No prizes for guessing how this will be framed. But it's sensible and a fairer distribution of generational costs. Those with incomes in retirement can afford to fund a bit more- especially as most will have lower housing costs. That case should be made. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

No prizes for guessing how this will be framed. But it's sensible and a fairer distribution of generational costs. Those with incomes in retirement can afford to fund a bit more- especially as most will have lower housing costs. That case should be made. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Yes, progressive politicians have to prove the state works. They also have to ensure there is a cordon sanitaire against the far right. Make no mistake, taking people's fundamental rights away as we heard yesterday is far right. Look forward to the speech. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

This has kind of slipped under the radar today. But for all the criticism of the Government for a technocratic response today, this manages technocracy and amorality. We'll make the bad thing watertight.

Seamless dubbing from the original German. And the colour rendering of black and white film from 1933 is impeccable. Amazing what modern tech can do.

Yes Reform's plans on indefinite leave to remain are a moral disgrace. They would also be an economic catastrophe, lead to chaos in public services, create a constitutional crisis and make the UK a pariah. It will be reported as "controversial".

Amazing looking way back how shocking the discoveries of environmental harm from greenhouse gases must have felt decades ago. Take this one in the NY Times which appeared...oh, wait, four days ago. What?

I've reassessed too. Times have changed and there are enormous potential benefits. As long as better access and better public services are the focus. With proper data safeguards it goes without saying. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

It's not just that the engagement is far, far better here than X. The behaviours are better too. Far less of the persistent badgering/trolling. Conversations resolve themselves quicker inc where there's disagreement. I do miss some Twitter tribes eg sport, comedy. But I also like more inner calm.

AI is likely to disrupt pathways into careers (and may be doing so already) but forecasts of mass unemployment are part of the hype train. It doesn't work well enough to dispose of human labour en masse - hallucinations mean new roles working alongside it. Are these good jobs? Time will tell.

This is the message the country needs to hear relentlessly. Never allow the populists to hide behind 'legitimate concerns'. Take them head on. The flags belong to all of us. Good job. Let's never have the political vacuum we had over the Summer again. www.thesun.co.uk/news/3678572...

The future of communities like Mixenden relies on a bit of cash, some hyper-local power, social infrastructure and community action. People need to feel part of things, also they have a place in a bigger whole- and that bigger whole is something worth celebrating. observer.co.uk/news/columni...

The proposal is to fund an untested form of nuclear power we don't need through our electricity bills in a cost of living crisis, reliant on rare materials from Russia to fuel US energy extravagance. At what point do we switch off nuclear brain? observer.co.uk/news/busines...

Lib Dems finally work out how to get coverage on the national news. Just wave lots of flags all the time. All the time, we're all waving flags. We're all winning. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

1243 youth centres have closed since 2010. 42 percent of local authorities have no council-run youth centres in their area. I wonder why so many young people feel disconnected. (From harpercollins.co.uk/products/how...)

Is it sensible/viable for the UK to become the "Ireland of AI"? It feels very risky financially (crash is coming?), politically (undermines sovereignty- see Musk) and for the real economy (asset bubbles including housing, talent/asset drains). There aren't other great options tbf. What to do?

BBC continues its laundry job on the far right. Yeah, he's a violent racist but he loves his mum. It's just like the coronation really. Look at the photo- a patriotic street party. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Fun day picking hops I've grown. And throwing them straight into a beer. It's an American variety called Chinook which gives a massive orange/tangerine aroma in East of England conditions.

Japan, with almost no diverse population, and a 3% foreign born population has a surging Trumpian anti-immigration party. Far right politics is not primarily driven by "legitimate concerns"; it's driven by fear. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

You can't just vanish Jimmy Kimmel, Mr. President. You have to get the FCC Chairman to put pressure on ABC.

The last political column I was allowed to write in the @washingtonpost.com was a criticism of Obama. His people took issue with my piece, but we were respectful. Now he is tweeting in support of me. This is how free political speech and respect for debate *actually works*. Or used to work.

A point I've been making through data on my Substack: industrial strategy is crucial but misses the majority of workers in "everyday" and "care" economies and highly geographically skewed. I'm not sure combined authorities have the firepower to fill the gaps. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

It would be great if we could simply not waste the next ten years discovering that the only way to be an ally of MAGA America is to be its mini-me the way we've spent the last ten years proving all the foretold disasters of Brexit. We know how this ends. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Four arrested for "malicious communications". Come off it. An entirely legitimate political protest. No damage, all true. And what then of Musk? Every time any democracy touches MAGA it undermines its own values. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

To be a democrat is to defend democracy against those who threaten it with violence. In all circumstances. And if you can't do that instinctively you are surrendering democracy. This isn't hard.

The queue of Labour figures taking on the far right (joining the Lib Dems and the Greens it should be said) in robust terms over the past 24 hours has been great to see. Never again should far right frames and arguments be allowed to dominate for even minutes let alone weeks.

Last week I suggested that we should shift cash savings into state guaranteed savings accounts. Then use the capital to fund housing. Well, the French Government has been doing something similar to build social housing. on.ft.com/4gp2GmB

If we do not act to both celebrate and defend our democracy, rights and rule of law now, this could be the UK by the end of the decade. We've been warned.

A sizeable chunk of the over 50s are gravitating back to the racist times I grew up in. Most realised through a shift in culture, racism was destructive and wrong, yet clearly some felt muted. All this was within their lifetime and they feel they can be "proud" again. The lid needs to be put back.

Sensible ideas to speed up planning from @timleunig.bsky.social. I would go further. Councils/Gov should compulsorily buy up strategic land - a public land bank - at market price plus premium. Then auction off chunks to be built to an agreed timescale and design. open.substack.com/pub/timleuni...

Your periodic reminder that nuclear power is not "clean" and it won't "save households money". It is always on and low carbon. You're welcome.

I still think there's virtue in a reclaim the flag movement. Put it up outside all sorts of places of worship, communities of all kinds. Drown out the white nationalists. And see how they react- it will show their "patriotism" for the lie it is.

More of this please. And relentlessly. We can drive this lot to the edge and beyond. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Thank God Alan Partridge had Radio Norwich.

Excellent reporting/analysis from @rachelsylvester.bsky.social on ECHR (and Refugee Convention) Exit would do little if anything for managing migration and security. (And likely to be counter-productive). Equally, reform by international agreement needs attention. observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

I'm afraid that society will always leave millions of men disappointed. Any conceivable society will. What's a feature of these times is there is a well funded, virulent radical right with its own infozone to consume their status angst.

It's important to keep the march yesterday in perspective - it's the margins of society. It's also important to see there is a vacuum at the heart of our politics into which far right assumptions are pouring. And that "legitimate concerns" rhetoric is validating it without challenge.

From Hastings to Whitstable via Folkestone and Dover by bike over two days. The final stop in a fisherman's hut in Whitstable. Turner would like this sky.

Take this cash. Put it in "Britbonds" to fund a sovereign wealth fund: housing, infrastructure, enterprise investments. Guarantee a level of interest equal to an instant access saving account. Share returns between savers and taxpayers. Better than giving it to fund managers. on.ft.com/42pX45G

Oh hello, "yes, we can" as an environmental message. Just imagine if progressives told a story of possibility again instead of incremental surrender in the face of every political challenge. This book from @drkatemarvel.bsky.social sounds like quite the tonic. www.theguardian.com/news/2025/se...

And actually, the center-left Labor party surged back after their coalition with the center-right Center Party broke up (see poll of polls left). Yesterday Labor slightly improved on expectations. Labor in Norway has actually been quite stable post-realignment of the 00s. @anthonypainter.bsky.social

Once more the surge of the populists is largely a story of the collapsing centre-right. Why centre-left parties seem so determined to turn this into their story is continuously perplexing. Maybe it's just a defeat reflex or FOMO.

There are two versions of "AI bubble" narrative. 1. It's all a mirage, it can't spell blueberry. Which is suspect. 2. It's rapidly evolving at a pace the real economy can't absorb and sucking in enormous levels of capital This latter one is the one to watch www.theatlantic.com/economy/arch...

First test hundred for Bethell. Think he'll get more if he sheds the mullet. #eng

Smartphone use causes distraction and undermines learning right. We know that right? But hold on, turns out using smartphones as part of directed learning *increases learning*. More nuance than "smartphone free childhood" simplicity can cope with. pubsonline.informs.org/doi/full/10....

His partner made a house investment in Clacton. Just randomly. How lucky for him given he needed accommodation there. Imagine the stamp duty he'd have to pay if he'd bought it himself. Some guys are just lucky I guess. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

"A job for life". In the early 1990s I had a conversation with a friend working at Rover. What happened next is emblematic of the post-1970s economy. And explains why we might be facing another "legitimation crisis" as economy, culture and raw politics collide. open.substack.com/pub/anthonyp...

This will dominate the papers for the next few days until Farage issues a full public apology and resigns. Or it won't.

Seriously, if there isn't comprehensive regulation of delivery platforms on e-bikes and proper enforcement (City of London police are an exception in that they care about public safety) then we will see unnecessary death and injury and public spaces sacrificed. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

If we don't want this to be a police matter we absolutely would have to regulate platforms far more tightly. We can't just let innocent people be subject to extreme hate and calls for violence. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...