I'm not pinning this on Labour. But I am saying that if Labour don't respond with a strong defence of the values of 'the public realm' (and so far it has not done so), the likes of Rupert Lowe will get what they want.

See also the prison service, universities, local government, and the rest.

And the response of this government?

No - not to fund and run them better and prepare the ground for success.

But to join the baying mob. 2/2

The 'the/a customs union' debate still has years, if not decades, to run. I despair.

There is no appropriate level of response - other than in the courts - and good luck with that.

And people should stop whipping themselves up into a frenzy about how everyone is failing to find the right response. 5/5

So more must be done! We’ll soon get to the stage of ‘why should he be allowed to live in the cellar of one of the remote outhouses, when he’s ’done what he’s done’.

Who knows, there may well be calls to deport him. 4/5

There needs to be a response. So he gets told not to appear at certain events. He loses the use some houses. He loses some titles.

But that doesn’t amount to an appropriate level of response.

And he remains a son of the Queen and part of the royal family. 3/5

To be a member of the family you need have no particular credentials - other than your birth, of course.

And Andrew is the Queen’s son. And we don’t like that the Queen’s son ‘did what he did’. 2/5

It’s obviously woeful, as is her condescending tone.

But, I do wish we no longer placed any emphasis on %s of the 2016 referendum vote (especially when describing constituencies in England - I’d make an exception for Northern Ireland as a whole).

He has a history of telling the party what it wants to hear. (He does the same with eg Trump; all a sign that he may be more ‘political’ (and/or less principled) than many believe).

I will be watching to see if this approach is repeated in other forums.

But it wouldn’t surprise me if it isn’t. 3/3

It was a speech *to the Labour conference*, at a time when the party is increasingly unhappy with his leadership, and their position in the polls.

It was the speech he needed to give to quieten the dissent, and secure his position.

So… he gave it. 2/3

Off on a bit of a tangent to the main thread (which is great), this tendency is, I think, the spark for the cancel culture/free speech obsession from the right.

Like this… bsky.app/profile/blad...

Yes - but I don’t think I could face a ‘Khan v Farage’ election.