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William Lane

@williamjtlane.bsky.social

Policy, Public Affairs and Electoral Analysis (and occasionally Photography) 'Political Analyst' - Aaron H. Ellis Views my own Writes at https://thepartyanimal.substack.com/

5515 Posts1780 Follower750 Folgt
William Lane@williamjtlane.bsky.social · 2d ago

One reason why I think at least some of the current multi-party politics is permanent is because it's geographically embedded now in a way it wasn't before. You've got swathes of the country where one or both of Lab/Con aren't the two main parties, something that wasn't the case even 10 years ago.

Nathan@nwylabour.bsky.social · 2d ago

I do think it remains to be seen whether what UK politics is currently going through is a permanent transition to multi-party politics or instead a once in a generation realignment which will eventually settle on a new equilibrium

William Lane@williamjtlane.bsky.social · 3d ago

I think there is a cultural dimension to this (W. Europe culture is less consumerist than the US, although still consumerist). That being said, I also don't want to overstate the difference. As a Brit I would tend to buy one £50 shirt over two £25 ones, but not one £90 shirt over three £30 ones.

GOLIKEHELLMACHINE@golikehellmachine.com · 3d ago

i don't think this take in isolation is particularly unpopular, though i think the speculations on *why* this is can be. i tend to think it's because a) so many people are buying without seeing now, and b) i think most people have a natural inclination towards quantity over quality.

William Lane@williamjtlane.bsky.social · 5d ago

If you want a simple lesson from the rise of both Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany is not that 'Liberals will side with Fascists over Socialists'. It is that Conservatives (DNVP, von Papen, Italian Royals) who are scared of a rising left are at risk of supporting Fascists as a counterweight.

William Lane@williamjtlane.bsky.social · 5d ago

Ok I'll bite here because I think this needs to be laid out. There were broadly 3 parties in interwar Germany that could be considered 'liberal' in some form: Social Democratic Party (SDP) (Soc Dem) German Democratic Party (DDP) (Centre-Left Liberal) German People's Party (DVP) (Right-Liberal)

William Lane@williamjtlane.bsky.social · 6d ago

Genuinely that gap there between the Tories as the most pro and Reform as the most anti Charles party is the split between traditionalism and right populism. If the Tories survive, it will be because the traditionalists have baulked at having to merge their interests with the populists.

YouGov@yougov.co.uk · 6d ago

Reform UK voters are the most likely to feel that Charles is doing a bad job as King By 2024 vote (good job vs bad job) Conservative: 90% vs 5% Lib Dem: 78% vs 10% Labour: 72% vs 11% Green: 58% vs 21% Reform: 57% vs 35% yougov.com/en-gb/articl...

William Lane@williamjtlane.bsky.social · 6d ago

'He will be able to tour the rest of the country in the knowledge that his own seat is secure'. Ah yes, because Davey putting up Kim Jong Un numbers in Kensington and Surbiton guarantees broader support across the country for the Lib Dems. This feels like some serious cope coming from Farage.

Tyron@tyron.bsky.social · 6d ago

Kind of a mental line from Farage on why it's so good for him to be fighting the Clacton by-election. Reform shouldn't ever have needed to be seriously fighting Clacton at the next general election if they were remotely on track to be the next opposition, let alone the government?

William Lane@williamjtlane.bsky.social · 6d ago

As well they should be. An underdiscussed aspect of Reform taking over from the Tories is that the UK goes from havjng a right wing party with its social base in the Home Counties, to one with its social base in the suburban Midlands, North and coastal towns.

Nathan@nwylabour.bsky.social · last wk.

There are at least *some* people at the Telegraph who seem increasingly panicked about the prospect of Reform replacing the Tories as the main party on the right

William Lane@williamjtlane.bsky.social · 7d ago

It's worth noting here that the generally accepted peak of the classic era (4th Doctor) was pretty sparing with the Daleks, Master and Cybermen and tended to use one off monsters and settings for the majority of stories. The strength of the IP is its changeability, tying it down kills that.

Dr Phoenix CS Andrews@thatdocphoenix.com · 7d ago

Don’t get locked into the lore and don’t use it only to piss it away either. Tell good stories and as many different ones as possible

William Lane@williamjtlane.bsky.social · 7d ago

And also, to be fair, 80s Who does genuinely look cheap by comparison to a lot of the higher production stuff from the 70s (and the black & white nature of 60s Who hides a multitude of sins). I don't know what exactly happened from the Davison era onwards but the show looks noticeably worse.

Julianna 💎@batariangal.eurosky.social · 7d ago

A big part of the reason for the classic run’s decline is because, through American imports and movies on home video, it started to look cheaper and cheaper in comparison

William Lane@williamjtlane.bsky.social · last wk.

It does feel like Burnham is using his invitations to the cross party talks on social care to set out which parties he thinks are worth engaging with and which aren't. It looks like he views the traditional main three (Lib/Lab/Con) as the focus of any cross party talks going forward.

Dr Ellie Chowns MP@elliechowns.bsky.social · last wk.

Given our consistent engagement on the adult social care crisis and willingness to work together to solve it, it's deeply disappointing that the Greens weren't invited to today's cross-party talks. We need all hands on deck to tackle this issue - the Greens remain ready to work cross-party to do so.

Dear Andy, 29 July 2026 I welcome your commitment to addressing the challenge of fixing social care, an issue which has for too long been neglected and treated as a political football. There are no shortage of reports and proposals on how to change things; what has been missing for far too long is the political will to do so. I am therefore glad to see that you have committed to spending political capital on securing positive change. I also agree that cross-party working is essential to best face this challenge. Indeed, I have repeatedly called in Parliament for cross-party talks, and I have represented the Green Party at the (so far, only two) cross-party meetings convened as part of the Casey Commission’s work, in September 2025 and May 2026. I expressed my strong desire for more frequent and in-depth cross-party discussions at that most recent meeting, as well as consistently calling on the government to show greater political leadership on this issue. It was therefore disappointing to learn yesterday that only two political parties had been invited to meet with you today, at very short notice, to discuss social care. I am puzzled as to why you did not extend an invitation to the Green Party, given our long track record of positive engagement in this area and our frequent expressions of interest in, and support for, cross-party work on social care. Failing to extend an invitation to your first cross-party meeting on the topic is, frankly, not consistent with your stated commitment to working cooperatively across party lines. I remain very keen to work constructively with you and other cross-party colleagues to find solutions to the crisis in social care, so that we can meet the needs and uphold the interests of people who draw on care, their families and other unpaid carers, and all those who work in the care sector. I look forward to hearing from you.
William Lane@williamjtlane.bsky.social · last wk.

It's very interesting that Burnham has reached out to the Tories rather than Reform. Starmer's operation seemed to want to promote Farage as their main opponent, while Burnham is keeping him at arms length. It reminds me of how Thatcher talked up Labour as her main opponent when the SDP surged.

Burnham to seek cross-party consensus over urgent reforms to social care

Prime minister invites Badenoch and Davey – but not Farage – to discuss how to fix one of most intractable issues he faces

theguardian.com

William Lane@williamjtlane.bsky.social · last wk.

I will be fascinated to see whether Restore are able to get 8% in the actual election. I'm not sure yet whether they actually have enough pull to turn polling into voted.

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

Our polling of Greater Manchester ahead of Thursday’s by-election shows Bev Craig holding a clear lead. First preference results: 🌹 LAB 39%
⏩ REF 19%
🟢 GREEN 14%
🌳 CON 12%
🔶 LIB DEM 8%
🔵 RESTORE 8%
⚪️ IND 1% N = 1,003 | Fieldwork 11-23/7

William Lane@williamjtlane.bsky.social · last wk.

A noticeable jump for Labour, and interestingly with essentially zero effect on the Lib Dems. The Green vote has slipped a bit, and seems to be making up the lions share of Labour's increase. Reform and the Tories both seem pretty stagnant.

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

Our latest voting intention sees cross over. Labour move ahead by 4. Their first lead since March 2025 & highest share since Nov 24 🌹 LAB 28% (+4)
⏩ REF 24% (-2)
🌳 CON 22% (nc)
🔶 LIB DEM 12% (+1)
🟢 GREEN 8% (-3)
🟡 SNP 2% (nc) N = 2061| Dates 24-27/7| Change w 22/7

William Lane@williamjtlane.bsky.social · 2w ago

Yeah this is basically my argument for why I'm pretty happy with the No. 10 North arrangement even though it make life harder for me personally. Forcing senior civil servants and politicos to go to Manchester will almost certainly lead to greater pressure to fix transport issues.

James C@iguandonjim.bsky.social · 2w ago

Serious comment - if (Lobby) journos are going to have to schelp up to Manchester two or three days a week, I imagine any project that improves WCML/Euston reliability will suddenly become more favourable

William Lane@williamjtlane.bsky.social · 2w ago

This was actually an issue for fascists back in the 20s & 30s, arguing for a society based on blood & social is complicated by the existence of an (often international) divine right monarchy. Mussolini considered trying to overthrow the King, and Hitler never re-instated the Kaiser.

Huw TD@huwtd.bsky.social · 2w ago

(There's probably also a conflict between the far right as an ethnonationalist project and the monarchy's imperial(ist) legacy as a transnational [? can't think of the right term here] institution)