I have met Tony Blackburn and he is a) exactly the same in the flesh away from the cameras as he is on the telly and b) an absolute gent #totp

cergrant.bsky.social always worth reading.

Good work. Hopefully other reporters will follow up, especially those who may have inadvertently misled their readers

FT: "Sir Tony Blair’s think-tank has called on the UK government to reverse its ban on new North Sea exploration licences and scrap the windfall tax on the oil and gas sector". Since his institute is now effectively owned by Trump cheerleader and donor Larry Ellison, this is unsurprising.

Reading lots about Starmer now being in the thrall of the left but nothing as to what this means in terms of specific policy changes?

The Labour party's embrace of little England ..column in FT www.ft.com/content/e6f7...

Sometimes names tell you everything. Only Pete Hegseth could be Pete Hegseth and Pam Bondi, Pam Bondi

Am obviously hating the way Radio Four, rather than binning vox pops on this and other issues, now just uses a few comments from Radio Five Live's morning phone-in. Cheaper, and saves a reporter having to stand in the cold recruiting jobless and retired passers-by. But it's still rubbish journalism.

just billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe throwing out some serious made-up numbers on TV

No-one seems to have noticed, but many of the core developments in the Mandelson/Epstein story these last few days have been broken on this website. @pickardje.bsky.social and @petergeoghegan.bsky.social are both posting each breaking development on BlueSky, not X.

The conditions in detention centres are beyond horrific. No human should be treated like this. Seamus Culleton, who is held in a Texas detention centre, said: "It's like a modern day concentration camp."

new clown car meme just dropped

Edelman annual trust survey makes for interesting reading. Looking forward to many self-reflective pieces on why trust in British media (39 pct) is barely above that (36pct) in nation's venal politicians. PS: Shocked to discover this morning that Starmer still in No 10

So if Sarwar ever claims a footnote in history it will be as the politician who saved Keir Starmer

This was John Major's response to the onslaught of the Eurosceptic "bastards" in and outside the cabinet during the 1990s. Survived much greater pressure than Starmer facing now.

Almost like feeling the blade itself

I really felt for Sarwar when he explained how personally painful it had been for him to put the knife into Starmer....

Assume Labour MPs calling for someone to "steady the ship" intentionally ironic. One lead pretender closely associated with Mandelson, another under investigation by HMRC...

When I tell my American friends that I'd be scared to travel to the US right now, this is the kind of thing I'm thinking of.

Picking Mandelson as ambassador was based on totally wonky thinking. Especially as we had an excellent one already. Massive mistake by Starmer. But PM is not responsible for mandelson’s wrongdoing and other PMs eg Johnson have done far worse eg Covid. Is it really in country’s interest to oust him?

Really good read....

"Britain isn’t broken. It is in serious need of repair. The suggestion among Labour MPs that the best way to begin rebuilding political trust is to throw out Starmer in favour of someone else merely insults the electorate". Inside-Out column. philipstephens.substack.com/p/epstein-ma...

"The irony is that what’s required of politicians now is pretty much what Starmer and Labour promised in 2024. Steady competence, a commitment to return integrity and fairness to the business of governance, and an effort to restore the public realm and widen economic opportunity." So now let's see.

McSweeney is huge Westminster story that will scarcely scratch wider public consciousness.

Given the global storms I have one question for Labour figures chasing Starmers job …does any of them have a passport?

Whether or not you call it chief of staff no 10 does need someone who can 1 speak with authority of PM and 2. Command respect/authority from Whitehall machine …the late Jeremy Heywood was model

"Britain isn’t broken. It is in serious need of repair. The suggestion among Labour MPs that the best way to begin rebuilding political trust is to throw out Starmer in favour of someone else merely insults the electorate". Inside-Out column. philipstephens.substack.com/p/epstein-ma...

Inside-Out column. Some thoughts on the political meaning of Epstein and Mandelson philipstephens.substack.com/p/epstein-ma...

This, from the @smfthinktank.bsky.social's @jtmigratory.bsky.social, is excellent - really useful for anyone studying or just wanting to get a sense of where we've been and where we might be going on this issue.

The main point in this is that the much-hyped ‘Review’ in 2026 of the TCA will not take place. EU-UK relations take more and more the form of ‘normal’ trade deal negotiations. This means: - ‘snails pace’ - 5 years is nothing - ‘minimal gains’ - no one wants to give up anything (1/2)

William Bain, Head of Trade Policy at the BCC: “Things started to take a turn for the worse as the trade implications of Brexit became clear in 2018 and they have been in the doldrums ever since." https://www.britishchambers.org.uk/news/2026/01/eu-reset-must-reverse-trade-slump/

"Starmer will jump" talk speaks to mix of wishful thinking among breathless commentators and effort by contenders to write self-fulfilling narrative. Missing ingredient is political/personal dynamic. It's really something to be PM. They don't just up-sticks when skies darken. Remember John Major?

Listening to Gordon Brown this morning a welcome reminder there are still leaders who show dignity in political retirement. John Major, Teresa May and Rishi Sunak likewise. Small consolation perhaps, but they are not all like Blair, Cameron, Johnson and Truss.

In case you missed it:

Keep hearing/reading Westminster commentariat assert with unflinching conviction that Starmer will be defenestrated. Eagerly await similarly powerful commentary as to how/when.

FT: (Noam) Chomsky wrote to him in February 2019 to dismiss “the hysteria that has developed about the abuse of women” and advised him “not to react unless directly questioned” www.ft.com/content/8269...

How incredibly refreshing when a political just says it how it is:

Seems a fitting end. In 2008 Jeffrey Epstein went to jail for soliciting a child for prostitution. In 2009/10 Peter Mandelson and Benjamin Wegg-Prosser solicited Epstein's help in setting up Global Counsel. www.ft.com/content/b3cc...

yup

Name them shame them

May 2012. The height of the Eurozone crisis. Peter Mandelson was very focussed:

 Quote in FT's latest scoop: "Ben was Peter’s enabler for 20 years. Peter is under criminal investigation. What did Ben know?" Seems the Global Counsel story has further to run..... www.ft.com/content/13d2...

Oh my god, this is one hell of a scoop. Jim and the FT have been absolutely all over this and the hits just keep coming.

I went on the BBC Media Show yesterday along with the legendary Tina Brown www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

BBC journalists keep saying Mandelson not commenting but BBC "understands" he insists has done nothing criminal. How does BBC "understand" this? This is dishonest journalism. If the BBC has been told this by Mandelson it has a duty to tell listeners. @bbcnews.bsky.social @rosatkins.bsky.social

That‘s the spirit.

Hard to believe consultancy founded by Mandelson with help from Epstein and with Staley as early client has the brightest of futures

Strange that Chris Mason feels the need to say on the BBC News that “the government is keen to be seen to be acting” on the Mandelson revelations, when he could just have said “the government is acting”.

I am puzzled that some of the commentary sees an element of tragedy in Peter Mandelson’s fall. He has been shown to be a narcissist, cheat and liar who was happy to betray colleagues and country in the cause of self-enrichment. We can only be glad he has been found out.