Jon Bloomfield
@jonbloomfield.bsky.social
Rooted cosmopolitan. London, Arsenal, Birmingham. Writes on cities, EU, national populism,climate change. Latest The Little Black Book of the Populist Right with co-author David Edgar, a short accessible guide to today's dangers.
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Jon Bloomfield
@jonbloomfield.bsky.social
· Nov 18
My Bluesky starter! David and I signing copies of The Little Black Book of the Populist Right. A short, accessible guide to the dangers of Trump, Farage, Orban et al. Buy at lnkd.in/dpbz5SFS A Xmas bargain for you and your friends.
Reposted by Jon Bloomfield
My late, wonderful friend, Fred Halliday in Iran, August 1979, for the @newstatesman1913.bsky.social six months after the Islamists seized power. His conclusion? "Allah is Great, but it certainly seems to be the Devil who is working overtime in Iran today".
www.newstatesman.com/archive/2025...
www.newstatesman.com/archive/2025...
From the archive: The revolution turns to repression
August 1979: Six months after the Iranian Revolution, Fred Halliday surveys the Islamic Republic.
www.newstatesman.com
January 12, 2026 at 6:51 PM
My late, wonderful friend, Fred Halliday in Iran, August 1979, for the @newstatesman1913.bsky.social six months after the Islamists seized power. His conclusion? "Allah is Great, but it certainly seems to be the Devil who is working overtime in Iran today".
www.newstatesman.com/archive/2025...
www.newstatesman.com/archive/2025...
"Not so much a national president as a global emperor." Sharp from Freedland@bsky.social www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
From Caracas to Minneapolis, the threat is the same – an American president ruling like a global emperor | Jonathan Freedland
Trump’s admission that he recognises no constraint outside his own morality was a horrifying moment of truth, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland
www.theguardian.com
January 10, 2026 at 1:31 PM
"Not so much a national president as a global emperor." Sharp from Freedland@bsky.social www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Especially when the alternative was Mudryk at 4 times the price!
December 30, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Especially when the alternative was Mudryk at 4 times the price!
I think - and hope!- this is right.
Think @sundersays.bsky.social is accurate here.
The UK has not suddenly become much more racist.
However the (re)normalisation of open racism by "respectable" right-wing media and politicians has led to both increased visibility for open racists, & radicalisation of some "soft" racists/xenophobes
The UK has not suddenly become much more racist.
However the (re)normalisation of open racism by "respectable" right-wing media and politicians has led to both increased visibility for open racists, & radicalisation of some "soft" racists/xenophobes
Longterm intergenerational shift is a civic widening of inclusion. The short-term shift is hardening views within the minority position
bsky.app/profile/prof...
bsky.app/profile/prof...
December 30, 2025 at 7:30 PM
I think - and hope!- this is right.
youtu.be/lopMMkz0law?... Very telling Xmas message.
Zack Polanski's Christmas Message
YouTube video by Bold Politics with Zack Polanski
youtu.be
December 25, 2025 at 6:59 PM
youtu.be/lopMMkz0law?... Very telling Xmas message.
open.substack.com/pub/davidaar... Good, sharp read.
The Plot Against Europe
Because this time they really are out to get us
open.substack.com
December 25, 2025 at 2:36 PM
open.substack.com/pub/davidaar... Good, sharp read.
Spot on.
My position on the debate on "From the River to the Sea" is that it should start with the party that is actually advancing this vision not only through chants but also through genocide and ethnic cleansing - the current Israeli government.
December 24, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Spot on.
Reposted by Jon Bloomfield
It would be nice if a British leader could say the same: and stand up for London, it’s Mayor and the BBC at the same time
This is the first time Macron has retaliated so angrily against the provocations of his alleged "friend" Donald Trump. The policy of appeasement and flattery is breaking down.
December 24, 2025 at 2:28 PM
It would be nice if a British leader could say the same: and stand up for London, it’s Mayor and the BBC at the same time
Time to stand up to Big Tech.
A transatlantic showdown over tech policy (as opposed to, say, net zero) could actually have a unifying & galvanising political effect within the EU. The union’s digital regulations are broadly popular and many voters actually want more, not fewer, controls on Big Tech.
yougov.co.uk/technology/a...
yougov.co.uk/technology/a...
December 24, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Time to stand up to Big Tech.
Need more EU leaders to follow suit.
This is the first time Macron has retaliated so angrily against the provocations of his alleged "friend" Donald Trump. The policy of appeasement and flattery is breaking down.
December 24, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Need more EU leaders to follow suit.
Finland's President displays sound realism here: stand firm v Putin; recognise US is no longer an ally; organise as Europe; but don't fall for exaggerated alarmism. A message to Rutte and British Cold War hawks. observer.co.uk/news/interna...
Putin has failed, says Finland’s leader, but the shift in...
Alexander Stubb warns that Russia will still test Europe, especially given mixed messages coming from the White House
observer.co.uk
December 22, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Finland's President displays sound realism here: stand firm v Putin; recognise US is no longer an ally; organise as Europe; but don't fall for exaggerated alarmism. A message to Rutte and British Cold War hawks. observer.co.uk/news/interna...
Reposted by Jon Bloomfield
Even by my low expectations for Kemi Badenoch ‘violence against women and girls is something done by immigrants and nobody else’ has shocked me.
Dog-whistle and factually incorrect. Ladies, raise your hand if you were sexually assaulted by a boy at school? I’d wager this or a family member is most women’s first experience of sexual violence
December 18, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Even by my low expectations for Kemi Badenoch ‘violence against women and girls is something done by immigrants and nobody else’ has shocked me.
Reposted by Jon Bloomfield
Suspect some female Tory MPs are quietly dying inside at this. When you’re so desperate to get in a bit of gratuitous foreigner-bashing that you find yourself arguing *against* preventative strategies that try to prevent sexual violence, ffs, what have you become?
Dog-whistle and factually incorrect. Ladies, raise your hand if you were sexually assaulted by a boy at school? I’d wager this or a family member is most women’s first experience of sexual violence
December 18, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Suspect some female Tory MPs are quietly dying inside at this. When you’re so desperate to get in a bit of gratuitous foreigner-bashing that you find yourself arguing *against* preventative strategies that try to prevent sexual violence, ffs, what have you become?
@jessphillipsmp.bsky.social rightly giving Kemi Badenoch no quarter.
"Kemi Badenoch has to use people like me to give her any kind of relevance," @jessphillipsmp.bsky.social tells @lewisgoodall.com, responding to Badenoch's criticism of her handling of violence against women & girls.
"She should probably apologise to the girls who might have been raped."
"She should probably apologise to the girls who might have been raped."
December 18, 2025 at 9:16 PM
@jessphillipsmp.bsky.social rightly giving Kemi Badenoch no quarter.
@jonathanfreedland.bsky.social making clear that Trump's US is an adversary not an ally. When will Starmer government face up to the reality? www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Donald Trump is pursuing regime change – in Europe | Jonathan Freedland
The US made it clear this week that it plans to help the parties of the European far right gain power. Keir Starmer and his fellow leaders have to face this new reality, writes Guardian columnist Jona...
www.theguardian.com
December 13, 2025 at 2:22 PM
@jonathanfreedland.bsky.social making clear that Trump's US is an adversary not an ally. When will Starmer government face up to the reality? www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
When England last won the World Cup my ticket for the Final cost 10 shillings (50p). For all 10 games in London I paid £3.17 and sixpence. These prices are sheer madness and FIFA greed.
December 11, 2025 at 7:55 PM
When England last won the World Cup my ticket for the Final cost 10 shillings (50p). For all 10 games in London I paid £3.17 and sixpence. These prices are sheer madness and FIFA greed.
Reposted by Jon Bloomfield
Honoured to host the parliamentary launch of @zoejardiniere.bsky.social’s report with @anothereurope.bsky.social and @fesonline.bsky.social pragmatic steps the government could take to fix our immigration system.
December 11, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Honoured to host the parliamentary launch of @zoejardiniere.bsky.social’s report with @anothereurope.bsky.social and @fesonline.bsky.social pragmatic steps the government could take to fix our immigration system.
Jon Bloomfield
"She’s not just trimming her sails but giving full vent to the populist gale. This can only end badly." My and
@Davidedgar1.bsky.social latest for @bylinetimes.bsky.social, challenging Mahmood and Blue Labour's dangerous politics.
bylinetimes.com/2025/12/08/s...
"She’s not just trimming her sails but giving full vent to the populist gale. This can only end badly." My and
@Davidedgar1.bsky.social latest for @bylinetimes.bsky.social, challenging Mahmood and Blue Labour's dangerous politics.
bylinetimes.com/2025/12/08/s...
Imitating the Populist Right: The Politics of Shabana Mahmood
The Labour Home Secretary has spent her first months in the job actively enabling the forces of the populist right, argues Jon Bloomfield and David Edgar
bylinetimes.com
December 11, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Jon Bloomfield
"She’s not just trimming her sails but giving full vent to the populist gale. This can only end badly." My and
@Davidedgar1.bsky.social latest for @bylinetimes.bsky.social, challenging Mahmood and Blue Labour's dangerous politics.
bylinetimes.com/2025/12/08/s...
"She’s not just trimming her sails but giving full vent to the populist gale. This can only end badly." My and
@Davidedgar1.bsky.social latest for @bylinetimes.bsky.social, challenging Mahmood and Blue Labour's dangerous politics.
bylinetimes.com/2025/12/08/s...
Another example of the Starmer government's timidity and fear of the Tory press.
So for those keeping track, that means Canada will join the EU's defence procurement scheme, but the UK won't.
It's really incredible how much British pride continues to inflict self-harm.
It's really incredible how much British pride continues to inflict self-harm.
Canada clinches deal to join Europe’s €150B defense scheme
The deal concludes months of tough talks and will allow Ottawa to take part in procurements financed by the EU’s SAFE program.
www.politico.eu
December 2, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Another example of the Starmer government's timidity and fear of the Tory press.
At last an argument for the government's budget that is clear and defensible. Who else can make the case?
That is a lot of tweets. If you got this far you deserve a prize. Reasonable people will debate this growth strategy. But claiming there isn’t one is lazy nonsense. Higher growth matters because rising living standards are the goal, and higher investment is a key tool.
December 1, 2025 at 3:31 PM
At last an argument for the government's budget that is clear and defensible. Who else can make the case?
A welcome touch of optimism. eastangliabylines.co.uk/environment/...
After COP30, what now? It’s actually good news
It’s the shape of story across all ages and human cultures. You’re in a hole. Then you get out
eastangliabylines.co.uk
December 1, 2025 at 3:19 PM
A welcome touch of optimism. eastangliabylines.co.uk/environment/...
Brilliant session on the populist right at Buxton Labour this morning on our book. www.bylinebooks.co.uk/populist-right Livel discussion. Sharp criticism of Mahmood. Sold out my stock of books.
November 23, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Brilliant session on the populist right at Buxton Labour this morning on our book. www.bylinebooks.co.uk/populist-right Livel discussion. Sharp criticism of Mahmood. Sold out my stock of books.
"Experience of racism does not guarantee wisdom in combatting it." Brilliant rebuke to Mahmood from @kenanmalik.bsky.social observer.co.uk/news/columni...
Britain's problem isn’t immigration. It’s a profound breakdown in trust | The Observer
observer.co.uk
November 23, 2025 at 10:30 AM
"Experience of racism does not guarantee wisdom in combatting it." Brilliant rebuke to Mahmood from @kenanmalik.bsky.social observer.co.uk/news/columni...
Follow the Danish model. An early warning as to the electoral consequences of Mahmood's politics. www.politico.eu/article/dani...
Frederiksen’s unhappy birthday: Danish PM’s party suffers election shellacking
For the first time in 122 years the Social Democrats will not govern Copenhagen, which will now have a left-wing mayor.
www.politico.eu
November 19, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Follow the Danish model. An early warning as to the electoral consequences of Mahmood's politics. www.politico.eu/article/dani...