Will the Greens' surge continue? Should Starmer sack Morgan McSweeney? Will Trump run for a third term?

Answering (lots) of your questions

Thanks, as ever, for sending it so many excellent questions. My answers are today and Dad’s will be coming on Thursday.

I’ve focused on the most popular and frequently asked questions. Sorry if I didn’t answer yours, there were a lot and this post is already long.

Topics covered include:

• Is the Green Party surge here to stay and what should Labour do about it?

• Should Keir Starmer fire Morgan McSweeney?

• Is the right-wing press swinging behind Reform?

• Why most of the British political establishment have stayed on X (and whether Bluesky is becoming an unhelpful echo chamber too)?

• Which commentators and pundits do I read and rate?

• Why is Rachel Reeves so set on making unpopular decisions? Will the Labour party accept any spending cuts or does it all have to be tax rises?

• What are the implications of last week’s elections in the US and will Trump try to run again?

• What I think about anglo-futurism

• Will Germany’s firewall against the AfD hold?

• Who will win the French Presidential election?

• Whether the Ebacc’s demise is a good thing and what’s going on with local government reform?

• Whether the Assisted Dying Bill is implementable?

• What will the big macro trends be over the next decade and is there anything to be hopeful about?

• Do I use AI for work?

Hopefully something there for everyone.

---

Alex Potts: Is the Green Party surge a flash in the pan? Can they become more than a fringe player in British politics, and what ought Labour’s strategy be to fend them off?

Pepe Rodriguez: You’ve argued previously that the Labour strategy for the 2029 election will be to present it as a contest between them and Reform, hoping to gather all anti-Reform voters. Given that the Green Party is close in the polls to Labour, and rising, how likely is it that this strategy will backfire?

The Greens are currently averaging 15% in the polls, which is the highest they’ve ever achieved. They are actually leading amongst under-50s in some polls, because Reform’s support is so skewed towards older voters.

It’s happened for three reasons.