Some good news. London is meeting legal limits for toxic NO2 pollution for the first time – almost 200 years earlier than predicted – following the Mayor’s "world leading air pollution policies," City Hall announces. The Ultra Low Emissions Zone - and similar policies - really do work.

"I hope Starmer wakes up tomorrow morning and feels ashamed about what he has done," says man who unveiled this poster the day Jo Cox was assassinated by a far-right terrorist.

Yes, there’s a reason alright.

Add to the My Dearest Suzanne file...We Knit At Dawn

The pro-EU Party of Action & Solidarity has crushed the pro-Russia Patriotic Electoral Bloc in the Moldovan election. It won 51 seats - an outright majority. Moldova is now on a trajectory towards EU membership. A very bad night for Putin, who targeted Moldova with a wave of election propaganda.

@petroc.bsky.social enjoying Train Tracks - remember all those tunnels just before Kings Cross!

I’m not against ID cards per se. But I am against them now. For this. As yet another weapon in the arsenal against immigrants. This isn’t taking the fight to Reform. It’s using immigrants as a human shield while Reform keeps punching you in the face. iandunt.substack.com/p/id-cards-a...

@mrjamesob.bsky.social James, I'm afraid I won't be able to listen to today's show. I'm off down the park to paint a St George's cross on a Swan.

Whenever you legislate for more powers, you shouldn’t think about what your government would do with them, but what a future bad (evil or incompetent - or both!) government might do with them.

The ultimate irony is that after trashing Biden, he celebrated that America was now respected around the world, no longer a laughing stock. He genuinely doesn’t see how absurd he sounds. His ego is so vast he cannot conceive that the world is laughing at him. 🧵

The “Ed Davey is obsessed with Farage” takes are weird. A) The media is obsessed with Farage B) If the next election looks anything like the polling, it will basically be a progressive/populist bloc election. Labour won’t be Davey’s enemy. They’ll be his path to govern.

I didn't say much when the VAT rule on school fees kicked in and there was much comment about "See? No effect at all! Of course they could afford it!". Now hearing of sharp falls in September intake, the cutbacks, redundancies and closures in the private sector. Not holding my breath for coverage.

This is a good policy. Tax wonks are pretty united on national insurance being a bad tax, because it means labour income is taxed more than other forms, and adds to complexity

This must be so disappointing for James Timpson and all the hardworking prison staff, as well as prisoners and those who love them. Equipping them to lead a better life on release is vital to reduce recidivism and for a well-functioning society. support.theguardian.com/uk/guardian-...

Knowledge workers no longer required.

@alryanradio.bsky.social Absolutely love-love-LOVED the opening Gershwin medley for tonight's #FridayNightIsMusicNight but no idea how to get hold of it - who wrote it please?

I had this exact same experience this morning. Same reporter as Heidi. This is *not* normal. I have spoken to the press on these issues for two decades. No government official has ever demanded to know my identity in order to give a comment on a story.

Such a move would demonstrate once and for all that Reform do not, in fact, want to stop the small boats - because doing so would remove much of their raison d'etre. Come on, @teamlabouruk.bsky.social - grasp the opportunity.

So @enversol.bsky.social welcomes this as an important reminder that the public do not reject refugees. There are challenges to get policies right in principle and practice: a controlled, workable and humane system for Britain to protect refugees is what more people want than ripping up every treaty

British politics really needs to wake up to what is happening in America given we have imported a huge amount of its culture war politics. Maybe there are some clues about what would be on the cards here under a Reform government?

Christmas Worship 2025 recording at St Giles’ - we need your help! Tuesday 23 September at 4pm, doors open 3.15pm If you are able, please register on the link below so that we have an idea of how numbers are going, but all are welcome at the door: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/christmas-...

Hi @edinburghcouncil.bsky.social any chance you could correct this error? The stop on the other side of the road is fine!

In London, hate will never win.

you don’t understand bro, if we didn’t lie, no one would buy our product 😩

'It would be a grave mistake to leave the ECHR... For we have moved, since Brexit, from a system governed by a constitution – the EU treaties – to an unprotected one with no real checks to prevent a government from doing whatever it likes' Vernon Bogdanor www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

I’ve come to loathe the “say what you like” takes. Say what you like about [insane authoritarian] but politics is no longer boring! Say what you like about [his cracked and murderous followers] but they speak with a voice the establishment has too long ignored! /1

I don't think Peter Mandelson is PM's biggest problem. The biggest problem is not standing up to the literal violent racism on our streets, supercharged by the richest man in the world, and threatening the very fabric of our society. If he and so many commentators can't see this, we're truly lost.

The Chancellor wants (rightly) to reduce regulatory burdens, boost growth *and* dampen inflation. Most obvious way to do all these is a liberal, flexible immigration system that encourages work migrants and international students. So she should start with Home Office www.ft.com/content/7732...

I have genuine concerns about there being a State Visit by a President who excuses domestic violence (quite apart from the actual felonies etc).

I watched the DSA and OSA "Censorship" Hearing in the House Judiciary Committee today so you don't have to. I have some questions. A 🧵 of my internet lawyer, free speech expert, First Amendment scholar ponderings, to no no one in particular: Why are we here? 1/

A beautiful capture of the @stgilescathedral.bsky.social crown spire. Love Tom's work!

The European Convention on Human Rights entered into force on this day in 1953. The convention has improved people’s lives, in many different ways, across the continent. Here are more than 200 examples: www.coe.int/ECHR There are thousands more. #ECHR #OurRightsAndFreedoms

Modern politics is increasingly uninterested in nuance and rejects complexity sometimes even as a plot against the nation at other times as just invention. And then politics fails to fix problems. This is the cycle to escape.

Lethal force against a civilian vessel in international waters is a war crime if not in self-defense. If not in self-defense, only non-lethal actions, such as warning shots or disabling fire, are allowed. "Not yielding to pursuers" or "suspected of carrying drugs" doesn't carry a death sentence.

Senate Democrats: DO NOT FUND the government when the current continuing resolution expires at the end of the month. SHUT IT DOWN unless DC is funded, the troops are withdrawn from our cities, elections are protected, the Epstein files are released in full... SHUT IT DOWN.

The Home Office's own (excellent) research summary says a) asylum seekers come to the UK primarily because of social networks/ties b) welfare and labour market policies are *not* a big "pull factor" c) safe routes would help freemovement.org.uk/wp-content/u...

Results so stunningly clear they inspired this classic xkcd (xkcd.com/2400/):

Presumably to deter refugees from coming, which would then lead to their separation from their families, who would be left to fend for themselves. Why would we try to deter genuine refugees from coming? Cruel and neglectful of our duties as a liberal state.

My main issue with the debate around ECHR is that no one advocating for it seems willing to accept that the past decade of politics has shown us that withdrawing from organisations/treaties/institutions always has more unintended consequences than intended, usually negative.

You don’t need outside experts to check what Jack Straw and Policy Exchange are claiming here. You can just read the public text of the Good Friday Agreement to see it relies upon ECHR membership. If the UK leaves, the agreement either needs renegotiating, or it’s been breached. It’s that simple.

Children have to be taught to hate. Who would choose to be the teacher?

Not sure who's performing the Water Music @saramohrpietsch.bsky.social is playing on Music Map right now, but it's a such a lick I'm getting vibes of James Bond rather than George I !

Has someone tried switching the Telegraph off and on again. Something is clearly malfunctioning.

Him Indoors' flight is now so late that I've told him we're going to pretend we're in Spain and dinner will happen when he arrives. He reports that another plane is on their stand, and queries whether @edinburghairport.bsky.social are taking a similar approach. #manana

TImes when applause between movements is appropriate #234 - when the concert has twice been interrupted by protestors and musicians are still at the top of their game. #Proms2025

What the hell is this nonsense from @skynewss.bsky.social ? Why are they even toying with the ‘political judiciary’ line? Dangerous foolishness from a respectable news outlet. @sophyridge.bsky.social any chance of an internal editorial chat… news.sky.com/story/politi...

No idea whose protest it was that broke up tonight's Prom, but can't help feeling that the (Georgian) pianist, Khatia Buniatishvili, will take the delay in her stride.

What will bring down the BBC will not be pressure from its traditional enemies on the Far Right but rather it will be a loss of willingness to fight for it among its traditional allies among the Centre-Right, Liberals and Left