Amidst all the misery, some really great news.

In amongst all the excitement I fear many have missed this outstanding bit of trolling by Friedrich Merz. The Chancellor gifted Trump a gilded framed copy of his grandfather’s German birth certificate... reminding Americans that Trump is both the child and grandchild of migrants.

🕊️ 50 years ago, Britain chose Europe. The 1975 referendum showed that hope, not fear, can win. We can choose it again. ⤵️

I had a simple question: Has President Trump increased has net worth since taking the White House? And if so, by how much? The answer was more surprising than I anticipated. Simply put, he has more than doubled his net worth in 4 months. Here's how:

This sentence feels so taboo. It's liberating to hear it said. 'The future goal of British policy cannot forever be to satisfy the purported and unstated motivations behind a decade-old referendum result.' mailings.cer.eu/insights/eur...

They found a forgotten photo album from WWI in a Norwich attic. This emotional gift linked past to present during a heartfelt twinning cultural exchange in Rouen. Discover the story behind the century-old images and their journey home | Sarah Patey @eastangliabylines.co.uk @sarahjop.bsky.social

Neither Labour nor the Conservatives use First Past the Post for their own elections (at least until they reach the final two). They rightly feel that it would be ridiculous to have a leader supported by only 23-24% of the party. Yet they insist on this nonsense for mayoral elections.

Politics isn’t just scandal and shouting matches. Most of it is slow, technical, and absolutely vital – like making sure our laws actually work. Here's what the government’s been quietly up to. Stephen McNair reports.

“Half of antidepressant users see no benefit. Relapse rates hit 80% after ceasing medication. A new generation of treatments is on the horizon – led by the work of Dr Ayla Selamoglu at Cambridge University.” Psychedelic medicine, explained 👇

Removing trade barriers with the EU should be the UK priority.

And not one single mention of the largest trading partner sitting on our doorstep with whom it would be easy to increase trade. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Manuela Perteghella MP writes… Children with autism, especially girls, are too often overlooked and misunderstood. It's time for a system that recognises and supports their needs.

Absolutely amazing that a 10-year-old wrote this!! Good for her, it's absolutely lovely. ❤️ Do have a quick read. 👇

"To me the world can look scary. Like for example going to the supermarket. There are lots of people in there, loud noises, bright lights and not knowing what is around the next aisle. It can make me have a sensory overload, and causes me to have a meltdown." She's 10 - and wrote this. Respect.

We bring you this fantastic article from @northwestbylines.co.uk World Autism Awareness Day is 2 April, and we explore what autism is and how understanding of the condition has improved over the years #AutismAcceptance northwestbylines.co.uk/news/health/...

The welfare reforms included in Rachel Reeves’ spring statement have caused anguish among disabled people, charities & the Labour Party. Prof @richardjmurphy.bsky.social has identified 30 simple changes to the tax system. Just one of them could raise sums needed without breaking Labour’s promises.

Fascinating graph that I’ve never seen before - govt spending vs tax for age groups from the FT

I know the right wing media finds it all very difficult so, in an attempt to be helpful, this is what an actual interference with free speech looks like.

I agree, I do really think the seemingly most painful way of reset is long-term the optimal one for the UK, ie rejoin as full members. I set out some of the obstacles for doing so in this @eastangliabylines.co.uk piece: eastangliabylines.co.uk/news/brexit/... but I think it is still the right move.

👇👇

An excellent resource

@privateeyenews.bsky.social on top form as usual this issue.

Cartoon by successpictures.

Banksy did it again.

On 15 March 1939 Hitler and his deputy summoned the Czech President to Hitler’s residence in Berlin and then bullied him to submitting to a German invasion of his country. They drove him to the point of physical collapse, threatening him until he eventually signed his country’s death warrant.

“Let me give you a news flash: it is highly doubtful that the Supreme Court is going to defend Democracy.” An American writes about what is really happening in his country. @guyanthonyayres.bsky.social with an urgent and moving message.

Libraries are vanishing – but Essex fought back. Now, they're evolving into vibrant community hubs for the 21st century. There have been 800 library closures nationally since 2010 – nearly a fifth of the total. In Essex, however, vigorous public campaigning stopped it. ❤️🙌

Why does it feel as if our shared reality is under assault – twisted by propaganda, ideology and manufactured doubt? | Guy Chapman eastangliabylines.co.uk/opinion/the-...

On the streets of Brussels I encountered numerous little plaques in front of doorways. They commemorate the Jewish families who were taken from their homes and murdered by Nazis. Never forget no matter how many lies Elon Musk tells.

I doubt any Troll here who’s trying to smear ⁦Keir Starmer about decade-old events will be interested to read these pages from my book about his record prosecuting rape gangs. But he’s done more to bring them to justice than Farage, Yaxley-Lennon - or Musk -will ever do.

A “youth mobility” deal is merely one of 13 recommendations from a BCC report on how to fix the TCA. Agreed by both sides in December 2020 when Britain left the EU, it has led more than 16,000 small biz to quit trade with the bloc entirely, according to recent research by @cep-lse.bsky.social. /3

Ah, thank you. Saw it and wondered.

Messing about on the river can bring moments of sheer joy and surprise as @liamcalvert.bsky.social found out...

Myth, music and mystery: going to church at Christmas eastangliabylines.co.uk/lifestyle/cu... A lyrical piece in praise of Christmas.

I did it. I just deleted my Twitx account. Feels good.

At last an article about immigration that quotes the facts and figures without some political bias

🇬🇧 farmers are desperate to be set free of the red tape gumming up trade with our biggest market I told the Indy. Brexit has delivered all pain with no gain for exporters and importers. 1/3 www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

"Having him in the Royal Society seemed such a contradiction of all the values of the Royal Society. And I didn’t really want to have anything to do with it.” Huge respect for Prof Dorothy Bishop, given Musk's avid promotion of vaccine conspiracy theories. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

You'll find plenty of editing expertise here: www.ciep.uk/directory.html

Quite. This is who the loophole closure is aimed at.

This is a potential good news story. Let's share it far and wide.

Here it is - my takeaways from Trump’s appointments so far. It’s not just “not good”, which most of us expected already. It’s far, far worse. bylinetimes.com/2024/11/14/d...

Thank goodness for the @bylinesnetwork.bsky.social

Tax the “52%” - you broke it you bought it

So we’ve a £22bn ‘budget blackhole’ and we have this…. 🙄

Is it any wonder? When pompous dullwits like this get their opportunistic mitts on power and use it to peddle bullshit populism… then get rewarded for life despite their abject failure… A country downgraded by the prejudice, arrogance, stupidity and unearned privilege this man represents.

Not enough people know there’s a difference between the Bylines Network and Byline Times… Here’s a little summary. Please watch and share. 👇