Get ready to be annoyed when petrol prizes go up and a) a bunch of politicos declare the government's poll ratings have gone down because Starmer didn't go in with the US on Iran and b) a bunch of politicos who support the war blame the government for increased energy costs.
A Saturday scoop from @schuylermitchell.bsky.social: Previously unreported documents show that DHS wants to build a tool that would track personal travel data, including passenger names and their itineraries. Last year, a similar program was shuttered over public outcry.
And you can read the whole review on Substack too.
substack.com/@rostaylor24...
I've got my eye on you...
Meanwhile, Spain's massive investment in renewables is paying dividends now: with prices for Spanish industry and consumers low and stable compared with other European economies.
www.ft.com/content/ac77...
Fascinating to watch 🇫🇷, then 🇬🇧, then 🇮🇹, now 🇩🇪 start to acknowledge what 🇪🇸's government recognised from the very start: the Trump-Netanyahu war on Iran is a reckless intervention conducted without regard for rules of war and without a strategy for what comes next.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
The modern country (post-Franco) is the creation of PSOE.
The marginal change is to prefer
Broad popularity (acceptable to half of the voters)
Vs
Intense popularity (even if somebody else is preferred by most voters)
I think there is a vg case for the Alternative Vote (pluralist majoritarianism) UK's evolving party system - not least as of balanced use for voters on different sides of political spectrum. It allows sincere voting by every voter + strategic choices by those who care
www.ft.com/content/38d8...
This is a social democrat.
Other things equal, the LRB.
We get both (& my wife writes for both), but there’s a lot more in the LRB on topics other than, e.g., US Supreme Court jurisprudence, the state of the Democrats, & art shows in Manhattan, and for most people Over Here wanting hinterland that is probably preferable.
Good news: can be reasonably sure BLS numbers aren’t being manipulated.
quite apart from Kemi Badenoch's dismal performance on BBC Breakfast, minimising the work of the RAF, she spoke of Labour 'not being built' for conflict because they came into power to do things like 'breakfast clubs' in such a disparaging way, like feeding kids is a joke ambition
So, the really revealing part for me was in her Today programme interview where she claims we've learned the lessons if Iraq:
- Be prepared
- Have a plan
- Have an endgame
Then, when it is pointed out that none of these things apply here, waffles for over a minute about arrows and archers.
As I'm always saying: bring back the pamphlet!
There's a big space for non-fiction writing that sits somewhere between the long-read (c.5k words) and the full book (c.80k words).
"Labour came into government to do breakfast clubs, not to invade Iran. I came into office to invade Iran."
What I describe as “Long Morgan” in my NS piece:
www.newstatesman.com/comment/2026...
Free to read on Substack: my, let’s say still quite furious, review of @morganj0nes.bsky.social’s book on the People’s Vote campaign.
substack.com/@rostaylor24...
Very useful from @rajakorman.bsky.social on the economic impacts across the Global South.
responsiblestatecraft.org/war-ian-glob...
👍🏿
8 Badass Librarians We Need to Celebrate This International Women’s Day lithub.com/8-badass-lib...
So a tiny minority more than previous generations holds more misogynistic views. But don’t let that stop the narrative.
thanks
No better reason for the UK declining to be part of the attack.
Pedro Sánchez has taken a strong position in refusing the US demand to use Spanish bases to strike Iran. Europe should show solidarity with Spain in the face of Donald Trump’s threats. https://bit.ly/4l7IYhs
These headlines should always read “New secondary moderns set to return”, since that’s where most kids will go under that system.
Immigration was central both to the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign and to the political narratives that followed it. Yet the trajectory of migration to the UK since the referendum bears little resemblance to the expectations — or promises — articulated at the time. This paper provides an overview and interpretation of developments since 2016, focusing on three interrelated themes. First, it describes trends in migration flows and stocks, highlighting the sharp fall in EU migration, the compensating increase in non-EU migration, and the role of both policy and economic developments in driving these trends. Second, it examines the economic and labour market impacts of these changes over 201625. Third, it analyses the post-Brexit policy framework and, in particular, the Labour government’s approach since 2024. The paper concludes by reflecting on the implications for future UK migration policy and for the wider political economy of Brexit.
My new @iza.org/LISER paper
Control Without Credibility: Immigration to the UK Since the Brexit Referendum
docs.iza.org/dp18419.pdf
This is an excellent read. www.ft.com/content/218b... Iran turns to cheap drones as US and Israel target missile launchers
Points to power of symbols.
Cutting winter fuel payments was so austerity coded it doesn’t matter it has been restored, it’s an emblem because it was attempted.
And sticks because it is inexplicable.
