The United Kingdom has allowed people who hate it and want to see it collapse control over most social media and their own TV channel. Weak and unserious.

Nigel Farage yet again spouting his own prejudice above actual fact, and making your family and your work pay for it…. Multiple studies show being able to work from home boosts productivity, health and family outcomes. Don’t let him ruin your life or country by claiming otherwise.

BREAKING: Wes Streeting publishes his private WhatsApp messages with Peter Mandelson in apparent attempt to draw a line under their friendship. They reveal: :: He feared being “toast at the next election” in his Ilford North seat, adding: “There isn’t a clear answer to the question: why Labour?”.

The Miliband "predator v producer" narrative felt too broad brush re business in the early 2010s. However, in the age of Musk, Palantir, polluting water cos, Epstein, fossil energy lobbying, it feels like it might be about time for a dusting down.

It's interesting to me that the praxis of the political strategist class is very different from the praxis of the pollster and political scientist class (the latter two groups aren't always right, of course, but a lot of political strategy at the moment seems to be seriously wrongheaded).

A good example of how strangely unpolitical this government is at times. The Economist is fretting that trade union laws have been tilted (sharply!) back towards strengthening unions. But is the government making an argument around this to progressive voters? No. economist.com/britain/2026...

If rumours of another GM seat coming free are true, there is (possibly, and fortunately) still time for key people on the NEC to, quite frankly, wise up and realise they have a duty to the future of the Labour Party.

Hey @thetimes.com what is ’racism’ - surely depicting the Obamas as monkeys is just old fashioned racism?

Modest Maus

I did a piece for @brookings.edu trying to make sense of what's going on in British politics. Back to the future? British politics in 2026 www.brookings.edu/articles/bac...

Gervais’s Law: celebrities should never share their political views except in a sitcom, Netflix comedy special or national arena tour where they can pretend they’re just joking even when they’re clearly not

The revelations regarding Lord Mandelson are indefensible. Yet I fear they will also not surprise or shock as many as they should given the toxicity that now infects our body politic and its working cultures. 1/2

Why has Peter Mandelson held such clout in so many Labour administrations? On the day Starmer suggests he should no longer be a peer, listen to @pippacrerar.bsky.social and I explain his political power. www.theguardian.com/politics/aud...

Chuffed, excited and a little scared to be starting what, if was was young, I’d call an ‘exciting new chapter’ complete with middle aged look.

Freedom is not free, the slogan goes, Note that new Dutch govt intends to fund part of its defence and security ramp up with a "freedom contribution”, ie income tax levy, raising more than €3 billion a year. That is brave for modern politics. But the right choice IMHO.

Just a reminder that my new book on the Blair years is in the @manchesterup.bsky.social SALE right now - and it's only £12 in hardback! You've got until Saturday night to snap up the bargain... manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526146328/

This is just such a funny quirk on this site. Tons of people are using AI. The genie is out of the bottle and it's not going anywhere

Tell me again how this BBC editorialising is just my cognitive bias... This isn't a quote from anywhere. It's just the BBC's description of this disgraced, divisive politician.

This is quite the high street data tool www.theguardian.com/business/ng-...

Business rate relief for pubs and music venues will be welcomed across Walthamstow - many are much loved local institutions. But so too are our cafes, restaurants and even soft play centres that also need the same help with running costs. share this to support hospitality venues for all ages!

More members of Liz Truss's cabinet are in Reform than in Badenoch's shadow cabinet...

Sure, but the NEC are the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party and the question they had to answer was what was best for the Labour Party. Luckily for all of us, the voters will pass judgement.

"There are few more impressive sights in the world than a Scotsman on the make"

And Patrick Maguire says it will (probably) happen. Labour Kremlinologist fans, choose your fighter!

obviously correct!

@bwalker.uk is the one to follow for data points on Burnham and what might happen if it happens. This is particularly striking:

Tory MP Simon Hoare has given a very vivid quote about Donald Trump's comments on Nato allies, which could actually be used in many contexts about the US president: "Frankly Trump makes my flesh creep and my stomach turn. Where are his advisors? Where is his nurse? Where is his sense of shame?"

McSweeney in zugzwang

Starmer maybe rightly doesn’t take bait each time but he needs an outrider - a semi-licensed “off message” attack dog - to make Haw-Haw Farage pay for sucking up to the guy who denigrates British war dead.

No doubt this is correct reporting. But it really is peak Labour, risible, tail wagging dog, wood from trees etc etc. In any case, isn’t it likely a surge in membership subs would cover this cost?

So it was Badenoch *personally* who stabbed Britain in the back during the Greenland crisis! Simply unbelievable. Ought to be a resignation matter. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

24% of people who voted Labour at the last general election now plan to vote Green or Lib Dem. 0% of those who voted Reform at the last election now plan to vote Labour.

Very strong demand at this morning's gilt auction - bids worth 3.66 times the £4.75 billion on offer for a 4% gilt due in 2029. It ranks as the 9th strongest out of the 1,208 auctions held since 1998. DMO said to be ecstatic, someone has broken out a packet of Blue Ribands.

New, from @gelliottmorris.com, for those in the market for some hope. open.substack.com/pub/gelliott...

They got so so much wrong. And we are all paying the price.

In the face of Trump’s threats, Britain’s best path is clearer than ever: hurry back to Europe | Stella Creasy

Deeper and urgent economic and security integration with Europe, without the side order of ‘leaving NATO’ and ‘unilateral nuclear disarmament’. A path forward to react to this crisis without abandoning principles and allies, from @stellacreasy.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Single most interesting data point over the medium term is the decline in the health number.

"He said he wanted to see the UK give up its nuclear weapons, saying he would try to persuade other nuclear-armed countries – including Russia – to do the same." What an optimistic fellow.

Tell you what. Not a great time to be a mid-sized nation going it alone

The Green Party are – to put it politely – leading with their chin by using this crisis to advocate for unilateral nuclear disarmament.

OUT NOW: Power Failure: A new theory of power New report by @philtinline.bsky.social argues we need a new ‘theory of power’ to understand where power lies & how it should be redistributed – so govt can get things done and restore trust. Full report ⬇️ www.futuregovernanceforum.co.uk/resource/pow...

🚨New article in @electoralstudies.bsky.social🚨 New method using open-text survey, parliament speech analysis & conjoint experiment to detect policies/issues where all of: 1) bottom-up public demand 2) elites are neglecting it 3) would motivate vote choice if party adopt it tinyurl.com/44ryyybc 🧵

Good thread. You’d hope some lessons had been learned from the opportunity costs accrued after not making the strategy case for military spending to the public. But you suspect the response at this press conference will be a similarly missed opportunity.

People like Ferguson really should be run out of public life for having delivered such wrong-headed analysis.

With a world this uncertain we need scrutiny and debate even more to work through what is the principled and progressive choice to make - that’s why today I voted against using secondary legislation to make major changes and why I will keep advocating for true Labour, not blue Labour.

Good piece on Labour's current electoral dilemma, featuring plenty of discussion of recent political science research, including some graphs from "The British General Election of 2024" (via the excellent post on the book from @samfr.bsky.social ) labourlist.org/2026/01/avoi...

I don’t think we’ve got the Brexit people voted for. Our traders face a daily nightmare getting goods across the border. Here’s one example of just why. Toby Ovens of Broughton Transport told us about the 26 stamps he needs on loads of forms. To move one trailer across the Channel…