Nothing makes me doubt democracy more than the panegyrics Janan Ganesh gets for his asinine observations in the FT's comments

It's really much harder for Argentina to score if you don't just let them attack for forty five minutes

they do know we can score more than once, right?

highlight so far is the bbc trying to take advantage of a surfeit of patriotism/alcohol by flogging the tv licence

For anyone inclined to take this syllogism seriously, Rentoul's followed it up with pro-Mahmood guff

John Rentoul@rentouljohn.bsky.social · 3w ago

After the killing of Ann Widdecombe, Count Binface is suddenly a lot less funny www.independent.co.uk/voices/count...

Cato really going for the illiterate readership

Cato Institute@cato.org · 3w ago

Court packing to save democracy is a cure worse than the disease. The Court isn't illegitimate, and the nation faces no emergency. Packing it would endanger real gains in free speech, gun rights, and the equal protection doctrine, writes Cato's Dan Greenberg. https://ow.ly/t69H50Zn3hj

Prominent public figures when they die deserve to be remembered for what they said and did (like all of us, if we’re remembered at all), for how they used power and influence, how they behaved towards others. Surely that’s what they would have expected?

Norway proving the advantage that comes if you actually get round to shooting

In which PolEx lawyers simultaneously lament the huge reparations orders international courts might impose and claim that the orders are unenforceable and not worth the paper they're written on

Lewis Graham@lewisgrahamlaw.bsky.social · 4w ago

For those interested, here is the report: policyexchange.org.uk/wp-content/u... The PolEx authors advocate for ignoring the ICJ’s climate opinion and withdrawing from the ICJ’s jurisdiction altogether. Endorsements from judicial figures including Lords Burnett and Sumption, who should know better

I think the weather's winning this argument

Financial Times@financialtimes.com · last mo.

Two of Britain’s biggest trade unions are increasing pressure on Andy Burnham not to pick Ed Miliband as the UK’s next finance minister, arguing that his North Sea oil policy has damaged jobs in the sector ft.trib.al/qy4mFpn

For Fathers' Day, Keir Starmer posts a photo of his own father, who died in 2018, and a non-political message. The replies are a torrent of vitriol & cruelty, all with hundreds of Likes. We complain a lot about the quality of leadership, but there's a huge problem with the way we treat politicians

Meanwhile the police are arresting priests and quakers

Sarah Kay@k-interarma.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Following up - @ox.ac.uk is allowing this to take place tonight. Dehumanisation on an academic scale

Took a break from book writing to write for the @lrb.co.uk about the Filton Four, Palestine Action, and the ever widening definition of terrorism: www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ju...

Nicholas Reed Langen | Legislative Sleight of Hand

Every white Serco prison van that drove into Woolwich Crown Court on Friday morning was met with a cacophony of cheers,...

lrb.co.uk

Took a break from book writing to write for the @lrb.co.uk about the Filton Four, Palestine Action, and the ever widening definition of terrorism: www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ju...

Nicholas Reed Langen | Legislative Sleight of Hand

Every white Serco prison van that drove into Woolwich Crown Court on Friday morning was met with a cacophony of cheers,...

lrb.co.uk

To be fair, the Court of Appeal is right here- Palestine Action haven't chucked an axe at Keir Starmer or tried to blow up Rachel Reeves' summer home or smashed windows up and down the west end or set fire to post boxes or stormed Parliament

It's genius policies like this that show McSweeney is back at the helm

Politics UK@politicsuk.com · 2mo ago

🚨 NEW: Keir Starmer will introduce nightly social media curfews for 16 and 17-year-olds as part of the Government's social media ban [@thetimes]

I wrote this because oh god some of the stuff I’ve dragged my parents to and they did recently say that, on the one hand it’s lovely when your child still wants to spend time with you and isn’t drunk on vodka in a hedge. On the other… www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/lifesty...

Parents of pretentious teen wish he'd get into beer and football

THE parents of a teenager who opines on Bertolt Brecht and Brutalist buildings wish he would drink cider and vomit at bus stops like his peers.

thedailymash.co.uk

I usually like Sam Knight's @newyorker.com analyses of British politics, but what circle of hell has he dragged this take from:

For the love of god can we please finally have chaos with Ed Miliband

This was supposed to be a joke

Nicholas Reed Langen@nicholasrl.bsky.social · 3mo ago

and c) we will probably end up with Wes Streeting, by which point we may as well give up, hand the reins to Farage, and pray we sink quickly into the Channel

Maybe Starmer has gone really mental with the wallpaper

The most tragic indictment of our politics is that we have elected over 400 Labour MPs without having a single one a) good enough to be PM or b) brave enough to even try

Now that the Filton verdict is out, we can confirm that the senior lawyer who is currently facing contempt of court charges, for eloquently defending one of his Palestine Action clients, is Rajiv Menon KC of Garden Court Chambers

Netpol@netpol.org · 3mo ago

Imagine the headlines if – in somewhere like Russia or China – a senior lawyer faced a secret trial and potentially imprisonment for expertly representing a client and, against the odds, aiding in their acquittal for serious criminal charges. This secret trial is happening at 10.30 today in London.

Our latest legal analysis of the first known case of "right to remain" in the UK amid displacement due to climate change has been published by the RLI blog 👇

Refugee Law Initiative@rli-sas.bsky.social · 3mo ago

New on the #RLIBlog 'Leave to Remain for “Climate Refugees”: UK Human Rights Appeal Granted on Climate Change Grounds' by Andrea Maria Pelliconi, Gamal Basha, and Sourina Bej. rli.blogs.sas.ac.uk/2026/04/21/l... #climaterefugees #asylumseekers #ukrefugees

Why does America get Zohran Mamdani as the leader of its insurgent left-wing movement and we get Zack Polanski

it's hard not to think that the reason we are failing as a nation is down to the fact that the civil servants running the government are just not very bright

Peter Stefanovic@peterstefanovic.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Very incisive from Alex Wickham, UK political editor for Bloomberg “Sources say Olly Robbins felt bound by the rules of the security vetting process NOT to tell the PM, No10 or the foreign secretary about the concerns raised about Mandelson”

🇭🇺🗳️⚖️🇪🇺 There's still time to register for our tomorrow's webinar, where three happy Hungarians and one Polish smile will discuss the aftermath of the earthquake of an election that we had this Sunday. Where do we go from here with the rule of law democracy? How does Hungary start to repair?

Democracy Reporting International@democracyreporting.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Hungary handed Magyar & Tisza a historic victory & now the real work begins! 👉How can a new government restore trust & reform a system stacked against it? 👉What does this mean for the EU’s #Ruleoflaw agenda? Register for our webinar & join the discussion: bit.ly/3Orir2O 📆Wed 15 April ⏰11:00 CEST

Apply for a one year, research-only postdoc at KCL! You'd have pretty good colleagues in the world's best city. Email me with any questions!

King's YTL Centre for Politics, Philosophy & Law@ytlkings.bsky.social · 5mo ago

We’re hiring! 📣 The YTL Centre at KCL is recruiting an Early Career Research Fellow in moral, legal, or political philosophy. 📆Deadline: April 15 Find out more here: www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/140866-...

📅 Last reminder to our CfA: Apply & become a re:constitution Fellow Are you looking for an opportunity to collaborate with institutions and connect with experts on Rule of Law and Democracy in Europe? 🚀 www.reconstitution.eu/news/news-de... 📅 5 March (NOON)

Call for Applications: re:constitution Fellowships 2026/27

Apply now, until 5 March 2026, 12 noon (CET)

reconstitution.eu

Mixed metaphors coupled with some botched ones for good measure

Ben Ansell@benansell.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Whatever else this is from Paul Ovenden, demanding Labour MPs back Mahmood’s immigration crackdown, it is the most over-written, pretentious thing I’ve seen for some time.