Patrick Hill

I’m afraid this letter shows why so many Labour MPs think Starmer needs to go. His political antenna is non-existent. If you have just been humbled in a by-election it might not be the best idea to slag off the choices of the voters who deserted you in their droves.

I grew up with Dixon of Dock Green so....
Kray twins with a clip round the ear...

What a quote

Surely an injustice! No doubt this statement means Goodwin is "deeply concerned" that some voters, egged on by Danny Kruger's ideas of 'traditional family values', may have coerced their relatives into voting for the "sectarianism" of Reform.

Labour MP Clive Lewis doesn’t hold back on the Gorton and Denton result in this interview with ITV

Thoughts and prayers with Chris Mason today after his party loses.

Roadmap published on how Scotland can go further on land reform

A fresh roadmap setting out how Scotland can go further in land reform has been published by the Scottish Land Commission

Here's all you need to know 👇

It's rather depressing that, in a three-way by-election with potentially seismic consequences - in which voters had a genuine range of options - less than half the electorate showed up.

By-election turnout is never great, but I don't think we should just shrug over this.

I totally agree but also struggle to imagine this happening. Appalling policies like ending refugee family reunion and the “earned” settlement proposals should never have been dreamt up. But I can’t see Labour backing down now even though electoral oblivion beckons.

see what?
Oh.

The £500k “Boat Migrant Payout” Story Isn’t What You Think How unlawful phone seizures, selective reporting and misleading headlines turned a government failure into a culture-war outrage.

Another splendid 'debunk' from @monkemma.bsky.social. It's hard to overestimate just how much work it takes to excavate, accurately and in detail, the layers of half-truth, falsity, misinterpretation etc. of these kinds of stories: monkdebunks.substack.com/p/the-500k-b...

Calls to move England’s home insulation scheme into council workers’ hands Thinktank proposes councils stop using private contractors in attempt to improve quality and spending

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

#Bluesky- home of #TheArchers.

Grace must be getting tired of Peter Mandelson falling from her time and again.

Who's the billionaire behind London’s biggest mass eviction? He's the London philanthropist who says he's committed to solving homelessness. So why is Asif Aziz's Criterion Capital rushing to make hundreds of Londoners homeless in the coming weeks?

London’s “worst mass eviction in recent history” is underway; hundreds of households across London told to get out of their homes this week by the same landlord, ahead of the renters rights act. The landlord? Billionaire Asif Aziz’s Criterion Capital. www.londoncentric.media/p/asif-aziz-...

Take a seat #tariffrefund

Can we extract the Reform nonsense from Labour? These immigration proposals are obscene, but the government can be forced to think again.

This is excellent from @iandunt.bsky.social on the government's proposals on settlement: unsupported by evidence, counterproductive on integration, cohesion and economic growth.

As Ian says not too late for government to think again.

iandunt.substack.com/p/can-we-ext...

Wearing a Stuff the Jubilee badge back in 1977 guaranteed no one would sit next to you on public transport...

I wanted to abolish the monarchy before it became fashionable.

Misconducting in public office An ancient offence in the news - and how it usually is used only for junior officials

NEW

Misconducting in public office

An ancient offence in the news - and how it usually is used only for junior officials

By me

emptycity.substack.com/p/misconduct...

On a more light hearted note- I can see #AilsaCraig (where the stones come from) from my front room window... #curling

Sorry kit, but this really infuriates me. That was a team from Scotland where, during the season, hundreds of children and adults go curling week in week out every year. Another example of for Brits read English.

And #TeamMouat make the final #curling #WinterOlympics #Scotland

The #curling has been far too exciting and time consuming so far with more to come tonight.
Good job there is nothing else going on.... #WinterOlympics.

A photo of an ice cream machine with a sign reading, "Anything is possible with ice cream." Beneath that is a hand lettered sign reading, "No ice cream".

2026 basically

He has such thin skin, Farage. Reporters could peel it off in strips. But what if they lost access?

Generations of Britons have been raised under the false impression that the 'old money' was fiendishly complicated, but even the briefest perusal of the facts knocks that debate into touch The pre-decimalised currency was based on the 'Troy System' wherein a pennyweight of silver was equivalent to one old penny. A pound thus weighed 240 pennyweight and was equivalent to 'one pound', with two farthings being a ha'penny. With twenty four ha'pennies in a shilling and twenty shillings in a pound that meant that two shillings and six pence were equivalent to one half crown, the crown itself being worth (of course) five shillings of which there were four in a single pound. If anyone has ever come up with a simpler way of devising a currency I would be very glad to see it.

Am reminded of this bit of satire (which I cowrote) 15 or so years ago.