David Blagden

Look what finally landed! My volume (co-edited with @soulpatch68) on 'Games: Conflict, Competition, and Cooperation'. Available from @CambridgeUP: cambridge.org/gb/academic/su… (and a large, well-known online retailer). Intro available free here: assets.cambridge.org/97811084/47324…. Featuring...

I think 50 years from now, people in the west will look back on how we let these countries sportwash themselves with no restraint in absolute, deep, existential horror.

Another British moonshot company abandoned in the gutter

Can you believe that just a few months ago Vance came to Europe and lectured us about free speech?

1. My goodness the Brits have let themselves go when it comes to defence and preparedness. I knew it was bad, but what was described was not just bad, it was apocalyptic. No national defence plan, local authorities don't have instructions what to do, stockpiles are almost empty.

Lithuanian ForMin: “If I had a nickel for every time a Chinese ship was dragging its anchor on the bottom of the Baltic Sea in the vicinity of important cables, I would have two nickels, which isn’t much, but it’s weird that it happened twice.” carnegieendowment.org/emissary/2024/…

If I was to list the top 100 ways to speed up government, this wouldn’t be on the list. It does however destroy tradition.

In the 10 years Macquarie owned @thameswater they did not put a single penny of their own money into the company. And that's not the only example.

I know. How anyone ever thought this was a good structure for an essential public utility is extraordinary. Water companies should ideally be in public ownership. Failing that, regulate them like banks.

More of this kind of scrutiny on Reform's economic credibility, rather than on the poll ratings, please.

This is simply a Scottish version of Farage’s arguments to leave the EU: things are bad, this proves my ideological commitment to be more exclusive & separate ‘us’ from ‘them’ - even though the evidence shows separation will be socio-economic negative. Poundshop nat-populism…

Obviously it’s only a small handful of by-elections but the fact Reform are failing to hold by elections in seats they won just weeks earlier, points to a potential weakness in maintaining momentum. With up to 4 years to go till the GE that risks being a problem for them.

Only Richard Tice could think writing to investors to say “don’t bother investing in Britain, Reform will do everything we can to sabotage it” is good for Britain. Reform: destroying jobs, investment, and common sense since… forever. 🙈