Yes, people who contact Council authorities about potholes are reporting problems, not congratulating them. But I doubt there is a silent majority of people that are highly satisfied by the quality of the roads! #bbcpm

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli... We are required to believe that Starmer was extraordinarily disinterested In Mandelson’s vetting, on repeated occasions. #wato

Ceramics and bricks are manufacturing, aren’t they? 🤷🏻‍♂️ #r4today

Well, it didn’t take long for Andy Marr’s quip to come true! #r4today

Andy Marr, on his show tonight, reminded us of an age old maxim for when PMs are caught with their pants down: “Deputy Heads must roll!” #bbcpm

Old fashioned real ale didn’t require external CO₂ - so will the energy shortage mean real ale will make a comeback? 🍺 #bbcpm

Can’t trust Glen Campbell‘s reporting - bit of a cowboy? 🤠 #bbcpm

Fair play to BBC In-Depth Team - this is a well written analysis of the need to find the balance between renewable and affordable energy for the UK. 👏👏 - very relevant to the energy shock we are experiencing today. #r4today www.bbc.com/news/article...

Perhaps Government is right to take a measured approach to social media management for young people. Australian evidence is that 2 out of 3 get round the outright ban. And their ban doesn’t include YouTube. Do young people need guidance for responsible use more than an ineffective ban? #r4today

In reality, we’ve been in stagflation lite for many months now. Especially with weak employment numbers added on top. Our inflation is 3 percent and growing, but GDP growth is unlikely to be 1 percent per year. Unemployment is 5% and that is a 5 yr high. That’s real term stagflation. #r4today

Raising interest rates would make no sense right now. Forthcoming inflation is primarily coming from energy costs, not discretionary spending. #r4today

Given that the UK's Defence Investment Plan (DIP) was originally due last autumn, it’s obvious that there is no buy-in to it from the Armed Forces, and that the MoD know it is insufficient. #wato

Can we hear from the Federation for Small Business (FSB)? They represent SMEs - who are 99 percent of all firms, 60 percent of employment and 50 percent of all revenue. I don’t think helping us requires reopening North Sea drilling. #r4today

People may be “less able to afford energy” with higher prices but that actually makes little difference to consumption ( price elasticity is about 0.2 for home energy). Instead the impact will be that people spend less on other things before they cut back on energy. #bbcpm

UK fares strikingly badly in second downgrade to economic growth

Is setting up a Defence vs. Welfare spending as a binary choice helpful framing? I don’t think so. It too easily converts to a Left vs. Right ideological fight rather than a genuine debate about a balanced hierarchy of needs. #wato

A reminder that US (amongst others) hosts the World Cup in just two months time. #r4today FIFA faces new crisis as SoFi Stadium workers in LA threaten strike action www.nytimes.com/athletic/718...

“Do schoolchildren get pudding in Sweden?” Is this really what you think matters to #bbcpm listeners, Evan?! 🤦🏻

Starmer may be talking a little tougher to Trump these days, but it isn’t reflected in the hard reality of economics. Last month, US doubled its global sales of jet fuel to its new largest customer….. the United Kingdom. Actions speak louder than words. #r4today

Last week, EU quietly watered down its methane rules on fossil fuel imports, in the name of securing supply. Ditte Jorgensen, Director General for Energy at European Commission, described it as providing more “flexibilities”. Source: FT #Greenwashing #r4today

I’m still digesting last week’s vehicle sales data. Four years ago, Chinese brands were 4 percent of new car registrations - it’s now fourteen percent. Low cost models from China are more affordable and feature-packed. Good news for the planet, but bad news for the UK motor manufacturers. #r4today

Waking up to hear of Rory’s win and Orban’s defeat - what a great start to the week! 🥳 #r4today

On a tube train - for once with no one blaring music from a speaker phone, no feet on seats. Everyone is quiet and respectful of others - what a treat. 👏

As you’re talking about bird feeding, why not advise people not to stop putting out bread? Missed opportunity. #r4today

I will be voting in the local elections on local issues- clue is in the title. #r4today

Is there a reason why the transport correspondent speaks to everyone as if they are children? #r4today

Trump says he is going to audit UK’s contribution to the Iran War. Sure - make sure you calculate the hike in our energy costs and we’ll send you an invoice. #r4today

When Our Defence Minister says “we see you” and threatens “serious consequences”, what would this be? Is the UK armed forces capable of such? Or this threat non-military? Or just empty? #bbcpm

Nathan Coe rather glossed over that new EV sales are nowhere near the 33 percent Government target for this year right now. It’s 23 percent at the moment. #r4today

Words you will never hear at an NHS Trust public meeting: “What data would you like to see, and how can we share it with you?” #ItsOurNHS

In the long term, this war damages Iran’s place in the Gulf. By attacking neighbours such as Qatar (traditionally better known as an interlocutor negotiator for peace between nations), they have lost trust and standing in the region. This will harden Gulf attitudes against them. #r4today

So I felt that UK economy already had a kind of stagflation lite, despite the over-optimistic claims of Reeves. Adding an oil shock on to a foolish NI hike, record taxes, rising borrowing and welfare costs make stagflation lite even harder to shake. #c4news

If Artemis has “gone to the Moon”, then have I “gone to Bristol” by driving thru it on the M32?! 😀 #r4today

A reminder that the government’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate requires 33% in 2026 (currently achieving 23%). #r4today

A rather over optimistic view of the EV market there from the industry analyst. To achieve the Govt target, it requires a c. 50 percent increase in share for EVs. In the current economic climate, and even with the government subsidies, that seems a big challenge. #r4today

Apparently there is no news. Off. #r4today

Arsenal should not feel bad about losing to Southampton - they would have lost to Man City again in the semis anyway. #FACup

As ever, I don’t think the cinnamon balls are gonna last very long. #pesach

Sending Charles III to the US is simply a piece of pageantry, and will make no long-term difference to anything. Our best hope of taming Trump is that the Democrats take control of Congress in the midterms. #r4today

The latest incarnation of Starmer is now to pivot back to the EU, even as our unelected King prepares to play footsie with Trump later this month. #r4today

Hegseth quoting Psalm 144, during his press briefing for the war, “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle.” #r4today

We all knew how Thatcherism sold off Council houses without using the funds to replace them. But I didn’t know that Blair built just 7,870 council houses across 13 years. At a time when interest rates were virtually zero. The combination of these two dynasties has given us today’s crisis. #bbcpm

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/m... I cannot recommend this enough. If you want to understand what went wrong with social housing and more importantly get up-to-date about how it can be recovered, the latest Observer Series 3 is a great primer 👏 #r4today

Brilliant piece in the FT yesterday (sorry I can’t share, it’s firewalled). It shows how China tackled Trump’s tariff war by selling intermediate goods (means not finished) to its regional neighbours who then completed the product and sold to US as theirs. China’s exports hit record highs. #r4today

The local elections are barely a month away. And the PM’s team has set the date for the Kings Speech, with its new legislation plan, the following week. That is a potentially embarrassing moment, if the votes show a huge rejection of Labour and its failing cost of living plan, as expected. #bbcpm

Many of us here may remember Robert Mueller - the former FBI Director and Special Counsel who led the investigation into Russian interference in 2016 US Election. He died recently, to which Trump wrote this. Unbelievable. Source: FT Obituary #r4today

A 14-day cooling off period for subscriptions - often which you forgot you had and auto-renewed - is a good step forward for consumer protection. 👍 #r4today

Resident Doctor is a curious term. It seems to refer to those still in clinical training for something else eg. as a consultant. I can understand why Junior Doctor implies a lack of qualification when they are actually qualified. I’m not convinced the public understands Resident though. #r4today

www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/... This just annoys me. Virtue signaling for an hour? It’s pathetic. In the same breath, European politicians have been watering down net zero commitments.