Martin McKee

Iranians listening to calls to rise up against the regime today would do well to look at what happened in Warsaw in August 1944

When Starmer says the Greens and Reform are equally extreme, just as when Labour make the same comparison between SNP and Reform, it causes a visceral reaction in me. Not just because it’s stupid. But because it shows a fundamental triviality about the existential threat posed by the far right.

Interesting that the total vote for Labour, Greens and LibDems in the Gorton & Denton by-election was 68% - just as it was in 2024

So, Labour is haemorrhaging votes to the centre and left, not to the right

Remember when Farage made one of his rare visits to the European Parliament and said that nobody there ever held a real job, pointing to Vytenis Andriukaitis, a cardiac surgeon and one of the drafters on the Lithuanian constitution

So is @martinnicholls.bsky.social Allister Heath headline generator now covering all Telegraph writers?

stirring-fox-7e1fab.netlify.app

On BBC R4 Today, chair of Reform suggests Hannah Spencer, victor in Gorton & Denton, may struggle with “nuts and bolts” of the constituency. She’s a qualified plumber FGS

What we have seen in Gorton and Denton is what we saw in Caerphilly in October.

A lot of people really don’t want the hateful politics of Reform and will work hard and smart to try and keep them out.

Labour must now listen to this and stop the grim attempts to mimic Farage.

67.9% voted progressive

No doubt, media coverage of Gorton & Denton will focus on Labour coming third. But surely the most important message is the Reform was thoroughly rejected. We need proportional representation now more than ever.

Disabled Rohingya refugee Nurul Amin Shah Alam was found dead after being abandoned by U.S. Border Patrol five miles from his home in Buffalo. This is horrifying. It cannot happen in America. It must stop now.

Couldn’t resist it …

British-Danish couple say new UK passport rules may separate them from children Family learned of change while abroad, and fear dual-national children will have to stay with relatives while they return to apply for passports

And so it continues - one heart rending story of separation of families after another

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Follow the money … on a long and circuitous route from the American public to Chinese exporters. You really couldn’t make it up. Not, of course, that the Democrats will make any capital from this madness.

A badge of honour!

Home Office denies ‘absurd’ criticism over rule change that may leave dual nationals stranded MPs raise cases of honeymooners and other Britons caught out by new passport requirements as minister rejects calls for grace period

They just don't get it. The Home Office clearly has not engaged with dual nationals affected by this move on passports. If they had, they would never have imposed a £589 fee simply to make an electronic linkage to your other passport.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Those of us who have tried to research public-private partnerships will, I suspect, read these words by @davidallengreen.bsky.social and say Amen

Thank you for all you are doing on this - exemplary journalism. I’m completely mystified why the government is heading towards a car crash with its foot on the accelerator. Mad, bad, or both?

As predicted

bsky.app/profile/lisa...

So. new rules on British dual nationals come in tomorrow. I have had hundreds of emails from Brits overseas impacted. Including a few tonight saying a Canadian airline will not accept expired passport. Do email lisa.ocarroll@theguardian.com if you know D.N. stopped from boarding flight from 2moro

Suggest Congress closes the door in the President's face so as to remind him not to seek to arrest politically opposed members of Congress.

It's what we do, over here, at our equivalent annual address to the legislature.

British dual nationals risk imminent refusal of travel to UK, Home Office affirms Government ignores pleas for a grace period before new rules come into force on Wednesday

You really would think that a government that has gained a reputation for monumental screw ups bringing bad publicity might heed warnings when another looms. But no. Cue (more) horror stories at borders.

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Visual reading '2026 Winter Olympics medals by EU country', showing how many gold, silver and bronze medals were won by different member states. There is a European Parliament logo in the bottom right-hand corner.

Athletes representing EU nations have earned a total of 164 medals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, delivering outstanding performances across a wide range of disciplines.

Congratulations to all competitors on their dedication and this achievement!

#MilanoCortina2026

*30%* ffs. I wonder what that figure would be by now if our media weren’t still almost exclusively populated by intellectually indolent wankers too pompous to admit that they never had the first idea what they were encouraging everyone else to vote for. (With a side of plums who deployed ‘balance’.)

Lib Dems call on home secretary to delay new dual national border rules Letter to Shabana Mahmood describes controls that could block British dual citizens’ entry to UK as ‘unacceptable’

There is a simple, and obvious, solution to this idiocy on U.K. dual nationals. Slash price of certificates of entitlement from almost £600 to a few pounds (or free). But then, Home Office can’t get out of the habit of ripping people off.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Perhaps Denmark could ask for 5 years of social media content from all on board before allowing this ship (if it ever actually sails) to dock?

Does Nigel Farage have a problem with women? Critics say Reform leader’s patronising rhetoric is part of worrying trend. He says scrutiny is a two way street.

American journos are too spineless when Trump tries this tactic, but British journalists could support their female colleagues by walking out when they're insulted by Farage.

Pigs, of course, can fly.

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

8 years ago, Europe was shaken by the murders of young journalist Ján Kuciak & his fiancée Martina Kušnírová in Slovakia.

Their killings came just months after the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta, remembered this week as we marked 100 months since she was slain.

So did I. Truly shocking

Geopolitics and public health: Europe under the shadow of the U.S. National Security Strategy The 2025 U.S. National Security Strategy marks a major shift toward a narrowly defined “America First” agenda with significant implications for Europe and its health systems. It reframes global public...

A new Viewpoint explores how the 2025 US National Security Strategy could reshape Europe’s health landscape. From pressures on welfare & migration to weakened multilateralism, the implications are profound. Europe must safeguard equity and health systems. @martinmckee.bsky.social shorturl.at/v9ePK

Actually quite a few examples. Maastricht, Zollverein (Essen), Lusatian Lake District (ex DDR), Ostrava (CZ), Sierra Minera (ES), and (loss of other industries) Kuopio (FI)