🔴NEW🔴 Thread 🧵 @bylinetimes.bsky.social can now reveal that, during the crucial period when convicted Reform leader Nathan Gill was most active, working directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most senior ally in Ukraine, he was also one of Nigel Farage’s closest confidantes 1/12

A real part of my childhood and youth. Great memories of the dodgems with my father. BBC News - Porthcawl's Coney Island funfair closes after 100 years - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

This is the popular Japanese fashion brand's second store in Scotland after making its first foray into the country last year

There’s more here on Glasman’s support for Nigel Farage, Steve Bannon and a host of MAGA frontmen here on @bylinetimes.bsky.social bylinetimes.com/2025/09/25/b...

🇬🇧 EE to open its first experience store in Scotland www.retail-week.com/stores/ee-to...

“He's as honest as the day is long.” Nigel Farage on Nathan Gill, Leader of Reform UK who admitted 8 counts of taking Russian bribes.

In other news, Kemi Badenoch's party has taken at least £7 million in donations from funders and directors of climate change denial lobby groups bylinetimes.com/2025/03/18/k...

ICYMI: Anti-corruption campaigners and the Liberal Democrats are calling for fresh investigations into Russian interference in British politics, after Reform UK’s former leader in Wales admitted to taking bribes to make statements in favour of Russia. ✍🏼 @bylinetimes.bsky.social

The Courier wrote an awful headline and article about asylum seekers in Perth this week and today they published an editorial about me denying a right to reply. Here's one anyway. This is a fragile situation. Words matter. petewishart.com/why-words-ma...

Peter Jukes @peterjukes.bsky.social @bylinetimes.bsky.social (2021) "… just a populist? Or… a seriously troubling collection of antisemitic outbursts, Nazi affiliations and white supremacist friends that would have been the end of any other mainstream figure's career?" 🧵 7/x

It’s increasingly clear that convicted Russian influencer Nathan Gill was a senior member of Farage’s entourage. (Banks and Wigmore were also in and out of the Russian embassy sharing FBI files, RT talking points, and discussing gold and diamond privatisation deals)

Nigel Farage doesn’t think the Prime Minister should have free speech in this country. But he’ll tell foreigners that yours is somehow under threat from the Prime Minister. He’s a whiny little liar. Always has been. Always will be.

For anyone interested in the survival of Welsh Rugby you should take a look at the results of the recent survey run by @gwladrugby.bsky.social A serious attempt to gauge thinking as opposed to the rather insulting survey put out by the WRU itself. gwladrugby.wordpress.com/2025/09/29/t...

ICYMI: Continuing the tradition of the last 5 years I have written a short post on my gardening efforts this year. stirlingretail.com/2025/09/29/m...

‘Who said he’s as honest as the day is long?’ @mrjamesob.bsky.social poses a question about Reform’s ex-leader in Wales, who admitted making pro-Russian statements to the EU Parliament for cash.

🇬🇧 Co-op grows new concept ‘on the go’ micro stores with Altrincham launch retailtimes.co.uk/co-op-grows-...

Interesting - not least on what the media considers not to be a story.

My Gardening Year 2025 I was one of the fortunate ones during Covid lockdown in that we have a good-sized garden, and I could be outside in it. I began at that point to use Twitter to post a weekly greenhouse update, which people seemed to appreciate. By week 26 in 2020 I could report on this blog…

Nigel Farage's attendance record as an MEP was 748 out of 751, yet he turned up to vote AGAINST plans to tackle Russian disinformation. Now one of his MEPs has admitted taking bribes to spread Russian propaganda. Why is this not all over the media?

Nathan Gill is no fringe politician. He was the leader of the Reform Party and before that UKIP in Wales. A Brexit Party MEP. A friend and ally of Nigel Farage, who in 2016 called him: "terrific," and "as honest as the day is long." This is a MASSIVE story www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

this is an extraordinary canary in the coal mine

The wounded knee thing is really Trumpism distilled to its essence. It’s not enough to be able crush people who can’t fully defend themselves, it’s not enough to actually crush them, you also have to love and admire those who do the crushing otherwise the Trumpists’ delicate feelings are injured

Only an administration intent on committing war crimes in the present and future would stoop to calling Wounded Knee a "battle" rather than what it truly was: a massacre of over 250 Lakotas, mainly women, children, and the elderly. 1/

North Korea leader level behaviour from USA.

This is the real threat to free speech.

'Government departments are reluctant to even review whether they should still use, as a key channel of public communication, a site which ethnic minorities can barely use without facing everyday racism from antisemites, racists and open Nazis'

🤷🏼

Remember how many weeks and months our media spent going after Rayner? Strange that they couldn't drop the equivalent Farage story fast enough...

🇬🇧 Amazon UK to close grocery stores as high-tech retail experiment fails www.ft.com/content/6957...

Racist property developer allows Muslim man to live rent-free

statistic of the day

Opinion | Even for Donald Trump, this was not normal. It was not normal for the UN General Assembly. It was not usual for any world leader, elected or not – dictators usually take decades to lose contact with reality 🖋 @jamesrball.com Read more: trib.al/K1of3kD

No immigrant has ever sacked me, or cut my wages, or offshored my job, or closed my hospital, or stopped my mum's disability benefits, or crashed the economy. Those things were all done by white English men who went to Oxford and wore a nice suit.

Pretty disgraceful for Mason to call Davey’s criticism Trumpian given his disastrous coverage of the Reform conference among other things. Maybe do your job better instead of shooting the messenger?

BBC headline signed Chris Mason at Farage conference: “Reform conference shows party's growing ambition like never before.” Laura Kuenssberg, BBC headline for LibDem conference: “Ed Davey loves clowning around, but is it time the Lib Dems got serious?” Fuck you, BBC.

I have rarely seen such unadulterated bollocks. I loved Twitter, it was so important for my job. Then a mad megalomaniac took it over and made it so no one would see my posts unless I paid him money - and even if I did that I would be submerged in nazi hate. But yeah this is our fault.

✍️ Darley St Market mixes global flavours with local pride – reviving Bradford’s traditions while hinting at city centre gentrification By John Atkinson @bd-angry.bsky.social

🇬🇧 Temu accused of paying ‘negligible’ tax in the UK despite ‘enormous sales’ www.retail-week.com/fashion/temu...

The last political column I was allowed to write in the @washingtonpost.com was a criticism of Obama. His people took issue with my piece, but we were respectful. Now he is tweeting in support of me. This is how free political speech and respect for debate *actually works*. Or used to work.

trickle down economics trickle down economic trickle down economi trickle down econom trickle down econo trickle down econ trickle down eco trickle down ec trickle down e trickle down trickle dow trickle do trickle d trickle trickl trick

If I were a Brit, I would be more upset and focused on how my own government oppresses dissent than on what Trump does in the U.S. The authoritarianism under Starmer is getting absolutely crazy.

A nice reflection Leigh, and part of the bigger conversations and research on heritage, place, people, emotion, experience, economy and values (in all their forms) which need to continue.

ICYMI: My post from earlier this week. Unlocking the Potential of Scotland's Heritage; the economic value of heritage stirlingretail.com/2025/09/15/u... @scotlandstowns.bsky.social

All are always welcome on our digs! What will you find?

Yes, yes you are. Stop cosplaying "legitimate concerns". When you join a far right rally, organised by well known far right leader Tommy Robinson, with a host of speakers who outright say they are far right, you are a racist. No ifs, buts or maybes. There are no excuses for being there.

Well, there you have it.

This really shouldn't even need saying, let alone agitating for. It is a truism more than a proposition.