Do read this. It’s by Brian Eno for @thenerve.news & it’s about this generation’s BandAid. Lullaby is based on a traditional Palestinian melody, all proceeds go to Gaza, it would be amazing for it to be Xmas no 1, but more than that, buying it is a political act 👊

I gave up my Observer subscription when the Guardian sold it to Tortoise and immediately sacked @carolecadwalla.bsky.social . I still take the Saturday Guardian, but found this really difficult to read in the Eye.

Why is Keir Starmer so hellbent on digital ID? Two words: Tony Blair. At @thenerve_news we’ve tracked Blair’s influence - & his billionaire backer Larry Ellison - behind a policy that nobody asked for & almost nobody wants. 1/

TONIGHT! Stewart Lee in conversation with @carolecadwalla.bsky.social at 21Soho, London We’ve just had a handful of held tickets released. £18 plus booking fee. Booking / details via link. password THENERVE101225 🙏 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-nerve-...

Irony died once more. Nick Clegg (left Europe to be a top lobbyist for Facebook): Europe has a “very, very profound dilemma, which is that we’re not only completely dependent on US tech . . [but] when we have good people with good ideas, we export them to the US”. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

So today I found out that my TED talk ‘This is What a Digital Coup Looks Like’ was TED’s most watched talk of the year. It’s sort of amazing & terrifying. Because this *is* what a digital coup looks like. www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZOo...

Let’s force Parliament to debate a full public inquiry into Russian interference. We’ve made it easy with a plug-and-play email template waiting for you 👉 citizensreunited.substack.com/p/the-rise-o...

Come!

“The systems are not working. We have to take responsibility when people step into the breach and do terrible things.” On the anniversary of the UnitedHealthcare boss’ death, John H Richardson, author of a new book about Mangione, talks to John Mulholland about ‘distress’ endemic in US society.

The podcast is honestly the best I’ve ever listened to. It is like a ten part spy thriller; only not fiction, but real life, with British voters the victims, and too many British politicians choosing to turn a blind eye. Each episode is better than the last, devastating in conclusions. MUST HEAR.

Rory Stewart and Alistair Campbell @alastaircampbell2.bsky.social spell out what needs to happen - the same demand we’ve made for years. We need a real, independent inquiry 🧵 🎧 Hear the full story: the-citizens.com/2025/02/serg...

What a recommendation! Thank you @alastaircampbell2.bsky.social & @rory-stewart.bsky.social both for recommending the podcast AND backing @the-citizens.bsky.social campaign for an inquiry into Russian interference in UK politics 👊👊👊

I’m so happy to see this. The lack of journalistic solidarity & collective action over the killing of journalists in Gaza has been distressing. Will @nujofficial.bsky.social step up & follow this lead?

Thank you to the Rose d’Or judges for nominating @bbcsounds.bsky.social Stalked podcast for best audio production at their fancy awards. We didn’t win but we enjoyed the ride!

So this is a bit weird. The Guardian has done a big ‘Who owns the UK media?’ graphic that includes all national titles + Unherd, Statesman etc. But *not* the Observer. 🧐 Cock-up? Or implicit acknowledgment that we still don’t actually know who *does* own the Observer.

100,000.

And if stuff really IS what you need, our gorgeous ethically sourced t-shirts (high quality organic cotton, screen-printed in Wales, in collaboration with Black & Beech) have dropped, at a special price of £29: www.thenerve.news/p/exclusive-...

And if someone you know needs independent journalism in their life, our Xmas gift membership is also on discount this weekend ONLY. Your recipient will receive a beautifully designed Nerve gift card on high grade paper: thenerve.news/gift-members...

Big business has had enough of your money. This Black Friday, we have an alternative...🧵

Read this. A scrappy indie outlet standing up to Farage’s bullyboy lawyers in a way that should shame better-funded outlets

‘Speaking outside his chateau in France, former Brexit Party and UKIP MEP Coburn answered "no" when a BBC journalist asked him whether he had ever been paid to give a speech to promote pro-Russian campaigners.’ Great work from @BBCWales. Keep going

Yay!! I couldn’t be there but Sergei & the Westminster Spy Ring just won gold at the APA podcast awards!! Whole thing was crowdfunded by @the-citizens.bsky.social to highlight 5-year legal case to get an investigation into Russian interference in UK politics. Power to the people!

Why this matters: Martin Shipton, Nation Cymru: "Wales is Reform’s next big target… if they [win the Senedd next May] it will make the national Reform party flush with taxpayers’ cash." (quote from @thenerve.news) Reform run Kent has already disappeared £40 million. Wales would be much more.

Why did @carolecadwalla.bsky.social and Sarah Davidson call their new publication The Nerve? They tell @arusbridger.bsky.social and @janinegibson.ft.com here: prospectmagazine.sub...

NEW: Wales’s first minister @prifweinidog.gov.wales backs call for a full investigation into Russian interference. Wales’s Senedd elections next spring ‘at risk’. @bbcwales.bsky.social report below.

I’m a past winner of the Orwell Prize & won partly because I exposed Vote Leave’s unlawful activities. Michael Gove was its co-convener & refused to answer a single q. He’s now a judge of the prize & our world is truly one that Orwell would recognise bylinetimes.com/2025/11/25/m...

Why did @carolecadwalla.bsky.social and Sarah Davidson call their new publication The Nerve? They tell @arusbridger.bsky.social and @janinegibson.ft.com here: prospectmagazine.sub...

Goddammit theres a timeline.

Read article through www.thenerve.news w/ full timeline recounting all times Gill took money & what was required of him from his Russian contacts. A far greater & more in depth report than any from other news media. Also left me with sad thought as to how little a Reform MP's soul was worth.

Dear Bluesky, www.thenerve.news is still tiny. We launched it with no dirty money (no money at all, lol!). But we're proving what's possible with a small expert team & no billionaire owners. We knew the UK press wouldn't understand or properly cover this story, so we did. Thank you for the support!

NEW: This is worth your time. @thenerve_news has the receipts. A comprehensive timeline of Nathan Gill & Nigel Farage’s pro-Kremlin influencing activities & 2 other MEPs, David Cobourn & Jonathan Arnott. Please read & share.

From the wonderful @carolecadwalla.bsky.social and @thenerve.news some stunning journalism. 👏👏👏 www.thenerve.news/p/nathan-gil...

NEW: If you have *any* interest in the Nathan Gill story, you need to look at this. We’ve put all the dates into a timeline & it’s incredibly revealing. 1/ www.thenerve.news/p/nathan-gil...

Well, this is pretty terrifying. The Daily Mail is buying the Telegraph. One massive consolidated right-wing media empire controlled by off-shore interests at a critical moment in global politics. What could go wrong? www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...

This is outrageous from Keir Starmer. ‘Russian links to Reform need investigating’, he says. So why is his government still fighting case now in Grand Chamber of Strasbourg court refusing to have such an investigation into Russian interference ?? news.sky.com/story/starme...

Gill’s conviction for taking Kremlin money is yet more evidence of Russian influence in our politics, as the Russia report itself found. So when will Ministers finally investigate this wider interference? Why are we forced to pursue it in court? @carolecadwalla.bsky.social

NEW: Important thread from @thenerve.news. See key WhatsApp evidence & videos from Nathan Gill hearing now sentenced to 10 & half years in prison 👇

The Nerve is at the Old Bailey today for the sentencing of Nathan Gill. It's a complex story and the Nerve is here with our first print edition - a handy fold out timeline detailing the whole affair...! More soon...

BREAKING: Nathan Gill is sentenced to 10 & a half years in prison after pleading guilty to eight charges of bribery from a Russian agent. The "ultimate source" of the funds came from "a close friend of Vladimir Putin," said Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb.

NEW: The judge has begun her sentencing remarks in Nathan Gill hearing. She notes the behaviour expected of MEPs "members are to act solely in the public interest". 1/

NEW: Clerk of court has announced @skynewsrss.bsky.social will livestream the sentencing announcement of Nathan Gill and judge's remarks

UPDATE: from Court 2 at the Old Bailey. Many new details revealed by the Crown in sentencing hearing of Nathan Gill including his "close relationship" with his handler Oleh Voloshyn who took instructions directly from Putin's closest ally in Ukraine.

The sentencing hearing of Nathan Gill has begun. Follow @thenerve.news for updates throughout the day. 1/

Gill is being sentenced today for 8 counts of bribery from a Russian agent. Follow @thenerve.news for updates throughout the day. This is why it matters & this is who it harmed: Ukrainian protestors outside the Old Bailey.

Very much worth the watch. It leads to a question, for me: Why don't people know? And, IMO there is only one answer. The press, the agenda & they who controls the narrative. The press in this country, pretty much bar maybe 10%, doesn't want to report this.

Guilty of accepting bribes from Russian spies: A good friend of Nigel Farage is highly likely to be jailed tomorrow (Friday). Yet, the story appears to surprise most Clacton voters - and, worse still, unlikely to change the minds of Reform supporters. #ReformWatch

🔊 Sound on! Watch @johnsweeneyroar.bsky.social chase Nigel Farage across the Essex Riviera: Clacton-upon-Sea. With a very simple question that the Reform leader is refusing to answer... "Mr Farage, who introduced Nathan Gill to a Russian spy?" 1/

Где Найджел? Must watch from @johnsweeneyroar.bsky.social @thenerve.news 🔗 youtu.be/y5OwzvIOFEMyf

Where’s Nigel? And why won’t he answer our questions? Who introduced his good friend Nathan Gill to a Russian spy? 🧐 Cracking new film from @johnsweeneyroar.bsky.social & @sheridanflynn.com for @thenerve.news

You must read @carolecadwalla.bsky.social on the latest “too big to fail” stock market shattering statements of the Tech Bros. Alex Karp and Sam Altman in full head wagging denial mode should tell you all you need to know about the reckoning to come broligarchy.substack.com/p/peter-thie...