Times reports on far right support of Restore Britain. Report did not mention that Steve Laws - vocal racist advocate of 'total remigration' of all minorities from UK - is a party member, not just urging support. Party refuses to set any racism boundary for members www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

Latest post looks at why Putin persist with a failed strategy against Ukraine, and why he needs Russia’s current, struggling offensive to succeed this year (£/free trial), open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/p...?

Nigel Farage tells The Sun's Harry Cole that Elon Musk offered to give Reform loads of money "if we said certain things" and he refused. "I can't be bought." Two things: 1. This is an allegation of attempted bribery. Very serious. 2. It shows the obvious: donors expect something for their money.

Must we keep holding our politicians to such impossible standards?

I think there may be a lesson in there about stating overly ambitious and specific objectives. The efforts to demilitarise Ukraine have turned it into one of the most militarised nations in the world, along with ‘forcing’ it to become a (the?) leading centre for military drone technology.

Happy London Marathon Day and congratulations to all those competing. I’m not doing it myself this year but as a sub-three hour Marathoner, here are some top tips to make your day go gangbusters. 1. Treat yourself to a brand new pair of running shoes as a treat for your feet.

Is the full extent of the current crisis appreciated? Not just the coming economic hit but also the impact of Trump’s erratic behaviour. All allies are adjust to US incompetence. Latest post argues this makes increased defence spending more urgent. (£/free trial), open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...?

This. Wells & refineries aren’t like light switches to be turned on/off at a moment’s notice. Oil companies will want a period of peace before they fire up wells again. A few filled tankers might make the journey during a ceasefire, but need more certainty than currently the case for full flows

“Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain face near-total export shutdowns, suffering major revenue losses and infrastructure damage estimated at over $25 billion.” Over 60% of Iraq’s GDP is from oil exports. www.ogj.com/general-inte...

Orban concedes defeat. The support of Trump, Vance, Putin, Lavrov, Weidel, Milei, Le Pen, Fico, Babis and many others could not overcome Hungarian anger at a stagnant, corrupt regime www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...

“This war confirmed…the folly of focusing on how much the enemy is being hurt rather than on whether political objectives are close to being met.” I’m not sure Trump & Hegseth- a rank amateur steeped in the illusion that he has a divine right to bring Iran to heel - are capable of understanding this

Hungary's election on Sunday may well be the most important European vote this year. @ecfr.eu's New Politics Project is following it closely. ecfr.eu/npp

Picture of the century. 😍 📷 credit: Science Tube

1. Extracted oil is owned by the oil companies, not the UK, and is sold at market price 2. The UK takes ~80% in tax on the oil 3. The UK NS is around 90% dead - it doesn’t move oil prices 4. Extracting more NS oil only increases tax receipts, jobs So, no, you wouldn’t get cheaper energy

“We have Complete and Total Regime Change”- hence the reason the ayatollah’s son is governing the country with the support of the IRGC, and Iran is still firing missiles across the Middle East. PS: probably best not to announce upcoming war crimes on social media.

How to end a war: picking out the signal from the noise. It’s curious that Trump still thinks there’s a solely military solution to bring Iran to heel. Also curious that Trump thinks he can simply walk away, as if ignoring physical oil in the SoH doesn’t affect US oil prices & the US’s global trade.

A depressing, and no-doubt heartfelt piece. I’ve never understood the hatred toward Jewish people beyond some vague paranoia about ruling the world and the suggestion that Jewish = pro Israel gov. This ‘acceptable’ racism should be stamped out just as racism based on skin colour is.

Some of the more technical aspects of the problems with halting oil production. Much of the stuff found in oil reservoirs is great at corroding equipment, and the geology gets troublesome. It’s not just an on/off tap, and new stuff can take months to replace and commission 🧵

A Brief History of People Have Lost Their Sense of Humour 🧵

#iran #iranwar #hormuz www.rystadenergy.com/insights/oil...

Trump is saying this now because he's angry that other NATO members aren't doing what he wants. But there are also medium- and longer-term questions about NATO's viability that everyone needs to face up to. 🧵

🫡

UK food inflation heading towards 10% due to Iran war, industry says www.reuters.com/business/uk-...

If ‘the hard part is done’ why not finish the ‘easy’ part, given it’s crippling the world economy?

Europe providing practically all aid to Ukraine, while Trump is just making a complete mess of the Middle East.

Iran summary. A US president living in an alternate reality, a Secretary of defence who acts like a disgruntled junior officer. The US can pound Iran all day, but as long as Iran maintains enough missiles to block the Strait it continues to hold the world economy over a barrel (no pun intended).

Somebody just told Badenoch that North Sea oil is sold on the market at market prices.

If you’re interested in the military and geopolitical sides of Ukraine and Iran, you could do a lot worse than sign up to @ldfreedman.bsky.social ‘s (and Sam’s for domestic policy) very regular newsletters/blogs. Essential to making sense of the seeming chaos. Less than the price of a pint.

Wonderful that @faberbooks.bsky.social are releasing an updated editn #AnitaLaskerWallfisch’s memoirs, #InheritTheTruth. Now 101, Anita is the last survivor of the enforced women’s orchestra of Auschwitz, which we shld all know about. (See also the excellent grp history by @annesebba.bsky.social)

Strange situation we’re in where the health of the US (and world) economy is largely dictated by what Iran says and does, and the US president *really* doesn’t have a response. Art of the deal™️

A better world is possible 🐱 🐶 #Caturday

Perhaps I’ve got brain fog, but can someone explain to me what this actually means? I think I know what they’re trying to say, but what does ‘speculation not final’ mean? Ignore speculation - ok Decision on meeting not final - ok Speculation not final - wot Bothering me more than it should do.

Good piece that cuts a fairly broad swath about what Iran/Hormuz means for the UK (& poorer countries). I don’t think many Brit appreciate how hard this crisis will hit the UK - it isn’t just another far away conflict & the gov would do well to tell the public times may be tough, before it’s blamed.

So, about those Eid prayers in London... "What's the highest thing in Trafalgar Square?" "Nelson's column, innit?" "And the highest thing on the column?" "Nelson." "And on Nelson?" "His hat." "And the highest thing on his hat?" "That bit that sticks up." 1/8

“I grew up in an oil-rich country so I know a thing or two about the extraction and economics of O&G” You’d think reading the 2014 Wood Review (which the Cons commissioned) would put this tiresome debate to bed.

Ossoff’s line of questioning isn’t difficult to follow, yet Gabbard seems lost. Last year Iran’s nuclear programme was obliterated? Yes They’ve made no attempt to rebuild? No Why is the White House saying this war is about an imminent Iranian nuclear threat then? Errrrr…….

This is excellent. Absolutely scandalous that GB News essentially has a licence to spread misinformation like this without OFCOM stepping in. www.thenewworld.co.uk/the-gb-news-...

The AI bubble is a big deal, and its crash will sink the economy, and it's not complicated despite what some folks try to tell you deanbaker22.substack.com/p/the-ai-bub...

Francis Fukuyama on Trump: "The world has become a very dangerous place because the most powerful country is under the control of a ten-year-old boy. That boy discovered a flamethrower in his parents’ backyard and is now enjoying the ability to burn things up with it."

How to maintain friends… Slap tariffs on them Threaten with annexation Openly criticise leaders Have them pay for Ukraine weapons Start a war without a plan, a specific reason or objective, be flippant Say you don’t need them Say if they don’t help dire things will happen Beneath contempt.

Almost like it was a mistake to alienate all of our allies with idiotic trade wars, and then launch an actual hot war where we needed their help gcaptain.com/trump-calls-...

“Top Trump officials acknowledged to lawmakers during recent classified briefings that they did not plan for the possibility of Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz in response to strikes” edition.cnn.com/2026/03/12/p...

I understand the need for positive spin, I doubt I’ll ever understand this

How it started ... How it's going

This might be the greatest split-screen ever broadcast. They’ll play this in museums in future. (🎥 LCI 🇫🇷)

Trump: All of the people that died through the roadside bombs. Died and are right now walking around with no legs.