Gabriel Milland
@gabrielmilland.bsky.social
Research and policy for the bravest people in England and Wales. Former senior UK government comms official and adviser. Happiest in a focus group. Once a journalist. Further back, a historian. Halberdier. Bristol City FC.
I think it's wrong to describe the World Service as "soft power". It's actually "info power". And these days that's a very hard form of power indeed.
And another bites the dust?
The BBC World Service will run out of funding in just seven weeks. Its funding arrangement with the Foreign Office finishes at the end of March. There is no plan for what happens next.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The BBC World Service will run out of funding in just seven weeks. Its funding arrangement with the Foreign Office finishes at the end of March. There is no plan for what happens next.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The Guardian view on the BBC World Service: this is London calling | Editorial
Editorial: With just seven weeks before its funding runs out, the UK’s greatest cultural asset and most trusted international news organisation must be supported
www.theguardian.com
February 15, 2026 at 8:05 PM
I think it's wrong to describe the World Service as "soft power". It's actually "info power". And these days that's a very hard form of power indeed.
Cracking game Rangers Vs Hearts.
February 15, 2026 at 5:01 PM
Cracking game Rangers Vs Hearts.
Illiterate.
From today's @washingtonpost.com front page:
"Abruptly terminated": harsh, contentious, negative
"Sunset": natural, pleasant, the circle of life
h/t @alecmac.bsky.social
"Abruptly terminated": harsh, contentious, negative
"Sunset": natural, pleasant, the circle of life
h/t @alecmac.bsky.social
February 15, 2026 at 4:13 PM
Illiterate.
Again, it's the sheer fuck-wittery that is most striking. The guy has never read any actual book other than Tolkien, I suspect.
February 15, 2026 at 3:46 PM
Again, it's the sheer fuck-wittery that is most striking. The guy has never read any actual book other than Tolkien, I suspect.
Reposted by Gabriel Milland
I know why I did this.
February 15, 2026 at 11:23 AM
I know why I did this.
Update from Pedo Pravda.
February 15, 2026 at 12:17 PM
Update from Pedo Pravda.
Just checking responses on the survey I've commissioned for a new party - Reflux Britain. The manifesto will be crafted around appealing to the most dyspeptic segment of the late-middle-aged population.
February 14, 2026 at 9:36 PM
Just checking responses on the survey I've commissioned for a new party - Reflux Britain. The manifesto will be crafted around appealing to the most dyspeptic segment of the late-middle-aged population.
Landfill polling, I'm afraid.
"Yesterday, Rupert Lowe MP launched a political party named Restore Britain. If there were a General Election tomorrow, how would you vote in that election?"
RFM: 25%
GRN: 20%
LAB: 15%
CON: 13%
RES: 10%
LDM: 10%
Via @findoutnow.bsky.social, 14 Feb.
RFM: 25%
GRN: 20%
LAB: 15%
CON: 13%
RES: 10%
LDM: 10%
Via @findoutnow.bsky.social, 14 Feb.
February 14, 2026 at 9:18 PM
Landfill polling, I'm afraid.
Reposted by Gabriel Milland
My brother Garry has dementia and is currently lost somewhere in the Chester area. If anyone should spot him please call the police on 999. We'd appreciate reposts. @shitchester.bsky.social
February 14, 2026 at 8:00 PM
My brother Garry has dementia and is currently lost somewhere in the Chester area. If anyone should spot him please call the police on 999. We'd appreciate reposts. @shitchester.bsky.social
Actual ally here. We are not reassured.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a calm and reassuring message to America's allies in Munich, after more than a year of President Donald Trump's often-hostile rhetoric toward allies. n.pr/4qHYOAJ
Rubio reassures trans-Atlantic ties with Europe at Munich Security Conference
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a calm and reassuring message to America's allies in Munich, after more than a year of President Donald Trump's often-hostile rhetoric toward allies.
n.pr
February 14, 2026 at 11:59 AM
Actual ally here. We are not reassured.
Catching up with @patrickmaguire.bsky.social's column this week. And if there's a better one published by anyone this year then I'm looking forward to reading it.
www.thetimes.com/article/5cba...
www.thetimes.com/article/5cba...
Survival for Keir Starmer means a new set of captors
In a post-Morgan McSweeney No 10, the prime minister may claim he’s displaying his authentic self but the party now belongs to the soft left
www.thetimes.com
February 14, 2026 at 10:14 AM
Catching up with @patrickmaguire.bsky.social's column this week. And if there's a better one published by anyone this year then I'm looking forward to reading it.
www.thetimes.com/article/5cba...
www.thetimes.com/article/5cba...
Reposted by Gabriel Milland
OTD in 2022 George Galloway released one of the absolute, all-time classics.
He has yet to delete it, show humility, or confirm/deny if this means he in fact being paid to act like an idiot, or if he just does it free.
#JustAskingQuestions
He has yet to delete it, show humility, or confirm/deny if this means he in fact being paid to act like an idiot, or if he just does it free.
#JustAskingQuestions
February 14, 2026 at 8:51 AM
OTD in 2022 George Galloway released one of the absolute, all-time classics.
He has yet to delete it, show humility, or confirm/deny if this means he in fact being paid to act like an idiot, or if he just does it free.
#JustAskingQuestions
He has yet to delete it, show humility, or confirm/deny if this means he in fact being paid to act like an idiot, or if he just does it free.
#JustAskingQuestions
A chaotic regime collapse in Iran could make the Syrian refugee exodus - and the concomitant impact in Europe - look comparatively minor.
February 14, 2026 at 9:21 AM
A chaotic regime collapse in Iran could make the Syrian refugee exodus - and the concomitant impact in Europe - look comparatively minor.
Reposted by Gabriel Milland
Once you start looking up pictures from Demis Roussos photo sessions, you can never stop.
February 27, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Once you start looking up pictures from Demis Roussos photo sessions, you can never stop.
Taping a "Sabra" hummus tub to my front door to indicate my response in case this spreads from, I presume, Brighton.
Lots of opinions on this news story and these uh individuals but I am most impressed by the way the story is illustrated by Andy Burnham, but with Keir Starmer’s 1980s hair do
February 13, 2026 at 6:55 PM
Taping a "Sabra" hummus tub to my front door to indicate my response in case this spreads from, I presume, Brighton.
One of the defining things about the new breed of media baron is that they're cheap bastards. They want the power and the glory but not the payrolls. At least Pulitzer, Hearst and Murdoch hired lots of journalists.
Cuts of at 15% of current staff at CBS News are feared. About 11 producers at CBS Evening News have just taken buyouts variety.com/2026/tv/news...
CBS News Considering New Round of Layoffs, Could Affect at Least 15% of Staff
CBS News Considering New Round of Layoffs, Could Affect At Least 15% of Staff
variety.com
February 13, 2026 at 3:36 PM
One of the defining things about the new breed of media baron is that they're cheap bastards. They want the power and the glory but not the payrolls. At least Pulitzer, Hearst and Murdoch hired lots of journalists.
Well.
Do Europeans think it's more important to prioritise European autonomy (+) or preserve the US-Europe alliance (-)?
🇬🇧 +20
🇮🇹 +17
🇪🇸 +14
🇩🇪 +11
🇫🇷 +3
🇵🇱 -15
yougov.co.uk/internationa...
🇬🇧 +20
🇮🇹 +17
🇪🇸 +14
🇩🇪 +11
🇫🇷 +3
🇵🇱 -15
yougov.co.uk/internationa...
February 13, 2026 at 3:24 PM
Well.
I suppose it depends on whether it's sickly child-king Edward VI or his more robust dad, Henry VIII. Elizabeth I could offer some cracking team talks.
February 13, 2026 at 2:35 PM
I suppose it depends on whether it's sickly child-king Edward VI or his more robust dad, Henry VIII. Elizabeth I could offer some cracking team talks.
Support for gay marriage is over 75% in this country and has been for years. The CofE should decide if it wants to be the national church or a sect.
February 12, 2026 at 7:35 PM
Support for gay marriage is over 75% in this country and has been for years. The CofE should decide if it wants to be the national church or a sect.
The two areas in British public life which are most likely to expose major Dunning-Kruger sufferers are football and politics. People who have made a success in business often assume they are going to be as effective in those two things as they were in, say, the chemicals industry.
February 12, 2026 at 3:45 PM
The two areas in British public life which are most likely to expose major Dunning-Kruger sufferers are football and politics. People who have made a success in business often assume they are going to be as effective in those two things as they were in, say, the chemicals industry.
The Tim Shipman long read on events in the last week has a profound truth sourced to Peter Mandelson which most political communicators somehow ignore.
"Policy is at the heart of political communication."
spectator.com/article/auth...
"Policy is at the heart of political communication."
spectator.com/article/auth...
‘Authority is like virginity. Once it’s gone, it’s gone’: Inside Keir Starmer’s downfall
Years ago, Peter Mandelson shared a key lesson with his protégé Morgan McSweeney. Reminiscing about his involvement in Labour’s 1987 general election campaign, he called it the ‘spray–paint election’....
spectator.com
February 12, 2026 at 1:29 PM
The Tim Shipman long read on events in the last week has a profound truth sourced to Peter Mandelson which most political communicators somehow ignore.
"Policy is at the heart of political communication."
spectator.com/article/auth...
"Policy is at the heart of political communication."
spectator.com/article/auth...
Reposted by Gabriel Milland
Thanks to all the charlatans, quacks and fools who've allowed measles to reach my child's secondary school in London
February 12, 2026 at 11:10 AM
Thanks to all the charlatans, quacks and fools who've allowed measles to reach my child's secondary school in London
To be honest, I find how Man Utd fans have colonised Surrey much more objectionable.
February 12, 2026 at 9:18 AM
To be honest, I find how Man Utd fans have colonised Surrey much more objectionable.
Reposted by Gabriel Milland
Sam Altman was right - this unironically is PhD-level intelligence
February 12, 2026 at 9:14 AM
Sam Altman was right - this unironically is PhD-level intelligence