Westminster’s reliance on Elon Musk’s X is ‘totally wrong’, says Labour MP
Westminster needs to wean itself off X, a close ally of Keir Starmer has said, as he suggested that Elon Musk was deliberately manipulating its algorithm to boost his own political and personal interests.Josh Simons, the MP for Makerfield and former head of the Starmerite thinktank Labour Together, said he believed the British political class was dangerously addicted to the platform, formerly known as Twitter.Simons maintains an active X profile, but says he is keen not to “overuse” it.His comments reflect a growing concern among Labour MPs about the impact of X after the summer’s riots, during which misinformation spread rapidly on the platform.But they also threaten to exacerbate tensions between the government and the company, with Musk continuing to attack Starmer over ministers’ response to the violence.
Simons, a technology expert who wrote a book on artificial intelligence, told the Guardian in an interview: “I think that Twitter’s algorithm, its ranking model, which determines what we see on Twitter when we open it, has manifestly changed since Elon Musk took over.Not least because I don’t think I’ve ever liked anything that he said ever, and I see loads of him all the time, and I really don’t want to.“I’ve even said: ‘Show less of this,’ and there he is, every time.And that’s a sure sign – when a founder and owner of a company, you see more of them on an algorithm, despite not liking them – [of] something going on.”He added: “I think that it is totally and completely wrong and harmful to British democracy that the Westminster bubble gets to know each other through a ranking model designed by a man who’s spending his life campaigning for Donald Trump.
I think that it’s shortsighted of us all.”X did not respond to a request to comment.Relations between the government and the social media company have been tense since the summer’s riots, which experts say were fanned by online misinformation regarding the identity of the attacker who killed three children in Southport.As the violence escalated, Musk posted repeatedly about them, including one video of riots in Liverpool, which he annotated with the quote “civil war is inevitable”.Downing Street publicly criticised those comments, saying they had “no justification”, and in turn was greeted with another volley of angry posts from Musk.
The X owner renewed his attack on the Labour government last month after not receiving an invitation to Monday’s international investment summit.“I don’t think anyone should go to the UK when they’re releasing convicted pedophiles [sic] in order to imprison people for social media posts,” he posted, in apparent reference to the government’s early release scheme.Many Labour MPs have quit X and set up profiles on rival platforms such as Bluesky instead.Simons, who used to work for Meta on its AI programme and is now standing for election to the Commons technology select committee, said he thought the new generation of MPs were more sceptical about the platform than their predecessors.“The mood is changing quite radically,” the 31-year-old said.
“I actually think Twitter has a bit of a sort of Boomers/Gen-Xer thing about it,It’s interesting that among the new intake, quite a lot of people are quite sceptical about it,It doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t ever use it, not least because it gives us another tool to be seen on,”He also said he believed the debate over AI had been dominated for too long by older politicians who did not grow up steeped in technology in the way his own generation did,Such people, he said, were often either overly optimistic or overly pessimistic about how the technology could change the way government works.
The former prime minister Tony Blair and the former Conservative leader William Hague have been two of the most outspoken advocates for the widespread adoption of AI by the public sector.The former prime minister Rishi Sunak has spoken positively about its potential but also warned about its “existential risk” to humanity.Simons said: “There is a generation [that] didn’t actually grow up with data and technology, and they have these very simplistic, reductivist, often either utopian or apocalyptic ways of thinking about the future of the state or public services or the economy in relation to technology.“AI can often be a distraction from going one level deeper into the technology, in order to understand its policy and political implications better.”
Lando Norris welcomes FIA clampdown on Red Bull’s use of ‘tea tray’ device
Lando Norris has welcomed the FIA clamping down on a potentially illegal device on his world championship rival Max Verstappen’s Red Bull after the governing body deemed it could be used against the regulations to improve performance.The McLaren driver was speaking before this weekend’s US Grand Prix as he prepares to go into a decisive showdown with Verstappen for the title over the remaining six races. Norris is 52 points behind with 180 still available across the next six meetings.Before running began on Friday the FIA issued a clarification that the device, believed to be used to adjust the car’s ride height between qualifying and races, when such adjustments are not permitted, could not be employed. Red Bull have come to an agreement with the FIA regarding their use of the system, which is believed to alter the ride height of the “tea tray” section which sits at the front of the car’s floor
First Nations Championship rugby finals to be hosted in London then Qatar
Rugby union’s powerbrokers have reached a staging agreement for the Nations Championship that will mean the first set of finals are held in London, before moving to Qatar and then possibly the United States, in a major global expansion of the sport.Under radical plans expected to be signed off later this month, Twickenham would stage the first Nations Championship final in 2026, before the biennial six-match series moves to Qatar two years later, with a further option to go to America in 2030.Qatar had hoped to stage the first four Nations Championship finals and were granted exclusive negotiating rights by the 12 biggest unions this summer after offering guaranteed returns of £800m, but their bid was blocked by the Irish and French unions due to uncertainty over attendances and concerns over the country’s human rights record.The new blueprint disclosed is seen as a compromise, with staging the first final at Twickenham regarded as a crucial concession to those worried the sport is being sold to the highest bidder. The Six Nations and southern hemisphere unions are understood to be close to signing a heads-of-terms agreement on an initial four-year contract that will confirm the 2026 and 2028 hosts as London and Qatar respectively
Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 draw: champions New Zealand to face Ireland
The defending Women’s Rugby World Cup champions, New Zealand, will go up against Ireland in next year’s tournament, which is being held in England, after being drawn in the same pool.England’s pool opponents include Australia, while Wales and Scotland have been drawn together.Ireland, who did not qualify for the last World Cup, have the best win ratio against New Zealand of any team in the world. The two teams have played each other only three times but Ireland have come out on top twice, most recently in last month’s WXV 1 match. Ireland also beat New Zealand in the 2014 World Cup pool stage
Australia stunned by South Africa: Women’s T20 World Cup semi-final – as it happened
A few days back I had a bit of a moan that this had been a slightly underwhelming tournament, with a lack of surprises and/or close finishes. Well we still could do with a close finish but we’ve had a couple of big shocks, courtesy of turbo-charged displays from West Indies on Tuesday and now South Africa tonight. The serial champions and holders Australia are heading home, and this tournament is now tantalisingly hard to call. South Africa did everything right today, and another showing like that in the final could finally land them a trophy. Thanks for following
Oisin Murphy turns to counselling amid demands as champion jockey
Oisin Murphy has turned the race for the 2024 Flat riders’ title into a procession and will be crowned as the UK’s champion jockey for the fourth time at Ascot on Saturday, but the Irishman seemed to suggest on Thursday that the demands of securing the title in possibly “the most competitive weighing room in the world” could rule out a challenge for a fifth championship next year.Murphy has taken 744 rides during the current campaign, at least 100 more than any other UK rider, while a 22% strike-rate – the highest of any jockey in the top 20 in the table – had taken him to 162 winners before racing on Thursday, 54 in front of the second-placed rider, Rossa Ryan.His stats are phenomenal, and it has been, on the face of it, a comfortable, almost freewheeling success. Murphy’s latest championship, though, is also his first since receiving a 14-month suspension in December 2021, having twice failed a pre-racing breath test for alcohol and also misled the British Horseracing Authority over a trip abroad which breached Covid restrictions in 2020.Murphy is an intensely thoughtful and analytical rider, who assesses his own performances and the form of top-level and day-to-day racing in granular detail
Ben Ainslie and Ineos Britannia crew plot dramatic America’s Cup comeback
Twenty-four hours can be a long time on the water. When the sea state off Barcelona changed on Tuesday, the balance of the 37th America’s Cup shifted with it. All of a sudden, Ineos Britannia, who were trailing Emirates Team New Zealand 4-0 in the best-of-13 series, were swept back into contention. The America’s Cup is a competition for sailboat builders as well as sailors, and the subtle design differences between the two AC75 yachts gave the British team an advantage in the heavier weather. Soon enough, they had pulled the score back to 4-2
ECB cuts interest rates to support flagging eurozone economy
Hike in capital gains tax will spark tech exodus from UK, investor says
ECB’s Lagarde: ‘We’re breaking the neck of inflation’ after cutting interest rates – as it happened
This woodworker perfected her craft during a summer of racial justice protest
Paul Johnson to leave influential IFS economics thinktank
US group Advent International ‘preparing bid for Tate & Lyle’