There is serious work on how to do this much better, while avoiding those traps. How far the by-election campaign or post-election campaign is plugged into the detail alresdy I am less clear on "End hotels in 3-6 months, not 3 years" and make sure it couldnt happen like that again is do-able

funny part about this posturing is that Reform's 2024 voters are the least likely of any party's to regularly attend church

This is an absolutely fascinating long interview about Iranian contemporary history since the Islamic Revolution. Essential background to what is going on inside Iran, and to the deal that may or may not be approaching. Highly recommended reading.

To be fair, English local authorities outside London barely have any powers to prevent pavement parking. There’s a bill currently going through parliament to change that, and they should have more powers in place by December.

There's still time to register for our upcoming live #Shakespeare webinar on 1 June. This time Prof Emma Smith @oldfortunatus.bsky.social will be exploring ARDEN OF FAVERSHAM with guest Dr Iman Sheeha. 🗓️1 June 2026 at 6pm 📍Online via Zoom All welcome! Free but registration required.

There is no scientific way of assessing age. Yet the government is insisting on introducing this dangerous technology to age assessments at the border, which already lead to thousands of children being wrongly sent to adult asylum accommodation.

"English doesn't belong to one country or one accent. It's shaped by us all." 🗣💬 It's great to see the @britishcouncil.bsky.social engaging w/ #English varieties, accents, ideologies, hierarchies, etc. Thanks @robdrummond.bsky.social! #langsky #ELT www.britishcouncil.org/english-language-day

I finally got to watch Everybody to Kenmure Street and it's a brilliant documentary While there's much hope in it obviously, what has stuck with me though is how much closer to authoritarianism we are than many think The amount of police sent there to make a racist point is frightening

“In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Those affected receive a small apartment & counselling with no preconditions. 4 out of 5 people affected make their way back to a stable life. And all this is CHEAPER than accepting homelessness.” IT SAVES PUBLIC MONEY to house people.

Few years back I worked with an anti-child trafficking charity. This was happening then. @laurenhstarkey.bsky.social did incredible work revealing how often children were incorrectly classed as adults by Home Office and Border Officials. It's simply child abuse. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

We are profoundly saddened to share that our Honorary President, Maureen Duffy, has passed away. Maureen was extraordinary: a novelist, poet, playwright and critic of incredible range, and one of the founding figures of ALCS. Learn more about her legacy and impact: https://ow.ly/yHWs50Z52Ye

"These photographs are not just pictures – they represent real stories, struggles, and journeys. It means a lot that people are taking time to understand the experiences of refugees and asylum seekers and see the human side of our stories." northeastbylines.co.uk/business/vol...

It's also interesting that the Milburn report, in section on pupils' sliding sense of belonging at schools, references this paper from the (centrist) SMF think tank, which itself blamed the exam-focused, "rote learning" Gove reforms for that: www.smf.co.uk/wp-content/u...

Astonishing thing about the Milburn review, with its criticisms of the exams and curriculum experiences of many young people at school, is that it has been published after the DfE's own curriculum and assessment review, which seemed hardly to consider pupil experiences, recommending minor change.

In other words, it can’t do everything in learning, *what* goes into memory is vitally important, it can far too easily turn into just quizzing trivia, it shouldn’t be done all the time, it is open to gross misuse in classrooms. Hang on, weren’t some of us saying this kind of thing all along?

No one would risk their lives on dangerous journeys in flimsy boats unless they had no other choice. The Government could stop more Channel crossings by opening safe routes. But instead, they're ramping up harsh measures and tightening borders. Safe routes save lives.

..obviously would be better if @andyburnham.bsky.social said "My main opponents in this by-election are arguing with each other about who can deport more people - people who have lived & worked here legally for years or decades. It's disgusting and abhorrent. I will not race them to the bottom."

New post: "Stolen Revolution" Coverage on Iran has focused on Trump, not what's going inside the country. So we talked to the authors of a brilliant new book on Iran's recent history about the war, the regime and the chances for change. (Free to read) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/s...

Yay! It appears that Trenitalia’s Paris-Milan Frecciarossa has finally joined the Eurail/Interrail network, as passholder reservations now bookable at partners.italiarail.com/default?forc.... Rail Planner app still needs the ‘not in pass network’ message removing.

“What truly came back online is our misery, not freedom.” #Iran www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

Meanwhile, Tony Blair...

Imma gonna be honest, this doesn’t feel as bad as the curse of earning £24k

Noice! BBC News - Bostin' Black Country dictionary to be compiled - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I’m surprised to see this from YouGov. It’s a perfect example of how not to ask a polling question. “Clean energy” can be – and in most instances is – “cheaper energy”.

A good pun is its own reword.

I turn a year older today and to celebrate I'm sharing 53 of my favourite unusual English words from the 17 years of my Wordfoolery Blog - from accismus to zombie and including the word that got me started. Hope you enjoy it, feel free to share. wordfoolery.wordpress.com/2026/05/27/5... #etymology

While Tony Blair is trashing UK govt energy policy, NESTA analysis finds "early signs [it] may be working" 2022: Gas prices went up 100%, electricity 83% (roughly 1:1) 2026: Gas +28%, elec 6% (5:1 = "electricity beginning to decouple from gas") www.nesta.org.uk/blo...

In his sort of memoir 'Not Quite the Diplomat' Chris Patten describes Blair as a man who believes in things incredibly strongly until he decides to believe something else which he'll believe equally strongly. I think this is key to understanding the man.

There are days when I miss being an editor. I loved writing headlines. Whoever did this, I hope they took the rest of the day off.

Oh and on your salary you clearly can afford a basic espresso machine- proper one not the capsule stuff, that tastes stale- and a coffee grinder. Splurge on nice coffee, ALWAYS grind fresh, add a bit of maple syrup if desired -and see if you need to spend £20 a week anymore!

This is glorious. (From the British Museum, Midsummer 1939.)

Blair putting on full display what is in many ways his special ability - to lay out a political argument grounded in his own view of global trends (globalisation in the 2000s, tech in the 2020s). But… institute.global/insights/pol...

A decade ago, analysts were calling Spain a cautionary tale. Too much solar, too fast! Today, Spain is rapidly on its way to having the cheapest power in Europe. Maybe this time, solar naysayers will learn... haha, jk, they'll just move the goalposts.

“THERE is but one living and true God, ever- lasting, without body, parts, or passions; of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; the Maker, and Preserver of all things both visible and invisible.” (Source: the not noticeably woke Thirty-Nine Articles)

Alfred Noyes - a man of many paradoxes - wrote this blistering and brilliant poem about it..

If I was Tony Blair I don't know if I'd have picked a week when the UK population was melting from record temperatures to call on the UK Gov to move back towards fossil fuels

It's really not responsible for the Government to increase the length of time people have to wait for citizenship, in limbo, with this lot waiting to swoop in and destroy their lives after the next election. Honestly, think about what might come next.

Tony Blair tells Radio 4 that the £257 million his institute has received from a billionaire AI investor has absolutely nothing to with his lobbying for the AI industry

this side effect of the war is not even part of the US conversation

Fans of corporate jargon ‘make worse business decisions’. I’m glad they have opened the kimono on this one. www.thetimes.com/article/3a26...

Interesting that the idea of another EU referendum is regularly discussed on broascast media as something that would cause division and thus a bad idea. But plans to deport literally millions of people are discussed as administrative questions.

Deeply pathetic that BBC is reporting this as a Reform power struggle rather than explaining that Reform's policies would require deporting people -including pensioners - who have lived and worked here legally for decades. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I conducted a one tweet interview of my own with Mr Lowe in July 2025, when the policy was described expansively x.com/i/status/194...

"[Labour] Southwark’s building numbers suck...The Government has upped its annual housing target to 2,914 just to meet the needs of the existing community – but in 2024/25 it only started on 42 new homes." The absolute collapse of housebuilding in London means homelessness, incredibly high rents...

Matthew 6:1 states: “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of people in order to be noticed by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.”

We were proud to screen 'Coexistence, My Ass!' at Bradford Literature Festival 2025, and from 4 June you’ll be able to watch the film online here - https://kinema.com/events/Coexistence-My-Ass!-On-Demand-gjftgb We’ve got even more films coming this year - more information coming soon.

remarkably idiotic to think that fuel prices don't cause lives lost and ruined because you're so parochially focused on being bitter about the United States that you don't consider the Asian energy crisis meaning, for instance, Pakistanis can't heat their houses or cook.

Ali Smith wins the 2026 Dublin Literary Award for her novel GLIFF “At a moment when democracy across the world can too often feel fragile, this novel is a powerful reminder that freedom, dignity and democratic values should never be taken for granted.” 💙📚 www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...

Just happened to open a copy of the reader Political Thought I co-edited with Mike Rosen in 1999 and it landed on a selection The Enlightened Despot by Frederick the Great.

If only we had a Secretary of State for Culture...