Mike Gapes

When I asked Zack Polanski about his brief if memorable career as a breast size-enhancing hypnotherapist, he told me that it was never about actual breast size, just body image.

This was not the case, and this new BBC article - and audio clip – makes that plainer.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The due diligence report on Peter Mandelson's appointment handed to Keir Starmer warned about Mandelson's financial links to Russia, which he retained "long after Putin's annexation of Crimea"

🚨 WATCH: Kemi Badenoch asks Keir Starmer why he thinks now is the right time to "increase the cost of petrol"

Starmer: "We are not increasing... she said the UK should have joined the US in offensive strikes, then yesterday... totally abandoned her position"

That PMQs was brutal. Prime Ministerial Starmer on top form what a contrast to embarrassing shouty Kemi the Teenager.

Badenoch said if she was prime minister HMS Dragon would have left a week ago. Presumably with its doors hanging off and with no weapons onboard.

Wordle 1,725 5/6

⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Wordle 1,723 5/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟩🟨⬜⬜
⬜🟩⬜🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Who actually were the Hero Voters? Labour won in 2024 because of economically insecure voters, not social conservatism.

Have been a bit frustrated by some of the conversation about Labour's voter coalition.

I've written about who the "Hero Voters" actually were, how we won them, and what we need to do to earn their support next time.

chriscurtismk.substack.com/p/who-actual...

How the right-wing British press became Trump’s trumpet Fleet Street is happy to ignore the real history of transatlantic relations to score points against Keir Starmer

Rather than concentrate on the wildfire war he's just started, Trump is spending his time on the phone with British journalists slagging off Keir Starmer. Their dictation skills turn out to be excellent www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/lab...

An open letter to Labour’s next prime minister There are lessons to be learned from Labour leaders past —and I’ve met every one since Harold Wilson

“Labour’s own history of successes and failures contains clear lessons for anyone aspiring to lead the party effectively. Starmer has shown little interest in learning them”, writes Peter Kellner former president of YouGov

The White House position is that it is no big deal that Putin is helping Iran try to kill US soldiers.

Always remember rule #1. Putin can do no wrong in Trump’s eyes.

Wonder why that is?

From FT comments

The right-wing used to go bonkers about the UK negotiating common EU consumer protection rules.

Now they believe Britain shld join any US military operation “regardless of our own interests, our own views or our own democratic processes”.

They want “total subservience to American decision-making”

Wordle 1,720 4/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨
🟨⬜⬜🟨⬜
🟩🟩⬜🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

It was very interesting.

The Guardian. MPs say Starmer's UK-EU reset lacks 'direction, definition and drive'. 4 March.

A report has found that the UK-EU summit last May had “substantially improved the overall political relationship”, but it concluded the UK “lacks clear strategic priorities”. It also welcomed the UK-EU security and defence partnership but urged both sides and individual member states “to go further"

Wordle 1,718 5/6

🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟩🟩⬜🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Wordle 1,716 5/6

⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟩🟨🟨
⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Wordle 1,715 3/6

🟩⬜🟨🟩⬜
🟩🟨⬜🟩🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Wordle 1,714 5/6

⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨
⬜🟩🟨⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Ah. Trots and Tankies doing what they do. Let’s get the popcorn.

Wordle 1,712 6/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨
🟨⬜⬜🟨⬜
🟨⬜⬜🟩🟨
⬜🟨🟨🟩🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 phew

Wordle 1,711 3/6

⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟨⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Wordle 1,709 3/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor

Favourable: 3% (1% very)
Unfavourable: 90% (80% very)
7% Don't Know
[Don't Know is higher at 14% among 18-24)

[Nov 16th 2019 Panorama broadcast]

Favourable
22% Oct 2019 is first YouGov score
11% Nov 2019
7% Jan 2020
5% August 2025
4% Oct 2025
3% Jan 2026

YouGov

Reform UK suspends by-election campaign activist over ‘antisemitic and misogynistic’ posts EXCLUSIVE: Adam Mitula, Reform UK’s interim campaign manager in Tameside, has been assisting Matt Goodwin's Gorton and Denton by-election campaign

So it turns out Matt Goodwin's Reform campaign manager was a holocaust-denying Nazi who said he would "never touch a Jewish woman.”

When do we start seeing all the coverage of the antisemitism crisis in Reform UK?

www.jewishnews.co.uk/reform-uk-su...

Wordle 1,706 6/6

⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩phew. Too many options.

Wordle 1,704 4/6

⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
⬜🟨⬜🟨🟨
🟩⬜🟨⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

The slug and lettuce. Love that comment.

Lil' bit of analysis of BES data on this. Farage's popularity is incredibly consistent over time. Here is is his average score on the 0 to 10 how much do you like this leader question in the BES. His mean is always just above or below 3. The median almost always 1 or 2.