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Fires in France have now burned over 91,000 acres, by far the most of any year since the satellite record started in 2006. Current area burned is about 34x larger than this date in a typical (median) year:

It's noticeable, too, that there wasn't a single question on the climate, at a time when Europe is experiencing catastrophic wild-fires & record-breaking heat. It's astonishing how low down the political agenda this remains in Britain, when all the environmental indicators are signalling disaster.

Thanks Nic!

No 10 has completed the reshuffle, by announcing a full list of PPS appointments today: there are about 60 PPS roles here. Michael Payne, Adam Thompson and Chris Vince at the Home Office. Olivia Blake, Luke Charters & Kirith Entwistle at MHCLG.

RIP Bill Oddie. Over a decade ago, Bill Oddie agreed to support the campaign I worked on with local residents to save Druridge Bay in Northumberland from a 3-million tonne opencast coal mine. He was great. We won the campaign. www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

Given that land value (ie location value) is a far bigger driver of house prices than the actual value of bricks & mortar, there's not *so* much difference between the Proportional Property Tax proposal & a land value tax... inews.co.uk/news/politic...

Our latest voting intention sees cross over. Labour move ahead by 4. Their first lead since March 2025 & highest share since Nov 24 🌹 LAB 28% (+4)
⏩ REF 24% (-2)
🌳 CON 22% (nc)
🔶 LIB DEM 12% (+1)
🟢 GREEN 8% (-3)
🟡 SNP 2% (nc) N = 2061| Dates 24-27/7| Change w 22/7

Many of the worst fires have taken place in moorland areas where the big issue is a failure to re-wet peat. Peat restoration is the single biggest thing we should be doing to make our landscapes more resilient. Natural regeneration of trees and scrub could help in other areas

Cities dismantled their tram networks to become “motor cities of the future”. The result? You could travel further within 30 mins via public transport in 1957 than you can in 2026. Cities are seeking billions to rebuild networks. Incredible piece of work this.

'Ed Miliband indicates development and climate will be at heart of UK foreign policy' This is absolutely the right rhetoric, and a big FU to Trump. Next needs to reverse Starmer's cuts to climate finance & overseas aid www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Weather Report: a fanning breeze. An absence of forecast small rain. The Big Hill (after an absence of walking) as an old, old friend, in bleach blonde tresses. Fields we’ve never seen cut for hay before. The winds of [climate] change, felt in the countryside first. Emotional Weather: thoughtful

I did, see all my earlier posts on the ecological illiteracy of what he said as saying. But it’s wholly relevant to the discussion. You can’t persuade a man to believe something if he’s been paid most of his life to not believe it.

I was referring to the succession of hawthorn and rowan on heathland, where it’s often mineral soils

Good point! Just flowed out through the drainage ditches

Yep

I didn’t say plant trees in deep peatlands. I said where there’s deep peat, it needs rewetting. Where you get gorse & heather developing tends to either be degraded peat (so rewet it) or on the edge of the moors where it’s mineral soils. Naturally there would have been more scattered trees here

So ex-grouse moor manager Robert Frewen, who’s since blocked me, is claiming that moorland drainage had nothing to do with grouse. That’s codswallop. For decades, grouse moor owners were advised to drain their moors to boost grouse & heather, & did so. From my book The Lie of the Land:

I mean it’s banned in a lot more circumstances now, but there’s still plenty of swaling on peat that’s less than 30cm deep (the new threshold) and on dry heath/ acid grassland. So, yeah… kinda bananas

Thanks all - got lots of copies now! X

Thanks!