Sam Freedman

New post out: "Burnham's Inheritance" I look at five of the biggest problems facing the new prime minister - from financial woes to dealing with an immigration revolt from MPs. And some of the trade-offs he's going to have to make. (£/free trial) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/bur…

Covers some of the big policy rows coming up on benefits, immigration, social care etc... Plus analysis of the upcoming budget and spending review.

New post out: "Burnham's Inheritance" I look at five of the biggest problems facing the new prime minister - from financial woes to dealing with an immigration revolt from MPs. And some of the trade-offs he's going to have to make. (£/free trial) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/bur…

"The Ukrainian force defending that causeway was 15 people, which the Russians didn’t know. The Ukrainians dispersed across the village and started talking on their radios about where they were going to deploy the Javelin teams, and the Russians were listening to this communication, and stopped because they thought that there were 30 or so Javelin teams in front of them. There weren’t any." samf.substack.com/p/the-kremlin-…

.@Jack_Watling on just how close run it was in 2022. "Whether the Russians made it through Mykolaiv and into Odesa came down to whether a Russian brigade was prepared to attack across a causeway, and they were en route to do it." samf.substack.com/p/the-kremlin-…

There are countless stories like the one below of bravery and ingenuity and spontaneity and sheer luck in the Ukrainian national defense at the very beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion that would make all the difference. Good interview of @Jack_Watling below, by @LawDavF, worth reading. I also wrote about several such scenarios in my book The War Came To Us.

New post from @LawDavF "Putin's energy crisis" Ukraine's attacks on Russia are causing very serious problems for Putin. Can Russia adapt? Or is it the beginning of the end? (£/free trial) samf.substack.com/p/putins-energ…

And we'll be keeping track of Ukraine/Russia and Iran - as per today's post on Putin's energy crisis. samf.substack.com/p/putins-energ…

I'll be writing a lot about the new PM/cabinet over the next few weeks. As well as keeping track of what's going on with Farage and Reform as per this week's post. samf.substack.com/p/farages-foll…

Last chance to sign up to our substack at 25% off for a year. Just a few hours left... samf.substack.com/p/summer-sale-…

Latest post looks at continuing attacks on Russia’s oil refineries, why air defence has been struggling to cope, the ability of the Kremlin to adapt as well as potential economic impact. Also destruction of Russian tankers in Sea of Azov. (£/free trial), open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/put…?

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This week's post on Farage's future. Why he's in serious trouble. What happens to Reform if he goes? And what the consequences might be for British politics? samf.substack.com/p/farages-foll…

New post: "Farage's Folly" Yesterday's gambit was a desperate move from a man in trouble. I look at the likelihood of him quitting or being thrown out after a standards investigation. And what that would mean for Reform + UK politics. (£/free trial) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/far…

A look beyond Farage's latest by-election ploy by @samfr to the possibility of Farage quitting and the implications for Reform and British politics. (£/free trial), samf.substack.com/p/farages-folly?

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