Without a clearer sense of direction, Labour's doomed. So, by far the best thing that these two could do now would be to stop worrying about how best to become PM if and when Starmer eventually goes and instead think really, really hard about what they would do were they chosen to replace him.

Just had a fabulous talk with John Sipher, one of the most experienced CIA officers of his generation. We went into the Epstein files, what they say about Epstein and Russian intelligence, how Epstein kompromat might work to influence Trump… substack.com/@phillipspob...

‘Charles Townshend compared the Sudanese response to the Spartans’ heroics against the Persians: “No troops in the world could have lived under that fire. No Europeans would have faced it.”’ @jonparryhis.bsky.social on the British army in Egypt and Sudan: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

‘The single-minded slaughter was mixed with admiration for the extraordinary courage of the enemy troops, who invariably faced the British onslaught without flinching.’ @jonparryhis.bsky.social on the British army in Egypt and Sudan in the late 19th century: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Also in this issue: Colin Burrow on satire Jon Day on rat sociology Becca Rothfeld on Tony Tulathimutte’s anti-autofiction Ange Mlinko reviews Michelle de Kretser's 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 Stephen Buryani on proteins gone rogue @jonparryhis.bsky.social on Britain in Sudan David Trotter on golf ...

Excellent opportunity for the right 19th-century political historian here

Mark Pack was kind enough to give me some time to discuss my take on British Liberalism in his monthly podcast:

“Jonathan Parry is uniquely qualified to write the history of Liberalism in Britain... a pithy, original, and trenchant analysis.” Anthony Howe on 'Liberalism' by @jonparryhis.bsky.social, - the latest in our Short Histories series. agendapub.com/page/series-... @libhistorytoday.bsky.social

I fear that Labour is falling into the same trap that the Tories did – leaning on hostile rhetoric around immigration and damaging our public services and our economy in the process. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Canada's new PM, Mark Carney, is pivoting from U.S. dependence to European partnerships. Facing U.S. tariffs and annexation threats, Canada seeks deeper ties with Europe on trade, energy, and Arctic security.

This is also important for its electoral system effects - being either the incumbent or the best place local opponents makes it easier to win tactical supports. Reform being in second place wherever they don't win poses an existential threat to the Conservatives down the line

Another way of looking at that deadly pincer movement facing the Conservatives - look at how they get squashed between Reform and the Lib Dems in Devon on this chart.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I wonder whether anyone in the Conservative leadership had the foresight to see in 2015 that the Osborne boast of ‘decapitating’ the Lib Dems rather than fighting in constructive alliance with them would in fact end up decapitating the Conservative Party

‘As great powers Russia and Britain had very few clashing interests. Though both wanted to expand, they could do so for many thousands of miles across Asia without interfering with each other.’ @jonparryhis.bsky.social on Russia and England in the 19th century: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

I’ve written something for Lib Dems about getting the balance right between ethical ideals & political campaigning. I argue there is a coherent Liberalism which is also politically savvy. And that a lot of Liberal history sets out how to do it. And, as it happens, I’ve just written the book on it!

There’s a very good book to be written on that topic by someone

An excellent and timely combination!

Modern patriotism. www.ft.com/content/b133...

‘In 1836, John Stuart Mill claimed that the government had become “smitten with Russophobia”, an irrational panic that had triggered an unnecessary increase in defence spending. “Russophobia” has never quite left British public debate since.’ @jonparryhis.bsky.social: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

‘The press peddled excited theories about Russia’s ambitions for world domination, which Disraeli happily indulged in order to show that in his genius he could stop its armies reaching even the Mediterranean.’ @jonparryhis.bsky.social on the origins of ‘Russophobia’: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

‘The history of Anglo-Russian relations is interesting not just in itself but because, when tensions have arisen, they have usually been prompted less by British or Russian behaviour than by extraneous factors.’ @jonparryhis.bsky.social on England’s ‘Russophobia’: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Calling all Disraeli fans 📢📢 Our new edited volume is out now, Open Access! Ft. essays by @jonparryhis.bsky.social @davidjeffery.bsky.social, Peter Ghosh, Freya Johnson, Alex Middleton and many, many more. Please share! journals.openedition.org/cve/15440

I wrote something about Disraeli’s sociological vision, as worked out in his late novels: journals.openedition.org/cve/15795

‘For the last two hundred years, Western fears about Russia have ultimately stemmed from politics more than geopolitics: from liberal distrust of the unpredictability and violence of absolutism.’ @jonparryhis.bsky.social on Russia and England in the 19th century: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

‘As great powers Russia and Britain had very few clashing interests. Though both wanted to expand, they could do so for many thousands of miles across Asia without interfering with each other.’ @jonparryhis.bsky.social on Russia and England in the 19th century: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

‘In 1836, John Stuart Mill claimed that the government had become “smitten with Russophobia”, an irrational panic that had triggered an unnecessary increase in defence spending. “Russophobia” has never quite left British public debate since.’ @jonparryhis.bsky.social: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

I’ve written something for @libdemvoice.org about how the present crisis might allow Lib Dems and other liberal-minded people to rally a coalition of supporters against Trump/Farage populism and connect with the party’s history: www.libdemvoice.org/is-this-a-li...

Very pleased to find these copies today! A short survey of British Liberalism from 1830 to now. Aims to show its coherence as a creed amongst political changes & contingencies. Emphasises a political agenda not an economic one - defending political activity itself & attacking vested interests.

“Jonathan Parry is uniquely qualified to write the history of Liberalism in Britain... he delivers a pithy, original, and trenchant analysis of Liberal ideas and principles in action.” Anthony Howe on 'Liberalism' by @jonparryhis.bsky.social - out today! #BritishPolitics #PoliticalHistory

Filled by a stiff northerly breeze, the flags of the Commonwealth on the Weighbridge Mast in Guernsey just now. Nice to see Canada prominent!

‘Continuous power over policy is usually delegated to the backroom. No one would try to include in Who’s Who the people who really shape such institutions.’ @jonparryhis.bsky.social on the limits of trying to quantify the elite: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

‘The authors assume that the wealth elite has “real power” because it combines “positional power and economic power”. But measuring this power requires more nuance than they can muster.’ @jonparryhis.bsky.social on an attempt to tabulate the British elite: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Something I wrote for the LRB on how Who’s Who - and loose talk of ‘elites’ and ‘establishments’ - is not a good guide to who has power in modern Britain. But you knew that anyway…

Excellent piece - offers a depth of historical understanding about Canadian-US relations that is sadly lacking in modern politics on both sides of the border. We have been here before. On the whole, this sort of bullying strengthens a Canadian identity that otherwise struggles to define itself…

Very persuasive piece by @jonathanfreedland.bsky.social . This is a basic threat to British liberal democracy and requires a coordinated response by the political parties who respect it.