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Nick Garland@npjgarland.bsky.social · last wk.

1/ Great reporting in The Times on the emerging momentum behind support for compulsory voting, which @ippr.org called for a couple of weeks ago: www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

My thought on seeing Nolan’s Odyssey: worthy of its material. Which is the highest praise it could have.

Joe Hodson@joehodson.bsky.social · 2w ago

My initial and totally spoilery thoughts on Nolan's Odyssey, which I very much enjoyed seeing yesterday with a friend after having just finished reading the poem: It's an Odyssey with a clear sense of troubled conscience - I was glad that the weight of his actions was largely recognised.

After a vote of members, the @soclablaw.bsky.social will be nominating Andy Burnham as Leader of the Labour Party.

Thoughts on Labour and free speech - my brief talk last week to the Free Speech Union. substack.com/@georgeperet...

Different views of free speech: my talk to the Free Speech Union

The Labour tradition of free speech is not the libertarian approach of the FSU. But losing the ECHR - as the Tories and Reform want to do - would, on either approach, harm free speech.

substack.com

Rather a lot of Western civilisation (however you define it) is, after all, not conservative.

Nute@nutedawn.bsky.social · 3w ago

It’s very funny that all indications are that an adaptation of Homer could be one of the biggest movies of the year with both critics and the box office and this is universally interpreted as a catastrophe for the conservative right because they’re poisoned themselves against culture

If you say “I’m not speculating, but we don’t know if it’s X or if it’s Y”, you have just contradicted yourself.

Thoughts on Labour and free speech - my brief talk last week to the Free Speech Union. substack.com/@georgeperet...

Different views of free speech: my talk to the Free Speech Union

The Labour tradition of free speech is not the libertarian approach of the FSU. But losing the ECHR - as the Tories and Reform want to do - would, on either approach, harm free speech.

substack.com

Sir Richard Mountbasket🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️@richmountbasket.bsky.social · 4w ago

Farage is so scared he'll lose his seat to ultimate Establishment candidate, Count Binface, that he's urged activists to stop campaigning in Manchester, and come to Clacton! And who can blame him: the Intergalactic Space Warrior's policies are far more sensible! www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

💥In the “Dieselgate” litigation the High Court has given judgment on whether vehicles produced by leading car manufacturers contained prohibited defeat devices. Answer on a postage stamp: very few of them did, and no vehicles produced by my client, Ford, did. www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/u...

Interesting piece by my @soclablaw.bsky.social colleague Joe Kelen on Andy Burnham’s reference to the German Basic Law. labourlist.org/2026/07/a-gu...

'German Basic Law: a guide to the law cited by Andy Burnham as a new model for Britain' - LabourList

What is the 'German Basic Law'? How does it work? And how could it work for Britain?

labourlist.org

Online platforms play a central role in our democratic debate. They must also accept responsibilities that reflect that influence. Talking to @lbc.co.uk about why we need stronger protections for our democracy in the digital age. www.lbc.co.uk/article/lucy...

Lucy Powell brands Elon Musk's X 'toxic' as she says social media rules around elections must be tightened | LBC

The deputy Labour leader told LBC's Lewis Goodall that the government "absolutely need[s] to strengthen regulation" of social media

lbc.co.uk

🧵I’d rather spend my weekends doing something else than post about Nigel Farage’s murky finances, but his behaviour poses such a threat to our democratic norms that I wanted to flag a number of points in the public interest.

Revealed: Nigel Farage secretly funded by convicted criminal

The Reform UK leader did not declare benefits including staff, security and housing by crypto-gambler George Cottrell, our investigation reveals

thetimes.com

Absolutely extraordinary story from the Sunday Times that is going to be very hard for Farage to deflect. "Nigel Farage secretly funded by convicted criminal" www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

Revealed: Nigel Farage secretly funded by convicted criminal

The Reform UK leader did not declare benefits including staff, security and housing by crypto-gambler George Cottrell, our investigation reveals

thetimes.com

I did my best to do a commentary on Burnham's theory of economic growth & its antecedents here. If anyone wanted an op-ed from me about it I'm available... softmachines.org?p=3324

If anyone is in East London this evening and would like to go to a free concert, I’m playing (2nd clarinet) in this. (Dvořak 8 is particularly lovely.)

On deepening EU relations: "I will build on the good work the government has already done in this area."

Burnham's answer on electoral reform, FYI

The western edge of London is, of course, Park Lane. Everywhere west of that is a suburb of Reading.

Dom White@domw.bsky.social · last mo.

I like this purely for the reason that putting a good bit of North London in the Midlands is first class trolling.

England and the United States are two countries divided by a common law This week's Weekly Constitutional at @prospectmagazine.co.uk, on how recent US Supreme Court judgments uphold executive power in a way English law would not www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...

My thoughts for @labourlist.bsky.social on what is in Andy Burnham’s legal in-tray. labourlist.org/2026/07/andy...

'Your lawyers would like a word! Andy Burnham's legal in-tray' - LabourList

Chair of the Society of Labour Lawyers looks at what the legal issues are that will be consuming Andy Burnham's time.

labourlist.org

Might be good if some of the people still taking him seriously realise what he's become.

Marie Le Conte@youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · last mo.

feels bad that the guy who was chief of staff to the Prime Minister not a decade ago is now associating himself with an extreme right party! feels very bad!

A senior UK judge recently told me that the reason senior courts in this jurisdiction never look at US Supreme Court case-law is that they regard it as so politicised as to be useless as legal analysis.

Paolo Sandro@paolosandro.bsky.social · last mo.

The most ridiculous thing to me is: the US Federal Constitution has been (rightly) criticised for being a super-vague document, where everything and its contrary can be read into its clauses And what do these bunch of hacks do with literally one of the few provisions that is *crystal* clear?!

Long form version of my postmortem on the birthright citizenship case (tldr just listen to Justice Jackson), courtesy of the fine folks at @theunpopulist.net www.theunpopulist.net/p/there-is-n...

There Is No Originalist Rationale for Denying Citizenship to the US Born

So the conservative dissenters on the Supreme Court ditched their own preferred approach in the recent birthright ruling

theunpopulist.net

My gripe (because I live on a one-way road) is Lime bikers riding the wrong way up the road (dangerous: it’s busy) or, worse, avoiding the danger by riding on the pavement. As Lime bikes are tracked, isn’t the answer for Lime to be made to take (say) £50 off the credit card of anyone who does that?

Paul Magrath writer@maggotlaw.bsky.social · last mo.

This 100% www.thetimes.com/article/432b...

A quick note on this paragraph of Andy Burnham’s speech yesterday. www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news...

Between 2008 and 2014 (Euromaidan) USAID spent $12.7 million on supporting civil society organizations in Ukraine. If you think you can fund a revolution in a country of 45 million people by having a DC based non-profit hand out small grants... USAID report is here: oig.usaid.gov/sites/defaul...

Joni Askola@joniaskola.bsky.social · last mo.

Musk’s newest lie to explain why he gutted USAID and stripped aid from the world’s poorest, contributing to thousands of deaths, just dropped

“Opportunist” is no more a bad thing for a politician than it is for a footballer: when the goal is open, you kick the ball in. It’s your job.

Luke Tryl@luketryl.bsky.social · last mo.

This is why I think Burnham has a good chance of getting Labour a chance at a rehearing, this weeks word cloud is way more positive than most politicians & than Starmer’s even at his peak. Obv it will shift but defs offers a narrow window to course correct with public

Today one of Labour’s strongest supporters of Proportional Representation takes his place in Parliament. Welcome, Andy Burnham! Now let’s rewire Westminster together so that every voter is fairly heard. #Labour4PR 🌹 @andyburnham.bsky.social

Euston Station is the Museum of Levelling Up.