Tom Baldwin

Keir Starmer: the anger manager In the aftermath of the budget, Starmer and Reeves have faced a wall of right wing rage. If he wants to win in 2029, he must take the heat out of UK politics

In the aftermath of the budget, Starmer and Reeves have faced a wall of right wing rage

✏️ @tombaldwin66.bsky.social

The rise and fall of the superadviser, and the future of Morgan McSweeney | The Observer

Great piece by @tombaldwin66.bsky.social in @theobserveruk.bsky.social on the rise of the superadviser and why they dominate British politics observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

The rise and fall of the superadviser, and the future of Morgan McSweeney | The Observer

My piece for @observer.bsky.social on “super-advisers” from the past and why the current one has wisely decided to stop talking to the media. observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

The Real 'Benefits Street' Protecting Britain's Wealthiest The sheer scale of outrage about plans to lift children out of poverty, by taxing millionaire homeowners, tells you everything you need to know about the priorities of the British press

The sheer scale of media outrage this week about plans to lift hundreds of thousands children out of poverty, by taxing millionaire homeowners, tells you everything you need to know about the real priorities of the British press
www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/the-real-b...

The rise and fall of the superadviser, and the future of Morgan McSweeney | The Observer

My piece for @observer.bsky.social on “super-advisers” from the past and why the current one has wisely decided to stop talking to the media. observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

Brace yourselves for some predictable howls of outrage in the media over new taxes on Britain’s most expensive homes. Suspect this will be a better reflection of the financial circumstances of newspaper editors and broadcast execs than those of their readers and viewers.

The repeated references by Rachel Reeves to submissions from backbench Labour MPs is more significant than it may seem. After a lot of idle damaging chatter over recent weeks, this is part of a big effort to bind them into this budget, telling them to own it and defend it.

FWIW, I do know Robbie Gibb, having met him almost 30 years ago when he was working for the Tories & always quite liked him. But the claim by this self-identifying “Thatcherite” to be a completely impartial BBC arbiter is as ludicrous as me claiming I’m not partial towards Labour.

As an admirer of The Economist, sad to see it recycling garbage about chicken nuggets and the ECHR. The former wasn’t why a man’s deportation was halted. The latter worked well in the upper tribunal that decided he should be deported, after all.

Daily Mail owner agrees to buy Daily Telegraph for £500m The publisher of the Daily Mail says it is in talks to buy the Daily and Sunday Telegraph for £500m.

Allowing the Daily Mail to strengthen its terrible grip on our media would be bad for democracy & bad for Britain. Neither the Mail nor the Telegraph covers this government with even a modicum of fairness, but I hope Lisa Nandy - very fairly - decides to block this deal. www.bbc.com/news/article...

The role of two parents in the life of Rachel Reeves, from my interview with the chancellor in The Times today.

Rachel Reeves: ‘I’m sick of the mansplaining’ As the chancellor prepares for a budget that may not only seal her fate but Keir Starmer’s too, she talks about public trust, the job’s pressures and her tears

A defiant Rachel Reeves talked to me about pressure, unpopularity, and why’s sick of “mansplaining”commentators. www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

I’m at a loss to understand why anyone would think briefing this sort of thing will help KeirStarmer, the government or even themselves. Some people can’t resist, I guess, but it all a bit nuts.

The BBC has long since been tying itself up in knots appeasing a right wing agenda. Davie and Turness have now quit in the face of a new onslaught from Trump, the Daily Mail and the rest of them. None of this bodes well for a public broadcaster which we need now more than ever.

BBC News bulletins leading on the story of an Algerian man being mistakenly released by the prison service.

Funnily enough I don't remember these cases ever leading the bulletins when an average of ten prisoners were mistakenly released a month in the final year of the last Government

BBC Radio 4 this morning joined Trump in describing Zohran Mamdani as a "radical leftist".

Treasury minister leading budget plans spent £900 on desk Torsten Bell, who is working with Rachel Reeves to fill a £30 billion hole in finances, also used his parliamentary expenses to claim £600 for three chairs

Totally untrue garbage from @thetimes.com & @dailymail.co.uk today - smear dressed up as journalism. Some facts:
- There is no “£900 desk”
- my constituency office has Ikea desks/chairs
- we significantly underspent the new MPs allowance to set up an office
www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

Good to see @dailymail.co.uk @thetimes.com and @telegraphnews.bsky.social all delete their articles - sad the lies went up in the first place

Farage: epic grifter

Attacking Farage for the damage he has already done through Brexit - is one way - perhaps - Starmer can win back some of the votes Labour is losing to progressive parties. This is what I wrote for
@thenewworldmag.bsky.social
this week.

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Starmer’s problem isn’t just Reform If you want to understand the true depths of Labour’s electoral challenge, pay a visit to Hampstead

If you want to understand the true depths of Labour’s electoral challenge, pay a visit to Hampstead

✏️ @tombaldwin66.bsky.social

Would leaving the ECHR really 'stop the boats'? The extent to which leaving the Convention would make a difference to immigration has been greatly exaggerated, argues Lord Sumption

Some really decent in depth and fact-based reporting from BBC which runs counter to a narrative swallowed whole by much of the media and politicians of all stripes (some of whom should know better). www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Starmer’s problem isn’t just Reform If you want to understand the true depths of Labour’s electoral challenge, pay a visit to Hampstead

My piece for @thenewworldmag.bsky.social on how Labour can still be a coalition which stretches from Hampstead to Hull. app.thenewworld.co.uk/story/143155...

Sun fails to sell Cole to Washington The former political editor's YouTube show is struggling to pull in the viewers

The former political editor's YouTube show is struggling to pull in the viewers

✏️ Rats in a Sack 🐀

David Gauke is just one of the many thoughtful, principled and decent Tories eviscerated from our politics by Johnson (and their mad old constituency parties) in what may well be the most damaging legacy of Brexit (the same happened to Labour under Corbyn).

Leaving the ECHR won’t fix illegal migration Half-baked tales of rulings turning on chicken nuggets are no basis for cutting Britain adrift

At least one Conservative still upholds his party’s traditional respect for human rights and the rule of law. He even still believes in evidence-based arguments. This week he will be the exception, not the rule. www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...

Just heard Chris Philp on BBC’s Today programme explaining why the Tories want to leave the ECHR. He claimed ECHR isn’t mentioned in Belfast Agreement - which is simply untrue. The UK govt agreed to incorporate it into NI law & give direct access to the courts (Strand 3). Why no BBC fact-check?