And not only on this bill…
10.03.2026 21:28
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And not only on this bill…
NEW - The Hereditary Peers Bill has passed in the House of Lords, finally passing the government’s major reform that has been fought every step of the way, despite being manifesto pledge.
It passes now only because the government offered the Tories more life peerages.
EXCL: Home Office rejected appeal from foreign secretary Yvette Cooper that would have protected outstanding students in some of the world’s most dangerous countries from changes to UK’s immigration system.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Impressed that Kemi Badenoch now seems to be calling for an ... independent British war on Iran?
A lot of people on Bluesky sneering at this. But Russia has no interest in helping Iran, apart from the fact they're a key regional ally, they sell them Shahed drones, and that a prolonged war and with it rising energy costs help the Russian economy.
Excited to read Morgan’s book on the second referendum campaign, which was never more than a hubristic fantastical collective delusion by some of our most senior political figures. Astonishingly, many of its architects remain major players in public life, including advising on political strategy.
The political and media voices calling for the government to instantly and unquestioningly get behind Donald Trump’s plan-free war are increasingly out of step with UK public sentiment, it seems.
Really interesting re Reform's benefits messaging that Reform tend to overperform in seats ranked higher for worklessness and Greens in seats with more in-work poverty. By @warringfictions.bsky.social
Full story below with @guardianheather.bsky.social @pippacrerar.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/money/2026/m...
Ministers are discussing the possibility of intervening to protect the public against soaring household energy bills if the Middle East conflict drags on.
The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, is understood to believe that prices cannot be allowed to rise substantially.
One beer, bed, then back on duty – the British pilot who made RAF history shooting down drones
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
The defence secretary, John Healey, has accused opposition politicians of deliberately undermining the UK’s relationship with Donald Trump, saying it was “unpatriotic” for MPs to seek to turn the US against Keir Starmer.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
NEW - I’m in Cyprus this morning as John Healey flies in to speak to his Cypriot counterpart amid rising anger on the island over the drone which hit the British base - officials are still to determine if it came from Lebanon or Western Iraq
NEW: John Healey has flown into Cyprus to calm diplomatic fallout over drone that evaded detection and hit RAF base prompting fury from local ministers - @jessicaelgot.bsky.social is with him www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...
Exc from @pippacrerar.bsky.social - The partner of a sitting Labour MP is among three people who have been arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of spying for China, the Guardian understands.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
Whatever you think the response to Iranian missiles be fired on British citizens and British allies in the Gulf should be, I don't think that 'it might hurt Labour electorally' should be part of your answer.
Radical parties of the right and left in top two slots. Legacy parties getting only a third of the vote between them.
A whole new world.
Keir Starmer has issued his strongest rebuke yet of Donald Trump’s action in Iran, saying the UK did not believe in “regime change from the skies”.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Trump does this routinely and he also just calls and texts other world leaders from his personal mobile, often without warning
Breaking - UK moving families off the base in RAF Akrotiri as a precaution.
Bases in Cyprus are not being used by US bombers.
We just finished this extraordinary Oscar-nominated documentary which is currently on iPlayer - a truly unique insight into the life of young Russians made only possible by the bravery of one teacher
www.theguardian.com/film/2025/ja...
‘Coalition of socially Conservative working class voters and with middle class social liberals cannot survive an election campaign’. What does Keir Starmer think the Labour coalition is, or has ever been?
Labour MPs on the ground yesterday said previous Labour voters started going Green very late, and remonstrated with them on the doorstep about potentially letting in a Reform MP. One minister said they were repeatedly told off for not “sorting it out” that there was only one option against Reform
Even now you will find very senior people in Labour who just do not take the threat from the left seriously at all, and who simply refuse to believe who their own voters actually are. Now that the Greens actually realise who their voters can be, they have a big opening.
The Green victory in Denton is the result which will have the biggest effect on Labour, far more so than a Reform win.
The blithe assumption progressives have nowhere else to go has been proved catastrophically wrong.
Can’t help thinking of this quote from a Labour minister, a year ago…
Pretty downbeat messaging at close of polls from Labour…
This goes to something @jillongovt.bsky.social taught me soon after I joined IfG - no matter how long something has been discussed and played around with in government, the only test is how it is received in the real world.
I do find it very hard to take either Labour or Green indignation at the other’s activities seriously. By-elections are often dirty fights, and this one has been no exception. Neither of the parties can sincerely claim to have fought cleanly. Spare us the phony righteousness.
(Also there could conceivably be a banter outcome of about 1000 votes between first and third, leading the winner to massively over-interpret the result)
