Britain political correspondent, @TheEconomist. Chairman of the @housmansoc. Þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg. Get in touch: [email protected]

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Joined October 2011
I've written this week's Blighty newsletter on the increasingly absurd ban on Palestine Action It is limiting free speech and undermining the Terrorism Act - the ban must go Subscribers to @TheEconomist can sign up here: economist.com/newsletters/bl…
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'Higher levies on wealth would not fund the sort of welfare state Britons have become accustomed to. For that, politicians and voters would have to accept that broad swathes of society need to start contributing more.' @TheEconomist Budget preview: economist.com/britain/2026/1…
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Hugo Gye retweeted
Europe’s centrist rulers have fallen dangerously short—and are now paying the price bit.ly/4k45hWY
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Hugo Gye retweeted
Belief that Reform UK and the Greens are 'main parties' in Britain today has fallen back in recent months, with Labour and the Conservatives now the only parties seen as such by a majority of Britons Labour: 90% (+8 from 20-21 May) Conservatives: 86% (+8) Reform UK: 44% (-17) Lib Dems: 34% (-4) Greens: 16% (-8)
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For @TheEconomist this week I've taken a look at how the ancient art of parliamentary sketch writing is somehow still thriving Its practitioners tell me they keep politicians honest - by saying things that other journalists can't
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Many thanks to @JohnJCrace @RobDotHutton @PeterStothard1 @RobertBuckland and the many other journalists & politicians who spoke to me off the record for this piece
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Lovely example of the art of sketch by @tompeck today, on Speaker Hoyle: thetimes.com/uk/politics/art…
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Sally Rooney situation is obviously nothing like Rushdie affair, and the comparison is insulting. But this is a free speech issue, and Palestine Action should not be proscribed. Me for @TheCriticMag
This week the @NewStatesman takes a stand. Some of our most important writers and artists join with us in calling for Sally Rooney's books to be available. In my view, this is indirect censorship. Here's my essay exploring the free speech issues involved: newstatesman.com/comment/202…
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Exclusive Leader of Britain's biggest union warns failure to include hike in capital gains or wealth tax at Budget would be a "big mistake". Unison general secretary Andrea Egan says in Mirror interview: "The polls are out there and the results are people want to see the wealthy paying their fair share." mirror.co.uk/news/politics/b…
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Atrocious news (unless you are Works in Progress in which case it's amazing news)
Some big personal news: I'm moving to join Works in Progress as executive editor, starting next month. I have been hoping for an opportunity to work with @bswud and @s8mb for more than a decade, and I'm incredibly excited to finally have one. WIP is expanding on every front right now. We'll soon begin coverage of business and finance, as well as putting out more reported features. To that end, we'll be hiring more writers and reporters in the year to come. I'm planning to remain based in the US to help build out our presence here. The print edition of WIP has existed for less than 12 months, but sometime in the next week or so we will reach our 10,000th paying print subscriber. It's a group that now includes people who've been at the highest echelons of government and who run the world's biggest public companies. We’re already on track to 3x that number next year. We'll be in store at Barnes & Noble, Hudson News and independent newsagents next week too. I think WIP is providing something that people are craving from physical media right now: fewer, extremely well-crafted pieces in a beautifully designed form. Issues now feature an amazing group of columnists, including Tyler Cowen, Dan Wang and Stephen Kotkin. Each edition is better than the last. You'll see us in more and more places next year too. In January, our new weekly documentary films will launch on YouTube. We're expanding into the events space, with a new series in North America. The sky is the limit from here on out.
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OPEN LETTER: Sally Rooney is a writer, not a terrorist. Her books must be available to the public. Their withdrawal from sale, on the basis of ill-conceived and draconian anti terror legislation, is an affront to basic principles of free speech and expression so long taken for granted in this country. We categorically reject censorship - whether direct or indirect - and urge the government to change course, amending the legislation which has led us to this point of repressive absurdity.
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Hugo Gye retweeted
Featuring this remarkable graph (h/t @SonnyTLoughran) which shows that terror arrest have increased by a factor of ~10 as a result of the Palestine Action proscription
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Featuring this remarkable graph (h/t @SonnyTLoughran) which shows that terror arrest have increased by a factor of ~10 as a result of the Palestine Action proscription
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You can also read the newsletter on our website: economist.com/britain/2026/1… The free-speech warriors on the political right are refusing to stand up against this ludicrous situation
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Hugo Gye retweeted
Replying to @HugoGye
Still 2020 at @Gatwick_Airport
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