Harriet Marsden

There are far worse things going on in the world but also: kitten heels are a tool of women's oppression

It is absolutely insane that the US appears to have targeted desalination plants first – putting them onto the board. Iran seems to have already retaliated against one in Bahrain. This is one of the most obvious ways this could spiral.

Exclusive: US investigation points to likely US responsibility in Iran school strike, sources say Military investigators believe it is likely that U.S. forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls' school that killed scores of children on Saturday, two U.S. officials told Reu...

Reuters Exclusive

"U.S. military investigators believe it is likely that U.S. forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls' school."

"The strike would rank among the worst cases of civilian casualties in decades of U.S. conflicts in the ​Middle East."

“If [wealthy, powerful people] can get us to accept that the future’s already settled, AI is already here, the end is already here, then we will create that for them. My most daring idea is to refuse.” — @tressiemcphd.bsky.social

Operation stop acting like Scandinavia is a socialist utopia just because they have good maternity pay

Onlookers: "Trump won't do illegal unprecedented unjustifiable thing!"

(Trump does the thing)

Onlookers: "Trump had a very good reason for doing illegal unprecedented unjustifiable thing. But he also won't do it again"

(Trump does it again)

Rinse and repeat, for ten fucking years

That's how I noticed! I was like, even in Peckham two pints of lager cannot possibly equal £15...

I understand that London pubs are struggling horribly and I feel for them but the next place that automatically adds a service charge with no transparency and expects me to pay it when someone's simply pulled a pint can do one

Starmer's response to the Green Party's emphatic win is emblematic of his entire premiership. In that it's self-important, self-defeating, overly defensive and weak as fuck. Petty-ass bitchery doesn't constitute political savvy!

From this moment on, I only ever want to read political analysis as it pertains to women fancying cartoon Robin Hood

Could get very, very messy. First Past the Post just isn't designed for multi-party politics. More voters will feel like their ballot doesn't matter in the slightest. Perceived disenfranchisement fuels radicalisation. Plus growing political divide between young men and women isn't good for anyone

I'm sure many columnists will focus on whether it was a mistake to block Burnham from standing but I think to do so detracts from the major surge to the Green Party (and also the success of Hannah Spencer)

The sound you could hear at 5am was me screaming FUCK YOU MATT GOODWIN so loudly the cat still hasn't come out from behind the sofa

100%. Especially as Reform stood a male candidate against the Green's woman (and we know how much male voters resist voting for women)

Oh, not yet!

From the 2024 general election? Yes! Plus all the polling on voter intention since has a gender breakdown

But seriously, it might be a good time for columnists and politicos to stop ignoring the fact that young women are moving far more significantly towards the populist left than men are towards Reform, and maybe pay a bit of attention to the fact that one in three now say they intend to vote Green?

You got to feel for Matt Goodwin.

Sorry missed a word. You got to feel contempt for Matt Goodwin.

I think I care more about Matt Goodwin having his arse handed to him than I've ever cared about anything ever

It’s a three-horse race! First Past the Post isn’t fit for purpose in Gorton and Denton The Gorton and Denton parliamentary by-election, scheduled for Thursday 26 February, has garnered much media attention. The outcome will be closely scrutinised by commentators for what i

And finally, @electoralreform.bsky.social made a really strong case for focussing more on the "broken" voting system than the results. First Past the Post is failing voters, Ian Simpson argues, because it's not designed for an era of multi-party politics

electoral-reform.org.uk/its-a-three-...

Gorton & Denton by-election could herald sunset years of our party system Vernon Bogdanor: Populist parties seem to be benefiting from anti-establishment hostility

This was essential background context from @patrickmaguire.bsky.social

www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...

Gorton and Denton prediction: parties just hundreds of votes apart New factors have put Zack Polanski's party neck-and-neck with Labour and Reform

And this was v. excellent on the numbers from @bwalker.uk

www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

What a Gorton byelection win would mean for Reform, Greens and Labour Polls put seat in three-way dead heat with Labour facing threats from Reform and Green party in once safe seat

Also this is the most helpful analysis I've seen, from @jessicaelgot.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Most by-elections don’t matter – but Gorton and Denton does With Labour, the Greens and Reform neck and neck in the only opinion poll, the Greater Manchester by-election result on Thursday could force Keir Starmer to choose between his party’s factions – and r...

H/T to this excellent piece by @rentouljohn.bsky.social

www.independent.co.uk/voices/gorto...

Will Gorton and Denton by-election result actually matter? In three-way contests, where results come down to increasingly few votes and tactical considerations, we risk over-extrapolating

The Gorton and Denton by-election result will be analysed ad nauseam - what it means for Starmer's leadership, Labour's direction, Reform / Green party electoral chances, local election outcomes, etc. But if it comes down to a few hundred votes, are we overextrapolating? theweek.com/politics/gor...

hate this in general but also what is Labour doing to reopen women's shelters? what is Labour doing to make sure conviction rates for rapes start going up again? what is Labour doing to make sure women feel they can trust the police? what is Labour doing to stop sexual harassers?

Feels like Kemi Badenoch is playing with some extremely dangerous and toxic forces today at PMQS. And doing so in a way that will make MPs, including of her own party, physically unsafe. Incredibly silly and reckless stuff.

A medal please for the Economist subeditor who came up with this headline #puntastic

Incredible dur-brained moment where I simultaneously think it's 2025 and 2026

I am 100% not ready for the deluge of "five years since the start of the Covid pandemic" and "ten years since the U.K. referendum what has Brexit done to us" content coming over the next few months