Max Shillam

Weird that Reform attract candidates with regressive male sexist backward lunatic opinions. This is the sequel to that fella the other day who said Nigerians should be melted down into potholes.

Housing is only as scarce a resource as we want it to be. There is a choice for everyone here. We can accept the status quo of scarcity and fight over prioritising certain groups, or we can build more. Too many in politics choose the former. Choosing the short-lived dopamine of the reactionary, rather than building the case for something better. More than half a million Londoners now live in flat shares. The average private rent in London is nearly £27,480 a year. London is adding 33,000 homes a year, while its population is projected to rise by around half a million over the next decade. If tensions feel high today, imagine what they will look like after another decade of failure. ✍️@KaneEmerson newstatesman.com/housing-hell/2…

The UK housing crisis is not going well. In order to alleviate its acute housing affordability crisis, London has been set a target of building 88,000 new homes per year over the next decade. Last year construction started on just 5,891 – 94% below target, a 75% year-on-year decline, the steepest drop in the country, the lowest tally since records began almost 40 years ago and the lowest figure for any major city in the developed world this century.

NEW: Bloomberg Saturday read Is Andy Burnham Labour’s saviour, or is it just… vibes? — The last week has been fascinating. Burnham has had a bumpy start. He’s boxed himself in by committing to the fiscal rules and Labour’s manifesto on tax. It significantly limits his room for manoeuvre to deliver his promise of change. — Some in Labour worry he’s already trapped by the same political and economic constraints that hampered Keir Starmer. While there’s no doubt he polls better and has more energy, they stress he isn’t a messiah who can fix all their problems. — Burnham performed 5 u-turns this week: on rejoining the EU, on the fiscal rules, backing a hardline immigration policy, reversing his trans views, and ditching a 50p top rate of tax. An MP on the left says he looks inauthentic. Another compares it to Starmer’s safety-first Ming vase strategy. — More clarifications are coming. Allies say it’ll be difficult to drop Starmer’s Brexit red lines on the single market and customs union before an election, and that it’ll be hard to fully nationalise energy and water. Ambitions are being scaled back. — A supporter says he’s being sensible and scraping the barnacles off the boat. But it shows he knows he has the same problem as Starmer losing votes both left and right, and he has a similar response: picking policies that appeal to each side. — So what’s different? Tax rises on capital sound likely, but that won’t raise much money and he’s now ruled out touching the big taxes. Some in Labour worry about the impact on growth and investment of a virtue-signalling tax policy. — One MP warns that by loudly promising “real change” but not giving himself the room to deliver it, Burnham could quickly see the public turn on him, just as they did on Starmer. The criticism doing the rounds is that he is just Starmerism with vibes and a northern accent. — There are growing concerns about the lack of serious planning Burnham has done for No10. His policy platform is erratic. His political operation is threadbare and largely consists of Ed Miliband’s team. MPs are appealing to Burnham to quickly expand his circle to avoid the sort of factional warfare that did for Starmer. — Some MPs also worry Burnham might immediately enter an economic downturn and new cost-of-living crisis just as he becomes PM, which the public will inevitably blame him for, preventing a honeymoon period. Some think he made a strategic error going so soon and should have let Starmer take the pain coming in the next six months. — Some MPs also want Burnham to stop getting into fights on Twitter, which he has been doing all week, raising eyebrows. His supporters say he’s a unity candidate who can attract voters from across the political divide. This campaign is already putting that to the test. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Bravo @RachelReevesMP and shame on the Neanderthals from Reform who celebrate women being abused on the street.

@jwsal So many falsities in here I don’t know where to begin.

Private landlords are costing the UK £40 billion in housing benefit every year. They are a drain on the economy and do no work, providing no productivity or growth.

🚨NEW: Hope Not Hate founder, Nick Lowles, calls on the Green party to be honest about the reasons their Makerfield candidate has stood down, accusing them of being complicit in a cover-up

WOW!! First time seeing @Dyson strawberries in the supermarket. Fully nerding out and losing my mind

@JimDear322290 @billcurtis0 You don't need to be explicitly antisemitic to be complicit in perpetuating racial prejudice.

@maxshillam @billcurtis0 They're not explicitly antisemitic. You can make that argument if you like but you'd need more evidence, which I don't think anyone has offered.

🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Green by-election candidate Chris Kennedy shared posts on social media describing an attack on Jewish ambulances in north London as a “false flag” When approached by The Times, he apologised for the posts and quit today citing "personal reasons" 1/

@JimDear322290 @billcurtis0 This will be the most high profile by-election in a generation. Did you not think they should have properly vetted this man for anti-semitic comments?

@maxshillam @billcurtis0 He apologised and quit. What he said isn't the greens position or Millward's.

Remarkable. The future of British agriculture.

@Nigel_Farage @reformparty_uk Cat check: Last week, Nigel Farage complained when a journalist stood close to his house because it threatened his safety

That went well. These extremist protest parties aren’t really suited to, you know, running things. Just like Reform.

I'm not gonna lie, the @Meta layoffs are some of the most dystopian I've ever seen. They got told to work from home, they were sent the emails at 4AM in the morning. Those who weren't impacted have software on their computer that tracks their every move, preparing AI to take their job as well. They're literally training the AI that will eliminate their position as well. Meanwhile, Meta is raking in RECORD PROFITS. I am a massive, unapologetic AI enthusiast. Yet, this is NOT the future I had in mind. I wish for Meta to crash and burn. This is not the way. Literally nobody benefits from this.

The Uk has a very competitive grocery market, with thin margins. Food prices rise because input costs go up. Government tinkering with price caps is not a serious solution to people on low incomes being unable to afford essentials. Focus on boosting incomes & support with big...

Deeply unserious parties both: simplistic solutions to complex problems and flaky people throwing in the towel after mere days

The CEO of Google DeepMind tells WIRED that companies should use the productivity gains of AI to do more, not lay people off. wired.com/story/demis-ha…

Youth unemployment is approaching one million – the highest it’s been in a decade. At the same time, local businesses are under real pressure. Rising business rates and higher employer National Insurance costs are making it harder to hire, invest and even stay afloat. The result? Confidence is down, growth is stalling and too many young people are being left behind. We need serious action to support businesses and create real opportunities for the next generation.

🚨 | THIRTEEN Councillors (8 Green & 5 Reform) who were elected in the May 2026 Local Elections have already triggered by-elections: 🌍 Green (8) Regent's Park (Camden) - Ineligible North Acton (Ealing) - Resigned Dalston (Hackney) - Elected Mayor Hackney Central (Hackney) - Resigned Northumberland Park (Haringey) - Disqualified Clapham Park (Lambeth) - Resigned Streatham St Leonard's (Lambeth) - Resigned Crofton Park (Lewisham) - Elected Mayor ➡️ Reform (5) Rayleigh West (Essex) - Resigned High Fell (Gateshead) - Resigned Sweyne Park & Grange (Rochford) - Resigned Haydock (St Helens) - Resigned Hylton Castle (Sunderland) - Resigned