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Simon R

@fadedglamour.com

I used to be charming

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18.05.2023
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Latest posts by Simon R @fadedglamour.com

my position is now more harsh.

Send rachel reeves to dubai on an A400M and have her stand at the loading ramp with card reader. Pay up or fuck off, and it has the advantage that she can't do even more harm here.

11.03.2026 18:06 πŸ‘ 36 πŸ” 10 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

People mocking this seemingly don't understand electoral politics very well.

This position plays well with the kind of older Tory voters Davey needs to keep onside (it was the "blue" wall remember), while the kind of liberal voters who find it a bit cringe aren't going to ditch LDs over this.

11.03.2026 18:10 πŸ‘ 132 πŸ” 16 πŸ’¬ 47 πŸ“Œ 12
Preview
The Competition Democracy: A Danish Warning Vote and get free candy! It is so much 'hygge'!

VOTE AND GET FREE CANDY. It's election time in Denmark. One of the most well-run democracies in the world. But politicians have never been less trusted. Even though it seems like perfect 'hygge' a collapse might be brewing.

Read my essay:
open.substack.com/pub/troelsch...

11.03.2026 11:00 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Can anyone explain to me what the Blue Labour justification for this is? Who out there will vote Labour because Mahmood prevented a Sudanese Chevening Scholar? And to be honest, why won’t the PM simply overrule her?

10.03.2026 19:48 πŸ‘ 921 πŸ” 296 πŸ’¬ 34 πŸ“Œ 41

This might be the greatest lede I've ever seen

10.03.2026 18:30 πŸ‘ 399 πŸ” 50 πŸ’¬ 8 πŸ“Œ 1

Putin can't believe his luck with this guy. He's spent decades having to think of plans within schemes to deal with western leaders and then Trump gives him America's most gullible man as a go-between

10.03.2026 17:10 πŸ‘ 44 πŸ” 19 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1

Starmer should go on TV like Boris Johnson did during Covid, and tell everyone to go out and have fun, get drunk, have an affair, eat amazing food, live your best life, carpe the sodding diem, because you're not going to be able to afford to do anything even approaching that in a month or so's time.

09.03.2026 17:31 πŸ‘ 12 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

Britain hasn't had real terms wage growth in 20 years lmao, you can't fool me

09.03.2026 16:30 πŸ‘ 14 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Her policy decision further entrenched the UK's 'transatlantic' fiscal bind: a) it is too expensive to offer unskilled employment (the 'European' disease); b) the median earner isn't taxed enough (the 'American' disease)

09.03.2026 14:23 πŸ‘ 18 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 1
Preview
Ahead of 2028, Sen. Cory Booker to unveil bill to make $75,000 in income tax-free The bill is a marker for the next time Democrats get a chance to rewrite the tax code. The New Jersey senator told NBC News he's keeping the door open to a 2028 presidential bid.

not really the time for this particular discussion, but for the record, this is a stupid idea www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...

09.03.2026 13:55 πŸ‘ 880 πŸ” 99 πŸ’¬ 43 πŸ“Œ 50

We all believed Iraq had those weapons. We all spent too much before the 08 crash. We all backed austerity, we all just wanted to Get Brexit Done. We all value our alliance with America, we all stood shoulder to shoulder with the IDF.

09.03.2026 13:11 πŸ‘ 70 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 3

Remember when the New York Times gave this guy a fawning puff piece with the full edgy photoshoot treatment

08.03.2026 22:13 πŸ‘ 46 πŸ” 9 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

I should note that economically I’m somewhere between John McDonnell and Olof Palme and DEFINITELY not a Blairite. But I really am seeing the attraction of his eye roll attitude to trying to address policy issues via a seance with Keir Hardie

09.03.2026 12:17 πŸ‘ 19 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Drive less to save fuel, motorists told

Drive less to save fuel, motorists told

This is genuinely leading the Telegraph homepage

09.03.2026 11:44 πŸ‘ 121 πŸ” 29 πŸ’¬ 22 πŸ“Œ 7

Besides the point, but does he think Wakanda is real?

09.03.2026 11:48 πŸ‘ 107 πŸ” 9 πŸ’¬ 8 πŸ“Œ 0
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A+ nickname

07.03.2026 18:55 πŸ‘ 981 πŸ” 235 πŸ’¬ 8 πŸ“Œ 16
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Could have done with more of these critiques of austerity at the time, it has to be said

08.03.2026 19:46 πŸ‘ 51 πŸ” 12 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 1

The fundamental issue for the West has been that nobody has been held accountable for anything.

Cameron and Osborne did more damage to the UK than any foreign enemy. Yet they sit there pasty faced taking no responsibility.

Tonty. Johnson. The Post Office, Hillsborough.

No one is responsible.

08.03.2026 12:37 πŸ‘ 18 πŸ” 8 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Well, on the bright side they made all these investments in renewable energy before cocking up the global conventional energy supp- why does my producer never stop handing me notes

08.03.2026 19:12 πŸ‘ 338 πŸ” 36 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
The No World Order Meir Kahane, Netanyahu, Trump, and the war beyond Iran.

"Trump is not the architect of the Iran war, only its vehicle."

On who's really in charge:
sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/the-no-wor...

06.03.2026 16:56 πŸ‘ 781 πŸ” 385 πŸ’¬ 40 πŸ“Œ 98
It was going on one, two in the morning, and we were shooting what I felt was an important scene for me, when he makes an attempt to be quote-unquote straight, in a suit, and at the end of it he gets emotional and locks himself in the other room. And I felt like, I’m not getting what I wantβ€”I’m not happy with it. Mike was happy with it. He called me the next day and said, β€œI know you weren’t happy with the scene last night. Believe me, we wouldn’t have gone home if I had felt we weren’t getting it.” And then he sort of became my psychiatrist and said, β€œYou find it difficult to be happy, don’t you? You find it difficult to enjoy things.” And I said, β€œWell, sometimes. Last night was about feeling too tired and not feeling I was reaching what I needed to reach for the scene.” He talked to me then about when he was making, I don’t know whether it was Virginia Woolf or The Graduate. He said, β€œI didn’t enjoy it for a second. I was worried about so many things.” And then he said, β€œYou know, this is never going to happen again quite this way. You should try to allow yourself to enjoy this more. Take a minute a day, and then add a minute the next day, and another minute. Pretty soon, you’ll have hours of happiness.”

It was going on one, two in the morning, and we were shooting what I felt was an important scene for me, when he makes an attempt to be quote-unquote straight, in a suit, and at the end of it he gets emotional and locks himself in the other room. And I felt like, I’m not getting what I wantβ€”I’m not happy with it. Mike was happy with it. He called me the next day and said, β€œI know you weren’t happy with the scene last night. Believe me, we wouldn’t have gone home if I had felt we weren’t getting it.” And then he sort of became my psychiatrist and said, β€œYou find it difficult to be happy, don’t you? You find it difficult to enjoy things.” And I said, β€œWell, sometimes. Last night was about feeling too tired and not feeling I was reaching what I needed to reach for the scene.” He talked to me then about when he was making, I don’t know whether it was Virginia Woolf or The Graduate. He said, β€œI didn’t enjoy it for a second. I was worried about so many things.” And then he said, β€œYou know, this is never going to happen again quite this way. You should try to allow yourself to enjoy this more. Take a minute a day, and then add a minute the next day, and another minute. Pretty soon, you’ll have hours of happiness.”

The Birdcage opened thirty years ago today, so in its honor, I want to share one of my favorite stories about Mike Nichols that didn't make it into my biography. This is from an interview I did with Nathan Lane.

08.03.2026 16:29 πŸ‘ 2750 πŸ” 603 πŸ’¬ 32 πŸ“Œ 40

I've just realised for the book chapter I'm writing that Jean-Claude Juncker's joke that "we know what to do, we just don't know how to get re-elected after doing it" is, if you substitute other career goals for re-election, an absolutely fundamental theory of management.

08.03.2026 16:21 πŸ‘ 14 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

the tories successfully tricking labour into thinking that this is a paramount element of being seen as a serious party is easily the worst thing that has happened to uk politics after brexit in three decades

08.03.2026 15:08 πŸ‘ 41 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 0

So I saw Star Wars for the first time a few months back (or was it in 2024 - I can't remember).

And, like... it's a kids' movie! It's a movie for kids! How the fuck has it had generations of grown-ass adults obsessing over it??

08.03.2026 09:58 πŸ‘ 15 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 5 πŸ“Œ 0

This is the correct and horrifying truth about Blair. It's also true (with different but related horrible true beliefs) for McSweeney and Glasman. It's why Blue Labour is far worse than the mere cynical grift that pseuds tend to frame it as

08.03.2026 13:08 πŸ‘ 28 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
clipping.: Tiny Desk Concert
clipping.: Tiny Desk Concert YouTube video by NPR Music

Daveed Diggs. What a very lovely noise. Man, when the piano happens... Thanks to @juliansimpson.bsky.social and his excellent Cartoon Gravity newsletter for bringing this before me. I've only heard the first song and had to tell you! Enhance your Sunday, comrades. xx
www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0-k...

08.03.2026 13:02 πŸ‘ 12 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 1
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Is it really a war?

Play along with Andrew Heaton's new game show.

07.03.2026 23:17 πŸ‘ 1066 πŸ” 508 πŸ’¬ 23 πŸ“Œ 39

It’s already happening. Iran attacked a desalination plant in Bahrain.

This war has to end immediately. If it turns into a water war we will be dealing with a whole different level of a humanitarian catastrophe across the region.

aje.news/64yl8m?updat...

08.03.2026 08:37 πŸ‘ 1139 πŸ” 524 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 20
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Please help me here. Syed here says that whenever he listens to an intelligent MAGA spokesman he nods a great deal. And this is some of his reasoning. Am I the only one finding this deranged?

08.03.2026 08:55 πŸ‘ 66 πŸ” 8 πŸ’¬ 37 πŸ“Œ 5

The death rattle of newspapers is sooo weird, a totally random PR story that someone put on a print product bought by the same number of people who live in Basingstoke, who are rapidly dying. And this will for some reason be discussed on national TV. No wonder the future is influencers.

08.03.2026 07:46 πŸ‘ 33 πŸ” 14 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0