Prophetic stuff from Robert Jenrick in his new social media video designed to promote his leadership credentials

‘Longevity is not where the need is - health span is. People don’t want to live longer for the sake of living longer. They want to live healthy as long as possible.’ Which hasn’t stopped these companies raising more than £10bn for anti-ageing treatments that will be only accessible by the rich

Perhaps Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy was addressing the United Nations about ending conflict during everyone’s lunch hour

Love it when @nytimes.com ‬⁩ writes about London. Sorry New Yorkers but when it comes to stuffy and forlorn, you might want to look in the mirror

Important story in the finance section of the Daily Mail, which is run by Alex Brummer, Hugo Duncan, Patrick Tooher, Cal Muirhead and Richard Marsden

I know as well as any parent how tough it is but maybe the assumption that one’s academic intellect is deserving of a job is one of the problems. What about other ‘softer’ skills?

This data on the decline of democracy from the @vdeminstitute.bsky.social is already out of date. The next report is due in March 2026. That’s too long to wait for some in Western democracies

Francis Scott Key's poetry has become one of the world's most powerful sources of pride. Today, it's probably even more potent: because if you want your land to be free, then you do have to be brave. Don't be bullied into submission. Speak out

Illegal. Illegal migration. He said ‘illegal migration’.

So much for your ‘second soul’. If only Charlemagne realised there’s no point in learning a second language

I love print in all its forms but I wonder if £15 for a 111-page magazine filled with puff pieces works. But good luck to Edward Enninful and his 72 Magazine

They do things differently in Windsor

‘It is the absolute right of the State to supervise the formation of public opinion’ said someone called Joseph about 90 years ago

Forget the Nobel Peace Prize and win the American Peace Prize, writes @thomaslfriedman.bsky.social‬⁩ in a brilliant ‘letter’ to Donald Trump which he might read but will probably ignore

From today’s @financialtimes.com Exploiting someone’s death even before his family has a chance to mourn. This is the problem. Not violence itself but the politicisation of it on places like this

I am looking forward to Nigel Farage and the Reform party following his advice, written - ironically - in today’s Daily Mail. Don’t attack personalities Debate ideas And always do so honestly #yeahright

A survey of 2000 people that doesn’t ask the opinions of anyone under 30 can hardly be called revealing

It’s not just that there is no vision - no story - it’s that no one seems to be listening, as Jason Cowley says in this excellent @thetimes.com piece

Not sure which is the bigger PR coup for Farage and Reform before their annual conference: That picture with Trump, Nadine Dorries joining them, or Rayner quitting as she inevitably will. Sadly (I'm not a fan) their story is getting stronger every day

Two stories breaking in the same paper at the exact same time about two people doing the same thing. Woman ‘quits’, man ‘stands down’. Semantics mean so much

Maybe it’s not an either/or. Could Nick Clegg be both @joshglancy.bsky.social ‬⁩ ?

Calculated. Undoubtedly. What about fearful, spineless, weak, self-serving, shameful.

Love this insight from Ben Kingsley about working with Terrence Malick in The Way of the Wind. You might be acting something but the director might see it completely differently. Who knows what will happen

I think @henrymance.ft.com is a great writer and this piece on veganism is v interesting. But, Henry, why do you keep calling vegans ‘they’ and not ‘we’. Wouldn’t it be more accurate to tell readers that you are one? on.ft.com/45S6DLK Why the vegans lost

This is one of the biggest problems with the media right now. Journalists don’t check, qualify or correct what politicians say and so they become propaganda partners. Abortion is called a ‘public health advancement’ not a medical science one. And it is.

I loathe Farage too but there is an obvious flaw in this argument from @rafaelbehr.bsky.social : you’re basically telling 52% of those who did vote out (and plenty of others who wanted it) ‘You made an idiotic mistake.’ Maybe they did but it’s a tough sell

'Each step was so small, so inconsequential...' I stumbled on this quote today from Milton Mayer. It's about Germany in the 1930s. Nothing to do with today, obviously

Democrats? Surely ‘everyone’

In this excellent analysis from @martinsandbu.ft.com‬⁩ about why Europe needs to stand up to authoritarianism, I’m sure the writer’s allusion to Leni Riefenstahl’s Hitler-loving Triumph Of The Will is entirely coincidental

‘Disappearing artisans’ Like sub editors?

Love this picture used in @charlotteivers.bsky.social ⁦‪excellent interview with Kemi Badenoch, who says Robert Jenrick becoming Tory leader is just ‘wishful thinking’. That’s the cheery Mrs Jenrick

‘But once I realised that they were monsters who didn’t care about the damage their products were doing to people, society and politics, I stayed’, Nick Clegg doesn’t say

I don’t think I’ve ever read a political interview in The Times devoid of any actual analysis. His politics may be vile but Farage’s PR and media skills and strategy are brilliant

I’ve just spent time in Berlin and at the city’s extraordinary Alte Nationalgalerie, transfixed by paintings that a fascist dictator once insisted should be removed because they were ‘degenerate’. He also was obsessed by upbeat images of ‘success’

Is Janan Ganesh now commenting on his colleagues’ opinions?

If only there had been one extra line of space to credit the author as being a Fellow for the Centre For Brexit Policy. Instead Catherine is referred to merely as an ‘economist’ www.thetimes.com/article/58d3...

Bonnie Blue documentaries are just tawdry clickbait, announces the Sunday Times. On other pages…our interview with Bonnie, my thoughts about Bonnie, the story of Bonnie, what you need to know about Bonnie, the Bonnie industry #havecakewilleat

Forced?! It’s the law isn’t it?

Super piece about the destructive, short-termist greed of private equity. Luckily, the author doesn’t mention KKR which is the private equity business partner of his hedge fund boss. Phew! www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-...

Only common sense, decency, responsible journalism, proper scrutiny, good government, inspiring leadership, understanding why people are seduced by empty promises, a Conservative Party that knows what it’s doing, and persuasive storytelling from everyone. Otherwise, not much

Love this revelation from Lionel Shriver about how she stays in touch with life in Britain. What a bubble she lives in!

Interesting piece by media baron & hedge fund manager Paul Marshall who says we can learn so much from others about less regulation: ‘Countries such as Abu Dhabi and Singapore, in particular, have good governments.’ Well One is ruled by the absolute monarch The other has been in power for 60 years

Just once, could a male politician be brave enough to ditch the tie for their Sunday morning TV appearance?

Such a brilliant essay from @meghanor.bsky.social on AI and creativity. And especially for her inclusion of Sometimes by Mary Oliver... ‘Instructions for living a life: Pay attention Be astonished Tell about it’ www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/o...

Trump is basically a less tasteful Jackie Treehorn

I wonder if Ocado shareholders and customers agree that one of the key responsibilities of underrated CEO Tim Steiner - who earns £2m a year with tens of millions in bonuses - is to make a profit

Super piece from Juliet Samuel on how powerful organisations use legal process to hide their wrongdoings. Juliet works for NewsUK

Luckily, toxic behaviour does not exist at newspaper companies, just TV

Such an interesting observation made in @thespectator1828.bsky.social about Raynor Winn and her ‘confabulation’ in The Salt Path. The Spectator, of course, is edited by Michael Gove and was by Boris Johnson

Not sure this is the strongest intro to a piece about the ‘surge of the Left’. 100 people have signed a petition. Wow