So do we think Rayner, Phillipson, Nandy etc are playing Twister in the basement of No 10 to figure out who's getting which of the remaining posts?

Incredible statement from the Church in Wales on the ignominious Code of Practice: "The Church in Wales will not use equality law exemptions to exclude trans people from our worship, our sacraments, our pastoral care, or our common life." www.churchinwales.org.uk/en/news-and-...

I've just scored 81 on Flea Juggle in Silksong. If that isn't a good way of spending time between jobs, I don't know what is.

Last chance to sign up to our substack at 25% off for a year. Just a few hours left... samf.substack.com/p/summer-sal...

Blogged: Forking an open source project - codeblog.jonskeet.uk/2026/07/11/f... If you have experience on forking an OSS project and would be able to weigh in with thoughts about my plans, I'd be very grateful...

This is very much the post we need, along the lines of "Yes, it's all exciting and fun to talk about Count Binface. Now take a breath, and think about what can realistically happen." Fantastic from Sam as ever.

So, there is a precedent for vetoing an MP's resignation Viscount Chelsea (Henry Cadogan) applied for the Chiltern Hundreds in 1842 The Chancellor (Goulburn) refused because, get this, Cadogan wanted to resign to obstruct an investigation for bribery h/t @fascinatorfun.bsky.social and @gazhay.com

All this is almost worth it for making Nick Robinson say ‘and we’ll hear from Count Binface in a few minutes time.’ #R4Today

I am seriously concerned for the health of Jon Harvey, if he has to campaign during a heatwave with a bin on his head. Fortunately the sea breezes seem to make Clacton significantly cooler than my home at the moment, but even so.

If it ends up being Count Binface vs Farage, I'd love it for Binface to play it as an *absolutely normal* candidate in an *absolutely normal* by-election, and for the media to follow suit. Full Hustings - with questions about finances, of course.

I've handed in my Google laptop and badge. I guess I'm properly unemployed now. (Hopefully only temporarily, mind you.)

From my experience watching TV at this time of the morning, this thing is going to be decided by the suburban seats in the Midlands.

I'm in a hotel in Durham, looking forward to my daughter's graduation in just over 8 hours. As so often happens, insomnia has hit - nothing to do with the football. As far as I can tell, we're not particularly near any open pubs, but I could tell when England scored their first goal.

It's very odd to rewatch The Thick Of It (in this case "The Rise of the Nutters") and then open up BlueSky to see a bunch of @mrchrisaddison.bsky.social posts.

'Seeking the Disabled Christ' Panel Discussion I will be discussing my Disabled Christ images, disability, Deaf and Neurodivergent theology with the excellent Hannah Lewis Tim Rourke and David Harknett At Leicester Cathedral Monday 3rd August 2026 leicestercathedral.org/exhibition-s...

Starmer could do the funniest thing now, coming out to the lectern, drawing a large breath, and saying: "We wish to announce that we expect it to be very hot this week. Please drink lots of water." (And then going back inside.)

If rumours are to be believed I'll be living with a seventh different Prime Minister shortly. If it carries on like this I'm going to stop making the effort to learn their names.

“The Lemkin Institute is disgusted by the use of equality law and the cloak of “women’s rights” to cause harm to the trans and intersex communities. The existence of trans and intersex people in no way threatens women’s rights.“

So, today is the by-election. Do we know whether there'll be an exit poll? I know normally there isn't one, but this is far from an ordinary by-election. I can't find any information one way or the other - surely I'm not the only one interested? @samfr.bsky.social @robfordmancs.bsky.social ?

'The bathing ponds at Hampstead Heath in north-west London will remain trans-inclusive after a public consultation overwhelmingly favoured its existing rules.' Good news. 86% of 38,000 respondents in favour of retaining trans-inclusive policies.

The eye-roll at 17:00 on this @fryrsquared.bsky.social video is possibly the best eye-roll in history. Think "since the invention of the kiss" from The Princess Bride, but applied to eye-rolls. No timestamp in the link, because it's worth watching the whole video. www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnzR...

So it seems Farage has had enough time today to condemn a one-word (repeated, admittedly) misquote of his speech by the BBC. Has he had enough time to condemn the violence last night? Is there some condemnation he's issued, some plea for calm (rather than rage), that hasn't been reported?

Just had an idea for a twist for a future Traitors series... Currently once you're a Traitor, there's no going back. If each Traitor were given the power to become Faithful again just before the finale, would that ever be tempting?

Agreed - while almost every use of the phrase "common sense" in modern political discourse is awful, I'd like to think that this article really *does* deserve that label in the most positive sense.

We’ve taken the time to digest the amended EHRC Code of Practice. We’ve broken down what’s happening and what the changes mean for services and trans people: the good, the bad and the ugly (and yes, there is some good in it). Read our full response: https://ow.ly/7Ru450Z4QwH

Currently mulling: how much of the foreword for a technical book can reasonably be about Into The Woods?

Read, share www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Ah, the joy of mixing hobbies. I'm reading @ericlippert.com's "Fabulous Adventures in Data Structures and Algorithms" (which more than lives up to its name; strongly recommended) and the section on change ringing (in the context of enumerating permutations).

It's possibly gauche to praise one's own software, but I'm so pleased with the A/V system I've created for my local church. I'm sitting in a hotel in Paris, and having received the order of service from the preacher for Sunday morning, [continued]

As I start looking for a job for when I've left Google, I can't help but wonder how guarded I need to be about my concerns around AI. I'd like to think I'm open-minded and can see benefits as well as problems, but are employers going to be put off by anything negative.

Public Service Announcement: the news in the UK today was only a test for the combined UK emergency podcast services. No further action is required, but you may wish to restrict yourself to listening to one (1) emergency podcast in the next 24 hours to avoid banging your head hard against a desk.

Funny how a cabinet vacancy comes up on the same day Angela Rayner announces that she's been cleared by HMRC. I've no idea whether or not she'd be a good Health Secretary, but it would at least be funny.

Suppose Streeting *doesn't* launch a leadership bid - at least not just yet. If you're Starmer, do you fire him anyway in a reshuffle, given that the manoeuvres were pretty clear? Or does that just make him a martyr?

BBC headline: 'We're all behind him' - chief secretary to the treasury Unspoken follow-up: 'That makes it much easier to stab him in the back.'

Okay, 2026 England local election results are now up on election2029.uk/local-electi... as far as I've got data. There are quite a few results still to be uploaded to Democracy Club, and *loads* where there's no clear correspondence between old and new results, but it's still interesting...

Just listened to "A Little Priest" from Sweeney Todd for the first time in a while. It's *so* good - makes me sad all over again for us losing Sondheim, but he's left us so much treasure...

Hoping to create the same sort of Sankey diagrams of how seats have changed hands as I did last year, but it definitely won't be today (I'll be at a daytime count) and it may well be some time next week, depending on how hard it is to sort out the data from "seats last time" to "seats this time".

As is so often the case with @ldfreedman.bsky.social (and @samfr.bsky.social), this is a wonderful combination of insight and elegant prose. There are plenty of sites with one or the other - or even a "pretty good" standard of both. But Sam and Lawrence absolutely nail both with alarming frequency.

I foolishly started bingeing on "The Traitors India" without spotting that most if it isn't available on iPlayer yet. Rookie mistake.

Today’s newsletter: the United Kingdom doesn’t have the antiracism movement that its politicians, or much of the British Jewish community, thinks it does:

Now seems as good a time as any to post this... I've handed in my notice at Google. I'll be working to the end of June, with my final employment date being July 7th. I don't have anything lined up yet in terms of my next role, but I'm starting some conversations. Feel free to get in touch :)

I hadn't quite expected the "Handmaid's Tale crossed with Bridgerton" vibe that's coming off The Testaments.

I hate the way "sanction" has two completely opposite meanings. From a BBC article: "It is not clear if the US-sanctioned vessel was attempting to pass through and exit via the Gulf of Oman." "US-sanctioned" could mean "approved" or "penalised" here; I genuinely can't tell which is the case.

ORBÁN CONCEDED

<sigh> Visual Studio seems to be back to "completely hang when hitting F12 to navigate to a member" mode :( It's been horribly unstable since the start of 2026.

Oooh, Hadestown proshot will be released in the US on July 24th. No UK release date yet, but I'd hope it won't be much later.

I cannot begin to express how furious I am with Girlguiding UK right now.

Visiting Cambridge after many years away, and this makes me so sad - when I think back to student days, having an occasional burger from Gardies is one of the strongest memories.

If Dónal Finn never ends up playing the Joker, it will be a sad waste. Very odd seeing him one day after another, first in Young Sherlock and then The Other Bennet Sister. He'll always be Orpheus to me though :)

NEWS: The Trump administration is forcing transgender inmates to detransition by implementing a new policy that would withhold their medical treatment in a way that puts clinicians in conflict with ethics and patients in danger. www.advocate.com/politics/nat...