Rachel Cunliffe
@rmcunliffe.bsky.social
Associate Political Editor @NewStatesman. Devout classicist, "indulgent editrix", at one point the only Ancient Greek teacher in South Korea
Think we could find a significant proportion of Rachel Reeves’s fiscal gap by launching a crowdfunder for Sam to sing this in Parliament Square
My taxes bring all the boys to the yard.
And they're like "this is bad approach to fiscal policy".
And they're like "this is bad approach to fiscal policy".
are you fucking serious
November 25, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Think we could find a significant proportion of Rachel Reeves’s fiscal gap by launching a crowdfunder for Sam to sing this in Parliament Square
If you want the inside track on what’s been going on with Your Party, there is no one better than @meganekenyon.bsky.social
And as their inaugural conference looms this weekend, here she is getting to the bottom of what Jeremy Corbyn thinks about it all
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
And as their inaugural conference looms this weekend, here she is getting to the bottom of what Jeremy Corbyn thinks about it all
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
November 25, 2025 at 12:42 PM
If you want the inside track on what’s been going on with Your Party, there is no one better than @meganekenyon.bsky.social
And as their inaugural conference looms this weekend, here she is getting to the bottom of what Jeremy Corbyn thinks about it all
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
And as their inaugural conference looms this weekend, here she is getting to the bottom of what Jeremy Corbyn thinks about it all
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
Reposted by Rachel Cunliffe
It's that time of year
November 22, 2025 at 11:54 AM
It's that time of year
My husband went to Norfolk and came back with a freezer full of deer
November 22, 2025 at 3:14 PM
My husband went to Norfolk and came back with a freezer full of deer
"Experts in education, psychology and disaster response stressed the need not just to confront the crisis in the short term but consider the situation three, five, ten years into the future. The government didn’t want to listen."
Thoughts on the Covid Inquiry
www.newstatesman.com/comment/2025...
Thoughts on the Covid Inquiry
www.newstatesman.com/comment/2025...
How the Covid Inquiry forgot the children
Political point-scoring is obscuring the real lessons
www.newstatesman.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:00 PM
"Experts in education, psychology and disaster response stressed the need not just to confront the crisis in the short term but consider the situation three, five, ten years into the future. The government didn’t want to listen."
Thoughts on the Covid Inquiry
www.newstatesman.com/comment/2025...
Thoughts on the Covid Inquiry
www.newstatesman.com/comment/2025...
Complete and utter tangent for a Friday afternoon: we have a cargo cult cat*, who remembers that the radiators USED to be on, so will sit mournfully beside them in the hope that repeating the behaviour will make them switch on again
*or, as my husband puts it, a "cargo cat"
*or, as my husband puts it, a "cargo cat"
Richard Feynman once wrote about "Cargo Cult Science" - "they follow all the apparent precepts and forms, but they're missing something essential, because the planes don't land." I wonder if we currently have a Cargo Cult model of messaging and media management in British politics
November 21, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Complete and utter tangent for a Friday afternoon: we have a cargo cult cat*, who remembers that the radiators USED to be on, so will sit mournfully beside them in the hope that repeating the behaviour will make them switch on again
*or, as my husband puts it, a "cargo cat"
*or, as my husband puts it, a "cargo cat"
I still have an X account (necessary for work, sorry), and sometimes I check in just to see what's going on over there. And it's like a parallel universe. Levels of overt racism, antisemitism and misogyny that we'd all have agreed was despicable just 3 years ago - under people's real names
this week's newsletter is titled "aren't you tired of feeling insane all the time?" and I think it speaks for itself
it is also free to read
youngvulgarian.substack.com/p/arent-you-...
it is also free to read
youngvulgarian.substack.com/p/arent-you-...
November 21, 2025 at 3:19 PM
I still have an X account (necessary for work, sorry), and sometimes I check in just to see what's going on over there. And it's like a parallel universe. Levels of overt racism, antisemitism and misogyny that we'd all have agreed was despicable just 3 years ago - under people's real names
Delighted for the shout-out here re the London Aquarium penguins!
I was not expected to be radicalised by seeing 15 sad Gentoo penguins shuffling around a tiny basement enclosure. It might not be the most important issue in politics right now, but it does matter
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
I was not expected to be radicalised by seeing 15 sad Gentoo penguins shuffling around a tiny basement enclosure. It might not be the most important issue in politics right now, but it does matter
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
When It Hits the Fan - The Secrets of the List: Putting Yourself in the Frame for a Top Job. - BBC Sounds
David Yelland and Simon Lewis reveal how to PR yourself onto the list for a top job.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 21, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Delighted for the shout-out here re the London Aquarium penguins!
I was not expected to be radicalised by seeing 15 sad Gentoo penguins shuffling around a tiny basement enclosure. It might not be the most important issue in politics right now, but it does matter
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
I was not expected to be radicalised by seeing 15 sad Gentoo penguins shuffling around a tiny basement enclosure. It might not be the most important issue in politics right now, but it does matter
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
We keeping hearing that polls show immigration is a top priority for voters - but how are such polls designed, and does tweaking the way we ask the question affect the answer?
Fascinating chat with Calum Weir of @labourtogether.bsky.social on just that
www.newstatesman.com/podcasts/pol...
Fascinating chat with Calum Weir of @labourtogether.bsky.social on just that
www.newstatesman.com/podcasts/pol...
How much does immigration actually matter to the public?
Shabana Mahmood was back in the Commons today outlining her controversial immigration plans.
www.newstatesman.com
November 21, 2025 at 10:26 AM
We keeping hearing that polls show immigration is a top priority for voters - but how are such polls designed, and does tweaking the way we ask the question affect the answer?
Fascinating chat with Calum Weir of @labourtogether.bsky.social on just that
www.newstatesman.com/podcasts/pol...
Fascinating chat with Calum Weir of @labourtogether.bsky.social on just that
www.newstatesman.com/podcasts/pol...
"Kirstie Allsopp’s tales of housing market woes may sound unrelatable, but they are the bedtime stories we tell ourselves each evening in front of the TV set."
@anooshc.bsky.social is once again spot-on when it comes to our housing psychological complex
www.newstatesman.com/politics/soc...
@anooshc.bsky.social is once again spot-on when it comes to our housing psychological complex
www.newstatesman.com/politics/soc...
The Kirstie Allsopp theory of housing
It’s completely warping our view of home ownership
www.newstatesman.com
November 20, 2025 at 4:16 PM
"Kirstie Allsopp’s tales of housing market woes may sound unrelatable, but they are the bedtime stories we tell ourselves each evening in front of the TV set."
@anooshc.bsky.social is once again spot-on when it comes to our housing psychological complex
www.newstatesman.com/politics/soc...
@anooshc.bsky.social is once again spot-on when it comes to our housing psychological complex
www.newstatesman.com/politics/soc...
PMQs review!
Kemi Badenoch fluffs her lines - but on tax thresholds she has a point...
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
Kemi Badenoch fluffs her lines - but on tax thresholds she has a point...
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
PMQs: Starmer muddles through as Budget danger looms
Kemi Badenoch attacked Labour over U-turns and "government by guesswork"
www.newstatesman.com
November 19, 2025 at 2:05 PM
PMQs review!
Kemi Badenoch fluffs her lines - but on tax thresholds she has a point...
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
Kemi Badenoch fluffs her lines - but on tax thresholds she has a point...
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
Reposted by Rachel Cunliffe
Includes this titbit -
November 19, 2025 at 10:37 AM
Includes this titbit -
Reposted by Rachel Cunliffe
"I have made a new friend. Her name is Gilbert, and she has recently found herself at the centre of a political row she has no control over. She is also a penguin."
I went to see the Sea Life penguins in their windowless basement on the banks of the Thames
www.newstatesman.com/culture/natu...
I went to see the Sea Life penguins in their windowless basement on the banks of the Thames
www.newstatesman.com/culture/natu...
How London's penguins got political
Some 75 MPs have signed a letter condemning the Sea Life London Aquarium's treatment of its penguins
www.newstatesman.com
November 17, 2025 at 9:27 AM
"I have made a new friend. Her name is Gilbert, and she has recently found herself at the centre of a political row she has no control over. She is also a penguin."
I went to see the Sea Life penguins in their windowless basement on the banks of the Thames
www.newstatesman.com/culture/natu...
I went to see the Sea Life penguins in their windowless basement on the banks of the Thames
www.newstatesman.com/culture/natu...
For those wanting to keep track of all the Labour MPs who have publicly expressed *doubts* about Shabana Mahmood's immigration proposals
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
A list of all the Labour MPs to criticise Shabana Mahmood's immigration proposals
Opposition to the government's asylum reforms is spreading beyond the usual suspects
www.newstatesman.com
November 17, 2025 at 12:54 PM
For those wanting to keep track of all the Labour MPs who have publicly expressed *doubts* about Shabana Mahmood's immigration proposals
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
"I have made a new friend. Her name is Gilbert, and she has recently found herself at the centre of a political row she has no control over. She is also a penguin."
I went to see the Sea Life penguins in their windowless basement on the banks of the Thames
www.newstatesman.com/culture/natu...
I went to see the Sea Life penguins in their windowless basement on the banks of the Thames
www.newstatesman.com/culture/natu...
How London's penguins got political
Some 75 MPs have signed a letter condemning the Sea Life London Aquarium's treatment of its penguins
www.newstatesman.com
November 17, 2025 at 9:27 AM
"I have made a new friend. Her name is Gilbert, and she has recently found herself at the centre of a political row she has no control over. She is also a penguin."
I went to see the Sea Life penguins in their windowless basement on the banks of the Thames
www.newstatesman.com/culture/natu...
I went to see the Sea Life penguins in their windowless basement on the banks of the Thames
www.newstatesman.com/culture/natu...
Reposted by Rachel Cunliffe
🚨ICYMI🚨 Will Trump destroy the BBC? @jonnelledge.bsky.social, @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com & @rmcunliffe.bsky.social join @seththevoz.bsky.social to discuss 👉 linktr.ee/ohgodwhatnow...
#BBCUK #TheBBC #Trump #DonaldTrump #TrumpTheBBC
#BBCUK #TheBBC #Trump #DonaldTrump #TrumpTheBBC
November 15, 2025 at 7:00 AM
🚨ICYMI🚨 Will Trump destroy the BBC? @jonnelledge.bsky.social, @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com & @rmcunliffe.bsky.social join @seththevoz.bsky.social to discuss 👉 linktr.ee/ohgodwhatnow...
#BBCUK #TheBBC #Trump #DonaldTrump #TrumpTheBBC
#BBCUK #TheBBC #Trump #DonaldTrump #TrumpTheBBC
Reposted by Rachel Cunliffe
Latest Daily on Monocle Radio. @rmcunliffe.bsky.social and @ashbhardwaj.bsky.social on Russia's reluctant foreign legion, the latest Epstein-related developments and the day's other stuff, and a report from the Tourise tourism summit in Riyadh. monocle.com/radio/shows/...
Why is Russia targeting Africans to fight its war in Ukraine? - Monocle
Kenya says more than 200 of its nationals have joined Russian forces. We ask why Russia has its eyes on...
monocle.com
November 13, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Latest Daily on Monocle Radio. @rmcunliffe.bsky.social and @ashbhardwaj.bsky.social on Russia's reluctant foreign legion, the latest Epstein-related developments and the day's other stuff, and a report from the Tourise tourism summit in Riyadh. monocle.com/radio/shows/...
In entirely non-politics news, my husband has just coined the term "to Odysseus yourself", in the context of moving on from a breakup by blocking your ex on all communication and social media channels so they can no longer tempt or torment you
November 13, 2025 at 9:53 AM
In entirely non-politics news, my husband has just coined the term "to Odysseus yourself", in the context of moving on from a breakup by blocking your ex on all communication and social media channels so they can no longer tempt or torment you
“If people want to audition for a pantomime, I suggest you go to the Old Vic.”
At least, in a panto, Starmer wouldn’t have to ask where the biggest risk to his authority was coming from – the audience reply would have been deafening.
On today's PMQs
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
At least, in a panto, Starmer wouldn’t have to ask where the biggest risk to his authority was coming from – the audience reply would have been deafening.
On today's PMQs
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
PMQs review: Labour briefing wars hand Kemi Badenoch an easy win
When the Prime Minister tried to insist his team was “united”, the House descended into chaos
www.newstatesman.com
November 12, 2025 at 1:42 PM
“If people want to audition for a pantomime, I suggest you go to the Old Vic.”
At least, in a panto, Starmer wouldn’t have to ask where the biggest risk to his authority was coming from – the audience reply would have been deafening.
On today's PMQs
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
At least, in a panto, Starmer wouldn’t have to ask where the biggest risk to his authority was coming from – the audience reply would have been deafening.
On today's PMQs
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
“Of Nigel Farage there was no sign at all, except in a question about him appearing on BBC Question Time more often than he’s appeared in his own constituency”
I watched Lisa Nandy defend the BBC in Parliament so you didn’t have to
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
I watched Lisa Nandy defend the BBC in Parliament so you didn’t have to
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
Lisa Nandy's BBC balancing act
The culture secretary attempted to take the heat out of the debate
www.newstatesman.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:11 PM
“Of Nigel Farage there was no sign at all, except in a question about him appearing on BBC Question Time more often than he’s appeared in his own constituency”
I watched Lisa Nandy defend the BBC in Parliament so you didn’t have to
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
I watched Lisa Nandy defend the BBC in Parliament so you didn’t have to
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
Reposted by Rachel Cunliffe
“I knew a guy who was mistakenly released and he *told* them it was early. And they ignored him and shoved him out.”
Chris Atkins recounts his time at HMP Wandsworth, where release errors came down to bad handwriting and mix-ups over which prisoner was which
www.newstatesman.com/the-weekend-...
Chris Atkins recounts his time at HMP Wandsworth, where release errors came down to bad handwriting and mix-ups over which prisoner was which
www.newstatesman.com/the-weekend-...
The real reason prisoners keep walking free
For one former inmate, the current swathe of wrongly freed prisoners is nothing new
www.newstatesman.com
November 9, 2025 at 11:51 AM
“I knew a guy who was mistakenly released and he *told* them it was early. And they ignored him and shoved him out.”
Chris Atkins recounts his time at HMP Wandsworth, where release errors came down to bad handwriting and mix-ups over which prisoner was which
www.newstatesman.com/the-weekend-...
Chris Atkins recounts his time at HMP Wandsworth, where release errors came down to bad handwriting and mix-ups over which prisoner was which
www.newstatesman.com/the-weekend-...
David Lammy will be grilled in the Commons today on mistaken prisoner releases and how and why they happen.
A reminder of what James Timpson said in the Lords yesterday: our prisons system relies on “boxes and boxes of paperwork”
A reminder of what James Timpson said in the Lords yesterday: our prisons system relies on “boxes and boxes of paperwork”
“Anyone wondering how the prisons system could fail – multiple times – at the most basic task of ensuring the right individuals are incarcerated at any one time might want to take note”
Some thoughts on Lord Timpson’s answers on prisons in the HoL today…
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
Some thoughts on Lord Timpson’s answers on prisons in the HoL today…
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
“Boxes of paperwork” to blame for mistaken prisoner releases
Prisons minister Lord Timpson reveals how the system is stuck in the pre-computer era
www.newstatesman.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:46 AM
David Lammy will be grilled in the Commons today on mistaken prisoner releases and how and why they happen.
A reminder of what James Timpson said in the Lords yesterday: our prisons system relies on “boxes and boxes of paperwork”
A reminder of what James Timpson said in the Lords yesterday: our prisons system relies on “boxes and boxes of paperwork”
“Anyone wondering how the prisons system could fail – multiple times – at the most basic task of ensuring the right individuals are incarcerated at any one time might want to take note”
Some thoughts on Lord Timpson’s answers on prisons in the HoL today…
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
Some thoughts on Lord Timpson’s answers on prisons in the HoL today…
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
“Boxes of paperwork” to blame for mistaken prisoner releases
Prisons minister Lord Timpson reveals how the system is stuck in the pre-computer era
www.newstatesman.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:03 PM
“Anyone wondering how the prisons system could fail – multiple times – at the most basic task of ensuring the right individuals are incarcerated at any one time might want to take note”
Some thoughts on Lord Timpson’s answers on prisons in the HoL today…
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
Some thoughts on Lord Timpson’s answers on prisons in the HoL today…
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
Reposted by Rachel Cunliffe
