Happy monday-after-the-elections to everyone in public affairs, may your coffee be strong.

An #ACFM on New British Weird. With renewed interest in megaliths, folklore, and seasonal festivities, @jemgilbert.bsky.social and I discuss the history of British weird asking if its revival is a search for a mythological grounding for a non-imperial/royalist England novaramedia.com/2026/05/10/a...

Less people than the capacity at Glastonbury.

This is because they know that Reform and the Tories will join up again in a few years, maybe by 2029 - and despite threats, defection is always an option if they need pragmatism to keep their seats.

This country’s carbon monoxide detector batteries ran out years ago.

Starmer should never be eulogised as the wrong man for a difficult time. He's been an absolute gift to the far-right and has centred each and every one of their beliefs.

We all warned people of this at the time. But I remember the turn out at our CLP selection meeting - many hundreds of people who'd spent their winter knocking on doors in Morley or in Headingley, believing in the 2017/19 platform, lapping up the grey apolitical promises of "winning" next time.

Crucial point by John Curtis on BBC - Councils flipping from Labour to Reform are because Labour are losing **to the left**, & Cons to Reform Chasing Reform failed Labour; they lost the base & didn’t convince many on the right (Failed Tories too) Watch everyone learn the wrong lesson anyway

The Polling Station equivalent of chucking your car keys into the skip at the tip

1980, San Francisco

A snapshot of a past Leeds May Day 🚩🏳️‍⚧️🇵🇸

About time! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

ON TRACK FOR THE EIGHTIES (1980)

Band name: "Megafauna Encounters" www.theguardian.com/environment/...

So now we've established that Mandelson is a corrupting force that sullies everything and everyone in his sphere of influence, what are we going to do about the fact he hand-picked the entirety of Labour's 2024 intake of new MPs?

This is genuinely vile.

strange these op-eds about women being too angry have all come out the last few days when during the same time there's also been a massive investigation published on an online rape academy with millions of viewers a month and none of them have bothered to even cover it, even as news

2019 re-election throwback 🗳️

I think that as economists we should be a lot more concerned that everyone feels like they've got poorer when the data show they haven't. We certainly shouldn't just be assuming that the customers are wrong, rather than that we're no longer measuring things that are most relevant to wellbeing

🚨 New briefing out today! Our latest analysis looks at the challenges faced by renters in the Private Rented Sector (PRS) We've identified a few distinct but connected ways of understanding the affordability pressures that private renters are facing 🔽

A smashing first Big Walk of the year yesterday, up on sunny Marsden @nationaltrust.org.uk

Claude is down :/ so I’m just running my sink

A cool update on the war we aren’t fighting and aren’t involved in

Yesterday: The Storm Enjoyer

It’s pretty interesting to compare Easter messages from political leaders and then consider which ones the media treats as being out of the mainstream or dangerous

23 years ago today, the Sunday Times (30 March 2003) featured the great Stephin Merritt (Magnetic Fields, Future Bible Heroes). #StephinMerritt @themagfields.bsky.social #MagneticFields #FutureBibleHeroes @robertrotifer.bsky.social

You can read my full piece here, visiting Reform HQ; Simon Dudley’s background in housing, his views on who should be allocated social housing, competing “build baby build” hats, how the social housing sector is trying to influence Reform, and more www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/excl...

🚨 BREAKING: The European Commission has urged people to work from home, drive and fly less, and for EU countries to urgently roll out renewables, as it warned of a prolonged energy crisis as a result of the conflict in the Gulf. Full story: www.politico.eu/article/euro...

Hilarious how for years serious people have said that you can't rely on renewables because they are prone to disruptions in supply www.ft.com/content/19f1...

For Trans Day of Visibility 2026 we are selling a LIMITED EDITION t-shirt. All proceeds to support Good Law Project's work as we fight to defend trans rights. Get yours now, whilst you can! 👇👇👇 goodlawproject.org/product/limi...

Educators are united in opposing the new year 8 reading test. The government’s response to literacy inequality is more and more testing. When has an exam ever made you excited to read? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckge1mx7lrro?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

Apart from how disgusting this threat is - we should be asking what funding he's got lined up to replace the unions and what that looks like as a future policy offer? The NHS is the one topic Labour might still convince voters to back them on - guess Starmer wants to correct that misapprehension.

New 1926 General Strike map online! Using early 20th century Ordnance Survey maps, the online resource shows strike events (through archive sources) in their contemporary landscape. Explore the map, digitised sources and more at warwick.ac.uk/services/lib...

I've lost track of what cohort of whomst from the last 20 years has ended up on this website, but remember Strangeways in Leeds? 25 year anniversary night later this month! www.leftbankleeds.org.uk/events/stran...

An excellent outcome for @leedscitycouncil.bsky.social following their RSH inspection - for such a large urban council landlord to achieve C2 is a huge testament to the incredible work by dedicated officers and teams over many years. Proud of my colleagues 🙌 news.leeds.gov.uk/news/inspect...

Every UK graph

Hello #Leeds

I've lost track of what cohort of whomst from the last 20 years has ended up on this website, but remember Strangeways in Leeds? 25 year anniversary night later this month! www.leftbankleeds.org.uk/events/stran...

Every time!

A red K8 has been Listed in Leeds, Seacroft Hospital. It's the only listed red one in the north of England. Took me months to research its history. A mk2 Carron, with a 70s(ish) grit box adj! Thanks to @c20society.bsky.social and #HistoricEngland share.google/n6EEhSVoxdC2... @grindrod.bsky.social

Inside Housing has an update today on the babies being put at risk of SIDS because of unsafe sleeping arrangements in temporary accommodation. Two years ago, rules were updates so councils should ensure homeless babies have access to a cot. Now we have data on which councils have changed policies

Some of us never started x

Weekend's knitting progress - my #roomyraglan has sleeves and a body now 🧶

Missiles fired by US, Israel hit two schools near Tehran: Iranian media https://aje.news/3kck8y

Four-Song Peel Session of Sheffield post-punk band I'm So Hollow from August 13, 1980. Length: 12:21. #PostPunk m.youtube.com/watch?v=yLlF...

"Unquestionably blindly following the Americans is, in my view, the wrong thing to do.. I'd pass legislation that said military action could be taken if.. the lawful case for it was made.. there was a viable objective &.. you got consent of the commons" When's the vote, Keir?