"a thought-provoking read that resonates long after the last page is turned." says @BookishHermit about Coming Clean by @andy_howden instagram.com/p/DFFPJELobaS/

Chris, what is most striking about your piece is not the reporting of events, but the relentless effort to frame every development through the prism of impending collapse. Throughout the article, readers are presented not with objective analysis, but with a succession of loaded phrases and assumptions designed to reinforce a predetermined narrative. A premiership is described as "flailing", potential rivals are elevated into waiting successors, and routine political disagreement is transformed into evidence of a government supposedly on the verge of disintegration. What is conspicuously absent is any serious examination of the reality facing any government today. Defence spending does not emerge from thin air. Every additional pound committed to the armed forces must either be raised through taxation, borrowed, or diverted from another area of public expenditure. That is not a political slogan. It is a fiscal fact. You devote considerable attention to those criticising the Defence Investment Plan, yet remarkably little attention to what their alternative would be. If the spending settlement is inadequate, what precisely should replace it? Where would the money come from? Which taxes should rise, or which public services should face reductions? These are the questions that matter. The article also appears determined to portray every resignation as a judgement on Sir Keir Starmer's leadership while giving scant consideration to the possibility that ministers can disagree on policy without it amounting to an existential crisis for the government. Westminster may enjoy perpetual leadership speculation, but governing a country requires rather more than gossip, intrigue and anonymous briefings. Perhaps the greatest weakness in your analysis is the assumption that political commentary can substitute for political reality. The government remains in office with a substantial parliamentary majority, inflation has fallen significantly from its peak, economic growth has returned, and major policy decisions continue to be implemented. Whether one supports the government or not, those are facts rather than interpretations. In the end, your article says far more about the current appetite among sections of the media for leadership drama than it does about the actual condition of the government. The country deserves analysis grounded in evidence, not a running commentary built upon Westminster's favourite pastime: predicting the imminent downfall of every Prime Minister. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx26…

Home Office data reveals there were 30,657 people being accommodated at the end of 2025 - a 19% drop from the previous year. At its peak in September 2023 - when Suella Braverman was Home Secretary - there were over 56,000 migrants in hotels. via @DaveBurke12 mirror.co.uk/news/politics/b…