Bold move for Man City fan Lucy Powell to talk to the Labour conference about people being relegated to the second division.
Chris McKeon
@cjmckeon.bsky.social
Political correspondent for PA, former local journalist, amateur sportsman, ex-historian, other things
“I can see that everyone is fresh”, says the sponsor of the New Statesman reception, unaware that I am already absolutely shattered by this conference and somehow have three more days to go.
From earlier, some heavy challenges at the Lobby vs MPs match.
Usual “fall of Saigon” vibes at Euston ahead of Labour conference. If you’re attending this year and fancy a chat, drop me a line.
Take that, guessing game for massive nerds #Politicle: 26/09/2026 I identified the mystery MP after just the starting clues! 🟩⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ Can you match my score? politics.co.uk/politicle
Guess the MP! Politicle - Politics.co.uk
Can you guess today's mystery MP? The game for Political obsessives. From Politics.co.uk. New Politicle Puzzle Every Day.
politics.co.uk
I agree with Jonn, Breaking Bad was not that good.
Jonn Elledge@jonnelledge.bsky.social · 5d agoI guess we're still not ready to acknowledge that Breaking Bad was the dramatic equivalent of junkfood, huh
Trying to work out if I should be ashamed of this or not. MP Chain 🏛️ I recognised 4️⃣7️⃣ MPs in a row. How long is your chain? toys.jamesomalley.co.uk/mpchain/
MP Chain — How many MPs can you recognise?
Pick the named MP from two portraits. One wrong answer ends your chain.
toys.jamesomalley.co.uk
James O'Malley@jamesomalley.co.uk · 5d agoI'm very sorry everyone, I made *another* new game. MP Chain 🏛️ I recognised 1️⃣5️⃣ MPs in a row. How long is your chain? toys.jamesomalley.co.uk/mpchain/
Really a question of how fast I can type MP Recall 🏛️ I named 73/649 current MPs in five minutes. 🟥 40/403 LAB 🟦 18/118 CON 🟧 2/71 LD 🩵 6/8 REF 🟢 4/5 GRN 🟢🟡 1/2 SDLP 🟪 1/2 YP 🟫 1/1 RB Can you beat me? toys.jamesomalley.co.uk/mprecall/
MP Recall — How many MPs can you remember?
Name as many current UK MPs as you can in five minutes.
toys.jamesomalley.co.uk
News stories I did not expect to read today: Rick Wakeman has been to Vietnam to play music for bears.
Today, we learn, is the International Day of Birmingham - in celebration of which, I must direct you to the Wikipedia entry for the ghost town of New Birmingham, Texas, which contains the section headings "Calamity", "Curse" and "Slide into oblivion".
Anyway, my masters is done and so I'm looking for more project work and potentially the right permanent job if it comes along. If you've liked the cut of my jib and think I'm right for something, or know someone who might - you can check my website. www.jmoxley.co.uk
John Oxley | Writer, Strategist and Political Commentator
John Oxley advises on strategy, public affairs and communications, with a decade working alongside senior leaders in politics, law and business.
jmoxley.co.uk
Today we learn that the US pool reporters style the Prime Minister “TRH Andy Burnham”, because they just have to be different.
Does anyone know if China still insists on having “crime doesn’t pay” endings? I remember Infernal Affairs (great film, inspiration for The Departed) had a special PRC final scene where the cops turn up and just arrest the mole with no explanation.
Mysterious Z (DATE OF BIRTH AUGUST 2ND)@mysteriousz.bsky.social · 2w agoTHE EXCLUSIVE CHINESE ENDING TO FIGHT CLUB THAT ACTUALLY EXISTS
Having worked with the reporter in question, I can confirm she absolutely does not.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2w agoQ: Did you see any footage of the protest against your visit in Dublin and what do you make of it? TRUMP: I don't know. You know, You remind me of somebody. A very cute Irish singer who passed away recently. You know who that is? Sinead! You look like Sinead O'Connor. That's a compliment.
First Sunday shift after the summer recess, in which I learn whether I can still spell Kuenssberg right first time.
Fascinated by which actors feature in the write-up and which don’t. No mention for Ian Richardson, but quite a lot for Susan Kodicek despite her being barely in it.
archivetvmusings@archivetvmusings.bsky.social · last mo.Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy previewed in the Daily Mirror (25th August 1979)
Niche religion news: Andy Burnham has said he will scrap the ban on Catholics (like him) and Jews from advising on appointments to the Church of England and Church of Scotland "at the earliest possible opportunity". He described the ban alliteratively as an "antiquated and archaic anomaly".
I will genuinely consider voting for a party that promises to slash the length of the football season so I’m not assailed by quite so many aggressive gambling adverts over such a long period
Latest: Climate Resistance says the protester is considering whether to come forward to police as Zia Yusuf says he "condemns people punching people”. www.standard.co.uk/news/politic...
Police seek protester after footage shows Reform audience pulling hair
Demonstrators were thrown out of the main conference hall four times after disruptions to speeches including party leader Nigel Farage’s.
standard.co.uk
Harry Taylor@harrytaylor.bsky.social · 4w agoNew: West Midlands Police has asked a protester at the Reform UK conference to come forward after footage showed her being grabbed and having her hair pulled by audience members as she was thrown out yesterday.
New: West Midlands Police has asked a protester at the Reform UK conference to come forward after footage showed her being grabbed and having her hair pulled by audience members as she was thrown out yesterday.
FTWeekend vs final day of Reform UK conference - choose your fighter.
FT Weekend@ftweekend.com · 4w agoGood morning and welcome to the 2026 edition of the FT Weekend Festival, kicking off now at Kenwood House in London 🎪 Join the #ftweekendfestival online here, and stay tuned for the day's highlights: ft.trib.al/U4fQqUA
All a bit weird at the Reform conference - Farage was due to come out for his speech, but they've had to pause events due to "unforeseen circumstances". Meanwhile, several security types are milling around behind the stage, where a protest banner appeared during Richard Tice's speech earlier.
A small banner protest has taken place during Richard Tice's speech. It's been removed after a couple of minutes.
I am interested that this is still being referred to as a "hybrid" attack, given it seems to have involved sending a drone to bomb a civilian airport.
Ulrike Franke@rikefranke.eu · 4w agoPress conference on this with interior and foreign minister has just ended. Some quotes, translated by me “The government has concluded that Russia is responsible for the hybrid attack in Leipzig.” “We do not consider Leipzig as singular event”
Ah yes, the song that celebrates the “vibe” of Brixton with the opening line “Down in the street there is violence”
✍️ Want to understand the bonkers nature of the modern economy? Take a ride with me on the 30,000 mile journey the cod in a fish finger takes between being caught off the coast of Scotland and consumed in a British home 🤯 Promise I'm not making this up👇 edconway.substack.com/p/the-30000-...
The 30,000-mile fish finger
There’s a good chance the cod on your child’s plate has been around the world and back. Not that you’d learn any of that from the label...
edconway.substack.com