iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Edward Luce @edwardluce.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

not until you give me 31 reasons

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Reposted by James Leach

“A rational billionaire would see the merits of buying social peace. An enlightened one would acknowledge his debts to federal science, public education and chance.Alas, there are few such super-rich to be found.” Me on the demagoguery against Prop 40. as.ft.com/r/4f1869f4-5...

as.ft.com

California’s oligarch tax would change America

The goal of its framers is political rather than budgetary

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@rmcunliffe.bsky.social great thread and got me thinking how politicians pontificating about “getting people back into work” are, in this arena, full of crap, as one of biggest barriers into work is unaffordable childcare

which is odd, because as you've alluded to, the Labour government running the country has plenty you could attack.

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and ultimately why I don't think they win the next election unless Burnham soils himself on live TV. They're doing the classic "wilderness years" thing of fighting the imaginary government that lives in their head, rather than the government running the country.

The bit where they attempt to redefine antisemitism is where the unthinking racist idiocy peaks.

Have you stopped doing Politics Weekly for good? Your episodes were always appointment listening 🙂

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The Soviet Union’s fall was still another sixteen years away. Mass adoption of the Internet, the personal computer and the mobile phone would not materialise for another two decades. THIS IS VERY MUCH HISTORY.

When Margaret Thatcher first assumed the leadership of her party in 1975, Saigon was about to fall, Britain was about to have its first referendum on entering the European Economic Community (EEC), the forerunner to the EU. Richard Nixon had resigned in disgrace as President only a year before.

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itsallstorytelling.substack.com

I wrote this *checks calendar* a year ago and - to quote another female leader who actually had some half decent ideas but they'd rather repress - NOTHING HAS CHANGED itsallstorytelling.substack.com/p/the-ghost-...

The ghost of Margaret Thatcher

One hundred years after her birth, why is British politics and British conservatism in particular, so haunted by the Iron Lady?

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James Leach @jecleach.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

@joxley.jmoxley.co.uk would still love to interview you about this

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Robinson has improved in his 'Today' years. He's at least interested in what gets his guests up in the morning and looks for the knotty complexities in who they are and what they think. I just can't stand the "gotcha" questioning of Kuennsberg anymore.

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James Leach @jecleach.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

And Sunday Times the reverse was true from memory?

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You’re more than welcome to. I’m hanging out in the Bluesky UK politics feed so I’m quite into politics, literature, theatre, sport, hiking and love cats.

out of interest Rachel how old are the men? I sadly came out of a relationship where we were about to have children and I’m more than happy to take the plunge with the right person. I am befuddled by men who don’t get that women need to get a move on in a way they don’t.

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and not in terms of what the policies actually mean and their broader implications. (Great lecture by the way)

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@stephenkb.bsky.social watched the Philip Geddes memorial lecture you reposted and I feel next week coverage of her speech will be the encapsulation of some of what you said. Her speech will be covered a in many quarters through the lens of what it means in terms of short term political framing 1/2

James Leach @jecleach.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

It’s the Energy Committee I think? I mean it gives the whole Net Zero zealotry theory a whole new sinister angle.

James Leach @jecleach.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I sort of wonder the extent to which the EU will say "oh for FFS make your mind up" given that us getting out took so long. This is not me saying it's not worth trying or can never happen, but to use the divorce metaphor, you'd better have worked out the flaws if you're gonna remarry.

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James Leach @jecleach.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I mean actually most of their core vote WILL get that reference but that sort of re-enforces your point. To be the party of the aspirational middle classes you need to target the young and the working age. And speaking as someone who is approaching his 40s, I barely remember the early 90s 😂

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James Leach @jecleach.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

yeah I felt she was wrong footed by his reframing the question

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James Leach @jecleach.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Yeah I’ll take issue with his phrasing but the broad thrust of what he’s saying - “how the hell are these people admitted?” is the sort of stuff that moderate governments can’t afford to get wrong if they’ve got any hope of keeping the anti ECHR brigade quiet.

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James Leach @jecleach.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Sure but this is worrying no? I’d like to know how the guy got asylum?

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James Leach @jecleach.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Yep. And I don’t think it’s even a case of plot and story. Everything about the direction and cinematography shows you a production team that’s had another decade to perfect their craft.

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James Leach @jecleach.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Was also really struck in her Matt Chorley interview how she’s taking the “Starmer in opposition” approach on steroids. Criticise a government policy that’s Bad while also in no way explaining why your Good policy will make the Bad thing go away.

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James Leach @jecleach.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

@samfr.bsky.social would love a post from you on how populist parties move further away from their voters as they gain confidence and momentum…or something. I may be oversimplifying but both Trump 2 and Reform feel more out of touch with their core voter than Trump 1 and UKIP.

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James Leach @jecleach.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Right. I'm imagining a lot of the producers working on the show getting the brief and typing 'Earl Spencer' into Wikipedia. Cos honestly why would you give a crap about the guy? I was 11 when she was died and I can only remember finding him very whiney.

James Leach @jecleach.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

to Kate's original post though, the continued Thatcher worship in the Tory Party is especially odd when you consider she became leader the year of the fall of Saigon. Guys, that's like proper history now?!

James Leach @jecleach.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

It's why, to your point yesterday, the Earl Spencer stuff feels both cruel and weird. You'd now have to be over 50 to remember/care about the Charles/Diana feud. Though we do live in an ageing society so maybe Spencer has enough confidence that certain pensioners' outrage will fuel book sales.

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Reposted by James Leach

sky @iamspacegirl.bsky.social · 04/08/2023

hey, I just met Zeus and this is crazy but he's a swan and I'm having babies

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James Leach @jecleach.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Interestingly a lot of the people I follow on here I've either read a book they've written or devoured their columns for years. I therefore have an almost chronic inability to understand these people. Like....what else do you expect Stephen Bush/Duncan Weldon/Patrick Maguire to say?

James Leach @jecleach.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

@georgeeaton.bsky.social this analogy proving my nerd credentials twice over methinks 😂

James Leach @jecleach.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

@georgeeaton.bsky.social YES I phrased this the other day as "we need a time machine to pull George Osborne of 2012 into 2026 and to send Rachel Reeves/John Healey of 2020s back to 2012.

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James Leach @jecleach.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

I'm sorry you have to have this argument Rachel. For what it's worth, I'm a cyclist now constantly horrified by other cyclists. Not sure where this weird inflexible solidarity comes from. I'm seeing a lot more cyclists now where a car driver would really not be at fault if there was a collision

James Leach @jecleach.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Latest newsletter is live: loved geeking out on the long lost story of The Cage and the Pike TOS that never was. Plus @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk’s piece on why the UK government is nowhere on confronting far right thugs itsallstorytelling.substack.com/p/the-week-i...

itsallstorytelling.substack.com

The Week in Storytelling: 13th September, 2026

This week: the Star Trek that never was, the Falling Man revisited and what election campaigns can learn from football tactics. Plus, why is the UK government afraid to confront far right thugs?

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But even British television can write to an hour in an effective way. I say that as someone who briefly freelance script edited for them. And ITV crime dramas are another master of the form.

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It’s why I couldn’t get into Stranger Things. They seemed to spend season 1 just wandering in and out of the woods. The story beats made no sense.

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Just the clockwork perfection of network television tells you all you need to know. Every time I watch a classic TNG or The West Wing, the writing around a five act structure dictated by ad breaks, meant much more disciplined storytelling.

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Totally. I think Paul Mason is possibly the analogy we're reaching for? A really interesting corpus of work, increasingly focussed on anti-fascism and a patriotic left. I can visibly see why he couldn't do that work at BBC or Channel 4.

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I'm also fascinated by ex-BBC stars wanting to be free of the BBC's impartiality trappings, only for their own insights to be the BBC with a either a dash of armchair liberalism (the News Agents) or a smidgen of Janan Ganesh-esque centre right thinking (Rajan)

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personal branding is a hard thing to get right: what strikes me about his newsletter is it's trying to be David Runciman, the FT, Unherd and The School of Life in one package. Which is fine...except we already have those?

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Really feels like Iran and its proxies blocking our major shipping routes wasn't a coherent strategy until Trump put the idea in their heads. Fucking idiot.

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"Your face, you're ace" is mine