iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

The Aberfan tribunal report’s findings were considered by MPs on 26 October 1967 Margaret Thatcher, the newly appointed shadow fuel and power minister, expressed concern about the NCB’s “complacency” following the publication of the tribunal report

Thatcher's doubt stemmed from a Daily Telegraph report, dated 31 August. She quoted Lord Robens as saying: "At no time did anyone think of pit tips as that sort of potential danger."
The shadow minister said she found this statement "extremely worrying" because the tribunal's report contained "evidence upon evidence" contradicting it.
She referenced a specific exchange from the tribunal where a NCB board member and
"tip expert", W. V. Sheppard, asked if the board appreciated that tips could slide. "That was appreciated, that tips slide", he responded.
The questioner, Thatcher relayed, then queried whether "it appreciated that when they do slide they can often slide a long way?"
Sheppard replied: "That was not appreciated, no."
Thatcher said she was "absolutely astounded" at Sheppard's ignorance.
She also raised the question of why A. H. Kellett, the chairman of the NCB in South Wales, had stayed in Japan for a conference during the fallout from the Aberfan disaster.

071 7

🚨 Lindsay Hoyle furious at energy secretary over Jackdaw announcement “It is shameful that this announcement was not made to the House first.” “I am sorry that Sky News is more important rather than the members at both sides. It is appalling treatment.”

6284 28

Ed Davey at #PMQs: “This week Ukraine's defence system was seriously undermined by the US restricting access to Elon Musk's Starlink… “Now I understand the PM's reluctance to criticise [Trump], but does he agree that directly aiding Putin in this way is beyond the pale?”

14313 43

Andy Burnham at #PMQs: “Next week, we will have a new book published about the mini-budget [by Liz Truss]. “They've gone quiet, because the authors of that mini-budget are sitting across these benches, including the shadow chancellor.”

08226 82

Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 19/10/2026

Andy Burnham at #PMQs: “Have they had the time to read the Covid inquiry report yesterday about the appalling state of social care as it went into the pandemic? “I need no lectures from the other side about taking tough decisions on social care. I suggest they have a period of reflection.”

510437 104

The Carlton Club meeting is one of 22 famous backbench rebellions featured in @politics.co.uk's History Hub Browse by theme (Coalitions and pacts, Conservative Party, leadership crisis) or follow David Lloyd George himself 👉 politics.co.uk/history/

030 3

Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 15/10/2026

Douglas-Home also struggled with hecklers during the campaign In Lancashire, he was hit by an egg and confronted with placards At least one placard asked: “Who exhumed you?”

100 1

Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 15/10/2026

Douglas-Home recalls a conversation from the ’64 GE “Can you not make me look better than I do on television? I look rather scraggy – like a ghost.” The broadcast assistant replied: “No… because you have a head like a skull” DH asked: “Doesn’t everyone have a head like a skull?” Assistant: “No.”

130 3

Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 14/10/2026

Andy Burnham at #PMQs: “[Badenoch] comes here every week and poses as the world leading authority on defence. “I recall an interview she gave recently about the Conservatives' plans for an iron dome, and then she said it isn't our plan. “And then it emerged that it was briefed by her team.”

0168 16

Where the Labour MPs who voted against triggering Article 50 in February 2017 now sit in the party hierarchy

032 3

“Davey in deep water” Today's lunchtime newsletter on Liberal Democrat tensions is out This daily missive brings you the best of @politics.co.uk in one place. Free sign up: www.politics.co.uk

Davey in deep water
Liberal Democrat MPs meet at 5:00pm today for what promises to be a spikier-than-usual weekly gathering. It is their first meeting since Charlie Maynard resigned as a Treasury spokesperson and called on Ed Davey, the party’s leader since 2020, to quit.

Maynard has not commented publicly since leaving the Lib Dem frontbench (other than to publicise a meeting of the business and trade select committee). But his resignation comes at a time of growing discontent with Davey’s leadership, driven largely by frustration at the party’s lack of prominence in the national debate.

The Liberal Democrats secured 72 MPs at the 2024 general election, establishing Davey as the most electorally successful Liberal since David Lloyd George. Davey’s campaign drew significant media attention for a series of water-themed stunts. But since Davey hung up his wetsuit, reportedly under pressure from colleagues in parliament, the party has struggled to secure sustained coverage in a crowded landscape that now features Reform UK and Zack Polanski’s Greens.

That tension was addressed, but by no means resolved, at the Liberal Democrats’ autumn conference in Brighton. Davey delivered a mostly business-as-usual speech chastising Reform UK and positioning his party as an anti-populist firewall. He also promised a £17 billion income tax cut, funded entirely by the growth generated by rejoining the EU single market and customs union. That announcement may be relevant to Maynard’s resignation as a Treasury spokesperson.

Tensions were exacerbated by Andy Burnham’s sweeping address to Labour conference last month, in which he appeared to endorse a range of longstanding Liberal Democrat positions on UK-EU relations, social care and electoral reform.

482 8

Labour's @marshadecordova.bsky.social said Brexit “has been an unmitigated disaster”. She added: “The economic case is clear… Rejoining the EU would significantly boost the UK’s GDP.”

0111 11

Labour's @helenhayes.bsky.social said she supported the PM in “exploring every possible option... including the potential for us to rejoin.” She said: "We have focused instead on the improvements that could be made without any suggestion of going back in. “I think the time for this is over."

1101 10

Labour's Daniel Zeichner said “we should be in the EU. We should never have left.” He described himself as “fiercely proud to be a citizen of Europe”. He concluded: “Now we should support the govt in trying to salvage the best we can. But, in the end, we are Europeans, and we should be in.”

151 5

Labour's @chelfulhamben.bsky.social endorsed the PM’s “readiness to look at every option: a customs union, yes; a single market, yes; full membership, yes.” He called for “a manifesto pledge to negotiate joining the European Union and then a referendum on the deal”.

121 2

Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 12/10/2026

Labour's @tonyvaughanmp.bsky.social opened the debate He stated: “I strongly welcome the PM’s commitment to... set out the long-term options for our relationship with Europe; I urge the minister to make sure that membership is on the list of possible options.”

1397 39

Pat McFadden welcomes new Labour MP Sagal Abdi-Wali to the chamber He adds: “If her opponent [Zack Polanski] needs any help with employment security, we have a number of work experience and training programmes which I am happy to make available to him.”

2296 29

Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 12/10/2026

Alison Bennett, the party's former care and carer's spokesperson, has also issued an update reflecting on her resignation last week in her newsletter to constituents Bennett said she was “sad to step back from the role, but I am certainly not walking away.” bsky.app/profile/alis...

Care and Carers
At the start of last week I resigned as the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Care and Carers. I decided not to publish my reasons for stepping back, and despite press interest I am sticking to that personal commitment.
Having been the Care and Carers Spokesperson for two years, I do want to briefly reflect on my experience. Frankly, it has been humbling to meet carers and the organisations that support them. Not only have I learned a lot about social care, palliative care, and what it is to be a family carer, the role has also taught me a lot about myself, about the precariousness of lives that seem secure and then can be upended, and about what society values and gives attention to. I am grateful that Ed Davey asked me to do this role for him, and I know that his advocacy for carers has been seen and appreciated by those who too often do not have a voice. So I am sad to step back from the role, but 1 am certainly not walking away. I will remain as the Chair of the APPG for Young Carers, and whether it is hospices, unpaid carers, or people working in social care, I know that as a country we need to do so much better for them.
Finally, if you are an unpaid carer yourself, and you are not already in contact with them, then do talk to our local carers' network Carers Support West Sussex

010 1

Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 11/10/2026

This is right. No public declarations expressing support for Davey / opposing no-confidence vote since Saturday night with current standing as 18/69 (with Davey and rebel Charlie Maynard excluded) For the record, the only public comment Maynard has issued since resigning is as follows:

241 4

Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 11/10/2026

On the Green brand, Zack Polanski, and how eco-populism became unpopular 1/…

141 4

Explore 300+ filters, including a host of Brexit-related votes and stances, in @politics.co.uk's new Political Profiles database: www.politics.co.uk/database/

101 1

MPs who voted against triggering Article 50 in February 2017

173 7

After Major's speech, a young John Bercow describes the pitch as a “superb statement of conservative thinking” “What he was doing was setting out what Conservative government will do over the next three years on law and order, on the economy”

021 2

BBC coverage is great: Michael White (Guardian) says voters will take speech with a “pinch of salt” – the party has “adulterers and single mums like everyone else” @alastaircampbell2.bsky.social says Ken Clarke and Michael Howard are positioning for a contest – Major is “still in serious trouble”

110 1

Kemi Badenoch takes on Suella Braverman and Reform over Englishness:

2411518 115

Kemi Badenoch at #CPC26: “A year ago, Reform UK politicians were measuring up the curtains for No 10. “Now, some of them are measuring up the curtains for their prison cells.”

3356 35

Theresa May's “Nasty party” speech is one of 17 famous party conference moments featured in @politics.co.uk's new History Hub Browse by theme (Party conferences, Conservative Party, Speeches and oratory) or follow May herself 👉 politics.co.uk/history/

181 8

040 4

Sign-up for free using this box on the side of every @politics.co.uk article: www.politics.co.uk/2026/10/cons...

000 0

A featured explainer on how British politics works from @politics.co.uk's Political Education Portal: www.politics.co.uk/education/

100 1

A featured fantasy cabinet. Disapprove? Build your own: www.politics.co.uk/fantasy-cabi...

100 1

An "On this day" briefing from @politics.co.uk's History Hub: www.politics.co.uk/history/

100 1

Politicle, our daily MP guessing game. Today's mystery MP is a Conservative from the South East 🤔: www.politics.co.uk/politicle/

100 1

A Spotlight MP profile. Today it's James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary: www.politics.co.uk/people/james...

100 1

“Dome truths” Today's free lunchtime newsletter on Conservative conference is out My daily missive brings you the best of @politics.co.uk in one place. Here's what you get when you sign up 🧵

Dome truths
It's the penultimate day of Conservative conference in Birmingham, and the party is turning its attention to defence.
James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, will address activists from the main stage later today, and he will hope for a better showing than Andrew Griffith managed from the same platform yesterday.
The reviews for the shadow chancellor's speech were decidedly mixed, with commentators and interested onlookers alike noting its stilted delivery.
Griffith ended his address with an awkward exit, which was immediately seized upon by Labour's press team.
Cartlidge will arrive on stage this afternoon armed with a confident-sounding policy announcement. The Conservatives are today committing to a £10 billion "Britannia Shield" missile and drone defence system.
Kemi Badenoch's party says the system would have three components: new radar to detect incoming missiles and drones; upgraded command and control systems; and new interceptor missiles, counter-drone capabilities and larger missile stockpiles. It says it would deliver "a minimal deployable capability" within its first term, with the rest of the investment spent on expanding the system over time.
The Conservatives claim the plan would be funded through their commitment to spend 3% of GDP on defence by 2030, which the party says would be paid for by welfare reform and reprioritising existing spending.
Initial scrutiny has unearthed a few problems.
The lines briefed overnight by the Conservative press team likened the policy to the Iron Dome, Israel's air defence system. The party's press release described it as "in essence, a British 'Iron Dome'" , and this same
description featured in an article Badenoch wrote for the Sun.
Badenoch's op-ed read: "Modelled on Israel's 'Iron Dome'
', Britannia Shield
will invest £10 billion over 10 years in the radar, missiles and technology needed to detect these threats and stop them before they reach British

141 4

Explore 300+ filters, including a host of Brexit-related stances and votes, in @politics.co.uk's new Political Profiles database: politics.co.uk/database/

040 4

Where the "Brexit Spartans" who opposed Theresa May's withdrawal agreement at all three meaningful votes now sit in the Conservative hierarchy (and beyond)

140 4

Nearly 30 years on, Peter Mandelson's successor as “Dome Secretary” has finally emerged The role, reserved for ministers pouring public money into (overly) ambitious schemes, has been vacant since the Millennium

0132 13

Kemi Badenoch to Times Radio: “We haven't called it an Iron Dome” The Conservative press release:

1911136 111

“The election that never was” saga is one of 20 famous political blunders featured in @politics.co.uk's new History Hub Browse by theme (Gaffes, General elections, Labour Party) or follow Brown himself 👉 politics.co.uk/history/

040 4

Here is the updated Liberal Democrat frontbench on @politics.co.uk's Political Profiles database -> www.politics.co.uk/database/ Clive Jones (second row, second from the left) has replaced Bennett as care and carers spokesperson

020 2

More and more (senior) Liberal Democrat MPs in recent days have issued public statements welcoming the focus of Burnham's speech, highlighting the overlap between his platform and policies advocated by the party These posts go against the grain of Davey's response, which was overwhelmingly critical

120 2

This is intriguing, especially given the importance of care to the Liberal Democrat platform under Ed Davey – and it's prominence in Andy Burnham's conference speech It comes amid a Lib Dem backlash over Davey's response to Burnham's address...

252 5

Jeremy Clarkson's opening comment at Tory conference: "A lot of people have come dressed as seats I noticed."

2144 14