Been to Manchester central complex many times for conferences and rarely has the main hall been so light on outside exhibitors. Lots of padding with empty stands put up by central party

🎙️NEW ep 🎙️ Postcard from Liverpool: is Starmerism is already over? w/ Deputy PM David Lammy Lucy Powell @alistrathern.bsky.social @stephenkb.bsky.social @peterhyman.bsky.social @morganwild.bsky.social @noahkeate.bsky.social & @ecasalicchio.bsky.social www.politico.eu/podcast/west...

Not the greatest backdrop to a make-or-break party conference ... www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/tory-c...

You don’t actually have to both sides this. The Jewish community in the UK is not the Israeli government. You can just condemn the murder of two British Jews killed in their place of worship and you don’t have to say a single other thing.

A small reminder of where original story of swans/migrants came from… a 2003 story later corrected to admit there was no evidence www.theguardian.com/media/2003/d...

Liz Truss is now dunking on Andy Burnham

My favourite variant of this is when you add in queerness: “He spend 50 years living in a remote hut with his close friend, where they preserved and catalogued the most extensive collection of ferns ever assembled in Britain”

It just straightforwardly *insane* how much political chatter in the United Kingdom is about the next general election, an event that is a long way in the future, and how basically none of it is about 'uh, this policy agenda doesn't look adequate to the scale of the inherited problem'.

Retrospectively removing indefinite leave to remain would be immoral and economically damaging. It would tear families apart. Attacking it as ‘potentially illegal’ is completely beside the point. Argue with the (awful) idea. Don’t try ’well, actually you can’t do that’.

Farage claims he can save *£230bn* by excluding foreign nationals from welfare bill Did Dr Evil come up with this number

🎙️ NEW ep🎙️ Who’s actually in control of the Channel crossings— and can Shabana Mahmood get a grip of it? @jamescleverlymp.bsky.social Andrew Harding Ex Home Office DG Glyn Williams Hannah Guerin @nicolakellywrites.bsky.social Joe Middleton KC & more www.politico.eu/podcast/west...

🎧 I'm on this week's 'Westminster Insider' @politico.eu @politico.com talking about the mess the Home Office has made of the asylum system, alongside none other than... James Cleverly. www.politico.eu/podcast/west... @saschaosullivan.bsky.social

What's going on with Your Party? @meganekenyon.bsky.social joins me on today's @newstatesman.com podcast to explain, as does Ethan Croft, making his NS debut as we try to untangle the split between Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTn4...

Actually quite a beautiful moment of Donald Trump saying he “doesn’t know” Peter Mandelson

🎙️NEW ep 🎙️Can Britain have a proper Green Party? How the party had changed from early days of campaigns on camels & dog poo💩 🌳 & Zack Polanski’s efforts to make his party serious @zackpolanski.bsky.social @elliechowns.bsky.social Natalie Bennett Jonathon Porritt www.politico.eu/podcast/west...

I don’t think any of us expected him to say that.

Former deputy labour leader Tom Watson calls for… deputy leader post to be abolished tomwatsonofficial.substack.com/p/angela-ray...

With Rayner stepping down we have hit 10 minister's who have oficially resigned from this government. Make sure you are following @paddy-mcalary.bsky.social @timdurrant.bsky.social @rebeccamckee.bsky.social meganbryer.bsky.social for what Starmer will do next with his minsiterial team.

From no reshuffle to a No10 reshuffle to losing the DPM and a potential cabinet reshuffle - what a first week back

can't believe we've lost two people's princesses in our lifetime

🎙️NEW ep 🎙️Can Britain have a proper Green Party? How the party had changed from early days of campaigns on camels & dog poo💩 🌳 & Zack Polanski’s efforts to make his party serious @zackpolanski.bsky.social @elliechowns.bsky.social Natalie Bennett Jonathon Porritt www.politico.eu/podcast/west...

Just had to correct this live on the radio too... clearly someone at the BBC has got their briefing note wrong!

Oh sure, get three men to write about a woman going through a traumatic birth and what she did with the compensation as though she is stealing from her own child. That seems totally normal and fine

Musicians can sometimes be the government's most vocal critics. Who could forget Stormzy calling out Theresa May over Grenfell or Elton John calling Keir Starmer’s government “absolute losers”? On Westminster Insider, host @saschaosullivan.bsky.social digs deeper:

best in show at Green Party hustings

If after all of that you still want more politics podcasting, check out the latest “half-term score card” episode of Westminster Insider, in which @saschaosullivan.bsky.social lets me give out grades to the Tories and Reform like I’m a Victorian school mistress podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/w...

One of my favourite recent pastimes is looking through Keir Starmer's old Guardian op-eds. Here's a great one, from 2003. (h/t @tom-clark.bsky.social) www.theguardian.com/politics/200...

NEW ep: what’s the point of political satire? W/ co-creator of Yes Minister Jonathan Lynn @mrjohncrace.bsky.social & Madeline Grant Cartoonist Matt Fake MP @rosieisaholt.bsky.social Former MP Michael Fabricant @eddavey.libdems.org.uk @andrewhunterm.bsky.social www.politico.eu/podcast/west...

Huge fun doing this podcast and talking about being an IMPORTANT POLITICAL SATIRIST (twirls my moustache Jonathan Swift style)

NEW ep: what’s the point of political satire? W/ co-creator of Yes Minister Jonathan Lynn @mrjohncrace.bsky.social & Madeline Grant Cartoonist Matt Fake MP @rosieisaholt.bsky.social Former MP Michael Fabricant @eddavey.libdems.org.uk @andrewhunterm.bsky.social www.politico.eu/podcast/west...

I'm convinced there is an under-appreciated overlap between those who believe in the paranormal and populist conspiracists/Brexiters.

My child got mad at her book and threw it on the ground. Four years old and already an emotional reader.

Just hard to really believe that any of the departmental cuts announced today will end up happening, frankly. Another set of salami-slicing and self-delusion on the road to taxes going up again:

Made a beef wellington tonight. The meat was delicious, but I didn't enjoy chewing through the thick rubber boot to get to it.

Reform UK is sending its Elon Musk-style DOGE team into its new councils to assess “wasteful spending.” Meanwhile, in Westminster, a whole host of copycat DOGEs have started popping up too. 🎧 This week on Westminster Insider, Patrick Baker investigates these Muskian plans: ow.ly/qel150W5iJo

Zia Yusuf says he only called Sarah Pochin MP for Runcorn dumb because “he was exhausted” And if he was an MP he would be in favour of banning face coverings “writ large” on #BBCR4today

Zia Yusuf says he will now be ‘running UK DOGE’ for Reform instead of being their chair… which he resigned only 48 hrs ago. Want to find out about SW1s new obsession with Elon Musks waste cutting measure? Have a listen to Pat Baker’s latest ep of Westminster Insider www.politico.eu/podcast/west...

Thanks Thames Water for telling me to fix any leaks. Same back at you

omg

We’ve had a cracker few Westminster Insider episodes lately which I haven’t shared on here. Most recently my co-host Patrick Baker on how the right of Westminster became obsessed with “woke waste” www.politico.eu/podcast/west...

Great to speak to @saschaosullivan.bsky.social for @politico.com on who ‘owns’ the North. Agree with @joshsimonsmp.bsky.social & Mayor Ben Houchen on need to shake up government investment rules so the North gets its fair share (& catch up). Time to make it happen… open.spotify.com/episode/2VDt...

The king has spoken

Westminster Insider is on a break but have a listen to my latest ep: War & Peace in Europe Lithuania Defence minister Dovilė Šakalienė Finnish Minister @adleande.bsky.social Ex-NATO director Fabrice Pothier @arminkahelic.bsky.social @svitlanamorenets.bsky.social www.politico.eu/podcast/west...

Teaser for this week's episode on 'War and Peace in Europe' in today's Playbook PM @ecasalicchio.bsky.social For full interview with Lithuania Defense minister Dovilė Šakalienė keep an ear (or two) out on Friday morning

🦀 IN LONDON PLAYBOOK PM TONIGHT: All the below plus ... 🚗 Fears in govt MPs have not clocked the threat of fresh Trump tariffs 🪖 Stark Russia warning from @saschaosullivan.bsky.social i/v with Lithuanian defense minister 🥐 R Hermer and H Falconer put the world to rights over pastries

March weather is simply not to be trusted

It's time for the entire continent to cough up more cash for defense, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said, in an apparent message to spendthrift Southern European countries.

We’ve got a pod for that 😉 www.politico.eu/article/west...

The reviews are in: Westminster Insider, a UK politics podcast which put Trump in office