Labour party members have selected the council leader, Sagal Abdi-Wali, to be the party's candidate in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, from a shortlist of three local councillors. She grew up in Camden, after coming to the UK as a young child refugee, over 35 years ago

Finally some signs of movement from the authorities on this. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Police launch criminal investigation into Reform UK donations

The investigation, which follows a broadcast by Channel 4 News, is being folded into the inquiry that has been underway into other donations.

bbc.co.uk

Tomorrow night, Channel 4 Dispatches airs the findings of a year-long investigation into Tommy Robinson’s finances. Watch it. Then come back here. We’ve got more to show you.

One reason England does so well is our second generation immigrants outperform their peers which is not true in most OECD countries. We are also very good at integration. And it's v sad that this is never acknowledge in debates on immigration.

Sam Freedman@samfr.bsky.social · last wk.

New PISA data out England is now top ten in all three areas (reading, maths, science) and the second highest performing country outside of east Asia (after Estonia). This is a huge public policy success.

Leader of group behind flag campaign in England charged with 14 offences

Leader of group behind flag campaign in England charged with 14 offences

Ryan Bridge, who co-founded Raise the Colours, to appear in court on charges including racially aggravated harassment The leader of a group responsible for raising union jack and St George’s flags across England has been charged with 14 offences, including racially aggravated harassment, threatening behaviour and assault. Ryan Bridge, 45, of Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, co-founded Raise the Colours, which describes itself as a “grassroots movement for unity and patriotism”. Seven counts of using threatening words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress; Three counts of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause fear of, or provoke, unlawful violence; Two counts of racially aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress; One count of racially aggravated fear of violence; One count of common assault. Continue reading...

theguardian.com

Just a heads up for those of you in the UK, it's national cinema weekend. Lots of places are doing £4 tickets this weekend. I'll be seeing Coyote vs Acme.

Reform officials ‘plotted to break law on foreign donations’ in undercover film

Reform officials ‘plotted to break law on foreign donations’ in undercover film

Investigation broadcast by Channel 4 shows man posing as ‘impermissible donor’ paying for polling that helped Reform Nigel Farage is facing fresh criticism on the eve of the Reform UK party conference after some of his team were filmed appearing to plot to avoid electoral laws on foreign donations in an undercover investigation broadcast by Channel 4. A group of investigative journalists called Verbatim, funded by the Centre for Climate Reporting, posed as a potential Reform supporter and his wealthy American father, an impermissible donor, who paid for £30,000 of polling commissioned by Reform and which benefited the party. Continue reading...

theguardian.com

“In a meeting over oysters and wine in his Clacton constituency, Mr Farage… said the polling was “amazing” and provided “bang for buck” adding “It worked. Boom.” Corrupt polling. Corrupt funding. Nigel Farage - prison James Orr - prison Dan Jukes - prison channel4news.substack.com/p/exclusive-...

Exclusive: Nigel Farage filmed undercover celebrating secret new foreign donations

Undercover footage verified by Channel 4 News reveals a secret plot by senior Reform UK figures to break the law on party donations. A leading legal expert is now calling for a criminal investigation.

channel4news.substack.com

As with all Badenoch’s events in central London it’s filled with well-heeled Westminster Tories. My guess is very few people here are struggling financially. And they will be cheering a plan to fund defence in part by cuts to the very poorest in society. It’s all a bit unsettling.

Nathan Gill, the former leader of Reform UK in Wales, has been ordered to pay a court almost £22,600 he received in pro-Russian bribes He was jailed for 10.5 years in November for taking payments for speeches in the European Parliament and appearances on pro-Russian media outlets in 2018 and 2019

Ben Delo, a crypto entrepreneur who moved back from Hong Kong to the UK to continue supporting Reform, gave £4mn of the party’s total £5.3mn donations. Delo was pardoned by Trump last year after pleading guilty to breaking US bank-secrecy law in 2022. www.ft.com/content/c8fb...

If you've perused Italian media over the last few weeks you'll have seen two names recurring frequently in the headlines: Sigfrido Ranucci and Walter Lavitola. These two very different personalities are at the centre of an intricate news story that seems crazy even by Italian standards [Thread] >> 1

TIL about Abutiu. The first dog whose name we know. Seemingly a very good boy who a Sixth Dynasty Pharoah had given an elaborate burial. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abutiu

"Individuals should wear bike helmets while riding in most US cities but elected officials and those with the power to change systems shouldn't spend much time promoting them" — the greatest thread in the history of forums, locked by a moderator after 12,239 pages of heated debate,

anti-helmet case is basically 1) helmet wearing reduces injury but in similar degree to wearing *while walking* does, which we would all agree is absurd 2) helmet mandates provably reduce cycling 3) safety-in-numbers is best cycling safety strategy so anything that reduces cycling increases danger

If you are saying that it is 'deluded', or, as Sonia Sodha did in the Times claim that you are only helping racists by going 'it is at least possible that he successfully talked his way in in the normal way', you really need to ask yourself just how low your own expectations of black people are.

Some outcomes are bigger than politics.

This really is a remarkably positive story - done in the face of massive right wing media opposition too Burnham should take note

George Eaton@georgeeaton.bsky.social · last mo.

Ulez has delivered remarkable public health gains in a short period. Sadiq deserves more credit than he’s had for defying Labour pressure to U-turn after Uxbridge. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Bangladesh have won a Test match in Australia for the first time. It is a two test series. www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/a...

Australia humiliated as Bangladesh make history with crushing Test victory

Bangladesh handed Australia one of their most humiliating and crushing Test defeats in 149 years, despite a career-saving century by Cameron Green

theguardian.com

I'd like to compare how Irish commentators wrote about Jason Arday with how they wrote about Brian Lucey, the Irish academic who had several papers retracted earlier this year because he had been corruptly peer reviewing his own work, but literally no Irish commentators wrote about it

The VC of Greater Manchester uni embezzled £1 million. Did you see *a single story about that*?

I don't love the national Labour government but at the local level the brief period of Labour control of Westminster seemed pretty good (I work but don't live in the borough). Now the Tories are back they're committing to being comic book villains.

Ian Moody@ianmoody.bsky.social · last mo.

Westminster council threatens Charing Cross soup kitchen with closure. Conservative authority says site is not safe for vulnerable people charity serves or general public. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

checking aside, even- look at how Cambridge handled Arday vs O'Reilly. They had choices here and they chose to feed Arday to the wolves. They aren't just complicit, they were active.

Dr Hannah Pethen@hannahpethen.bsky.social · last mo.

Lets not forget the complicity of the University of Cambridge in Arday's death. They hired him without proper checking because they wanted a high profile black academic with a 'backstory'. They used him to launder their image and then spat him out.

Just a concerned citizen... searchlightmagazine.com/2026/04/vete...

Veteran nazi thug convicted for role in Epping riots | Searchlight

Phil Curson at Epping riots When Phil Curson turned up outside the Bell Hotel in Epping last July, he did not come as an outraged but peaceful local as he c ...

searchlightmagazine.com

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

Standards watchdog resumes investigation into Nigel Farage over financial gifts

Reform UK leader’s return to Clacton restarts inquiry into £5m gift from crypto-billionaire and support from fraudster

theguardian.com

Love the name of the bus system here.

Human migration is normal, natural, and necessary. The way to stop the people smugglers and the dangerous small boat crossings is to provide safe and legal routes for people seeking to come to the UK. Asylum seekers should be allowed to work while waiting for a decision on their claim.

"At long last we have created the supervillain The Shocker from classic comic The Amazing Spiderman."

Matt Green@mattgreencomedy.com · last mo.

New dystopia incoming