I don’t subscribe to the new world, as I can’t subscribe to everything, so can only see what I can see in the headline and subhead. But my experience of Andy Burnham is that he is *exactly* a politician who avoids risk. It’s a defining quality

Don’t bother ☹️

Can’t see any problems with this. None at all www.ft.com/content/36ed... As athletes gather for ‘steroid Olympics’ the real stars are the drugs

Reform winning in Congleton tells you that something is deeply wrong with British politics and it's not about poor transport links (Osborne funded a new by- pass), it's close to the M6 and it's on the WCML, lack of housebuilding (there's been a massive expansion) or immigration.

Bruce Springsteen has no fucks to give. 👏

Burnham on "grip" on immigration: rightly notes hotels terrible inheritance & asylum dispersal not done fairly or with communities. These points are compatible with sensible pragmatic approaches to fuse control with contribution & compassion & cohesion www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater...

Declared donations of £20k isn't a story when compared with £5mn undeclared donations, but I guess it fills space.

It’s my increasingly strong opinion that “no return to the chaos of the 1970s” is preventing a serious policy response to the current crisis.

The Spectator getting disturbingly over excited about 1976.

Since I doubt anyone else will post it here, I regret to inform Bluesky that Gavin Williamson's pet tarantula has died, and he has made a photo montage to Angels commemorating him.

Nobody knows more about GM than @jenwilliamsft.bsky.social

"On the present trajectory, Iran will emerge from the conflict many times stronger and more influential than it was before the war. It will exercise leverage with dozens of the richest nations in the world." From Robert Kagan, @theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com/internationa...

Before the mooted return of the Messiah this was the most exciting thing to have happened in Makerfield during my lifetime. writewyattuk.com/2022/07/08/r...

Introduce yourself with 10 bands you've seen live Credence Clearwater Revival Rolling Stones Steve Millar Band Simple Minds Fleetwood Mac John Mayall Robert Cray Fairport Convention Bruce Springsteen Tom Petty

Sabotage!

Agreed

A by-election isn't a general election. Voters are aware there's no risk of a change of government – you might get a Reform MP, but you won't get a Reform PM. Taking left-wing "stop reform" voters for granted only goes so far: people who might hold their nose and vote in a general may not here.

Some of us are old enough to remember when Streeting’s big idea was to move the NHS from sickness to prevention.

Free bus rides for children in August. That’ll offset the loss of 10% of global oil supplies.

“Great British Summer Savings Scheme” 🤦‍♀️ promoting healthy eating by cutting tariffs on foods including *checks note* biscuits and chocolates. Still addicted to soundbites rather than serious policies. www.theguardian.com/business/202...

- Subsidising consumption in the face of a supply shock - reducing incentives to drive less/switch to EVs - using up limited fiscal space to help better-off drivers rather than the most vulnerable. Hard to think of a worse policy right now.

Starmer and Reeves visibly have absolutely no interest in governing well to set up Labour to be in the best possible shape going into 2028-9, so they have to go ASAP.

Sacha Lord having a love-in with Trevor Phillips on Times Radio @owlernook.bsky.social

Any halfway competent Number 10 operation – had it somehow failed to block the sanctions plan in the first place – would've had the u-turn ready to go by PMQS. But needless to say...

The era of supply shocks cries out for a politician willing to be straight with people: these shocks make us poorer, we have to divide out the pain while sticking up our values. None of these measures pass that test

Burnley isn't going to reindustrialise because it already has the highest percentage of manufacturing jobs in any UK city. The fact it has the second lowest average earnings should concern anyone sincerely pushing the value of reindustrialisation.

They've been reading your posts on here @generalboles.bsky.social

Populist policies are popular. Who'd have thunk it? Doesn't mean that they're either right or that they'll work. Politicians need to stop following public opinion and start leading it, otherwise we'll never move forward.

Yeah: it's hardly a surprise that populist policies are popular. That's not the problem! The problem is that they're based on falsehoods, and so they don't work. This is textbook populism.

This is such a good post and echoes many of the points that Eddington made in his Transport Study for Brown. Start with what you're trying to achieve and work backwards from there. Dare I say it, but the same approach ought to apply to energy.

Typical FB comment about a police crackdown on speeding drivers.

The govt seem to be doing everything wrong on oil, poor economics, poor politics. They should be encouraging energy and travel saving, pushing on policies that help that, increasing benefits to help poor families cope with higher food and energy prices, being clear that Trump is to blame.

Right on cue The Telegraph is talking about “supermarket socialism” and invoking a return to the 1970s. Perhaps, just perhaps, the Treasury political team isn’t quite as clever as it thinks it is

In passing, it will never not be ridiculous that the upper echelons of the USAF, undisputed champions of the Blue On Blue Game since 1942 and who haven’t faced another serious airforce in over 50 years, appears to accumulate medal ribbons at a rate that would raise an eyebrow on Georgi Zhukov.

As I was saying chrisdillow.substack.com/p/politics-v...

The government is giving quite strong “we chose not to spend the last two months thinking about how to deal with this and now we are going to make policy on the hoof” vibes

Any fool can be uncomfortable.

It would be great if the government could spend some time trying to solve the many, many real problems facing the UK – instead of imaginary ones. UK retail operates on *tiny* margins – averaging around 4p in the £1. Supermarkets are cheap and efficient: food is expensive because inputs cost more.

One of most destructive acts of the Cameron-Osborne era was the decision to target austerity on local government.

I’m lost for words. Never thought I’d see UK govt trying to set food prices. This is a hugely efficient and competitive sector. What about knock on effects on other prices, smaller shops etc And of course say they want to protect farmers. Please be serious

Clearly Southampton need better lawyers since its amazing what you can get away if you have sufficient financial and political backing . www.theguardian.com/football/202...

So we are heading back to the policies of Labour in the 1970s

The Conservative Party doing its bit for public life and independent institutions, yet again. The slow corrosion continues.

Far worse things have happened during races

How awful.

It also incentivises violent and illegal disruption of future elections with the implied promise of pardons and payoffs for pro-regime militias.

I’m amazed anyone needs reminding of this, but local government spending power per person fell by 18% from 2010 to 2024 (would have been 26% but for increases in council tax). At the same time, social care pressures on local govt have grown a lot. The decay of the public realm is NOT a mystery

Probably just me, but I think that Andy Burnham is sounding more northern than usual.