Politics
Why Bridgerton Cut Francesca’s Miscarriage Storyline From Season 4
As Bridgerton fans know, the Netflix series frequently takes creative license with the Julia Quinn source novels that inspired it.
For an understandable reason, one heartbreaking moment from the book When He Was Wicked was cut from season four of the show.
During the recent season, Francesca (played by Hannah Dodd) suspected that she was pregnant with her husband John’s child after he died in his sleep as the result of a sudden cerebral aneurysm.
After undergoing an exam, the character found out that she wasn’t pregnant, while in the original book, she actually discovers that she is pregnant, and later suffers a miscarriage, which shapes Francesca’s grief and fertility throughout the story.
Speaking to Swooon, showrunner Jess Brownell explained that she and the Bridgerton writers decided to cut Francesca’s miscarriage storyline because they felt it would have made the tone of season four “too morbid”.
“Ultimately, I think John’s death and the funeral are already in so many ways such a departure from the tone of the show,” she explained.
“I think episode seven has hints of lightness, but it is a much darker version of Bridgerton in a way that I think is really interesting, and especially in the way we get to watch the family come together.”
Despite not wanting to adapt the darker miscarriage storyline from the source novels, Jess still intends to explore Francesca’s fertility journey in future seasons.
“We’re still very interested in honouring the fertility storyline… and we will continue honouring [it] in her future season,” she said.
This isn’t the only major change to Francesca’s storylines on the show, though.
Her love interest in the books, Michael Stirling, has been gender-swapped in the show, meaning Francesca’s future love story – and, indeed, fertility story – could unfold very differently on screen.
All four seasons of Bridgerton are available to stream on Netflix.
Israel, after a long, devastating war in Gaza, has become so unpopular among many voters in the Democratic base that major candidates in top primaries are using even small connections to the country’s political leaders to hit their opponents.
One Illinois Democratic operative involved in this year’s primaries has dredged up a 2019 trip that Illinois U.S. Senate candidate Juliana Stratton took to Israel to meet with the then-leader of the Israeli opposition Tzipi Livni. The operative, who was granted anonymity because they feared getting blacklisted from future political campaigns, went even further back citing a decade-old plus arrest warrant a British court issued related to a weeks-long conflict with Gaza that started in December 2008. And one of Stratton’s opponents has gone on the record criticizing the trip.
Livni, of course, is one of Netanyahu’s top critics and is solidly on the left in Israel. She is a vocal advocate of a Palestinian state aside a secure Israel despite support for a two-state solution in Israel falling precipitously in recent years. And she has met with numerous Democratic politicians over the years, including Joe Biden in 2010, Barack Obama in 2013 and a congressional delegation led by Nancy Pelosi in 2018.
Despite that record, Illinois Senate primary opponent Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) said that Stratton’s 2019 meeting with Livni raises questions about her leadership.
“Illinois voters believe that judgement matters,” she said in a statement to POLITICO when asked about Stratton’s Livni meeting. “Juliana Stratton owes them an explanation.”
Kelly sees her stance on Livni as one of her progressive bona fides.
“When I first ran for office I made a promise that nothing would compromise my ability to look myself in the mirror each day, and I’ve spent my career standing up and speaking out against injustice,” she said. “I’m the only candidate to call what happened in Gaza a genocide, reject AIPAC money, and refuse ICE-contractor cash.”
Kelly’s views on Israel’s conduct in Gaza have also shifted since she entered the Senate race in May. Kelly and Stratton, who is backed by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, are facing Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), the frontrunner in the March 17 primary. Less than a year ago, Kelly even accepted donations from pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, and she’s been to Israel numerous times as part of congressional trips. In January, Kelly said she wouldn’t take AIPAC money again.
Even tangential ties to the longtime U.S. ally are likely to become campaign issues across the country as the conflict with Iran intensifies into a regional conflagration. All three candidates following the strikes on Iran were quick to condemn the joint U.S.-Israeli action, citing what they believed was Trump’s overreach and swift action without congressional approval. Other Democrats have voiced concern that Trump’s decision could plunge the U.S. into another protracted war in the Middle East.
A Gallup poll released Friday found that around two-thirds of Democrats sympathize more with the Palestinians with only around 20 percent saying they are aligned with Israelis, down from half of Democrats being pro-Israel in 2016. Nearly 50 percent of Democrats even had an unfavorable view of the Israeli people, while the same amount had a favorable view, according to a Pew poll taken in September.
Stratton is not the only Democratic candidate who has been criticized by rivals for ties to Israel. In the Michigan Senate race, Abdul El-Sayed has blasted rival Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) for being a vocal advocate of Israel and protesters have shown up to her office to denounce donations she’s received from AIPAC. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), whose Senate primary is Tuesday, has also been forced to defend herself for voting to fund defensive weapons for Israel.
Stratton, the current lieutenant governor of Illinois, went to Israel as part of the “2019 Influential Women in Leadership Delegation” organized by the America-Israel Friendship League and the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A video from the organization shows her meeting with Livni, the former vice prime minister and foreign affairs minister.
In 2009, a British court issued an arrest warrant for Livni over accusations of war crimes in Gaza for her role during Operation Cast Lead. She was a member of the Israeli war cabinet during the conflict, which Palestinian authorities and an Israeli human rights organization said killed hundreds of Palestinian civilians.
She was supposed to give a speech in London at the time but later cancelled her trip. The warrant was withdrawn after the court found out that she wasn’t in the U.K. and the British government formally apologized to her for the arrest warrant.
She also had told Palestinian counterparts in 2007 during negotiations that even though she was the justice minister, “I am against law – international law in particular” and that “Palestinians don’t really need international law.”
Livni’s office has said she was “proud of all her decisions regarding Operation Cast Lead” and that the conflict achieved its objectives to protect Israel and restore Israel’s deterrence from Hamas rocket attacks from Gaza.
The America-Israel Friendship League, the Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry and Livni didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Although Israel has yet to become a leading issue in the campaign, at a recent debate Stratton said she wanted to “see the suffering end” in the region and said that Netanyahu should step down.
Asked about the trip, a Stratton campaign spokesperson said in an email that the Livni meeting was “a group meeting that took place on a delegation trip promoting women in leadership coordinated by a third party – Juliana did not arrange the meeting and was one of several participants.” The spokesperson reiterated that she supports a two-state solution and “wants to see lasting peace in the region.”
This reporting first appeared in Illinois Playbook. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every weekday.
UK PM Keir Starmer gave his best attempt to tell Trump off in the House of Commons. This comes in response to Trump’s recent jab at the British government’s supposed delay to jump on board with the war in Iran. Trump said that Starmer “took far too long” to allow the US military to use a UK base in Cyprus.
Of course, just hours after Starmer publicly announced that permission had been granted, the base was attacked in retaliation for facilitating the US invasion of Iran. And, it must be noted, this is a war which many ex-military officials in the US have already labelled “illegal.”
So, when Starmer’s ‘rebuke’ of Trump did come, it fell rather flat.
Starmer strong man act falls flat
Stating that the US President has ‘expressed his disagreement’ with the UK, the weak PM attempted to look strong by justifying his decision as one of British national interest. Starmer said:
The lessons of history have taught us that it is important when we make decisions like this, that we establish there is a lawful basis for what the United Kingdom is doing.
That is one of the lessons from Iraq, and that there’s a viable thought-through plan with an objective that can be achieved or has a viable prospect of being achieved.
He continued:
This government does not believe in regime change from the skies.
But, it does believe in assisting US-led regime change via supplying airbases?
This belated ‘strong man’ impression offered by Starmer has been received as the damp squib it is. After all, the human rights barrister-turned-leader has had no problem supporting his allies in their numerous war crimes. He has been perfectly happy shielding war criminals responsible for a genocide against Palestinians.
Pressure from MAGA
However, this bravado exposes how impossible it is to have a diplomatic relationship with the demagogue US President. It is well known how Trump uses economic and military warfare to get his own way, highlighting the terrifying precedent being set by the rogue president for ‘diplomacy’.
Now our government is under pressure by the MAGA administration to get involved with their illegal war on Iran, it is more important than ever that we demand a divergence from the US. It cannot be understated that this aggression threatens chaos and suffering across the region, a chaos will undoubtedly and deservedly reach our shores.
Keir Starmer, “President Trump has expressed his disagreement with our decision not to get involved in the initial strikes”
“But it is my duty to judge what is in Britain’s national interest”
“That is what I’ve done and I stand by it”
— Farrukh (@implausibleblog) March 2, 2026
It’s clear Starmer is going to great pains to differentiate between offensive and defensive military actions. But, the fact the UK is involved at all makes Starmer’s so-called ‘challenge’ to Trump look pathetic.
Iran has the right to retaliate under international law to threats posed against its sovereign territory. With our diplomatic cover and spineless behaviour, the UK is supporting the existential threat Iran faces from the US and Israel. Ignoring that, the UK Prime Minister appears to apply international law selectively – invoking and interpreting it in ways that shield the United States and Israel from accountability.
“Special relationship” under strain
Like a child throwing his toys out of the pram as per usual, Trump has already retaliated. He stated today that our relationship is now strained, indicating the cost that comes through legitimising Trump’s rogue, illegal and escalating decisions:
US President Trump has lashed out at Britain’s PM Starmer for refusing to back Washington’s war against Iran, warning that the so-called “special relationship” now faces strain.
🔴 LIVE updates: https://t.co/mSvQSyvKdN pic.twitter.com/c7YsJNdxVM
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) March 3, 2026
Our own Joe Glenton wrote in February about just how occupied we are by the US, signaling the tightrope and danger we are in if Trump is allowed to keep ignoring the rule of law. He wrote:
The UK is even more of a US military colony than we thought. New documents found in the US War Department’s website show that Britain hosts double the number of American military facilities previously reported.
Glenton finished with a vital rallying cry:
The truth is that Britain is a vassal state and colony of the United States. We say the UK would better off if it was not. US bases, troops and spies need to go.
Ordinary people thankfully can recognise legality better than our barrister PM. One X account commented on Starmer’s woefully manipulative speech, pointing out the legally obvious:
I’m just gonna leave this here.
UN Charter:
“Under international law, the UK can be held responsible if it permits its territory to be used by another state to commit an “internationally wrongful act” (such as an illegal war) if it has knowledge of the circumstances.”
It’s hard to believe Starmer doesn’t know this is illegal, especially due to his maneuvering and apparent discomfort with involvement in offensive actions. Maybe the UK PM is only happy with one illegal bombing campaign at a time, having been complicit in the genocide and heavily funded by the Israel lobby. Needless to say, his pushback to Trump is really just semantics and wordplay.
Curtis Daly pointed out on X just how easy this decision should have been:
So he should have told Trump to piss off when he asked to use our military bases. Starmer is complicit. https://t.co/RWI06XUTIq
— Curtis Daly (@CurtisDaly_) March 2, 2026
Careful the company you keep, Starmer
This horrific war of aggression that has already killed hundreds of Iranians and wounded hundreds more has to be the wake-up call for allies of the US. The US is falling, it is in its final days after repeatedly decimating any respect previously afforded to it. It being allowed to maintain control of the world order will put all countries on the backfoot, whilst prioritising the interests that Trump serves: the super-rich and powerful.
This aggressive US world order will undoubtedly escalate, and it has never been more objectively clear that a thug sits in the White House. If we don’t want Trump’s angry, bloodthirsty glare to fall on the UK we must urge our spineless PM to actually object to the US and Israel’s unaccountable war on Iran.
Featured image via the Canary
Campaigners from Fossil Free London formed a human red line along the riverbank directly across from Westminster on 3 March. All dressed in red, they held a long red ribbon and signs reading ‘Hold the Line’ and ‘Stop Rosebank’.
The demonstration comes as the government prepares to decide the fate of the Rosebank oil field. It’s the largest undeveloped oil field in the North Sea. However, the Scottish courts overturned its original approval in January 2025.
The court ruling demanded that the project’s primary owner, Norwegian state oil giant Equinor, provide a fuller assessment of the project’s climate impacts before any approval could proceed. Critics argue that burning Rosebank’s total reserves would produce more carbon dioxide than the world’s 28 lowest-income countries emit in a year combined. Also, the vast majority of the oil would go for export. So it wouldn’t be lowering UK energy bills or improving energy security.
The Rosebank development would also hand substantial tax relief from the public purse to Equinor. Equinor’s profits flow largely into Norway’s sovereign wealth fund. A share of profits would also go to the Delek Group, an Israeli fuel conglomerate. The UN has flagged this company for human rights violations in Palestine.
Joanna Warrington, spokesperson for Fossil Free London, said:
Whilst people across the country are watching their bills skyrocket and extreme weather events and climate disasters fill their phone screens: our government stands at a crossroads.
At this point in climate collapse, approving any new oil and gas project is tantamount to climate denial. It is like a doctor diagnosing a patient with lung cancer and handing them a cigarette.
A red line must be drawn. Kier Starmer, stop Rosebank.
Featured image via Fossil Free London
If TikTok is anything to go by, it seems the kids are “frictionmaxxing” (and by the kids, I mean gen Z – a generation of people anywhere from 14-29 years old).
The term, which was coined by author Kathryn Jezer-Morton in an article for The Cut, has gained some fans online.
And it ties into younger people’s increasingly analogue habits, like writing letters to one another and making reading cool again.
Though the term is new, a decades-old interview with author Kurt Vonnegut seemed to echo its principles. So, I gave it a try.
What is “frictionmaxxing”?
It’s about taking away the, well, frictionless ease of digital life and deliberately replacing it with less convenient, but more “human”, options.
The author wrote, “Friction-maxxing is not simply a matter of reducing your screen time, or whatever.
“It’s the process of building up tolerance for ‘inconvenience,’” which she stresses usually isn’t actually a lack of control over the problems of living among other people.
Some examples include not sharing your location with friends, so they have to ask where you are instead, not using large language models to answer your questions, and loosening the reins on your kids.
Jazer-Morton argued that friction is different to suffering. Joy is part of the point.
“An orientation toward friction is really the only defence we have against the life-annihilating suction of technologies of escape,” she wrote.
This idea might not be entirely new
“Frixtionmaxxing” reminded me of Kurt Vonnegut’s envelopes.
Speaking to PBS, the writer spoke about the time his wife asked why he went out to buy individual envelopes instead of just buying a stack to keep on hand.
“I pretend not to hear her. And go out to get an envelope because I’m going to have a hell of a good time in the process of buying one envelope,” he said.
“I meet a lot of people. And, see some great-looking babes. And a fire engine goes by. And I give them the thumbs up.”
The inconvenience, for him, was not just the point, but the joy of the trip.
For her part, Jazer-Morton said that “frictionmaxxing” should increase our tolerance of effort that isn’t strictly necessary, “reaching even toward enjoyment”.
Years before mass AI use, Vonnegut said, “the computers will do us out of that”.
I took a small step towards “frictionmaxxing” and was instantly convinced
All of which to say, I began “frictionmaxxing” by getting bits and bobs from my local store throughout the week rather than relying on an online order.
Not only did that mean I got to enjoy some of this month’s sunshine (finally!), but it also meant I felt much more connected to the world around me than I would otherwise.
I overheard some interesting arguments on the street and saw a terrible first date. I saw some very sweet goslings (picture above), noticed some heartening blossoms, and even got inspiration for an article about chocolate theft.
Since then, I’ve got my screen time down, begun reading more, and gotten back into crochet. I’ve even penned some letters and planned more IRL meetups.
Studies tell us that spending more time outdoors, having even surface-level interactions with other people, reading, and creating everything from meals to blankets, is good for us.
But I don’t think anyone who tries “frictionmaxxing” will need all that much proof. Already, I feel my self-esteem and sense of connection growing.
Guido will be live-blogging throughout, so refresh the page for the latest updates. Not a pretty economic picture as Reeves stands at the despatch box…
Kesha has taken aim at Donald Trump and his administration after the White House used her song in a video “to invite violence and threaten war”.
Last month, a video was uploaded to the official White House TikTok account soundtracked by Kesha’s hit Blow, depicting a jet launching a missile, which then destroys a ship.
Addressing her X followers on Monday night, the Grammy nominee wrote: “It’s come to my attention that The White House has used one of my songs on TikTok to incite violence and threaten war.
“Trying to make light of war is disgusting and inhumane. I absolutely do not approve of my music being used to promote violence of any kind.”
“Love always trumps hate,” Kesha continued. “Please love yourself and each other in times like this.
“This show of blatant disregard for human life and, quite frankly, this attack on all of our nervous systems is the opposite of what l stand for.”
She then turned her attention to the president, calling on fans not to “let this distract us” from the recent allegation that Donald Trump is mentioned in the unredacted Epstein files “more than a million times”.
The Trump administration’s director of communications Steven Cheung later reposted Kesha’s message, saying on his own X account: “All these ‘singers’ keep falling for this. This just gives us more attention and more view counts to our videos because people want to see what they’re bitching about.
“Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Half an hour later, the Praying singer posted simply: “Stop using my music, perverts.”
Of course, Kesha is far from the first musician to call out Trump and his fellow right-wingers for using their music without permission.
Last week, Radiohead took issue with the US administration after ICE agents used a choral cover of the group’s song Let Down in a social media video.
“We demand that the amateurs in control of the ICE social media account take it down,” they wrote. “It ain’t funny, this song means a lot to us and other people, and you don’t get to appropriate it without a fight. Also, go fuck yourselves…”
Last year, chart-topper Jess Glynne and US singer-songwriter Sabrina Carpenter were irked to find their music being used in social media posts by the White House.
“This video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda,” Sabrina wrote, while Jess said: “This post honestly makes me sick. My music is about love, unity, and spreading positivity – never about division or hate.”
Scream 7 actor Anna Camp has apologised for resharing a post about the film’s release that she said did not “reflect” her “personal beliefs”.
Shortly after this, the film’s director parted ways with the project, as did Melissa’s co-star Jenna Ortega.
After the film hit cinemas, and it was reported to have made around $100 million in its opening weekend, cast member Anna reshared a post from X on her Instagram page, which read: “The boycott didn’t work, the critics’ hate didn’t work, the pathetic leaks didn’t work.
“What worked was audiences coming out and making the film a success.”
She accompanied this with a blast of Taylor Swift’s Karma.
However, after facing backlash, Anna removed the post and shared an apology.
“It has come to my attention that I reposted someone else’s story that does not reflect my personal beliefs,” the Pitch Perfect star told her X followers. “I have since deleted the repost because I absolutely meant no harm.”
Anna added: “I’m sorry to anyone who was affected.”
Around 250 people gathered outside Belfast’s City Hall on Monday March 2 to voice their disgust at the illegal aggression launched against Iran by US/Zionist terrorists. They were met by a much smaller crowd of around 30 people voicing their support for Reza Pahlavi. The man they are backing is the son of the Shah of Iran deposed in 1979 during the Iranian revolution.
He has bravely been willing to fight to the last drop of someone else’s blood from his home in the United States. Earlier this year he encouraged desperate young people to their death in protests met with brutal force by the theocrats in Tehran. Now he’s happy for his own people to be butchered again by the thugs in Washington and Tel Aviv. All this so he can regain the 1,648,195 km2 of Iran he sees as his personal property, along with the 90 million people within it.
Monarchists back alternate form of tyranny
Supporters of Pahlavi at times waded into the crowd of anti-war demonstrators to try and instigate confrontation. Some of the former group brandished ‘Israeli’ flags and were met with shouts of “Zionist scum, off our streets”.
A slightly larger group of monarchists gathered at the same location on Sunday after the murder of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei. Many held the flag of the Zionist entity on that occasion too, indicating they are also happy for ordinary Iranian people to be treated as expendable in the name of installing the self-appointed “Shah II”.
Gerry Carroll, West Belfast MLA for People Before Profit was the first speaker, successfully able to drown out interruptions from the monarchists. He started by denouncing the massacre of school children carried out by Zionist savages.
I don’t know anybody who claims they’re for freedom and democracy and human rights, but then cheer a school in Iran being blown to bits and at least 160 children being killed. In my eyes, in most people’s eyes across the world, that is not democracy, human rights and dignity. And we’re here to stand against that quite clearly and loudly.
He also called out the hypocrisy of the US demanding an end to Iran’s nuclear program:
The International Atomic Energy Authority…have said…that Iran is compliant when it comes to nuclear weapons. Now, I don’t think there should be any nuclear weapons across the world, but [we] must remind ourselves: who is the country, the only country in the world that has used nuclear weapons? I’ll give you a clue. This, the United States government, they have used it on the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Never trust Zionists
Palestinian Mohammad Samana told the Pahlavi supporters backing so-called ‘Israel’ to beware, based on the bitter experience of his people:
For our friends, there protesting: nobody experienced ‘Israel’ as much as the Palestinians. They came to our land claiming being the victims. We welcomed them. And they took our land and created their apartheid state.
‘Israel’ told the world in 1993, that there will be a Palestinian state by 1998. But they used the agreement to steal more Palestinian land and ensured that they prevented the creation of a Palestinian state and colonised the West Bank and destroyed Gaza.
Crucially, Iranian Azedeh Sobout spoke too, saying:
I stand before you as an Iranian woman, one who opposes the men who rule my country now and the men who ruled it before. The current theocratic regime that massacred thousands of protesters in January and the monarchists backed up by U.S. standing at the other side. There is a space for people like me, [though] very little, in this current geopolitical script because we are constantly told that we must choose. Choose between a dictator and a bombing campaign. Choose between repression and destruction. Choose between submission and annihilation.
We reject that choice. This binary is false. It is coercive and it erases our political agency. It assumes that Iranians cannot imagine or build a future beyond the options imposed on us by empires and dictators. That logic is colonial. Their logic is colonial. That’s why they can only ally with the US, Israel and British colonial systems.
Regime change starts at home
She concluded:
Align your solidarity with our revolutionary philosophy: Jin, Jîyan, Azadî; woman, life, freedom. A vision rooted in Kurdish feminist struggle. A struggle [which] the monarchists are terrified of…because it’s based on feminist, working class resistance and democratic dignity.
And if you believe in regime change, begin it at home. Thank you.
Her last words are an essential message. We’re limited in the direct effect we can have on events thousands of miles away. What we can effect is that which happens right where we stand, in our own communities, town halls and parliaments. That means sweeping away any politician that shows the merest hint of sympathy towards the terrorist forces of the United States and so-called ‘Israel’.
Featured image via the Canary
A new YouGov poll has put the Green Party in second place, just two points behind Reform. This comes just after the Greens announced they have more than 200,000 members. And with Labour lagging five points behind Zack Polanski’s party, it seems voters now see the Greens as the main opposition to Reform.
Pollsters think the “seismic” Green by-election win on 27 February 2026, along with the public exposure surrounding it, has had a big influence on voter perceptions. In particular, it has shown the Green Party is a viable electoral choice which is fully capable of winning elections.
Our latest voting intention (1-2 March 2026) has the Greens on their highest figure ever recorded by YouGov, significantly ahead of Labour, who are on their lowest figure to date
Reform UK: 23% (-1 from 22-23 Feb)
Greens: 21% (+4)
Conservatives: 16% (-2)
Labour: 16% (-2)
Lib… pic.twitter.com/C7tL21tzBv— YouGov (@YouGov) March 3, 2026
The result is the Greens’ highest with YouGov, and Labour’s lowest.
Despite Labour plummeting into the dustbin of history, however, Polanski has noted that Labour leader Keir Starmer is just doubling down on his failing strategy (which has already seen 25% of 2024 Labour voters go Green). And his tactics are continuing to backfire:
On Sunday I announced on the BBC that Green Party membership is 200,000.
Keir Starmer continues to keep trying to smear us – calling us extremists.
The result? We’ve had thousands and thousands of new members in the past 48 hours alone.https://t.co/0qbagSvIYp https://t.co/gk2iB7ThOT
— Zack Polanski (@ZackPolanski) March 2, 2026
Times are changing, and the old order is dying
Sky News clarified that:
The Greens are now the most popular party in all age categories under 50.
Let’s emphasise that point again. *Every generation under the age of 50 prefers the Greens to any other party.* That includes almost 50% of 18-to-24-year-olds and 27% of people between the ages of 25 and 49.
Sky also reported that Greens are boosting their support levels in working-class communities, saying:
Those classified as doing “routine” jobs also vote Green in significant numbers.
The Green Party is now a mass party, not a niche one. And current polling already makes the potential electoral map look slightly more hopeful than it seemed a few months ago:
It’s just 1 poll (for now) – but here’s how it plays out in the Nowcast Model:
RFM: 227 (+222)
GRN: 135 (+131)
LDM: 92 (+20)
CON: 59 (-62)
SNP: 48 (+39)
LAB: 40 (-371)
PLC: 20 (+16)
Others: 10 (+5) https://t.co/C6e7Abw34H pic.twitter.com/49xhYWsezR— Election Maps UK (@ElectionMapsUK) March 3, 2026
According to that projection, a far-right coalition of Reform and Tories would still win. But a centre-left coalition of the Greens, SNP, and Plaid Cymru would be hot on their heels. And if the centre-right Liberal Democrats preferred to back a Green-led coalition to stop the far right, the Reform-led coalition would lose.
As Polanski has emphasised, there is a massive section of society that clearly wants hope. These people want to stop the far right, get investment in their communities and public services, have lower bills, and protect the planet from the billionaire warmongers intent on destroying it:
It’s becoming increasingly clear every single day that the way to stop the rise of the right in this country is to join the Green Party.
It’s also the way to invest in our communities, lower our bills and protect our planet.https://t.co/0qbagSvIYp https://t.co/uaKZd8pgB2
— Zack Polanski (@ZackPolanski) March 3, 2026
Turns out lowering bills, protecting the NHS and rebuilding our public services is really popular.
This is just the beginning – people are seeing through the attacks and demanding something better.
And we’re making hope normal again – together.https://t.co/0QUCQbH19l https://t.co/bLXPb0v7Z1
— Zack Polanski (@ZackPolanski) March 3, 2026
The old order is rapidly fading away. Times are changing. And the Greens have placed themselves at the forefront of that struggle for a better country and a better world. There’s no hiding from that fact now, and Reform’s elitist hatemongers must be shaking in their jackboots.
Featured image via the Canary
This month’s gardening checklist includes pruning roses, which can help to ensure a bright and bountiful bloom come summer.
In fact, according to gardening guru Monty Don, “The first half of March is the best time to prune any shrubs and climbers that will flower on new growth”.
That can include roses and buddleia. Some shrubs, like willow and cornus, can benefit from pruning right now, too.
It can be a little nerve-wracking to hack back plants you’ve spent ages growing. But the expert is here to help: “I know that pruning can be the cause of some anxiety but there is only one rule to follow,” Don continued.
“Always cut back to something”
The gardener said that when pruning, you should “always cut back to something, be it a side shoot or leaf bud.
“Other than that, do not worry unduly about outward-facing buds or any such finessing.”
This is in line with the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) advice.
When pruning roses, they warn you not to prune more than 5mm away from a bud.
And Gardener’s World said that you should always prune just above a bud – neither so close that it damages it, nor so far away that water can gather on the stump when it rains and lead to rot.
“As a general rule, cut above the bud at a distance of about a quarter of the thickness of the stem,” they wrote.
Why should you prune back to a side shoot or bud?
Gardener’s World said these spots of growth form “nodes” on the plant.
And when you cut too far away from a period of plant growth, it might not have enough energy to regrow quickly enough. Then, you risk “dieback” and disease.
“Also, by cutting above a node, you can manipulate new stems, leaves or flowers to form in a desired direction, as nodes form on different sides of a stem,” the publication said.
They added that no matter what, you should avoid cutting more than 1cm above a node.
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