Frank Podmore

'There were no books'

Lol

The unexamined small-c conservatism of lots of socialists is really fascinating. It's why Corbyn's age worked in his favour, too, in that he was seen as a relic of a bygone era, where we stood by our traditions before that nasty, modernising Blair came along

Fair enough. I watched the whole thing through my fingers, so I'm not surprised I don't remember it right

Yeah, he won because he validated people's feelings and in the cases you mention, their feelings were valid. Which makes him both similar to and radically different from Trump

Was he not? Thought Len McCluskey and a few others were on board from the off?

Not totally convinced, but he certainly was the choice of the unions (part of the Labour establishment) and of the looser anti-Iraq War grouping (which was nearly everyone on the left)

"Cars are the most absurd means of transport in a city. They are parked 95 per cent of the time. It takes two tonnes to move someone who weighs 70 kilogrammes. And the denser the city, the more absurd it is."

Another day, another stupid Excel chart.

we should make American voters get a tattoo on their arm that says DON'T TRUST THE REPUBLICAN PARTY because otherwise they're basically all that guy from Memento every second election cycle.

I respect Luigi of Mario & Luigi more than I do Mario, because while Mario is naturally gifted and full of courage Luigi is a timid humiliating creature who still endeavors to protect those around him

bran stark: can a man still be brave, even when he is afraid?

ned stark: [thinking of luigi] that is the only time a man can be brave.

I don't think it's my phrase, but I can't remember whose it was!

With the additional and even more obvious corollary that just because you're fighting your own supporters doesn't mean you're right and they're wrong

The thing cargo cult Blairites don't understand is that Blair didn't say 'It's a political goldmine to start a fight with my own supporters' and work his way backwards from there. He made a virtue of it on those occasions when he *had to* fight his own members

There used to be a guy with a jerk chicken stall down Deptford High Street who did a bit where he went 'Oops, nearly gave you the black-people sauce', before going on to instead give you the (I assume) white-people sauce

London, San Francisco and Beijing achieve ‘remarkable reductions’ in air pollution Cycle lanes, electric cars and other interventions have helped 19 global cities slash levels of pollutants by more than 20%

Another vindication of @london.gov.uk & councillors across London in implementing proactive policies to cut air pollution across the city, even against wider political pressures. Shows what can be achieved with bold leadership.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Pleased with this thoughtful and interesting review of my book:

Wanted: a new Blair Labour needs a theory of capitalism.

Good piece on Labour's economic blindspots from @chrisdillow.bsky.social

I'd add another source of ideological/analytical weakness: Labour has as its focus an historical actor - the "hero" Blue Labour working class - who is no longer economic centre stage.

open.substack.com/pub/chrisdil...

Every time some idiot Blue Labour MP comes out championing social conservatism as a core aspect of the party I feel like asking “ok, so which socially conservative beliefs should Labour be upholding?” and getting the response of “oh you know, those ones.”

I’m becoming increasingly radicalised against the idea that a party’s history means anything. Truly why am I expected to care about what the early union movement thought. Is it a good idea or is it not.

one of my favorite moments of TNG is when Picard is immediately unable to contain his horse autism

Hello, my name is Keir Starmer. Tony Blair and Donald Trump are shouting at me for not enthusiastically backing a war. I will somehow find a way to finish this week even less popular than I am now

Republican Congressman (quoted in the Times) says,
"the United States always takes for granted, the UK's partnership."

That's precisely the point. No country can take another for granted, no matter how longstanding the alliance.

The Prime Minister is absolutely right to be defending UK interests.

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...

I can't explain why, but I am convinced that Bridgerton is somehow evil

wow it works

New Research! This summer I went to 272 'School Streets' in Paris, generating a comprehensive picture of this massive street-pedestrianization program. I cataloged amenities, tracked their development over time, and carried a thermal camera 📸

Thread on the findings 🧵

doi.org/10.1177/0739...

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