“Why is the Reform racist different to your racist”. Philp would do well to reflect on how he and his party got here

Fewer than 2% of UK TV adverts feature only Black or only Asian people in the cast; the overwhelming majority of ads with ethnic minority presence have mixed or cross ethnicity groups. Sources: 1. C4 Survey www.isba.org.uk/system/files... 2. Diamond creativediversitynetwork.com/wp-content/u...

Guten Abend ☀️

Am I the only one uneasy about our representatives being chosen by 25% of the electorate from a panel of people preselected by small, unrepresentative, ideologically motivated groups of party members?

“We can’t be trusted. Vote for us.”

The current line taken by some Conservatives is "We will rip up ILR, something no govt has ever done before, but citizenship is different". Not reassuring. Precedents matter. "We don't abide by rules previously agreed" is the precedent.Once that's set, reassurances on other rules carry little weight

Unexpected to see a Conservative politician arguing for the abolition of private schools:

Shocked. Surprised. Not. ~ Brexit had bigger impact on Britain’s economy than even critics predicted, Rachel Reeves says | The Independent ~ https://www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/news/brexit-rachel-reeves-impact-uk-b2849294.html

The effect of Brexit is not just 'long-lasting'. It is never ending. Until Brexit is reversed, UK remains at a disadvantage to all its neighbours, economically, geopolitically and in terms of individual opportunities.

A final note. This country has amazing people in the private sector, in universities, in charities, in schools and hospitals and the police, in the civil service. And frankly, the lack of clarity, the lack of vision, the lack of basic decency from many of our politicians is letting us all down.

New post just out: "On the edge" On my unexpected week in hospital and five things I learnt about the state of the NHS. (Free to read) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/o...

Brexit impact on UK economy 'negative for foreseeable future’, Bank of England chief says news.sky.com/story/brexit...

If Reform win a seat in a by-election it’s rammed down our throats by BBC as a major headline and report on their main page.. And yet the @libdems.org.uk win 6 seats in Surrey and it’s buried away hush hush 🤫 I only came across it by chance just now .. #BBCReformsFreePRService

Terry is absolutely correct. Along with Schengen, the SM, the CU and the euro, we have transformed European horizons. 1

Well said, Gary Neville! 👏

That Brexit referendum to end the Tory melodrama is going so well, isn’t it? Bet Cameron is pleased with himself.

Free stickers suitable for flag-bearing lampposts. Send a large A4 envelope with a 1st class large stamp to me at Bragg Office, PO Box 6830 Bridport DT6 9BH and I’ll send you a sheet. #ReclaimtheFlag 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇬🇧

Neither was this gully-foyle-debunked.co.uk/1-10

Now, imagine what this inexperienced and ignorant party would do in the speeding headlights of national government:

@georgemonbiot.bsky.social re Any Questions and our political system, 24 skimmable pages on what’s wrong with what we have and, from p 13, a utopian alternative: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/edvlv...

Farage, Trump, Musk: your boy Javier Milei just took one hell of a beating. Why so quiet? | Aditya Chakrabortty

“How much trouble is Labour in - and is the PM the right man for the job?” When did the BBC ever ask this question of any of the last 5 calamitous Conservative prime ministers? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Ok. They’ve pissed me off. I’m back to tell you 3 things about ID cards: 1. Migrants ALREADY HAVE biometric ID cards & govts have been trying to digitise them for years w repeated fuckups & failures causing complete chaos - they don’t work, you do not want that system for you.

How long before a bad actor hacks the government’s digital ID software?

“ Whatever political capital you might have, you’re gonna need to spend it. The best we can hope for is that politicians spend it doing the right thing, even if it’s something that’s hard, that you know might not be popular. Just doing the right thing.”-Past New Zealand PM @jacindaardern.bsky.social

So, chuck out all the foreigners and everything will be alright? What could go wrong? Just like Brexit.

Just showing off, really.

In London, hate will never win.

Another great piece. As I found when in hospital this week, the statement that the NHS is run by migrants and migrant communities is profoundly true. But until you experience it with your own eyes, that can seem a bit of an abstract statement. Seeing is truly believing.

Is this what it felt like not to have been a nazi in 1930s Germany?

I see Google Pixel 10 has taken Kant’s categorical imperative to heart. Just, not sure I have. Would you ever lie to a friend, I mean, for a good reason?

The finest response I've seen so far.

@zackpolanski.bsky.social congratulations! If the only thing you do is use the platform aggressively to reframe the narratives (migration, the EU, etc) that the Labour Party appears to have decided it cannot resist, that will be a great service to this country and everyone in it.

Nigel Farage looks uncomfortable as Jamie Raskin uses his opening statement to absolutely demolish him

Current state of UK political discourse.

Oh, Christ! I feel for @philippesands.bsky.social arguing facts against wilful ignorance. The fundamental problem is not about law but economics. Successive UK governments have created a restrictive asylum system in which people smuggling flourishes.

“The message from both the government and the Conservatives appears to be: “Nigel Farage is right about immigration. Don’t vote for him.””

Is Farage’s plan to send refugees back to be killed and/or tortured going to work as well as Brexit?

Politics and story-telling – a short essay on an English bank holiday By me Personal blog: davidallengreen.com/2025/08/poli... Substack: emptycity.substack.com/p/politics-a...

So Trump thinks it’s “stupid” for the Ukrainians to defend themselves? 🤷🏽

It is very nearly the tenth anniversary of that brief moment when, for 2 or 3 days, British newspapers remembered refugees are desperate human beings who need our help, rather than scum that it's okay to threaten with violence.

You've GOT to be kidding me! The Conservatives - who oversaw every single thing on this list - are trying to claim that only the Conservatives would "stop the madness" - that they created...? So incredulity aside, what about the list itself? Let's go Debunking! 1/34

If Putin wouldn’t have invaded Ukraine if Trump had been president, now that Trump’s president again, Putin can go back to the borders of Ukraine?

For all those lexiters still crooning over the opportunities of Brexit, here (h/t @jim-cornelius.bsky.social) is an extract from Tony Benn’s 1965 diary: “The real choice is, do we go with Europe or do we become an American satellite?” 50 years later, the same question faces us.

This is one of the most beautiful things I have witnessed, the craft here is impeccable.

This quote from the brilliant Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy sums up the Green and LibDem approach to rejoining the EU perfectly. Your plan doesn't count if people don't notice it. People won't notice it if you're not repeating it clearly, loudly and unequivocally every possible chance you get.

In a break this morning, I happened to watch Radio 5 Live on BBC2. At what point did the overt expression of racism become normalised in the UK?