As Tees Valley mayor Lord Houchen's defence of his deal with local businessmen crumbles, here's the Eye's recent special report on how Britain's flagship regeneration scheme secretly turned into one of the biggest giveaways of public money on record. ➡️ www.private-eye.co.uk/special-repo...

That'll buff out

This is the accurate headline

I’ve been told it should be a matter of weeks to resolve this. And while I have been made a number of promises like this which haven’t been delivered upon, print copies have started arriving with some vendors, so fingers crossed it won’t be long.

It is actually here, on my actual desk.

How many employees have, either through their position of power, or just having it in their browser cache, committed possession/creation offences? How many could you make never pass a DBS ever again?

Only steering towards the iceberg can save the Titanic

Still such a favourite. 'A lie to say "Oh my forest has trees that block the sun And when I cut them down I don't answer to anyone" No, no, never will he believe that his greed has a blinding ray No devil or redeemer can cheat him He'll take his gold where he's lying cold Six deep in the grave.'

Dark Triad: The disturbing personality traits on the British Right open.substack.com/pub/iandunt/...

The owner of X is celebrating the surge in traffic that has coincided with its industrial scale production of CSAM. He is acting with impunity because governments across the world are allowing him to do so.

How government engagement on X works. A wholly typical post and a wholly typical reply.

A headline for the ages www.politico.eu/article/fran...

… where once the UK had its own serious conservative thinkers now we import everything from US via social media and US right wing think tanks. We need to take this more seriously my own view is that this is the death of European conservatism as an ideology (if not as a party @timbale.bsky.social )

Every cloud, I guess!

So not huge promises that they could never hope to keep, then?

If their parties held the balance of power in a hung parliament, current Lib Dem and Green voters would rather their parties backed Labour than either the Conservatives (59-69% vs 4-20%) or Reform UK (66-71% vs 3-7%) yougov.co.uk/politics/art...

Love that. Also a good reminder that perceptions matter, and so does reframing.

A bit of positivity to start your working day.

Possibly (not probably) a crack in the dam?

The US paid Russia $7.2 million for Alaska in 1867 - which is apparently around $160 million in today's money. Has Rubio suggested what they'd pay Denmark for Greenland?

Laila Cunningham grew up in the 1980s, when relatively central parts of London looked like this:

This.

Farage: "I believe in vaccinations when they're vaccinations. I don't think what happened with Covid were vaccinations. You have to keep having them every 6 months." Conspiratorial nonsense. Some vaccinations like Covid shots require multiple/seasonal doses because immunity fades & viruses change.

The problematic nature of X has been visible from space for over two years.

In December 1885 the Liberal William Gladstone came out for "Home Rule for Ireland": restoring the Irish Parliament & govt in Dublin. Gladstone thought this would save the Union, building a true "Union of Hearts". Critics called it a "mandate for massacre", that would annihilate Protestant Ireland

This week on @ppfideas.bsky.social, we're exploring "Home Rule for Ireland!" Home Rule shattered the Liberal Party, broke the women's suffrage movement, brought thousands onto the streets and drove Britain to the brink of civil war. In the next two episodes, we ask why. So here a quick intro... 🧵

People who fancy quoting the Melian Dialogue ("the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must") ignore the fact that Thucydides was clearly portraying this as the kind of hubris that squandered Athens' primacy and paved the way for a devastating peer war that it ultimately lost.

We can either live in a world made by 14-year-old boys who never grew up, for 14-year-old boys who never grew up, or maybe OFCOM could finally act like an actual regulator?

Sat with my foot under my backside for 45 mins, went to stand up on what by then was a numb ankle, rolled over on it, persuaded to go to A&E: torn ligaments; embarrassed that something so trivial had caused so much pain, but told there that it's by no means uncommon. So don't let it happen to you!

Our latest Mile End Institute/Savanta London Poll is out! Labour - 31% Reform - 19% Greens - 18% Cons - 17% LD - 13% @standard.co.uk.web.brid.gy @mileendinstitute.bsky.social @savanta.bsky.social www.standard.co.uk/news/politic...

Indeed, but there's nothing 'modest' about the population shrinkage that the UK faces (worse in Europe) www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...

They'll do it with AI, thank you no further questions. *Rapturous shareholder applause*

This article highlights the problem: www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...

Alt text:

Remember t'was ever thus, irrespective of party: "We want you to get up the arse of the White House and stay there". Jonathan Powell, Blair's chief of staff and now Starmer's National Security Advisor, to Sir Christopher Meyer, appointed UK Ambassador to Washington. And...

Yup - we have a massive issue incoming, and this year’s tipping point will be decisive.

Five years ago.

"Due to these misperceptions, even willing politicians who want to do more felt their hands were tied.”

I'm afraid there *is* an obvious answer: it can't.

#QTWAIN, sadly.

Remember t'was ever thus, irrespective of party: "We want you to get up the arse of the White House and stay there". Jonathan Powell, Blair's chief of staff and now Starmer's National Security Advisor, to Sir Christopher Meyer, appointed UK Ambassador to Washington. And...

What do ex-Labour Reform supporters believe in? Data shows estimated difference in support between “Labour Loyalists” and “Labour to Reform Switchers” By @lottehargrave.bsky.social.

Good article this. Racism really is the reverse of a performance-enhancing drug, the mad, stupid shit it leads people to believe in and to do:

Ely in the snow

How likely is ‘likely’? Does ‘likely’ have a higher probability than ‘probable’? I put together a quick quiz so you can see how you interpret probability phrases, then see how you compare with others: probability.kucharski.io