Harry Taylor
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harrytaylor.bsky.social
Harry Taylor
@harrytaylor.bsky.social
Parliamentary Reporter at Press Association. Former news editor at the Times, and reported a bit for the Guardian, Camden New Journal and Ham&High. Own views. Kidderminster Harriers fan.
It will be interesting to see how much of the Badenoch response to Reeves' budget will land. The Benefits Street line felt the punchiest, but captures the 'Taxes v Welfare' argument that is being made.
November 26, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Devolution Bill passes the Commons, with Perran Moon abstaining rather than voting against.
November 25, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Reposted by Harry Taylor
Juries are not perfect.

Many of the worst miscarriages of justice have followed jury trials.

But the merit of juries is not so much the power they have, but the power they prevent others from having.

They mean a judge cannot just nod-along with prosecution evidence and give a guilty verdict.
November 25, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Interesting to see the mention of David Lock KC in Health and Social Care questions in the Commons, and that he's advising the NHS on cutting clinical negligence legal costs.

Some will remember Lock as Wyre Forest's only Labour MP, when the A&E at Kidderminster hospital was shut.
November 25, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Labour MP Perran Moon claims devolution bill is ‘blatant discrimination’ against Cornwall and mayoralty with English county would be "unholy alliance"
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...
Labour MP claims devolution bill is ‘blatant discrimination’ against Cornwall
Perran Moon said the bill could forge an "unholy alliance" between Cornwall and Devon and potentially fuel Cornish nationalism
www.independent.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Reposted by Harry Taylor
Lord Rothermere’s Telegraph takeover strengthens UK media’s rightwing tilt
Lord Rothermere’s Telegraph takeover strengthens UK media’s rightwing tilt
Many fear competition and diversity will be diminished as Daily Mail owner wins race to buy newspaper
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Reposted by Harry Taylor
This, from the Guardian, is Ryanair at its very worst.

It's not good enough for them to insist that they're a low-cost airline and everyone knows the rules, in circumstances like this...

I wonder if legislation is needed?
November 22, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Reposted by Harry Taylor
I sometimes feel like I am going mad.

Owning a £1.5m home is not normal in London or the South East of England.
November 20, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Government threatened with legal action by SAS association over Troubles reforms
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
Government threatened with legal action by SAS association over Troubles reforms
Former Brexit secretary Sir David Davis says lawyers for the SAS Regimental Association have written to the Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn.
www.independent.co.uk
November 19, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Reposted by Harry Taylor
I asked this question because I think whether the government acts to mitigate this possibility is key to whether it can pass this policy
Asked if Keir Starmer believes British people want to "see refugee children pulled out of school and deported after 10 years in this country”, his spokesman says that “what the British public wants and what this government was elected on a mandate to deliver was to secure our borders"
November 17, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Reposted by Harry Taylor
Iconic Camden LGBT+ pub The Black Cap gets its name back - reopening Spring 2026
November 17, 2025 at 1:40 PM
From a day following the Assisted Dying Bill it's clear it will bust the four days allocated in the Lords.

Peers were meant to get through ten groups of amendments in five hours. Only two have been discussed.

As one said, it's "like trying to pour a quart into a pint pot".
November 14, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Reposted by Harry Taylor
18.3c the confirmed max at Heathrow that’s warmest it has ever been this late in year (1948-2025).
Amazing how there are some people in London dressed like they’re going on Arctic expedition.

Today’s preliminary max of 18C (64F) at London Heathrow - exceptionally mild for mid November. It smashes previous daily highest max record of 16.5C set on this date in 2009.
November 13, 2025 at 8:38 PM
MP calls for companies to pay tax for AI bots used to replace workers

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...
MP calls for companies to pay tax for AI bots used to replace workers
Neil Duncan-Jordan (Poole) says measure could shore up employment and protect Treasury revenues.
www.independent.co.uk
November 5, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Reposted by Harry Taylor
Quick scan of the curriculum review.
This is interesting.
My school offered French & German. My kids have only ever done Spanish.
November 5, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Reposted by Harry Taylor
left-winger wins: BUT WILL HE DELIVER

right-winger wins: WHY ARE THE LEFT SO OUT OF TOUCH
November 5, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Reposted by Harry Taylor
I wish those weather people on the radio would announce the currently unusual warm weather in a slightly less enthusiastic way.
18 degrees in November is not normal.
November 5, 2025 at 8:09 AM
Reposted by Harry Taylor
Met the former editor of the York Evening Press last night, who said in the mid-90s he had 85 people working directly for him, including nine staff photographers. All that to serve a city and surrounding area of about 200k people. Local news was wilddddd.
November 4, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Reposted by Harry Taylor
This New Yorker documentary about the 1988 UK government ban on broadcasting the voices of Sinn Féin and I.R.A. leaders is pretty good but they show *that clip from The Day Today with no explanation and no indicator that it is satire.

www.newyorker.com/video/watch/...
The Ban
www.newyorker.com
November 3, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Reposted by Harry Taylor
The afterword of Le Carre’s The Russia House has an excellent anecdote about his visit to Russia
November 1, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Another brilliant story from London Centric. Sadly not surprised to see the Met's disengaged approach on this - despite the BBC special on the topic recently.
The fun thing about having a small team working with you is you can say "hey you're spending this week digging for stolen mobile phones in London flowerbeds, I promise you it's a thing". www.londoncentric.media/p/london-pho...
London's thieves are burying phones in flowerbeds
The police don't take much interest in returning the stolen devices when they're dug up — so London Centric decided to do it.
www.londoncentric.media
October 30, 2025 at 8:05 AM
Reposted by Harry Taylor