Amazingly, Zahawi only got round to deleting the below after the press conference announcing his defection to Reform.

Heard this week of someone tripping up and breaking their hip in Florida & the medical bills coming to $145,000. Also a 90+yr old up in court for stealing as she’d shoplifted her husband’s meds. They couldn’t afford insurance. We need to pay a little more tax to keep the huge benefits of the NHS.

Editorial in the National Catholic Reporter: "The vice president's comments justifying the death of Renee Good are a moral stain on the collective witness of our Catholic faith. His repeated attempts to blame Good for her own death are fundamentally incompatible with the Gospel."

The National Catholic Reporter publicly labeled JD Vance a “moral stain” on the Roman Catholic faith. The blistering piece went on to point out Vance's “twisted and wrongheaded view of Christianity” for inflaming tensions by maligning a woman killed by ICE rather than promoting healing.

Four years ago the Red Cross placed a refugee with us for emergency housing. He was a young Vietnamese man with nowhere to go, no shelter and no English. We had other people stay after him but he was lovely, would not take money and looked despairing and exhausted. One week end, a multicultural 1/4

Or as MrEST put it “only perverts are getting Grok to do this”.

Peace is not the absence of war; peace is not fear of repression; peace is not a balance of two powers based on terror. Peace is the fruit of justice; peace is the flower of love and justice in society —St Oscar Romero, Christmas Season 1978 #StOscarRomero

"Whatever messes can sometimes be thrown up in a world based on democratic self-determination, it is better, surely, than returning to the time when borders can be changed by force. If the world we’ve built since 1945 truly is passing, we will miss it when it’s gone." Feels relevant this morning.

I have to say that @deadder.bsky.social is one of my favorite political cartoonists. ❤️

The arrest of Greta Thunberg for peacefully opposing genocide and supporting those on hunger strike is wrongful and disturbing. This is yet another shocking example of the UK’s broad terrorism laws being used to target those exercising their right to freedom of expression and assembly rights.

Merry Christmas everyone. This is the most affirming, hopeful and beautiful story I've ever heard. BBC News - We invited a man into our home at Christmas and he stayed with us for 45 years www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Tomorrow evening it’ll be my annual duty to vaguely shepherd the activity on the #duvetknowitschristmas hashtag and urge people to give small sums to charity. 7.30pm? Something like that?

The best thing to have is enough.

Rob Reiner: “Silence in the face of authoritarianism is complicity. Speaking out is a patriotic act. Democracy doesn’t defend itself. It requires participation, vigilance, and courage from ordinary people."

this is not behavior becoming of a FIFA Peace Prize recipient.

Tommy Robinson and his far right goons are holding a carol service to honour the birth of a displaced Middle Eastern refugee who started a religion that explicitly emphasized a belief in universal love, peace and tolerance over earthly nations and division. Dimmer than broken Christmas tree lights

Innocent people end up in our criminal courts. Completely, terrifyingly innocent. And all that stands between them and losing everything is a fair trial. Politicians would do well to remember this when they tell us that justice is all about processing “criminals” swiftly.

Another excellent piece from @jonathanfreedland.bsky.social “If and when Donald Trump and those who serve him, and themselves, are eventually called to account, they will be confronted by that single word [corruption], in all its shades – and all its force.” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Walz on Trump calling him the r-word: "We all know both as an educator & parent that using that term is just so damaging. It's hurtful. We have fought 3 decades to get this out of our schools. Kids know better. But this is what Donald Trump has done. He's normalized this type of hateful behavior."

@womenedscotland.bsky.social #womenedwednesday

Does he even own a suit?

Jamal Khashoggi’s widow reacts to Trump's defense of the Saudi Crown Prince, who's accused of approving of her husband's murder. tinyurl.com/ybbny6yt

I came to this country as a child refugee. No English, no certainty, no idea what my life could become. Britain gave me refuge. Not on a timer, not with conditions attached, but with a chance to grow roots. A thread 🧵 1/8 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

At a rugby club in small-town Leicestershire. This was on the window ledge in the toilet. Fearing the worst, I scanned the QR & opened it in an incognito window… It’s a link to Amnesty International’s explainer on asylum & refugees 😍

@rgcceltic.bsky.social thought of you! Artist turns Glaswegian nostalgia into gallery art www.bbc.com/news/article...

Barely mentioned but that now notorious Trump Panorama *wasn’t made by the BBC* It was an indie production (as so much is) Even if was BBC, head of news or DG would wouldn’t have been involved in edits

This is the most abysmal, pathetic thing. The BBC head resigning because the corporation is not supine *enough* to the far-right.

🚨 BREAKING: Tesla shareholders just voted to make Elon Musk the world's first TRILLIONAIRE. Only the world’s biggest loser would would have the ability to end world hunger several times over and choose not to. Just tax billionaires. Duh. 📍 Tottenham, near Tesla's flagship London dealership

This poem from Whatever You Do, Just Don't is for anybody who's had to clear a house, who's found objects that must have had significance for someone no longer here to tell their story....

Come and join us at our networking event on Saturday 22nd of November at 10am. Broken crayons still colour … except you are not broken. www.eventbrite.com/e/womened-sc...

Don't let anyone convince you that your empathy is a weakness.

Jesus Christ. We go mad about one bloke we wrongly released, yet hear next to nothing about this horror? www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Great news in the Dutch election! https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq6z5e5y55eo

Every church should be doing this, and if your church isn’t, you’re at the wrong church.

It really is incredible how much money Trump’s offspring have made off his presidency. But I’m sure James Comer and House Oversight is looking into all of it exhaustively.

Crack on ladies 💜 @womenedscotland.bsky.social #womenedwednesday

*BONUS EPISODE: Putin v Poland* 🚀 A 30min deep dive into Putin's outrageous launch of drones into Poland, with @mrkennycampbell.bsky.social and geopolitics guru @snellarthur.bsky.social ❗'NATO's red line isn't red enough' 🎧 open.spotify.com/episode/7L63... 🍏 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/p...

@womenedscotland.bsky.social #womenedwednesday

"She did not die defending the Constitution. She died trying to overturn it. She was not protecting lives at a gate in Iraq; she was forcing her way through windows in the Capitol to stop the peaceful transfer of power." New from @markhertling.bsky.social:

I'm certain government ending a lot of short term prison sentences will enrage many. But I've never known anyone to work in or with a prison, in including an ex prison minister, who hasn't said that they are the wrong places for the vast majority of inmates.

“Tabloids tell us Connolly is lovely, ordinary, caring, a great Mum. But she wasn’t punished for any of that. She was punished for telling a mob it's okay to set fire to hotels full of people she sees as lesser. That she did it between a cuppa and walking the dog, makes it more chilling, not less.”

It's a tax "raid". When you or I pay our income tax it's just a tax. But when a fabulously wealthy millionaire who refuses to contribute to the country whose public services they use (and yes, they use roads, defence, police etc) it's a "raid". www.ft.com/content/8882...

⚡️Do NOT let Musk get his hands on British utilities. He’s applied for a license to supply energy here. ✍️ Tell Ofgem what you think about that: www.bestforbritain.org/petition-elo...

Thank you @bestforbritain.org Please support this actionbutton.nationbuilder.com/share/SPK-QE...