Was enjoying the Ryder cup then Trump rocks up. Is there anything he can’t ruin?

Starmer ‘working people don’t want handouts’….10 seconds later ‘so we are handing out £5bn to local communities for them to decide how to spend it’……

According to my exclusive new MRP poll, the number of general elections in the next three years is zero

Some args I see against universal ID: 1. “I don’t like the way the govt is arguing for it, making it all about immigration”. I’m not keen on a lot of this govt’s comms but the route to a majority on this issue runs through more authoritarian voters so it makes sense to go big on framing like this

Starmer could have said that no responsible govt can allow for wide open borders and people working here illegally. That would fit with the ID argument he wants to push. But no instead he blunders into ‘the left have got immigration wrong’. I’m far from a pro but that really isn’t hard to get right?

Basically Labour have two levers to pull to fix this. One is "Make people understand the need for broad based tax rises and do it quickly" the other is "Magic".

I don't think 'the same magical thinking on tax and spend, with a more charismatic leader' is going to get Labour out of their mess, and more importantly, my read is that not enough people in the PLP think that it would either:

Burnham’s bond market comments, coming just three years after Truss blew up her own premiership by ignoring the bond markets, are spectacularly unhelpful to the government, but surely to his own campaign. Some MPs saying it shows his weaknesses is glaring terms.

The first volume of The Bootleg Series covers three remarkable years in Bob Dylan’s early career where he performed his songs solo. The Bootleg Series Vol. 2 takes in the next decade where Dylan and his new musical allies explored an electrifying range of sounds. 🧵

Trump has just made a speech to the UN that was a complete pack of lies. Yet is politely applauded. It feels like we’ve accepted there is no defence of our democratic process and norms beyond ‘well nobody would dare do that’. And that has been blown apart.

Fact for the day: paracetamol does not cause autism

Going to be clear here: I don’t think paracetamol causes autism

Starmer could if he chose address the nation tonight to reassure those worried by reforms latest policy announcements and to present a robust case against them. Why wouldn’t he? What is there to gain from not doing so?

In less jest - yes, it's good if universities can help students develop skills for the labour market. However, the pointless venom of the current government about one of the few world class sectors in the British economy is tiring, enervating and just plain sad. Get a grip lads.

Good grief.

I disagree with Zarah Sultana on many things but I do kinda feel sorry for her wandering into battle with a bunch of people who've been doing Bennite factionalism for the last 50 years.

Watching Starmer’s face as Trump goes off script and starts to dangerously ramble is one of the few genuinely fun things you can do with the news nowadays.

I think it’s underestimated how far magical wealth tax thinking might penetrate the Labour Party and its membership.

The left and soft left in the Labour Party deciding to break cover and try to oust Starmer without any coordination or a clue of who the candidate to do so would be is more or less a thick of it script - sans Tucker. Depressing without any of the fun.

Unfortunately the Tories not completely collapsing in quite important to avoiding a Reform government. And a wave of high profile defections is how they collapse.

The scenes in London yesterday were the logical end result of billionaires and politicians spending a decade pandering to the very worst instincts of the bottom 30% of the school class. And it will get worse.

Elon Musk openly called for violence on our streets yesterday. I hope politicians from all parties come together to condemn his deeply dangerous and irresponsible rhetoric. Britain must stand united against this clear attempt to undermine our democracy.

What's really offending me about Starmer's (lack of) response to last night is what it says about he thinks about us. About a good chunk of voters. They think we're all a little bit racist, really don't they? It's so insulting.

Sky ‘you can’t just write the protestors off as far right they are clearly much broader than that’ at the march organised by ‘far right’ TR, also Sky ‘the protestors chanted about wanting their country back, abused Keir Starmer and said send them all back’. Sky News have somehow plumbed a new low.

What's the government's response going to be this? A post tomorrow on X from Keir Starmer visiting some event or other like this is all perfectly normal? It's insane. DO SOMETHING.

A must read. We have a chance to head it off, but only if @teamlabouruk.bsky.social get their act together. Starmer is a decent man but… Needs new leadership, swift move to PR, strengthening of constitutional defences wherever possible. We’re wide open.

People keep writing a lot of words but fundamentally a successful PM needs a political project that is supported by at least one of his party or the public.With the PLP onside you can ignore the polls, with the polls onside you can bludgeon the PLP with a version of ‘this is what winning looks like’

I argue it's a big mistake just to dismiss Reform's plans as unworkable because they're sketchy. The British constitution gives huge power to a majority government. Reform could do what they want but the costs to all of us would be huge.

Is it a good idea for a minister to come out and say Labour MPs are despondent?

They need someone who doesn't come across in every interview as if they were built in the MP factory. Now Northern and woman *might* be that but no reason it has to be. Very few come immediately to mind.

Yeah, to be crystal clear: can absolutely see the “Labour government continues to struggle but survives, Burnham comes back summer ‘28”, but this whole “he skips out on his job and becomes leader before then”….nah.

Mandelson has been fired. Confirmed.

There will never be a wealth tax in the UK. Anyone who's looked at the evidence knows it would take years to implement, would hit investment, damage growth and kill jobs. The evidence: taxpolicy.org.uk/2025/07/22/u...

Whenever a Labour MP says "I believe in the wealth tax" there's a little sensible tax policy somewhere that falls down dead.

There are some positive developments in this week’s changes to the government, but also this misguided “no, we can’t condemn racism, but can I interest you in some red tape?” approach remains powerful internally.

This feels like musical chairs rather than any meaningful change. It’s like being a football fan knowing your team needs 8 or 9 new signings but there is no money so the summer transfer windows invokes two free transfers and your useless centre half being moved to right back to ‘see if that works’.

@marciles.bsky.social Schon always struck me as a player who we didn’t know where their best position was. A theme with Markham/Evatt signings for me. Lots came in and still not sure what they really are or where they would be most effective.

Newsflash for the replies: Larry Summers was also a crappy university administrator but UK tax credits (his influence) lifted millions from poverty. “universities appointing people who can’t manage universities” is the problem here.

No it can't suffer, you shitwits. Stop anthropomorphising a probability engine. There is some truly fucking dreadful coverage of AI, and the idiot Guardian is one of the worst offenders.

Quite funny that a bunch of people have negativity polarised themselves into thinking that a crippling addiction to phones and or unmoderated access to the Internet for kids, is fine actually

My hot take is there's a bunch of basically emotionally stunted adults who are 14 in their minds, despite the fact they're now 35

These are the top replies, being financially rewarded for posting this stuff, and the explanation offered by the site’s own AI for why it’s like that. Anyway just flicking through the Sunday newspapers reading about some minor content infractions that Ofcom might look into at the BBC/Channel 4.

Quite. It’s bizarre that the idea that the Internet should somehow be exempt from any regulation has endured for so long. We regulate broadcast TV; why wouldn’t we regulate social media algorithms that have ever broadening reach?

We have such a weird relationship with the online space. It’s a free speech issue almost instantly whenever any restriction is even hinted at. Yet how many people are up in arms about other media such as advertising restrictions or language time cut offs? Free speech - doesn’t even get mentioned.

@reluctantnicko.bsky.social What do you think happens with Bolton and Kenny? A loan? Agree a fee? Can’t see us paying the money Celtic want.

@marciles.bsky.social Is Schumacher a bit frustrated? He sounded very certain he wanted a striker in this week. Must be hard going into the season without a front man option.

@marciles.bsky.social Not keen on Thommo going without a proper replacement someone who wins the ball and is physical. We feel too light in midfield as it is. So one assumes any deal would have to fund replacement and then some.

@marciles.bsky.social Feel like selling George would be a mistake - I know money talks but he’d need replacing for my money and not sure we’d do so with much if any profit and another new player to settle in. Ceesay presumably would have been the replacement?

Shamelessly replugging this from two years ago. We would never look at the proportion of, say, schools, that don't turn out literate pupils and go 'oh well, probably those kids were better off out of it'. We shouldn't view the short tail of bad courses and/or outcomes any differently: