The best quote from @politicshome.bsky.social’s Lib Dem conference wrap Courtesy of @matildamartin.bsky.social

Good to see Parliament has issued guidance for MPs and peers on the use of AI, following our reporting!

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The latest updates: Phillipson has been nominated by Usdaw, Community, the National Union of Mineworkers, the Musicians' Union, Labour Housing Powell has received nominations from CWU and Disability Labour www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Reform is "starting to copy [us], but if they can do it at an industrial scale because they're centralised, forgive my language, we’re f****d...they've won," a London Lib Dem source says -Lib Dems employing more people in London -Aiming to centralise services www.politicshome.com/news/article...

You might not have noticed, but the Lib Dems have rebranded to a bolder 'Liberal Orange' to reflect their "growing strength and confidence" @politicshome.bsky.social understands the previous golden-yellow was viewed as too soft by the leadership

🔶 With a new 'Liberal Orange' brand and a pledge that their ambition has “no ceiling”, the Lib Dems are scaling up their hopes for the next general election 👇 @zoecrowther.bsky.social reports from Lib Dem conference in Bournemouth

🔶➡️ The Liberal Democrats are taking inspiration from Reform UK to overhaul their London campaign strategy ahead of next year's local elections @matildamartin.bsky.social and @zoecrowther.bsky.social report

Lib Dem MP @joshbabarinde.bsky.social – widely seen as a potential future leader – wants the party to step up its engagement with 12-year-olds who’ll vote in the next GE “Reform is already doing a substantial amount of engagement with younger voters,” he tells @thehousemag.bsky.social

Team PolHome/The House have arrived in Bournemouth for Lib Dem conference! If you’re here and want to chat, send me a DM 💬

Lib Dem MP @joshbabarinde.bsky.social – widely seen as a potential future leader – wants the party to step up its engagement with 12-year-olds who’ll vote in the next GE “Reform is already doing a substantial amount of engagement with younger voters,” he tells @thehousemag.bsky.social

⭐ Josh Babarinde makes no bones about his ambitions, but can he escape the curse of the ‘rising star’ and go all the way? @zoecrowther.bsky.social spends a day in court with Lib Dem justice spokesman @joshbabarinde.bsky.social to hear his pitch

👀 Speculation in Westminster is growing that Labour leader and Prime Minister Keir Starmer may not be in No 10 by the next election 👇 @nadinebh.bsky.social looks at how he could be ousted

🔀 Exclusive: The Liberal Democrats will reshuffle their front bench after their party conference in Bournemouth this weekend, senior party figures have told @politicshome.bsky.social

👯 Liberal Democrat MP @paulkohlersw19.bsky.social meets @sophiealichurch.bsky.social and @siennarodgers.bsky.social in his Covent Garden cabaret bar 👇 They talk about running a business, meeting Nigel Farage and the violent attack he endured

"The risk is clear: while women’s aspirations remain high, pessimism about barriers to progression is rising among young women." ✍️ Board Chair of The Pipeline Geeta Nargund

Parents outraged as Meta uses photos of schoolgirls in ads targeting man

I grew up believing I was closely related to disgraced Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe But digging into the truth revealed a very different story, and a glimpse into a post-war Britain wrestling with class, identity and aspiration

NEW: Former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane tells @politicshome.bsky.social he thinks the government is getting “cold feet” about strengthening regional devolution “Two Reform mayors play into that. A Labour mayor on manoeuvres plays into that too."

Love seeing people comment their own family myths... and somewhat reassuring to know it's not just my relatives who have lived a lie!

Very good article, worth reading.

Stock image libraries are so cursed sometimes Was trying to find a photo for a piece about women in leadership and this is what Alamy comes up with 😭

You can keep up to date with which senior ministers and Labour-affiliated unions have announced their endorsement for either Bridget Phillipson or Lucy Powell as the next deputy leader of the Labour Party on @politicshome.bsky.social 👇 www.politicshome.com/news/article...

When I worked as a professional genealogist in the 1980s I had numerous clients who told stories like this and they all turned out to be untrue. Thanks for your very interesting and thoughtful piece

"This deception still feels relevant now. The impulse to falsify or exaggerate a backstory to gain credibility or social standing has not entirely disappeared." 🔎 @zoecrowther.bsky.social explores the hidden story behind her family's link to Jeremy Thorpe

Some of it may also be the political minefield that’s the related local govt reorganisation agenda, which was led by Jim McMahon, no longer in post

What an amazing story. My families are full of stuff like this that I don't really believe! Though I'm not investigating yet...

This is fun, about family myths. I have met more than one person who has claimed that their family would have been wealthy had not an ancestor lost their business or house in a game of cards in the 1880s (it’s usually the 1880s). It surely can’t have been as common an occurrence as people say!

Last paragraph is dead right. JT was an inveterate embellisher and storyteller and as I was reading I thought that Frank and Jeremy were kin in that way, if perhaps not in the strict family sense.

Really great piece. Apart from its very interesting social angle, it is a classic example of what I call the FFS, aka the Fake Family Saga. Extended families can be artful propagandists and myth makers.

This is really interesting. I always find family stories require a dose of healthy scepticism because of the way they get handed down (and sometimes embellished for the sake of story-telling).

I grew up believing I was closely related to disgraced Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe But digging into the truth revealed a very different story, and a glimpse into a post-war Britain wrestling with class, identity and aspiration

NEW: Former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane tells @politicshome.bsky.social he thinks the government is getting “cold feet” about strengthening regional devolution “Two Reform mayors play into that. A Labour mayor on manoeuvres plays into that too."

"A new paradigm has now emerged in Welsh politics: the two old parties giving way to Plaid Cymru and Reform UK." ✍️ Plaid Cymru leader @rhunapiorwerth.bsky.social

EXC: East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward has endorsed Bridget Phillipson @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social to be the next Labour deputy leader "What we don't need is internal warfare," Ward tells @politicshome.bsky.social

Labour mayor Claire Ward on Keir Starmer's leadership, after a tumultuous few weeks for No10: "There needs to be a better grip on some of the issues. There needs to be better communication..."

EXC: East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward has endorsed Bridget Phillipson @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social to be the next Labour deputy leader "What we don't need is internal warfare," Ward tells @politicshome.bsky.social

2024-intake Labour MP on whether No10's outreach to backbench MPs is working: "I think the empty seats on the government benches during today’s emergency debate speak for themselves.” www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has accused Reform of letting Keir Starmer off the hook by announcing the Danny Kruger defection amid the Lord Mandelson scandal In an interview with The House, Badenoch said the defection came when the Prime Minister was "on the ropes" "Reform is helping Labour"

NEW: Labour MPs are demanding a crackdown on X after Elon Musk told the Tommy Robinson rally "you either fight back or you die" Demands include: - Government should rethink its use of X - Online Safety Act should be strengthened - More resources for regulators to enforce the law

Hello Cabinet Office. Perhaps it's time to update your answer to my question?

The EHRC needs stronger enforcement. It’s time for them to put their big boy boots on, properly investigate these platforms, and hold them to account. 1/5 www.politicshome.com/news/article...

NEW: Labour MPs are demanding a crackdown on X after Elon Musk told the Tommy Robinson rally "you either fight back or you die" Demands include: - Government should rethink its use of X - Online Safety Act should be strengthened - More resources for regulators to enforce the law

Labour MPs, including two committee chairs, have urged government to take stronger action against X after owner Elon Musk's "dangerous" remarks at a rally organised by Tommy Robinson @zoecrowther.bsky.social reports

Tory MP Danny Kruger has defected to Reform His career history: Eton, Edinburgh & Oxford alumnus, ex-Telegraph writer, David Cameron's speechwriter, Boris Johnson's political secretary, Michael Gove’s PPS How will Reform square this with its anti-Tory establishment image?

Tory MP Danny Kruger has defected to Reform His career history: Eton, Edinburgh & Oxford alumnus, ex-Telegraph writer, David Cameron's speechwriter, Boris Johnson's political secretary, Michael Gove’s PPS How will Reform square this with its anti-Tory establishment image?

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey on BBC R4’s Today: “We represent traditional British values: things like the rule of law, things like working with other countries… If you hold to those liberal beliefs that have made our country great, I think that’s true patriotism.”

Bluesky isn’t perfect but at least its owner isn’t demanding violent insurrection in the UK from thousands of miles away

Independent MP Rupert Lowe has earned nearly £40,000 from posting on X since his election last year, far surpassing the Reform UK MPs Full @politicshome.bsky.social story here