Stephen Clayton

By the force of the media, this war liberates an exponential mass of stupidity, not the particular stupidity of war, which is considerable, but the professional and functional stupidity of those who pontificate in perpetual commentary on the event: all the Bouvards and Pecuchets for hire, the would-be raiders of the lost image, the CNN types and all the master singers of strategy and information who make us experience the emptiness of television as never before. This war, it must be said, constitutes a merciless test. Fortunately, no one will hold this expert or general or that intellectual for hire to account for the idiocies or absurdities proffered the day before, since these will be erased by those of the following day. In this manner, everyone is amnestied by the ultra-rapid succession of phony events and phony discourses. The laundering of stupidity by the escalation of stupidity which reconstitutes a sort of total innocence, namely the innocence of washed and bleached brains, stupefied not by the violence but by the sinister insignificance of the images.

Baudrillard (1991) The Gulf War: is it really taking place?
#Baudrillard

Is it really a war?

Play along with Andrew Heaton's new game show.

YouTube video by Niall Williams The Flashing Blade TV programme Opening Credits

I preferred The Flashing Blade for its theme tune and fabulous shirts.
youtu.be/F5Sb9AoirSU?...

What's happening in the NHS?

Cruelty to immigrants is not what my party stands for. It’s time for True Labour, not Blue Labour | Stella Creasy We must get back to the party’s roots before it is too late. That means embracing difference, rejecting division – and fighting for opportunities for all, says MP for Walthamstow, Stella Creasy

"There is an alternative way forward: being True – not Blue – Labour. True Labour doesn’t fear those who are different. Instead, it demands everyone contribute their abilities to society – and works to unlock such skills."

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

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.

Dear Shabana, I notice today that you referred to me in your speech on immigration at the IPPR think tank. You said: “A party leader should not be on the beaches of France encouraging people to make a perilous crossing on small boats.” I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised especially after the hateful Labour campaign in Gorton and Denton, but this is just the latest in a string of lies peddled by a discredited Government who intentionally fan the flames of racism and division. When I went to Calais, I was not there to encourage people to travel to the UK. I was there to see at first hand the suffering your Government and successive Governments have done in demonising migrants in a pathetic bid to pander to the base instincts of Reform and the flawed strategy of Morgan McSweeney. As you will know, if you even bothered to research my visit instead of taking Reform talking points, I was there to witness the brutality of families living in tents in freezing temperatures. I filled water tanks and picked up litter. What that visit did do is confirm my belief that if we are to smash the boat gangs and stop the boats, we need to offer safer and managed routes for migrants to come to this country. Showing compassion as a politician is not a crime. In fact, we need to see much more of it. It reminded me of a young MP who in October 2015 spent three days in Lesbos helping migrants fleeing war-torn Syria. She posted videos on X, talked about handing out water and croissants to refugees and food parcels. When she returned to the UK, she wrote a very moving piece in the New Statesman. She said “we have to work with our European partners and create new, safe, and legal routes for refugees to get to Europe. We cannot abandon them to their fate, left as prey for smugglers whilst risking death on the seas.” She said “maybe we can make ourselves feel better by saying no-one is making them get on the boats. And again, the Home Secretary is not entirely wrong when …

Dear Shabana,

Let's clear some things up around migration and remember we're talking about people's lives.

Everyone who rolled their eyes at “the gulf war didn’t happen” owe Baudrillard an apology

And, by the way, thought the PM went very softly on Badenoch today considering (obvs conscious of Trump listening in).

The notion that we should dive into any war the US chooses to launch just because it impacts us somehow (we have people and assets across the world!) is preposterous and dangerous.

If you are listening to or reading the blood thirsty comments by Pete Hegseth, it is clear that the US is in a very dark place.

We knew that already of course. But it's still bracing to hear it so openly articulated.

Violence begetting violence.

And some want us to tag along? Crazy.

1908: the Lancet, one of the most respected scientific journals, calls for 18 age limit on reading in bed amidst a moral panic surrounding children becoming "addicted" to novels, which were "designed to keep kids hooked" and destroy their attention/mental health

Good lord. What an abject failure the Blue Labour strategy has been.

Local government funding and life expectancy in England: a longitudinal ecological study Since 2010, large reductions in funding for local government services have been introduced in England. These reductions in funding have potentially le…

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Labour council accuses minister of ‘moral bankruptcy’ over social care dispute Hartlepool leaders ‘furious and appalled’ after meeting with Steve Reed about growing cost of social care

If Steve Reed did say the govt will not "reward" councils for having high numbers of children in care, then he should resign. Under the Tories councils in more deprived areas were systemically underfunded, which this govt are failing to effectively redress.
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

But do you not think that this might be part of what drives the cynicism and despair towards contemporary politics? I know it "was ever thus" but maybe once in a while a govt minister could be straight with the electorate.

'Isn't really that much evidence' is very kind indeed. The maths just ain't mathing, as they say.

Another reason if one was needed to hope that @rthonwesstreeting.bsky.social never gets to be Labour leader/PM. Christ they are so depressingly stupid.

As many people have pointed out, 30% of a constituency (and a very diverse 30%) is not going to bloc vote to get a 40% vote share.

Remember voting for change? Where is it? I have voted Labour for over 40 years, and if I had lived there I would have voted Green, and then people like Tom Watson would have condemned me as stoking sectarianism.

Yep, it's an incredibly poor take. I have kids living in the constituency, normally Labour voters who voted specifically against Labour and one reason, among many others, why was their immigration policies. Labour's current insistence on aping Reform has alienated its base.

@tomwatsonofficial.bsky.social proving the headline of his analysis to be correct. Labour leadership has learnt absolutely nothing from this defeat and continues to punch its core support in the face.

Starmer‘s tone-deaf, detached, and crackers response is undignified and unbecoming of the office he holds.

Instead of reflecting as to why Labour‘s base is abandoning the party, he’s opted for the political equivalent of a childish tantrum.

I see #BBCNews are taking the Reform/Daily Mail line that this electoral victory was due to the ethnic divide in the constituency and nothing to do with what voters actually think or want..

This is not a reasoned political response. Labour has spent two years making all the voting groups who backed the Greens feel unwelcome and unheard, and now attacks them for daring to back someone else. They believe Labour isn’t listening and Starmer seems determined to prove them right

Reform Attacks Byline Times For ‘Attempting to Derail a Democratic Election’ – Before Blaming ‘Family Voting’ and ‘Muslim Sectarianism’ for Gorton and Denton Defeat Having imported its own ideas for a DOGE and ICE from the US, Farage’s party now appears to be copying the Trumpian tactics of alleging vote-rigging in elections

Having imported its own ideas for a DOGE and ICE from the US, Farage’s party now appears to be copying the Trumpian tactics of alleging vote-rigging in elections bylinetimes.com/2026/02/27/r...

QTWTAIN

It's not good that every single major party has simultaneously decided to adopt this line. It is both unserious, the Greens got 40% in a seat with at most a 30% Muslim population, and continues to marginalise Muslim voters as an other that is controlled instead of making rational choices.

Starmer is now doubling down on his political incompetence. Damning people who voted Green as "extremists" and in attacking the Greens in exactly the same terms as Farage shows he has learnt nothing and is not fit to lead the Labour Party or the country. He needs to go.

Gorton and Denton by-election: The silent majority isn't silent, and it isn't Reform Hannah Spencer’s historic Green victory shows voters are rejecting division and embracing progressive politics

The “silent majority” has now been tested more than once. And when it is summoned to the ballot box, it turns out the majority isn’t silent. And it isn’t Reform.

@theleaduk.bsky.social

open.substack.com/pub/theleadu...

"We aren't socialists, we are just better at accounting." 🔥🔥🔥😂😂😂😂😂