Dan Bloom
U.K. political editor for POLITICO
politico.eu/staff/dan-bloom/
- NEW: Britain and Norway's foreign ministers both tell me they back the idea of an “Arctic Sentry” NATO mission to countries — including Greenland It would aim to counter Russian threats ... while trying to reassure Donald Trump of Europe’s commitment Story ⬇️ www.politico.eu/article/uk-a...
- NEW: Deputy PM David Lammy raised the recent flood of AI-generated, sexualized images on X with JD Vance when they met in the White House last night One person said it had gone well, and that Vance seemed receptive to Lammy’s points
- 🌹 Labour's Brexit tribes This isn't the Tory "five families" or the Malthouse Compromise. Not yet. But distinct strains of thought are beginning to emerge in the Labour Party and could burst out if there was a leadership contest Where will it all end? ⬇️ www.politico.eu/article/meet...
- Keir Starmer doesn’t have a big back-to-school speech in the diary next week, I hear — though he does have a series of visits planned to talk about the cost of living and will give a few remarks Nigel Farage meanwhile is drawing up plans for a press conference next week
- 🎖️ Forget the New Year Honours! Here are the London Playbook Awards 2025 From SpAd and Political Adviser of the Year to Survivor of the Year ... no prizes for guessing who that last one is www.politico.eu/article/poli...
- MARK YOUR DIARIES — How to watch British politics in 2026 like a pro 📅 Why is the May king's speech so jeopardous? Will the Treasury manage to keep the March spring statement low key? Which summit on May 15 will decide the future of migration policy? The guide you need ⬇️
- 🧰 🧰 🧰 My budget piece How today shows that — despite Rachel Reeves' best efforts — British politics is still living hand-to-mouth, year-to-year. What will next year bring? Who knows!
- NEW: How the Tories learned to stop worrying and fight dirty Inside the "attack cell" in CCHQ that fuelled the Angela Rayner story before her resignation Plus, the changes in Kemi Badenoch's office line-up that have finally helped her find attack mode
- EXC: Keir Starmer is polling even worse than ex-prince Andrew, Wales’ Labour finance minister has said Two people tell me Mark Drakeford made the hair-raising comparison at an event on Sunday The former first minister's team say he was talking in a personal capacity re. publicly available polling
- This looks like the "jewellery" clause in the Home Office's asylum reforms: “We will require individuals to contribute towards the cost of their asylum support where they have some assets or income, but not enough to support themselves independently. 1/2
- 🚨🚨🚨 EXCLUSIVE by @estwebber.bsky.social and me Final decision on restoration of parliament is set to be postponed **beyond the next general election** MPs were due to vote this year on 4 options Plan is now: pick 2 options, and start "preparatory work" Final option may only emerge in early 2030s
- 🏠 "Keir hates it" We have a big piece on the trials of running a G7 country from Downing Street — a poky rabbit warren in three Georgian townhouses knocked together Tiny offices, mice, "nan's bathrooms," duct-taped carpets, dodgy heating, no phone signal, hardly any showers ... and a prawn
- Brilliant piece from my colleague Charlie Cooper on the mixed politics of Keir Starmer's trip to the COP30 summit The PM is said to be instinctively supportive of climate action — but not so much that he has "his own ideas about things," argues one Labour MP
- “It’s pathetic nailing on one point. It’s just pathetic. Grow up. Seriously, seriously ... Why are you guys obsessing about one little piece?" — Reform UK's Richard Tice to me when I asked about ... a data-sharing agreement between his DOGE unit and Kent County Council 🤔
- EXCL: Reform UK is eyeing up sweeping changes to public sector pensions, Richard Tice has indicated. Nigel Farage’s deputy told me “how long can we carry on offering defined benefit pensions to all public sector workers?” is a massive Q “not properly discussed in Westminster”
- 🔴 Big week for the collapsed China spy case next week We took a swing at why Keir Starmer is fighting so hard to keep Jonathan Powell — breaking down just how tied he is into every aspect of foreign policy
- Some Caerphilly takeaways that go beyond Wales — "Non-voters" slipping under the radar — Tactical voting is key. Does it help Labour elsewhere? — Incumbency sucks — Messaging doesn't land — Nothing sticks to Reform (yet) — But can we now see the ceiling?
- NEW: Labour is getting fighty again on Brexit Ministers are now deliberately talking about Brexit harms to pitch-roll for the budget, where the OBR will say the impact of leaving is worse than thought But there are overlapping strategies and huge danger
