Stephen Bush
@stephenkb.bsky.social
Associate editor and columnist @financialtimes.com. Post too often about culture, public policy, management, politics, nerd stuff, Arsenal, wosoc. Try my UK politics newsletter for free here: www.ft.com/tryinsidepolitics
Pinned
Stephen Bush
@stephenkb.bsky.social
· Feb 22
I sat through that so when my column gets factchecked I can say “yes, that line is accurate”. Such is the FT’s commitment to bringing you our best understanding of the truth. Subscribe here: subs.ft.com/products
Reposted by Stephen Bush
You people are mad, this looks great
For connoisseurs of utterly mental extensions on mundane houses (via reddit)
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/1...
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/1...
January 2, 2026 at 6:29 PM
You people are mad, this looks great
All the news on our liveblog:
Donald Trump launches attack on Venezuela
Explosions reported in Caracas after weeks of pressure from Washington
www.ft.com
January 3, 2026 at 11:59 AM
All the news on our liveblog:
This - I can vouch - lovely cardigan is on sale, so who is to say if 2026 is starting well or badly?
Frampton Shawl Cardigan
Whether you are channelling your inner Starsky or hankering for crisp winter days, the shawl neck cardigan is the perfect all-year-round alternative to a jacket. Some believe that the shawl neck cardi...
aubinandwills.com
January 3, 2026 at 11:44 AM
This - I can vouch - lovely cardigan is on sale, so who is to say if 2026 is starting well or badly?
Reposted by Stephen Bush
The core of the issue I take with the Ovenden piece, is that this is a particularly acute problem when the government doesn’t have a clear sense of what it wants, the clear trade-offs that it is willing to accept as a result. Which stakeholders are you willing to piss off for extended periods.
January 3, 2026 at 10:28 AM
The core of the issue I take with the Ovenden piece, is that this is a particularly acute problem when the government doesn’t have a clear sense of what it wants, the clear trade-offs that it is willing to accept as a result. Which stakeholders are you willing to piss off for extended periods.
V good thread. IMV what’s double damning about the Ovenden piece is that you could write a thousand pieces about how Whitehall could run better, but absolutely none of them would run through “why should the diplomatic service care about a British citizen in an authoritarian jail?”
I have a few thoughts on the Stakeholder State and the piece by Paul Ovenden.
I disagree with the extent of emphasis on stakeholders, but the more dismissive engagement on this app misses that a Strong Stakeholderism does exist, and has placed particular constraints on a govt that lacks direction 🧵
I disagree with the extent of emphasis on stakeholders, but the more dismissive engagement on this app misses that a Strong Stakeholderism does exist, and has placed particular constraints on a govt that lacks direction 🧵
The Blob, the Groups and now The Stakeholder state
Alaa Abd el-Fattah has shown supremacy of the Stakeholder State
www.thetimes.com/article/3720...
Alaa Abd el-Fattah has shown supremacy of the Stakeholder State
www.thetimes.com/article/3720...
January 3, 2026 at 10:43 AM
V good thread. IMV what’s double damning about the Ovenden piece is that you could write a thousand pieces about how Whitehall could run better, but absolutely none of them would run through “why should the diplomatic service care about a British citizen in an authoritarian jail?”
Reposted by Stephen Bush
I took this photo of a heron at Bushy Park just before dawn this morning
January 3, 2026 at 9:44 AM
I took this photo of a heron at Bushy Park just before dawn this morning
Good thread.
Days like this are a stark reminder that the UK undertook Brexit at historically the worst possible moment. Bloc politics is here to stay and fiddlearsing about with 2mm advances towards smoother customs arrangements with the EU is not the leadership Britain needs.
January 3, 2026 at 10:14 AM
Good thread.
Reposted by Stephen Bush
In the 90s Waterloo Roundabout underpass was packed with homeless people. The Labour Government properly fixed rough sleeping.
January 3, 2026 at 12:35 AM
In the 90s Waterloo Roundabout underpass was packed with homeless people. The Labour Government properly fixed rough sleeping.
Reposted by Stephen Bush
Pre remodeling Trafalgar Square just being like... a wildly terrifying place to try and cross a road or be a pedestrian
January 3, 2026 at 12:28 AM
Pre remodeling Trafalgar Square just being like... a wildly terrifying place to try and cross a road or be a pedestrian
Reposted by Stephen Bush
Memories of things like walking past Actual Binfires as a kid in London in the period (in nice bits of London) mean I do very, very much agree.
January 3, 2026 at 12:26 AM
Memories of things like walking past Actual Binfires as a kid in London in the period (in nice bits of London) mean I do very, very much agree.
Reposted by Stephen Bush
My first place in London in 1993 was a room in a house off the Upper Clapton Road then known as "murder mile". Including drive by shootings at the queue outside the club.
January 3, 2026 at 12:27 AM
My first place in London in 1993 was a room in a house off the Upper Clapton Road then known as "murder mile". Including drive by shootings at the queue outside the club.
Reposted by Stephen Bush
I will never tire of telling people that in the 80s, we came down *from Yorkshire* on a geography field trip about urban blight to... Hoxton Square.
January 3, 2026 at 12:25 AM
I will never tire of telling people that in the 80s, we came down *from Yorkshire* on a geography field trip about urban blight to... Hoxton Square.
Reposted by Stephen Bush
Lol at Nineties London being clean and safe.
January 3, 2026 at 12:20 AM
Lol at Nineties London being clean and safe.
Reposted by Stephen Bush
And now I'm left wondering if there is there a FB group for people still livid about them moving the Blockbusters further down Rye Lane.
January 3, 2026 at 12:19 AM
And now I'm left wondering if there is there a FB group for people still livid about them moving the Blockbusters further down Rye Lane.
Reposted by Stephen Bush
I still enjoy imagining the increasing despair of the producers when they realise this time they can't edit out the meta-gaming
January 3, 2026 at 12:16 AM
I still enjoy imagining the increasing despair of the producers when they realise this time they can't edit out the meta-gaming
I know, yeah, it's AI, but it just utterly wild to me, speaking as someone who grew up *in London in the time period being depicted here* that people are doing nostalgia for *London in the 90s*!
London in the good old days - before everyone's feet pointed forwards.
January 3, 2026 at 12:15 AM
I know, yeah, it's AI, but it just utterly wild to me, speaking as someone who grew up *in London in the time period being depicted here* that people are doing nostalgia for *London in the 90s*!
Reposted by Stephen Bush
Once upon a time, it was possible to produce very comfortable inter-city train interiors.
January 2, 2026 at 11:38 PM
Once upon a time, it was possible to produce very comfortable inter-city train interiors.
Reposted by Stephen Bush
The year is 2028. A child pulls an ancient bottle from the mud on the banks of the Thames. It has a note inside. He turns to his father with a concerned face and says "Daddy, what does https:// mean?“
January 2, 2026 at 11:36 PM
The year is 2028. A child pulls an ancient bottle from the mud on the banks of the Thames. It has a note inside. He turns to his father with a concerned face and says "Daddy, what does https:// mean?“
Indeed. I would love to pretend I have shifted over here because of my superior virtue, but it's because frankly I would be better off writing my pieces' HTML address on a piece of paper, putting the paper in a bottle, and throwing the bottle in the Thames and hoping it reaches an FT reader.
Lost amid the discussion of why the Government should get off X is its utter uselessness as an engagement tool and the fact departments are wasting vast sums making content for it. Take this:
January 2, 2026 at 11:21 PM
Indeed. I would love to pretend I have shifted over here because of my superior virtue, but it's because frankly I would be better off writing my pieces' HTML address on a piece of paper, putting the paper in a bottle, and throwing the bottle in the Thames and hoping it reaches an FT reader.
Reposted by Stephen Bush
Five RTs. Six Likes. It would be more cost effective for Defra comms officials to dial random phone numbers and launch into a spiel about otters or whatever.
January 2, 2026 at 11:18 PM
Five RTs. Six Likes. It would be more cost effective for Defra comms officials to dial random phone numbers and launch into a spiel about otters or whatever.
Reposted by Stephen Bush
Lost amid the discussion of why the Government should get off X is its utter uselessness as an engagement tool and the fact departments are wasting vast sums making content for it. Take this:
January 2, 2026 at 11:15 PM
Lost amid the discussion of why the Government should get off X is its utter uselessness as an engagement tool and the fact departments are wasting vast sums making content for it. Take this:
Reposted by Stephen Bush
If anything, this series has avoided the usual Pol Pot tendency by not getting rid of Jade (PhD student) or Hugo (posh) first up
January 2, 2026 at 11:09 PM
If anything, this series has avoided the usual Pol Pot tendency by not getting rid of Jade (PhD student) or Hugo (posh) first up
Reposted by Stephen Bush
While accurate, this underplays the impact of the greatest moment in TV history, to whit: Nicky, post-banishment, very calmly explaining the reason *why* she didn't join in the toast
January 2, 2026 at 11:08 PM
While accurate, this underplays the impact of the greatest moment in TV history, to whit: Nicky, post-banishment, very calmly explaining the reason *why* she didn't join in the toast
Reposted by Stephen Bush
Utterly tangential, but this is a first class example of using alt text for humour without in any way detracting from it's true purpose.
A surprising number of people on my TL are going 'oh, a Person of Colour (TM) has been voted off #thetraitors for the first time again'. Uh....
January 2, 2026 at 11:06 PM
Utterly tangential, but this is a first class example of using alt text for humour without in any way detracting from it's true purpose.
Reposted by Stephen Bush
There is, to my mind, no justification for the continued use by the UK Government of X as a platform for official comms. There hasn't been for some time, in fact, but if the latest developments around AI-generated image abuse and CSAM don't change the policy I really don't know what will.
NEW: People are using Elon Musk's chatbot, Grok, to alter images to depict real women being sexually abused, humiliated, hurt, and even killed.
futurism.com/future-socie...
futurism.com/future-socie...
Grok Is Being Used to Depict Horrific Violence Against Real Women
People are asking Elon Musk's Grok chatbot to alter images to depict women being sexually abused, humiliated, and even killed.
futurism.com
January 2, 2026 at 9:18 PM
There is, to my mind, no justification for the continued use by the UK Government of X as a platform for official comms. There hasn't been for some time, in fact, but if the latest developments around AI-generated image abuse and CSAM don't change the policy I really don't know what will.