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She's probably the most economically qualified Chancellor we've had in a long time, in that she actually has an economics qualification (Masters from LSE). Last one before her was Sajid Javid who was Chancellor for about five minutes. Before that you have to go back to Norman Lamont to find one with an economics degree.

Anyone seen season 2 of Sherwood? I got about a third of the way through episode 4 and called it quits. Loved season 1 but this is a massive drop off. The old characters are still interesting but most of the new cast are nowhere near the same level. Clunky writing, ludicrous plotlines and to top it off some of the worst attempted East Midlands accents you will ever hear.

Much as I love Yorkshire - it's four counties not one. West Yorkshire probably my favourite. Cumbria or Northumberland would be my choice.

Just finished Ludwig. Not the most exciting show in the world but it's an easy watch, well written and good performances from David Mitchell and Anna Maxwell Martin.

Reminds me of the Guinness I had at The Laurieston in Glasgow earlier this year. They have three taps for standard, extra cold and ‘the middle’. Tried the latter on the recommendation of the barman and it was the creamiest Guinness I’ve ever had. Incredible pub, like stepping back in time.

I know it seems quite weird to non-politicos but this has been going on for decades and is perfectly legal as long as you’re not taking taxpayer funds to do it. I know quite a few political activists who have campaigned in American elections and have met Australians and Americans who have campaigned in UK general elections. My first boss was a former Tory MP who took a month off work to campaign for Barack Obama in ‘08. If they’ve used Labour Party funds to pay for stuff that’s a cock up but can’t see how it’s illegal.

Could you drip feed it in (aka pound cost averaging) over say 1-2 years rather than transfer the whole lump sum? This way you avoid the risk of going all in at a market high.

Feels like a short term blip to me. The medium term trajectory of interest rates is downwards. My guess is the BoE base rate will be lower in six months than it is now.

Industry season 3 - it just keeps getting better. Watched it when the first season came out in 2020 and it went under the radar a bit. Great to see it get the attention it deserves.

The last decade has warped a lot of people's perceptions about what 'normal' Westminster politics looks like. From May 2010 to July 2024 we had maybe six months of stable, majority government (from the 2015 election to Cameron calling the EU referendum). Aside from that brief period we had coalitions, very weak PMs under pressure from their own party, major crises and a government heading towards defeat. The next general election will be in 2028 or 2029. Barring ill health, Keir Starmer is more likely than not to lead the Labour party into that election. The government has a very large majority which allows it to push through its policy agenda. There will be A LOT of change but unlike the last few years this will not be in personnel but in policy.

Winks' form is a problem. Ndidi is no good as a sitting DM anymore so we don't have anyone else to sit alongside Skipp at the base of the midfield. Ricardo can do it as the inverted full back but seems pretty clear Cooper won't do that. For that reason I think he probably sticks with Winks for now.

I find his post match interviews incredibly depressing. He spent most of them yesterday moaning about the ref after we’d conceded about 35 shots and would have been completely tonked were it not for Hermansen. A little self reflection on why we gave up the ball so easily and created almost nothing would be welcome.

I had some correspondence with him in a work capacity about a decade ago. Not my politics at all but he was perfectly pleasant - essentially a middle of the road Midlands Tory, a solid constituency MP and fairly effective Parliamentary campaigner on a few select issues. Like a few on the right, Brexit then Covid sent him mad.

I was on a bus a few weeks ago and someone had left a copy of The Light (conspiracy theory newspaper renowned for spreading misinformation on Covid, Holocaust denial and other standard far-right talking points). There was an article on Bridgen, questioning the election results. The article was based around two very easily answerable questions: 1. Isn't it suspicious that Bridgen's vote declined so much between 2019 and 2024? Answer: No, because he was a Conservative candidate in a strongly Conservative area in 2019, and in 2024 he was no longer the Conservative candidate. 2. How come Bridgen didn't get reelected when his views are obviously right and popular? Answer: His views are wrong and unpopular.

I don't agree with this. After the first year or so of Sousa and Sven, and until Cooper, they haven't made an appointment you'd call a failure. Pearson 2.0: Rebuilt the club, got promotion, stayed up Ranieri: Greatest achievement in the history of team sport Shakey: Comfortably avoided relegation when we looked doomed, that magical night against Sevilla Puel: Rebuilt an ageing team, re-established us as a comfortable mid table PL side Rodgers: For two years we played scintilating football and competed with the best Smith: Too short a reign to judge really Maresca: Rejuventated a demoralised squad and got promoted at the first time of asking The main issue since Vichai passed was being far too slow to recognise Rodgers was no longer working. Hopefully they've learnt the lesson this time but I'm not holding my breath.

I've actually built a small cocoa bean farm so I can harvest, ferment, dry, roast and grind the beans myself. You can't take any risks with the supply chain.

40 in a few months, always been fairly fit but like a pint and prone to getting a bit of a beer belly. My lifestyle isn't perfect but to keep in shape and feel mentally fit the following work for me: Weight training at the gym 3 times a week. Mixture of big compound lifts (squat, deadlift, bench) and more focused hypertrophy exercises. I don't do any specialist cardio but walk as much as I can and ride my bike occasionally. Walk up a big hill with some mates once a month. It's good for the soul. Loads of water. Track my alchol units so I'm always under the monthly recommended limit. The upshot of this is I rarely drink at home now because I like to save my units for social occassions. Have always eaten fairly healthy so that's never been a big problem but I do have a sweet tooth. I try to limit myself to one small chocolate bar a day or a few pieces of dark chocolate. The main thing I'd really like to improve on is sleep. I live in a noisy area and will be moving soon so I'm hoping that will have a positive impact.

I'm a Lancs fan and long time Livingstone sceptic but he's changed his game the last two seasons. He's become a genuine all-rounder and is much better as a proper middle order batter rather than a finisher. Not sure about his long term future in ODIs in but for T20Is I think he should be coming in at 5 and bowling as the backup or third spinner. He had a poor World Cup but so did most the squad, for which I'd place the blame firmly on Jos Buttler's captaincy.

I've switched from almost 100% non-fiction a few years ago to probably 80% fiction now. I'm finding I'm reading a lot more, getting through 30-50 books a year. For the last few months I've been trying to get through a bunch of old stuff I should have read as a teenager but didn't because my school was rubbish and we didn't have many books at home. Just finished Moby Dick which was a challenge but so rewarding. Also lots of Graham Greene which I'm really enjoying. For me, fiction helps put my own little problems and anxieties in perspective and I find I can enter my own little world while reading in a way I don't reading about history, politics, sport etc.

In defence of Old Trafford, this was my view two weeks ago.

Obviously I want him to succeed. But I do find that I feel a bit sad after listening to his press conferences.

I appreciate that. Still think the broader point about the triple lock making state pensions more generous in comparison to benefits for working age people, including child benefit stands - and will continue to do so as long as the triple lock remains in place. I do agree that there will be pensioners affected by this who will feel it due to where the cutoff point is being drawn, which is not good.

I'm disappointed by the poor arguments Labour is putting up for means testing the winter fuel allowance to be honest. There's a fairly straightforward and reasonable justifcation for withdrawing it from all but the poorest pensioners. When it was introduced in 1997, the UK pension was one of the least generous in Europe, now it's about average. Pensioners in 1997 were the age cohort most likely to be in poverty, now they're the age group least likely to be in poverty. The introduction of the triple lock in 2010 means the state pension has risen above the level of inflation for almost 15 years. Last year the state pension went up by £900 a year and next year will go up by almost £500. In this context there is a good argument to means test the allowance. I feel people would be much more receptive to this message than the nonsense 'we have to do this otherwise the bond markets will crash' stuff we've heard from ministers in the last couple of weeks.

Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire and particularly Lancashire have really underperformed in recent years. Last year Lancs had a team including Buttler, Salt, Livingstone, Luke Wood and Daryl Mitchell but somehow contrived to only finish second in the group and got knocked out in the quarters.

Would say the two child benefit cap is a much bigger problem within the PLP than the fuel allowance issue though. The leadership have kicked the can down the road for now by announcing a child poverty taskforce but ultimately they'll have to make a decision whether to scrap the cap or not. Speaking to a couple of people close to this issue they think it will eventually be scrapped but the government need to roll the pitch beforehand because the cap is, depressingly, quite popular with the public.