deeply unfunny premise, horrid response that also happens to be amazingly unfunny, just ? ? ?

One consequence of the last week is that it will further gum up the wheels of the state (already on a go slow on many issues because officials think the PM is a goner) with people covering their own backs.

Lots to say here - but one of my biggest takeaways would be that this shows just how much pressure Mahmood now feels under.

She is *badly* losing the argument, and doesn't really have anything to fall back on other than trying to imply opponents aren't legitimate. This is that fustration showing

This is my formal apology to Shabana Mahmood for voting Labour in 2024. I know it was a big disappointment to you that I did so, and that my liberalism tainted the purity of the winning coalition. I promise I won’t vote Labour again while you’re Home Secretary.

and the thing is, by all accounts she was doing a great job as Justice Secretary! entirely needless for Starmer to put the most prominent Blue Labour cabinet member into the portfolio that core Labour supporters least want to see a Blue Labour approach in

I was never going to be a fan of Shabana Mahmood in government, ever since her pandering to homophobic school protests in 2019, but it’s amazing how much she has (a) substantively done things I hate and (b) gone out of her way to tell me she’s glad I hate them and people like me should shut up

I hope someone remembers this because it would say nothing good about my brain if I’d hallucinated it

I can’t find the tweet but why is it giving that Birbalsingh parody like “hello catgirl, may I call you catgirl? you’re not in trouble boots, just trying to get the tea on this situation”

what does “play the ball not the man” even mean in this context? ignore Reform’s racism because otherwise you don’t get to be FM (dependent on a racist party not to pull the plug at a time of their choice)?

People need to learn to read before commenting. Embarrassing www.gov.uk/government/p...

oh sure, I just think unless HMRC comes out with worse news for Rayner than expected, surely he just backs her?

does anyone know if Ed Miliband actually wants to be leader? I had the impression he honestly didn’t

Yeah although that was just after the election right?

*I mean other than the time I missed a flight because the airline’s check-in machines all broke.

Also realised when packing that the airline’s limit for carry-on bags was 8kg rather than the standard 10kg so ended up having a very full backpack and a not that full carry-on suitcase. The whole experience felt less smooth than just checking a bag*.

I recently did a trip without checked bags and consequently didn’t bring a big enough coat. It is a skill issue, I could have just worn it to travel, but I like having the freedom not to absolutely min-max my packing.

The signs were there in all sorts of ways before the election (the long periods of damaging briefing that preceded reshuffling Dodds as shadow chancellor, the same with the £28bn green investment, among others) but the reality has been worse than I imagined.

Very sharply written column. It remains amazing how much Starmer loves talking about making tough choices and taking responsibility, and how he never, ever *actually* does it.

Labour whips’ “lines to to take” sent to MPs for Keir Starmer’s statement.

Already getting messages from Labour MPs stunned that Epstein abuse victim is being used to attack Peter Mandelson.

So many individual parts of this that are ludicrously offensive and obscene, but the overall underlying message is worse: Starmer and No.10 clearly think not only that they haven't done anything wrong but that they are the *victim* of this scandal

Do knowledge-rich curriculums cause mental health problems? And do skills-based curriculums make kids love school?

Great piece by @daisychristo.bsky.social debunking the idea that England's more rigorous school curriculum and assessment caused the decline in mental health.

TL:DR: Scotland + Wales have parallel declines - despite implementing opposite school policies.

substack.nomoremarking.com/p/do-knowled...

you’ve got Cleverly as the oven-ready successor if he can just tell his backers not to freelance tactical voting. or if you don’t like him pick anyone else - get Ruth Davidson a seat! but why are you just meekly accepting being replaced, and backing a leader who won’t make an argument for survival?

amid the renewed Starmer speculation, it’s kind of wild that Badenoch is heading into an extinction-level set of elections, with her main leadership rival to the right along with many of the members who would have voted for him departed to Reform, and Tory moderates are silent as the grave

this feels plausible but also, Starmer is so unpopular! if any of them could set out why he has to go & what their plan is to do better, I think there could be a real first mover advantage (but I am not convinced any of them has a plan much beyond “be less shit than Starmer”)

that is - to use the technical term - aahhh, a spicy meat-a-ball

actually, on immediate reflection, crazy to say “the problem”. please substitute “one of the many problems with…”

the problem with the current government operation is that they’d look at this and think their approach is the right one because it polls the highest

can’t help but feel Willie Rennie or Ed Davey would look a bit happier in the photo though

credit where it’s due, this is a good write up

Alex Cole-Hamilton has ruled out voting for John Swinney to be FM, though not negotiating on budgets with a minority SNP government.