You don’t have to be called Steve or Stephen to work at Blackpool, but it does help.

Excellent from The New Yorker Radio hour. Fascinating to hear Hardy Merriman, an expert on civil resistance, talking about protests, boycotts, strikes, and nonviolent approaches—as being effective in the fight against democratic backsliding. #democracy #thenewyorker pca.st/episode/5b51...

Excellent read and very true. The dial is shifting (slowly) on Brexit. One day ….it may even be mentioned by BBC News as a bad idea. (Not holding my breath). #brexit

Superb thread #london

This is about as prescient as it gets. An incredible clip from Barry Goldwater in the 1960s talking about too much power vested in the office of US President. Sounding as if he is speaking now about #trump, Disney, Nexstar or Sinclair. substack.com/@thememoryho...

As much as it grieves me to say it, Tony Blair was right over 20 years ago on this issue. It foundered then on civil liberty concerns, but we live in a different world. And hand over data to companies all the time. It’s often cited in France as a reason why so many migrants head to the UK. Overdue.

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy sentenced to five years in prison. He will be expected to appeal so the sentence will be suspended initially. #sarkozy www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...

This has been one long running saga. Not to mention his other trials. Sarkozy found guilty of criminal conspiracy in Libya case but not other charges #sarkozy #paris www.lemonde.fr/en/politics/...

Sadiq Khan appears to get it. Ed Davey too. In politics today, the old ‘they go low, we go high’ routine is redundant. You have to fight fire with fire these days or you are damaged and sunk. And call out the racism you see. #sadiqkhan youtu.be/yGZrlEy46UE?...

A screeching U-turn from ABC in the US. A quite dreadful miscalculation last week. Let this be a line in the sand that is defended by media companies, and hope it’s a watershed moment for freespeech #kimmel #abc #freespeech www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

Amazed she was actually a patron. A little research would have indicated it was a risky move surely? There is previous… news.sky.com/story/duches...

Call me cynical but when a brand new political party without policies or members, manages to fall apart at the starting gate… I’m not sure there’s much future. Maybe it’s not so much ‘Yourparty’ as nobody’s party right now? #yourparty #corbyn www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

It’s a little galling to see Marcus #Rashford put such an effort in, and score 2 quite outstanding goals for #Barcelona. A quality player when he can bothered, which he rarely was for #ManchesterUnited in the last few years.

Goodness. Trump says the US is trying to get back the Bagram Air base in Afghanistan.

Fabulous manager he may be, but if you dish it out to fans over the years, expect some back occasionally and don’t whinge... #simeone

No surprise perhaps that ABC in the US has caved to Trump, it has happened before. But where are the checks and balances in the US system that halt abuse of power or threats to broadcasters? Seemingly absent across the political spectrum. #kimmel latenighter.com/news/heres-w...

Did I really hear the BBC DG Tim Davie say that ‘Eurovision has never been about politics’…? Hmm. #eurovision

GB News asked me on to discuss the views of Arthur Laffer. We ended up discussing the role of GB News in spreading misinformation and inciting anti-immigrant sentiment. youtu.be/44kozl7GZp0?...

Baffled that Peter Mandelson was appointed given his history of doing the wrong thing and getting fired. It seemed reckless. Also seems that all info about his Epstein days may not have been on the table…. Surely he won’t be the last to fall because of his association with #epstein #mandelson

Le Marais, #paris

‘I have bought a house in Clacton’ #Farage once said. But did he?

Nothing odd or unusual to see here….

This is being covered like it’s watergate. However she is guilty of being a self made, northern, working class woman so she should expect no mercy… #rayner

Amazing how rare it is in the UK that #Farage gets asked firm and fair questions.

I’m no real fan of Erik Ten Hag after his madcap time at Manchester Utd. (The money wasted on duds, lack of game plan, midfield etc.) But even I think the sack after 2 league games is ridiculous #leverkusen #tenhag www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

He looks and sounds angry. Rightly so, but he’s the manager who has spent money, has a pricey new forward line, a decent pre-season. Buck stops with #amorim and his tactical inflexibility. #manutd youtu.be/OHpbN4Cf5oE?...

Why does the #eurostar from London fail to cope when there are more than two busy trains? Near panic when (with people queuing for 30 mins) they flashed up ‘gate closing’. It may be automatic but minimal staff around to help. All were gathered near ticket barriers. Useless. Time for competition

I wouldn’t say no to a short term loan deal for Adrien Rabiot. He comes with (extra) baggage and they’ve tried before. But he has experience, energy and the power that Utd are needing + Marseille are looking for a swift exit. #manutd #marseille

Who would have thought socks and sandals would be fashionable. So British. Knotted hanky on head next?

A modern day Mandela surely….?

Aussie unions don’t beat around the bush.

I can see this going down well in the White House. Tariffs will be waved around. #f35 www.reuters.com/business/aer...

Not entirely accurate for BBC News to include the fires in Tarifa, Spain, in a report about climate change causing such fires. The ones in southern France yes, but authorities in Andalucia are saying it was a camper van that was alight. #bbcnews #tarifa #climatechange amp.elmundo.es/andalucia/20...

Hoping this quells. Fabulous area and one of my favourite Andalucian beaches #tarifa

Always amazed at the broadcasters who have this man on for an interview about Jeffrey Epstein. nymag.com/intelligence...

A welcome development.

A welcome development.

So disappointed in Joe Schmidt, he has lost a lot of fans. His team were outplayed, conceded 18 points in the second half and yet he chooses to focus/ distract on a marginal call, criticise referees and whinge. #lions #rugbyaustralia #Schmidt f24.my/BLGn

And that’s why we love sport. Incredible contest. Aussies magnificent, Lions heroic #lions #rugby

why does every picture of tulsi gabbard make her look like a third rate sci-fi channel villain from some show that airs after 11PM

This really says it all. substack.com/@thememoryho...

Getting more interesting by the day … the files won’t be released I’m guessing, but this fire will take a lot of extinguishing #epstein

Did I see a dead cat land on the table? Thing is… we’ve seen so many it doesn’t really shock any more? In fact it’s now expected #deadcat

The aeropress is so good, I own more than one of the old ones. #coffee #aeropress apple.news/Ak-8dX1ydQgq...

It is simply horrific. Not withstanding the deaths/ murder of ten of thousands of men, women and children in Gaza, this is horrible reading. The world owes so much to journalists in Gaza for constantly highlighting the utter brutality of the situation. www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250721-afp...

I appreciate it's cliche and pointless to note this, but I don't think that six months into her term a hypothetical President Kamala Harris would be suing MSNBC, Bill Gates and The Guardian for reporting on her close personal friendship with a paedophile.

The phrase ‘be careful what you wish for’ springs to mind. Heaping more attention on this issue for Trump and possibly unlocking more evidence? #wsj #epstein

The US is realising that the checks and balances in their political systems may be inadequate. That they depend to a large extent on players abiding by rules and conventions. This is indeed a dark turn. #colbert #cbs

Does Israel really want an unstable Syria on its doorstep? Either this a backdrop or the TV studios are at the Umayyad sahet, at the heart of Damascus. It’s like attacking Trafalgar Square. Highly provocative surely? #syria #dimasq #umayyad news.sky.com/story/israel...

This won’t go down well … ‘Can you hear the people sing?’