Dictionary of our times: If a "party boob" is a breast unexpectedly visible while the other stays covered, and a "party foul" is when something accidently breaks or spills at a gathering, then “party politics” is a bunch of boobs making a mess that nobody wants to clean up.

All the (remaining) democracies should be doing this in the schools. apnews.com/article/fake...

How’s this Nobel Peace Prize thing coming along?

This is the danger of having a leader who is utterly shameless - there is no way he can comprehend hypocrisy - this is what we will get if Farage wins , which is why we need strong opposition that is not obedient to Farage’s talking points

Nothing more MASCULINE than attacking reproductive rights - like watching a body builder crack open their walnuts with their fist

Former Deputy Head of Dulwich College Confirms Nigel Farage Racism Comments

I'm so struck by the lack of outcry or even interest in the Palestine Action prisoners on hunger strike. Particularly strange that Guardian & BBC won't cover it. Good on Observer for covering, Zarah Sultana & Mothin Ali for visiting. #palestineaction #hungerstrike observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

Science needs the arts.

The allocation of 12 additional days for the Assisted Dying Bill should hopefully mean we can finally move past the threat of filibustering. The House of Lords is at its best when it scrutinises, not when it obstructs.

Yesterday’s investiture was the first for ‘services to the non-religious’. Surely a welcome sign of the increasing inclusion of non-religious people in our national life, and a validation of the collective effort of so many in the humanist movement to achieve that recognition.

Farage on Jewish former classmate: "Suddenly after 49 years they seem to have perfect recollection." I was bullied at school and remember the names and faces of those boys. I could pick them out in court. That was 53 years ago.

Whenever I have been employed the contract stated that, if I broke the rules, I would be dismissed without compensation. Yet Lord Dannatt stays in his apartment at the Tower of London and four months holiday before returning to govern us? Even the Tories must realise how putrid this is.

I do not usually suggest petitions but, in the UK, this is important. 38d.gs/3fme

Robbie Gibb was appointed to the BBC Board by Boris Johnson, was an editorial advisor for GB News, and worked as Theresa May's Director of Comms. He is not impartial or neutral. The government should remove him from the Board immediately to protect the BBC's independence.

Which one is more English?

At long last they get a tiny slap on the wrist ... www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...

Three @theguardian.com books cartoons from previous halloweens: 1. Haunted Bookshop

‘ICE agent’ asks Black cop if he’s Haitian after being pulled over for driving drunk with his children in the car This should not be a surprise. www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/ice-... www.local10.com/news/local/2...

Given that it’s Halloween, here are some haiku horrorscopes.

In 2024, UK’s big four banks HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, & National Westminster made £45.9bn profit. Since 2021/22 profit margins up by 21%. 2022 -2024: Big four banks paid £124bn in dividends, £32bn in share buybacks. They oppose possible tax increase, publish misleading tax numbers. Tax them.

This is the news that the right wing media will ignore: "Borders chief can’t name a way Brexit has helped UK control its borders" Martin Hewitt, said he did ‘not immediately’ have an answer. The Independent. Friday 17 October 2025 14:38 BST.

Brilliant journalism as always from @carolecadwalla.bsky.social & @thenerve.news This needs amplifying. Perhaps @ZackPolanski.bsky.social could give it volume on Kuenssberg tomorrow, as he did during #bbcqt Who else is on? Bring it up. Force it into the discussion if necessary!

Australia has passed a Bill that will limit the total spending on a party by billionaires like Elon Musk to Just $50,000 This will ban billionaires from single-handedly buying Elections in Australia.

GenAI still can't count. It's ironic that it's called 'computation' and tragedy that it's called 'information technology'

Bit worrying , now that Starmer has finally recognised Palestine , he’s unable to recognise his own citizens.

Thinking about this piece from 2024 today...

I was back at 26 Federal Plaza today, where an ICE agent violently threw this bereft woman to the ground in front of her kids. She had not touched him. She did not pose any threat. She had to be taken to the hospital. (🎥: Elias Eliahu)

Human rights defender Greta Thunberg: "I am not scared of Israel, I am scared of a world that has seemingly lost all sense of humanity. What we are doing here is trying to show there is some humanity left. That there are still people willing to step up when all other means fail." #3E

Trump's own people at UN? 1) An escalator used by Donald Trump abruptly stopped because of a safety mechanism that may have been triggered by his videographer, the UN has said. 2) A UN official told the BBC the White House was operating the teleprompter at the time. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Where I live in London, churches and synagogues sit side by side with mosques and same-sex couples walk arm in arm in the streets. Doesn't look much like sharia law to me.

I am aware that things like this may well annoy only me

Here’s a poem called ‘English Roundabouts’.

Sky News says police are "overwhelmed by the numbers". Met coped perfectly well with 2x as many at the pro-Gaza rally, 5x as many at the anti-Brexit march, and 15x as many at London Pride. They're not overwhelmed by the numbers. They're overwhelmed by the ratio of violent thugs in those numbers.

Barclays Bank's CEO tells govt to cut wages of public sector workers instead of taxing banks. Wants to cut wages of doctors, nurses, teachers, cleaners, drivers, cooks, security guards to give more to bankers. Wage rises inflationary apparently but CEO pay, dividends aren't. archive.ph/yTGN7

“I just exchanged contracts on a house that [sic] I’ll be living there.” Repeats, “I’ve bought a house in Clacton.” Farage clearly stated he has a beneficiary interest in the property. If he provided the purchase costs, then he is the deemed owner - _exactly_ as Rayner was - and owes stamp duty.

This was a pleasant diversion on a Sunday. The UK paper 'The Observer: observer.co.uk/culture/phot...

ask Nigel about #FarageTax Farage put his Clacton house in to his girlfriend Laure's name, avoiding tens of thousands of pounds like Rayner. But he won’t tell you that.

Well-known Gibraltar trust fund aficionado Nadhim Zahawi is now having a go at Angela Rayner for tax evasion. You couldn't make this stuff up.

Another real story: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Sacked, Expelled, or in the Dock: All the Reform UK Councillors Nigel Farage Has Lost in Just Four Months bylinetimes.com/2025/09/02/s...

Promotes freedom of speech then refuses to speak to local press. Nottingham Reform off to a solid start. www.nottinghampost.com/news/news-op...

I am bemused that even The Guardian has joined the 'Sally Rooney could be arrested under Terrorism Act after pledging royalties to Palestine Action' [18th Aug]. She is an Irish citizen, living in Ireland. If the UK govt don't want her to visit, I'm sure that she can oblige.

To those who also know me in facebook: Their computer reported anomolies on my account and then did not like my the response to an automated demand. Forget the details as fb has now permanently deleted everything about my account. I may, or may not, start again!

Why is Lindsay Hoyle allowed to police himself 🥴 ?

As end-of-empire scenarios go it is so much more dignified to get your capital city sacked by the Visigoths than to have a bunch of illiterate rich people in their 70s doing it through a series of incomprehensible tantrums because their brains were defeated by their phones.

Resident doctors pay hundreds of thousands of pounds for six years of medical school and then get below-inflation pay rises. Then television presenters on six-figure salaries tell them they're 'greedy'.

🚨 Wow! Over 13,600 people have joined our call to ban donations to MPs from private healthcare-linked sources! Join this step towards public trust + add your name or share with a friend today! 🎉 🖊️ bit.ly/HealthNotWea... #HealthNotWealth

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt owes $326,370.50 in the aftermath of her failed 2022 congressional campaign, according to a new disclosure filed with the Federal Election Commission. I think it is collection time! www.yahoo.com/news/article...

The House of Lords gives peers £342 a day just for clocking on. A 10-hour shift as a resident doctor pays just £175.