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
"Imagine my surprise when I looked and found a lot of ‘Come ons!’, a couple of ‘Get ins!’, and one ‘I’ve always liked Chelsea!’. Ironic though it might have been, that person has been blocked, their number deleted and they’re lucky I didn’t call the police." - wonderful by @arseblog.com today:
An interesting Premier League weekend
Morning all. It was quite an interesting day of Premier League action yesterday. I chose not to watch Man City play Chelsea, in much the same way I would choose not to nail my bollocks to a plank of w...
arseblog.com
January 5, 2026 at 10:25 AM
"Imagine my surprise when I looked and found a lot of ‘Come ons!’, a couple of ‘Get ins!’, and one ‘I’ve always liked Chelsea!’. Ironic though it might have been, that person has been blocked, their number deleted and they’re lucky I didn’t call the police." - wonderful by @arseblog.com today:
Reposted by Stephen Bush
Telling that the United hierarchy could accept the recurrent losses and insipid performances, but not when Amorim questioned his sporting director.
January 5, 2026 at 10:12 AM
Telling that the United hierarchy could accept the recurrent losses and insipid performances, but not when Amorim questioned his sporting director.
I've said it before and I will say it again: it is the clearest example of 'they have no plan and don't really know what they are doing' that this government has *both* gone (correctly) 'Sadiq, the fare freeze is bad policy and has to end' and also gone 'fare freeze for national rail? Sounds good'.
In fairness, she does at least try to explain what the benefits to passengers are of doing all this.
Although the examples are not great. The fares freeze has been in the gift of government throughout franchising.
Although the examples are not great. The fares freeze has been in the gift of government throughout franchising.
Better times - and better trains - lie ahead for Britain, writes Heidi Alexander | LBC share.google/c4vJdOSlrXRK...
January 5, 2026 at 10:17 AM
I've said it before and I will say it again: it is the clearest example of 'they have no plan and don't really know what they are doing' that this government has *both* gone (correctly) 'Sadiq, the fare freeze is bad policy and has to end' and also gone 'fare freeze for national rail? Sounds good'.
Reposted by Stephen Bush
In fairness, she does at least try to explain what the benefits to passengers are of doing all this.
Although the examples are not great. The fares freeze has been in the gift of government throughout franchising.
Although the examples are not great. The fares freeze has been in the gift of government throughout franchising.
Better times - and better trains - lie ahead for Britain, writes Heidi Alexander | LBC share.google/c4vJdOSlrXRK...
Better times - and better trains - lie ahead for Britain, writes Heidi Alexander | LBC
Great British Rail is the start of a new chapter for rail
share.google
January 5, 2026 at 10:09 AM
In fairness, she does at least try to explain what the benefits to passengers are of doing all this.
Although the examples are not great. The fares freeze has been in the gift of government throughout franchising.
Although the examples are not great. The fares freeze has been in the gift of government throughout franchising.
Reposted by Stephen Bush
There are a lot of conversations going on about the long-term shift but it's slow (because Europe always moves slowly and, to varying degrees, is tied into the US military).
Leaders are also prioritising Ukraine and are desperate to retain leverage on Zelensky's behalf.
Leaders are also prioritising Ukraine and are desperate to retain leverage on Zelensky's behalf.
"Vassal" talk is a bit much, but those Starmer (and other EU leaders tbf) statements read like all these people still believe, if we can just hold our breath for three more years, this nightmare will be over and we'll be back to singing Atlantic Kumbaya
January 5, 2026 at 9:22 AM
There are a lot of conversations going on about the long-term shift but it's slow (because Europe always moves slowly and, to varying degrees, is tied into the US military).
Leaders are also prioritising Ukraine and are desperate to retain leverage on Zelensky's behalf.
Leaders are also prioritising Ukraine and are desperate to retain leverage on Zelensky's behalf.
And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was 'Bryan Mbeumo hands Oliver Glasner first United win at the Emirates'.
Ruben Amorim has been sacked by Manchester United.
The Portuguese’s final game of his 14-month spell in charge was the 1-1 draw against Leeds United on Sunday that leaves them sixth in the Premier League after 20 matches.
Full story from @david-ornstein.bsky.social here ⬇️
🔗 nyti.ms/4jn0Zri
The Portuguese’s final game of his 14-month spell in charge was the 1-1 draw against Leeds United on Sunday that leaves them sixth in the Premier League after 20 matches.
Full story from @david-ornstein.bsky.social here ⬇️
🔗 nyti.ms/4jn0Zri
January 5, 2026 at 10:07 AM
And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was 'Bryan Mbeumo hands Oliver Glasner first United win at the Emirates'.
Come for the extract from Jonathan Powell's book. Stay for the culture chat.
A new year and a new sensation; hope from @stephenkb.bsky.social's email. Not about anything in politics but for the improvement in exhibitions at the Tate galleries.
January 5, 2026 at 10:01 AM
Come for the extract from Jonathan Powell's book. Stay for the culture chat.
Labour - and all Europe - are approaching a moment of truth as to whether their approach to managing Donald Trump has worked or can work. Today's newsletter:
Moment of truth for Britain’s Trump diplomacy
Keir Starmer hopes for closeness over confrontation with US in the hope it won’t hand Russia a victory in Ukraine
www.ft.com
January 5, 2026 at 10:00 AM
Labour - and all Europe - are approaching a moment of truth as to whether their approach to managing Donald Trump has worked or can work. Today's newsletter:
Reposted by Stephen Bush
I think the bar for "too online" for a minister should be "online at all".
What are they even doing personally accessing a twitter account? I get some politicians like to personally manage their online profiles but by minister level that should have been delegated away long ago
What are they even doing personally accessing a twitter account? I get some politicians like to personally manage their online profiles but by minister level that should have been delegated away long ago
January 5, 2026 at 9:54 AM
I think the bar for "too online" for a minister should be "online at all".
What are they even doing personally accessing a twitter account? I get some politicians like to personally manage their online profiles but by minister level that should have been delegated away long ago
What are they even doing personally accessing a twitter account? I get some politicians like to personally manage their online profiles but by minister level that should have been delegated away long ago
It's I think just a sign that some ministers, and Mike Tapp is visibly one, are just too online. Why are you complaining about Twitter wanting clarity when you are doing a media round?
They could quietly defend the implicit acceptance of impotence - 'we are a minor middle power, on the security council/we are right to be appease America because Trump is vindictive but we have interests that he can damage' - but swipe at social media is an example of the govt's political dilemmas
January 5, 2026 at 9:49 AM
It's I think just a sign that some ministers, and Mike Tapp is visibly one, are just too online. Why are you complaining about Twitter wanting clarity when you are doing a media round?
There's no *good* way to front up 'well, we didn't take *any* of the opportunities to prepare for the current situation and our read of how we get what we need in Ukraine is obeisance', but IMO you're better off just getting whacked in the media round than giving it large about social media.
It's up to the US "to lay out its legal basis for the actions that it has taken" is Venezuela, says Home Office minister Mike Tapp. For now the UK cannot take a view given what he calls "the fog of war". The UK will "not be pressured by social media" on this, he says.
January 5, 2026 at 9:19 AM
There's no *good* way to front up 'well, we didn't take *any* of the opportunities to prepare for the current situation and our read of how we get what we need in Ukraine is obeisance', but IMO you're better off just getting whacked in the media round than giving it large about social media.
This is the correct read. Most European leaders have a 'white knuckle it until Governor Fungible (D-Nonsuch) gets 270 electoral votes in 2029' approach. Not a good idea IMV.
"Vassal" talk is a bit much, but those Starmer (and other EU leaders tbf) statements read like all these people still believe, if we can just hold our breath for three more years, this nightmare will be over and we'll be back to singing Atlantic Kumbaya
January 5, 2026 at 9:08 AM
This is the correct read. Most European leaders have a 'white knuckle it until Governor Fungible (D-Nonsuch) gets 270 electoral votes in 2029' approach. Not a good idea IMV.
Reposted by Stephen Bush
Oligarchs and big business in France and abroad used to shun the likes of Le Pen and Bardella because they saw the far right as beyond the pale. But now they are courting them because they are likely to come to power: www.ft.com/content/2070...
French far right courts business leaders as it prepares for power
Rassemblement National leader Jordan Bardella holds once-taboo meetings with CEOs and investors
www.ft.com
January 5, 2026 at 8:24 AM
Oligarchs and big business in France and abroad used to shun the likes of Le Pen and Bardella because they saw the far right as beyond the pale. But now they are courting them because they are likely to come to power: www.ft.com/content/2070...
“Business conditions were easier to navigate when my grandparents had to do it”. Clown question leading to a clown answer.
January 5, 2026 at 8:08 AM
“Business conditions were easier to navigate when my grandparents had to do it”. Clown question leading to a clown answer.
This dynamic is so weird, the amount of stuff I read about successive mayors of New York where I go 'but the mayor of New York can't do that/that has nothing to do with his job'.
And everything I know about what the mayor of New York can do I have discovered by accident!
And everything I know about what the mayor of New York can do I have discovered by accident!
I look forward to Mamdani discourse that has some relation to running New York City.
The president extralegally kidnapped a foreign leader, killing 40 people, many of them civilians, in the process. Here’s why that’s bad news for Zohran Mamdani.
January 5, 2026 at 1:50 AM
This dynamic is so weird, the amount of stuff I read about successive mayors of New York where I go 'but the mayor of New York can't do that/that has nothing to do with his job'.
And everything I know about what the mayor of New York can do I have discovered by accident!
And everything I know about what the mayor of New York can do I have discovered by accident!
I know that actually, I really should just walk every day even after the lift is fixed and spend ten minutes less in the gym.
Will I?
No.
Will I?
No.
Yesterday: made fun of some of my friends for living on the bare earth, pointed out that they didn't have as good a free view of the fireworks as in our flat.
Today: lift broken. Walked nine flights of steps, battling a hangover.
I wish karma didn't work so quickly.
Today: lift broken. Walked nine flights of steps, battling a hangover.
I wish karma didn't work so quickly.
January 5, 2026 at 1:02 AM
I know that actually, I really should just walk every day even after the lift is fixed and spend ten minutes less in the gym.
Will I?
No.
Will I?
No.
Reposted by Stephen Bush
Can't believe this has been sat on YouTube for fifteen years and I'd never heard it until today.
Wow. Thin Lizzy playing the Doctor Who theme music is not something I had come across before youtu.be/nbsoEcXAaiY
Thin Lizzy - Dr. Who Theme / '69 Rock (Live at the Waldbuhne '73)
YouTube video by ThinLizzyFanpage
youtu.be
January 4, 2026 at 10:39 PM
Can't believe this has been sat on YouTube for fifteen years and I'd never heard it until today.
Reposted by Stephen Bush
I think the AI angle of this is obscurant. It doesn’t matter that grok is “an AI” whatever you take that to mean. Suppose X hired a team of guys to photoshop the clothes off of women and children whenever anyone asks. That’s functionally identical what happening here. It’s not complicated.
A functional country would shut Grok down permanently. Like, immediately. Right now. Last week. Whatever. Just flip the switch. Obviously.
January 4, 2026 at 11:25 PM
I think the AI angle of this is obscurant. It doesn’t matter that grok is “an AI” whatever you take that to mean. Suppose X hired a team of guys to photoshop the clothes off of women and children whenever anyone asks. That’s functionally identical what happening here. It’s not complicated.
Find this advert a particularly funny test of the limits of advertising, in that it turns out that a KFC advert can make me crave fried chicken but *not* convince me that I want KFC.
RIP the Stranger Things KFC advert.
January 5, 2026 at 12:28 AM
Find this advert a particularly funny test of the limits of advertising, in that it turns out that a KFC advert can make me crave fried chicken but *not* convince me that I want KFC.
Reposted by Stephen Bush
So I am not in a high rise but as the owner of a 1970s flat they literally tripled the storage space when they got rid of the immersion heater
January 4, 2026 at 11:25 PM
So I am not in a high rise but as the owner of a 1970s flat they literally tripled the storage space when they got rid of the immersion heater
As a lifetime London flat dweller and artificial tree user, this post has solved a 30 year mystery for me of why Rose’s dad had a big hatchet.
Generations from now, I reckon the sad, post-holiday dismemberment of the Christmas tree will be a core part of British folk tradition. Historians will have theories about what it means. But I bet they don't remember that it was all because Haringey council wouldn't take bits longer than 1 metre.
January 4, 2026 at 11:15 PM
As a lifetime London flat dweller and artificial tree user, this post has solved a 30 year mystery for me of why Rose’s dad had a big hatchet.
Reposted by Stephen Bush
I know RUK ignores NI, but surely there should be more public horror and indignation about the fact that not 6 months ago part of the UK saw a pogrom that drove an ethnic group (the Roma) out of a sizeable town
Ballymena riots six months on: fear, formidable obstacles and official silence
Ballymena riots six months on: fear, formidable obstacles and official silence
After attacks on immigrants’ homes, groups patrol the streets to intimidate potential victims, who try to keep a low profile
www.theguardian.com
January 4, 2026 at 4:51 PM
I know RUK ignores NI, but surely there should be more public horror and indignation about the fact that not 6 months ago part of the UK saw a pogrom that drove an ethnic group (the Roma) out of a sizeable town
Reposted by Stephen Bush
this thread has the most incredible levels of american bluesky I've ever seen. no need to have an opinion on any of it. just sit back and enjoy.
January 4, 2026 at 9:54 PM
this thread has the most incredible levels of american bluesky I've ever seen. no need to have an opinion on any of it. just sit back and enjoy.
Reposted by Stephen Bush
Be more useful to show more May locals/Scotland/Wales projections since they're coming soon, will have practical impacts on people's lives which could change a general election, and a party could potentially do something with that info in short order.
January 4, 2026 at 9:55 PM
Be more useful to show more May locals/Scotland/Wales projections since they're coming soon, will have practical impacts on people's lives which could change a general election, and a party could potentially do something with that info in short order.
Reposted by Stephen Bush
I think this is basically FPTP winner takes all mentality. Reform have a plurality of the vote so will have substantial number of supporters, albeit a minority, amongst nearly all voter groups (I think 18-24s are the only age group with them under 10%?)
bsky.app/profile/step...
bsky.app/profile/step...
Good thread. A surprising number of people don’t seem to understand how pluralities work. The party leading the polls at c30 per cent will be getting c20-30 per cent among *most* groups. That’s how it works!
Reform have a substantial polling lead, it would be weird if they didn't have a minority of support from Mumsnet readers
January 4, 2026 at 9:16 PM
I think this is basically FPTP winner takes all mentality. Reform have a plurality of the vote so will have substantial number of supporters, albeit a minority, amongst nearly all voter groups (I think 18-24s are the only age group with them under 10%?)
bsky.app/profile/step...
bsky.app/profile/step...