Distorted

Make voting compulsory to prevent ‘distorted’ results, Kinnock urges Burnham

The former Labour leader and mentor to the Prime Minister said the move would help strengthen ‘democracy and citizenship’ in the UK.

It may be obvious, but as nothing democratically enlightened ever oozed out of Neil Kinnock, let us see what this is all about... 

Ah yes...


Alongside the parliamentary efforts, academics from the US, Australia, South America, the UK and Europe are poised to send a letter to No 10 urging the Prime Minister to act.

The letter says: “Inequalities in turnout mean those who do vote do not reflect the wider population, but are richer, older, whiter, and more economically secure than the UK public at large.

“This has warped British politics, and risks a crisis of democratic legitimacy.”

It is not easy for a looker-on to define the point of insincerity

Davey says Lib Dems won’t give up fight against ‘nasty populism’

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said his party “won’t give up the fight” to defeat “nasty populism” as he issued a rallying call to members on the first day of the party’s annual conference.

  

The histrionic element was strong in Miss Marlyn. When she played a part, she entered, as the phrase is, thoroughly into it. Miss Bateman grows pale in Leah; Miss O’Neil used to shed real tears in Jane Shore. It is not easy for a looker-on to define the point of insincerity, or to say exactly where mere imitation kindles into veritable emotion.

Sheridan Le Fanu - A Lost Name (1868)

We haven’t had one of those for a long time

Jim Ratcliffe: UK is 'on the slide' from days when it had world's 'greatest empire'

Ratcliffe, who founded petrochemicals giant Ineos, and has resided in Monaco, which has a relaxed tax regime, since 2020, said Britain is in decline because of high taxes and immigration...

Asked if he was planning on returning to the UK, Ratcliffe said: “Not at the moment, no. I don’t see growth being tackled.

“Two things: we need politicians who are tough enough to deal with some very difficult problems, and we know what the problems are.

“And we need politicians who will make decisions which are good for the country, not good for themselves and their party. And we haven’t had one of those for a long time.”

Meanwhile -

Shoplifting’s golden age

Britain’s shoplifting epidemic is being fuelled by a criminal justice system that rarely imposes meaningful punishment

When it comes to shoplifting, and indeed a whole host of other types of so-called “low-level” crime and disorder, we are living through perhaps the most permissive era on record. Over 500,000 shoplifting offences are recorded by the police every year — although the real volume of offences undoubtedly dwarfs this number by many multiples.

Ed's Lib Dems and their old grey cardigan brand of twaddle

Are the Lib Dems still delivering or should they change course?

As the Liberal Democrats approach their seventh conference under Ed Davey's leadership, whispers of discontent are growing. Is Davey still delivering, or does the party need to change course?

Sir Keir Starmer's departure means Sir Ed Davey, in post since early 2020, is now the longest-serving national party leader.

The headline polling numbers give one cause for concern.

The Liberal Democrats are polling lower now than a year ago with every pollster. On average, the party are down over two percentage points from 12.7% to just over 10.3%, substantially below their vote share in the last general election (12.6% GB wide).

A chap is bound to wonder what it is that the Lib Dems may be failing to deliver other than twaddle. Without wishing to be too crudely sarcastic, the answer may be obvious, there has been no obvious upgrade to Lib Dem twaddle, while Zack Polanski's Greens are offering serious competition.

Greens have their distinctive, own-brand twaddle fronted by images of Zack and that goofy, gap-toothed grin, but what do Ed Davey's Lib Dems have? 

In other words, supply and demand may apply to the political twaddle market. Zack's Greens have made significant gains here, possibly at the expense of Ed's Lib Dems and their old grey cardigan brand of twaddle.

The shallow and the insincere

Musk's X 'disgusting' for shunning meeting, says minister - as she vows more laws governing internet

The culture secretary has told the Electoral Dysfunction podcast that more must be done to keep children safe online. She insisted the government was going to "step up".

The culture secretary has told Sky News it was "disgusting" for X to skip a meeting over recent social media attacks on the UK's lifeboat charity - as she vowed to keep introducing legislation governing the internet.  

Speaking to the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Lisa Nandy told Sky News political editor Beth Rigby that X boss Elon Musk did not send a representative to a recent summit discussing the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).


Something about Lisa Nandy attracts ridicule and a sense of weary contempt like iron filings to a magnet. Not that she's out on her own in that, but George Moore summed it up.


It is the shallow and the insincere that inspire ridicule and contempt,

George Moore - Mike Fletcher: A Novel (1889)

Why can’t Britain fix its roads?

Eamonn Butler has a depressingly familiar CAPX piece on the state of British roads and an equally familiar lack of official interest in sorting it out. Well worth reading as a reminder that this is unlikely to be something the Burnham regime tackles.

Why can’t Britain fix its roads?

• The AA estimated the total cost of repairing damaged vehicles at £645 million for pothole-related incidents in 2025
• After the 2011 earthquake, Japan rebuilt a 150-metre stretch of motorway in just six days
• Authorities should charge contractors through mechanisms like lane rentals so roadworks get finished quicker

When you drive through the potholes and your suspension gives out, or when you sit fuming at temporary traffic lights because of roadworks, it’s for a reason. It’s because the cost to you in delays and disruption doesn’t figure much in the council’s budgeting or the contractors’ work schedules. The familiar ‘I don’t give a **** about your problems, mate, it’s our tea break’ attitude.

You might think the roads are in an appalling state, and you’d be right. I’ve seen better roads in Kathmandu (albeit the ones that run past the Transport Ministry). Here, our own Department for Transport says that in 2022-23, for example, England alone underwent 2.2 million street and roadworks, causing travel disruption costs of around £4 billion. According to data obtained by Sky News, the 425,524 miles of UK roadworks in 2024 were equivalent to circling the earth 17 times.

Borrowed Failure

Leak from No 10 reveals how Starmer planned to stay in power - and the policies borrowed by Burnham

How much has Andy Burnham borrowed from Keir Starmer? Sam Coates reveals a leak from the heart of Downing Street which helps answer that question.

How much did Andy Burnham borrow from Sir Keir Starmer when he entered Number 10?

Today we reveal a massive leak from the heart of Downing Street which helps answer that question.

I've obtained the 50-page bundle of presentations, strategy ideas and policy submissions drawn up in April in an attempt to keep Sir Keir in power.


It is worth adding that Labour governments inevitably borrow failed policy ideas from the past, they are always constrained to operate within their traditional ideology. 

Even new developments are likely to be constrained within failed rationales from the past. It's what their voters vote for and in general it is what the UK government machine does best.

The things which weigh heavily upon my mind are these—failure to improve in the virtues, failure in discussion of what is learnt, inability to walk according to knowledge received as to what is right and just, inability also to reform what has been amiss.

Analects of Confucius