... Please tune in if you can ...

This is what the “best vetting in the country”* looks like. *Reform UK home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf’s words. @josiahmortimer.bsky.social @bylinetimes.bsky.social

BREAKING - Parliamentary Standards Commissioner will launch an investigation into Farage's £5m donation.

Good news for the NHS that 'Palantir Wes' is apparently resigning tomorrow Will be welcomed by NHS workers who have no faith in him bsky.app/profile/youg...

Some Tory MP says unchallenged on the BBC that "the welfare bill is spiralling out of control" Here's that 'spiralling' in full - steady for the last 20 years

Labour's Immigration Bill is the most immoral and repugnant thing this Government has done. It would mean a care worker who came to this country looking after our elderly, working night shifts on low pay, would wait 10 years to apply for citizenship But an investment banker could apply in 3 years

Really good piece by @fletchersimon.bsky.social on for @bylinetimes.bsky.social "The problem is not that Labour’s programme is basically good but hindered by errors, but rather that its most fundamental choices – primarily on the economy – were wrong" bylinetimes.com/2026/05/11/k...

www.patreon.com/posts/croydo... #Croydon #Elections #Podcast #Journalism

Where did it all go wrong? "We should treat the 2017 manifesto as our foundational document, the radicalism and the hope that that generated across the country was real. Anybody who knocked on a door in that election knows it was real. So we have to hang on to that as we go forward"

Britons tend to believe that party members rather than MPs should have the final say during changes in prime minister part-way through a parliament Members: 41% MPs: 29% yougov.com/en-gb/daily-...

This will resonate with a lot of Labour MPs and members: “the desire not to have an argument means we rarely make an argument, leaving opportunities for progress stalled and delayed” But the bigger problem is the underpinning transformative policy agenda has been lacking

The fourth Reform councillor suspended, expelled or forced to resign since being elected on...Thursday

Hard to argue with a word of this resignation letter from @miattafahnbulleh.bsky.social

Today seems like this might come to a head. Either Keir Starmer resigns or the Cabinet ministers who have urged him to resign will be sacked or have to resign. If the latter then maybe Starmer limps on for a bit longer, but does anyone seriously think he can turn Labour's fortunes around?

Wrote a piece on the elections in Croydon and their context within South London and England more widely My new column for @insidecroydon.bsky.social insidecroydon.com/2026/05/11/e...

The stream of Labour MPs calling for Starmer to go seems to be accelerating. Not yet a torrent, but it's getting close.

Wrote a piece on the elections in Croydon and their context within South London and England more widely My new column for @insidecroydon.bsky.social insidecroydon.com/2026/05/11/e...

This is a major issue to which is driving urban (and mostly younger) voters to the Greens. Both Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, and Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester, have called for rent controls. Starmer and Reed rebuffed them. Voters rebuffed Starmer and Reed.

Earthquake election but Croydon only felt some small tremors insidecroydon.com/2026/05/11/e... #Croydon #LocalElections2026 @fisherandrew79.bsky.social @bbcnewsnight.bsky.social @politicshome.bsky.social

Big new polling from @compassoffice.bsky.social / @survation.bsky.social: 🔴36% of remaining Labour members have considered /are considering quitting the party 🔴51% of Labour members believe Starmer cannot turn around the party's fortunes (only 34% think he can)

"What did you make of the speech?" @fisherandrew79.bsky.social : "I think he's in big trouble. There was nothing new in that"