Joel Williams
@jaowilliams74.bsky.social
UK Head of Methods at Verian, but not entirely defined by that. Tend to tangent.
Know-all football fans online: probably the worst thing to happen to the game.
February 8, 2026 at 8:20 PM
Know-all football fans online: probably the worst thing to happen to the game.
My Bluesky feed gets its scalp!
BREAKING: Morgan McSweeney quits as Keir Starmer's chief of staff amid fall-out from the Mandelson scandal
February 8, 2026 at 2:36 PM
My Bluesky feed gets its scalp!
Challenging @robfordmancs.bsky.social on the polling evidence (and polling-derived evidence) is... not wise.
Among other things by calling the Electoral Maps model a "poll" you have been misled in exactly the way I criticised. So what you've shown isn't that I am a liar but that you are easily fooled by the lies I exposed.
February 6, 2026 at 4:24 PM
Challenging @robfordmancs.bsky.social on the polling evidence (and polling-derived evidence) is... not wise.
Classic stats-for-lefties stuff: we're on the side of the angels so we can lie as much as the other lot.
Just a quick note to @greenparty.org.uk and @greenpartyhan.bsky.social - I was not consulted on being quoted on your leaflets and I have not endorsed your campaign (or any campaign in this seat). I think this note, like the bar chart next to it, is misleading and out of context.
👀
February 4, 2026 at 1:48 PM
Classic stats-for-lefties stuff: we're on the side of the angels so we can lie as much as the other lot.
This is well worth reading on the evolution of set piece play in the PL. I have to say that it makes for much more boring games as these innovations give the low-block-and-break teams a better chance of winning.
(LFC is the weakest team in the league at this stuff, so I'm all up for a rule change!)
(LFC is the weakest team in the league at this stuff, so I'm all up for a rule change!)
in the latest Expecting Goals newsletter (free to read!) I broke down the numbers on the Premier League set piece revolution and why I think it marks a major new tactical trend in the Premier League that will be unusually difficult to dislodge www.expectinggoals.com/p/the-set-pi...
The Set Piece Revolution
The game is changing in the English Premier League.
www.expectinggoals.com
January 31, 2026 at 5:58 PM
This is well worth reading on the evolution of set piece play in the PL. I have to say that it makes for much more boring games as these innovations give the low-block-and-break teams a better chance of winning.
(LFC is the weakest team in the league at this stuff, so I'm all up for a rule change!)
(LFC is the weakest team in the league at this stuff, so I'm all up for a rule change!)
I'm reading a thriller in which Shakespeare authors his poems but is a front for plays written by either nobles (E of Oxford etc) or people who've faked their own death (Marlowe). All based on him apparently not mentioning any books in his will!
This is utterly ridiculous, but it’s not imo *more* ridiculous than any of the other Shakespeare conspiracy theories, tho’ I see that as always it depends on classist (& laughably wrong) assumptions about what a provincial grammar school education meant back then.
www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/shak...
www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/shak...
Shakespeare was actually a black Jewish woman, new book claims
Feminist historian identifies Tudor poet Emilia Bassano as true author whose identity was hidden by literary establishment
www.standard.co.uk
January 28, 2026 at 2:16 PM
I'm reading a thriller in which Shakespeare authors his poems but is a front for plays written by either nobles (E of Oxford etc) or people who've faked their own death (Marlowe). All based on him apparently not mentioning any books in his will!
I keep seeing instances of this theory of distraction: that thinking about one thing limits/prevents(?) thinking about another related thing. Does this zero-sum theory of thinking capacity have any evidential support?
I think a lot about Parmy Olson's observation that AI companies actively push everyone to talk about existential risk, because it distracts from more prosaic current day concerns like copyright theft, conditions for data workers, energy & water use, and their financial situation
‘Humanity needs to wake up’ to dangers of AI, says Anthropic chief www.ft.com/content/c309...
January 27, 2026 at 1:56 PM
I keep seeing instances of this theory of distraction: that thinking about one thing limits/prevents(?) thinking about another related thing. Does this zero-sum theory of thinking capacity have any evidential support?
And even if this was true, why not? They've got a violent paramilitary force to oppose.
MAGA military geniuses are talking about Minnesota protestors like they are the Iraqi insurgency, the Taliban, and the Viet Cong all rolled into one.
January 27, 2026 at 7:26 AM
And even if this was true, why not? They've got a violent paramilitary force to oppose.
What I don't get: this makes her look like a loony, whether you've seen this meme before or not.
It used to be said that the left was far too 'online', but it seems that this is increasingly (more) so for the right nowadays.
January 25, 2026 at 12:49 PM
What I don't get: this makes her look like a loony, whether you've seen this meme before or not.
Much of the tension has sagged out of the series as (once again) we have ended up with a collection of amiable-but-dull Faithfuls in the endgame. Rachel has only slipped up once (in the turret, with Stephen) but it's done for her.
Catching up on #TheTraitors. Laughing at one of the Reeses saying 'we have played a good game to get this far'.
January 23, 2026 at 7:44 AM
Much of the tension has sagged out of the series as (once again) we have ended up with a collection of amiable-but-dull Faithfuls in the endgame. Rachel has only slipped up once (in the turret, with Stephen) but it's done for her.
Brief write-up of some polling work Verian did just before Christmas on awareness and use of AI tools.
I was definitely surprised that one in five GB adults has used an AI tool to create pictures or videos.
That's a heck of a lot of slop.
www.veriangroup.com/en-gb/news-a...
I was definitely surprised that one in five GB adults has used an AI tool to create pictures or videos.
That's a heck of a lot of slop.
www.veriangroup.com/en-gb/news-a...
Despite widespread concerns, nearly seven in ten Britons use AI for at least one purpose
Verian’s latest political opinion finds that Labour has fallen to third place as Reform lead the Conservatives by 6%pts. However, just under half (47%) of Britons would never consider voting for Refor...
www.veriangroup.com
January 19, 2026 at 3:05 PM
Brief write-up of some polling work Verian did just before Christmas on awareness and use of AI tools.
I was definitely surprised that one in five GB adults has used an AI tool to create pictures or videos.
That's a heck of a lot of slop.
www.veriangroup.com/en-gb/news-a...
I was definitely surprised that one in five GB adults has used an AI tool to create pictures or videos.
That's a heck of a lot of slop.
www.veriangroup.com/en-gb/news-a...
IIRC, the Dylan album is all over the place: he sounds over-stoned and the proto-Band are just... noisy.
I love the Floyd bootleg 1975 gig tacked on to the recent Wish You Were Here package. Fella sat in a wheelchair at the front with mikes hidden in his big hat and a 2-track under his seat...
I love the Floyd bootleg 1975 gig tacked on to the recent Wish You Were Here package. Fella sat in a wheelchair at the front with mikes hidden in his big hat and a 2-track under his seat...
From Dylan to disco, Beyoncé to Bob Marley: the 30 best live albums ever – ranked!
From Dylan to disco, Beyoncé to Bob Marley: the 30 best live albums ever – ranked!
Peter Frampton’s Frampton Comes Alive!, one of the bestselling live albums of all time, is turning 50. You won’t find that on this list, however: instead there’s metal, soul, and an ‘indecently exciting’ No 1 …
www.theguardian.com
January 16, 2026 at 3:21 PM
IIRC, the Dylan album is all over the place: he sounds over-stoned and the proto-Band are just... noisy.
I love the Floyd bootleg 1975 gig tacked on to the recent Wish You Were Here package. Fella sat in a wheelchair at the front with mikes hidden in his big hat and a 2-track under his seat...
I love the Floyd bootleg 1975 gig tacked on to the recent Wish You Were Here package. Fella sat in a wheelchair at the front with mikes hidden in his big hat and a 2-track under his seat...
I came down the other set of stairs (out of shot) just as he was saying this. My harumph not quite audible.
“Robert Jenrick is the man who as Immigration Minister oversaw the open borders experiment that led to the biggest increase in illegal immigration in our country”
Labour's Steve Reed reacts to Robert Jenrick's decision to defect from the Conservatives to Reform UK
Labour's Steve Reed reacts to Robert Jenrick's decision to defect from the Conservatives to Reform UK
January 16, 2026 at 9:14 AM
I came down the other set of stairs (out of shot) just as he was saying this. My harumph not quite audible.
My brother said the wind was so strong, he couldn't open his eyes. He described opening the door (to find out what the thumping sound was) as 'brutally difficult'. Turned out the thumping was the front of his barn being ripped off. I hadn't picked up from the news just how severe a storm this was.
it was at roughly this point that I began to get a sense of why the bus hadn't turned up
January 11, 2026 at 5:25 PM
My brother said the wind was so strong, he couldn't open his eyes. He described opening the door (to find out what the thumping sound was) as 'brutally difficult'. Turned out the thumping was the front of his barn being ripped off. I hadn't picked up from the news just how severe a storm this was.
Reposted by Joel Williams
The whole 1984 "don't believe the evidence of your own eyes" sounds like a cliché but that's genuinely where they are.
They've established that the supreme court won't do anything, Congress won't do anything and the media will both sides everything- they can literally get away with murder.
They've established that the supreme court won't do anything, Congress won't do anything and the media will both sides everything- they can literally get away with murder.
January 9, 2026 at 9:41 AM
The whole 1984 "don't believe the evidence of your own eyes" sounds like a cliché but that's genuinely where they are.
They've established that the supreme court won't do anything, Congress won't do anything and the media will both sides everything- they can literally get away with murder.
They've established that the supreme court won't do anything, Congress won't do anything and the media will both sides everything- they can literally get away with murder.
And why don't these people ever look at the research beyond the topline? It's not hard to find out that Labour losses are not to Reform.
There’s nothing so intoxicating as to drown in your own ideology, but unfortunately when you drown you sometimes take the rest of us with you.
January 8, 2026 at 2:04 PM
And why don't these people ever look at the research beyond the topline? It's not hard to find out that Labour losses are not to Reform.
Also: an 'emergency online rally'?
January 5, 2026 at 8:54 AM
Also: an 'emergency online rally'?
My gut take is that being insufficiently liberal on a few social issues is a partial answer at best.
Starmer/Reeves come across as over-cautious & bureaucratic, penny-pinching, visionless, and have few tangible achievements to set against that impression.
Labour voters wanted a lot more dynamism.
Starmer/Reeves come across as over-cautious & bureaucratic, penny-pinching, visionless, and have few tangible achievements to set against that impression.
Labour voters wanted a lot more dynamism.
Fascinating thread but I don't feel it's that complicated? This is what happens when you go out of your way to performatively kick your own coalition in the hope of impressing voters who never liked you to start with.
Glad the FT is asking the question. Even if I’m not convinced they found a compelling answer.
I get that Starmer & Reeves are unpopular, I really don’t understand the extent of the dislike.
www.ft.com/content/1995... ‘There’s a real dislike, even loathing’: why voters hate Starmer and Reeves
I get that Starmer & Reeves are unpopular, I really don’t understand the extent of the dislike.
www.ft.com/content/1995... ‘There’s a real dislike, even loathing’: why voters hate Starmer and Reeves
December 31, 2025 at 11:29 AM
My gut take is that being insufficiently liberal on a few social issues is a partial answer at best.
Starmer/Reeves come across as over-cautious & bureaucratic, penny-pinching, visionless, and have few tangible achievements to set against that impression.
Labour voters wanted a lot more dynamism.
Starmer/Reeves come across as over-cautious & bureaucratic, penny-pinching, visionless, and have few tangible achievements to set against that impression.
Labour voters wanted a lot more dynamism.
They're also glum. But why being glum/wet/officious should lead to intense dislike ('hate' is surely the wrong word) idk.
They come across as a combination of wet and officious. They remind people of people they dislike in real life, and get coded that way.
December 31, 2025 at 10:19 AM
They're also glum. But why being glum/wet/officious should lead to intense dislike ('hate' is surely the wrong word) idk.
I don't understand the savaging The Hobbit films get (especially on here where having strong opinions about every topic seems the norm). I watched them loads of times when the kids were younger: the first two are great fun (much more so than LOTR), the last one a bit over-stretched.
The first Fantastic Beasts movie is a lot like the first Hobbit to me in that there’s a lot of “well ok this is ultimately not very good but you can sort of see how there’s the bones of something here and maybe the sequel can salvage it?” and then a sequel is just absolute shite
December 28, 2025 at 10:02 AM
I don't understand the savaging The Hobbit films get (especially on here where having strong opinions about every topic seems the norm). I watched them loads of times when the kids were younger: the first two are great fun (much more so than LOTR), the last one a bit over-stretched.
The quiet rebellion of wrong font and double 'the'
they didn't even get the fucking kerning right
December 20, 2025 at 8:50 AM
The quiet rebellion of wrong font and double 'the'
Some new polling from Verian as a Christmas treat (rather a mouldy potato for Labour, mind you):
www.veriangroup.com/en-gb/news-a...
www.veriangroup.com/en-gb/news-a...
Reform UK leads the polls yet almost half of Britons say they would never consider voting for them
Verian’s latest political opinion finds that Labour has fallen to third place as Reform lead the Conservatives by 6%pts. However, just under half (47%) of Britons would never consider voting for Refor...
www.veriangroup.com
December 18, 2025 at 9:33 AM
Some new polling from Verian as a Christmas treat (rather a mouldy potato for Labour, mind you):
www.veriangroup.com/en-gb/news-a...
www.veriangroup.com/en-gb/news-a...
Good. This wasn't a moment of panic: it lasted for several minutes and he'd been driving like a maniac much earlier in the day too.
Man who drove into Liverpool FC parade jailed for more than 21 years
Man who drove into Liverpool FC parade jailed for more than 21 years
Police said Paul Doyle, 54, used his vehicle ‘as a weapon’ in a moment of rage at a victory parade in the city on 25 May
A former Royal Marine has been jailed for more than 21 years for mowing down dozens of Liverpool football fans in a “truly shocking” act that “defies ordinary understanding”.
Paul Doyle, 54, bowed his head as he was sentenced at Liverpool crown court where victims and their families watched, some in tears, from the public gallery. Continue reading...
dlvr.it
December 16, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Good. This wasn't a moment of panic: it lasted for several minutes and he'd been driving like a maniac much earlier in the day too.
Am loving the 50th anniversary Wish You Were Here package. Best of all is disc 3: a 1975 concert that contains most of WYWH, most of Animals (long before the studio versions were recorded), all of Dark Side of the Moon, and Echoes. That's basically Peak Floyd for me.
December 12, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Am loving the 50th anniversary Wish You Were Here package. Best of all is disc 3: a 1975 concert that contains most of WYWH, most of Animals (long before the studio versions were recorded), all of Dark Side of the Moon, and Echoes. That's basically Peak Floyd for me.
Another horrific LFC result but the TNT commentary is like watching it with a pair of witless social media trolls, lapping up the pain.
November 26, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Another horrific LFC result but the TNT commentary is like watching it with a pair of witless social media trolls, lapping up the pain.