NEW: Labour's housing benefit cuts have hit a million of the poorest renters, often costing them more than £1,000 a year Greater Manchester and the West Midlands have been worst hit My new substack on the cost of living measure the next PM must take chamindajayanetti.substack.com/p/how-labour...

All these people without work and it still takes an hour to get through to the bank

One mildly interesting thing: Blair's recent essay is a total repudiation of Blairism. It doesn't at all resemble what he did as PM, especially on tax and spend. And yet 'Blairites' are largely applauding it as a serious document (it isn't). Maybe it really is just vibes all the way down.

Good to see a minister push back against the content of the Blair piece. Particularly on the incredibly lazy "taxes have risen because of benefits" stuff.

Pretty much 🎯

Our Book of the Week is IF WE TOLERATE THIS, by Daniel Trilling. His latest book is a short and powerful polemic examining how far right ideas have come to dominate the political agenda, and outlining a strategy for how we might combat them. www.londonreviewbookshop.co.uk/stock/if-we-...

Guess it was time for this ancient proposal to come back around on the eternal baggage carousel of lame hear-me-out attention-farming.

Today is Cost of Rent Day. The point in the year when England’s renters have basically earned only for their landlord. In 2026, that’s until 11 May, over 4 months of wages or benefits gone on rent. High rents are driving people into poverty. Watch to find out more:

The big problem with using MRPs for councils is that even if the vote shares are broadly right: 1. Overall vote shares don't translate straightforwardly to seats 2. They can't pick up independent groups (e.g. in Newham and Redbridge)

Vote Reform. Or we will house *dangerous migrant centres* in your village. And if you vote Green, it will be even worse for you. It's beyond disturbing. The chill wind of threat, thuggery and menace of a kind never before seen in Britain.

Also Lush Life, but Carol Grimes It never entered my mind-Ella Fitzgerald God bless the child-Billie Holiday Atomic-Blondie 10th Avenue freeze out-Springsteen Harlem Shuffle-Bob and Earl Living for the city-Stevie Wonder A new bohemia-Pet Shop Boys Waterfall-Stone Roses Hurricane- Neil Young

🚨BREAKING: RENTERS’ RIGHTS ACT IS IN FORCE TODAY!! 🚨 Today marks a new era for private renters across England. This new law is a vital step towards re-balancing power between renters and landlords and should be celebrated.

This is good on why insurgent parties experiencing rapid growth become magnets for cranks and also lack the buffering layer of veterans and stalwarts that might stop the maniacs becoming candidates

None of what she is stating here relates to the Renters' Rights Act, or will be impacted by its introduction. Her issues stem from our collapsing justice system. To be clear - you can still seek possession based on arrears under the RRA. It's no fault evictions that will be stopped.

I’m deeply saddened at the tragic loss of Giles Peaker. Giles was not only an exceptionally talented housing lawyer but a real force for good in the world who played an integral role in the development of the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act. My heartfelt condolences to all who loved him.

Giles co-authored the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act with Justin, and I was delighted to work with him on other projects too. I was, frankly, terrified of Giles’ razor-sharp intelligence but soothed by his kindness and great good humour. God, we will miss him.

It's perfectly reasonable to challenge ministers on N Sea oil & gas as a response to the energy shock. But this is the exclusive framing for EVERY interview on this topic. No minister or opposition leader is ever asked if they'll "max out" wind/solar. It's always framed as fossil fuels v inaction

So, happy 120th anniversary of Samuel Beckett’s birth to all who celebrate

NIGEL FARAGE ELON MUSK JD VANCE PETER THIEL MARINE LE PEN MATTHEW GOODWIN CAN YOU HEAR ME? YOUR BOYS TOOK A HELL OF A BEATING, A HELL OF A BEATING

Now we can breathe for a moment… The decimation of youth services across the country was one of the most damaging legacies of post-2010 austerity. We saw its consequences every day in London. Great to see this investment from @london.gov.uk

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.

A truly terrible social policy, finally consigned to history. Proof of the power of social security to lift huge numbers of people out of poverty. A wonderful day for our whole society!

That UK government ever considers asserting its contractual rights against a major supplier is rare and welcome. And here, this is especially welcome. This will not be easy but it can be done, but it is good it is being seriously considered at all. www.ft.com/content/2d2b...

It is absolutely stupid that a major focus of policy response to the Iran War is on the planned 1p rise in fuel duty in September (watching Trevor Phillips interview Bridget Phillipson). Of no help now to anyone to abandon it. Shows how trivial our political debate has become.

The Renters’ Rights Act coming into force in May will ban no fault eviction and make it possible to challenge unfair rent rises. The Mayor of @london.gov.uk is setting up a £400k Renters’ Rights Enforcement Fund for renters rights groups and for training for borough enforcement officers.

Everything from Camden Market to the Admiral Duncan pub and central London Harry Potter stores are owned by shell companies in tax havens. For years, they hid the identities of their real owners. Today, @andrewkersley.bsky.social pulls back the curtain.

This has been the story almost without interruption since we started getting regional povery stats about thirty years ago. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

Wind & solar are currently producing 65% of Britain's electricity. Meanwhile, renewables now offer 30,000 more UK jobs than oil and gas. Meanwhile, we're in a climate emergency. Meanwhile, we're in a fossil fuel supply crisis. Meanwhile, the Tories and Reform want to scrap Net Zero. grid.iamkate.com

Hard agree with @stephenkb.bsky.social. Society needs volunteers, many of them retirees. Housing insecurity and high housing costs undermine that capacity. The impact of generation(s) rent on civic society is generally under-explored and under-appreciated.

We are very sorry to be saying goodbye to the fantastic @bentwomeyuk.bsky.social, but I have no doubt the world will hear a great deal more of him in future. And now we at @generationrent.bsky.social have a big job to fill…

If the govt is to survive this, it's gonna need to socialise the term "Trumpflation", like the TUC has begun to do

Spot on that the battle for the right is not Tories vs Reform but liberalism vs grim authoritarianism.

Nick Timothy's comments stoke division when we need togetherness. Trafalgar Square hosts events celebrating a wide range of faiths and cultures (and many events that relate to none) including a Passion play over the Easter Weekend. To single out the Open Iftar is telling.

The President of the USA is now openly threatening Iran with being the target of one of the greatest crimes in world history. Trump is saying he will destroy the basis of life for more than 90 million people. He should be removed from office for this.

Keir Starmer is right to stand up to Donald Trump over Iran. While the brutal Iranian regime should rightly be condemned and international pressure applied, this war is not the right course of action.

The greatest orator of our times

He's obviously right. The Tory position on this is nuts. Why on earth would you want to tie yourself to a President who is clearly not capable of rational decision making and has no idea what he's doing? It's already not a popular conflict + it's only going to get less popular if it drags on.

Sobering to think that we would have joined a reckless war in the middle east over the weekend had Badenoch or Farage been PM. And we would be refusing to embrace an energy transition away from reliance on a deeply unstable region. Starmer's sobriety definitely an asset in the last few days.

And we were out right across Westminster again today. A marvellous group of people - councillors and supporters - working their socks off for their local communities.

The fate of the Iranian people has never been of great concern to American administrations, and this one is no exception www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Straight talking from @sadiqkhanlondon.bsky.social on the lessons we need to learn www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

This is a bruising result. Despite an excellent candidate, and a strong campaign, we’ve lost one of our safest seats. Our coalition has fragmented. There has been much focus on voters tempted by Reform. But we’ve lost more to the left, both in this byelection, the last one, and nationally.

"Labour needs to rethink its major settlement reforms" "Applying these retrospectively to people already here will create an enormous constituency of grievance that would wreck any attempt to rebalance Labour’s voice on immigration" www.thenewworld.co.uk/sunder-katwa...

'Because council tax is included in rent you can't register to vote' (which is nonsense) actually means 'please don't tell the council or HMRC that the property is let out'. Basically a confession that the landlord is iffy, in the Rightmove listing!

Extraordinary that anyone would think this could possibly be acceptable!

I love it when a plan comes together. The new Queens Park canalside is such an improvement and will only look lovelier when the new planting starts to flower. youtu.be/Yh7FCf4x-bc?...

This Labour government succeeded where the Tories failed – legislating to abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions and transform private renting. Now Reform want to repeal our Renters’ Rights Act and deny tenants the security, rights and protections they’ve secured. Disgraceful.

This is a serious and worrying failure by media - Reform need to be pressed on the core legal and moral issues at stake here