At any cost? Even a Reform government? Asking for a centrist grandad who knows our democracy is shit but it’s better that anything Reform would give us….. And the Revolution ain’t coming anytime soon.

It seems increasingly that John McDonnell was right: Mandelson and his protege McSweeney had helped Starmer secure the party leadership and purge the party of potential left-wing opponents, and the favours needed returning.

Good to see this report, but not a surprise especially to those following @jonworth.eu 's work. "Across Europe, the report found incumbent operators do not sell competitors’ tickets on 86% of routes where competition exists, while on 59% of the routes, the alternative is not even displayed."

That was fun

This is what it means. Cracking day out at Preston.

@joseybackupnorth.bsky.social Good performance & result for Leeds today. You must be happy with that, no?

Preston North End (a)

Starmer rocking his inner Captain Renault in Casablanca. ‘Shocked, I tell you!’

Little 🧵 on vetting: There’s been a certain amount of chest-puffing from former holders of DV clearance about how rigorous and exacting the vetting process is and how rare for it to be overruled. The latter is definitely true. Never heard of it happening, ever. 1

TAPS *prints of this and other comics in my shop, link in bio 😘

Fans of music from the start onwards, this is the best history of rock music podcast you will find, anywhere. And for a measly few quid you get all these great bonus episodes. Gwan, give it a go!

Please repost if you agree that the BBC has been undermining democracy and enabling foreign interference in our politics by promoting and protecting Farage.

Next Thursday I will be starting my fourth Baggies Cycle Challenge, trip from Portman Road to The Hawthorns to arrive in time for a 12:30 KO. To support the early mornings and a mammoth 90mile second leg please follow the link. Thank you. albionfoundation.enthuse.com/pf/trevor-ba...

BBC News leading all its bulletins on demands by former Government advisor Lord Robertson for more defence spending, without at any point mentioning his current paid senior role for US defence lobbyists

Well in, Leeds (so far….)

The reflective Monday morning. Bad leaders can pass one way or another - though as with Trump not before causing huge chaos and suffering in their wake. What is still badly missing are post-2008 vision of mature western liberalism, which means populist governments will keep recurring.

The Telegraph, wrong again. Who knew? Nearly everyone.

Well done Hungary. Magyar may be no progressive, but he’s pro Europe and anti Putin. Trump and Vance have also had their arses handed to them. Let’s hope it’s a turning point for political sanity.

WOUTJE!!!! #parisroubaix

Glorious weather for a great walk from Alstonefield to Wetton Mill and back today. Part of our preparation for the #BigHike later this year, to raise money for Children’s Cancer Charities. This was our #treeoftheday

too soon?

@joseybackupnorth.bsky.social All good, then? You must be happy with that.

So, cycling fans, who’s your pick? I’m rooting for Woutje again, but it will be interesting to see what Remco does. Pog will probably blow them all away again… #Rondevanvlaanderen #deronde

What I learned from my first few weeks as a Green MP? Most politicians have no clue how tough things are out there | Hannah Spencer

Just watched One Battle After Another. Funny/serious, personal/political, and a great car chase near the end. Well worth a watch, and certainly better than all of the pointless international football matches on tonight.

This is absolutely spot on from Emily Thornberry 👏

Flying is one of the highest-carbon ways to travel. Train, coach and ferry journeys produce far fewer emissions per passenger. Small choices add up when many people make them. #FlightFree

This damned post makes me laugh every time I see it.

WTF is VAR doing in a friendly, ffs?

Ireland out as well….

Oh, Wales!

This is - I think - terrifyingly on the money acoup.blog/2026/03/25/m...

Spurs are really terrible, aren’t they?

Exactly. And this is why using biofuels for aviation is such dangerous policy. We have limited biofuel capacity. Using it to keep planes flying instead of heating homes is a choice that will look insane when the next energy crisis hits. Fly less. Heat homes. It's not complicated.

Streeting has a full review into diagnosis of ADHD and Autism that shows there is no overdiagnosis. But he’s commissioned another in the hope of getting a result that lets him strip people of healthcare. Please consider signing this petition against it: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/75...

Returning home from Sheffield, where I saw ‘The Ladies Football Club’ at the Crucible. Great play: brilliant ensemble acting, imaginative choreography, great script and an important story about women’s football (and other issues) at the end of World War 1. Well worth seeing.

And not before time. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

open.substack.com/pub/brokenbo... Superb piece by Mic Wright in praise of the excellent report on the Iran war which was broadcast on the Today programme, yesterday.

Well played Port Vale #magicofthecup

Robert Jenrick is not a serious politician. Why have him on, spouting about ‘vague notions of international law?’

Anyone who wants Britain to join the war in Iran needs their head examined open.substack.com/pub/iandunt/...

Interesting to see that Gove reckons Tim Shipman is ‘bias-free’ in his hysterical account of how Starmer was prevented from joining Trump’s mad adventure by Ed Milliband persuading cabinet to vote against him. Shippers Unbound? Unhinged, morelike.

Monbiot absolutely on the money here.

All the news outlets reporting Trump’s deranged comments about Starmer as if this was a comment from someone whose judgement we should respect. Why normalise this insanity?

Haha. Me too. How could they not know?

@wastefulsavant.bsky.social Alright Ash?

Elections should be about deciding what's best for your community and for the country. They shouldn't be about trying to guess who's best placed to stop the outcome you fear the most. What we're seeing in Gorton and Denton shows very clearly why we need Proportional Representation.

Great away night tonight. Great company before the game, and then a brilliant atmosphere in the away end throughout the game. Battling performance by the team. We may lack attacking threat, but everyone put proper shift in and we finally look like we are being properly coached, defensively at least