Michael

got my first clear on Hades II!

The Bishop of Birmingham has written to the Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick about his comments about Handsworth

not the bluesky moderation

new episodes of Slow Horses, Drag Race UK and Celebrity Traitors x2 all coming out tomorrow and Thursday when I’m busy every night this week with choir

The UAE is an authoritarian autocracy, a petro-state with no income tax for citizens, to bribe them for the lack of democratic voice or free speech

It is 85% migrant, a segregated society with a ban on integration in principle and practice, few rights, equal opportunities, nor voice for incomers

I'll bite. What is the benefit we gain from politicians being able to 'thoughtfully' say in private 'blacks, British Bangladeshis, British Pakistanis, British Indians, mulattos....all the same, and clearly from the look of them not-integrated?'

Rail travel - my odyssey:
1) Booked a train to London using split tickets to make it £170 return instead of £240.
2) Train delayed. Next train is the same company and gets in later than planned train but split ticket doesn’t count. Nice staff say it is up to the train manager if he will let me on.

it’s sooooooo good

sometimes a baroque choral music lunchtime walk is just the vibe

But at least Ofcom's going after the real troublemakers... right?

Right?? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Genuinely very very bad place when a Conservative politician is laundering far right talking points like this, and attacking the black journalist politely asking him about it in this way.

Absolutely insane that this guy is now running the Tory party despite not winning the leadership election among either MPs or members, because Cleverly’s supporters messed up their silly games and then Badenoch has just decided she can’t be arsed actually leading.

“We’ve done loads of great stuff voters just need to hear it” followed by a list of stuff that mostly hasn’t actually been done yet *is not a comms problem*.

Once again, though, this is the problem with lists of the government's achievements. They're by-and-large secondary concerns, often that haven't been implemented yet, that don't deliver on substantive improvements on cost of living or public services, i.e. what Labour voters felt they were promised.

Staying alive vs taking control Labour's budget choices

New post just out:

"Staying alive vs taking control"

Labour's big choice at the budget is whether they just want to try and survive it or whether they're willing to take some bigger risks that would have future payoffs.

(£/free trial)

open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/s...

had to doctor this a lot to get it to fit in the character limit and got it fitting exactly, so of course it only worked because I misspelled “pursue”

Last week’s Scottish Chamber Orchestra season opener featured Colin Currie playing James MacMillan’s percussion concerto Veni, Veni Emmanuel. MacMillan is from East Ayrshire, Currie is from Edinburgh, and they both went to state schools. Kids today should get the same chance to purse music they did.

I think there’s a version of this argument that could be more persuasive, asking people to show empathy to a Jewish community that is reeling from last week and has found these protests threatening. I think throwing around “un-British” is a fast way to make sure people don’t listen to that argument.

We’ve now had this “un-British” line from both the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister, and I feel deeply uncomfortable about it entering our political discourse in this way. If we’re going to use that term at all, it should be for those who fundamentally don’t support our democracy.

He's strikingly incapable of setting out *why* something is bad. Everything he writes is a search for labels that avoid having to make an argument - Reform's policies are 'racist', these protests are 'un-British'. You are the prime minister! Explain why they are wrong!

We should have great vocational options for kids that choose that. But we should also be teaching a rich curriculum and encouraging and supporting kids to go to university if they want to!

We need someone willing to make the Gove argument now. Here’s a story from last week from a council head of education. She also notes that about 20% of school leavers in that area go to uni and seems to suggest that they should accept that. news.stv.tv/west-central...

I think it’s funny that the only links allowed on Instagram are the ads

House-buying reform plan aims to cut costs and time Under new proposals, sellers and estate agents will have to provide key information about a property up front.

Seems like some sensible stuff in here. I can’t believe the average time for a sale to go through in England is six months! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Latest from YouGov: half of Tory members want Kemi Badenoch to go, a majority favour Robert Jenrick over any of his rivals. (At the time of James Cleverly's backers playing silly buggers over the vote, a majority of members favoured Cleverly.)

He was a good education secretary! Not such a fan of him as Spectator editor…

I agree with Michael Gove. www.gov.uk/government/s...

Just as the level of 'the basic quality of what they produce', not on a 'do I agree with this?' basis the Tory party is coming out with stuff far beneath the quality of what the Lib Dems 2019-24 managed when their 'costing process' was 'one bright guy called JJ'. Where does the Short money GO?

not saying there isn’t room for a fluffy conversation about “belonging and place” but I’m so sick of it being the main focus even as our actual concrete problems go unsolved

I long for politicians to fix the economy and public services, personally