Rachel Cunliffe
@rmcunliffe.bsky.social
Associate Political Editor @NewStatesman. Devout classicist, "indulgent editrix", at one point the only Ancient Greek teacher in South Korea
Reposted by Rachel Cunliffe
Why Rachel Reeves has embraced bread-and-butter social democracy – podcast with @rmcunliffe.bsky.social and Oli Dugmore. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...
Rachel Reeves’ tax-heavy budget
Podcast Episode · The New Statesman: politics and culture · 26/11/2025 · 24m
podcasts.apple.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Why Rachel Reeves has embraced bread-and-butter social democracy – podcast with @rmcunliffe.bsky.social and Oli Dugmore. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...
Lots of good stuff in the Budget, but bad news for graduates.
Luckily, it's not like Labour is relying on the votes of young university educated professionals...
www.newstatesman.com/politics/eco...
Luckily, it's not like Labour is relying on the votes of young university educated professionals...
www.newstatesman.com/politics/eco...
Rachel Reeves hits young graduates with a double stealth tax
The Chancellor plans to raise as much money from freezing loan repayment thresholds as from the mansion tax
www.newstatesman.com
November 26, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Lots of good stuff in the Budget, but bad news for graduates.
Luckily, it's not like Labour is relying on the votes of young university educated professionals...
www.newstatesman.com/politics/eco...
Luckily, it's not like Labour is relying on the votes of young university educated professionals...
www.newstatesman.com/politics/eco...
It has landed! The post-Budget podcast I know you were all waiting for...
Available to download here (or watch on YouTube) - featuring polling, live reactions, and an attempt to explain that joke about Zack Polanski
podfollow.com/new-statesma...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Qxk...
Available to download here (or watch on YouTube) - featuring polling, live reactions, and an attempt to explain that joke about Zack Polanski
podfollow.com/new-statesma...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Qxk...
UK budget 2025: Reeves' record tax hikes | Politics | New Statesman
YouTube video by The New Statesman
www.youtube.com
November 26, 2025 at 5:11 PM
It has landed! The post-Budget podcast I know you were all waiting for...
Available to download here (or watch on YouTube) - featuring polling, live reactions, and an attempt to explain that joke about Zack Polanski
podfollow.com/new-statesma...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Qxk...
Available to download here (or watch on YouTube) - featuring polling, live reactions, and an attempt to explain that joke about Zack Polanski
podfollow.com/new-statesma...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Qxk...
In case anyone wants to save some time this Wednesday afternoon
BREAKING The entire Budget has leaked early
- £22BN of headroom
- £26bn tax rises
- Freeze on tax thresholds
- Pay per mileage confirmed
- Changes to capital gains
- £22BN of headroom
- £26bn tax rises
- Freeze on tax thresholds
- Pay per mileage confirmed
- Changes to capital gains
November 26, 2025 at 12:09 PM
In case anyone wants to save some time this Wednesday afternoon
Christmas trees should not be up at the time of the Autumn Budget.
I feel very strongly about this. Either curb your enthusiasm and don't put the trees up til December, or have the Budget in actual autumn. I don't mind which*, but red boxes and fairy lights do not mix
*the answer is obviously both
I feel very strongly about this. Either curb your enthusiasm and don't put the trees up til December, or have the Budget in actual autumn. I don't mind which*, but red boxes and fairy lights do not mix
*the answer is obviously both
November 26, 2025 at 10:41 AM
Christmas trees should not be up at the time of the Autumn Budget.
I feel very strongly about this. Either curb your enthusiasm and don't put the trees up til December, or have the Budget in actual autumn. I don't mind which*, but red boxes and fairy lights do not mix
*the answer is obviously both
I feel very strongly about this. Either curb your enthusiasm and don't put the trees up til December, or have the Budget in actual autumn. I don't mind which*, but red boxes and fairy lights do not mix
*the answer is obviously both
In the hope people won't notice in the pre-Budget madness, the government has slipped out plans to slash jury trials.
Back in July I wrote about the crisis in the justice system, and why this looks like an answer
(I did not choose the gavel image!)
www.newstatesman.com/politics/soc...
Back in July I wrote about the crisis in the justice system, and why this looks like an answer
(I did not choose the gavel image!)
www.newstatesman.com/politics/soc...
Can jury-less trials save our justice system?
“Justice delayed is justice denied” – and our courts are clogged to the point where they barely function.
www.newstatesman.com
November 26, 2025 at 9:52 AM
In the hope people won't notice in the pre-Budget madness, the government has slipped out plans to slash jury trials.
Back in July I wrote about the crisis in the justice system, and why this looks like an answer
(I did not choose the gavel image!)
www.newstatesman.com/politics/soc...
Back in July I wrote about the crisis in the justice system, and why this looks like an answer
(I did not choose the gavel image!)
www.newstatesman.com/politics/soc...
Think we could find a significant proportion of Rachel Reeves’s fiscal gap by launching a crowdfunder for Sam to sing this in Parliament Square
My taxes bring all the boys to the yard.
And they're like "this is bad approach to fiscal policy".
And they're like "this is bad approach to fiscal policy".
are you fucking serious
November 25, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Think we could find a significant proportion of Rachel Reeves’s fiscal gap by launching a crowdfunder for Sam to sing this in Parliament Square
If you want the inside track on what’s been going on with Your Party, there is no one better than @meganekenyon.bsky.social
And as their inaugural conference looms this weekend, here she is getting to the bottom of what Jeremy Corbyn thinks about it all
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
And as their inaugural conference looms this weekend, here she is getting to the bottom of what Jeremy Corbyn thinks about it all
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
November 25, 2025 at 12:42 PM
If you want the inside track on what’s been going on with Your Party, there is no one better than @meganekenyon.bsky.social
And as their inaugural conference looms this weekend, here she is getting to the bottom of what Jeremy Corbyn thinks about it all
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
And as their inaugural conference looms this weekend, here she is getting to the bottom of what Jeremy Corbyn thinks about it all
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
Reposted by Rachel Cunliffe
It's that time of year
November 22, 2025 at 11:54 AM
It's that time of year
My husband went to Norfolk and came back with a freezer full of deer
November 22, 2025 at 3:14 PM
My husband went to Norfolk and came back with a freezer full of deer
"Experts in education, psychology and disaster response stressed the need not just to confront the crisis in the short term but consider the situation three, five, ten years into the future. The government didn’t want to listen."
Thoughts on the Covid Inquiry
www.newstatesman.com/comment/2025...
Thoughts on the Covid Inquiry
www.newstatesman.com/comment/2025...
How the Covid Inquiry forgot the children
Political point-scoring is obscuring the real lessons
www.newstatesman.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:00 PM
"Experts in education, psychology and disaster response stressed the need not just to confront the crisis in the short term but consider the situation three, five, ten years into the future. The government didn’t want to listen."
Thoughts on the Covid Inquiry
www.newstatesman.com/comment/2025...
Thoughts on the Covid Inquiry
www.newstatesman.com/comment/2025...
Complete and utter tangent for a Friday afternoon: we have a cargo cult cat*, who remembers that the radiators USED to be on, so will sit mournfully beside them in the hope that repeating the behaviour will make them switch on again
*or, as my husband puts it, a "cargo cat"
*or, as my husband puts it, a "cargo cat"
Richard Feynman once wrote about "Cargo Cult Science" - "they follow all the apparent precepts and forms, but they're missing something essential, because the planes don't land." I wonder if we currently have a Cargo Cult model of messaging and media management in British politics
November 21, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Complete and utter tangent for a Friday afternoon: we have a cargo cult cat*, who remembers that the radiators USED to be on, so will sit mournfully beside them in the hope that repeating the behaviour will make them switch on again
*or, as my husband puts it, a "cargo cat"
*or, as my husband puts it, a "cargo cat"
I still have an X account (necessary for work, sorry), and sometimes I check in just to see what's going on over there. And it's like a parallel universe. Levels of overt racism, antisemitism and misogyny that we'd all have agreed was despicable just 3 years ago - under people's real names
this week's newsletter is titled "aren't you tired of feeling insane all the time?" and I think it speaks for itself
it is also free to read
youngvulgarian.substack.com/p/arent-you-...
it is also free to read
youngvulgarian.substack.com/p/arent-you-...
November 21, 2025 at 3:19 PM
I still have an X account (necessary for work, sorry), and sometimes I check in just to see what's going on over there. And it's like a parallel universe. Levels of overt racism, antisemitism and misogyny that we'd all have agreed was despicable just 3 years ago - under people's real names
Delighted for the shout-out here re the London Aquarium penguins!
I was not expected to be radicalised by seeing 15 sad Gentoo penguins shuffling around a tiny basement enclosure. It might not be the most important issue in politics right now, but it does matter
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
I was not expected to be radicalised by seeing 15 sad Gentoo penguins shuffling around a tiny basement enclosure. It might not be the most important issue in politics right now, but it does matter
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
When It Hits the Fan - The Secrets of the List: Putting Yourself in the Frame for a Top Job. - BBC Sounds
David Yelland and Simon Lewis reveal how to PR yourself onto the list for a top job.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 21, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Delighted for the shout-out here re the London Aquarium penguins!
I was not expected to be radicalised by seeing 15 sad Gentoo penguins shuffling around a tiny basement enclosure. It might not be the most important issue in politics right now, but it does matter
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
I was not expected to be radicalised by seeing 15 sad Gentoo penguins shuffling around a tiny basement enclosure. It might not be the most important issue in politics right now, but it does matter
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
We keeping hearing that polls show immigration is a top priority for voters - but how are such polls designed, and does tweaking the way we ask the question affect the answer?
Fascinating chat with Calum Weir of @labourtogether.bsky.social on just that
www.newstatesman.com/podcasts/pol...
Fascinating chat with Calum Weir of @labourtogether.bsky.social on just that
www.newstatesman.com/podcasts/pol...
How much does immigration actually matter to the public?
Shabana Mahmood was back in the Commons today outlining her controversial immigration plans.
www.newstatesman.com
November 21, 2025 at 10:26 AM
We keeping hearing that polls show immigration is a top priority for voters - but how are such polls designed, and does tweaking the way we ask the question affect the answer?
Fascinating chat with Calum Weir of @labourtogether.bsky.social on just that
www.newstatesman.com/podcasts/pol...
Fascinating chat with Calum Weir of @labourtogether.bsky.social on just that
www.newstatesman.com/podcasts/pol...
"Kirstie Allsopp’s tales of housing market woes may sound unrelatable, but they are the bedtime stories we tell ourselves each evening in front of the TV set."
@anooshc.bsky.social is once again spot-on when it comes to our housing psychological complex
www.newstatesman.com/politics/soc...
@anooshc.bsky.social is once again spot-on when it comes to our housing psychological complex
www.newstatesman.com/politics/soc...
The Kirstie Allsopp theory of housing
It’s completely warping our view of home ownership
www.newstatesman.com
November 20, 2025 at 4:16 PM
"Kirstie Allsopp’s tales of housing market woes may sound unrelatable, but they are the bedtime stories we tell ourselves each evening in front of the TV set."
@anooshc.bsky.social is once again spot-on when it comes to our housing psychological complex
www.newstatesman.com/politics/soc...
@anooshc.bsky.social is once again spot-on when it comes to our housing psychological complex
www.newstatesman.com/politics/soc...
PMQs review!
Kemi Badenoch fluffs her lines - but on tax thresholds she has a point...
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
Kemi Badenoch fluffs her lines - but on tax thresholds she has a point...
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
PMQs: Starmer muddles through as Budget danger looms
Kemi Badenoch attacked Labour over U-turns and "government by guesswork"
www.newstatesman.com
November 19, 2025 at 2:05 PM
PMQs review!
Kemi Badenoch fluffs her lines - but on tax thresholds she has a point...
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
Kemi Badenoch fluffs her lines - but on tax thresholds she has a point...
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
Reposted by Rachel Cunliffe
Includes this titbit -
November 19, 2025 at 10:37 AM
Includes this titbit -
Reposted by Rachel Cunliffe
"I have made a new friend. Her name is Gilbert, and she has recently found herself at the centre of a political row she has no control over. She is also a penguin."
I went to see the Sea Life penguins in their windowless basement on the banks of the Thames
www.newstatesman.com/culture/natu...
I went to see the Sea Life penguins in their windowless basement on the banks of the Thames
www.newstatesman.com/culture/natu...
How London's penguins got political
Some 75 MPs have signed a letter condemning the Sea Life London Aquarium's treatment of its penguins
www.newstatesman.com
November 17, 2025 at 9:27 AM
"I have made a new friend. Her name is Gilbert, and she has recently found herself at the centre of a political row she has no control over. She is also a penguin."
I went to see the Sea Life penguins in their windowless basement on the banks of the Thames
www.newstatesman.com/culture/natu...
I went to see the Sea Life penguins in their windowless basement on the banks of the Thames
www.newstatesman.com/culture/natu...
For those wanting to keep track of all the Labour MPs who have publicly expressed *doubts* about Shabana Mahmood's immigration proposals
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
A list of all the Labour MPs to criticise Shabana Mahmood's immigration proposals
Opposition to the government's asylum reforms is spreading beyond the usual suspects
www.newstatesman.com
November 17, 2025 at 12:54 PM
For those wanting to keep track of all the Labour MPs who have publicly expressed *doubts* about Shabana Mahmood's immigration proposals
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
"I have made a new friend. Her name is Gilbert, and she has recently found herself at the centre of a political row she has no control over. She is also a penguin."
I went to see the Sea Life penguins in their windowless basement on the banks of the Thames
www.newstatesman.com/culture/natu...
I went to see the Sea Life penguins in their windowless basement on the banks of the Thames
www.newstatesman.com/culture/natu...
How London's penguins got political
Some 75 MPs have signed a letter condemning the Sea Life London Aquarium's treatment of its penguins
www.newstatesman.com
November 17, 2025 at 9:27 AM
"I have made a new friend. Her name is Gilbert, and she has recently found herself at the centre of a political row she has no control over. She is also a penguin."
I went to see the Sea Life penguins in their windowless basement on the banks of the Thames
www.newstatesman.com/culture/natu...
I went to see the Sea Life penguins in their windowless basement on the banks of the Thames
www.newstatesman.com/culture/natu...
Reposted by Rachel Cunliffe
🚨ICYMI🚨 Will Trump destroy the BBC? @jonnelledge.bsky.social, @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com & @rmcunliffe.bsky.social join @seththevoz.bsky.social to discuss 👉 linktr.ee/ohgodwhatnow...
#BBCUK #TheBBC #Trump #DonaldTrump #TrumpTheBBC
#BBCUK #TheBBC #Trump #DonaldTrump #TrumpTheBBC
November 15, 2025 at 7:00 AM
🚨ICYMI🚨 Will Trump destroy the BBC? @jonnelledge.bsky.social, @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com & @rmcunliffe.bsky.social join @seththevoz.bsky.social to discuss 👉 linktr.ee/ohgodwhatnow...
#BBCUK #TheBBC #Trump #DonaldTrump #TrumpTheBBC
#BBCUK #TheBBC #Trump #DonaldTrump #TrumpTheBBC
Reposted by Rachel Cunliffe
Latest Daily on Monocle Radio. @rmcunliffe.bsky.social and @ashbhardwaj.bsky.social on Russia's reluctant foreign legion, the latest Epstein-related developments and the day's other stuff, and a report from the Tourise tourism summit in Riyadh. monocle.com/radio/shows/...
Why is Russia targeting Africans to fight its war in Ukraine? - Monocle
Kenya says more than 200 of its nationals have joined Russian forces. We ask why Russia has its eyes on...
monocle.com
November 13, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Latest Daily on Monocle Radio. @rmcunliffe.bsky.social and @ashbhardwaj.bsky.social on Russia's reluctant foreign legion, the latest Epstein-related developments and the day's other stuff, and a report from the Tourise tourism summit in Riyadh. monocle.com/radio/shows/...
In entirely non-politics news, my husband has just coined the term "to Odysseus yourself", in the context of moving on from a breakup by blocking your ex on all communication and social media channels so they can no longer tempt or torment you
November 13, 2025 at 9:53 AM
In entirely non-politics news, my husband has just coined the term "to Odysseus yourself", in the context of moving on from a breakup by blocking your ex on all communication and social media channels so they can no longer tempt or torment you