I'm not anti-Burnham, but he chose to leave Parliament, he chose not to run in 2024 & he chose to seek re-election as Mayor. The idea he should jack this in 2 years early, that someone should give up their seat for him & that the PLP should sit on its hands until he's arrived feels rather entitled.

#AlbumOfTheDay Spyroid youtu.be/LK3inpR6Ob8?...

#AlbumOfTheDay The Thrill Is Gone youtu.be/oica5jG7FpU?...

Some key election statistics by @makevotesmatter.bsky.social - The average winning party got 61% of seats on 35% of the vote - ⁠In 35 councils the winning party got under 30% of the vote - ⁠Only 5 winning parties had a majority of the vote FPTP has to go!

#AlbumOfTheDay Expensive youtu.be/vbHyBupey_s?...

It's been a crazy but rewarding few days. Feet up today.

This.

VAR is about to decide the league, and the fate of 4 teams — hate it!

VAR is one of the most draining and insidious reasons modern football does next to nothing for me these days. If I didn't have to watch it sometimes for my job, I genuinely wouldn't bother.

Still processing Thursday's results here in Brentwood but this was by far the worst one. #PRnow

#AlbumOfTheDay Libreville youtu.be/Ds0NZcnrzP4?...

#AlbumOfTheDay Anne Of Cleves youtu.be/jrdCnU_aOso?...

The Liberal Democrats now have 56 seats out of 90 in West Surrey. Truly, Kemi Badenoch’s days of being a bad leader are certainly coming to a middle.

#AlbumOfTheDay Afterglow youtu.be/yJpSkF_JMp8?...

Please sir, my first past the post electoral system, it is very sick.

A tricky night but very pleased with my result in the circumstances... #LibDems

#AlbumOfTheDay I Don't Know youtu.be/JNm6bucMPmY?...

#AlbumOfTheDay Butterflyz youtu.be/oi6KfLyfTj0?...

#AlbumOfTheDay Put The Blame On Me youtu.be/qUNYdcSLHao?...

#AlbumOfTheDay Itsbynne Reel youtu.be/v838a0iofoE?...

it’s worth reading every word of this brilliant, excoriating column by Fraser Nelson

#AlbumOfTheDay Waiting For A Dream youtu.be/cZGNQoRDVEs?...

#AlbumOfTheDay Enough youtu.be/EkO054E5Awo?...

When Liberal Democrat councils are doing this well, it’s no surprise even Kemi Badenoch wants a share of the credit.

#AlbumOfTheDay On Powdered Ground youtu.be/gz8tE1HlOok?...

It’s bad for politicians to take undeclared gifts because it usually leads to bad policy outcomes in most cases. Think our collective willingness to treat everything as election strategy becomes self-fulfilling cos it encourages us all to outsource all thought to an imagined person in the West Mids.

No, we don’t need to “let’s see” anything. This is why the cult of savviness is so corrosive. Something doesn’t need to be electorally salient to be bad. We can just say “this is bad”.

#AlbumOfTheDay Out Of The Blue youtu.be/HmvVYJIVJxc?...

Confess I have considerable sympathy with @peterhyman.bsky.social here (Source: peterhyman21.substack.com/p/the-age-of...)

#AlbumOfTheDay In My Life youtu.be/YBcdt6DsLQA?...

#AlbumOfTheDay Tempus Fugit youtu.be/YGsq3ya1-8Y?...

#AlbumOfTheDay Prodigal youtu.be/PMQyuw04twQ?...

#AlbumOfTheDay Woman's World youtu.be/WgNiG-8FuNE?...

Chelsea and Man City in the FA Cup final. No other English clubs have systematically ignored, bent or broken the rules like both have done. In terms of trophies won, no other English clubs have been as successful over the past decade and a half either. The moral of the story - is that there is none.

Did a thing for the Observer. observer.co.uk/style/featur...

Sunday’s @thetimes.com cartoon times.newsprints.co.uk/morten-morla...

A major factor is the lack of availabiliity of family sized homes which is being exacerbated by developers being allowed to meet their "affordable" quota via 1 & 2 bed flats. If rejected then "on balance" it's allowed by the planning inspectorate. "Something is better than nothing" is not helping.

“No wonder the pope has become Trump’s leading challenger. Global antipathy towards the US president is less about policy than it is about morality, character and human decency - and that’s the pope’s terrain.” Latest column www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

#AlbumOfTheDay Shine A Little Love youtu.be/22nXyKzXtfw?...

A fascinating and thought provoking listen on my training walk this morning. Bit worried that my liberal credentials are on shaky ground though as my taste is more ELO than ENO...

The ‘Lord’ Matthew Doyle saga somehow epitomises this zombie government app.prospectmagazine.co.uk/story/73126/...

*checks scores* OK. It's us or Spurs. Simple.

#AlbumOfTheDay Mr Pessimist youtu.be/aF6AHT3tPso?...

#AlbumOfTheDay Ballerina youtu.be/GMCha-mIUAE?...

Great piece (with research evidence) from @markpackuk.bsky.social - and don't forget that our Party Members Project surveys consistently show that @libdems.org.uk members are the champions when it comes to leafletting during election campaigns (see esrcpartymembersproject.org/wp-content/u...)

John Major said “Recent General Elections have thrown into doubt the continuing validity of the 'first past the post' system of voting... As voting preferences spread more widely, it provides distorted results.”

#AlbumOfTheDay Children Of The Grave youtu.be/exPPF4yb0js?...

A small point from the Mandelson/Robbins saga. Refom and many Tories argue for a civil service than can be more easily bent to the will and whims of their elected political masters. This is precisely what happened here.

*Lionel Hutz business card voice* 'No, pressure existed!'

#AlbumOfTheDay Hollywood (Down On Your Luck) youtu.be/Z2xp5KSWaJI?...