Up there with the best episodes: especially the discussion of how Blair got it in the neck from the right-wing media for not consulting with his Cabinet over Iraq (even though, actually he did) whereas Starmer gets it in the neck for being 'weak' when he did consult colleagues over Iran.
If there was only some way to harness Mandelson's chutzpah to power the grid we could avoid an energy crisis.
The chart shows that childless Britons losing employment will see less of their vanished wages replaced by benefits than those in any other comparable country, aside from Australia and the US. Even for a lone British parent with two children, the so-called ‘replacement rate’ is 16 percentage points lower than the OECD average, representing the fourth-lowest level of relative support for such a family across the entire rich-country club.
The safety net for Britons is far lower than most of their counterparts.
Many other benefits systems around the world hardwire in a link between typical wages and benefit rates.
More➡️ buff.ly/a300OG4
This is a Very British news story.
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.
Telling how confident Starmer now feels in owning his Iran decision. His best outing against Badenoch at PMQs in months. KB not alone in shifting her position. Many of those in the press and politics demanding war and condemning Starmer loudest have been far quieter since the inevitable chaos began.
note that it's the right-wing parties, who have complained that UK should have joined US strikes on Iran, who are now also demanding the Labour government steps up household help with energy bills
Ozzy enjoying some cuddles with Peter. Comforting purr with the sound on.
Nigel Farage has invested in Kwasi Kwarteng’s bitcoin treasury company, in the first public funding of a crypto business by the Reform UK leader who has sought to strengthen ties with the nascent industry
www.ft.com/content/1518...
FT coverage is just so good at a time like this at explaining stuff in a really concise, clear way. www.ft.com/content/1355...
during the oil/gas crisis caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraime it was striking how some right-wingers tried to gaslight the public into believing the *biggest* problem with their soaring bills (at the time) was green levies rather than the oil/gas price going through the roof
This reminds me of when lobby journalists tried to start "Is Keir Starmer spending too much time abroad at meetings and summits?" as a supposed criticism of his leadership rather than... a reflection of the world as it is.
I thought the best person to talk to Laura Kuenssberg about the important moral and ethical issues of the day would be Robert Jenrick, the man who overruled a planning decision to save a billionaire pornographer £45m in exchange for a £12,000 donation.
It really is something to see politicians, commentators and media outlets whose whole identity is based on being so-called ‘patriots’ frothing with excitement as they line up to back a deranged megalomaniac who consistently attempts to belittle and bully the country they claim to love
The death rattle of newspapers is sooo weird, a totally random PR story that someone put on a print product bought by the same number of people who live in Basingstoke, who are rapidly dying. And this will for some reason be discussed on national TV. No wonder the future is influencers.
No legal basis. No clear objective. No exit. And much of Britain’s political class spent the week calling Starmer a coward for noticing.
Latest substack from me.
open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...
I suppose after two world wars it was Britain's turn to turn up late.
Chart showing 84% of Conservative members think Badenoch should lead the party into the next election.
This (from ConHome's reader-member survey) is really remarkable when you think about it: a triumph of vibes over rationality? The Tory Party' has at best stood still and at worst gone backwards compared to where it was when she took over - and it still languishes at under 20% in most polls. And yet:
Pretty difficult to refute a single thing in this perfect assessment of where the f**k we are, from @iandunt.bsky.social:
Just shows how much contempt Reform has for their own supporters. This is a policy that helps the kids of the wealthy educated liberal elites they claim to despise. And would harm the types of constituency they do well in.
Zelensky has done everything he possibly can to satisfy this admin while he fights a war of survival for his people. And the Trump admin has done nothing but repeatedly treat him with disrespect, scorn & ridicule. 2 days ago, Trump called him “PT Barnum.” This is how Z responds.
New post just out:
"Sovereignty for sale"
The UK is uniquely exposed to the power of US tech monopolies - from Palantir to AI and cloud services.
Why is it so dangerous? What are other countries doing? And what should we do?
(£/free trial)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/s...
Again, Farage, Badenoch and their fellow travellers on X are wildly out of touch with the public on Iran.
Even the majority of Reform supporters oppose their position.
chart showing Annualised growth in real household disposable income per person, by parliament: UK
Growth in real household disposable income per person this Parliament is set to be weak by historical standards.
Get our overnight analysis in full here ⤵️ buff.ly/DqulMy0
Why are people so morose about the economy? At our post-Spring Forecast event David Miles says that living standards used to double every three decades or so. On current trends it will take over a century to see that kind of transformation. No wonder people are downbeat.
“Hanging on to President Trump’s latest words is not the special relationship” …a useful message there from Starmer for the BBC’s hyperbolic political reporting as well as for Badenoch.
All a bit Turner-esque this evening.
This is important. Reform keep taking positions that are only supported by the 25% of the electorate they already have and in doing so are negatively polarising everyone else against them.
This IPSO adjudication against the Telegraph is quite something
Confirms their story titled: ‘We earn £345k, but soaring private school fees mean we can’t go on five holidays’ was completely fabricated, with the family involved non-existent and stock pictures used
www.ipso.co.uk/rulings/0210...
It’s getting ridiculous.
