Josh Westerling
@joshwesterling.bsky.social
Work on campaigns and public affairs at JRF. Current home Bethnal Green, from Wycombe. West Ham ST holder. Views mine.
George is right that a 'left-shift' will be more vibes-based than content.
Starmer is in a paradox of his own making. Talking right and emphasising Labour's weaknesses wasn't just electorally questionable, but ill-suited to Starmer himself - unable to do it authentically.
Starmer is in a paradox of his own making. Talking right and emphasising Labour's weaknesses wasn't just electorally questionable, but ill-suited to Starmer himself - unable to do it authentically.
Morning Call: Labour’s stealth leftism
The party’s next era will be defined by a shift in vibes, not policy.
open.substack.com
February 11, 2026 at 10:40 AM
George is right that a 'left-shift' will be more vibes-based than content.
Starmer is in a paradox of his own making. Talking right and emphasising Labour's weaknesses wasn't just electorally questionable, but ill-suited to Starmer himself - unable to do it authentically.
Starmer is in a paradox of his own making. Talking right and emphasising Labour's weaknesses wasn't just electorally questionable, but ill-suited to Starmer himself - unable to do it authentically.
PSA: sun forecast all day on Saturday
February 11, 2026 at 9:14 AM
PSA: sun forecast all day on Saturday
"With apologies to TS Eliot, maybe this is the way the world ends. Not with a bang, but a whisper from your AI lover." www.ft.com/content/e79f...
Is this the way the world ends?
Romantic relationships with AI models will not heal the disconnect between young men and women
www.ft.com
February 10, 2026 at 3:33 PM
"With apologies to TS Eliot, maybe this is the way the world ends. Not with a bang, but a whisper from your AI lover." www.ft.com/content/e79f...
Reposted by Josh Westerling
A small but still real strategic challenge for Labour MPs: gaining a clear consensus on where their vote is going!
Is this level of variation between providers normal?
Seems like polling error waiting to happen.
Also means every factional tendency can cherry pick data to fit their view.
Is this level of variation between providers normal?
Seems like polling error waiting to happen.
Also means every factional tendency can cherry pick data to fit their view.
February 10, 2026 at 1:53 PM
A small but still real strategic challenge for Labour MPs: gaining a clear consensus on where their vote is going!
Is this level of variation between providers normal?
Seems like polling error waiting to happen.
Also means every factional tendency can cherry pick data to fit their view.
Is this level of variation between providers normal?
Seems like polling error waiting to happen.
Also means every factional tendency can cherry pick data to fit their view.
Reposted by Josh Westerling
The loathing is deeper & more visceral than Westminster-ites can grasp. It’s not party-political or procedural. They worry about the effects of leadership change on bond markets. That’s nothing. But our political class is able to grasp let alone address the scale of the political climate change (2/)
February 7, 2026 at 3:30 PM
The loathing is deeper & more visceral than Westminster-ites can grasp. It’s not party-political or procedural. They worry about the effects of leadership change on bond markets. That’s nothing. But our political class is able to grasp let alone address the scale of the political climate change (2/)
Good piece from a series of conversations with Michael Sandel. Sandbu is right to highlight caring more about “the civic consequences of economic power” as key theme from his work, esp in current context www.ft.com/content/7804...
The pessimist who became a prophet
Philosopher Michael Sandel was ignored by a generation of political optimists. Now he is searching for a way out of the mess he saw coming
www.ft.com
February 7, 2026 at 2:25 PM
Good piece from a series of conversations with Michael Sandel. Sandbu is right to highlight caring more about “the civic consequences of economic power” as key theme from his work, esp in current context www.ft.com/content/7804...
Reposted by Josh Westerling
If rumours of another GM seat coming free are true, there is (possibly, and fortunately) still time for key people on the NEC to, quite frankly, wise up and realise they have a duty to the future of the Labour Party.
Very interesting: David Miliband says Burnham shouldn’t have been blocked.
“You want your talented people in the team, on the pitch”. www.bloomberg.com/features/202...
“You want your talented people in the team, on the pitch”. www.bloomberg.com/features/202...
David Miliband Has a $1 Billion Budget Only for Crises
The head of the International Rescue Committee on facing up to today’s global conflicts, Trump’s plans for Gaza, and Keir Starmer’s problems.
www.bloomberg.com
February 7, 2026 at 12:26 PM
If rumours of another GM seat coming free are true, there is (possibly, and fortunately) still time for key people on the NEC to, quite frankly, wise up and realise they have a duty to the future of the Labour Party.
Reposted by Josh Westerling
Yet this is a government with three years left to run and an enormous Commons majority. For all the problems, there is an enormous opportunity there for someone with the political nous to take it and use it.
Starmer's reported condition - incredibly unpopular, shorn of authority, probably un-reelectable and yet will stagger on for want of an alternative - is just the new normal of how Britain is governed. It was also true for two-thirds of May's premiership, half of Johnson's and all of Sunak's.
February 6, 2026 at 11:52 AM
Yet this is a government with three years left to run and an enormous Commons majority. For all the problems, there is an enormous opportunity there for someone with the political nous to take it and use it.
Dad would've been 57 today - here with my Mum roughly the same age I am now.
February 6, 2026 at 9:16 AM
Dad would've been 57 today - here with my Mum roughly the same age I am now.
Reposted by Josh Westerling
EXC:
I can reveal the contents of a memo by Labour peer Lord Maurice Glasman in January 2025 warning Number 10 it was making a mistake to hire Mandelson - sent to Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney.
www.ft.com/content/584a...
I can reveal the contents of a memo by Labour peer Lord Maurice Glasman in January 2025 warning Number 10 it was making a mistake to hire Mandelson - sent to Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney.
www.ft.com/content/584a...
Keir Starmer apologises to victims of Jeffrey Epstein
UK prime minister faces criticism from Labour MPs but insists he is not about to quit
www.ft.com
February 5, 2026 at 2:35 PM
EXC:
I can reveal the contents of a memo by Labour peer Lord Maurice Glasman in January 2025 warning Number 10 it was making a mistake to hire Mandelson - sent to Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney.
www.ft.com/content/584a...
I can reveal the contents of a memo by Labour peer Lord Maurice Glasman in January 2025 warning Number 10 it was making a mistake to hire Mandelson - sent to Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney.
www.ft.com/content/584a...
Reposted by Josh Westerling
I mean yes, in a way, but it's not *the reason* and *bad governments* aren't really the problem.
Everything we are seeing is downstream from the hollowing out of democracy as per Peter Mair. Parties have stopped mediating between the public and the state. Instead we have the managerialism...
Everything we are seeing is downstream from the hollowing out of democracy as per Peter Mair. Parties have stopped mediating between the public and the state. Instead we have the managerialism...
lads I don't want anyone to panic but I am writing up quite the scorchio take for tomorrow's newsletter
February 5, 2026 at 1:36 PM
I mean yes, in a way, but it's not *the reason* and *bad governments* aren't really the problem.
Everything we are seeing is downstream from the hollowing out of democracy as per Peter Mair. Parties have stopped mediating between the public and the state. Instead we have the managerialism...
Everything we are seeing is downstream from the hollowing out of democracy as per Peter Mair. Parties have stopped mediating between the public and the state. Instead we have the managerialism...
Reposted by Josh Westerling
Whole column here if you like reading column www.economist.com/britain/2026...
Britain’s worst political scandal of this century
The Mandelson affair threatens Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership
www.economist.com
February 5, 2026 at 8:20 AM
Whole column here if you like reading column www.economist.com/britain/2026...
Yeah this line is not tenable
Wes Streeting saying on Today that Mandelson is ‘not the man we thought he was’ but the trouble is, he is exactly the man we thought, just on a much worse scale than almost anyone thought. And there is an alternative world where none of this is this govt’s problem, because they never gave him a job
February 4, 2026 at 10:03 AM
Yeah this line is not tenable
Looks essentially the exact same today!
This is "High Wycombe" by Harold Steggles from 1938. It was exhibited at Lefevre in 1938 & 1939 & again at the Ashmolean in 1939, where it was sold to Sir Robert Ensor. It is fascinating to see Harold's archive photo & his "alteration" of the view #HaroldSteggles #EastLondonGroup #HighWycombe
February 4, 2026 at 9:42 AM
Looks essentially the exact same today!
Change the law. And make a point of not referring to him by his title and why you’re not
BREAKING: Lord Mandelson is to step down from the House of Lords immediately.
But he will keep his title as a peerage is bestowed for life - unless government changes the law.
But he will keep his title as a peerage is bestowed for life - unless government changes the law.
February 3, 2026 at 3:33 PM
Change the law. And make a point of not referring to him by his title and why you’re not
Reposted by Josh Westerling
Labour needs to bake morality into how it campaigns and governs.
My @newstatesman1913.bsky.social column on the Epstein-Mandelson story, and the hangover of a post-ideological age:
My @newstatesman1913.bsky.social column on the Epstein-Mandelson story, and the hangover of a post-ideological age:
The Epstein files expose the rot of Mandelson's Britain
New Labour’s dead-end of pragmatism over everything else – including morality
www.newstatesman.com
February 3, 2026 at 9:56 AM
Labour needs to bake morality into how it campaigns and governs.
My @newstatesman1913.bsky.social column on the Epstein-Mandelson story, and the hangover of a post-ideological age:
My @newstatesman1913.bsky.social column on the Epstein-Mandelson story, and the hangover of a post-ideological age:
Reposted by Josh Westerling
BREAKING on ft website:
Lord Peter Mandelson leaked a sensitive UK government document to Jeffrey Epstein while he was business secretary that proposed £20bn of asset sales and revealed Labour’s tax policy plans
www.ft.com/content/fdf7...
Lord Peter Mandelson leaked a sensitive UK government document to Jeffrey Epstein while he was business secretary that proposed £20bn of asset sales and revealed Labour’s tax policy plans
www.ft.com/content/fdf7...
Mandelson leaked sensitive UK government tax plans to Epstein
Former ambassador forwarded memo from special adviser to Gordon Brown to late sex offender in 2009
www.ft.com
February 2, 2026 at 11:30 AM
BREAKING on ft website:
Lord Peter Mandelson leaked a sensitive UK government document to Jeffrey Epstein while he was business secretary that proposed £20bn of asset sales and revealed Labour’s tax policy plans
www.ft.com/content/fdf7...
Lord Peter Mandelson leaked a sensitive UK government document to Jeffrey Epstein while he was business secretary that proposed £20bn of asset sales and revealed Labour’s tax policy plans
www.ft.com/content/fdf7...
Reposted by Josh Westerling
Have seen this take a lot and really disagree. Gov’t could invest in anchor institutions for towns; build FE colleges in town centres; set up childcare co-ops; retrofit iconic buildings and make them into community gyms, etc. We are more than individual consumers - that’s the point of politics!
Sorry to sound so grumpy but this has the same vibe as people moaning about the state of public services at the same time as not wanting to pay more in tax. What's any government (right or left) supposed to do when people don't go shopping or to pubs as much as they used to - and never will again?
Labour risks election wipeout unless it improves Britain’s high streets, study finds
Decay of town centres a top issue among voters especially Reform UK supporters and is fuelling resentment against Westminster
www.theguardian.com
January 29, 2026 at 8:24 AM
Have seen this take a lot and really disagree. Gov’t could invest in anchor institutions for towns; build FE colleges in town centres; set up childcare co-ops; retrofit iconic buildings and make them into community gyms, etc. We are more than individual consumers - that’s the point of politics!
Reposted by Josh Westerling
“Work is the best route out of poverty.”...That’s the promise, but for millions in the UK, it’s broken.
📉 In-work poverty has risen from 2.5m workers in 2000/01 to 3.8m in 2023/24 (12%).
Work matters, but without secure jobs, fair pay and a real safety net, it’s not enough.
📉 In-work poverty has risen from 2.5m workers in 2000/01 to 3.8m in 2023/24 (12%).
Work matters, but without secure jobs, fair pay and a real safety net, it’s not enough.
🗣️ ‘Work should be the best route out of poverty’
Analyst @franladouch.bsky.social explains that for millions across the UK, employment is not the safety net from poverty that it should be.
Recent employment reforms are a good start, but the government must go further to protect working families. 🔽
Analyst @franladouch.bsky.social explains that for millions across the UK, employment is not the safety net from poverty that it should be.
Recent employment reforms are a good start, but the government must go further to protect working families. 🔽
February 2, 2026 at 10:07 AM
“Work is the best route out of poverty.”...That’s the promise, but for millions in the UK, it’s broken.
📉 In-work poverty has risen from 2.5m workers in 2000/01 to 3.8m in 2023/24 (12%).
Work matters, but without secure jobs, fair pay and a real safety net, it’s not enough.
📉 In-work poverty has risen from 2.5m workers in 2000/01 to 3.8m in 2023/24 (12%).
Work matters, but without secure jobs, fair pay and a real safety net, it’s not enough.
Andy Haldane champions "the Andy's" in the FT, who are overlooked by their respective parties.
January 31, 2026 at 11:50 AM
Andy Haldane champions "the Andy's" in the FT, who are overlooked by their respective parties.
Reposted by Josh Westerling
January 30, 2026 at 6:23 PM
Reposted by Josh Westerling
“The overwhelming liberal focus on disinformation misreads how digital platforms work…cutting-edge propagandists now focus less on policy messaging and more on massaging vibes”.
Start of a new series by the excellent @robtoes.bsky.social
Start of a new series by the excellent @robtoes.bsky.social
How liberals lost the internet | Robert Topinka
In the first part of our series on digital politics, we look at how centrists have lost ground fighting disinformation – when the real battle is over emotion and attention, says digital media academic...
www.theguardian.com
January 30, 2026 at 8:51 AM
“The overwhelming liberal focus on disinformation misreads how digital platforms work…cutting-edge propagandists now focus less on policy messaging and more on massaging vibes”.
Start of a new series by the excellent @robtoes.bsky.social
Start of a new series by the excellent @robtoes.bsky.social
Know there are practical difficulties to actually doing it but I don't think there are any other good arguments against removing his peerage.
I'm not prone to exaggeration but this is probably the biggest scoop I've ever been involved in
Mandelson's partner took £10,000 from Epstein to pay for his osteopath course while Mandelson was de facto UK deputy prime minister, according to new files
more to follow
www.ft.com/content/c950...
Mandelson's partner took £10,000 from Epstein to pay for his osteopath course while Mandelson was de facto UK deputy prime minister, according to new files
more to follow
www.ft.com/content/c950...
Jeffrey Epstein sent £10,000 to Mandelson’s husband, emails show
Epstein sent Reinaldo Avila da Silva payment in 2009
www.ft.com
January 30, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Know there are practical difficulties to actually doing it but I don't think there are any other good arguments against removing his peerage.
This Reform ad is well pitched and moves them into a space tonally and rhetorically beyond Broken Britain.
The Good Days Will Return.
YouTube video by Reform UK
www.youtube.com
January 30, 2026 at 9:49 AM
This Reform ad is well pitched and moves them into a space tonally and rhetorically beyond Broken Britain.
Highly recommend this paper!
This piece is prompted by exploring where power lies and why it's so often in the wrong places for @futuregovforum.bsky.social - you can read my report, Power Failure, here:
www.futuregovernanceforum.co.uk/resource/pow...
www.futuregovernanceforum.co.uk/resource/pow...
Power Failure: A new theory of power - Future Governance Forum
British politics feels stuck. In recent years, both Conservative and Labour governments have found themselves increasingly hamstrung by a web of problematic concentrations and dispersals of power, thw...
www.futuregovernanceforum.co.uk
January 27, 2026 at 9:46 AM
Highly recommend this paper!