Still.

Can't beat it. Strong India line-up too so good day ahead.

The politics of this were insane. For Labour to go out with a set of obnoxious and hasty migration reforms that were clearly going to have to be rowed back upon and not think it wasn't going to get trapped in a pincer movement, bonkers. Where did they see the political win coming exactly?

Great. Solar panels can absorb CO2 now. That's what we mean by offset right? No wait. It's just more energy without any reduction in total emissions. (This may be a good thing- though I would question how much additionally there is) giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

*Twelve* people arrested in a suspected far right terror threat. The scale of this is extraordinary. Goodness knows how many more are involved. We are in dangerous times. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

So many things from the past two years of Government are going to look bonkers in the rear view mirror. This may not be the biggest one but what on earth were we thinking not signing this fairly innocuous international declaration on AI principles? Alongside the US of course.

Diane Abbott is absolutely right isn't she? Part of protecting democracy is protecting elected representatives. Social media is right at the heart of the corrosion of public life. And platforms that harm should be confronted.

A protection racket. How apt. www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cw...

Went to a comedy show for the first time in ages yesterday. Universal cultural themes across *all* the acts. 1. Living with parents/not owning a house 2. Local WhatsApp groups. 3. Phones on loud speaker on public transport. 4. Parents struggling with technology. Britain 2026.

Whilst Chinese economic transitions are undoubtedly challenging, I'm not sure how meaningful it is to compare lots of nominal and headline figures between it and the US. Then saying we're past "peak China". The two economies are hardly structurally alike. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

Apart from Bellingham obvs, these England player ratings are incredibly generous. An average player rating of 7? Come on. www.theguardian.com/football/202...

The circumstances behind the death of Ann Widdecombe are deeply shocking. I came across her once. I used to debate and often against leading politicians. Normally I could hold my own. But not against Ann. She destroyed me- ruthlessly and mercilessly. It was a lesson! Thoughts with her.

Those who question the presence of Palantir in public services have been accused of risking lives and overloading of the NHS. Well, all of that is based on sketchy, unverified data. Whereas, their power over the system is very real. A scandal is gathering here. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

I love this Spain side. Everything positive all the time, little waste, always hold the ball, always look forward.

We simply have not taken the responsibilities that come with recognising the Palestinian state seriously. Needs a shift in substance not just tone and symbols. This suggests that. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Mbappe is 27 years old. He could be doing this for another generation.

The important thing about this challenge to Haidt and (lots of!) fellow traveller's smartphone theory of everything - including now UK Government - is not whether it's correct. More important is the fact that lots of stuff is going on beyond smartphones... www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...

It was a reckless challenge: to do something like that whilst not playing for the USA. Deserved.

I don't think this has been said enough: gosh that NATO summit was embarrassing for every single person involved. European weakness, Trump boorishness, even Zelenskyy pretty craven. As for Rutte- words fail. It's reached the "yeah, whatever" stage of marriage breakdown. Then attacks in the ME.

It would not be in the least bit surprising if Farage ended up not standing in Clacton.

Ngl this left me downbeat. Not new but seeing it laid out like this. 1. New forms of media inevitably crowd out older ones 2. A healthy democracy relies on the thought processes flowing from structured written word How can we retain space for slow aside fast? www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...

Just went on the smart scales. And I've hit my target. 50% of my body weight is Mr Freeze ice pop. (£1.80 for 20 from Tesco. Yes, you read that right.)

The best thing about playing Norway on Saturday is that we will hear this a lot. Lord Nelson, Henry Cooper, Winston Churchill, Maggie Thatcher, Maggie Thatcher can you hear me? Your boys took one hell of a beating! youtu.be/PqZTP8-8wIs?...

To claim that welfare is over generous is pure political venom. In reality, people are treated with complete inhumanity, failing to get the support they need because of a decade and a half of brutal politics and cuts. Labour is no longer playing along. Bravo. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

Those silly QR codes to get your TV licence on World Cup games were very clever: to highlight the farce of the current system. BBC calling for household levy. But should come with a commitment to fund a wider news ecosystem esp local. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Is do the exam in person the answer? I sense it might be..... We've got this. And give student S22 a prize.

It's 2059. The third era of the glorious reign of Count Binface begins. Great Britain Europa is in a state of rapture and celebration. The great continental anthem opens. Its first line sung joyfully from Reykjavik to Istanbul. "It all began in Clacton...".

That was a very marginal VAR call. The goal was a thing of beauty. Beauty should win over bureaucracy.

Is there a way of stopping the by-election until the parliamentary standards investigations have concluded? Can the writ for the by-election be voted down or amended? Seems a possible way to grab the initiative back from Farage.

Clacton a test for Badenoch. Restore should clip Farage's wings to the extreme right. Can the Conservatives bite off enough Reform/convince sufficient tactical voters to go with them? Very tricky.

He's going full Nixon. "I am not a crook."

USA/Trump humiliated, Farage, Le Pen. The accumulator of accumulators still in play.

Trump overreaching and the US falling flat on its face- bit of a 2026 theme isn't it? And of course everyone who goes along with it goes down with them too. Thinking of you Gianni.

Interesting piece. But the UK has also travelled in the same direction as the EU - more protectionist, higher borrowing, and more interventionist. So Britain has also become less "British" since 2020. And I bet we become more European on tech/AI regulation too. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Can confirm scientifically that 2 x 3 hours ≠ a full night's sleep. But, what the heck, go England! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Never in doubt.

Well, the game plan is good.

In Soho you have residents' associations trying to stop nightlife. In Cambridge, they try to stop libraries. Same thing. Different city. observer.co.uk/culture/arch...

This would be far more powerful if it focused on distinctive achievements as opposed to a lot of cyclical stuff that any Government likely would have seen eg "fastest growth in G7" (meaningless) and cuts to net migration. open.substack.com/pub/keirstar...

The tide is finally turning on Palantir. Those British and European alternatives- including public options (!) - need to make their voices heard.

We've massively mucked up on council housing. Basically, we just need a form of public accounting that recognises that it needs subsidy for a couple of decades before generating a surplus and increasing asset values. Virtuous circle. Loads of scope for massively increasing supply.

When George Cottrell was arrested for wire fraud in 2017, who was with him? His mate. Nigel Farage. Hell of a detail on the story. Farage was, according to the Sunday Times, merrily accepting gifts in kind from him a few years later.

A game that took us back to Argentina '78. Thankfully over now without any major injuries.

English commentators advising France to just pump the ball into the box. It's like a national disease.

3 minutes and I'm at 'actually the hospital built it with palantir other hospitals had similar results with less evil companies.' and also 'cost is the biggest barrier.'

Of the many tragedies of the Starmer leadership, the fact he was told he was good at foreign policy early on was really unhelpful. Firstly, he wasn't really. He was good at diplomacy- one aspect of it. And one that should be largely delegated on a day to day basis. So he got sucked in further.

Manchesterism - place, pluralism and public good - faces big and urgent strategic choices. These are on technology, international political economy and the future of work. They will need addressing to evade MAGA-ification. New piece. open.substack.com/pub/anthonyp...

This argues we should have a centralised, London centric, welfare cutting model of growth. With some blah about Net Zero. Radically different to the model pursued for the last forever that has delivered spectacular growth for the last two decades giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

I've been planning meticulously for days how to wake at 4am, all social media and notifications off, and watch the England match as live. Days of work goes to waste if FIFA reschedule it for 7pm on Sunday. Gutted.

This is a good reflective thread. I would say the problem with YIMBY-ism is fundamental- that it problematises the state and ignores the major deficiencies of the market (some of which are referenced here). If we are moving to a PIMBY (probably-IMBY) consensus with a public good ethos then I'm in.