@conalr.bsky.social
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Our last 6 PMs have not been up to the job - some of them very much so. The time has come to think not about individuals but the system: why does it consistently select inadequates?
This latest shitshow is another reminder why Starmer needs to go - not in May but now. He is not willing or capable of playing the role of PM. He is vindicating the far-right and demoralising the left. He should be removed for being bad for the country not merely losing Labour elections
December 29, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Our last 6 PMs have not been up to the job - some of them very much so. The time has come to think not about individuals but the system: why does it consistently select inadequates?
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If immigration is high, the government has lost control of our borders. If it's low, it's because the country is in such a mess that nobody wants to be here. Labour is never going to win these people over, and it should stop trying.
An astonishing article in the Daily Mail.
Not only does it admit that some Romanians have left Britain because of growing discrimination after Brexit, but it also talks about the EU grants they've been able to access to start or boost their businesses back home.
archive.md/2025.12.29-1...
Not only does it admit that some Romanians have left Britain because of growing discrimination after Brexit, but it also talks about the EU grants they've been able to access to start or boost their businesses back home.
archive.md/2025.12.29-1...
December 29, 2025 at 2:40 PM
If immigration is high, the government has lost control of our borders. If it's low, it's because the country is in such a mess that nobody wants to be here. Labour is never going to win these people over, and it should stop trying.
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I need any Labour partisans to remember that I simply will never forgive a man who stood up as Prime Minister and said Nigel Farage was right and that immigration had caused incalculable damage to British society.
This latest shitshow is another reminder why Starmer needs to go - not in May but now. He is not willing or capable of playing the role of PM. He is vindicating the far-right and demoralising the left. He should be removed for being bad for the country not merely losing Labour elections
December 29, 2025 at 1:37 PM
I need any Labour partisans to remember that I simply will never forgive a man who stood up as Prime Minister and said Nigel Farage was right and that immigration had caused incalculable damage to British society.
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It was painfully obvious Crick was right about this at the time. Do we think these questions are not being asked now because a) nobody knows the answers, or because b) everyone knows the answers very well?
December 28, 2025 at 1:25 PM
It was painfully obvious Crick was right about this at the time. Do we think these questions are not being asked now because a) nobody knows the answers, or because b) everyone knows the answers very well?
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I think the answer is "they're not white".
Interested in how you square the circle of “British people who post ‘burn down a migrant hotel’ during race riots shouldn’t be arrested” with “someone who posted pretty objectionable and racist things 8 years before they became a British citizen should be deported” and am sure someone will ask Nigel
December 29, 2025 at 10:47 AM
I think the answer is "they're not white".
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We'd be in the midst of 1000 years of Boris. There would be books on Johnsonism. Extended pieces on whether Labour could find their Johnson. Wes Streeting would, indeed, have to hand it to him.
As previously noted: if Rebecca Long-Bailey had won that leadership election then it seems quite likely to me that we would now be in the second term of the Johnson government, oblivious to the scandals, and “Partygate” would still just be some photos saved on a phone in Dominic Cummings’ desk.
December 29, 2025 at 9:05 AM
We'd be in the midst of 1000 years of Boris. There would be books on Johnsonism. Extended pieces on whether Labour could find their Johnson. Wes Streeting would, indeed, have to hand it to him.
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What happened there is that the second the press felt secure that they were safe from the left deposing Sir Keir, and it was now okay to finally start having a proper go at the Tories, the Conservative Party fucking *exploded*, because there was never anything there except bullshit and fraud.
December 29, 2025 at 8:47 AM
What happened there is that the second the press felt secure that they were safe from the left deposing Sir Keir, and it was now okay to finally start having a proper go at the Tories, the Conservative Party fucking *exploded*, because there was never anything there except bullshit and fraud.
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Oct-Dec 2021:
- Labour uses conference to lock left candidates out of leadership
- Johnson uses conference to tell the press to fuck off, because he is leader on merit
- MPs’ second jobs scandal noticed
- Sexual harassment scandal noticed
- Partygate noticed
- Johnson tanked to hated enemy status
- Labour uses conference to lock left candidates out of leadership
- Johnson uses conference to tell the press to fuck off, because he is leader on merit
- MPs’ second jobs scandal noticed
- Sexual harassment scandal noticed
- Partygate noticed
- Johnson tanked to hated enemy status
December 29, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Oct-Dec 2021:
- Labour uses conference to lock left candidates out of leadership
- Johnson uses conference to tell the press to fuck off, because he is leader on merit
- MPs’ second jobs scandal noticed
- Sexual harassment scandal noticed
- Partygate noticed
- Johnson tanked to hated enemy status
- Labour uses conference to lock left candidates out of leadership
- Johnson uses conference to tell the press to fuck off, because he is leader on merit
- MPs’ second jobs scandal noticed
- Sexual harassment scandal noticed
- Partygate noticed
- Johnson tanked to hated enemy status
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As I said then: this will be awkward to explain because Johnson was very obviously removed from power by the same media outlets who put him in Number Ten in the first place, because he was embarrassing them and refusing to stop. Using a scandal chosen because it was laser-targeted at him personally.
December 29, 2025 at 8:37 AM
As I said then: this will be awkward to explain because Johnson was very obviously removed from power by the same media outlets who put him in Number Ten in the first place, because he was embarrassing them and refusing to stop. Using a scandal chosen because it was laser-targeted at him personally.
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Where Sanders is right, in the window between invention and deep application, serious political energy is needed to regulate firms who are just throwing out technologies with no regard for negative consequences.
And we need to articulate a strategy for AI which isn't just "it's magic, ooo".
And we need to articulate a strategy for AI which isn't just "it's magic, ooo".
December 29, 2025 at 8:47 AM
Where Sanders is right, in the window between invention and deep application, serious political energy is needed to regulate firms who are just throwing out technologies with no regard for negative consequences.
And we need to articulate a strategy for AI which isn't just "it's magic, ooo".
And we need to articulate a strategy for AI which isn't just "it's magic, ooo".
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Chris Philp repeatedly repeatedly and exclusively referring to Alaa Abd El-Fattah as “this scumbag” while calling for him to be stripped of his citizenship on the Today programme feels like a deliberate and dumb coarsening of rhetoric
December 29, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Chris Philp repeatedly repeatedly and exclusively referring to Alaa Abd El-Fattah as “this scumbag” while calling for him to be stripped of his citizenship on the Today programme feels like a deliberate and dumb coarsening of rhetoric
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Prompted by a "your memories on FB" thingy today to recall that eleven years ago The Times chose Nigel Farage as their "Man of The Year" for 2014 and reacted to criticism like this.
A good reminder PM Farage has been a much longer and more sustained project than we often credit.
A good reminder PM Farage has been a much longer and more sustained project than we often credit.
December 28, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Prompted by a "your memories on FB" thingy today to recall that eleven years ago The Times chose Nigel Farage as their "Man of The Year" for 2014 and reacted to criticism like this.
A good reminder PM Farage has been a much longer and more sustained project than we often credit.
A good reminder PM Farage has been a much longer and more sustained project than we often credit.
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You’ll recall all the lads agreed this is the shit-hot awesome politics the public wants, and that these are the Sensible adults whom are now back in charge. If that now looks comically wrong - farcically incorrect! - then it must be because there’s something wrong with the public.
December 28, 2025 at 1:07 PM
You’ll recall all the lads agreed this is the shit-hot awesome politics the public wants, and that these are the Sensible adults whom are now back in charge. If that now looks comically wrong - farcically incorrect! - then it must be because there’s something wrong with the public.
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Not much, but I would say I am considerably less worried about the hereditary peers than I am about the ones who were given non-jobs for life as a payoff for burning their careers, or just to keep them amused and quiet. Which is about half of the ones appointed in the last decade.
December 28, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Not much, but I would say I am considerably less worried about the hereditary peers than I am about the ones who were given non-jobs for life as a payoff for burning their careers, or just to keep them amused and quiet. Which is about half of the ones appointed in the last decade.
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It’s crazy to me there’s not been *one* decent intervention by a senior politician on AI, what it’s for, should be about and our society. Unless I missed it? It’s just people saying ‘productivity’ and ‘jobs’ with literally no thought, thinking or ideas. But then I suppose same on everything.
December 28, 2025 at 3:02 PM
It’s crazy to me there’s not been *one* decent intervention by a senior politician on AI, what it’s for, should be about and our society. Unless I missed it? It’s just people saying ‘productivity’ and ‘jobs’ with literally no thought, thinking or ideas. But then I suppose same on everything.
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It is in fact *eleven* in the Premier League when taking into account the in-stadium LED boards advertising; and all of the white label "licences" have now been either revoked or surrendered. Just shocking.
It was me and it is in fact six! (Everton, Newcastle, Wolves, Bournemouth, Fulham and Burnley). Most of them are actually different white-label brands of the same operator which handed its license back while under investigation
December 28, 2025 at 4:16 PM
It is in fact *eleven* in the Premier League when taking into account the in-stadium LED boards advertising; and all of the white label "licences" have now been either revoked or surrendered. Just shocking.
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Jonathan is correct here but this was the point where the leaders of the white people world decided there would be no laws or rules any more: they had won the Cold War, they were heroes and moral titans and they could kill anyone they wanted, destroy other countries for any reason they fancied.
December 27, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Jonathan is correct here but this was the point where the leaders of the white people world decided there would be no laws or rules any more: they had won the Cold War, they were heroes and moral titans and they could kill anyone they wanted, destroy other countries for any reason they fancied.
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This is literally what the Telegraph campaigned for.
December 27, 2025 at 9:42 AM
This is literally what the Telegraph campaigned for.
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Britain does not have to be competently managed to be a managed democracy, and I don’t think it could’ve been made more clear that any threats to the status quo will be treated as extremist insanity or Russian aggression, or whatever other bullshit is required to prop up this system up.
December 26, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Britain does not have to be competently managed to be a managed democracy, and I don’t think it could’ve been made more clear that any threats to the status quo will be treated as extremist insanity or Russian aggression, or whatever other bullshit is required to prop up this system up.
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The key thing I note here is that Tony Blair felt quite secure looking millions of people in the eye and telling them to fuck themselves over the Iraq War. Our current leaders feel intensely and intolerably threatened by literally one guy saying they’re complicit in genocide.
December 26, 2025 at 4:04 PM
The key thing I note here is that Tony Blair felt quite secure looking millions of people in the eye and telling them to fuck themselves over the Iraq War. Our current leaders feel intensely and intolerably threatened by literally one guy saying they’re complicit in genocide.
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When you're one of the lads, when you're in the club, you simply can't be shit enough to get fired.
why is the BBC continuing to hire this clown? his reboot of Spitting Image was so bad it was sent straight to streaming, and was quickly cancelled from that. I can't find any evidence that a single one of his 2026 shows had sold out, despite many of the venues being very small.
"Top political comedian Matt Forde reconvenes his Focus Group for a Boxing Day special with a Dickensian twist." www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... Is Michael Gove the Dickensian twist? Plus his bizarre take on @zackpolanski.bsky.social from around 23mins in.
December 26, 2025 at 8:58 PM
When you're one of the lads, when you're in the club, you simply can't be shit enough to get fired.
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By "populist", it's safe to say the FT is referring to the far right
This matters though because it helps conflate any alternative to the status quo, whether left or far right, and leaves only the status quo as a "reasonable" alternative, even if said status quo is increasingly far right...
This matters though because it helps conflate any alternative to the status quo, whether left or far right, and leaves only the status quo as a "reasonable" alternative, even if said status quo is increasingly far right...
December 26, 2025 at 10:19 PM
By "populist", it's safe to say the FT is referring to the far right
This matters though because it helps conflate any alternative to the status quo, whether left or far right, and leaves only the status quo as a "reasonable" alternative, even if said status quo is increasingly far right...
This matters though because it helps conflate any alternative to the status quo, whether left or far right, and leaves only the status quo as a "reasonable" alternative, even if said status quo is increasingly far right...
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Ooo remembers that month or so when multiple Labour MPs, ministers etc thought DOGE was an amazing idea they all wanted to copy... what were all that about
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
December 26, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Ooo remembers that month or so when multiple Labour MPs, ministers etc thought DOGE was an amazing idea they all wanted to copy... what were all that about
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
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What is the *funniest* Trump misread? To me, it is Ian Leslie writing that he has an "almost physical horror of violence". He wrote that this year!
"tell me we didn't just fire a dozen $500,000 missiles at a $200 camel"
"sir, no evidence of any camel present, sir!"
"sir, no evidence of any camel present, sir!"
December 26, 2025 at 7:20 PM
What is the *funniest* Trump misread? To me, it is Ian Leslie writing that he has an "almost physical horror of violence". He wrote that this year!
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Quite a lot can be explained by the plain fact that our leaders and their hangers on are *enraged* that they can’t send people to prison for doing things that aren’t illegal, and they see this as a very serious problem that needs to be resolved, urgently.
December 26, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Quite a lot can be explained by the plain fact that our leaders and their hangers on are *enraged* that they can’t send people to prison for doing things that aren’t illegal, and they see this as a very serious problem that needs to be resolved, urgently.