People used to say "this shouldn't be happening in the world's fifth wealthiest country". Since Brexit, it's "... in the world's sixth wealthiest country". And a fall to seventh isn't far off.

"Can the UK rejoin the EU?" asks the Times. The answer: YES. And there is a very useful resource here about exactly how: rejoin.info

In the 1930s, Oswald Mosley claimed to be a patriot, while his British Union of Fascists was secretly funded by the Italian government. We are just beginning to grasp how much of the far right in the UK today has been funded by Viktor Orbán and Russian oil money. Their "patriotism" is always a con.

Pro-Europeans face a choice. We could cheer the government as it realigns with the EU quietly – and keep our cheering quiet too, in case anyone hears! But we'd be storing up problems for later. It is much better, we believe, to openly make the argument for Europe – loud and proud for Rejoin.

Brexiters are moaning that a deal with the EU means some marmalade might have to be labelled "citrus marmalade" and we can only say: WHO ON EARTH CARES? The era of this kind of petty anti-EU crap is over. We have much bigger problems now than single extra words on food labels.

We need to be more than "ambitious". We've heard "ambitious" before, we've had summits before – this time it must be so much more. The economy is about to turn dire. The US is no longer a reliable ally. We need to begin the process of rejoining the EU asap.

Sorry, last post about Goodwin - this is objectively very funny indeed.

What is the strange coincidence that keeps making Reform councillors and candidates post racist things? They always tell us that it's not a racist party, but mysteriously it keeps coming up. It's almost like that whole party is just a bunch of racists trying to hide their real opinions...

These poor Reform candidates can't catch a break. Clearly this fellow was just scratching his nose and waving to a friend who was situated diagonally below him... (Farage's defence, no joke, was that this guy "may have been impersonating Basil Fawlty")

Wow. Sadiq Khan asks Keir Starmer to not only “rejoin the EU Customs Union and the Single Market this Parliament”, but also to “fight the next general election with a clear manifesto commitment: a vote for Labour means we would rejoin the European Union”, without a second #Brexit referendum 👏

Migration is the only thing making the economic sums (just about) add up. If the government continues to try to get migration down, the sums will stop working.

Farage has had politicians tying themselves in knots to get immigration numbers down, but here's the truth: Low immigration, especially if combined with relatively high emigration, spells death for the economy.

Starmer: "We are not the Britain of the Brexit years any more." But sadly, the "Brexit years" are not over... until we rejoin the EU. So instead of these endless talks about talks about piecemeal increased cooperation with Europe, let's rejoin!

Sometimes it really is right there in plain sight.

It's being pointed out today that the last UK prime minister to last more than three years was David Cameron. That's no coincidence. Brexit destabilised Britain. It makes our economy unfixable – until it is confronted and reversed. That is the underlying reason why we can't keep a PM any more.

They're threatening us with a good time...

Does the EU want the UK to rejoin? Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez was asked the question, and here is his answer: "Absolutely."

Several European lawmakers have urged the EU to impose restrictive measures on ICE, arguing that the agency should not operate in Europe due to concerns over democratic oversight and human rights. www.euronews.com/my-europe/20...

"If the question at the centre of British politics is “who broke Britain?”, let’s be clear and unequivocal. The four horsemen of Britain’s apocalypse are deindustrialisation, privatisation, austerity and Brexit." - Andy Burnham

Now this is excellent. Well done

Amazingly, Zahawi only got round to deleting the below after the press conference announcing his defection to Reform.

Never forget...

As Bulgaria prepares to join the euro, Russia is spreading anti-EU disinformation in the country. Isn't it lucky for us in the UK that our politics doesn't include a major anti-EU, pro-Russian party? Oh wait... hang on a sec...

Challenge for Keir Starmer: Will he say this? Or at least say the headline here, which is that Trump's US cannot annex Greenland.

Rejoining Erasmus is great news. But it must be only the beginning. www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c4...

Great news! (But next time stop after the fourth word...) www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

"Urgent review into foreign financial interference in UK politics" Are we one step closer to the day when they finally admit that Russian funding for Brexit was an act of hybrid warfare?

The Government launches an urgent review into 'foreign financial interference' in UK politics following Nathan Gill's conviction. I hear the Gill case and Reform's £9 million donation from a Thailand-based crypto investor have woken ministers up to the potential threat

The Labour government's refusal to tackle Brexit is a tragedy. They staked everything on a return to economic growth, but they won't do anything serious about the biggest obstacle to growth. All we have seen are tiny tweaks at the edge. It's not a side issue – it's the whole economic story.

Bad economic news again this morning. The fundamental problem in the UK economy is that we are running a marathon with our shoelaces untied. Running faster doesn't get the results you'd expect, because Brexit trips us up at every step.

Don't get too excited, it's symbolic. (This vote doesn't mean that it will actually happen.) BUT – it is good that this is being raised so clearly as a step back towards fixing the economy.

A former Dulwich college pupil who claims a teenage Nigel Farage told him “that’s the way back to Africa” has said he felt compelled to speak out after the Reform leader’s attempt at “denying or dismissing” the hurt of his alleged targets.

It's Farage at his absolute weakest - thin-skinned, easy to offend, and nurturing a persecution complex. He’s a vile man, no intellectual ability, just attacks anyone who disagrees with him. A Trumpian drip.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you have heard from the 28 people my client definitely burgled, but in mitigation I have a letter from one person my client DIDN'T burgle. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

It was entirely malice-free racism. Of course.

Here's UKIP's former Scottish leader David Coburn, who has denied taking Russian bribes after being named in Whatsapp messages between Nathan Gill and a pawn of the Putin administration, being applauded by Gill for arguing against Ukraine's entry to the EU

'This isn't an opinion. This is counting.'

Migration numbers have cratered – yet still Reform and much of the media act every day like migration is a huge "crisis". The reality, if you look at OBR figures, is that migration brings measurable economic growth – and the lack of it brings economic stagnation.

🚨The Petition calling for a public inquiry into Russian influence on UK politics & democracy has now rocketed past 65,000 signatures! Let’s get it to 70,000 tonight. If a petition is what it’s going to take let’s get this done! petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...

If you need proof that when Reform UK politicians wave the 🇬🇧Union Flag🇬🇧, it's not patriotism, it's just manipulation. The Reform Party leader, waving the Union Jack in this photo was literally a Russian Spy.

Rachel Reeves: “We are freezing Russian assets and let me be clear I don’t actually mean the honorable member for Clacton.”

Brexit is the black hole. The latest estimate of the cost of Brexit is up to £240 billion, 8% of GDP. This is massive even compared to the amounts that will be raised in the budget today. If we scrapped Brexit, the government wouldn't be constantly struggling to balance the books.

🔥 Highly recommended that you all sign and share. Link to the petition—> petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...

"I had thought that I’d never again have to think about the antisemitic taunts I suffered from Nigel Farage at school. "Then, at some point in the late 2000s, a friend sent me a YouTube video of him haranguing EU commissioners. "The instant I saw Farage, my blood froze."

"Twenty people allege he has a racist past. He denies it. Who’s telling the truth about Farage’s schooldays?" You don't need to be Sherlock Holmes to figure this one out.

He doesn't need to "demand" anything – he can set up a public inquiry tomorrow. And, while there's plenty to examine in Reform, it should look at Russian meddling in UK politics beyond just Reform and its predecessors.

If they "root out" links to Russia... And then they "root out" racism... What will be left?

Nathan Gill – the former Reform Wales leader – was convicted of taking bribes to ask pro-Russian questions. Relatively easy to prove. But what if others like him took cash to do something less *obviously* pro-Russian, but still very much in Russia's interests. Something like... Brexit.

Might be time to revisit this www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemoc...