28 days ago

Truncatred timeline (July, not Sept) means must start to govern while putting together the plan for govt So Burnham adnin has 10 days to introduce + communicate to reach hydration break of August & put together Sept's plans (But must use that playing time with more ambition than Tuchel's England)

A contested mulitple candidate election would have ended on 29th August. It was Starmer's decision to leave Downing St in mid-July if the party process was over. There were different views in the Burnham campaign - just out of the byelection - but it was not a negotiation re July or Sept

It has been a smoother but faster transition than was known around 3am on Friday 19th June as Burnham was elected as an MP. Starmer's decision to resign on the Monday morning, 22nd June, the withdrawal of Streeting that Monday afternoon, conjecture of a contest going nowhere by July 9th

There has been a quicker (contested) transition. John Major did not know if Thatcher would win on Tuesday 20th November 1990. He became a candiate on the morning of Thursday 22nd November, was elected party leader om the Tuesday night (27th) and wss Prime Minister on Wednesday morning, the 28th

Shabana Mahmood would be 84th Chancellor & 11th this century The second woman, first minority & Muslim woman to be ChEx Sajid Javid (2019-20) was first of 5 Asian/black Chancellors (Javid, Sunak, Zahawi, Kwarteng). But two of last 7 Chancellors have been white (Jeremy Hunt + Rachel Reeves)

She does better 40-46 with Labour than never Labour 11-78, but is under/over party "Likely" to consider Lab (1 in 3) Labour 64-28 (+36) Starmer 60-35 (+25) Mahmood 40-46 (-6) Mahmood better among voters who say "never" vote Labour (1 in 3) Labour 4-94 (-90) Starmer 5-90 (-85) Mahmood 11-78 (-67)

Kemi Badenoch, Leader of Opposition, made 3 nominations. Swaran Singh chaired the party's own inquiry into anti-Muslim discrimination, but one which hit turbulence with Cons parliamentarians who are Muslim, struggling with experiences inside govt & parliament, inc of Nus Ghani MP, now deputy speaker

No final decision made (or, at least , not confirmed publicly) but the sourcing + nature of the FT report & post-publication reaction in govt + outside make it v likely this happens. So who might become Home Secretary next week?

The opposition, the govt & the media were debating a parallel universe where pupil numbers rise. April 2026 www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04...

Argentina did not trail Cape Verde or Switzerland, but the dynamic in extratime had similar features.

Argentina v England Trailed for 30 minutes from the 55th minute to the 85th But had almost 45 minutes left when England scored, and still had 15 minutes (not 5) in the 85th minute when equalised. Scored two in 7 minutes to win. (England prob underestimated how much time left at 80-85 minutes?)

Argentina v Egypt. - behind for 68 minutes, by 2 goals for 12 minutes from 69th minute - 0-2 from 67 minutes until 79 minutes (but still had 33 rather than 23 minutes to recover two + still had 20 rather than 11 minutes to equalise) - scored 3 in 15 minutes to win in injury time, not extra-time

You are right. Italy lead 1-0, but Germany are 2-1 up before Italy lead 3-2, 4-3

Everyone seems to know the score They've seen it all before They just know, they're so sure That England's gonna throw it away gonna blow it away But I know they can play, 'Cos I remember ...

Half-time: England 0 Argentina 0 48 minutes of tetchy rugby-ish stop-start attrition in the semifinal. Despite the presence of Simeone junior, a total contrast to the classic of 1998 at halftime. xG 0.05 to 0.03 (!)

Argentina (5 out of 5 since 1930) and Spain (2 out of 2 since 2010) are the only countries to get to & never yet lose in a World Cup semifinal, so England need a historic win

Good to see Akeela Ahmed & British Muslim Trust take young Muslims from across the UK into Downing St today to talk to faith minister Lord Lemos & the PM's advisers about identity, cohesion & tackling anti-Muslim hostility. + A hopeful image for pride without prejudice.

Southgate saw his England as reaching four semi-finals in 6 tournaments in 7 years. So England have played eight (major) tournament semi-finals (and lost 5) if did want to count the 2019 Nations League 3-1 defeat in extratime as a major tournament too www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

Euro 2020 (in 2021) England 2 Denmark 1 (aet) In 1996 and 2018 England led early and lost. Here they went behind, equalised (through an own goal) & scored in extra-time, from a penalty rebound, to avoid the spectre of penalties. Yet semifinals that are won get overshadowed by finals won + lost

20+ years later, Southgate & England were back in a semi-final: Croatia in the 2018 World Cup. Another early lead for England - but defeat in extra-time.

Six years later, deja vu all over again at Wembley. Jusy how light the June sky still was when Alan Shearer scored after two minutes, and how dark it had become by the tine this epic game ended on penalties a short lifetime later. youtu.be/EIkDl3DyQJg?...

So I guess you could start the clock on the 30 (28) "years of hurt" - now 58 (60) years - with the 1968 semi-final red card & defeat! Unless the Scottish bid for 1967 is preferred

The most often forgotten semi-final is England v Yugoslavia, in the 1968 European Championships, in Florence, though this was once famous for Alan Mullery becoming the first ever player to be sent off playing for England.

England's men in football semifinals is a tale of three eras. Few recall there were two semifinals in the 1960s, though everyone remembers/knows that there were two semifinals in the 90s. 4 in half a century from 1966: a couple every three decades Now 4 in under a decade, 2018-26!

YouGov found about 1/4 people in Scotland want England to do well, about 1/3 support their oppponents, about 1/3 don't mind either way. Those all seem to m legit views: it can also be sporting tribal rivalry, not animosity.

Uruguay came back from 0-2 to 2-2 in the last 15 minutes v Hungary in 1954 - but lost in extratime

Years since last won the World Cup of the eight former winners Uruguay: 76 years England: 60 years Brazil: 24 years Italy: 20 years Spain 16 years Germany 12 years France: 8 years Argentina: 4 years/ holders

There are only two countries who have won the World Cup just once: Spain (2010) + England (1966). Longest waits between 2 wins. Italy: 42 years (1938-82) Argentina: 36 (1986-2022) Brazil: 24 (1970-94) Germany: 24 (1990-2014) W Germany: 20 (1954-74) France: 20 (1998-2018) Uruguay 20 (1930-50)

3. Italy v Germany 1970, 4-3 aet. Known as 'the game of the century', maybe now overshadowed by Brazil's 1970 legend. Italy led 1-0 for 80+ mins until an injurytime equaliser. Then the most incredible 5-goal extra-time ding-dong in the searing Azteca heat, where this match is immortalised