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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Over at my Substack, my latest ramblings. This time on Burnham's left-wing populism - clever politics and buys time while the big issues are tackled. But tough decisions will still need to be made open.substack.com/pub/nickbowe...

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Now we are sat in the eye of the storm - becalmed, as we await the hurricane force winds of a Cabinet reshuffle to hit us

static.klipy.com

National Geographic: Hurricane Eye & Ecosystem

ALT: National Geographic: Hurricane Eye & Ecosystem

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

The info you never knew you needed - recent Prime Ministers and their football teams

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Punchy stuff here from @mayoroflondon.bsky.social on licensing and the West End. Interestingly, the tweet was posted at 7.03am - was the Mayor on his way home from an all nighter?

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Remember the 1980s/90s BT adverts with Maureen Lipman? The one when they did away with the old 01 London code and replaced it with 071/081 played on the inner/outer London snobbery/rivalry to great comedy effect. Not much has changed youtu.be/rCerOr4VJTM?...

youtu.be

BT advert from the 90s new phone codes

YouTube video by Let's take a trip to past

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Was just on BBC Radio London talking all things London local elections - if you fancy listening back, it was at 0735. Please forgive me - I had only managed half a cup of tea so far this morning. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Very kind. They really are two sides of the same coin.

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Great to talk to Karl Mercer at @bbclondon.bsky.social about the forthcoming London local elections. Hard to get a screenshot and not capture an unflattering facial expression.

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

I’m not sure retailers who’ve deliberately shifted - sometimes exclusively - to self-service tills and cut staff to the bare minimum are in much of a position to lecture about a rise in shop lifting.

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Too right it needs saving. From The Peoples Assembly. I despair. Pickling Lewisham Shopping Centre in aspic is not an option

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Contrast this to the Manchester Evening News which champions Manchester with a passion. I think the Standard rarely manages to even be a critical friend of the city. If I read one more “we ditched awful London for the Cotswolds/Hastings/Suffolk etc” story in the Standard, I’ll scream.

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Interesting go see the Standard finally cover the #Londonmaxxing phenomenon. A city’s newspaper ought instinctively to be a maxxer for where they’re based yet the Standard over the years repeatedly hasn’t been www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/lo...

standard.co.uk

Londonmaxxing: Why everyone is suddenly celebrating London

The term Londonmaxxing has gone viral as people cotton on to what The Standard has always said: London is the greatest city in the world. From A-listers on Lime bikes to the return of Simpson’s in the...

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

I’ll be having dinner tonight on one of my GLC County Hall plates to mark the occasion

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

With the government assuming control on…. April Fool’s Day 1986. A gift to the GLC PR team.

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Forty years ago today was the last day of the Greater London Council. Abolished, despite a stirring rearguard action, at midnight on 31 March 1986. Replaced by a messy combo of appointed committees, quangos & direct ministerial rule, it took a further 14 years to reverse, when the GLA was created

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

Kind of thing Derek Hatton would do

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

Brent Cross Shopping Centre opens in 1976 and as the little old lady says, it’ll save us all a trip up the West End. Can’t believe I’m a year older than BC! #London #BrentCross #1970sLondon

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

Ken Livingstone advertising cheese (just don’t tell him Red Leicester is more Lib Dem or Aspire orange colour 😂) - the highlight of his post GLC, pre GLA career? youtu.be/48qmN4QWgQs?... @davehillonlondon.bsky.social

youtu.be

Classic Ads: Cheese It with Ken Livingstone

YouTube video by ukclassictelly

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

In which you get to see my kitchen. Good to talk to Dave as ever.

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Reposted by Nick Bowes

Dave Hill @davehillonlondon.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

Should the Met be just for #London? Why is political accountability for policing in the capital such a mess? How should it be sorted out? And would that improve how the city is policed? My guest was former Sadiq Khan policy chief @nickbowes.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAWI... #truelondon

youtube.com

True London: Should the Met be just for London?

YouTube video by Dave Hill On London

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

I do quite like this TfL tie up with Guinness at Tottenham Court Road. One of the better commercialisations there’s been on the tube.

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

“At least Sadiq Khan is excited by having beavers in the capital.” 🦫

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Reposted by Nick Bowes

Dave Hill @davehillonlondon.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

New for OnLondon from @nickbowes.bsky.social, former Sadiq Khan policy chief, in response to Home Secretary's plans for police reorganisation. Could they produce changes the capital needs? Or will the accountability mess of the past 25 years continue? www.onlondon.co.uk/nick-bowes-p.... #london

onlondon.co.uk

Police accountability in London - a mess, 25 years and counting

The Home Secretary's reform plans have the potential to make things better, but Whitehall's historic centralising tendencies already loom

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

With the polls the way they are, May's London local elections could see change on a scale not witnessed since 2006 - perhaps never in the 62 years the boroughs have existed. You can read my thoughts in the latest edition of The MJ on what promises to be a bumpy ride www.themj.co.uk/strap-bumpy-...

themj.co.uk

Strap in now for a bumpy London elections ride

The Conservatives and Labour have dominated London's 32 town halls ever since the current boroughs were created back in 1964. Only once in 16 elections have Labour...

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

I should post on here more & it’s bad that Robert Jenrick’s defection has prompted me to do so. But crossing paths with him back in 2019 wins the “worst meeting of my professional career” award. Because of his behaviour, I took an immediate dislike to him - my opinion has only gone downhill since.

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

There’s something seriously rotten in the culture at Charing Cross police station. This isn’t the first time. It needs lancing. I’d shut it down and empty out the building. Start from scratch. Brave undercover reporting by the BBC www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Secret BBC filming exposes hidden culture of racism and misogyny inside Met Police

Panorama undercover investigation captures evidence that

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

2/ Compare that to Trump - him & his followers are the ones who aspire to a theocracy, intolerant of other religious beliefs or those with no religion. Besides, when was the last time Trump saw London up close? He flew in & out of the Ambassador's resident last week by helicopter!

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

1/ Everyone will have views on Sadiq Khan's time as @london.gov.uk, but if there's one thing he's (successfully, in my view) tried to be is a Mayor that represents the global, diverse, liberal & tolerant city that London is

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

Had an altercation with a stolen Lime bike. Shattered my wrist. But still managed to pen a piece for @davehillonlondon.bsky.social on what I found out about the big gaps in regulation. A public policy geek is never off duty, even when sat in A&E nursing broken bones.

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

Glad to see that I beat President Trump to being awarded Freedom of the City of London. Can't wait to see him shepherd his sheep over London Bridge www.cityam.com/president-do...

cityam.com

President Donald Trump could be given Freedom of the City of London

President Donald Trump could be offered the Freedom of the City of London as part of a charm offensive to help make the case against tariffs.

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

YouGov on it today with the big issues of our time - DO YOU LIKE OR DISLIKE THE SMELL OF PETROL?

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 25/07/2025

3/ Given the near-wipeout of the Tories just over the border in Kent at May's local elections, this will be a by-election result that sends the shivers down the spine of the Bromley conservatives with May 2026's all out elections fast approaching. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Ke...

en.wikipedia.org

2025 Kent County Council election - Wikipedia

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 25/07/2025

2/ In 2022, Labour came second in this ward. At the General Election, the Tories held on to the Bromley & Biggin Hill constituency (which includes this ward) by just 302 votes over Labour. Reform were third, but did get over 8,000 votes. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bromley...

en.wikipedia.org

Bromley and Biggin Hill (UK Parliament constituency) - Wikipedia

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 25/07/2025

1/ Overnight London by-election result 🚨Reform win a seat from the Tories in Bromley - the shape of things to come in outer London boroughs at next May's local elections? #byelection #London #Bromley

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 28/06/2025

The racist right hate London because it defies their portrayal of diversity as bad. And @london.gov.uk is the embodiment of that diversity - a football mad, liberal, inclusive, multi-faith Mayor who happens to be Muslim. How frustrating to racists who make out all Muslims hate our values & culture

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 28/06/2025

In the same spirit (but better than mine!) here’s @iandunt.bsky.social’s take down of brainwashed Goodwin’s piece on London iandunt.substack.com/p/they-hate-...

iandunt.substack.com

They hate London because it is beautiful

Matthew Goodwin went to that there London the other day and what he found shook him to his core.

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

A bit of London boosterism from me in this week's @thisislca.bsky.social LDN Newsletter. Don't forget to sign up (link at the end) to receive LDN direct to your inbox every week - the indispensable guide to London's politics & public policy news that matters for the built environment...and more!

linkedin.com

Reports of London's Demise are Greatly Exaggerated

Writing off London is suddenly fashionable. Some is transparently political – doom-laden variation on the theme of “Khan’s London”.

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

More evidence, if needed, that the @greenparty.org.uk is now the progressive alternative for disgruntled @teamlabouruk.bsky.social voters in inner London. Next May’s local elections in London have all the ingredients of a bloody night for Labour

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

RIP Lalo Schifrin. So many cool scores and themes but nothing beats the combo of his music, the throaty roar of a Mustang and the San Francisco backdrop. Ladies & gents I give you the coolest car chase in movie history #Bullitt #LaloSchifrin

youtu.be

Bullitt | The Car Chase | Full Scene | Warner Classics

YouTube video by Warner Bros. Classics

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

How to lose political support and alienate people - Exhibit #1

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

He shouldn’t have taken a peerage AND do this job. He needs to pick one or the other. I’ve worked in/around this world for a few years now, and ‘external affairs’ includes advocacy and influencing of decision-makers despite what ACOBA might say. It’s wrong to be a legislator and a lobbyist.

theguardian.com

Tory peer Liam Booth-Smith takes job at AI firm he encountered at No 10

Rishi Sunak’s ex-chief of staff lands role at Anthropic, which has memorandum of understanding on working with government

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

Oh man. Looks like London AND New York will have Muslim mayors soon. I cannot imagine how frenzied some on the right will be at this prospect. Cue lots of “New York is fallen…” etc etc blah blah

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 22/06/2025

And the Telegraph would have hated Virginia and the Bloomsbury Group. Liberal decadence and votes for women hardly the Telegraph’s thing back in the 1920s and 1930s. I imagine the Bloomsbury Group would have felt very at home in a liberal, tolerant, diverse modern London.

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Nick Bowes @nickbowes.bsky.social · 22/06/2025

Amazing to think that she *would* have recognised it right up to 4 May 2016 though

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