I went and watched the segment on iPlayer. This is absolutely wild. It’s basically doing a free micro political broadcast for Reform during BBC Breakfast.

How Republicans can win the Midterms – and how to stop them A longer analysis of why the 2026 midterms may be far closer than they look, focusing on marginal districts and voter suppression

All the talk is of a blue wave in the 2026 Midterms. But Republicans do not need to get more popular to hold the House - they just need to stop enough Democrats voting in key seats.

I've done a deep dive in my latest post.

christinapagel.substack.com/p/how-republ...

OMFG I had to go and check that this ACTUALLY happened.

Since when does the BBC ever do chyrons with a political party's branding, rather than their own? Not to mention this is during a pre-election campaign purdah.

(h/t @iainsol.bsky.social)

+3 Green +1 SNP today

Promenading with very dear chum below the avenues of cherry blossom 🌸 in a busy Meadows, on a gorgeous day.

Simple delights; silken blossoms, happy people using the Meadows, a chum on your armas you walk. Perfect.

#Edinburgh #Edimbourg #Sakura #photography #Photographie #CherryBlossom #nature

This is just to say
I have collapsed
the lobbying group
you set up 16 years ago with Ben Wragg Prosser

And which
you were probably
saving
to line your own pockets.

Forgive me,
It was delicious
So lucrative
And so corrupt

I'm not joking when I say mRNA technology is more important than "AI" and it's a tragedy we're throwing billions into one while our government is aggressively defunding the other.

Just sobbed hardest I have since my mom died in 2020.

She missed these trials by a few months.

One of most ruthless cancers. Hard to fathom that maybe she'd still be here.

I feel such a hole inside.

In case you're wondering if we should fund mRNA research instead of another stupid war ... yes.

Important count day coverage question: would you as BBS readers prefer a bar or a donut chart for showing the seats won so far?

Barack Obama and Zohran Mamdani sing ‘Wheels on the Bus’ to kids in NYC

What’s an ‘Editor’? What is an ‘Editor’? Having discussed this recently in the context of a high school newspaper, an academic journal, and writing more generally, I thought I’d try to demystify the process a little… …

Personally, I blame most of the bad writing I see on editors not working hard enough with authors to improve their publication. africanpoliticsblog.wordpress.com/2022/11/09/w...

UN warns South Sudan at risk of ‘full-scale famine’ as fighting intensifies

UN warns South Sudan at risk of ‘full-scale famine’ as fighting intensifies https://aje.news/dp20jz

The Indy is hiring a summer student research assistant – The Independent This Canada Summer Jobs position will employ a student/youth to help us with research and organizing our website

💻 Summer student job alert!

The Indy is hiring a Research Assistant to conduct research, provide analysis and recommendations for features and content on our website, and draft infographics and other visual aids for articles.

Read the job ad for more 👇
theindependent.ca/announcement...

On my walk to work through #EdinburghCentral 5 Scottish Greens signs and 1 Scottish Labour

How Trump turned Iran into a stationary bandit Tehran’s new ability to charge tolls in the Gulf is a powerful bargaining chip

Another bonus for those of us brought up on Mancur Olson’s distinction between roving and stationary bandits www.ft.com/content/bef7... How Trump turned Iran into a stationary bandit

Moment Nigel Farage henchmen manhandle disabled OAP in parking row Henchmen working for the divisive Reform leader were seen on camera manhandling a retired engineer who was trying to park in a disabled spot to drop off his wife in Shetland

Farage thugs manhandle man with pacemaker after he objects to the Reform leader's chauffeur parking in disabled bay that he needs to use.

Lovely People.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...

Who should I be reading if I want to understand bilateral diplomacy and trade between international partners and individual US States?

‘A clear setback’: More drivers speeding in Ottawa with photo radar gone, city says - Ottawa | Globalnews.ca The City of Ottawa says more drivers are speeding in school zones five months after the Ontario government shut off automated speed enforcement (ASE) cameras.

Three months after Ottawa removed its automatic safety cameras, the share of drivers following the speed limit plunged from 87% to 41%(!). "High-end speeding" is up 10x.

Automatic enforcement saves lives. If you remove it, people will die.

I’ve read, commmissioned or been part of many studies like this one, and the results are ALWAYS the same — low density suburban development is incredibly expensive for everyone, and doesn’t come close to paying its own way. It needs to be heavily subsidized by denser, mixed-use areas.

Sound fair?

Zambia’s 2026 general elections: Democratic progress amid persistent challenges – Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) PRIO Policy Brief

Together with @oyvindstiansen.bsky.social and Lise Rakner, I've prepared a short brief on Zambia's upcoming general elections, and three key challenges for the resilience of its democracy.

www.prio.org/publications...

Sounds like what we say about ZANU 🙈

Critical Atlantic current significantly more likely to collapse than thought Scientists say finding is ‘very concerning’ as collapse would be catastrophic for Europe, Africa and the Americas

Maybe we should stop burning stuff now?

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

UK signs deal to rejoin EU's Erasmus student exchange program More than 100,000 students are expected to benefit in the scheme's first year alone, according to the British government, which negotiated to contribute £570 million towards the scheme's costs in 2027.

UK signs deal to rejoin EU's Erasmus student exchange program

Screenshot of a daily mail poll with 82% in favour of rejoining the EU

Vote 😜 mol.im/a/15729479?i...

Let's be clear: the destruction of universities is a political choice. It doesn't have to be like this. Sure, there are issues, some serious, but Ireland's universities aren't totally screwed, nor The Netherlands'. The UK government has made a choice - it is demolishing and incinerating education.

The Evolution of Sudan's Popular Political Forces - MERIP On January 30, 2011, a protest took place in Sudan’s capital Khartoum. Inspired by uprisings in other parts of the Arabic-speaking world, such as Tunisia and Egypt, activists announced and promoted…

The Sudanese writer, organizer and MERIP contributor Muzan Al Neel has passed away. In 2021 Al Neel reflected on the 2019 revolution and how it departed from the 2011 Arab Uprisings. Since that time, Al Neel played an active role in MERIP's world, her voice will be missed.

snow finally disappearing?

When you reach the point where the answer you reach for is 'let's get rid of a quarter of the people who actually make this place possible', you have GOT to ask yourself some questions about how bad you are at managing, no? #UKHE

Solidarity with @goldsmithsucu.bsky.social

Easily done.

Peter McLagan (1823-1900): Scotland’s first Black MP This is the first article in a new series for the Victorian Commons on Peter McLagan (1823-1900), by Dr Martin Spychal, Senior Research Fellow on our House of Commons 1832-1868 project. McLagan was…

Later this month we will have a new article from @martinspychal.bsky.social as part of his series on Peter McLagan, Scotland's first Black MP. Here's a reminder of Martin's first article on McLagan and the process of researching his background: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2025/06/12/p...