Josh Westerling
@joshwesterling.bsky.social
Work on campaigns and public affairs at JRF. Current home Bethnal Green, from Wycombe. West Ham ST holder. Views mine.
"We've had 20-30 years of this" is an odd line - implies Jenrick has not made his mind up about the first two Blair terms
January 15, 2026 at 4:47 PM
"We've had 20-30 years of this" is an odd line - implies Jenrick has not made his mind up about the first two Blair terms
Imagine this will help to speed up reorientation on the right but unclear whether that results in Reform eclipsing the Tories, or if you have a kind of intra-right polarisation where the Conservatives and Reform take on distinct roles within a right bloc - much contingent on actions of both parties.
January 15, 2026 at 11:34 AM
Imagine this will help to speed up reorientation on the right but unclear whether that results in Reform eclipsing the Tories, or if you have a kind of intra-right polarisation where the Conservatives and Reform take on distinct roles within a right bloc - much contingent on actions of both parties.
Reposted by Josh Westerling
A lot of words to basically say: OK, GOING TO THE PUB MIGHT NOT BE GOOD FOR YOUR WAISTLINE/SLEEP/WALLET but it might be really really good for your friendships, stress, connections and happiness. So it's actually healthy to go to the pub, you guys, and maybe we should all just do that a bit more
January 13, 2026 at 6:42 PM
A lot of words to basically say: OK, GOING TO THE PUB MIGHT NOT BE GOOD FOR YOUR WAISTLINE/SLEEP/WALLET but it might be really really good for your friendships, stress, connections and happiness. So it's actually healthy to go to the pub, you guys, and maybe we should all just do that a bit more
I wish our whole season had been a hallucination
In the letter he says “I had, up until Friday afternoon, understood that the West Ham match had only been identified through the use of Google”. The fictional match was included in a report to the local safety advisory group about the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv game
January 14, 2026 at 10:49 AM
I wish our whole season had been a hallucination
January 14, 2026 at 9:50 AM
That the debate is obscured by false binaries (out of bad faith) is deeply annoying because you can also just walk around London and be like yes the below makes sense.
Debate about London is obscured by the false binaries both sides put on it. Best on it is @jburnmurdoch.ft.com who shows it is both case violent crime down (an undisputed good) & crimes of disorder (shop lifting, snatching) up which affects/is visible to more but far less devastating consequences
January 13, 2026 at 11:25 AM
That the debate is obscured by false binaries (out of bad faith) is deeply annoying because you can also just walk around London and be like yes the below makes sense.
Burnham is right that this is an area ripe for cross-party action (acknowledging the irony of Badenoch saying this).
I think 2026 could be the year that there is a more general and formalised movement against social media and big tech, given what's going on. Next step to move beyond young people.
I think 2026 could be the year that there is a more general and formalised movement against social media and big tech, given what's going on. Next step to move beyond young people.
Andy Burnham backs Kemi Badenoch’s call for stricter rules on children and social media
British premier Keir Starmer has so far resisted an Australian-style ban on under-16s using social media
www.ft.com
January 12, 2026 at 9:26 AM
Burnham is right that this is an area ripe for cross-party action (acknowledging the irony of Badenoch saying this).
I think 2026 could be the year that there is a more general and formalised movement against social media and big tech, given what's going on. Next step to move beyond young people.
I think 2026 could be the year that there is a more general and formalised movement against social media and big tech, given what's going on. Next step to move beyond young people.
It's slightly annoying how commentators talk wistfully of the 'magic of the cup' and not the reality that the kick offs are all at stupid times, half the games are on pay-to-view, and next to nothing is done to prioritise, protect or promote the cup.
January 10, 2026 at 12:48 PM
It's slightly annoying how commentators talk wistfully of the 'magic of the cup' and not the reality that the kick offs are all at stupid times, half the games are on pay-to-view, and next to nothing is done to prioritise, protect or promote the cup.
Lack of finger strength is a particularly grim outcome from a confluence of tech, deprivation, and cuts.
January 10, 2026 at 10:49 AM
Lack of finger strength is a particularly grim outcome from a confluence of tech, deprivation, and cuts.
Reposted by Josh Westerling
A planned US takeover of critical infrastructure in the Netherlands raises troubling questions for all of us in Europe and the UK.
open.substack.com/pub/georgina...
open.substack.com/pub/georgina...
January 8, 2026 at 9:05 AM
A planned US takeover of critical infrastructure in the Netherlands raises troubling questions for all of us in Europe and the UK.
open.substack.com/pub/georgina...
open.substack.com/pub/georgina...
Reposted by Josh Westerling
I’ve taken to revisiting books in these winter months. One of these is Orwell’s Coming up for Air.
This read felt far starker and more relevant - it helps situate us in the present moment, whilst also being a guide in how nostalgia and accepting inevitability are not how we should respond to it.
This read felt far starker and more relevant - it helps situate us in the present moment, whilst also being a guide in how nostalgia and accepting inevitability are not how we should respond to it.
Coming up for Air
And finding our bearings today
open.substack.com
January 3, 2026 at 9:28 AM
I’ve taken to revisiting books in these winter months. One of these is Orwell’s Coming up for Air.
This read felt far starker and more relevant - it helps situate us in the present moment, whilst also being a guide in how nostalgia and accepting inevitability are not how we should respond to it.
This read felt far starker and more relevant - it helps situate us in the present moment, whilst also being a guide in how nostalgia and accepting inevitability are not how we should respond to it.
If Starmer remains as PM he needs:
1. A number 2 on the domestic front who can dedicate time to garnering attention when he is otherwise unable to - Rayner could've played this role pre having to step down. Alternative could be more freedom to the cabinet as a whole to get out there.
1. A number 2 on the domestic front who can dedicate time to garnering attention when he is otherwise unable to - Rayner could've played this role pre having to step down. Alternative could be more freedom to the cabinet as a whole to get out there.
January 9, 2026 at 9:30 AM
If Starmer remains as PM he needs:
1. A number 2 on the domestic front who can dedicate time to garnering attention when he is otherwise unable to - Rayner could've played this role pre having to step down. Alternative could be more freedom to the cabinet as a whole to get out there.
1. A number 2 on the domestic front who can dedicate time to garnering attention when he is otherwise unable to - Rayner could've played this role pre having to step down. Alternative could be more freedom to the cabinet as a whole to get out there.
Reposted by Josh Westerling
Love this. I think there's sometimes a danger of assuming that many men are emotionally stunted compared to women, rather than just finding emotional connection in different ways.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Male bonds develop one way, female friendships another. Should we stop trying to make men more like women? | Gaby Hinsliff
The strong and silent masculine image is often derided, but why? Perhaps companionship via trains, golf or a quiet drink is enough, says Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff
www.theguardian.com
January 6, 2026 at 10:38 AM
Love this. I think there's sometimes a danger of assuming that many men are emotionally stunted compared to women, rather than just finding emotional connection in different ways.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Good piece and pleased it doesn't solely focus on the political consequences but also on the societal ones and how we live together.
Young women are radicalising
🖊️ Scarlett Maguire
🖊️ Scarlett Maguire
Young women are radicalising
Britain's young women are sad, alienated and increasingly left-wing
www.newstatesman.com
January 5, 2026 at 10:23 AM
Good piece and pleased it doesn't solely focus on the political consequences but also on the societal ones and how we live together.
I’ve taken to revisiting books in these winter months. One of these is Orwell’s Coming up for Air.
This read felt far starker and more relevant - it helps situate us in the present moment, whilst also being a guide in how nostalgia and accepting inevitability are not how we should respond to it.
This read felt far starker and more relevant - it helps situate us in the present moment, whilst also being a guide in how nostalgia and accepting inevitability are not how we should respond to it.
Coming up for Air
And finding our bearings today
open.substack.com
January 3, 2026 at 9:28 AM
I’ve taken to revisiting books in these winter months. One of these is Orwell’s Coming up for Air.
This read felt far starker and more relevant - it helps situate us in the present moment, whilst also being a guide in how nostalgia and accepting inevitability are not how we should respond to it.
This read felt far starker and more relevant - it helps situate us in the present moment, whilst also being a guide in how nostalgia and accepting inevitability are not how we should respond to it.
Reposted by Josh Westerling
The challenge for progressives (& govt in particular) is to appreciate they are in a very different sort of ideological fight, and respond accordingly. Hints of this in PM’s speech at party conference in September but much, much more needed, as @parth0 & I argue here.
www.ippr.org/articles/the...
www.ippr.org/articles/the...
Reclaiming Britain: The nation against ethno-nationalism | IPPR
Last summer, after the most widespread racist rioting since 1919, IPPR wrote it was “a testament to progress” that deporting black and brown people living
www.ippr.org
December 30, 2025 at 2:12 PM
The challenge for progressives (& govt in particular) is to appreciate they are in a very different sort of ideological fight, and respond accordingly. Hints of this in PM’s speech at party conference in September but much, much more needed, as @parth0 & I argue here.
www.ippr.org/articles/the...
www.ippr.org/articles/the...
I feel like going home for Christmas is going to really hammer home how bad things are for Labour in a way that successive dire opinion polls cannot do
December 24, 2025 at 4:15 PM
I feel like going home for Christmas is going to really hammer home how bad things are for Labour in a way that successive dire opinion polls cannot do
Spoons chicken wings: surprisingly good with a hint of lemon to them
December 24, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Spoons chicken wings: surprisingly good with a hint of lemon to them
Start of the season predictions from me and my West Ham lot - my vindication thus far not overcoming dread
December 23, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Start of the season predictions from me and my West Ham lot - my vindication thus far not overcoming dread
Been thinking about Rowans, but also about places like Kaieteur Kitchen and Moth Club, other places that have closed or are under threat. Worry one day we will wake up and much of London has become more like Battersea/Nine Elms and the soul will have gone.
December 19, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Been thinking about Rowans, but also about places like Kaieteur Kitchen and Moth Club, other places that have closed or are under threat. Worry one day we will wake up and much of London has become more like Battersea/Nine Elms and the soul will have gone.
When everything is a priority nothing is a priority.
Defence Investment Plan due date: Autumn, before Xmas and now next year.
And this isn’t an especially hopeful sounding para.
www.ft.com/content/6e96... Defence spending plan delayed over Starmer concerns
And this isn’t an especially hopeful sounding para.
www.ft.com/content/6e96... Defence spending plan delayed over Starmer concerns
December 17, 2025 at 10:27 AM
When everything is a priority nothing is a priority.
Reposted by Josh Westerling
Employment Rights Bill passed - a milestone. Wrote earlier in the year about how it'll transform the lives of many precarious and low paid workers.
www.jrf.org.uk/work/how-the...
www.jrf.org.uk/work/how-the...
How the Employment Rights Bill can make jobs work
Work is not a route out of poverty for many in the UK, even though wages for people on low pay have increased. The Employment Rights Bill is a chance to change that.
www.jrf.org.uk
December 16, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Employment Rights Bill passed - a milestone. Wrote earlier in the year about how it'll transform the lives of many precarious and low paid workers.
www.jrf.org.uk/work/how-the...
www.jrf.org.uk/work/how-the...
I am generally against the graffiti over the tube but more specifically against it on the Bakerloo line, where it jars most heavily with the aesthetic and feel of the line - going through those old stations and feeling like bowling about London on your living room sofa as I saw it once described.
December 12, 2025 at 5:37 PM
I am generally against the graffiti over the tube but more specifically against it on the Bakerloo line, where it jars most heavily with the aesthetic and feel of the line - going through those old stations and feeling like bowling about London on your living room sofa as I saw it once described.
A very useful and timely contribution by Frances on the seeds of a political project that synthesises the democratic and communitarian impulses within the soft left and Blue Labour.
NEW PUBLICATION!
Where is the common ground between the soft left and Blue Labour? Can they - and should they - come together?
A parting gift from Frances Foley looks into this - and makes the case for a politics of unity, not division.
Read it below👇
Where is the common ground between the soft left and Blue Labour? Can they - and should they - come together?
A parting gift from Frances Foley looks into this - and makes the case for a politics of unity, not division.
Read it below👇
December 11, 2025 at 5:04 PM
A very useful and timely contribution by Frances on the seeds of a political project that synthesises the democratic and communitarian impulses within the soft left and Blue Labour.
So much of football and English culture distilled in this.
Far have I travelled, much have I seen...
Fifty observations from completing the 92.
open.substack.com
December 8, 2025 at 10:28 AM
So much of football and English culture distilled in this.