To wish you all a Merry Christmas, here's a seasonal poem I wrote about ten years ago

Oh wow, that's awkward. #Gullis

For all the focus on its supposed “left wing bias”, the BBC’s heavy coverage of Rachel Reeves Budget "lies" shows how its political coverage is still largely led by the right-wing press bylinetimes.com/2025/12/01/r...

Lying in politics is wrong and should never be rewarded, says newspaper which pays Boris Johnson £1 million a year to be its star columnist

This was a botched Budget by a Chancellor who’s diagnosed the disease but won’t administer the cure. Despite promises to cut the cost of living and grow the economy, the Government still refuses to fix our trade relationship with Europe and repair the £90bn Brexit black hole.

Having Johnson & Cummings in Downing Street when Covid struck was, just like Brexit, an entirely avoidable disaster caused largely by utterly appalling journalism. And now exactly the same clowns, arses & bigots with bylines are rolling out the red carpet for Farage. www.thetimes.com/article/1b15...

There is allegedly a left democratic progressive party in power. They are not just suffering this stupid racist bullshit, they are promoting it and are morally bankrupt

It's always the ones you most expect... www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

My balcony geraniums, planted in the spring, flowered in May and still flowering today as the first snow of the winter fell in Munich

The people who make Shein's clothes labor for ten to twelve hours per day (in violation of China's labor laws), some up to seven days a week, and earn as little as 15 to 30 cents per t-shirt.

www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-... I have to say: I am really *not* shocked

Catherine Lucey from Bloomberg was called Piggy by Trump yesterday. His misogyny knows no bounds.

Quiet, piggy.

Net migration to the UK has fallen fast - down by more than 60% from the peak -and is set to fall further. "Good news" politically? Maybe. But likely bad news for the economy and public finances.. (1/3) www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I’ve lived here nearly 18 years. No government has had the courage to stand up to racism

🚨🚨 " The BBC is far from perfect but it remains the most trusted news source in the world. To live up to its promises, it needs more independence, not less. More secure funding, not less. It needs to be set free, not shackled; defended, not attacked." Great stuff by @chrischirp.bsky.social

It's hard to find the words to react to Shabana Mahmood's policy on asylum seekers announced today. But thankfully this should show why her position isn't tenable: the world is as dangerous as it was when she was in opposition. Her change of position is career orientated. bsky.app/profile/padd...

🚨 The BBC’s Road to Appeasement As the BBC comes under growing criticism for its coverage of Reform, we republish @adambienkov.bsky.social and @baghdaddi.bsky.social’s 2024 investigation into how the corporation's leadership became cowed by the right www.bylinesupplement.com/p/the-bbcs-r...

I very much enjoyed taking part in this. Panorama made a stupid mistake, allowing mortal enemies - some of whom are inside the BBC - a chance to advance their agendas.

Been back to my childhood village in Essex for a funeral. High Street is littered with tatty flags attached to every lamp post and telegraph pole, and by God, it looks awful. Everyone I spoke to hates them. So intimidating. Apparently- "Epping Forest council is scared of offending the nasties."

Iraq War veteran Tom Mossey at No Kings protest today in Washington DC: “I didn’t deploy three times [to Iraq and Afghanistan] for this bullshit.”

Meet Nadia Sass. This is the wife of the man who bribed Nathan Gill. Today @thenerve.news reveals how she was a key part of the Kremlin operation that targeted not just Gill but at least 2 other MEPs and a member of the House of Lords. thenerve.news/p/nathan-gill-… 2/

#BBCQT Always bring the receipts.

Man who hates everything else about Britain hates our schools too. Hardly news.

It is demented that on the same day Kemi BadEnoch declared English degrees worthless and Nick Clegg declared the entire AI industry reliant on royalty & copyright free access to all text written ever.

The "us" in this absurd statement is conservative white people

the world upside down I agree with MTG.

"15 years ago, Polish workers came here to find opportunity. Now Poland is growing twice as fast as we are," says Kemi Badenoch. Any ideas what may have happened in the interim?

Thorough, important, and gripping journalism. Please take time to read.

Maidin mhaith www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

It's The Day of German Unity today, and I for one will be heading for the #Oktoberfest a bit later. Here's a poem I wrote three years ago.

Why are this Labour government quite so poor at messaging on migration?

A new poem, Sorrow

The true sign of patriotism for prospective prime ministers at the next election will be to post an AI-generated image of themselves draped in poppies and flags, with their finger on an imaginary nuclear button and a tagline saying ‘I would. Would they?’

They should do it anyway for the environmental benefits.

I am very happy to have made a contribution to the Action on Armed Violence website, in the form of a poem I wrote almost 12 years ago, describing experiences I had in Gaza and Iraq, and the murder of Lee Rigby. aoav.org.uk/2025/nbh-a-j...

This is a music station by the way. A couple mins of news every half hour or so. A station you listen to to hide away from news. But even here, you get these vicious little snippets of hatred towards refugees, leaking out from the broader BBC output.

“Establishing the BBC's independence is critical if we want to build confidence in shared facts and respect for the truth".

Not even 9am. So far on Radio 6, the news bulletins have featured a mother saying her daughters aren't safe because of asylum seekers, a Tory politician lambasting Labour for crossing numbers & Badenoch encouraging councils to lodge legal challenges against hotels. An endless stream of hateful bile.

🔴Keir Starmer’s Government Still Hasn’t Reviewed Use of Musk’s X Despite Platform ‘Amplifying Hate Speech and Misinformation’ Downing Street refuses to explore alternative platforms, like Bluesky, despite the role of X in last summer’s violent disorder bylinetimes.com/2025/07/31/k...

I have had a long and varied journalistic career... This was a moment that gave me some satisfaction...

🔴 New research reveals the best attack lines to use against Reform 👇👇

Watch @EdDavey.LibDems.org.uk call out the BBC for their failure to hold Nigel Farage to account.

I have been looking through my old sketchbooks... I did these oil pastels of Lake Como in 2009... I am a different person with a different life now.

🔴Reform UK’s ‘Children’s Book Bans’ Could Open The Floodgates for Censorship The party that claims to champion “free speech” is now trying to crack down on books whose messages they disagree with, reports @katiedd.bsky.social bylinetimes.com/2025/07/08/r...

Funny. I would have expected the "Free Speech Union" and the other self-proclaimed defenders of free expression to be all over this. But 🦗🦗🦗 How strange. www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-arre...

I have been saying (and writing for @bylinetimes.bsky.social ) for four years that Robbie Gibb should not be on the BBC Board... he is not impartial and has exerted a malign hard-right influence throughout his career. www.theguardian.com/media/2025/j...

“Starmer's EU deal is a big break in the suffocating Brexit consensus that has held Britain back for a decade. For the first time a UK government is doing things to actually undo the damage of Brexit, rather than increase it. For that alone it should be welcomed” 👏 bylinetimes.com/2025/05/19/k...