John Harris

Labour is stubborn in defeat because it knows this: we face the belated end of the political 20th century | John Harris In Gorton and Denton, I heard again and again that people wanted seismic political change – Labour and the Tories are no longer part of that conversation, says Guardian columnist John Harris

Latest from me: By dint of its relationship with the trade unions alone, Labour still plays a vital role in our democracy – but it also looks dangerously like an archaic legacy party. Its old majoritarian dreams are over
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Ask him to turn it off

No more safe seats: the Greens take Gorton and Denton – podcast John Harris, Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey chat through all the fallout from the Green Party’s historic byelection win in Gorton and Denton. And, look at what could happen next.

🚨No more safe seats: the Greens take Gorton and Denton

Have a listen to our #PoliticsWeekly podcast for all the latest on this consequential by-election

With me, @johnharris1969.bsky.social & @kiranstacey.bsky.social @theguardian.com

www.theguardian.com/politics/aud...

This is the point.

Really not sure if telling Green voters they we're stupid enough to be hoodwinked by extremist anti-NATO crack dealers is the most productive way for Labour to behave. Makes them sound like they're joining Reform in a kind of Mary Whitehouse prig chorus

It's a really important piece of writing. Thanks for writing it

The White Paper There are some good bits, but also an approach that isn't going to work for my family

Best thing I've read on the SEND reforms: personal, really lucid, great on the policy context jimlauder.substack.com/p/the-white-...

V familiar. Would it have really eased the following day though?

Isn't the key hangover question whether it was worth it? That always makes them bearable imho. The bad ones that were frittered away are thé worst

Send provision and student loans: will Labour’s changes backfire? – podcast John Harris and Kiran Stacey look at what we know about the new plans for Send and the backlash over changes to student loan payments

I've been waiting all week to talk to @johnharris1969.bsky.social about what he thinks of the govt's Send reforms, given he is a bona fide expert.

He surprised me in a number of ways with what he said. Well worth a listen:

www.theguardian.com/politics/aud...

Anyway mr rolley, I'm sure you're an agreeable fella and arguing with strangers is a bit daft. Thank you for engaging, I'll bear what you said in mind.

That's what I said, in both cases.

It's one point of three

Ps it wasn't "a future govt might change this". It was "if you weaken rights from 2029 onwards, you may well facilitate Reform UK doing bad things." It's an important point.

No it wasn't! It was framed around 1.does the money reflect the level of ambition and 2. What will happen to rights if redress & choice. The Reform point is in the context of (2). Maybe read it again and take your souvenir Clement Attlee glasses off

No it isn't. Come on. It acknowledges the positives and then points out reasons for concern, among SEND parents like me. It's an analytical piece. I'm not here to big anyone up. If you're a party activist, that's your job.

What's unfair about the Send piece?

"As long as a journalist reports the truth, in fairness and in conscience, it's not his job to worry about consequences."

The Thom Yorke track on the Flea album sounds exactly like great lost Manc band Yargo

Story 1 by Max Kendix of The Times, tweet posted at 14:35 on Friday 20 February Councils forced to spend £20k a year for a single child to receive horse therapy to help with special educational needs EHCPs used for therapy alpacas, dogs, angling, and aerial arts. Costs of horse-related spending alone is £1.9m across 22 councils this year, for 119 cases

Second story by Max Kendix, tweet posted on 22 February Times investigation: They had special educational needs. The state failed them so badly that they took their own lives We uncover the stories of 20 young people whose recent deaths are blamed on failures by schools, councils and hospitals to give them the support they needed

A tale of two Times SEND stories on X, the everything app: same paper, same journalist, 48 hours apart

Story about spending on equine therapy - 136,000 views, 111 RTs, 95 comments, many foam-flecked

Story about 20+ system-induced teen suicides - 4,000 views, 30 RTs, 7 mostly scornful comments

I did 2 and a half days in Bristol with no natural light. Exited feeling v spaced out

Fair point

Doing that is one weird experience. How long are you in there?

I keep meaning to plug this Miles Davis CD that comes with the current issue of @mojomagazine.bsky.social. One of the greatest comps I've had the pleasure of sticking to the front of the mag.

Have you got any hard copies? May well use it on this week's column

Not at all. 2005 election was full of it

Vernon Bogdanor in the Times. The Iraq war was when the rot started. Weirdly, it's very rarely mentioned

What do those affected by SEND reform think about the government's new plans? The government has unveiled its long-awaited plans for reforming SEND provision in England - but what do those most impacted make of the changes?

Mandelson & the Ukraine war anniversary pushed the SEND reforms down the news agenda, but here's a truth most of the media now seems barely interested in: parents are deeply worried about the curtailing of their rights www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Telegraph on the SEND reforms here, playing its allotted role like a pantomime dame. I'd like them to find someone with an EHCP who fits this description. Go on.

Down’s Syndrome Association response to proposed SEND reforms in Schools White Paper - Downs Syndrome Association Details of the Down's Syndrome Association's response to the SEND reforms in the School's White Paper published yesterday.

Pointed, really illuminating response to the SEND reform plan from the Downs Syndrome Association
www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/news/news-re...