James Barr
@jamesbarr.bsky.social
I write history. Last book: LORDS OF THE DESERT; before that: A LINE IN THE SAND. Next book: THE ARENA.
More at/contact me via https://www.historythatmatters.org
Signal - jamesbarr.62
Currently reading J L Carr / A Month In The Country
More at/contact me via https://www.historythatmatters.org
Signal - jamesbarr.62
Currently reading J L Carr / A Month In The Country
Pinned
This pollarded willow stands on our local Common and is thought to date to the 1600s. It’s been set fire to in the past and then a year or so ago disintegrated. Here it is, throwing up new branches. I’m sure there’s a message in that somewhere. Happy New Year!
Reposted by James Barr
Well this seems bad. 1/10 for the OBR’s forecasts of 2025.
January 25, 2026 at 4:42 PM
Well this seems bad. 1/10 for the OBR’s forecasts of 2025.
The Anna Ancher exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery is as good as everyone is saying. On till early March.
January 25, 2026 at 2:01 PM
The Anna Ancher exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery is as good as everyone is saying. On till early March.
Reposted by James Barr
Maybe Trump's lawsuit is having the effect he intended?
I’m really quite surprised at the BBC website today. ‘Here is a video, some people say it does not show what it very obviously shows’ is not how you report this.
January 25, 2026 at 10:08 AM
Maybe Trump's lawsuit is having the effect he intended?
Reposted by James Barr
January 24, 2026 at 9:52 AM
Re-reading Carney's speech, it occurs to me that we are going to need to see and hear Starmer criticise Trump, otherwise he is open to Carney's charge about "competing to be the most accommodating" www.weforum.org/stories/2026...
Davos 2026: Special address by Mark Carney, PM of Canada
Canadian PM Mark Carney stressed the end of the rules-based international order and urged middle powers to act together to counter the great power rivalry.
www.weforum.org
January 23, 2026 at 4:30 PM
Re-reading Carney's speech, it occurs to me that we are going to need to see and hear Starmer criticise Trump, otherwise he is open to Carney's charge about "competing to be the most accommodating" www.weforum.org/stories/2026...
Reposted by James Barr
New Substack: The Moral Case Against Robert Jenrick. open.substack.com/pub/mbatangs...
The Moral Case Against Robert Jenrick
A sequel to Some Thoughts on the Jenrick Defection
open.substack.com
January 23, 2026 at 5:07 AM
New Substack: The Moral Case Against Robert Jenrick. open.substack.com/pub/mbatangs...
Reposted by James Barr
"Having wracked my brains, I've come up with a slogan for Britain’s middle power opportunity: 'Take back control'." My Swamp Notes with @robertshrimsley.bsky.social on why Carney has laid out the rest of the west's only sane response to Trump. Free to read. as.ft.com/r/672930fc-c...
Britain’s golden middle power opening
[FREE TO READ] Prime Minister Keir Starmer has a chance to really ‘take back control’
as.ft.com
January 23, 2026 at 2:06 PM
"Having wracked my brains, I've come up with a slogan for Britain’s middle power opportunity: 'Take back control'." My Swamp Notes with @robertshrimsley.bsky.social on why Carney has laid out the rest of the west's only sane response to Trump. Free to read. as.ft.com/r/672930fc-c...
Reposted by James Barr
Tory MP Simon Hoare has given a very vivid quote about Donald Trump's comments on Nato allies, which could actually be used in many contexts about the US president:
"Frankly Trump makes my flesh creep and my stomach turn. Where are his advisors? Where is his nurse? Where is his sense of shame?"
"Frankly Trump makes my flesh creep and my stomach turn. Where are his advisors? Where is his nurse? Where is his sense of shame?"
January 23, 2026 at 10:39 AM
Tory MP Simon Hoare has given a very vivid quote about Donald Trump's comments on Nato allies, which could actually be used in many contexts about the US president:
"Frankly Trump makes my flesh creep and my stomach turn. Where are his advisors? Where is his nurse? Where is his sense of shame?"
"Frankly Trump makes my flesh creep and my stomach turn. Where are his advisors? Where is his nurse? Where is his sense of shame?"
Reposted by James Barr
I think this reflects just as badly on the British. Astonishing naivety.
January 23, 2026 at 7:54 AM
I think this reflects just as badly on the British. Astonishing naivety.
Controversial opinion but I think a lot of these charts are utterly unreliable, as soon as you start wondering how accurate the GDP growth data might be. And then there's the scaling of the x-axes...
January 23, 2026 at 9:03 AM
Controversial opinion but I think a lot of these charts are utterly unreliable, as soon as you start wondering how accurate the GDP growth data might be. And then there's the scaling of the x-axes...
I think this reflects just as badly on the British. Astonishing naivety.
January 23, 2026 at 7:54 AM
I think this reflects just as badly on the British. Astonishing naivety.
Reposted by James Barr
Detail from an old Bartholomew Half-Inch to the Mile map of the Grampians
January 22, 2026 at 9:51 PM
Detail from an old Bartholomew Half-Inch to the Mile map of the Grampians
Crisp article, this
Farage's tactics show his fears. He needs to bury the Conservatives this year or all his calculations are undone.
as.ft.com/r/2d29ea81-8...
as.ft.com/r/2d29ea81-8...
Farage’s tactical mastery and strategic gaps
[FREE TO READ] Though riding high, he still faces a dilemma over what kind of party Reform intends to be
as.ft.com
January 22, 2026 at 8:21 PM
Crisp article, this
Today has reminded me of the Dispatches programmes from Helmand in 2007 which showed just how tough things were. I remember going to a screening of them at the Frontline Club. Different times.
January 22, 2026 at 7:49 PM
Today has reminded me of the Dispatches programmes from Helmand in 2007 which showed just how tough things were. I remember going to a screening of them at the Frontline Club. Different times.
Reposted by James Barr
the local government theory of everything
January 22, 2026 at 2:24 PM
the local government theory of everything
Reposted by James Barr
I wonder if failure to stand up emphatically to Trump will start to be noticed by British voters.
January 22, 2026 at 2:14 PM
I wonder if failure to stand up emphatically to Trump will start to be noticed by British voters.
Reposted by James Barr
What's wrong with buying a bit of territory?
My column this week...
as.ft.com/r/dca4d7b1-2...
1st 300 clicks free to read
My column this week...
as.ft.com/r/dca4d7b1-2...
1st 300 clicks free to read
January 22, 2026 at 12:02 PM
What's wrong with buying a bit of territory?
My column this week...
as.ft.com/r/dca4d7b1-2...
1st 300 clicks free to read
My column this week...
as.ft.com/r/dca4d7b1-2...
1st 300 clicks free to read
My ten commandments for 2026 are shaping up.
January 22, 2026 at 10:54 AM
My ten commandments for 2026 are shaping up.
Reposted by James Barr
Enjoyed this by @anjahuja.bsky.social
Ancient ice’s secrets can give us a look into the future
The frozen areas of our planet act as a historical record of changes in the atmosphere and climate
www.ft.com
January 21, 2026 at 11:03 PM
Enjoyed this by @anjahuja.bsky.social
Reposted by James Barr
"Rather than waiting for the hegemon to restore an order it’s busy dismantling, create your own institutions and agreements that function as intended. Countries earn the right to principled stands by reducing their vulnerability to retaliation.” Important piece by @seva.bsky.social.
“The strong do what they can" is what Athens said right before destroying itself. New piece on the Carney Doctrine, Vaclav’s grocer, and American hubris.
hegemon.substack.com/p/the-strong...
hegemon.substack.com/p/the-strong...
The Strong Will Suffer What They Must
Vaclav's Grocer and American Hubris
hegemon.substack.com
January 21, 2026 at 8:09 PM
"Rather than waiting for the hegemon to restore an order it’s busy dismantling, create your own institutions and agreements that function as intended. Countries earn the right to principled stands by reducing their vulnerability to retaliation.” Important piece by @seva.bsky.social.
If I were a European intelligence agency, I would be making considerable efforts to get hold of the unredacted Epstein files.
January 21, 2026 at 6:19 PM
If I were a European intelligence agency, I would be making considerable efforts to get hold of the unredacted Epstein files.