Beginning to dare to think that it might not be Joever (Joãover?) for Lula just yet

Very solid choice in my opinion. And I suspect she won't end up 'gifting' her prize to Trump which is nice.

Reuters@reuters.com · 2w ago

South Africa's Navanethem "Navi" Pillay wins 2026 Nobel Peace Prize reut.rs/4zmYDPW

Can anyone from Northern Ireland explain Jamie Bryson to me? He seems to pop up everywhere and effectively be the unofficial leader of unionism

In an attempt to maintain some kind of portfolio of my writing/video work, I recently published this 'Things I've Done' repository on my Substack. It's largely for my own benefit, but it is here for public consumption if anyone wants to take a look! 1/2 rorytaylor.substack.com/p/things-ive...

Things I’ve Done

An ongoing digital archive of my professional output

rorytaylor.substack.com

Interesting update to this: Liechtenstein's parliament has narrowly voted to decriminalise abortion, opting not to put it to a referendum. The prince will still veto but I guess the calculation is that it will be less contentious to veto a narrow parliamentary vote than to veto a decisive public one

Rory Taylor@rorytaylor.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Today's video on Liechtenstein now has more views than the country has people 🇱🇮 It's about how Europe's 'last true' monarchy may be heading for crisis as a popular push to decriminalise abortion looks set to be vetoed by the microstate's powerful hereditary prince... www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8qv...

Today's video on Liechtenstein now has more views than the country has people 🇱🇮 It's about how Europe's 'last true' monarchy may be heading for crisis as a popular push to decriminalise abortion looks set to be vetoed by the microstate's powerful hereditary prince... www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8qv...

Why Europe’s Most Powerful Monarchy Is Heading for a Constitutional Crisis

YouTube video by TLDR News EU

youtube.com

Was greeted at Gatwick by an LBC digital billboard saying "STARMER RESIGNS", so that's fun

Rory Taylor@rorytaylor.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Heading to the airport to fly home. Can't wait to land back in Keir Starmer's Britain and catch up on the news later.

Heading to the airport to fly home. Can't wait to land back in Keir Starmer's Britain and catch up on the news later.

I’ve been writing about Andy Burnham in Manchester for a while. We’ve had a few run-ins but I think he has qualities that people don’t appreciate and weaknesses that spell trouble. I wrote this for @manchestermill.bsky.social I hope it’s insightful and fair. manchestermill.co.uk/stop-looking...

Stop looking for Burnhamism - in six years, I’ve never found it

Watching the mayor up close in Manchester, I’ve seen his unusual gifts and glaring weaknesses. Would he make a good prime minister?

manchestermill.co.uk

Trump's eagerness to wield American air power abroad is not a new phenomenon, but rather a modern iteration of something that runs much deeper into history. New Substack post by me on Trump, Iran, and A History of Bombing. open.substack.com/pub/rorytayl...

A History of Bombing, revisited

Reading Sven Lindqvist in the age of Trump

open.substack.com

Over the weekend I wrote some words about the local elections and the emergence of 'Rainbow Britain'. It's the first of some hopefully semi-regular posts on my Substack, which you can subscribe to for free 🙏 open.substack.com/pub/rorytayl...

No Overall Control

Welcome to Rainbow Britain

open.substack.com

Equator is fast becoming a regular read for me, and this conversation about Mali and the Sahel juntas was particularly interesting

Equator@equatormag.bsky.social · 6mo ago

“The junta can no longer offer a solution to this crisis, and it has in fact turned into an obstacle to a solution” - a conversation with Rahmane Idrissa about the extremist offensive in Mali.

Oh I guess this might actually happen now

Rory Taylor@rorytaylor.bsky.social · 8mo ago

The year is 2029: Prime Minister Ed Miliband and President Gavin Newsom re-establish UK-US diplomatic relations, ending a two year freeze sparked by former President Trump's unilateral recognition of the Falkland Islands as Argentinian.

Orbán concedes. #Hungary

BEIRUT (AP) - Israeli strikes hit several dense commercial and residential areas in central Beirut Wednesday afternoon without warning, hours after a ceasefire was announced in the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. @apnews.com

Not to be too much of a doomer but I feel like we are really not mentally (or practically) prepared for what's coming

Why is migration policy Denmark's main political export and not Højskolen, a TV show that puts all 12 party leaders together for a 24 hour Big Brother-esque experience in a boarding school

Was the US behind the strike on Iran’s girls’ school? www.channel4.com/news/was-the...

Was the US behind the strike on Iran’s girls’ school?

There are mounting indicators that the US is responsible for a strike on a girl’s school in southern Iran - one of the worst mass casualty events of the conflict so far.

channel4.com

🇫🇷 Incredible acapella Marseillaise after Macron's nuclear speech at Île Longue. Almost makes you want to join the French Foreign Legion.

If you were trying to create the ideal conditions for summer riots, I'm not sure you could do much better than this

A straight fight between Labour and Reform (for second place)

Britain Elects@britainelects.com · 8mo ago

Gorton and Denton by-election result: GRN: 40.7% (+27.5) REF: 28.7% (+14.7) LAB: 25.4% (-25.3) CON: 1.9% (-6.0) LDEM: 1.8% (-2.1) Green GAIN from Labour.

The year is 2029: Prime Minister Ed Miliband and President Gavin Newsom re-establish UK-US diplomatic relations, ending a two year freeze sparked by former President Trump's unilateral recognition of the Falkland Islands as Argentinian.

Cuts to overseas aid by the UK are set to go further and faster than those made by the Trump administration in the US, as Sir Keir Starmer’s government wrestles with funding pressures www.ft.com/content/ad52...

UK overseas aid cuts to outstrip those of Trump administration

Spending will drop 27% this year from 2024 levels to help fund higher defence budget

ft.com

Wow! Palestine Action win judicial review - Guardian report. This is a *big* legal win. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

UK ban on Palestine Action unlawful, high court judges rule

Protest group’s co-founder wins legal challenge against decision to proscribe it under anti-terrorism laws

theguardian.com

GOAT status

America Elects@americaelects.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Barbados, preliminary result: 30/30 seats declared BLP (centre-left): 30 In another historic victory, Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley's Barbados Labour Party has won a third straight 30-0 wipeout. Pre-election polling placed BLP support at roughly 80%. #Barbados #DecisionBIM

Imagine winning this majority and then being brought down by a Peter Mandelson scandal in the year of our lord 2026

My prediction for Gorton and Denton is basically that it's a repeat of Caerphilly, but with the Greens instead of Plaid

Normally I wouldn't think Davos was worth paying much attention to, but this year has it all: Macron and his aviator shades. Bart de Wever quoting Gramsci. Mark Carney declaring a new world order. Great stuff.

Anti-Americanism becoming a major theme of next year's French presidential election (for both left and right) would make things very interesting