Chris Bye

📣 ANNOUNCEMENT - Here are five of the North’s breakthrough jazz artists to join Jazz North’s Northern Line roster for this year 2026:
Rory A. Green
Swannek
Hang Linton
Rivkala
Ancient Infinity Orchestra
More info: www.jazznorth.org/news/latest-northern-line-artists-revealed-2026

Has no-one noticed that Stephen has basically lost his body weight in sweat at every round table?

Unlike some of the other books in this list, despite being titled ‘Code of Conduct’, Bryant’s work is more a critical love letter to a system of government.

I feel like this one got slightly passed over with releases from the likes of Rory Stewart, or some of the more brutal takedowns of the then Tory government. But Chris writes with insight and a genuine belief in politics as a means to change lives.

It’s a different and dare I say, pretty unique take. This is an author that is fully in the weeds. What makes this one different to the other volcanos, earthquakes and asteroids is the sense of personal involvement but balanced with never shying away from technical nitty-gritty.

Most importantly, a system Chris is qualified to talk about and actually cares about.

The author is generally regarded as ‘one of the Good Ones’. Not without faults and never shy to make the personal part of the story but frankly, that is no bad thing. Behind all of that is an analytical and deeply considered look at the nuts and bolts of the UK system.

Well political books went and did the same thing with a few big hitters taking aim at the UK system being released around the same time. One to look at is Chris Bryant’s ‘Code of Conduct: Why We Need to Fix Parliament’. @chrisbryant1962.bsky.social

Remember when Hollywood was pumping out several thematic films in quick succession? Two films about an asteroid hitting mainland America? A couple that centered on a volcano, earthquake or whatnot?

Why politics is relevant and however you choose to engage with it should be taught in schools. And this should be required reading.

Most importantly, it is not just a cynical drive-by, it’s considered and offers action, potential solutions, or at the very least some tweaks which would probably be the most British way to address our faults.

It’s brevity, it’s that helping hand to pull you up through the mire of crap that is our political system.

Dunt’s ability to plough through and explain so succinctly and clearly what is in actuality an illogical jibber-jabber of an apparatus, is basically an artform in its own right.

How Westminster Works and Why It Doesn't

‘How Westminster Works and Why It Doesn’t’ by @iandunt.bsky.social is one of the most important pieces of work on our political system. It's a dirty job and someone had to do it.

Does he actively want The Jetsons or Ghost in the Shell? I have been looking for a serious piece about how the economy adjusts from the new industrial revolution i.e. when WC jobs like solicitors, or 2/3s of the creative sector are forced to retrain overnight.

Who funds the Free Speech Union? Toby Young’s outfit went to court to hide its donors. Today we reveal that funders include US anti-abortion groups, Brexit politicians and Tufton Street insiders.

It will not surprise you to learn that Toby Youngs 'Free Speech Union' has obtained a High Court injunction banning the publication of a list of its donors open.substack.com/pub/democrac...

Who funds the Free Speech Union? Toby Young’s outfit went to court to hide its donors. Today we reveal that funders include US anti-abortion groups, Brexit politicians and Tufton Street insiders.

🔴 Last week the Free Speech Union got a High Court writ to prevent the publication of a list of its donors

So we decided to investigate who *does* fund Toby Young's outfit

Wanna see? 🫣

New on Democracy for Sale:
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/who-funds-...

‘I Was Just So Naïve’: Inside Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Break With Trump

Superb piece about the (partial) transformation of MTG. Best account yet of her political journey and what it might augur for the wider MAGA movement, buckling under massive political and intellectual tensions.

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/29/m...

Could you relax by easing into a comfy chair, an open fire and warm glass of brandy, then read '33 Revolutions....' in its entirity onto Audible?

It’s an essential read if you want to trace the absolute horror show that is MAGA back through the Tea Party movement, Reagan and beyond.

Brilliant and massively depressing in equal measure. Not a quick read but absolutely worth digging into.

‘American Psychosis: A Historical Investigation of How the Republican Party Went Crazy’ by @davidcorn.bsky.social

AKA How the American political system went completely to bibble.

In this extensive delve, Corn shows that this erosion of democracy and sanity didn’t happen by accident.

Although I have lost all my (respective) reach since leaving the nazi wasp nest that is Twitter, I get asked for political book recommendations on WhatsApp a fair bit and have nowhere else to list them publicly.

So from time to time I shall pop some here for no-one to look at.

Sea monkeys are now aqua dragons.

Daft frozen crutacians (which were never monkeys) are now a slightly mad masculine branding exercise.

I guess “crap old proto shrimp” is a bit harder for the marketing team

Sam Fender donates his £25,000 Mercury prize winnings to Music Venue Trust charity Chart-topping singer-songwriter adds to his previous support of charity that works on behalf of small UK venues

Fantastic work from Sam Fender www.theguardian.com/music/2025/n...

Sam Fender wins 2025 Mercury prize for his album People Watching Geordie singer-songwriter’s album reached No 1 on the UK album chart, and led to a series of stadium-sized concerts this summer

Really amazing show at the #MercuryPrize last night. Smooth production, great staffing from venue and epic performances. Fantastic result for Sam Fender, the NE and the North in general. www.theguardian.com/music/2025/o...

“I would gently point out to Nigel Farage that before we left the EU we had a returns agreement with every country in the EU. He told the country it would make no difference if we left. He was wrong about that. These are Farage boats in many senses coming across the channel” 👏

PM Keir Starmer

Ed Miliband's message to Elon Musk:
"Get out of our politics and our country."

Via Ronald S. on FB.

MasterChef: BBC faces mounting pressure to not air new series after Gregg Wallace and John Torode sacked It comes as a MasterChef contestant says she was edited out after asking for the new series not to be broadcast.

oh my god shut up about this for one day i am losing the will to live www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...