I see we're at the putting failed parliamentary candidate, failed journalist and failed author Matt Goodwin on flagship political discussion shows "for balance" stage of our decline as a society 🙄

80 years ago today, Italians voted republic over monarchy in an institutional referendum. It was also the first vote by universal suffrage with women voting for the first time. So there is no work here today as the country celebrates Festa della Republica!

I am very interested to see that the new Leader of Lambeth Council is a Green Party Councillor, Martin Abrams. A former Labour Councillor who was suspended by the party for his vocal views on the Gaza genocide. What an outcome for him

Mandy emails also showing us today that there are too many of his supporters and enabler’s still in and around the top team. With the Blair essay last week & emailgate this week this govt is stuck in a New Labour time warp. Stop the rot. Change the mood music

Reading the Mandelson email posts this pm, it is really quite disturbing to see how entrenched he was in day to day govt activities & thinking within the Cabinet. He is also bitchy & disloyal to everyone even his supposed friends

Am happy for Arsenal & their fan base but enough now with the ongoing coverage

Underwhelmed by first episode of #DearEngland on BBC. I didn’t see it but the recent National Theatre production was so well received I am thinking it just hasn’t transferred to TV that well?

It doesn’t happen often that my family back in 🇬🇧 are enjoying higher temperatures than me here in Puglia. Hope everyone is enjoying a happy UK Bank Holiday Monday in the sunshine ☀️

Have never watched this Channel 4 Married at First Sight show but the whole premise of the programme seems to me like this was a disaster waiting to happen. Plus a very weak statement & performance from Channel 4 Chief Exec this morning.

Am so gripped by the drama #BBCHalfman that I have watched episode 4 with my lunch today. A welcome break from Westminster news

Who are the possible candidates for Manchester Mayor now that Burnham has communicated his Westminster wishes? Who has that star power to keep the Mayoralty Labour? Two wins for Labour is a tough ask with last week’s NW local results

Catching up on all the Starmer drama news coverage for today, I don’t think he has ever looked or sounded so chilled 😎

Am hearing that beautiful Johannes is going to part of new hosting team on #BBCSrtrictly Hope this is true & not fake news

I don’t think Farage wants to be PM. He is a wrecker & a grifter & is gaining considerable wealth. Ultimately the money is King & he will not be able to deal with the ongoing scrutiny into how he gets it if he got there & even the RW press would have to report it. Plus he is a lazy arse

I quite like the hutzpah of Catherine West MP today calling for the Cabinet contenders to crack on with the business of the leadership or she will get to it herself on Monday if they don’t. A clear demonstration of strong leadership credentials & a relatively unknown entity is refreshing right now

Happy voting 🗳️ today peeps

On & on it goes & now we have London MP Neil Coyle telling us that like Farage, Zack is a conman. This is the same Neil Coyle who was suspended from the Commons for 5 days, 3 years ago for drunken & racist abuse in one of the Parliamentary bars. What a hypocrite & maybe Hannah Spencer has a point 🍺

Zack Polanski wasn't a full member of the National Council of Hypnotherapy. But Rachel Reeves wasn't an economist at HBOS, Jonathan Reynolds never qualified as a solicitor, Suella Braverman didn't write a legal textbook and Kemi Badenoch wasn't offered a place at Stanford University medical school.

The knives are out for @zackpolanski.bsky.social today.The Times reporting he falsely claimed to be a spokesperson for The British Red Cross back in 2016 & no doubt this will have every RW hack wetting their knickers in the run up to Thursday. Where is the similar outrage for the £5m Farage bung?

A brilliant question ……

The new BBC drama #TheCage is a brilliant & quite thrilling watch with a banging 90’s soundtrack. 5 tight episodes are well worth your time

Trump’s White House garden speech yesterday clearly shows that he regards the Royal Visit as a personal visit to him. Not a State visit. Everything the King communicated is predicated around our two nation states & how we fit & work within & across the world. For Trump it is all about him

The King delivered a surprisingly good & political speech to Congress yesterday & I am no Royalist. I was moved. Yesterday by contrast on what was another bad day for Starmer it was also a demonstration on how he fails to ‘do’ politics as the PM

Such blatant profiteering from human misery is sickening. And here at home families struggle to pay bills as energy giants rake in higher profits & destroy the climate. Time for a further windfall tax now

So Trump has stopped Witkoff & Kushner travelling to Pakistan for further talks with Iran. Apparently he has ‘all the cards’ & they know where he is. Who knew?

Washington Hilton, where Trump will soon be arriving for the White House correspondents’ dinner. End the cover-up.

This is brilliant & so true

Just catching up on today’s Starmer vetting woes. Olly Robbins’ very credible Committee performance this morning shows Starmer in a very poor light, completely tied up in ‘process’ & demonstrating once again a complete lack of political intelligence & guile which is a necessity for a successful PM

I had to do a double take on this. It is so WRONG #BBCNews on EVERY level

Absolutely loved her & cannot believe it is 10 years. A total loss to the gaiety of life

Sky News says the Speaker has accepted Bad Enoch’s application for an emergency debate tomorrow as there are inconsistencies in the Govt’s position on Mandelson vetting saga. How many other ways can the same questions be asked? Total overkill but another grandstanding opportunity for her I suppose

He put in an Oscar winning performance for his deluded voter base today with his fake outrage at Starmer. Liar? It takes one to know one

Labour benches are noticeably thinning out with Starmer still answering questions. They are not happy

David Lammy is looking like he is losing the will to live sitting next to Starmer in Commons. Yawning, head in hands. Looking very very uncomfortable at points today

Here we go …… Starmer is up addressing House of Commons on Mandelson vetting debacle

Thank goodness a 10 day ceasefire in Lebanon. But those sadistic bastards have managed to destroy the one remaining bridge in the south of Lebanon today. Disgusting

Amazing scenes in Italian Parliament today as opposition parties rally to support Meloni & to unanimously condemn Trump & his insults this week. Stating clearly that Italy repudiates this war

So true …..

Love this …..

I can see that recent polling tells us that 63% of UK would now vote to remain in EU and that would be a very clear & decisive result in another vote. But I cannot help but think that the absolute bin fire we have lived through for the past 10 years that % should be far higher, surely?

Wow, Italy is pulling out of it’s defence agreement with Israel. This action amounts to a significant geopolitical shake-up. Am I mad to hope that there could be a domino effect?

What did David Lammy actually think he would gain by posting a picture of himself with his ‘friend’ JD Vance in Washington this week? Deluded fool

Love this …..

Have seen some very gratifying heckling of Farage on the Shetlands today. Apparently he will be making a quick exit on his private jet very soon 😂

Italy is not amused that the big orange tit of a man has dissed the Pope

In the light of what’s happening in Iran right now, I am going to try and revisit the BBC series #TheArtofPersia by @samiraahmeduk.bsky.social that was shown a few years ago. I thought it was wonderful at the time & very insightful

Spain’s PM is calling on EU to suspend trade & diplomatic agreement with Israel as they have continued to strike Lebanon today during so called ceasefire. Could Europe move forward on this? I live in hope

The times they are a changing. Channel 4 are showing the Boat Race today. Another sporting event lost by the Beeb

Bang on …..

Trump’s whole Administration is populated by a shower of shits but it is still very telling that the first people to be kicked out of the tent are women