James McRae
@jockyblue82.bsky.social
The poor man's Dennis Waterman
I found this genuinely fascinating on government communications. Peter Hyman suggests, in the modern media environment, Downing Street needs to move on from the 'grid' towards a 'playlist' of campaigns... open.substack.com/pub/peterhym...
Revealed: How the No 10 grid strangles effective communication
A government ‘playlist’ of campaigns could cut through more powerfully than an old-style grid of worthy policy nuggets
open.substack.com
October 7, 2025 at 7:06 AM
I found this genuinely fascinating on government communications. Peter Hyman suggests, in the modern media environment, Downing Street needs to move on from the 'grid' towards a 'playlist' of campaigns... open.substack.com/pub/peterhym...
Don't mind it @suedehq.bsky.social...
September 29, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Don't mind it @suedehq.bsky.social...
May have just purchased an album on vinyl...
September 29, 2025 at 1:34 PM
May have just purchased an album on vinyl...
Billy Bragg has long been excellent on embracing patriotism from the left. There are many, many reasons to be proud of England and Englishness 🏴
WATCH: “There are many types of patriotism” | Billy Bragg on the flag debate
#Newsnight
www.youtube.com/watch?v=24iZ05pj180
#Newsnight
www.youtube.com/watch?v=24iZ05pj180
“There are many types of patriotism” | Billy Bragg on the flag debate
YouTube video by BBC Newsnight
www.youtube.com
September 24, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Billy Bragg has long been excellent on embracing patriotism from the left. There are many, many reasons to be proud of England and Englishness 🏴
I think this is very correct from @ianleslie.bsky.social. They probably should have done this ages ago but right now there really is very little to lose...
September 20, 2025 at 7:56 PM
I think this is very correct from @ianleslie.bsky.social. They probably should have done this ages ago but right now there really is very little to lose...
I'm still ordering my thoughts on Suede's Antidepressants - and may have to write something down in an attempt to do so - but in the meantime, here's @msclairebiddles.bsky.social with a superb review of the album which has reminded this ragged old heart how to feel... thequietus.com/quietus-revi...
See It, Say It, Sorted: Antidepressants by Suede | The Quietus
Suede's painterly new album takes the raw energy of its predecessor and twists it through layers of distortion and high drama
thequietus.com
September 10, 2025 at 12:42 PM
I'm still ordering my thoughts on Suede's Antidepressants - and may have to write something down in an attempt to do so - but in the meantime, here's @msclairebiddles.bsky.social with a superb review of the album which has reminded this ragged old heart how to feel... thequietus.com/quietus-revi...
On the money from @patrickmaguire.bsky.social. At some stage Starmer might want to consider who the one constant has been throughout all the resets, reshuffles and relaunches since he entered No. 10... www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
New hires cannot fill the strategy vacuum at the heart of No 10
Sir Keir Starmer’s hopes that new recruits and sideways moves will give Downing Street some momentum may be forlorn
www.thetimes.com
September 2, 2025 at 10:34 AM
On the money from @patrickmaguire.bsky.social. At some stage Starmer might want to consider who the one constant has been throughout all the resets, reshuffles and relaunches since he entered No. 10... www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
Reposted by James McRae
It shows such a basic lack of political understanding that Labour didn't go straight on the attack over this.
Just because most people are worried about immigration being too high it doesn't mean they're psychopaths.
Just because most people are worried about immigration being too high it doesn't mean they're psychopaths.
With Reform UK saying it would be reasonable to pay the Taliban to return migrants to Afghanistan, how many Britons this would be acceptable?
Acceptable: 17%
Unacceptable: 61%
% acceptable by party
Reform: 35%
Con: 23%
Lab/Lib Dem: 7-13%
yougov.co.uk/topics/polit...
Acceptable: 17%
Unacceptable: 61%
% acceptable by party
Reform: 35%
Con: 23%
Lab/Lib Dem: 7-13%
yougov.co.uk/topics/polit...
August 27, 2025 at 3:42 PM
It shows such a basic lack of political understanding that Labour didn't go straight on the attack over this.
Just because most people are worried about immigration being too high it doesn't mean they're psychopaths.
Just because most people are worried about immigration being too high it doesn't mean they're psychopaths.
Yesterday's non-response to this from Labour has me fearing the worst for the country. Starmer is mistakenly conflating the importance of recognising the public desire for control, fairness and a resolution on asylum with a fear of attacking Farage in any way at all! 1/ www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Dominic Casciani: How achievable is Reform's plan on migration?
A Reform government could see the UK leaving the European Convention on Human Rights to deliver its plan.
www.bbc.co.uk
August 27, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Yesterday's non-response to this from Labour has me fearing the worst for the country. Starmer is mistakenly conflating the importance of recognising the public desire for control, fairness and a resolution on asylum with a fear of attacking Farage in any way at all! 1/ www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
I continue to tap the sign... 👇
Simply reversing Jeremy Hunt’s wildly irresponsible pre-election tax cuts wouldn’t have had these side-effects. But Labour tried to be too clever by half on its tax promises, and now the real-world consequences of that decision are starting to kick in.
July 17, 2025 at 8:05 AM
I continue to tap the sign... 👇
Norrie goes out and the ghost of Bates' Barrow strikes again... 🇬🇧🎾👻 www.bbc.com/sport/tennis...
July 8, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Norrie goes out and the ghost of Bates' Barrow strikes again... 🇬🇧🎾👻 www.bbc.com/sport/tennis...
Truly excellent piece from @petepaphides.bsky.social on the phenomenon of Oasis. I think it gets to the heart of why, for a very brief moment in the mid-nineties, they were vital in a way perhaps no other music artist has been in my lifetime... www.thenewworld.co.uk/pete-paphide...
Oasis: The trauma and the glory
Growing up in an abusive household, the Gallagher brothers became two very different personalities. Together, they made one great rock ‘n roll star
www.thenewworld.co.uk
July 4, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Truly excellent piece from @petepaphides.bsky.social on the phenomenon of Oasis. I think it gets to the heart of why, for a very brief moment in the mid-nineties, they were vital in a way perhaps no other music artist has been in my lifetime... www.thenewworld.co.uk/pete-paphide...
Reposted by James McRae
It’s a brave man who casts shade on Bob Mortimer…
July 3, 2025 at 10:48 AM
It’s a brave man who casts shade on Bob Mortimer…
And the answer from Labour MPs would surely be "then raise taxes". Something Reeves is almost guaranteed to have to do this autumn anyway and which would at least be on brand to a public reeling from the fact a Labour government chose to freeze pensioners and bash the disabled for a few measly quid!
Friends fear he is once again boarding the 'radical candour' bus, etc: but I do think they would be better off if their line to take had just been 'it was this or raise taxes', if nothing else because it would a) concentrate minds and b) be some useful advocacy for raising taxes and c) is true.
The only honest and plausible case they could make is “we needed to find some short term money and this is where we found it”, but they apparently would rather waffle about people being trapped out of work to justify cutting a benefit that’s payable regardless of whether the recipient is in work.
June 25, 2025 at 3:02 PM
And the answer from Labour MPs would surely be "then raise taxes". Something Reeves is almost guaranteed to have to do this autumn anyway and which would at least be on brand to a public reeling from the fact a Labour government chose to freeze pensioners and bash the disabled for a few measly quid!
Yes! The public like pragmatism; the public like a government not blindly enslaved to ideology; the public can even accept a government must sometimes make tough choices; but they do not understand a government running a cart and horse through their own party's core values...
So things like PIP cuts, unpopular on their own terms, are even more incongruent with what people expect from a Labour Government. Ditto language of tough choices to fill a blackhole your 2010 Tory can get away with, much harder for Labour.
June 25, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Yes! The public like pragmatism; the public like a government not blindly enslaved to ideology; the public can even accept a government must sometimes make tough choices; but they do not understand a government running a cart and horse through their own party's core values...
Yes! I too was struck by Reeves' greater reference to towns, communities, sense of place. In an age of globalisation, if this government wants a story to tell - wants an overriding purpose - it could do far worse than seeking to meet people's desire for belonging... www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...
At last Keir Starmer sees virtue in pier pressure
Spending review bears the imprint of a PM now persuaded by the need to deliver tangible improvements outside London
www.thetimes.com
June 13, 2025 at 9:08 AM
Yes! I too was struck by Reeves' greater reference to towns, communities, sense of place. In an age of globalisation, if this government wants a story to tell - wants an overriding purpose - it could do far worse than seeking to meet people's desire for belonging... www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...
Intriguing Starmer profile in the New Statesman. I can't help but like him. Paradoxically, his main strength - his selfless, quiet, hardworking determination - is also his major weakness when leading a country. Yet, given the family challenges he's faced, it's hard not to forgive him those flaws...
www.newstatesman.com/politics/202... 💥 EXC: For my first edition of the New Statesman as editor, I went on the road with Keir Starmer, discovering a man far more emotional than I expected, struggling to articulate his deepest feelings — and those of the country he leads👇
What Keir Starmer can’t say
The Prime Minister believes he will heal Britain – but can he find the words?
www.newstatesman.com
June 12, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Intriguing Starmer profile in the New Statesman. I can't help but like him. Paradoxically, his main strength - his selfless, quiet, hardworking determination - is also his major weakness when leading a country. Yet, given the family challenges he's faced, it's hard not to forgive him those flaws...
This is excellent on today's spending review. I agree there was a welcome new tone and framing to Reeves' statement today, couched in those core Labour values or, as she called them, 'Labour choices'. Yet, it doesn't change the fact she is - necessarily - walking a very fine fiscal tightrope indeed.
From ‘tough choices’ to ‘Labour choices’: spending review marks major strategic shift
This was the opening gambit of a new phase of Labour governance
Latest long-read for @politics.co.uk 👇
www.politics.co.uk/news-feature...
This was the opening gambit of a new phase of Labour governance
Latest long-read for @politics.co.uk 👇
www.politics.co.uk/news-feature...
From ‘tough choices’ to ‘Labour choices’: spending review marks major strategic shift - Politics.co.uk
From “tough choices” to “Labour choices”. The spending review delivered by Rachel Reeves in the House of Commons this afternoon marks a tangible tone shift. Apportioning £2.24 trillion of public cash ...
www.politics.co.uk
June 11, 2025 at 8:02 PM
This is excellent on today's spending review. I agree there was a welcome new tone and framing to Reeves' statement today, couched in those core Labour values or, as she called them, 'Labour choices'. Yet, it doesn't change the fact she is - necessarily - walking a very fine fiscal tightrope indeed.
Reposted by James McRae
Neil Kinnock, Sheffield, 1992:
June 11, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Neil Kinnock, Sheffield, 1992:
Absolutely remarkable long read from Jeremy Bowen on the ongoing crisis in the Middle East...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Israel is accused of the gravest war crimes in Gaza
Distinguished lawyers, senior humanitarians and diplomats tell Jeremy Bowen why they are increasingly concerned about the catastrophe inside Gaza.
www.bbc.co.uk
June 8, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Absolutely remarkable long read from Jeremy Bowen on the ongoing crisis in the Middle East...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
A very fair and supportive criticism of Starmer and Reeves as Labour enters its second year in government...
EXCLUSIVE: Neil Kinnock accuses Labour of showing “paralytic caution” and calls out Treasury orthodoxy, timid taxation and poor messaging on immigration.
His verdict? Labour has an “audacity deficit.”
www.prospectmagazine...
His verdict? Labour has an “audacity deficit.”
www.prospectmagazine...
Neil Kinnock: Labour is ‘100 per cent wrong’ to fight Reform UK on its own turf
The former Labour leader on his party’s ‘mortally stupid’ strategy to combat Reform
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
June 6, 2025 at 10:01 AM
A very fair and supportive criticism of Starmer and Reeves as Labour enters its second year in government...
Lovely, meandering interview with Jarvis on @thequietus.com. He remains one of the most charismatic front men to emerge from the Britpop era... thequietus.com/interviews/j...
"Being different isn't something to take lightly" Jarvis Cocker Interviewed | The Quietus
Darran Anderson meets up with the Pulp frontman to talk violence in Sheffield, outsider art in America, stuffed attics in London & More
thequietus.com
June 6, 2025 at 8:55 AM
Lovely, meandering interview with Jarvis on @thequietus.com. He remains one of the most charismatic front men to emerge from the Britpop era... thequietus.com/interviews/j...
Reposted by James McRae
WIN! - A Coloured Vinyl Copy of Pulp's 'More'
One of the most anticipated releases of the year drops next Friday, and to celebrate, we're giving away a copy of the pictured record.
Just share and like this post, and give our account a follow to be entered.
www.normanrecords.com/records/2087...
One of the most anticipated releases of the year drops next Friday, and to celebrate, we're giving away a copy of the pictured record.
Just share and like this post, and give our account a follow to be entered.
www.normanrecords.com/records/2087...
May 30, 2025 at 3:24 PM
WIN! - A Coloured Vinyl Copy of Pulp's 'More'
One of the most anticipated releases of the year drops next Friday, and to celebrate, we're giving away a copy of the pictured record.
Just share and like this post, and give our account a follow to be entered.
www.normanrecords.com/records/2087...
One of the most anticipated releases of the year drops next Friday, and to celebrate, we're giving away a copy of the pictured record.
Just share and like this post, and give our account a follow to be entered.
www.normanrecords.com/records/2087...
Pulp's first album for decades is out tomorrow. Here's the second single which has really whet my appetite for what I hope will be a brilliant comeback... youtu.be/c_xnLmRz6XM?...
Pulp - Got to Have Love (Official Video)
YouTube video by Pulp
youtu.be
June 5, 2025 at 9:29 AM
Pulp's first album for decades is out tomorrow. Here's the second single which has really whet my appetite for what I hope will be a brilliant comeback... youtu.be/c_xnLmRz6XM?...