Cover of the album Master Of Reality by Black Sabbath.

#AlbumOfTheDay

Children Of The Grave

youtu.be/exPPF4yb0js?...

A small point from the Mandelson/Robbins saga. Refom and many Tories argue for a civil service than can be more easily bent to the will and whims of their elected political masters.

This is precisely what happened here.

*Lionel Hutz business card voice*

'No, pressure existed!'

Cover of the album Renegade by Thin Lizxy.

#AlbumOfTheDay

Hollywood (Down On Your Luck)

youtu.be/Z2xp5KSWaJI?...

Why do Britain's streets feel so scary? Failing the vulnerable fails everyone

My column on an intensifying kind of street chaos that we cannot name - something I've found hard to write about and put a finger on but have been meaning to cover for a while:

Cover of the album A Farewell To Kings by Rush.

#AlbumOfTheDay

Xanadu

youtu.be/SEuOoMprDqg?...

I suppose it will come down to whether you believe Starmer would not have appointed Mandelson if he knew he failed the vetting.

He was prepared to overlook all the issues already flagged by the Cabinet Office. If they were the same issues, would he really have said, actually let's cancel it?

Cover of the album Feats Don't Fail Me Now by Little Feat.

#AlbumOfTheDay

The Fan

youtu.be/mw9l_ztwT3E?...

News organisations need to be unflinching in their use of strong language to describe Trump. Too often we have normalised the abnormal. Mea culpa. I did it myself at the BBC and often came up against institutional timidity. My weekend read.

open.substack.com/pub/historyn...

This excellent piece describes the 'over correction' of the BBC and similar 'liberal' media organisations that @steverichards.bsky.social has been pointing out for years.

What should have happened: the REIT paid no tax but the Tice companies holding shares in the REIT paid £98k tax on the dividends they received. What actually happened: none of the companies paid any tax.

Our new report: Richard Tice signed accounts wrongly claiming £98,000 of tax exemptions

A 🧵 with the evidence:

Alvarez goal in the #CopaDelRay
🫡👏

Cover of the album Build A Rocket Boys! by Elbow.

#AlbumOfTheDay

So good live...

The Birds

youtu.be/f0k4_x6IhOE?...

Albums by Cory Wong, Thin Lizzy, Little Feat and XTC bought at Record Store Day 2026.

#RSD26

I have done well...

Fully agree. I am a LibDem but wished Starmer well and thought he could make a good PM. This clearly sets out why he isn't and that won't change. Goodness knows who they'll put in his place but they need to move him on.

I was already worried about Trump’s mental decline—it just got worse In the past week alone, the US president has depicted himself as Jesus and picked a row with the pope

Last week I suggested that maybe Donald Trump was not quite all there. I would like to revise that opinion. I think he may be what we used to call stark raving bonkers. app.prospectmagazine.co.uk/story/73055/...

Some of the grants open and close yearly so contact your councillors to find out what's available at present.

Do you need help to make your home or business more accessible for everyone?

Grants within the Brentwood borough in UK

HOMES
Disabled facilities grant
Minor Adaptations & Aids
BUSINESSES
Beyond the High Street
COMMUNITY
Brentwood Community Fund
Community Initiative Fund

Believing Downing Street now involves a collective suspension of reality and a terrifying thought | John Crace Nothing about No 10’s version of the Mandelson debacle makes sense as the excuses factory works overtime

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

Reminds me of when Sunak tried to fob off the betting scandal by calling for an independent investigation to figure out who was in the room with him when he decided on the election date.

Holding lines which hold less water than tissue paper insult the intelligence of those they try to fob off.

Cover of the album Mummer by XTC.

#AlbumOfTheDay

Great Fire

youtu.be/1_Tjf9dI1vU?...

Excellent piece this. Reminded me of @markpackuk.bsky.social's I think impeccably correct view that the UK is a country of 650 two-party systems and that the challenge for the Liberal Democrats is to become one of those two parties in as many of the 650 as possible.

If you step back, it is truly extraordinary that so many people went to such great lengths and broke so many conventions and risked their political careers and the only outcome of all these efforts and risks was appointing a washed-up old spinner to an ambassadorial post

Revealed: Mandelson failed vetting but Foreign Office overruled decision Guardian investigation uncovers decision by UK security officials to deny clearance before Mandelson took up role as US ambassador

No10’s account is incredible.
I held Developed Vetting for nearly ten years and spent three years at the heart of the Cabinet Office. I have never heard of a Developed Vetting denial being overruled. Here’s why…🧵

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

It's worth remembering that when Boris Johnson was #vetted for the role of Foreign Secretary, the security services raised concerns that his relationships with Russian oligarchs made him a security risk. The risks were ignored and the Conservative Government made the appointment.

Cover of the album Aja by Steely Dan.

#AlbumOfTheDay

One of the greatest albums of all time. I will not debate it.

Home At Last

youtu.be/Hx5ZlTyzU-k?...

Cover of the album A Day At The Races by Queen.

#AlbumOfTheDay

Tie Your Mother Down

youtu.be/LvB2MnIIdMw?...

IMO its very easy to overthink this but Marie has basically hit the nail on the head here.

Add that to the fact things near generations took for granted (home ownership + single income families) and the constant sense of crisis/stagnation and its easy to see why people think theyre doing badly

Cover of the album Offramp by Pat Metheny Group.

#AlbumOfTheDay

James

youtu.be/fLFdUwkrVVo?...

Cover of the album Duke by Genesis.

#AlbumOfTheDay

Duke's Travels

youtu.be/n3IarAnJOHg?...