John Rentoul

Angela Rayner is threatening to vote against govt on jury trials later in bill’s passage, which begins tomorrow – David Maddox www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

NEW on Starmer/Trump weekend call

- UK aides say conversation was "constructive"

- Decline opportunity to describe as "friendly"

- Starmer position that action in Middle East has no legal basis and US has no proper plan remains unchanged

Robert Jenrick to Laura Kuenssberg opposes British strikes on sites in Iran docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Good morning, John @rentouljohn.bsky.social & thanks for the repost this morning. I ran out of space to detail the 2 watercolours at Dreweatts next Wednesday: they are "The River Deben near Waldringfield" tinyurl.com/2bdvjaba & "Sham Castle, Bath" by W J Steggles tinyurl.com/5f73jejz both from 1934

Good morning, Honor @honor.bsky.social & thanks. Yes, there are 5 pieces by Walter Steggles at Dreweatts in Newbury this coming Wednesday. They start with "Wharfedale, Yorkshire" at lot No. 339 here: tinyurl.com/3ucsnz68 "West Mersea" at 341, "Gastard, Nr Lacock" at 343 + 2 watercolours at 340 & 342

(Corrected: poll is of UK not GB adults.) Thread follows bsky.app/profile/rent...

Poll of UK adults on Iran by Survation
mailchi.mp/survation/ir...

Ministers offer Tories more peers to end hereditary bill standoff It comes as the government tries to pass a bill to end hereditary peerages ahead of a spring deadline.

Hard to believe Labour learned so little from the skill with which Tony Blair & Derry Irvine expelled most hereditaries in 1999 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

We’ll always have Dubai Why the newly endangered city will endure

“London can withstand anything: the Great Fire, the Blitz, the films of Richard Curtis, the pandemic.” Janan Ganesh www.ft.com/content/fa5c...

i Quiz answers 7 Mar 28 Feb 21 Feb 14 Feb 7 Feb 31 Jan 24 Jan 17 Jan 10 Jan 3 Jan 2026 27 Dec 20 Dec 13 Dec 6 Dec 29 Nov 22 Nov 15 Nov 8 Nov 1 Nov 25 Oct 18 Oct 11 Oct 4 Oct 27 Sep 20 Sep 13...

Answers to @theipaper quiz are here docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Rishi Sunak: How the conflict in Iran will play out Rachel Reeves’s spring statement was overtaken by the Middle East conflict, and these shocks won’t go away. The only course now is to focus on defence

“We mustn’t let a particular interpretation of international law limit our global role” Rishi Sunak www.thetimes.com/business/com...

By @chriscurtis94.bsky.social, Lab MP who worked as pollster on “hero voter” strategy in 2024 with
@deborahmattinson.bsky.social

open.substack.com/pub/chriscur...

Shocking news: Labour is not U-turning on controversial reform David Lammy’s plan to restrict jury trials will be put to a vote in the Commons on Tuesday – and the government might even win, says John Rentoul

Shocking news: Labour is not U-turning on controversial reform www.independent.co.uk/voices/uturn...

Tony Blair, speaking at a Jewish News event yesterday, via Mail Online dailymail.co.uk/news/article...

Not sure how Starmer can convince people that inflation is good for them any more than Trump and Biden can. It is, but nobody except economists gets that. There is a good reason why the BoE's inflation target is not zero.

"As a nation, you either shape events or are shaped by them. I fear that in our handling of this crisis, we have fallen into the latter category. Britain had no affirmative role in the planning or execution of this operation. But that hasn’t protected our sovereign territory from attack, or insulated our economy from the aftershocks. We must learn the lessons of this episode."

False dichotomy and wishful thinking here from Sunak. The idea that UK involvement would have significantly changed Trump and Netanyahu's approach, or reduced the consequences for the UK, is laughable. More thoughtful than Johnson, but with the same simplistic vanity, the desire to feel in control.

Where is the evidence that it won't save court time?

By @chriscurtis94.bsky.social, Lab MP who worked as pollster on “hero voter” strategy in 2024 with
@deborahmattinson.bsky.social

open.substack.com/pub/chriscur...

Rishi Sunak: How the conflict in Iran will play out Rachel Reeves’s spring statement was overtaken by the Middle East conflict, and these shocks won’t go away. The only course now is to focus on defence

“We mustn’t let a particular interpretation of international law limit our global role” Rishi Sunak www.thetimes.com/business/com...

i Quiz answers 7 Mar 28 Feb 21 Feb 14 Feb 7 Feb 31 Jan 24 Jan 17 Jan 10 Jan 3 Jan 2026 27 Dec 20 Dec 13 Dec 6 Dec 29 Nov 22 Nov 15 Nov 8 Nov 1 Nov 25 Oct 18 Oct 11 Oct 4 Oct 27 Sep 20 Sep 13...

Answers to @theipaper quiz are here docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Shocking news: Labour is not U-turning on controversial reform David Lammy’s plan to restrict jury trials will be put to a vote in the Commons on Tuesday – and the government might even win, says John Rentoul

Shocking news: Labour is not U-turning on controversial reform www.independent.co.uk/voices/uturn...

4½/10 in John Clarke's Saturday Quiz in the i paper (answers in the paper or here later)

We’ll always have Dubai Why the newly endangered city will endure

“London can withstand anything: the Great Fire, the Blitz, the films of Richard Curtis, the pandemic.” Janan Ganesh www.ft.com/content/fa5c...

4½/10 in John Clarke's Saturday Quiz in the i paper (answers in the paper or here later)

Ministers offer Tories more peers to end hereditary bill standoff It comes as the government tries to pass a bill to end hereditary peerages ahead of a spring deadline.

Hard to believe Labour learned so little from the skill with which Tony Blair & Derry Irvine expelled most hereditaries in 1999 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Keir Starmer knows what Tony Blair learned too late – which is that military action abroad is a bad idea if it is strongly opposed by public opinion at home

Vernon Bogdanor says we need another referendum on electoral reform www.ft.com/content/38d8...

(Corrected: poll is of UK not GB adults.) Thread follows bsky.app/profile/rent...

Poll of UK adults on Iran by Survation
mailchi.mp/survation/ir...

Donald Trump’s insult was positively helpful to Keir Starmer www.independent.co.uk/voices/iran-...