I do think that the Anas Sarwar press conference was just too nakedly cynical to be effective, frankly.

NEW: Sources close to Eluned Morgan, Labour first minister in Wales, insist that she is not planning to say anything on Keir Starmer's leadership today - despite reports to the contrary.

It won’t result in a bump in the polls,or Welsh Labour won’t call for him to resign (perhaps because it won’t have the time to do it before he resigns anyway)?

If (and it’s a big if), this results in a bump in the polls for Scottish Labour, expect Welsh Labour to follow suit and call for Starmer to resign.

Trump is a known racist and a known s?*t stirrer who combined these two passions to deliberately cause offence and to distract from the real news of the day. When Trump says look over there, don’t.

Trump is a known racist and a known s?*t stirrer who combined these two passions to deliberately cause offence and to distract from the real news of the day. When Trump says look over there, don’t.

It isn’t. We can, and should legislate. There is serious work that needs to be done to free our elections from foreign interference. I might be missing it, but I see little evidence that that work is being done.

Under Trump, the US has gone from friend to foe, and he is only just getting started.

This administration treats its European allies like previous US administrations treated its communist or Soviet enemies.

And the really striking thing is that this US administration’s objective is to topple the democratically elected governments of its treaty bound allies.

This is spot on. The US has always used its money and soft power to influence political discourse and outcomes in Europe (e.g. with the objective of keeping communists away from power throughout the Cold War). What’s changed is the objective, the means of delivering it is the same.

US government to fund Maga-aligned think-tanks and charities in Europe State department grants to spread ‘American values’ are part of Washington’s 250th anniversary celebrations

Not to take away from a really important story, but what is important about it is tells is what the US new national security strategy means in practice:

For years, I've criticised countries like Russia & Georgia that try to prevent foreign funding of civil society. Now I'm starting to wonder whether we need similar rules: to stop Russian influence operations, certainly, but also to stop the US boosting the far right in Europe. What times we live in!

Beautifully handled.

How to tell England’s story: James Graham, playwright Podcast Episode · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · 06/02/2026 · 43m

On the question of England and Englishness.

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Spot on by Lewis Goodall.

It is refreshing (if also depressing) to see a journalist honest enough to recognise what the Mandelson appointment and defenestration tells us about our media and our politics.

Not just Americans.

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This should worry everyone.

That’s an excellent point. At least we don’t need to look too far to find models to draw from.

Absolutely. Englishness is for us to define. It can be inclusive, as I am convinced the majority would want, or exclusive as a minority want to have us believe. Let’s recapture Englishness. Let’s define it in a way that represents the best of us.

Hear this.

Score a back-heel like JP did, and then a last minute winner on the volley like Big Ben did. Can’t be that hard right?

I am, like so many others like me, English, always have been, always will be, and there is nothing that they can say or do that will change that.

Ultimately, Britishness and Englishness are social constructs, imagined communities that we get to create. And if the far right what to imagine a community where I am not English they are going to be disappointed.

It’s a strategic shift by the far right in England, but one that is a consequence, in the broader scheme of things, of them being on the back foot, even if right now they are feeling emboldened.

I think that what is happening here is that having tried so hard and ultimately failed to define Britishness as White, England’s far right is now fighting to define Englishness as White.

Lost on four semi-finals though. You can’t put money on that kind of heartbreak. #cpfc

Opinion | Let the Arms Race Begin

If Congress doesn’t act, the last nuclear arms control treaty between the U.S. and Russia will expire. It would pointlessly wipe out decades of diplomacy, and could spark another arms race that makes the world less safe. This piece is worth the read.

I believe it’s the type of Brexit where we can have our cake and bloody well eat it as well.