Phil Bryan

Westminster Voting Intention: LAB: 32% (+5) CON: 24% (+3) RFM: 20% (-3) LDM: 9% (+1) GRN: 8% (-5) SNP: 3% (-1) RES: 3% (=) Via @ipsosintheuk.bsky.social, 15-22 Oct. Changes w/ 10-15 Sep.

NatWest faces union backlash after asking staff to spend at least two days a week in office reut.rs/3TS4wps

The Conservatives and Labour hold a combined vote share of 50% in our latest voting intention (18-19 October 2026), the highest since our tracker restarted in January 2025 and up from as low as 32% in March The Greens' 10% share is the lowest recorded for the party since September 2025

Exclusive: Reform mayor Luke Campbell is under police investigation for allegedly cyberflashing a female member of staff Campbell, an Olympic gold boxer, is accused of having shown a a senior female officer four fully “naked and sexualised images” of himself observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

Trump waives many Russia-related sanctions, tariffs before they were to take effect under new law reut.rs/4zArpN7

PIP can, and should, be reformed in order to both make savings and better honour its original purpose. The benefit could become a personalised package of support built from three elements ⤵️ buff.ly/PEuB0qu

Poll Check: ‘New Westminster MRP, with tactical voting: Labour: 28% / 353 seats (−59) Reform UK: 21% / 81 seats (+76) Conservative: 18% / 90 seats (−31) Lib Dem: 10% / 70 seats (−2) Green: 9% / 4 seats (=)’ 1/

What surprise praise for UK economy tells us about the Budget

Badenoch also hits an all time approval rating high, up 3 to +5. Burnham is down 5 to +11, Davey is down one to -11, Lowe remains steady at -15, (though less than half give a firm view on Davey/Lowe) Farage is down 2 to -26 and Polanski is down a lot 7 to -35- his lowest for us.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

NEW: Among the Truth Social posts we found shared by incoming White House press secretary Katie Zacharia were a seemingly pro-Putin post claiming he was fighting a “cabal” in Ukraine, and another implying Joan Rivers was killed for saying Michelle Obama had a penis. www.cnn.com/2026/10/12/p...

1/ Fake local newspapers in France. Russian propaganda routed through African media. Chinese state messaging repackaged for foreign audiences. Different countries. Different operators. A remarkably similar trick: hide who is really speaking. #DV1 #ProudBlue #Voices4Victory #USDemocracy

Betrayal

New IMF forecasts tell you 2 things about UK economy. Firstly, the British economy has proved resilient in face of the Iran conflict: IMF have UK growth as joint second fastest in G7 this year (forget forecasts, in hard data we’ve seen the fastest growth in G7 so far this year)

As an ex-Deloitte employee, this surprises me not one jot The audit staff's sole job seemed to be telling the client what they wanted to hear so the fees kept coming, irrespective of the facts

Uh oh, did someone’s website and personal account experience a big drop in activity after Ukraine hit a Russian data center?

UK PM Burnham warns French voters of Russian political influence on back of Brexit vote

Racist recruiter named & shamed "Recruitment boss accused of being behind ‘doxxing’ campaign against RNLI and anti-racism activists" 'Tom Watson, of Worcester, alleged to be behind Big Time Charlie X account that created so-called Traitorbase' www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

At last, a UK Prime Minister admits what many of us knew & were saying at the time. There was massive interference by Russia in the #Brexit referendum, aimed at weakening & dividing Britain & Europe. observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

just when you thought it couldn’t get worse

A nasty strain of antisemitism has quickly come to dominate the Green Party of England and Wales. We explain how the former Ecology Party came to care more about Zionism than the environment

I'm sorry if this is obvious but the Tory proposal to exempt family homes completely from IHT will lead to 1] pensioners buying the biggest houses they possibly can 2] pensioners refusing to downsize which can only be bad news for younger families trying to buy family homes

Hardly an original take but it is Quite Annoying to imagine how much the UK (and me, and you!) would all have more cash today if Donald Trump hadn't decided to start bombing Iran for *reasons*. Where's the White House impact assessment on my nursery fees. www.ft.com/content/2cb1...

Sources: the BBC and Channel 4 have held early talks with the UK government on a JV combining Channel 4's ad sales, E4, Film4, and VOD with the BBC's UKTV (Amy-Jo Crowley/Reuters) Main Link | Mediagazer Permalink

Models which have the Conservatives ahead of Reform may be jumping the gun. See how Britain Predicts compares... www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

As a Jew I think what the Greens have done is appalling. As a political commentator I think Andy Burnham is a lucky man.

Opinium latest poll for Observer with Labour 30% (+2), Reform 25% (+1), Conservatives 17% (-), Green 11% (+1) Libdem 9% (-1). This pollster last had Labour at 30% in November 2024. 30/9/26 after Labour conference. www.opinium.com/resource-cen...

How popular are European leaders in their own countries? (10-21 Sep 2026) 🇬🇧 Burnham +6 net favourability (+1 from Aug) 🇩🇰 Frederiksen -6 (-2) 🇮🇹 Meloni -22 (-4) 🇪🇸 Sánchez -35 (-2) 🇫🇷 Macron -60 (-6) 🇩🇪 Merz -73 (-7) yougov.com/en-gb/articl...

A man builds an IED. He sets it off in a busy public street. Shrapnel flies about hitting cars, homes and a child's bedroom. It's a miracle nobody is injured. And Reform MP Sarah Pochin calls his imprisonment "disproportionate" and "two tier justice."

Pennsylvania measles cases near 1,000 as outbreak spreads reut.rs/4hVZMIp

Our paywall is down until Monday, which means you can read @sarahelizacollins.bsky.social's always beautiful column (which will make you think anew about living life) for free www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/views/lives/...

The silver living, to a very big cloud, if you’re sitting in HMT today is that amid a global bond sell off gilts aren’t being hit the hardest. Which feels a bit different to other recent sell offs.

🇮🇷 💊 Medication prices are soaring in #Iran and some treatments have become hard to find, leaving patients and their families scrambling. It comes as a #US blockade and stepped-up sanctions squeeze the country's pharmaceuticals industry. Watch the story ⤵️

The Nerve, founded by former Observer journalists, says it reached financial sustainability in its first year, with £600K in income and 5,000 paying subscribers (Charlotte Tobitt/Press Gazette) Main Link | Mediagazer Permalink

A video being shared online supposedly shows an “asylum seeker” saying he wants “more money and more freedom”, and isn’t happy with how he’s being treated in the UK. But the clip is AI-generated. Here’s how we know 👇

Bose introduced a $99 pair of wired noise-canceling earbuds, offering a rare feature at a time when corded earphones have seen a resurgence among younger shoppers.

Also - they say the moon is made of cheese, but I went to the cheese aisle and they weren't selling any moon. What the hell?

Blimey. Baroness Margaret Hodge - the Govt anti-corruption champion, on the £72m donations to Reform recently: "I think it came from the Russians." She's speaking at a Fabian event on donation caps

Mélenchon gaining momentum in French presidential polling while the centrist field remains fragmented and weak ⬇️

Superb and fascinating chart.

Our paywall is down until October 5th! Plenty of time to read your fill of @prospectmagazine.co.uk So why not start with my deep dive on Israel's election, a central question being: how much will change, in Gaza, in the West Bank, if Netanyahu does lose? www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/world/israel...

EXC - Shabana Mahmood will announce a new legal route for refugees that prioritises Afghan women and girls and Palestinians, unfreezing a scheme that will put the most vulnerable refugees on a faster path to permanent status. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

This is incredible news - ministers are going to crack down on bogus self employment! About time - this is huge for every business - from Royal Mail downwards - under pressure cos they directly employ their staff but are undercut by disreputable operators

‘Nigel loved her’: the mystery woman looking after Reform’s billionaire backers Former Cameo executive Katie Lewis has flown under the radar since working with the party’s crypto donors, with online posts that mention her name being swiftly deleted ✍️ Catherine Neilan https://bit.ly/4xScOvp

Joining #BBCLauraK Prime Minister Andy Burnham MP Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp MP BBC Director General Matt Brittin Sunday 9am #BBCOne #BBCiPlayer

With hotels unpopular and expensive, and a large network of camps little more than a Home Office fantasy, the British government must find a better way to house asylum-seekers