Peter Walker
@peterwalker99.bsky.social
Guardian senior political correspondent. New book, Stress tested, out now: https://tinyurl.com/mhn82a7m
Email: [email protected] Secure email if needed: [email protected]
Email: [email protected] Secure email if needed: [email protected]
What?? This is very bad news for people (at least in inner-ish London) who want to live without a car. I'm more of a Zip van user myself and they can be very, very useful.
December 1, 2025 at 3:26 PM
What?? This is very bad news for people (at least in inner-ish London) who want to live without a car. I'm more of a Zip van user myself and they can be very, very useful.
Some of the transport discourse in UK papers can unhinged at times, but this genuinely reads like the Onion. "It’s like a cult — ‘cars are bad'.... He may think he’s doing good. I bet you if he went to his grandma, she wouldn’t be too happy."
nypost.com/2025/11/29/u...
nypost.com/2025/11/29/u...
Zohran Mamdani hires car-hating activist Ben Furnas for NYC transportation team: ‘War on drivers’
Car-hater Ben Furnas has been appointed to Mamdani’s transition team for transportation, climate and infrastructure – and his agenda is a nightmare for the city’s drivers.
nypost.com
December 1, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Some of the transport discourse in UK papers can unhinged at times, but this genuinely reads like the Onion. "It’s like a cult — ‘cars are bad'.... He may think he’s doing good. I bet you if he went to his grandma, she wouldn’t be too happy."
nypost.com/2025/11/29/u...
nypost.com/2025/11/29/u...
New political blessing: May Dan Hodges loudly and repeatedly insist your position is untenable.
December 1, 2025 at 2:18 PM
New political blessing: May Dan Hodges loudly and repeatedly insist your position is untenable.
I'm at a Kemi Badenoch event where *yet again* the Guardian has not got a question. Aside from broadcasters it was Mail, Sun and FT (the latter presumably only because we're at an accountancy body in the City). I've probably been to seven or eight such events with no question.
December 1, 2025 at 10:32 AM
I'm at a Kemi Badenoch event where *yet again* the Guardian has not got a question. Aside from broadcasters it was Mail, Sun and FT (the latter presumably only because we're at an accountancy body in the City). I've probably been to seven or eight such events with no question.
Well done to @benquinn75.bsky.social for writing a story asking why an open and unapologetic racist is allowed to be a pundit on GB News and Talk TV.
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...
GB News urged to cut ties with contributor accused of racism
Rightwing activist claimed Commons deputy speaker Nusrat Ghani should be barred because she was born in Pakistan
www.theguardian.com
November 29, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Well done to @benquinn75.bsky.social for writing a story asking why an open and unapologetic racist is allowed to be a pundit on GB News and Talk TV.
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...
“Oh conference”.
Chair in the Your Party debate on dual membership: "No booing, conference. If you are unkind, there will be consequences." (After lots of booing re dual membership)
"We do not want any fights or arguments. Let's be calm...I'm going to have to turn the mic off. Oh conference, dear dear dear."
"We do not want any fights or arguments. Let's be calm...I'm going to have to turn the mic off. Oh conference, dear dear dear."
November 29, 2025 at 3:48 PM
“Oh conference”.
One of Zack Polanski’s under-appreciated political talents is an ability to switch instantly from upbeat, slightly silly fun to utter, heartfelt sincerity. I saw him do it in his conference speech and he does it in this slightly absurd film. It’s curiously moving.
Hope is here.
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Help us beat Reform in May. Donate today ⤵️
November 28, 2025 at 4:52 PM
One of Zack Polanski’s under-appreciated political talents is an ability to switch instantly from upbeat, slightly silly fun to utter, heartfelt sincerity. I saw him do it in his conference speech and he does it in this slightly absurd film. It’s curiously moving.
NEW: it’s the inaugural Your Party conference this weekend, and I’ve been speaking to people involved about a project which has become so bogged down in disagreement that, as one person told me, at one point they had six MPs and four factions.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
‘We had six MPs and four factions’: inside Your Party’s toxic power struggles
Some say Jeremy Corbyn is too non-committal for project to work, while others blame Zarah Sultana’s combative nature
www.theguardian.com
November 28, 2025 at 8:44 AM
NEW: it’s the inaugural Your Party conference this weekend, and I’ve been speaking to people involved about a project which has become so bogged down in disagreement that, as one person told me, at one point they had six MPs and four factions.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Nigel Farage is holding a post-budget press conference and his sidekick is Zia Yusuf. Yusuf does very much feel like the shadow (shadow) chancellor, rather than Richard Tice, who had been the party’s main voice on economics.
November 26, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Nigel Farage is holding a post-budget press conference and his sidekick is Zia Yusuf. Yusuf does very much feel like the shadow (shadow) chancellor, rather than Richard Tice, who had been the party’s main voice on economics.
So it looks like Rachel Reeves has *not* abolished or cut back the cycle to work scheme. Perhaps she has read the Treasury's own 2023 assessment of the scheme, which found that in terms of creating modal shift, and thus boosting public health, it is very, very effective.
www.gov.uk/government/p...
www.gov.uk/government/p...
Evaluation of the Cycle to Work Scheme: quantitative and qualitative research
www.gov.uk
November 26, 2025 at 2:04 PM
So it looks like Rachel Reeves has *not* abolished or cut back the cycle to work scheme. Perhaps she has read the Treasury's own 2023 assessment of the scheme, which found that in terms of creating modal shift, and thus boosting public health, it is very, very effective.
www.gov.uk/government/p...
www.gov.uk/government/p...
Political speeches, particularly in parliament, can sometimes run a difficult line between scathing and just a bit nasty, and it strikes me that Kemi Badenoch's budget response risks falling into the latter camp.
November 26, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Political speeches, particularly in parliament, can sometimes run a difficult line between scathing and just a bit nasty, and it strikes me that Kemi Badenoch's budget response risks falling into the latter camp.
The two child benefit cap is gone! [or will be from April].
November 26, 2025 at 1:31 PM
The two child benefit cap is gone! [or will be from April].
File under: believe it when I see it.
💥 Govt says fuel duty to *go up* from next September.
In the past the OBR has assumed that fuel duty would start to rise after a one-year freeze.
This time, the govt has said explicitly that it will only be frozen for five months, and will start increasing it after that.
In the past the OBR has assumed that fuel duty would start to rise after a one-year freeze.
This time, the govt has said explicitly that it will only be frozen for five months, and will start increasing it after that.
November 26, 2025 at 12:52 PM
File under: believe it when I see it.
However bad your current working day, someone in the OBR is having a *much* worse one.
November 26, 2025 at 12:13 PM
However bad your current working day, someone in the OBR is having a *much* worse one.
Reposted by Peter Walker
Don’t believe Nigel Farage’s denials. He targeted me for being Jewish – and it hurt | Peter Ettedgui
Don’t believe Nigel Farage’s denials. He targeted me for being Jewish – and it hurt | Peter Ettedgui
Now that my former classmate has finally spoken about the allegations of his behaviour at school, I feel compelled to address his points directly, says Peter Ettedgui, a film director and producer
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Don’t believe Nigel Farage’s denials. He targeted me for being Jewish – and it hurt | Peter Ettedgui
Yes, 100%, I know *all* about this sort of stuff.
November 25, 2025 at 11:09 AM
Yes, 100%, I know *all* about this sort of stuff.
NEW by @benquinn75.bsky.social with some minor help from me*: Reform said last week they had saved £331m at councils they run, but they have yet to produce a list showing how, and what information they have given is both £260m short and not 100% convincing.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Reform UK claim to have saved £331m at English councils – but do the numbers stack up?
Experts say councils face limits on cuts as Reform’s savings on IT deals, office moves and EV projects are disputed
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:51 PM
NEW by @benquinn75.bsky.social with some minor help from me*: Reform said last week they had saved £331m at councils they run, but they have yet to produce a list showing how, and what information they have given is both £260m short and not 100% convincing.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
NEW: Nigel Farage is facing renewed calls to explain why he repeatedly aired tropes and conspiracy theories associated with antisemitism during interviews, after claims the Reform UK leader used racist language in his teens.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Farage urged to explain conspiracy theories linked to antisemitism he voiced in US media
Exclusive: The Reform UK leader discussed far-right talking points in web TV and radio appearances between 2009 and 2018
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2025 at 7:41 AM
NEW: Nigel Farage is facing renewed calls to explain why he repeatedly aired tropes and conspiracy theories associated with antisemitism during interviews, after claims the Reform UK leader used racist language in his teens.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Yes, yes, it's famously the case everywhere that the moment you remove cars, crime rates soar.
November 21, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Yes, yes, it's famously the case everywhere that the moment you remove cars, crime rates soar.
This is one of the changes in the UK media landscape that should be more remarked on: the fact that being a very open, proud, outright racist is no longer a bar to being a pundit on some TV stations (in this case GBN and Talk TV).
Lucy White advocates a ban on "non-natives" from office, citing Rishi Sunak and Priti Patel.
So she is referring to UK-born ethnic minority citizens. (Her argument would apply equally to Shabana Mahmood, Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman and others)
Lucy White continues to be a GB News regular
So she is referring to UK-born ethnic minority citizens. (Her argument would apply equally to Shabana Mahmood, Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman and others)
Lucy White continues to be a GB News regular
November 21, 2025 at 11:12 AM
This is one of the changes in the UK media landscape that should be more remarked on: the fact that being a very open, proud, outright racist is no longer a bar to being a pundit on some TV stations (in this case GBN and Talk TV).
My story from a day reading the very long and very damning report by the official Covid inquiry into the actions of government during the pandemic.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
‘Too little, too late’: damning report condemns UK’s Covid response
Report on handling of pandemic contains stinging criticism of ‘toxic and chaotic’ culture inside Boris Johnson’s No 10
www.theguardian.com
November 20, 2025 at 4:03 PM
My story from a day reading the very long and very damning report by the official Covid inquiry into the actions of government during the pandemic.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
For anyone cycling in London today: it's colder than you think. I'm normally an advocate for not overdoing the layers or coats. Ignore that - go nuclear.
November 20, 2025 at 11:05 AM
For anyone cycling in London today: it's colder than you think. I'm normally an advocate for not overdoing the layers or coats. Ignore that - go nuclear.
The Times has been leaked the full EHRC guidance on trans people/single sex spaces, and what it mainly confirms is that for all the calls for immediate implementation, this is still a vast, largely unresolved ethical can of worms, and a job creation scheme for lawyers.
![The EHRC document states it is “a legitimate aim” to provide single-sex spaces for “ensuring the safety of women or the privacy and dignity of women and/or men”.
The guidance said that if transgender people are excluded from a space, organisations should consider whether there is a suitable alternative for them and that it would not be proportionate to leave them without essential services, such as access to lavatories.
But it also outlines how in some cases that may not be possible owing to the physical constraints of buildings or high costs. It said: “It may be that offering alternative arrangements is not reasonably possible […] this may be because of the type of service being provided, the needs of the service users, the physical constraints of any building, or because of the disproportionate financial costs associated with making those arrangements.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:fondzonhxhlrfp777gwvfmah/bafkreid2txt5re2in7zquojrpprocctbunz4kdyiz3qx7rgku55eyfdfqq@jpeg)
November 20, 2025 at 10:09 AM
The Times has been leaked the full EHRC guidance on trans people/single sex spaces, and what it mainly confirms is that for all the calls for immediate implementation, this is still a vast, largely unresolved ethical can of worms, and a job creation scheme for lawyers.
Over on X, the co-founder of the Brexit Party is posting open racism about Shabana Mahmood, saying she should be "deported". Blaiklock left the Brexit Party v quickly over anti-Islam posts but now identifies herself as a supporter of Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain.
November 19, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Over on X, the co-founder of the Brexit Party is posting open racism about Shabana Mahmood, saying she should be "deported". Blaiklock left the Brexit Party v quickly over anti-Islam posts but now identifies herself as a supporter of Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain.
On Monday, Reform held a press conference to say the councils it runs had identified £330m in savings, and that it had a list setting out the details. Since then I have asked Reform several times to see the list, and have been told repeatedly it will be sent. It has still not been sent.
November 19, 2025 at 2:20 PM
On Monday, Reform held a press conference to say the councils it runs had identified £330m in savings, and that it had a list setting out the details. Since then I have asked Reform several times to see the list, and have been told repeatedly it will be sent. It has still not been sent.