Alexander Clarkson
@aphclarkson.bsky.social
Lecturer for European Politics and History at King's College London. Opinions my own. RT not always endorsement.
Also to be found at @APHClarkson
https://www.ullstein.de/werke/die-macht-der-diaspora/hardcover/978354910
Also to be found at @APHClarkson
https://www.ullstein.de/werke/die-macht-der-diaspora/hardcover/978354910
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
The collapse of Noah Smith from 'interesting writer whose occasionally a bit random' into 'complete idiot and mentalist' is one of the most clear cut cases of twitter-poisoning I've seen
Noah Smith is paid in the high six-figures to write a blog read by Americans who believe themselves to be intelligent. Yet, he is both unable to read a sign and also for some reason chose to have a 90 minute layover for a flight that takes 90 minutes.
onemileatatime.com/news/economi...
onemileatatime.com/news/economi...
Economist Doesn't Follow Signs At Heathrow: Proof The UK Is Failing?
A economist had a bad experience connecting at Heathrow, suggesting it's reflective of bigger issues in the UK. There's only one issue...
onemileatatime.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:33 PM
The collapse of Noah Smith from 'interesting writer whose occasionally a bit random' into 'complete idiot and mentalist' is one of the most clear cut cases of twitter-poisoning I've seen
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
New post: Labour’s Brexit stance is as untenable as their tax pledge
mainlymacro.blogspot.com/2025/11/labo...
As public perception and econometric estimates of the damage caused by Brexit rise, Labour's refusal to discuss rejoining the EU's customs union or single market means more self harm.
mainlymacro.blogspot.com/2025/11/labo...
As public perception and econometric estimates of the damage caused by Brexit rise, Labour's refusal to discuss rejoining the EU's customs union or single market means more self harm.
Labour’s Brexit stance is as untenable as their tax pledge
In my last post about the prospect of Labour breaking its tax pledge, I did something I don’t often do, which is indulge in some ‘I told y...
mainlymacro.blogspot.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:07 AM
New post: Labour’s Brexit stance is as untenable as their tax pledge
mainlymacro.blogspot.com/2025/11/labo...
As public perception and econometric estimates of the damage caused by Brexit rise, Labour's refusal to discuss rejoining the EU's customs union or single market means more self harm.
mainlymacro.blogspot.com/2025/11/labo...
As public perception and econometric estimates of the damage caused by Brexit rise, Labour's refusal to discuss rejoining the EU's customs union or single market means more self harm.
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
Let us simply not check that figure after they stuck most of the BBC in the US behind a paywall a few months ago to increase revenue at the expense of British soft power and influence.
Nowhere in the hysterical pile-on against the BBC in the British press has anyone mentioned that BBC News now has 77 million viewers & listeners in the US and has established itself as the second most trusted news source there.
November 11, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Let us simply not check that figure after they stuck most of the BBC in the US behind a paywall a few months ago to increase revenue at the expense of British soft power and influence.
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
"On another occasion, a BBC executive forbade me from writing for the New Statesman, imploring me to ask The Spectator instead, saying that would be perfectly fine."
goodallandgoodluck.substack.com/p/the-truth-...
goodallandgoodluck.substack.com/p/the-truth-...
The truth about impartiality at the BBC
And the hysteria of the current "crisis"
goodallandgoodluck.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:42 PM
"On another occasion, a BBC executive forbade me from writing for the New Statesman, imploring me to ask The Spectator instead, saying that would be perfectly fine."
goodallandgoodluck.substack.com/p/the-truth-...
goodallandgoodluck.substack.com/p/the-truth-...
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
1. Irony is dead.
2. This fits well with the attempt by far-right online influencer who want to discredit strong institutions who can provide shared reality to European publics. If you have tens of competings 'facts', real propaganda can make people believer anything.
2. This fits well with the attempt by far-right online influencer who want to discredit strong institutions who can provide shared reality to European publics. If you have tens of competings 'facts', real propaganda can make people believer anything.
The Russian Embassy in London has called the BBC, Britain’s public service broadcaster, a “propaganda and disinformation tool” that was full of “ideological dogma.”
Russia joins Trump’s BBC pile-on
Moscow’s Embassy in London said “ideological dogma has replaced journalistic ethics” at the corporation.
www.politico.eu
November 11, 2025 at 12:47 PM
1. Irony is dead.
2. This fits well with the attempt by far-right online influencer who want to discredit strong institutions who can provide shared reality to European publics. If you have tens of competings 'facts', real propaganda can make people believer anything.
2. This fits well with the attempt by far-right online influencer who want to discredit strong institutions who can provide shared reality to European publics. If you have tens of competings 'facts', real propaganda can make people believer anything.
Just have a rogue character assume the James Bond as an alias until it becomes his own
November 11, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Just have a rogue character assume the James Bond as an alias until it becomes his own
Many either backing the UK or bashing the UK on Anglosphere social media won't get their heads around the UK is not top of the EU agenda. That means that there is a lot of space for messy internal EU horsetrading to get out of hand, but also that the UK has to work harder to sustain EU interest
Bears no resemblance to discussions in Brussels, just an anti-UK the EU is always right rant. Picking up some suggestions that the French have overplayed their hand (again) leading to pushback, hopefully then tals will formally start soon (informally they already did).
I have no recent insight particularly, but that description of UKG chicanery and trying to leverage what had been agreed chimes loudly with earlier in the year.
Keep an eye. Not saying 🇪🇺 will walk, but expect suspension unless the UK gets its house in order
A 🧵
Keep an eye. Not saying 🇪🇺 will walk, but expect suspension unless the UK gets its house in order
A 🧵
November 11, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Many either backing the UK or bashing the UK on Anglosphere social media won't get their heads around the UK is not top of the EU agenda. That means that there is a lot of space for messy internal EU horsetrading to get out of hand, but also that the UK has to work harder to sustain EU interest
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
Tory culture spox demanding the BBC "grovel" to Trump is baffling. Who is this supposed to chime with?
Just a bizarre line that no one who doesn't use X would ever think.
Just a bizarre line that no one who doesn't use X would ever think.
November 11, 2025 at 8:49 AM
Tory culture spox demanding the BBC "grovel" to Trump is baffling. Who is this supposed to chime with?
Just a bizarre line that no one who doesn't use X would ever think.
Just a bizarre line that no one who doesn't use X would ever think.
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
The BBC is in crisis in the same way that GB News would be if you put Owen Jones on the board armed with a veto and plenty of coffee.
November 11, 2025 at 7:48 AM
The BBC is in crisis in the same way that GB News would be if you put Owen Jones on the board armed with a veto and plenty of coffee.
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
Still reflecting on the Rupert Harrison interview on Times Radio yesterday when he argued that it was OK to raise the basic rate of income tax (which hasn’t been raised for fifty years) but that the Chancellor couldn’t raise fuel duty because that had been frozen since 2010 🤔
November 11, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Still reflecting on the Rupert Harrison interview on Times Radio yesterday when he argued that it was OK to raise the basic rate of income tax (which hasn’t been raised for fifty years) but that the Chancellor couldn’t raise fuel duty because that had been frozen since 2010 🤔
In cutting a deal over reopening government for meagre results the Democrat leadership is terminally discrediting the notion that compromise with Republicans is acceptable among a critical mass of anti-Trump voters.
Dems heading for the same trajectory the GOP went through in the 2010s
Dems heading for the same trajectory the GOP went through in the 2010s
November 11, 2025 at 8:33 AM
In cutting a deal over reopening government for meagre results the Democrat leadership is terminally discrediting the notion that compromise with Republicans is acceptable among a critical mass of anti-Trump voters.
Dems heading for the same trajectory the GOP went through in the 2010s
Dems heading for the same trajectory the GOP went through in the 2010s
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
The Telegraph had to correct its multiple lies about "illegal immigrants" in London at least three separate times.
It takes an obscene amount of hubris to lecture the BBC when you have The Telegraph’s record on truth-telling.
Some of the paper’s errors this year are so bad they’re almost laughable 👇🏻
Some of the paper’s errors this year are so bad they’re almost laughable 👇🏻
The Telegraph’s BBC hypocrisy
A paper that knows a thing or two about editorial f*ck-ups...
writesbright.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:06 PM
The Telegraph had to correct its multiple lies about "illegal immigrants" in London at least three separate times.
When Trump first became President in 2016, Sharaa was one of several rebel and former Al Qaeda commanders fighting for survival in Northern Syria after experiencing brutal defeat in the siege of Aleppo.
How the world turns.
How the world turns.
November 10, 2025 at 9:34 PM
When Trump first became President in 2016, Sharaa was one of several rebel and former Al Qaeda commanders fighting for survival in Northern Syria after experiencing brutal defeat in the siege of Aleppo.
How the world turns.
How the world turns.
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
One nice detail that can easily be lost in this graph - even right wingers trust the BBC more than the right wing tabloids
Here’s the same data, but with trust broken down by political views (circles are trust among people on the left, +s the right).
It’s not just that the BBC is widely consumed — it also has solid trust on both left & right, whereas trust in the biggest US media brands is hugely polarised.
It’s not just that the BBC is widely consumed — it also has solid trust on both left & right, whereas trust in the biggest US media brands is hugely polarised.
November 10, 2025 at 5:40 PM
One nice detail that can easily be lost in this graph - even right wingers trust the BBC more than the right wing tabloids
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
It's trendier to study the 1990s. But one can trace so much about today's world back to the early-2010s.
- Dawn of multipolar age
- Xi and Modi rise to leadership
- Reordering of Middle East from within
- Russia annexes Crimea
- Euro-crisis roils Europe
- Smartphones & social media become dominant
- Dawn of multipolar age
- Xi and Modi rise to leadership
- Reordering of Middle East from within
- Russia annexes Crimea
- Euro-crisis roils Europe
- Smartphones & social media become dominant
November 10, 2025 at 6:03 PM
It's trendier to study the 1990s. But one can trace so much about today's world back to the early-2010s.
- Dawn of multipolar age
- Xi and Modi rise to leadership
- Reordering of Middle East from within
- Russia annexes Crimea
- Euro-crisis roils Europe
- Smartphones & social media become dominant
- Dawn of multipolar age
- Xi and Modi rise to leadership
- Reordering of Middle East from within
- Russia annexes Crimea
- Euro-crisis roils Europe
- Smartphones & social media become dominant
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
The Anglo consensus of the first half of 2010s was that where continental Europeans were endemically subject to crises and demagoguery, "we" were distinctly were more enlightened. Cameron's Britain. Obama's America. Ponderous essays about Magna Carta and the "golden thread".
How wrong it all was.
How wrong it all was.
I fear we are seeing in the UK what has become abundantly clear in the US: for all their power and privilege, elites and institutions are absolute cowards in the face of right-wing authoritarianism. Weak, weak, weak, as Tony Blair once said
November 10, 2025 at 5:28 PM
The Anglo consensus of the first half of 2010s was that where continental Europeans were endemically subject to crises and demagoguery, "we" were distinctly were more enlightened. Cameron's Britain. Obama's America. Ponderous essays about Magna Carta and the "golden thread".
How wrong it all was.
How wrong it all was.
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
this is brilliant satire:
“Given what I took to be the anti-Trump nature of the Sketch, I of course assumed there would be a similar, balancing Sketch discussing the possibility that the Capitol building had attacked the rioters....."
“Given what I took to be the anti-Trump nature of the Sketch, I of course assumed there would be a similar, balancing Sketch discussing the possibility that the Capitol building had attacked the rioters....."
Crisis at the Critic Sketchcasting Corporation!
Crisis at the CSC | Robert Hutton | The Critic Magazine
From the desk of Lord Kronsteen, founder and proprietor of the Critic Sketchcasting Corporation. To all staff, It is with a heavy heart that I take pen in hand to inform you of the resignation of both…
thecritic.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 5:54 PM
this is brilliant satire:
“Given what I took to be the anti-Trump nature of the Sketch, I of course assumed there would be a similar, balancing Sketch discussing the possibility that the Capitol building had attacked the rioters....."
“Given what I took to be the anti-Trump nature of the Sketch, I of course assumed there would be a similar, balancing Sketch discussing the possibility that the Capitol building had attacked the rioters....."
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
The reported material in the article is pretty brutal, but so is the fact it sounds like a lot of current allied and US intelligence officials vented to the NYT about Patel
Seems like there should be a petition to write this into the plot of a future season of Slow Horses.
F.B.I. Director Is Said to Have Made a Pledge to Head of MI5, Then Broken It
www.nytimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 12:53 PM
The reported material in the article is pretty brutal, but so is the fact it sounds like a lot of current allied and US intelligence officials vented to the NYT about Patel
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
thinking back to when eric cantor got knocked out in a primary in 2014
November 10, 2025 at 2:47 AM
thinking back to when eric cantor got knocked out in a primary in 2014
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
Quick thread on the BBC and the political and societal significance of recent developments:
One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
November 10, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Quick thread on the BBC and the political and societal significance of recent developments:
One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
Obviously I enjoyed using the Long Walk analogy for my new Prospect piece but I especially enjoy this fantastic Stephen King / Keir Starmer image mashup.
Despite the press’s salivation over the prospect of Farage becoming PM, we are a long, long way from the next general election. And a lot could change before then, writes @benansell.bsky.social.
Labour’s long, tortuous walk to 2029
There are more than three years of unease left until the next general election. What can we expect along the way?
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Obviously I enjoyed using the Long Walk analogy for my new Prospect piece but I especially enjoy this fantastic Stephen King / Keir Starmer image mashup.
There was always a chance that Trump would end up making a Senate Democrats cave look good by then going so batshit crazy that the MAGA Republicans completely take the blame for a collapse of efforts to end the government shutdown
Wait did...they not get what they wanted last night? What is happening?
*TRUMP OFFICIALS SAY SUPREME COURT SHOULD KEEP FOOD AID ON HOLD
*TRUMP: ALL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS MUST GET BACK TO WORK, NOW
*TRUMP: AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS NOT WORKING WILL BE 'DOCKED'
*TRUMP OFFICIALS SAY SUPREME COURT SHOULD KEEP FOOD AID ON HOLD
*TRUMP: ALL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS MUST GET BACK TO WORK, NOW
*TRUMP: AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS NOT WORKING WILL BE 'DOCKED'
November 10, 2025 at 4:35 PM
There was always a chance that Trump would end up making a Senate Democrats cave look good by then going so batshit crazy that the MAGA Republicans completely take the blame for a collapse of efforts to end the government shutdown
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
The dedication ICE shows in proving every allegation that they operate like an invading army is truly astonishing:
Astonishing: Bovino and his agents showed up at the Bean this morning to pose for pictures. While Border Patrol snapped photos, one agent shouted, “Everyone say, ‘Little Village!’” The neighborhood where they are least welcome and most acutely felt. blockclubchicago.org/2025/11/10/b...
Border Patrol Agents Pose At 'The Bean' For Apparent Photo Op
The photo op came after agents tear-gassed a Little Village street and were spotted in the area numerous times. At the Bean, one agent shouted, "Everyone say, Little Village!"
blockclubchicago.org
November 10, 2025 at 4:14 PM
The dedication ICE shows in proving every allegation that they operate like an invading army is truly astonishing:
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
This in turn deepens a dynamic of 'MY side is poorly represented - why does that CRANK always get on?' when you have hot button debates largely discussed by people who are not fluent in the actual topic but are reciting talking points, often poorly.
it‘s also changed the incentives a bit. You don’t get on a programme by leading a campaign or having expertise in an area, you get on it by saying something a bit spicy on Twitter before 11am in the hope that an overworked 24 year old researcher books you.
November 10, 2025 at 3:19 PM
This in turn deepens a dynamic of 'MY side is poorly represented - why does that CRANK always get on?' when you have hot button debates largely discussed by people who are not fluent in the actual topic but are reciting talking points, often poorly.
It also means a substantial amount of detailed factual programming ends up spiralling off into the world of niche podcasts and Youtube channels rather than formats that are accessible for a mass audience
I go on about 'remember when BBC Parliament was a real channel?', but from a 'protecting the corporation' perspective, the flight from detail both means 'fewer programmes that MPs and the political class themselves directly enjoy' and also 'fewer programmes that the political class appears on'.
It would also have more defenders more readily to say no thats bullshit its a great institution and you can fuck off when facing this kind of assault
November 10, 2025 at 3:29 PM
It also means a substantial amount of detailed factual programming ends up spiralling off into the world of niche podcasts and Youtube channels rather than formats that are accessible for a mass audience