Chris
christ36.bsky.social
Chris
@christ36.bsky.social
Retired. Old Gay. Brighton & Hove . Centrist, social liberal but fiscally more conservative . Dogs, conservation, gardening, books, fine wine, single malt whisky
Hypnotits is on @skynews again talking absolute fiscally illiterate boll*x again .

He’s Mad Lizzy in a k-hole
February 18, 2026 at 7:26 PM
Someone posted this on X . Made me chuckle
February 18, 2026 at 4:24 PM
Good 👍

Palestine Action activists to face retrial over break-in

www.thetimes.com/article/8a68...
Palestine Action activists face retrial over defence firm break-in
The six protesters had been acquitted of charges over a raid on the factory of Elbit Systems
www.thetimes.com
February 18, 2026 at 11:05 AM
1 in 5 young men in UK don’t have a job . Youth unemployment is now higher here than the EU average . AI is about to wipe out millions of jobs .

Increasing the minimum wage for young people to the same level as “adult” workers would be bonkers . As would increasing employment rights #r4today
February 18, 2026 at 7:58 AM
US State Dept formally confirms support for UK “surrender deal” (sic) on Chagos Islands, in massive blow for Farage, the Tories and right wing media #R4today
February 18, 2026 at 7:09 AM
With youth unemployment at 17% and higher than the EU average, it obviously makes sense not to equalise the minimum wage for young people with older workers .

However, this will be yet another u-turn on a manifesto promise . What a mess . Again #R4today
February 18, 2026 at 6:46 AM
Bet Stephen Kinnock is delighted to be the one who drew the short straw to do the media round this am . He’s actually doing well in v difficult circumstances #r4today
February 17, 2026 at 7:55 AM
Must be very tempting for any decent hardworking Labour (or Tory) councillor who didn’t think they were facing an election in 3 months time, but are now expecting to lose to
the appalling populist hard right Reform/hard left Greens, to just throw in the towel #r4today
February 17, 2026 at 7:52 AM
Starmer is right to raise defence spending to 3% by 2029.

This will however cost circa £15 billion a year, equivalent to 2p on income tax. Or significant cuts to public spending. The small
welfare cuts Starmer u-turned on last year would only have raised £ 5 billion pa.

Hard choices #r4today
February 16, 2026 at 7:55 AM
“There’s no obvious candidate. Even without her tax issues, there’s this idea that Rayner is Labour’s Liz Truss, which is very accurate.”

Keir Starmer gets stay of execution as leadership rivals squabble

www.thetimes.com/article/4426...
Keir Starmer gets stay of execution as leadership rivals squabble
From Angela Rayner’s outstanding tax issues to Wes Streeting’s messages to Lord Mandelson, there’s no clear candidate to replace the prime minister
www.thetimes.com
February 15, 2026 at 11:33 PM
Good to hear Dr Cass taking the moderate “centrist” stance on trans issues . The extremists on both ends of the argument are utterly toxic, as in so many aspects of life #Bbclaurak
February 15, 2026 at 9:59 AM
Always weird to hear charlatan Reformers like Jake Berry criticise the Conservative government they supported .

Bit like that snake oil populist Polanski criticising the “austerity” implemented by the Tory/LibDem government he supported and tried to stand as a candidate for 🙄 #Bbclaurak
February 15, 2026 at 9:39 AM
We need to significantly increase defence spending now, not in a few years time.

Unfortunately, that either means large tax rises or major cuts to public spending like welfare . Both will be difficult politically #bbclarak
February 15, 2026 at 9:26 AM
Massive applause for Starmer when he tells Munich security conference “We are no longer the Britain of the Brexit years” .

(Unless of course Farage wins in 2029, assisted by Polanski and turns the clock back)
a crowd of people are sitting in a theatre applauding .
ALT: a crowd of people are sitting in a theatre applauding .
media.tenor.com
February 14, 2026 at 9:34 AM
Answer : probably the best option Labour has at the moment to prevent a disastrous lurch to the hard left and crisis in the bond markets .

What kind of prime minister would Wes Streeting be?

www.thetimes.com/article/156b...
What kind of prime minister would Wes Streeting be?
To some he is a tall poppy in need of cutting down. To others he’s the future. Allies, former staff and friends reveal what he might be like in No 10
www.thetimes.com
February 14, 2026 at 9:01 AM
The immediate impact of a new Leader moving the party and Govt to the left would be chaos and turmoil
in the bond markets.

Labour must not go through its Liz Truss phase before appointing its Rishi Sunak.

The new leader must be a centrist & fiscal conservative
#R4today
February 14, 2026 at 8:58 AM
Starmer is correct here, Reform UK and the Greens are ideological extremists who would undermine Britain’s national security and make war in Europe more likely.

Sir Keir Starmer: Vote Reform or Green and risk war

www.thetimes.com/article/ad7f...
Sir Keir Starmer: Vote Reform or Green and risk war
The prime minister will use his speech at the Munich security conference to warn that both parties are ‘soft on Russia and weak on Nato’ and threaten unity
www.thetimes.com
February 14, 2026 at 6:33 AM
Has the BBC really descended to the point that they have to “show balance” by having someone on (in this case Farage) to support/defend racist comments ? FFS. #R4today
February 13, 2026 at 8:49 AM
Why on earth would anyone have a problem with using someone’s preferred pronouns ? Surely it’s, just common decency/respect, regardless of one’s “stance” on trans rights ? #R4today
February 13, 2026 at 8:27 AM
Seems unsurprising that with all the talk of the jobs market tightening and many people not knowing how AI will impact their employment over the medium term, there is a reluctance to buy a home/trade up #r4today
February 13, 2026 at 8:02 AM
Labour hard left back bencher Rachel Maskell seems to be the BBC’s new “go to” person when they want someone to attack Starmer .
She’s always more than happy to oblige #R4today
February 12, 2026 at 7:25 AM
A lot of journalists, Tories, Greens, Corbyn cranks and Reform supporters seem very annoyed this morning that Starmer just refused to throw in the towel yesterday .

Tough

#R4today
February 10, 2026 at 8:40 AM
I am both pleased tonight that Starmer has survived the day and that Wes Streeting remains a contender to succeed him if he eventually goes .

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Ignore the smears: I was never a close friend of Peter Mandelson. And I fully understand the lessons we must learn | Wes Streeting
I knew him but not well, and worry now that he thrived in our political culture. There was a failure of moral seriousness, says health secretary Wes Streeting
www.theguardian.com
February 9, 2026 at 10:41 PM
I actually admire Starmer for putting up a fight like this 💪

Keir Starmer latest: I’ve won every fight I’ve been in, he tells MPs

www.thetimes.com/article/9214...
Keir Starmer latest: I’ve won every fight I’ve been in, he tells MPs
Follow the latest news and live updates today as Anas Sarwar calls for Keir Starmer’s resignation
www.thetimes.com
February 9, 2026 at 8:22 PM
Anas Starwar looks a bit of a Scottish Crested Tit tonight bless him
February 9, 2026 at 4:45 PM