Lewis Baston
@lewisbaston.bsky.social
Author of ‘Borderlines’ (Hodder, 2024). Psephologist, cat ‘owner’, traveller, flâneur. https://www.hodder.co.uk/titles/lewis-baston/borderlines/9781399723763/
Pinned
Lewis Baston
@lewisbaston.bsky.social
· Sep 22
Delighted to announce that Borderlines is one of @waterstones.bsky.social paperbacks of the year!
I don’t think this is good advice.
More from Starmer’s political cabinet today, where he told ministers to ignore Labour’s dire poll ratings
“I do not underestimate the scale of the task. But I have no doubt about this team. Governments do not lose because polls go down. They lose when they lose belief or nerve. We will do neither.”
“I do not underestimate the scale of the task. But I have no doubt about this team. Governments do not lose because polls go down. They lose when they lose belief or nerve. We will do neither.”
January 6, 2026 at 12:41 PM
I don’t think this is good advice.
Labour vote in London polling is stubbornly sticky in the low 30s which might be enough to hold on in lots of places in the borough election. On the other hand, London Labour morale appears to me to be low and there’s talk of a near wipeout. Maybe that’s just temperamental pessimism?
Our latest Mile End Institute/Savanta London Poll is out!
Labour - 31%
Reform - 19%
Greens - 18%
Cons - 17%
LD - 13%
@standard.co.uk.web.brid.gy @mileendinstitute.bsky.social @savanta.bsky.social
www.standard.co.uk/news/politic...
Labour - 31%
Reform - 19%
Greens - 18%
Cons - 17%
LD - 13%
@standard.co.uk.web.brid.gy @mileendinstitute.bsky.social @savanta.bsky.social
www.standard.co.uk/news/politic...
Labour hits record low in London with Tories 4th behind Greens and Reform, new poll
EXCLUSIVE: Just 31% of Londoners now say they would vote for Sir Keir Starmer’s party, according to a Savanta survey, down from 43% at the 2024 General Election
www.standard.co.uk
January 6, 2026 at 11:56 AM
Labour vote in London polling is stubbornly sticky in the low 30s which might be enough to hold on in lots of places in the borough election. On the other hand, London Labour morale appears to me to be low and there’s talk of a near wipeout. Maybe that’s just temperamental pessimism?
Molotov-Ribbentrop elevated to an ideology.
Stephen Miller, who wants the U.S. to steal Greenland and shake down Latin America, says: ”We live in a world … that is governed by force, that is governed by power. These are the iron laws of the world since the beginning of time.”
That‘s a criminal pretending that a civilized world is impossible.
That‘s a criminal pretending that a civilized world is impossible.
January 6, 2026 at 9:25 AM
Molotov-Ribbentrop elevated to an ideology.
Nope. The arbiter of that platform is a mad, malicious child who is living out his power and abuse fantasies through his technology. There’s no playing field, no free exchange of ideas, no difference between facts and lies.
Cabinet Office Minister Baroness Anderson tells the Lords the Government will keep on using X.
"I still believe that X is an appropriate platform to use because I believe in freedom of speech..."
"It is incredibly important that there is a counter narrative on those platforms," she says.
"I still believe that X is an appropriate platform to use because I believe in freedom of speech..."
"It is incredibly important that there is a counter narrative on those platforms," she says.
January 5, 2026 at 4:07 PM
Nope. The arbiter of that platform is a mad, malicious child who is living out his power and abuse fantasies through his technology. There’s no playing field, no free exchange of ideas, no difference between facts and lies.
Cue screeching media campaign and Private Member’s Bill creating an unnecessary new criminal offence.
There is a law against wearing the uniform in public, to mislead, but not against pretending to have won the medals
January 5, 2026 at 4:02 PM
Cue screeching media campaign and Private Member’s Bill creating an unnecessary new criminal offence.
Reposted by Lewis Baston
Perfectly normal media channel. Nothing odd about it at all. "Regime change" 🤔 Anyone would think that we don't live in a parliamentary democracy
January 5, 2026 at 3:25 PM
Perfectly normal media channel. Nothing odd about it at all. "Regime change" 🤔 Anyone would think that we don't live in a parliamentary democracy
The Tower of Many Names (it’s the Post Office Tower if you’re my age)
January 5, 2026 at 11:33 AM
The Tower of Many Names (it’s the Post Office Tower if you’re my age)
Praise the Company!
January 5, 2026 at 9:08 AM
Praise the Company!
Unzoomed #717 3/6 🔴🔴🟢⚪️⚪️⚪️
unzoomed.com with map
unzoomed.com with map
Unzoomed
Identify cities using satellite images in this daily puzzle game, where each guess zooms out for enhanced clues.
unzoomed.com
January 4, 2026 at 5:27 PM
Unzoomed #717 3/6 🔴🔴🟢⚪️⚪️⚪️
unzoomed.com with map
unzoomed.com with map
Indeed. Which organisations exactly are going to be waging this civil war? With which weapons? The height of stupidity…
Good article this. Racism really is the reverse of a performance-enhancing drug, the mad, stupid shit it leads people to believe in and to do:
‘Once whispered, now discussed’: the rise of dubious claims of civil war in the UK
Dystopian warnings once reserved for the far right have found a wider audience – but there are good reasons for scepticism
www.theguardian.com
January 4, 2026 at 3:35 PM
Indeed. Which organisations exactly are going to be waging this civil war? With which weapons? The height of stupidity…
So many ‘Sir, have you no decency?’ moments.
A ludicrous conspiracy theory boosted by the President himself - accusing VP nominee Walz of the assassination of a Democrat state legislator. Trump showed no interest in or empathy for the assassination.
January 4, 2026 at 9:45 AM
So many ‘Sir, have you no decency?’ moments.
I go on a diet, the share price of Greggs starts falling. Coincidence? www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Feeling the bite: is Greggs on a roll or is its expansion overbaked?
UK pastry chain has plans for two new factories and 800 more branches, despite sales falling in 2025 and analysts questioning brand’s direction
www.theguardian.com
January 4, 2026 at 9:37 AM
I go on a diet, the share price of Greggs starts falling. Coincidence? www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Sad news. I thought he was fantastic as D84 (and in the Kaldor City audio). I wouldn’t mind AI if it was as nice, clever and moral as D84.
Sad news: Gregory de Polnay, Dixon of Dock Green regular and the incomparable D84 in Doctor Who’s Robots of Death has died aged 82. He was a lovely man and an excellent actor and renowned drama teacher.
January 3, 2026 at 10:17 PM
Sad news. I thought he was fantastic as D84 (and in the Kaldor City audio). I wouldn’t mind AI if it was as nice, clever and moral as D84.
Grand Theft Country.
Q: Is it possible that the US ends up administering Venezuela for years?
TRUMP: Well, you know, it won't cost us anything because the money coming out of the ground is very substantial
TRUMP: Well, you know, it won't cost us anything because the money coming out of the ground is very substantial
January 3, 2026 at 5:53 PM
Grand Theft Country.
Walking along Regent’s Canal is nice but - heading west - it does take me past my least favourite buildings in London, the Quinlan Terry pastiches near Winfield House. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinlan...
Quinlan Terry's Regent's Park villas - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
January 3, 2026 at 4:37 PM
Walking along Regent’s Canal is nice but - heading west - it does take me past my least favourite buildings in London, the Quinlan Terry pastiches near Winfield House. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinlan...
Unzoomed #716 3/6 🟡🔴🟢⚪️⚪️⚪️
unzoomed.com interesting one. No map.
unzoomed.com interesting one. No map.
Unzoomed
Identify cities using satellite images in this daily puzzle game, where each guess zooms out for enhanced clues.
unzoomed.com
January 3, 2026 at 2:18 PM
Unzoomed #716 3/6 🟡🔴🟢⚪️⚪️⚪️
unzoomed.com interesting one. No map.
unzoomed.com interesting one. No map.
BBC reporting that Maduro has been charged by the *US* for possessing machine guns. I thought it was nearly compulsory in some states, and the fellow doesn’t even live there.
January 3, 2026 at 1:16 PM
BBC reporting that Maduro has been charged by the *US* for possessing machine guns. I thought it was nearly compulsory in some states, and the fellow doesn’t even live there.
Not the main point, but: these guys are all about direct, ‘masculine’ speech and then suddenly it’s all ‘kinetic action’
How does launching air strikes and a commando raid fall under the remit of self defense for an arrest operation
January 3, 2026 at 12:42 PM
Not the main point, but: these guys are all about direct, ‘masculine’ speech and then suddenly it’s all ‘kinetic action’
National sovereignty much.
January 3, 2026 at 11:24 AM
National sovereignty much.
Reposted by Lewis Baston
Plausible pathway (from a month ago)
Plausible worst case scenario with Venezuela in four steps:
1. Rubio and Venezuelan exiles sell the idea of decapitation strikes against Maduro to Trump as the one big thing that solves Venezuela, cartels and Cuba for the US.
1. Rubio and Venezuelan exiles sell the idea of decapitation strikes against Maduro to Trump as the one big thing that solves Venezuela, cartels and Cuba for the US.
January 3, 2026 at 10:35 AM
Plausible pathway (from a month ago)
Reposted by Lewis Baston
Comparison to Panama 1989: in that case US courts had indicted Noriega for drug trafficking, and Panama had declared a state of war with the US and had killed a US Marine. No comparison really
Kidnapping the leader of a foreign state without any declaration of war and announcing it via social media is full-on rogue state stuff. From the world’s number one superpower.
January 3, 2026 at 10:17 AM
Comparison to Panama 1989: in that case US courts had indicted Noriega for drug trafficking, and Panama had declared a state of war with the US and had killed a US Marine. No comparison really
Everyone in the command chain for this deserves to be kidnapped and rendered in shipping crates to The Hague.
January 3, 2026 at 10:27 AM
Everyone in the command chain for this deserves to be kidnapped and rendered in shipping crates to The Hague.
Unzoomed #715 1/6 🟢⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️
unzoomed.com not one of the more challenging cities
unzoomed.com not one of the more challenging cities
Unzoomed
Identify cities using satellite images in this daily puzzle game, where each guess zooms out for enhanced clues.
unzoomed.com
January 2, 2026 at 7:05 PM
Unzoomed #715 1/6 🟢⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️
unzoomed.com not one of the more challenging cities
unzoomed.com not one of the more challenging cities