Not sure how one could write a more damming critique of Kemi than Lord Barwell does here. The praise rebounds.

Payments operations is indeed an area of naked political power, usually discretely in the background. Curtain is off here. EU digital Euro and UK £ coming up too. www.ft.com/content/efbe...

A fun morning read of what awaits the new PM. An interesting test for Burnham of labour factionalism vs commitment to devo principles. TBF I think he'll pass it; the win to PC is on Starmer.

In this edition, we track how officials are burying EU funding audits on Gaza, shielding judges’ financial interests and limiting access to ownership data, while watchdogs and civil society push back against weakened transparency laws and chronic delays that undermine scrutiny and journalists' work.

Even the Duke of Westminster can't move the planning system to do innocuous, good things. www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

Sigh...this one - the PM's gross failure was to fail to recognise it was himself at fault, politically it was counter-productive...but on the narrow question of 'should the PM have the right to fire the most senior Civil Servants, for any reason, good or bad' - Yes. www.ft.com/content/c185...

Sin taxes on alcohol etc should be abolished - should have standard VAT rate like everything else.

A few words on the passing of South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham, who spent the last ten years of his life eagerly helping Donald Trump in his quest to destroy American democracy. youtu.be/z4HMequIiiY

Free trade vs the Moralists and their Sin taxes: the effect is to encourage illegal, more dangerous, drugs. You won't hear the Labour lot, moralists all, suggest we cut the beer and wine duty. www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...

You guys, are bike lanes gentrification or are they DEI, I can’t keep it straight

Horse riding?! The current pope is doing everything possible to appeal to me... www.thetimes.com/world/europe...

The bad news from the kids last primary school fete was I only got half a home cooked Somalian samosa which are so good. The excuse for there not being so many was a new 6 month old. On the good side, presumably I can drop by the fair for another decade to get them...

Mass immigration is not the silver bullet economists think it is ft.trib.al/4K3dNA1 | opinion

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich: “Back in January 2025, Steve Witkoff said it to me in English, and I understand English. “He said to me, "Listen, I will not let two million Nazis live next to your children on the borders."”

“Language matters here. Every time the word “e-bike” is attached to these machines, a legal, healthy and increasingly important form of transport takes the blame for the behaviour of people riding illegal motorbikes."

I don't usually write personal stuff, but a few words about my experience of being interviewed by Gary Stevenson. It started with a nice chat, comparing taste in hoodies... then the tone changed. He demanded to know why I'd deleted a tweet criticising him.

I'm of the view that the Tories should have run a candidate, but not a Martin Bell, not puritan goodiness. They should have run a Jonathan Aitken, and taken inspiration from Simon Hughes' by-election!

I keep saying it, but people must understand that, even now, Starmer's performance is massively overrated. His foreign policy in 2025 will go down as one of the most shameful episodes in recent British history. It is a disgrace that we turned our back on Canada and Denmark when they needed our help

every so often Zelensky gets a chance to go back to to being a funny guy on tv and it's like his eyes light up and he loses 5 years of age look at his face man is SO HAPPY to just be crushing a punchline

Wonderful to see some lenders (it had to be foreigners) try and stand up to the 'clubby' FCA. Let's hope they win. It would be quite a kicking. www.ft.com/content/48e1...

An Idaho woman who has claimed that vaccines killed her 18-month-old twins was charged last week with two counts of first-degree murder. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

Mood

So, there is a precedent for vetoing an MP's resignation Viscount Chelsea (Henry Cadogan) applied for the Chiltern Hundreds in 1842 The Chancellor (Goulburn) refused because, get this, Cadogan wanted to resign to obstruct an investigation for bribery h/t @fascinatorfun.bsky.social and @gazhay.com

Primary school results delayed a couple of days in England...not too critical, but any more delay means a major crisis as everyone is gone on holiday

Anyway, it's great waking up to good news from America for a change

Now, the so-called warehouse tax - fascinating details in the FT - is I think "The Test" of Burnham. Does the High street need lower rates, cause they can't compete vs chains, or is Free Trade within UK good? Very stark, revealing question. www.ft.com/content/c633...

This Red card business shows most people can't understand that even if the original decision was wrong, it is not right to irregularly change it, as that would undermine the integrity of whole game. We rely on leaders who do know - otherwise we have savagery.

Hosts who actively cheated to win a World Cup. Italy 1934 Argentina 1978 (v Peru to make the final) Trump joins Mussolini & general Videla He has over-ridden the red card rules but the USA are prob not going to the semifinal

Gender studies has never been more practically useful as an analytic toolkit

The anti-vax group formerly led by Robert Kennedy Jr. has been promoting the story of a woman who says vaccines killed her 18-month-old twins. She’s the lead plaintiff in the group’s lawsuit against the American Academy of Pediatrics. Well, now she’s been charged with suffocating the toddlers.

Wow. Labour need to ask themselves the old question "what can I do today". Not 10 year plans, not 2 elections from now. They have 3 years, ticking fast.

Between this and the Neil Hudson housing piece today, the FT seems to be adopting horror as its in-house style (terrific pieces both) www.ft.com/content/1743...

Wow the astonishing news that - under a tax reform - some people will pay more as well as less...Not sure the authors of this piece grappled with Stamp duty www.thetimes.com/money/tax/ar...

40 minute battle, but I have succeeded in getting my Samsung TV, when turned on, to start at BBC 1, and not some violent "Samsung TV" crap. I used to be TVs turned on the the channel you turned them off at, but life is simpler now, sigh.

Donald Trump’s cabinet has 15 secretaries. Two are women. Pope Leo XIV has now named women to run 3 of the Vatican’s 16 dicasteries. And the official who runs the Vatican City State day to day s a woman too. The pope now has more women running his government than the president does.

Your funny morning commute thread:

On Damnatio Memoriae and de-Trumpification. (Gift link) Been waiting for this one to go up. Please read and share.

Wow, the Sun publish a Front page, and by cop results. Astonishing. Imagine if the govt had this energy for their own agenda!

Typo of the day: clarifiction when someone offers you an explanation which is supposed to make everything clear but is in fact just completely made up

I'd like to know what air defences we have...can we stop 500 drones? 50?

Golly. We really need changes in the law. Judges are still buying the 'accident' rubbish and not sending dangerous drivers who hurt people to jail. This nutter will be back on the road in a year! www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/art...

Funny to see this is the argument being made by a cycling activist. I've heard 4/5 of these arguments made against cyclists! (A stronger argument would be the same one cyclists usually make, that we should adapt the street environment to account for bikes and this new class of delivery robots.)

The case for 'let govt get out of the way' Unfortunate that the input, the solar panels was provided by big govt though.

OK listened to the Burnham speech. And boy, I really hated it... Authoritarian "let's all pull in 1 direction" Protectionist - some new jargon on for 'buy British' again, no free trade Anti - university, with the "technical college" - people holding a grudge from when Mrs T abolished the polis...

As always, instead of projecting, it is wiser to look at facts and extrapolate: e.g. Burnham has a major economic speech Monday, and has not 'had time' to sit down with Shabana. Implies less chance of Shabana as Chancellor.

Excellent piece giving insight into the 'soft left' point of view as well as a hopeful case for Burnham. We may start to see Monday.

Makes me think of that Terry Pratchett's book about the sacred dwarven bread though. "Scone of Stone".

"Terrific news for Marine Le Pen: the French left is campaigning *against* air conditioning amid a heat wave while her far-right party is promising a sweeping expansion of cooling equipment." - @alexckaufman.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/w...

I have a Sharp microwave oven from 1998, in daily continuous use & not treated particularly well. One problem is how to reward companies that make good quality products? Sharp no longer makes microwaves.