Dr Stylite
@columnist.bsky.social
37K followers 1.5K following 560 posts
‘The view from the column is ever distant’
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columnist.bsky.social
Pretty much (in Italy)
Orta
columnist.bsky.social
This is an out of the money but good take.
robfordmancs.bsky.social
Among the many possibilities for the next few years, the scenario of swapping one pair of dominant parties (Lab and Con) for another (Reform and LD) is intriguing, under-discussed and, in English elections, not entirely implausible either (several county councils made this leap in May)
electionmaps.uk
Aggregate Result of the 122 Council By-Elections (for 125 Seats) since the 2025 Local Elections:

RFM: 47 (+40)
LDM: 32 (+10)
CON: 13 (-15)
LAB: 12 (-30)
GRN: 11 (+3)
Ind: 5 (-4)
Local: 3 (-3)
SNP: 1 (-1)
PLC: 1 (=)

Explore: electionmaps.uk/byelections-...
columnist.bsky.social
Different Wikipedia entry 😅
Wikipédia tourism stays
columnist.bsky.social
So I’m pretty sure that Paris wins on ‘tourism’ but i) I might be wrong ii) definitions etc.
columnist.bsky.social
Huge international cities thrive on…well…people…
columnist.bsky.social
If we were doing this properly we’d look at a few different measures.

1. Investment
2. Migration
3. Tourism
columnist.bsky.social
Global appeal? I’d be interested to see the tourist stats. But (on that sole measure) I’m pretty sure it’s Paris.
columnist.bsky.social
One of the interesting things about many usages of the word uncertainty is that usually what is meant is in fact ‘certainty’.
columnist.bsky.social
And the immediate reaction of sterling. A one off, immediate reduction in the fx value of the UK
columnist.bsky.social
(This is also why people saying ‘oh if we began negotiations to rejoin the EU tomorrow we wouldn’t see any positive benefits for years’ are completely wrong)
columnist.bsky.social
Or (paradoxically) if there had been more positive uncertainty about the eventual Brexit shape - ie less rather than more trade barriers.
columnist.bsky.social
Why I started with ‘best city in Europe’.
columnist.bsky.social
The irony here is that the problem with Brexit wasn’t so much uncertainty as the *certainty* of higher trade barriers one way or another.
columnist.bsky.social
Impossible to be the ‘best’ city in Europe w/out FoM
columnist.bsky.social
Dunno. Paris, Berlin to some extent.
columnist.bsky.social
My simple gauge of best city-ness is where the kids (defined broadly) want to go. London *was* that place for many European kids - but that’s effectively impossible now.
columnist.bsky.social
Well. Quite. Also worth noting the article is intrinsically defensive. London is a great city but its pre 2016 era of being (imv) the best city in Europe are long gone.
helenebismarck.bsky.social
I adore London&fully agree on Dubai, but the author‘s criticism of Paris& Berlin is a joke. French political turmoil is bad is it? Have you watched UK news since 2014? German trains are slow? Thank God for the sound state of UK Infrastructure.
Love you 🇬🇧. But ditch the superiority complex. Please.
janinegibson.ft.com
You definitely shouldn't move to Dubai, writes V&A director Tristram Hunt on.ft.com/46MfW1t
columnist.bsky.social
Very strange indeed. And people tend to use the idea of uncertainty in a very woolly manner - here as a sort of negative catch all.
columnist.bsky.social
I suspect I really will. Sounds amazing.
columnist.bsky.social
This line of questioning (to David Simon of all people) is utterly bizarre.
junoryleejournalism.com
David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro (NPR)
SHAPIRO: OK, so you've spent your career creating television without Al, and I could imagine today you thinking, boy, I wish I had had that tool to solve those thorny problems...
SIMON: What?
SHAPIRO: ...Or saying...
SIMON: You imagine that?
SHAPIRO: ...Boy, if that had existed, it would have screwed me over.
SIMON: I don't think Al can remotely challenge what writers do at a fundamentally creative level.
SHAPIRO: But if you're trying to transition from scene five to scene six, and you're stuck with that transition, you could imagine plugging that portion of the script into an Al and say, give me 10 ideas for how to transition this.
SIMON: I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.