Good thing that this couldn’t have been predicted almost a year ago <runs bitter victory lap> and the government didn’t just blithely carry on doing the same thing. www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/718...

Again and again we impoverish ourselves to placate the unplacatable, hobbling ourselves and our economy- so that we can no longer afford the things we need, locking us into a downward spiral. Breaking this cycle will take real leadership and vision.

Sarah Murphy@13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 7h ago

The Times - which has v much joined in the rightwing clamour to reduce immigration - now reporting that Mahmood’s “success” has cost the economy £4- to £7Bn. Would they like to now honestly confirm that fewer people = less spending power for all. There’s a high price to pay for this nasty obsession.

Across Europe we are witnessing a series of terrorist attacks targeting planes, warehouses, energy infrastructure, rail tracks etc. Now, we have an attempted terror attack at the RAF base in Fairford, UK, involving explosives. It is so severe that civilians had to be evacuated.

I do find this country mad. Anyone can see that social care is in a state of devastating crisis in this country and that it is the key source of the NHS crisis as well. There is no feasible way to solve it without everyone contributing. Burnham is honest about that and is already getting pelters.

I really hope the PM is serious about fixing care, and he can show it by getting on with the cross-party talks we started in July. This can’t just be a series of No10 headlines with no real action. I’ll do everything I can to put family carers at the heart of any solution.

Refreshing to hear Burnham say that “everyone” will need to contribute to a National Care Service rather than pretending that the wealthy alone can fund a European-style state.

@stellacreasy.bsky.social "DROP THE RED LINES NOW!" #RejoinEU @labour4europe.bsky.social

Ed Milliband - Brexit has not delivered what was promised to my constituents. The blame lies with those that lied to them! Names Gove, Johnson Rees-Mogg and Farage! #BrexitFail

On a packed train with my family. Couple across the aisle both alternatively playing social media videos on speakers at full volume. Managed not to say anything until the woman started playing a documentary about serial killers. I'm here with my daughter. I politely said...

The only system under which Reform (who are loathed by a large segment of the electorate, far more so than any other party) can win a majority is under the deeply, deeply unrepresentative FPTP system (when it has to deal with more than 2 parties- ie now).

Rob Ford@robfordmancs.bsky.social · 20h ago

“The only system in which Nigel Farage can win a Commons majority is First Past the Post.” John Curtice

Sir John Curtice lays down the numbers at the Demos fringe while Polly Curtis and Chris Curtis look on - a Curtice/Curtis full house

Also under current proposals they won't be allowed to be social care workers after 2028. Ministers still don't seem to understand their own plan.

Jonathan Portes@jdportes.bsky.social · 22h ago

"In order to deliver the PM's promise to save social care we need a permanent class of indentured migrant workers without labour rights".

Breaking News! Code: FUBAR!!! The preliminary Nino 3.4 sea-surface temperature for September 25th was 29.822°C. This breaks the previous highest temperature ever recorded in the region of 29.815°C, set on November 17th, 2015. The Climate 8-ball is exiting, stage right.

Party that can’t even run a local council think they can run Britain😂

Candice Holmes@candiceholmes.bsky.social · yesterday

“Britain is broken. Only Reform can fix it.” 😂 That’s quite a claim. If you’re asking people to trust you with the country, spell out **how** you’ll fix bills, housing, the NHS and public services — slogans aren’t a bloody plan.

I mean, there is another way of framing this 🤔

🇪🇺 "When the UK left the European single market at the end of 2020, the country’s exports to its largest trading partners plummeted." 📉 "In the first half of the year, the value of UK produce sold in Ireland fell 4.9 per cent and 4.6 per cent in France."

Hi all, free weekend update is out. I start with the Army of Robots concept, which the Ukrainians are using as part of Vivaldi. They want machines to fight, not men. Also, Russia is having one significant strategic success (abetted by the USA). phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/weekend-up...

Weekend Update #204: An Army Of Robots

Russia’s Most Effective Campaign; The Trump Rehabilitation Campaign Continues

phillipspobrien.substack.com

6 babies in Pennsylvania are in the ICU, because their mother was infected with measles, at the time of their birth..... 👶 Thanx mom, that's awesome of you....Ya know their's a vaccine for that!

Incredible: another Ukrainian famine is unfolding, this time in Russian-occupied Oleshky. The remaining inhabitants of what used to be a thriving small city, now down to about 6000 people, are blockaded by Russian forces and cut off from food and water. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Oleshky: Eating garden weeds to survive in Russian-occupied city cut off from food and water

The BBC has spoken to residents in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky who say they are being "constantly shelled".

bbc.com

Vought is breaking the law but he is not “going rogue.” At his confirmation hearings, Vought told Republicans he would do this and they voted for him anyway. If they want to stop him, they still can via impeachment. They won’t.

tomwellborn3rd@wellborn.net · last mo.

Congress funded the CDC's Alzheimer's work, the sickle cell and epilepsy data programs and a rape prevention unit, and Vought simply will not release the money. Grassley told him to his face he lacks the authority. The pocket rescission alone took 4.9 billion.

An incredible bit of reporting from @bylinetimes.bsky.social and also incredible that Britains last resort military communications are run by the TA with a single person as the key lynchpin.

Peter Jukes@peterjukes.bsky.social · 2d ago

Given the levels of sabotage across Europe, and the Delta alert here over US bases, the MOD’s refusal to respond to our queries on this look more concerning Key UK Nuclear Deterrent Link Destroyed Over Yorkshire – Byline Times bylinetimes.com/2026/09/08/k...

🇪🇺"Until we actually admit to ourselves that leaving the EU massively hit our growth" 📈 "By growth we actually mean our prosperity, you know, our ability to function, our ability to push up our wages, our ability to actually, you know, trade easily with our nearest partners."

Adults with #IgAN are at greater risk of adverse kidney outcomes versus nonglomerular CKD and substantially higher risks of heart failure and death compared with no CKD ca. 2026 from @KIReports #Nephpearls #RKDSummit #NephSky 👉🏼 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42027552/

In case you missed it ... Labour hasn't officially talked about the benefits of EU and Single Market membership for over 10 years now. So do they expect to just pop it into the next manifesto without a warm up? It isn't enough to just mention Brexit damage. You have to say what makes the EU great!

“Between 2019 and 2025, export volumes slumped 31 per cent as Brexit added border checks and trade complexity, pushing up costs for businesses” … and threatening our food security. Why TF would *anyone* want this for our businesses and our country? giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

Brexit and Donald Trump’s tariffs push UK’s food and drink trade deficit to £21bn

In the first half of 2026, the sector’s export volumes fell 11.7% to hit their third-lowest level on record

giftarticle.ft.com

Pressure building up at and beyond Labour Party Conference because: - Brexit even more costly than predicted, hurting economy & damaging public finances - Geopolitical situation: aggressive Russia in east & unreliable USA in west - British public now has a steadily growing majority for rejoining EU

If your "patriotism" relies on foreign dictators using deepfakes to influence British voters, you aren't a patriot, you're an asset. #ReformRussians

Josh Babarinde MP "So many of our businesses who used to have thriving trade with European Union countries, now just struggle." "There are so many barriers in place, so many bits of paperwork that you've got to navigate, so much red tape to try and cross."

Josh Babarinde MP: "Our volunteer lifeboat crews. These are people who put their lives on the line for us" 👏 "Anyone who should get in their way is pathetic, unpatriotic, and un-British. We're a country that prides ourselves in bringing people together."

Rayner is correct: these proposals are economically damaging and politically counterproductive. Pretty clear that view is now almost universal in the Cabinet/Labour Party and the informed public. www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

Angela Rayner condemns Labour’s migrant visa crackdown

Speaking before the party conference, the housing secretary says Shabana Mahmood’s immigration plans would affect care workers

thetimes.com