Can you wash your clothes in a dishwasher?

My washing machine is out-of-order after I attempted an experiment to wash the dishes in it. The experiment was a cracking failure, mainly (I think) because I forgot to disable the spin mode the machine uses to dry the dishes at the end of a wash cycle. The machine is now full of pieces of smashed plates and dishes and refuses to operate, I’m thinking small particles have escaped into the guts of the machine.

My clothes need washing for work tomorrow and, as you might imagine, I have an empty dishwasher. So I’ve decided to load it up with clothes, add the detergents, and see if my dishwasher can serve as the ultimate 2-in-1 home device.

Reformed compassion for disabled people could destroy the Labour Party

Labour are very vulnerable on pensions and disabilities. Their own MP’s are hugely uncomfortable with proposed reforms currently working through parliament that could strip financial support away from millions of constituents; almost as uncomfortable as voters. It’s a difficult policy area for Reform, too, but the rewards for getting this right could easily send Nigel Farage into Downing Street.

Reform party leaders and supporters want even steeper welfare cuts than Starmer and Reeves propose. So yes - this is difficult ground for Reform. But if I was looking for an easy way to eat further into Labour votes at the next election, I would try to find a more compassionate approach in the very specific area of supporting genuine disabled people. Reform would still be banging the ‘we need to shrink the size of the state’ drum, but in a more nuanced way.

Is it time to D:Ream, again?

It might be a bit premature to say this, but the election results today have a bit of a feel of the preceding years that led to 1997/Tony Blair/New Labour.

Only this time, people are not just sick of the Tories, they are absolutely fed up and disgusted with Labour… too.

While Reform didn’t achieve everything they wanted last night, the results highlight it is no longer a political fairytale to suggest they can win (The Telegraph). This is only going to lead more people to feel emboldened to vote for Reform; no longer sensing it’s a wasted vote.

The Runcorn by-election being won by just six votes (BBC News) also tells people their vote really can make the difference. Other Mayoral and Council contests were won by hundreds of votes, too. So vote, if you want real change - don’t stay home.

“Things can only get better” was the mantra of the 1997 General Election. Is it time to D:Ream, again?

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