Dan Davies
@dsquareddigest.bsky.social
"if that's the strangest thing you ever seen in your life, I'd say you haven't done much"
Reposted by Dan Davies
Oof. Well, I guess that‘s an answer to “why wasn’t the racism enough to sack him?”
NEW: Kemi Badenoch confirms that Nick Timothy -Theresa May's former chief of staff at No 10 - will be the new shadow justice secretary.
January 15, 2026 at 4:34 PM
Oof. Well, I guess that‘s an answer to “why wasn’t the racism enough to sack him?”
Reposted by Dan Davies
This "open borders" line is *infuriating* - these people came here to study or work, because they had a uni place or a job to come to. They paid visa fees, student fees, NHS surcharge - and many of them are doing challenging and important work - staffing our care homes, for example, including Mum's.
Starmer keeps using this line, & it's bonkers.
Most importantly, it's untrue: the party that ended Free Movement, ran the "hostile environment" & made Suella Braverman Home Sec did not run "an experiment in open borders".
It's also politically mad. Voters who believe this will not vote for Starmer
Most importantly, it's untrue: the party that ended Free Movement, ran the "hostile environment" & made Suella Braverman Home Sec did not run "an experiment in open borders".
It's also politically mad. Voters who believe this will not vote for Starmer
!["And this is what Keir Starmer’s press secretary has said about Robert Jenrick at the lobby briefing this morning.
[Highlighted] Robert Jenrick was the immigration minister in a government that presided over an open borders experiment [Highlighted], a health minister who left people stuck on waiting lists, and a Treasury minister during the worst decline in living standards on record.”
While Reform continues to welcome failed Tory retreads, this Labor government is putting the country back on track."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cixgmtrg7nzy4gkmyfeosaox/bafkreibe3jczrmbmzfnhj2adl4qe432lbpmcbn6m6qrentwih7vxj4fu7y@jpeg)
January 15, 2026 at 2:29 PM
This "open borders" line is *infuriating* - these people came here to study or work, because they had a uni place or a job to come to. They paid visa fees, student fees, NHS surcharge - and many of them are doing challenging and important work - staffing our care homes, for example, including Mum's.
Reposted by Dan Davies
The government is confused when it runs this "open borders" jibe - which it can attempt on the high immigration levels (though it supported every liberalising change) but it completely misrepresents the causes of the asylum chaos, and so fails to learn lessons of the 2021-24 failure on boats
January 15, 2026 at 1:37 PM
The government is confused when it runs this "open borders" jibe - which it can attempt on the high immigration levels (though it supported every liberalising change) but it completely misrepresents the causes of the asylum chaos, and so fails to learn lessons of the 2021-24 failure on boats
Reposted by Dan Davies
No 10 says Jenrick was an open borders pro-immigration minister while PM says he was toxic + divisive.
January 15, 2026 at 1:32 PM
No 10 says Jenrick was an open borders pro-immigration minister while PM says he was toxic + divisive.
Remember that for insurance purposes this is an act of war which happened in 1942...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/ce...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/ce...
Evacuations in Exmouth and Plymouth as bomb teams deal with two incidents
Residents are put up in a leisure centre and hotel in Exmouth as thousands have been evacuated.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 15, 2026 at 12:13 PM
Remember that for insurance purposes this is an act of war which happened in 1942...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/ce...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/ce...
Advice for younger men: Just like with performative reading, the reason the girls are up in arms about "being an FT fan" is that they know it works
January 15, 2026 at 10:42 AM
Advice for younger men: Just like with performative reading, the reason the girls are up in arms about "being an FT fan" is that they know it works
Reposted by Dan Davies
Chunky falls in 10 year gilt yields going a bit under the radar given all else going on. Good news for fiscal headroom.
Would be different if move had been in the other direction; accusations would be levelled (mostly unfairly) at Reeves.
Gilt market moves are mostly not driven by fiscal policy.
Would be different if move had been in the other direction; accusations would be levelled (mostly unfairly) at Reeves.
Gilt market moves are mostly not driven by fiscal policy.
January 15, 2026 at 10:28 AM
Chunky falls in 10 year gilt yields going a bit under the radar given all else going on. Good news for fiscal headroom.
Would be different if move had been in the other direction; accusations would be levelled (mostly unfairly) at Reeves.
Gilt market moves are mostly not driven by fiscal policy.
Would be different if move had been in the other direction; accusations would be levelled (mostly unfairly) at Reeves.
Gilt market moves are mostly not driven by fiscal policy.
Reposted by Dan Davies
Wow, perhaps we need to convene a parliamentary committee, ask urgent questions in the House and launch an all-channels two-month media campaign
January 14, 2026 at 6:31 PM
Wow, perhaps we need to convene a parliamentary committee, ask urgent questions in the House and launch an all-channels two-month media campaign
I would simply sell a portfolio of quirky small office buildings really fast at the appraisal price or better
January 14, 2026 at 4:33 PM
I would simply sell a portfolio of quirky small office buildings really fast at the appraisal price or better
Bittersweet for me as I was halfway through workshopping a potentially banging "Manufacturing Non-Consent" bloot.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
X to comply with UK law over Grok deepfakes, Starmer says
The prime minister says he's been told Elon Musk's X is taking steps to make it's in
www.bbc.co.uk
January 14, 2026 at 3:49 PM
Bittersweet for me as I was halfway through workshopping a potentially banging "Manufacturing Non-Consent" bloot.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Dan Davies
UPDATE: Jack Daniel’s parent co. Brown-Forman tells me it has nothing to do with CBS’ “Whiskey Friday” concept. “Jack Daniel’s is not involved in any such segment, nor do we have any awareness of the segment and any potential partnerships or sponsorships.”
Update — Here is what the new apparent CBS News segment "Whiskey Fridays with Tony Dokoupil" may look like:
January 14, 2026 at 2:44 PM
UPDATE: Jack Daniel’s parent co. Brown-Forman tells me it has nothing to do with CBS’ “Whiskey Friday” concept. “Jack Daniel’s is not involved in any such segment, nor do we have any awareness of the segment and any potential partnerships or sponsorships.”
Reposted by Dan Davies
I mean, "I'm not breaking the law anymore so we're all good right?" is not how I understood the law to work
January 14, 2026 at 1:40 PM
I mean, "I'm not breaking the law anymore so we're all good right?" is not how I understood the law to work
This just looks terrible; cancelling an election is a big deal. If you do it to save £250k and some hassle, it's really sending a bad message to people whose trust in the system is at an all-time low to begin with.
search.app/xtCUS
search.app/xtCUS
Exeter City Council will ask to cancel May elections
Some councils can ask to cancel elections due in May but critics say it is important they go ahead.
search.app
January 14, 2026 at 1:22 PM
This just looks terrible; cancelling an election is a big deal. If you do it to save £250k and some hassle, it's really sending a bad message to people whose trust in the system is at an all-time low to begin with.
search.app/xtCUS
search.app/xtCUS
"what's possible within the system", versus "the wider environment in which the system is embedded"
backofmind.substack.com/p/was-the-gr...
backofmind.substack.com/p/was-the-gr...
was the green lantern a good chap?
on having one's head in the game
backofmind.substack.com
January 14, 2026 at 11:52 AM
"what's possible within the system", versus "the wider environment in which the system is embedded"
backofmind.substack.com/p/was-the-gr...
backofmind.substack.com/p/was-the-gr...
Reposted by Dan Davies
There’s always a FinReg angle www.wsj.com/world/middle...
January 14, 2026 at 9:31 AM
There’s always a FinReg angle www.wsj.com/world/middle...
Reposted by Dan Davies
We have quite the interview today with James Cleverly, shadow housing secretary
www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/sir-...
www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/sir-...
Sir James Cleverly interview: Regulation is ‘always the wrong answer’
Shadow housing secretary Sir James Cleverly shares his views on Grenfell, the Renters’ Rights Act and the Conservative Party’s pledge to end stamp duty.
www.insidehousing.co.uk
January 14, 2026 at 9:14 AM
We have quite the interview today with James Cleverly, shadow housing secretary
www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/sir-...
www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/sir-...
Show the statisticians some bloody respect, it's 11.69% of the executive team.
Statistics Canada to cut 850 jobs, 12 per cent of executive team
Statistics Canada to cut 850 jobs, 12 per cent of executive team
Data from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat shows 7,274 people worked at Statistics Canada as of March 31, 2025.
www.thestar.com
January 14, 2026 at 1:20 AM
Show the statisticians some bloody respect, it's 11.69% of the executive team.
I hear they are changing his name on the posters to Tony Dokoupilllllll because he takes so many Ls
Tony Dokoupil: "Mr. President, thank you very much. For the record, I do think that I'd have this job even if the others guys won."
Donald Trump: "Yeah, but at a lesser salary."
[Dokoupil then giggles as they wrap up the segment.]
A CBS News staffer merely reacted with this: "HAHAHAHAHA"
Donald Trump: "Yeah, but at a lesser salary."
[Dokoupil then giggles as they wrap up the segment.]
A CBS News staffer merely reacted with this: "HAHAHAHAHA"
January 14, 2026 at 1:18 AM
I hear they are changing his name on the posters to Tony Dokoupilllllll because he takes so many Ls
Wow, this looks like an amazing pile of crap even if you think that the news he will be presenting it in front of this branding is always going to be good or comforting. If he's having to explain something tragic, it will be hellish.
Update — Here is what the new apparent CBS News segment "Whiskey Fridays with Tony Dokoupil" may look like:
January 13, 2026 at 11:40 PM
Wow, this looks like an amazing pile of crap even if you think that the news he will be presenting it in front of this branding is always going to be good or comforting. If he's having to explain something tragic, it will be hellish.
"Carabao Cup hopes". Fantastic. More tragic than Hemingway's masterpiece, in half the word count.
A wonderfully worked goal 😮💨
Rayan Cherki delivers a huge blow to Newcastle's Carabao Cup hopes 🥊
Rayan Cherki delivers a huge blow to Newcastle's Carabao Cup hopes 🥊
January 13, 2026 at 11:25 PM
"Carabao Cup hopes". Fantastic. More tragic than Hemingway's masterpiece, in half the word count.
Reposted by Dan Davies
“Nobody has ever tried to imagine a world not made up of competing nation-states fuelled by ever-increasing ravaging of the planet” is, well, exactly the sort of take we appear to have to get used to this decade…
January 13, 2026 at 5:53 PM
“Nobody has ever tried to imagine a world not made up of competing nation-states fuelled by ever-increasing ravaging of the planet” is, well, exactly the sort of take we appear to have to get used to this decade…
"degrowth" - in other words, adaptation of human society so that it no longer requires constantly increasing inputs - has been an idea on the left for decades. The fact that you don't like the answer doesn't mean that they haven't addressed the issue!
The US and other countries face aging, shrinking populations. Conservatives have shaped debate over the issue. Some liberals say it's time for progressives to weigh in. n.pr/3NH3yso
As birthrates tumble, some progressives say the left needs to offer ideas and solutions
The US and other countries face aging, shrinking populations. Conservatives have shaped debate over the issue. Some liberals say it's time for progressives to weigh in.
n.pr
January 13, 2026 at 5:48 PM
"degrowth" - in other words, adaptation of human society so that it no longer requires constantly increasing inputs - has been an idea on the left for decades. The fact that you don't like the answer doesn't mean that they haven't addressed the issue!
Reposted by Dan Davies
Increasingly it's clearer to a lot of people what i have been saying for a while: people use "inflation" and "prices" to talk about their own difficulty making ends meet or affording big ticket items once "inflation" became a big media news story. It's not actually about CPI or even increases.
New YouGov polling shows more people say inflation is their #1 issue now than said the same at any point in 2023-2024 today.yougov.com/politics/art...
January 12, 2026 at 10:33 PM
Increasingly it's clearer to a lot of people what i have been saying for a while: people use "inflation" and "prices" to talk about their own difficulty making ends meet or affording big ticket items once "inflation" became a big media news story. It's not actually about CPI or even increases.
Reposted by Dan Davies
business idea: netflix does a catch and kill on "the apprentice"
Dylan Byers reporting CBS Evening News' Tony Dokoupil has an interview with Trump that will air tonight
January 13, 2026 at 5:33 PM
business idea: netflix does a catch and kill on "the apprentice"
Scenes from the NY State Department of Wallet Inspection...
January 13, 2026 at 3:26 PM
Scenes from the NY State Department of Wallet Inspection...