Matthew Syed

Author of Rebel Ideas, Black Box Thinking, Bounce and You Are Awesome. Columnist for @TheTimes and The Sunday Times. Presenter of Sideways on @BBCRadio4

[Paul Johnson @PJTheEconomist]

There is only one “change” that will work for Burnham. A genuine, relentless focus on growth.

Two decades without earnings growth. That’s why electorate is fed up.

Only growth will repair contract between generations and allow social ills to be tackled

https://t.co/2H68i2d0JG

[Matthew Syed @matthewsyed]

@DemosthenesBrit @cagnamartyr Agree

[Matthew Syed @matthewsyed]

Starmer was hated. Says far more about the electorate than the man. Impossible to govern when people want welfare, triple lock, tax loopholes, NIMBYist vetoes, while also hating the low growth, high debt economy this entails. Starmer was a good man leading an ungovernable country

[Matthew Syed @matthewsyed]

@ccfcwills @thetimes You maybe haven’t read the many columns on precisely this theme

[Matthew Syed @matthewsyed]

@montie I hope you’re right Tim. But you might want to look at the Reform manifesto at the last election. It had more giveaways and fantasy economics than Corbyn

[Fraser Nelson @FraserNelson]

What’s next for Labour and Britain? Am discussing with Times readers online until 3pm: https://t.co/xleLbJu2wD

[Matthew Syed @matthewsyed]

@cagnamartyr Immigration has dropped enormously since Labour replaced the Conservatives

[Matthew Syed @matthewsyed]

Agree Lewis. Truly dreadful man

[Lewis Goodall @lewis_goodall]

Steve Bray blasting Ode to Joy, ruining nationally historic moments like this for us and posterity, is a complete disgrace. A yob.

[Matthew Syed @matthewsyed]

Tories gave us 14 years of bigger government: more debt, taxes, spending, welfare, regulation and QE. Burnham thinks the cure is yet more government. It is like trying to cure socialism with a higher dose of the same disease. It can’t work 👇

https://t.co/oJ83Q1ALli

[Matthew Syed @matthewsyed]

Tories gave us 14 years of bigger government: more debt, taxes, spending, welfare, regulation and QE. Burnham thinks the cure is yet more government. It is like trying to cure socialism with a higher dose of the same disease. It can’t work 👇

https://t.co/oJ83Q1ALli

[Times Sport @TimesSport]

EXCLUSIVE: BBC to drop commentator Andrew Castle after Wimbledon

The former British No1 tennis player reflects on the "best gig in broadcasting" | ✍️ @matthewsyed
https://t.co/Ws8UpuaZsR

[Francis Harris @fharris2011]

"The UK is a sleeping superpower .. the world looks with mystification at our paralysis and unseriousness. They know only too well what we seem to have forgotten: we are in as favourable a position today as before the industrial revolution"
@matthewsyed
https://t.co/Osad9t0f4X

[Times Sport @TimesSport]

"You shouldn’t need a curfew for a group of adults at the top of their games. But this England cricket team is not trustworthy. It is not mature. Not all the players can be relied upon to do the right thing"

✍️ @matthewsyed

https://t.co/PFh68xobkr

[Mike Pompeo @mikepompeo]

Within hours of being announced as the nominee to be the U.S. Director of the CIA, I received a hand-delivered message on MI6 stationery congratulating me on my nomination. It was signed simply "C" in green ink. Legendary. I shared it with my son and even he thought I was now cool!

More than that, this note, from Sir Alex Younger, Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service of the United Kingdom, confirmed what I already believed: the work that the CIA and MI6 did together mattered, that the partnership was critical, and that two leaders focused on the mission could save lives and provide tools for our nations to deter our adversaries.

Alex's passing this week brought back so many memories of our time in service together. He flew to Langley to see me the day I was confirmed. We brought our two senior teams together in the UK to plan and coordinate and build in the first several weeks of my time on duty: making clear to them all that this relationship was more than special - it was critical for the security of our two countries.

Alex was a remarkable intelligence partner. When we needed help, it wasn't "let me see;" it was "this matters to you and America we'll get it done." And he and his team always did. I think he knew we would do the same for him and his team and his nation. Many Americans are alive today because of his leadership of MI6, I never knew how to thank him enough.

Alex became a friend as well. In the years since we both left office we would see each other from time to time. He was always so kind, so thoughtful, so smart. His deep love of his country was surpassed only by his deep commitment and love of his family. Decent and proper - and funny as hell - Alex was "C." As espionage requires, he was quiet, not attention seeking. He knew what evil was and he was ruthless in his efforts to crush it with every legal tool at his command. And he knew who his friends were and committed himself to supporting them.

I miss Sir Alex Younger. He was a role model for me and a man with whom every minute I spent was valued and savored. Blessings to you Alex. Praying for you and for your family. Well done and may you rest in peace in His hands.

[Matthew Syed @matthewsyed]

Superb intervention from Tony Blair. Agreed with almost every aspect of his analysis.

[Paul Johnson @PJTheEconomist]

"Challenging Inequalities". Do buy it! @williamnhutton has just called it "one of the great works of social science this century". It is also according to @matthewsyed a "wonderfully clear and readable little book". Paul Collier: "a superb critique of British public policy"

[Mark Wallace @wallaceme]

Finally, a proportionate response to people playing music out loud on their phone.

[bruce haines @brucehaines]

Shared with you by a Times subscriber.

Enjoy this article for free.
And, as ever, @matthewsyed gets it right again....too much to hope that politicians read it and learn
https://t.co/JqkwEWxAGi

[Matthew Syed @matthewsyed]

This is where this insanity leads. People already pushing to oust Streeting if he wins the leadership election. This isn’t politics; it’s a sequence of falling dominos

[Alex Wickham @alexwickham]

***BREAKING: Labour’s soft-left condemns Wes Streeting’s bid for No10 and vows to oust him from Downing Street if he becomes PM***

A senior soft-left source blasts Team Streeting for their public statements calling for a “swift” and “rapid” contest before Andy Burnham can get in.

The source says:

“If Wes thinks he can pull off some kind of stitch up to avoid a fair process that he will have no legitimacy even if he briefly ends up in office. There would be no support for the government in the Commons and we would challenge him at the first opportunity. He’d be lucky to outlast a lettuce.”

It means the Labour Party is in civil war tonight

Streeting appears to be trying to force a contest before Burnham is eligible

It is causing meltdown among soft-left and left MPs

Senior figures on the left of the party are threatening to oust Streeting from No10 if he succeeds in his bid to be PM

[Matthew Syed @matthewsyed]

@Unionbuster What do the people want?

[Matthew Syed @matthewsyed]

The ministers urging Starmer to go are feeding the hysteria. The next leader will be subject to instant leadership speculation and the next, and the next, whether Labour, Reform or Tory. Britain is becoming ungovernable. And the media fixation on this tittle tattle is not helping