Sounds like he commissioned it.

If Starmer 2.0 means nothing else, perhaps it can mean this…

Sharing from a friend, a passage from the Leveson Inquiry regarding the British actor Denholm Elliott, who died of AIDS in 1992. Three years after her death, the News of the World journalist Paul McMullan did the following to his daughter—neither a celebrity nor even someone of public interest.

Used to be live every weekday. Now only on Mondays

Time to recall that Liz Truss appointed and then unappointed Antonia R as permanent secretary to the Treasury to replace the definitely sacked Tom Scholar

This, um, feels unwise.

Turns out The Times gave an interview promoting the content of a far-right neo-Nazi www.channel4.com/news/unmaske...

A fair amount of nonsense has been written and said about the "security vetting" process for Mandelson's appointment. I wrote about what "Developed Vetting" really involves and why it's perfectly possible that it found nothing useful about Mandelson. arthursnell.substack.com/p/the-vettin...

On WATO just now @pollybillington.bsky.social talking huge sense about the culture in no10 and the need for the testosteroney boys club to be broken up.

I have today been informed that, despite personal assurances to the contrary, the Green party have once again used my image and misrepresented my words on a second leaflet circulated in Gorton and Denton ahead of the by-election. I have now lodged an official complaint with the returning officer.

The Green party. Cosying up to the very worst people in politics. Quelle suprise.

He sent an 1,170-word email to the entire department, starting with, 'Some white musicians deliberately have black musicians in their band to help them get gigs rather than thinking who is musically suitable' and ending with 'If there is systematic bias in Britain... it is against white people.'

The BBC normalising yet another grifting, lying, race baiter is the story here. Why are we paying for this?

As for a backlash in the Labour party: silence. No MPs' or members' revolt, no grandees objecting, nothing from former aid champions Tony Blair, now a Palantir sales rep, or Gordon Brown of "Portraits of Bravery In The Service of Great Causes" fame. It's a moral crusade without an army. 5/5

On trade, naive dealings with Donald Trump which allow him to blackmail the UK into doubling the NHS's bill for new drugs at the behest of US pharma, when the UK should be realigning economically with the EU. 4/n

On immigration, a fruitless pursuit of Reform voters, fuelling the deluded obsession with small boat migrants. (More people attend English League Two football matches to watch the likes of Accrington Stanley and Crawley Town in an average week than arrived by small boat in the whole of 2025.) 3/n

On aid, a performative savaging of assistance to own the libs which will cost many lives. (I talk with the great Clare Short, first DfID secretary of state and a truly impressive politician). 2/n

My Trade Secrets today, in which it's fair to say I go off on one. The Labour party is famously "a moral crusade or it is nothing". On aid, immigration and trade they're going for the latter option, with betrayals of principle both repugnant and pointless. 1/n

The abandonment of Labour’s moral crusade ft.trib.al/7QiemFD | opinion

A reminder that the BBC have consistently platformed Goodwin as an 'impartial' commentator.

ex-tories explaining why they’re joining reform

Despite the focus on small boats, most refugees stay in poor countries. I went to Sudan, where nearly 1/3 of the population has left their homes, to see how the UN is coping with Trump's cuts and the west's retreat. Sudan is a brutal, forgotten war. Please do read: as.ft.com/r/7db76b9a-8...

Both of these are just code for “I think Burnham would make a better Labour PM than Starmer. And you know what? That’s probably true. But that doesn’t make it the wrong decision from Starmer’s perspective. The opposite, in fact

“This is undemocratic.” He’s mayor of Greater Manchester. That comes with responsibilities, like don’t abandon your job two years in. “This makes Starmer look weak.” No argument there, but show me a decision that wouldn’t - at this point Starmer would look weak for choosing toast over cornflakes

Maybe party decisions should not be made to suit the personal ambitions of a guy who had a chance to return to parliament two years ago but chose not to and has suddenly changed his mind now the top job is in play? Maybe that guy isn’t worth spending £££ and risking a major by-election over?

As the Burnham fall-out continues, I find it amazing how many politicos seems to have real difficulty separating “this is a terrible strategic decision” and “this is not the outcome I personally wanted”. Both options spelled trouble for Starmer. You don’t have to like the decision to see the logic

Brilliant bit of journalism, eternally depressing moral. Playing whack a mole with online racists..

Tory MP Simon Hoare has given a very vivid quote about Donald Trump's comments on Nato allies, which could actually be used in many contexts about the US president: "Frankly Trump makes my flesh creep and my stomach turn. Where are his advisors? Where is his nurse? Where is his sense of shame?"

Once again after an hour long racist rant full of lies by the US president the Times writes another of its “ say what you like about Trump but…’ editorials. If the paper ever had a moral compass it’s lost it

Starmer maybe rightly doesn’t take bait each time but he needs an outrider - a semi-licensed “off message” attack dog - to make Haw-Haw Farage pay for sucking up to the guy who denigrates British war dead.

This is why the Greens will never become the main party of the centre-left. It is 10% strategy stuff and totally misjudged.

Not the point, but who is this even for? There are about 10 people in Britain who are dead keen on Labour because they are tough on immigration. They all work in Downing Street.

This "open borders" line is *infuriating* - these people came here to study or work, because they had a uni place or a job to come to. They paid visa fees, student fees, NHS surcharge - and many of them are doing challenging and important work - staffing our care homes, for example, including Mum's.

NANDY'S ALIVE, I REPEAT, NANDY'S ALIVE

It's truly shocking that Trump's approval rating is as high as it is right now. Data via @fiftyplusone.news @gelliottmorris.com

Lisa Nandy has broken her silence to post to Facebook about the Wigan Christmas tree collection service.

Just the BBC, the national broadcaster, mainstreaming a fascist blogger. I guess this is normal now.

We can either live in a world made by 14-year-old boys who never grew up, for 14-year-old boys who never grew up, or maybe OFCOM could finally act like an actual regulator?

The met gala of confectionary

Things that didn’t exist three months ago and reality is gaslighting me about: Dubai chocolate

Set out six months ago to investigative some dubious evictions. Ended up writing a sprawling story spread over 450 years about London property deals, the ethics of money lending, Tommy Robinson, Barbary pirates, Jacobean earls, and wealth in the capital. www.londoncentric.media/p/henry-smit...

With all the moral force your victory on a 7% turnout gives you.

Honestly should have just done the televised briefing plan, would be healthy for both sides. having sat through loads of these briefings I’m not sure it’s a big loss, often relied on one side trying to catch out a spokesperson who would largely read from a big binder of pre-prepared answers.

You've heard of Elf on the Shelf but how about

To borrow a quote from Frankie Boyle, you are trying to reason with people who voted to leave Europe because they hate Pakistanis

Polanski’s line on “bums” was, among other things, a terrible message the two-thirds of people who work in social care who are *from* the UK. But to the people on the sharp end of the ugly turn in British politics since Labour came to office, “crass” is better than “at best equivocal on race hate”.

Labour’s shift away from “immigration is good but it needs to be managed” to “it is bad” is a gift to essentially everyone they compete with, because it means that they don’t have the right position to be able to attack *anyone*.

it's Ofcom so the major social media platform they'll kick off with could easily be myspace

People are saying that Chris Mason is biased and lightweight, but just look how forensically critical he was about the fiscal fantasy that Jeremy Hunt created with his reckless, desperate cut to National Insurance last spring www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-poli...