Michael
@michaeljsc.bsky.social
tweeting about: politics, pop culture, general nonsense 🏳️🌈 (@michael__42 in the other place)
Reposted by Michael
Really hope that Zarah Sultana keeps a diary, because I really want future historians to be able to answer “what was she thinking, really?” not whatever hindsight nonsense she comes up with later.
Your Party row erupts over hundreds of thousands of pounds in donations
Clash the latest in months of political infighting between the camps of Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana
www.theguardian.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:26 PM
Really hope that Zarah Sultana keeps a diary, because I really want future historians to be able to answer “what was she thinking, really?” not whatever hindsight nonsense she comes up with later.
This is a very good piece from someone who can speak from experience, and it’s worth reading in full.
The reaction to the Panorama edit has been nothing short of hysterical. Yes the BBC has some impartiality problems. But its biggest isn't the one you think.
New piece from me.
open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...
New piece from me.
open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...
The truth about impartiality at the BBC
And the hysteria of the current "crisis"
open.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:53 PM
This is a very good piece from someone who can speak from experience, and it’s worth reading in full.
Reposted by Michael
Trump responded to Tuesday's election defeats by pivoting shutdown negotiations to the future of the filibuster, at which point Dem institutionalists blinked.
(that's bad, according to me, but agree or disagree you should know what the actual stakes were)
www.slowboring.com/p/13-thought...
(that's bad, according to me, but agree or disagree you should know what the actual stakes were)
www.slowboring.com/p/13-thought...
13 thoughts on the end of the shutdown
It’s about the filibuster much more than health care
www.slowboring.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Trump responded to Tuesday's election defeats by pivoting shutdown negotiations to the future of the filibuster, at which point Dem institutionalists blinked.
(that's bad, according to me, but agree or disagree you should know what the actual stakes were)
www.slowboring.com/p/13-thought...
(that's bad, according to me, but agree or disagree you should know what the actual stakes were)
www.slowboring.com/p/13-thought...
Reposted by Michael
NEW: Rachel Reeves signals she intends to remove the two-child cap *in full*
"I don't think a child should be penalised because they're in a bigger family through no fault of their own," she tells BBC.
"I don't think a child should be penalised because they're in a bigger family through no fault of their own," she tells BBC.
November 10, 2025 at 3:05 PM
NEW: Rachel Reeves signals she intends to remove the two-child cap *in full*
"I don't think a child should be penalised because they're in a bigger family through no fault of their own," she tells BBC.
"I don't think a child should be penalised because they're in a bigger family through no fault of their own," she tells BBC.
Reposted by Michael
The two child cap is a test of the government’s seriousness: if you are serious about child poverty, you lift it, and if you are serious about not wasting money, you don’t fritter away cash on dumb things like vouchers to try and manage the PLP.
If the government chooses to keep the 2 child limit and spend money on vouchers and parenting programmes instead, child poverty will rise and this will be a conscious and deliberate political choice in defiance of all the evidence
Scrapping the cap entirely is both good policy *and* good politics.
Half measures will "save" some money short-term, but will piss *everybody* off and still leave very large numbers of children suffering from a policy designed to make them poorer.
inews.co.uk/news/politic...
Half measures will "save" some money short-term, but will piss *everybody* off and still leave very large numbers of children suffering from a policy designed to make them poorer.
inews.co.uk/news/politic...
November 10, 2025 at 12:59 PM
The two child cap is a test of the government’s seriousness: if you are serious about child poverty, you lift it, and if you are serious about not wasting money, you don’t fritter away cash on dumb things like vouchers to try and manage the PLP.
Reposted by Michael
"Gibb’s supporters say he is trying to save the BBC from itself; he was also heard last year to say that if he didn’t get his way, he would 'blow the place up'"
observer.co.uk/opinion-and-...
observer.co.uk/opinion-and-...
The Observer view: political interference at the BBC | The Observer
observer.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 11:37 AM
"Gibb’s supporters say he is trying to save the BBC from itself; he was also heard last year to say that if he didn’t get his way, he would 'blow the place up'"
observer.co.uk/opinion-and-...
observer.co.uk/opinion-and-...
Hades II update: I got to pet Cerberus!
November 10, 2025 at 12:12 AM
Hades II update: I got to pet Cerberus!
Reposted by Michael
It’s easy to see why Trump wants to destroy the world’s number one news source. We can’t let him.
The BBC belongs to all of us here in the UK.
The Prime Minister and leaders from across the political spectrum should be united in telling Trump to keep his hands off it.
The BBC belongs to all of us here in the UK.
The Prime Minister and leaders from across the political spectrum should be united in telling Trump to keep his hands off it.
November 9, 2025 at 9:45 PM
It’s easy to see why Trump wants to destroy the world’s number one news source. We can’t let him.
The BBC belongs to all of us here in the UK.
The Prime Minister and leaders from across the political spectrum should be united in telling Trump to keep his hands off it.
The BBC belongs to all of us here in the UK.
The Prime Minister and leaders from across the political spectrum should be united in telling Trump to keep his hands off it.
love that O’Brien is horrible to Thomas even when they’re in the middle of scheming together. she’s just constitutionally horrible
finally caved to my husband and watching downton abbey.
Mr Bates all through this first episode:
Mr Bates all through this first episode:
November 9, 2025 at 9:42 PM
love that O’Brien is horrible to Thomas even when they’re in the middle of scheming together. she’s just constitutionally horrible
Reposted by Michael
In 2020, Boris Johnson said that Trump "encouraged people to storm the Capitol ... I believe that that was completely wrong. ... I unreservedly condemn encouraging people to behave in the disgraceful way that they did in the Capitol".
Does he still think that?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgCi...
Does he still think that?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgCi...
Boris Johnson condemns Trump after Capitol attack: 'Completely wrong'
YouTube video by Guardian News
www.youtube.com
November 9, 2025 at 9:08 PM
In 2020, Boris Johnson said that Trump "encouraged people to storm the Capitol ... I believe that that was completely wrong. ... I unreservedly condemn encouraging people to behave in the disgraceful way that they did in the Capitol".
Does he still think that?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgCi...
Does he still think that?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgCi...
Reposted by Michael
It’s not at all clear to me how the BBC can do any kind of serious journalism if its top two bosses can be forced to quit over such an obviously confected scandal. There is no substantive error here. How can the BBC report on Trump, or Farage, or anyone else, in these circumstances?
November 9, 2025 at 7:30 PM
It’s not at all clear to me how the BBC can do any kind of serious journalism if its top two bosses can be forced to quit over such an obviously confected scandal. There is no substantive error here. How can the BBC report on Trump, or Farage, or anyone else, in these circumstances?
This is insane. What the hell are they doing capitulating to Trump? Where is Lisa Nandy?! www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cd...
BBC director general Tim Davie and News CEO Deborah Turness resign over Trump documentary edit
Davie says
www.bbc.co.uk
November 9, 2025 at 6:32 PM
This is insane. What the hell are they doing capitulating to Trump? Where is Lisa Nandy?! www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cd...
Reposted by Michael
It is bad that the director of the BBC has resigned over a scandal people only cared about because the mentally unwell President of the United States became fixated with it, and it then went viral on the website controlled by the world's richest man.
November 9, 2025 at 6:09 PM
It is bad that the director of the BBC has resigned over a scandal people only cared about because the mentally unwell President of the United States became fixated with it, and it then went viral on the website controlled by the world's richest man.
Reposted by Michael
Reposted by Michael
‘Our priorities are growth and climate’
Oh rly???
Oh rly???
Govt scraps all electrification investment. Midland Main Line to stay forever diesel Leicester Nottingham Derby Sheffield. Hugely embarrassing and inexplicable
www.ft.com/content/5ecd...
www.ft.com/content/5ecd...
UK transport secretary says full electrification of railways ‘not affordable right now’
Heidi Alexander says focus will be on other projects such as HS2
www.ft.com
November 9, 2025 at 9:27 AM
‘Our priorities are growth and climate’
Oh rly???
Oh rly???
We’re going to break our promise and raise income tax.
And you’re not going to also cut national insurance and then raise a dozen other minor taxes to make up the difference, right?
…
Right?
And you’re not going to also cut national insurance and then raise a dozen other minor taxes to make up the difference, right?
…
Right?
November 9, 2025 at 9:01 AM
We’re going to break our promise and raise income tax.
And you’re not going to also cut national insurance and then raise a dozen other minor taxes to make up the difference, right?
…
Right?
And you’re not going to also cut national insurance and then raise a dozen other minor taxes to make up the difference, right?
…
Right?
Reposted by Michael
The BBC is apologising for its Panorama edit. It shouldn’t. First, the narrative is true: Donald Trump *did* incite the Capitol riot. Second, the apology won’t appease those attacking it. So why not at least stand for something?
Wrote this on it earlier this week:
inews.co.uk/news/world/b...
Wrote this on it earlier this week:
inews.co.uk/news/world/b...
The BBC was right about the Capitol riots. In a sane world, Trump would be in jail
The US President faced impeachment over the violence, and in a world where Republicans had more courage, he would have been found guilty
inews.co.uk
November 9, 2025 at 7:05 AM
The BBC is apologising for its Panorama edit. It shouldn’t. First, the narrative is true: Donald Trump *did* incite the Capitol riot. Second, the apology won’t appease those attacking it. So why not at least stand for something?
Wrote this on it earlier this week:
inews.co.uk/news/world/b...
Wrote this on it earlier this week:
inews.co.uk/news/world/b...
my eyes slid past “gay” here and I thought it said “openly center-left”
Tim Miller is cheered up by the Netherlands electing a young, upbeat, openly gay center-left prime minister who’s talking optimism, growth, and even building new cities. AEI’s Stan Veuger mostly concurs. A fun and interesting conversation.
www.thebulwark.com/p/tim-falls-...
www.thebulwark.com/p/tim-falls-...
Tim Falls For New Dutch PM? (w/ Stan Veuger)
Tim Miller brings on Dutch economist Stan Veuger for some good news.
www.thebulwark.com
November 8, 2025 at 11:47 PM
my eyes slid past “gay” here and I thought it said “openly center-left”
and people say this website “doesn’t have the juice”
November 8, 2025 at 8:25 PM
and people say this website “doesn’t have the juice”
Reposted by Michael
This is quite the graph and reinforces my view that Bluesky is actually quite revolutionary.
November 8, 2025 at 1:25 PM
This is quite the graph and reinforces my view that Bluesky is actually quite revolutionary.
finally caved to my husband and watching downton abbey.
Mr Bates all through this first episode:
Mr Bates all through this first episode:
November 8, 2025 at 1:19 PM
finally caved to my husband and watching downton abbey.
Mr Bates all through this first episode:
Mr Bates all through this first episode:
Reposted by Michael
Huge numbers of Labour policy spads read @samfr.bsky.social’s Substack, where the exact scale of the repair job was written in black and white. What actually happened is those people were cowed into silence by a set-up that valued polling over policy.
November 8, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Huge numbers of Labour policy spads read @samfr.bsky.social’s Substack, where the exact scale of the repair job was written in black and white. What actually happened is those people were cowed into silence by a set-up that valued polling over policy.
As Stephen says, this is an incredible line. The previous government cut National Insurance by 4p and had future spending plans that the independent forecaster basically called fictional!
They seem to have expected reality to be more respectful of their manifesto.
They seem to have expected reality to be more respectful of their manifesto.
“Nobody thought a Labour government would have to raise taxes by more than £70bn,” claims one insider in this excellent piece. Shows the problem of the climate of fear in meetings created by some of Starmer’s aides, in that plenty of Labour insiders, did, in fact, think this!
The politics of breaking manifesto promises
The history of politicians who go back on their words has lessons for Rachel Reeves as she mulls raising taxes
www.ft.com
November 8, 2025 at 12:34 PM
As Stephen says, this is an incredible line. The previous government cut National Insurance by 4p and had future spending plans that the independent forecaster basically called fictional!
They seem to have expected reality to be more respectful of their manifesto.
They seem to have expected reality to be more respectful of their manifesto.
Reposted by Michael
“Nobody thought a Labour government would have to raise taxes by more than £70bn,” claims one insider in this excellent piece. Shows the problem of the climate of fear in meetings created by some of Starmer’s aides, in that plenty of Labour insiders, did, in fact, think this!
The politics of breaking manifesto promises
The history of politicians who go back on their words has lessons for Rachel Reeves as she mulls raising taxes
www.ft.com
November 8, 2025 at 10:32 AM
“Nobody thought a Labour government would have to raise taxes by more than £70bn,” claims one insider in this excellent piece. Shows the problem of the climate of fear in meetings created by some of Starmer’s aides, in that plenty of Labour insiders, did, in fact, think this!
Reposted by Michael
Reeves should be aiming to get off two cycles: “every budget is an ordeal, every minor fluctuation in the forecast is a nightmare“ and “we did some small tax tweaks to raise £2bn and whoopsydaisy, something has fallen over unexpectedly/inflation is higher”.
I’m with Vince.
And 2p on income tax plus 2p off NICS to raise £6bn feels like being hung for half a lamb.
www.ft.com/content/9e56...
And 2p on income tax plus 2p off NICS to raise £6bn feels like being hung for half a lamb.
www.ft.com/content/9e56...
November 8, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Reeves should be aiming to get off two cycles: “every budget is an ordeal, every minor fluctuation in the forecast is a nightmare“ and “we did some small tax tweaks to raise £2bn and whoopsydaisy, something has fallen over unexpectedly/inflation is higher”.