Saw this tonight in my local cinema. It was excellent, and the first time since Endgame (!) I’ve seen a whole Screen completely full. National Theatre and National Theatre Live are treasures.

Today’s the day! As a British Turk, I am empowered - obligated - to offer insufferable unsolicited and not entirely accurate trivia giving that also aligns nicely with my political leanings.

Nothing demonstrates the deep immunity of this government to the real world more than having a nice little wine reception while poor, vulnerable asylum seekers face deportation.

This is the only way you could convince me to run a marathon.

West Midlands mayoral election, voting intention:

LAB: 42% (+2)
CON: 28% (-21)
REF: 13% (+11)
GRN: 7% (+1)
LDEM: 7% (+3)

via Redfield & Wilton Strategies, 10 - 14 Apr
Chgs. w/ 2021 election

Read Ben Walker on why you should pay attention to this poll:
buff.ly/4aQCCgQ

me, casually, calmly, innocently getting into the car on a nice Sunday: 😌
LBC, genuinely: ARE YOUR CHILDREN BEING INDOCTRINATED BY MARXIST LENINIST IDEOLOGY?

Just a thought … but … do we really want people’s pensions to be reliant on the volatile and exploitative business of rent extraction? Would that money be better invested elsewhere? Just a thought. Just thinking.

NEW: Polling suggests Labour is onto something with their 'grey belt' rebranding.

Support for development on 'grey belt' is 50% higher

Meanwhile just 13% can correctly point to the definition of the greenbelt express.co.uk/news/politics/…

Waiting to see if we can get to the Star’s front page story about rats haunting binmen. Stand by.

actually extremely hilarious

When you write these, if you don’t get the tone exactly emotionless and clinical, you’ll be subject to a stern reply and ping pong with the table office. Then imagine getting this response. ☠️

💥RECORD BREAKING Ipsos UK VOTING INTENTION 💥

Lab: 44%
Con: 19%
Reform: 13%
Lib Dems: 9%
Greens: 9%
Other: 6%

Lowest the Conservatives have ever polled with us across 45 years of surveys (breaking last month’s record)

ipsos.com/en-uk/rishi-su…

So which is it from Susan Hall here, exactly? Meet a housing target or block high rise, high capacity homes? Is she okay with expanding out to the green belt to build big suburban homes? Or does that also block views of fields? NIMBYism so confusing it’s imploding on itself.

ONs data shows that private rent inflation - which is running at 9.3 per cent - is now higher than the overall rate of inflation - 3.2 per cent. Cost of living crisis is getting worse for private renters NOT better - chart is from Joseph Rowntree Foundation

early election watchers, this is potentially huge.

'He wanted a girlfriend and he's got no social skills and he was frustrated out of his brain,' he added. Perhaps all those who quickly labelled it as a terrorist act should now talk about the incel radicalisation of white men. bbc.com/news/world-688…

Of course we need to bring more empty homes back into use and significantly increase the number of affordable homes built each year but there is no way to meet housing need across the country without ramping up overall housing supply and it’s disingenuous to pretend otherwise.