Farage and Badenoch behind none of the above when it comes to people’s preferred Prime Minister

Nigel Farage is wildly less popular than Andy Burnham.

Revealed: major oil firms make $93bn profits amid war and climate crisis www.theguardian.com/business/ng-...

Revealed: major oil firms make $93bn profits amid war and climate crisis

Iran conflict windfall over three months reignites calls for companies ‘cashing in on human misery’ to pay for environmental damage

theguardian.com

Aliens, you say?

As we near the end of another bonkers day in British politics, it’s worth pausing for a moment to reflect on the astonishing political illiteracy of Reform’s entirely unworkable policy of landing Royal Navy boats in France without French permission.

All - all! - Reform have are the small boats. And they even manage to botch their flagship policy on that. Just hopeless.

If you want a barometer (that almost everyone can understand) of how unserious Reform are as a party, look no further than Nigel Farage asking you to believe that they would land Royal Navy boats on French beaches without permission from France.

Nigel Farage taking time out from campaigning against a bin to claim a Reform government would land Royal Navy boats on French beaches without French consent.

The more I see and hear of Andy Burnham the more hopeful I’m becoming that he could be an excellent Prime Minister.

Birdwatching has always been cool, but now, thanks in part to the Merlin app, many more people realise it’s cool. You can get yourself (or a friend!) a copy of my book, How To See Birds - An Enthusiast’s Guide, here: www.amazon.co.uk/How-See-Bird...

Zia Yusuf turning up in Ceuta after the crisis is over is an effective metaphor for Reform’s disastrous summer.

“I always think of it a bit like a date” Sophie Ellis-Bextor - one of the pop world’s greatest performers - on performing Listen here to the full episode: open.spotify.com/episode/4ocK...

Beautiful Kenwood on Hampstead Heath. London has so much to offer. What a privilege to live here.

Difficult to imagine Reform having a worse summer. Their decline is relentless.

**NEW** Sir Anthony Seldon on Prime Ministers - including Burnham, Starmer, Johnson, Blair and Thatcher - leadership, education and contemporary history. open.spotify.com/episode/3dWm...

20 Questions With Sir Anthony Seldon

20 Questions With · Episode

open.spotify.com

A front page apparently with no sense of irony

**NEW** Here is a fabulous podcast for your weekend. Sir Anthony Seldon on what qualities a Prime Minister needs. What set Thatcher and Blair apart of modern PMs. What he makes of Andy Burnham. And the need for joy in learning. open.spotify.com/episode/3dWm...

20 Questions With Sir Anthony Seldon

20 Questions With · Episode

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The most obvious difference between Andy Burnham and Nigel Farage is that Burnham is positive and Farage is negative.

Andy Burnham repositioning Labour as the party of the working class again puts Nigel Farage and Reform at risk of becoming increasingly politically redundant.

Friday night treat at Bettys in Harrogate ahead of interviewing Anthony Horowitz in front of a thousand people tomorrow morning at the Tbeakston Crime Writing Festival in the morning

**NEW** Here is a fabulous podcast for your weekend. Sir Anthony Seldon on what qualities a Prime Minister needs. What set Thatcher and Blair apart of modern PMs. What he makes of Andy Burnham. And the need for joy in learning. open.spotify.com/episode/3dWm...

20 Questions With Sir Anthony Seldon

20 Questions With · Episode

open.spotify.com

Does this site work? What’s your view of it? Does it have much impact on the news? I’ve found far more engagement on Threads. X is a sewer but seems still to have far bigger influence on British politics than Bluesky or Threads.

Of course there are going to be naysayers and nitpickers, but recognising that the cost of living is a crisis and actually doing something about it represents a refreshing start by Andy Burnham as Prime Minister.

Quite funny Nigel Farage calling for a general election and claiming Andy Burnham has no mandate when he isn’t even an MP and is locked in an electoral struggle with a bin.

Kevin Keegan wasn’t only a genius as a player - twice European footballer of the year and a star for both club and country - he brought joy as a manager through the style he encouraged at Newcastle. He was a great personality who will be hugely missed. RIP.

Don’t underestimate how good it is to beat France, let alone score six against arguably the most talented side in the world. And in Jude Bellingham we have an unbelievable talent and a true leader. The future’s bright for England.

Jude Bellingham is a sensational football player.

Reform in free fall

The person who has done far more than anyone else to damage trust in American democracy is Donald Trump.

Could we just pause for a moment to reflect on the fact that a couple of weeks ago Nigel Farage was literally calling for a general election. Now he’s embroiled in a by-election against a bin.