Steve Crowther
@clueless13.substack.com
Pro-European, pro-Starmer (LP member), humanist, contemporary arts - music, literature, film & theatre and Bradford Park Avenue FC
Somewhere underneath all this is the New Statesman digital newspaper:
January 14, 2026 at 10:36 AM
Somewhere underneath all this is the New Statesman digital newspaper:
Nice to see you back, Chris. Just kidding.
Digital IDs: Starmer’s change of heart another ‘almighty backtracking’
The government dropping the digital ID scheme's mandatory element is another climbdown for Downing Street, writes the BBC's political editor.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 14, 2026 at 10:28 AM
Nice to see you back, Chris. Just kidding.
Sean Shibe at the York BMS — a remarkable programme ranging from Renaissance lute music to contemporary guitar.
Sean Shibe (lute & guitar) — York BMS Concert Review
Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, Friday 9 January 2026
open.substack.com
January 11, 2026 at 8:43 PM
Sean Shibe at the York BMS — a remarkable programme ranging from Renaissance lute music to contemporary guitar.
Just watched Newsnight - dreadful.
January 8, 2026 at 11:29 PM
Just watched Newsnight - dreadful.
Why isn't the government screaming this out loud?
#migration#Reform#LabourGovernment
#migration#Reform#LabourGovernment
January 8, 2026 at 8:48 PM
Why isn't the government screaming this out loud?
#migration#Reform#LabourGovernment
#migration#Reform#LabourGovernment
100% agree...but they won't.
Make this go viral.
Labour MP Louise Haigh.
Labour MP Louise Haigh.
I call on my party and my government to remove themselves entirely from X and communicate with the public where they actually participate online and can be protected from such illegality.
January 8, 2026 at 1:58 PM
100% agree...but they won't.
What the hell is this crap:
International law... says it's illegal to use force against territory of another country unless there's a direct threat.
But US domestic law gives federal agents approval to conduct arrests against wanted suspects pretty much anywhere in the world. (Paul Adams, BBC)
International law... says it's illegal to use force against territory of another country unless there's a direct threat.
But US domestic law gives federal agents approval to conduct arrests against wanted suspects pretty much anywhere in the world. (Paul Adams, BBC)
January 6, 2026 at 5:05 PM
What the hell is this crap:
International law... says it's illegal to use force against territory of another country unless there's a direct threat.
But US domestic law gives federal agents approval to conduct arrests against wanted suspects pretty much anywhere in the world. (Paul Adams, BBC)
International law... says it's illegal to use force against territory of another country unless there's a direct threat.
But US domestic law gives federal agents approval to conduct arrests against wanted suspects pretty much anywhere in the world. (Paul Adams, BBC)
Here we go.
Colombia sends armed forces to Venezuela border amid concern over refugee ‘influx’
Colombia sends armed forces to Venezuela border amid concern over refugee ‘influx’
President Gustavo Petro says Colombia rejects US aggression against sovereignty of Venezuela
www.theguardian.com
January 3, 2026 at 12:53 PM
Here we go.
Reposted by Steve Crowther
Off to a good start
January 2, 2026 at 12:41 AM
Off to a good start
Reposted by Steve Crowther
So after the Conservatives spend years accusing Keir Starmer of betraying Britain in his work as a former Human Right's lawyer, Kemi Badenoch's own Shadow Attorney General in the Lords takes a job representing a sanctioned Russian oligarch
December 29, 2025 at 10:47 AM
So after the Conservatives spend years accusing Keir Starmer of betraying Britain in his work as a former Human Right's lawyer, Kemi Badenoch's own Shadow Attorney General in the Lords takes a job representing a sanctioned Russian oligarch
Reading Paul Durcan: Intimacy, Danger, and Authority
Reading Paul Durcan: Intimacy, Danger, and Authority
On love, power, and vulnerability in A Snail in My Prime (Selected Poems)
open.substack.com
December 22, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Reading Paul Durcan: Intimacy, Danger, and Authority
The BBC headline fails to mention the word 'illegal':
Israel approves 19 new settlements in occupied West Bank
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the move was about blocking the establishment of a Palestinian state.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 21, 2025 at 4:59 PM
The BBC headline fails to mention the word 'illegal':
Thank you Chris Giles, I really needed to read this.
Obviously, people will say this is Panglossian nonsense…
.. I prefer, “factual”
as.ft.com/r/f040c3e5-9... The UK economy is not nearly as bad as you’ve been told
.. I prefer, “factual”
as.ft.com/r/f040c3e5-9... The UK economy is not nearly as bad as you’ve been told
The UK economy is not nearly as bad as you’ve been told
[FREE TO READ] A huge pessimistic bias in our national accounts leads us to doom and gloom which turns out to be nonsense
as.ft.com
December 12, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Thank you Chris Giles, I really needed to read this.
Read it and weep
Just 0.001% hold three times the wealth of poorest half of humanity, report finds
Just 0.001% hold three times the wealth of poorest half of humanity, report finds
Data from World Inequality Report also showed top 10% of income-earners earn more than the other 90%
Fewer than 60,000 people – 0.001% of the world’s population – control three times as much wealth as the entire bottom half of humanity, according to a report that argues global inequality has reached such extremes that urgent action has become essential.
The authoritative World Inequality Report 2026, based on data compiled by 200 researchers, also found that the top 10% of income-earners earn more than the other 90% combined, while the poorest half captures less than 10% of total global earnings. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
December 10, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Read it and weep
A letter to Rachel and Keir from a very frustrated William Keegan - just register for free to read it - then weep.
Betting on fiscal drag won’t help the chancellor balance the economy | The Observer
observer.co.uk
December 7, 2025 at 4:14 PM
A letter to Rachel and Keir from a very frustrated William Keegan - just register for free to read it - then weep.
Reposted by Steve Crowther
Today's @liverpoolecho.co.uk front page
December 3, 2025 at 9:07 AM
Today's @liverpoolecho.co.uk front page
Yes, but she isn't the only one.
November 27, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Yes, but she isn't the only one.
For your eyes only, Rachel Reeves
In case you missed it: our investigation into how Sky Bet relocated to Malta to avoid £55m of tax/year This kind of thing is often reported as "perfectly proper, and there's no suggestion that any laws were broken".
But here it looks improper. Laws may have been broken.
🧵
But here it looks improper. Laws may have been broken.
🧵
November 23, 2025 at 10:32 AM
For your eyes only, Rachel Reeves
'I've never seen a government do this in the run up to a budget. I have never seen this level of chaos, this level of irresponsibility' Kemi Badenoch
November 14, 2025 at 7:04 PM
'I've never seen a government do this in the run up to a budget. I have never seen this level of chaos, this level of irresponsibility' Kemi Badenoch
Shocking
Private water company United Utilities, who provide water services for north west England, made profits of £562 million in the first six months of 2025/6.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham condemned the "obscene" profits.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham condemned the "obscene" profits.
November 13, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Shocking
Reposted by Steve Crowther
Listen to Knowsley MP @anneliesemidgleymp.bsky.social’s very funny question about Robbie Gibb in the House of Commons today 😆
November 11, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Listen to Knowsley MP @anneliesemidgleymp.bsky.social’s very funny question about Robbie Gibb in the House of Commons today 😆