GhostLad
@ghostlad.bsky.social
I play games and turn coffee into code.
Reposted by GhostLad
Robin Ince reveals to last night’s audience at a recording of Infinite Monkey Cage that the BBC has forced him to resign over his support of trans people
December 13, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Robin Ince reveals to last night’s audience at a recording of Infinite Monkey Cage that the BBC has forced him to resign over his support of trans people
Reposted by GhostLad
The thing is, this sort of discovery is really common in investigations because you have to be really familiar with a process to effectively trick it.
My favourite example? I was doing an investigation into fraudulent invoicing and went down to the records room to look for potential invoices.
My favourite example? I was doing an investigation into fraudulent invoicing and went down to the records room to look for potential invoices.
At last, a chance to repost my favourite ever font-related controversy with alt-text, now that Calibri is back in the news.
December 11, 2025 at 1:10 PM
The thing is, this sort of discovery is really common in investigations because you have to be really familiar with a process to effectively trick it.
My favourite example? I was doing an investigation into fraudulent invoicing and went down to the records room to look for potential invoices.
My favourite example? I was doing an investigation into fraudulent invoicing and went down to the records room to look for potential invoices.
Reposted by GhostLad
A brief response to Lisa Nandy, talking to @politicsjoe.bsky.social today about the trans community and the Supreme Court ruling.
December 10, 2025 at 7:50 PM
A brief response to Lisa Nandy, talking to @politicsjoe.bsky.social today about the trans community and the Supreme Court ruling.
Reposted by GhostLad
If you’re tired of explaining yourself and the misreporting of the Peggie tribunal to your lazy and ignorant friends save your energy and send them this.
open.substack.com/pub/ajustsoc...
open.substack.com/pub/ajustsoc...
When the Law Said No: How Gender Critical Arguments Failed in Court
A plain English guide to what the Peggie judgment actually decided
open.substack.com
December 9, 2025 at 12:12 PM
If you’re tired of explaining yourself and the misreporting of the Peggie tribunal to your lazy and ignorant friends save your energy and send them this.
open.substack.com/pub/ajustsoc...
open.substack.com/pub/ajustsoc...
🎶 It was an gritsy bitsy teeny wheeny yellow anti-slip machiney 🎶
(Shout out to Doncaster council who got in on the fun with the above name)
(Shout out to Doncaster council who got in on the fun with the above name)
December 8, 2025 at 8:20 AM
🎶 It was an gritsy bitsy teeny wheeny yellow anti-slip machiney 🎶
(Shout out to Doncaster council who got in on the fun with the above name)
(Shout out to Doncaster council who got in on the fun with the above name)
Reposted by GhostLad
An independent taskforce *just* did a huge review of ADHD in England, and the conclusion was that it's "under-recognised, under-diagnosed and under-treated."
www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/re...
www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/re...
NHS England » Report of the independent ADHD Taskforce: Part 1
April 2025
www.england.nhs.uk
December 4, 2025 at 12:48 AM
An independent taskforce *just* did a huge review of ADHD in England, and the conclusion was that it's "under-recognised, under-diagnosed and under-treated."
www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/re...
www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/re...
Reposted by GhostLad
🌲 THE BIG CHRISTMAS GIFT THREAD! 🌲
If you are a creator or small shop/business, reply to this post with:
- pics and a brief description of what you do (don't forget the alt text!)
- a link or details on how people can buy
I will boost you!
Everyone else: buy the cool things! Repost this post! ⛄
If you are a creator or small shop/business, reply to this post with:
- pics and a brief description of what you do (don't forget the alt text!)
- a link or details on how people can buy
I will boost you!
Everyone else: buy the cool things! Repost this post! ⛄
December 3, 2025 at 11:46 AM
🌲 THE BIG CHRISTMAS GIFT THREAD! 🌲
If you are a creator or small shop/business, reply to this post with:
- pics and a brief description of what you do (don't forget the alt text!)
- a link or details on how people can buy
I will boost you!
Everyone else: buy the cool things! Repost this post! ⛄
If you are a creator or small shop/business, reply to this post with:
- pics and a brief description of what you do (don't forget the alt text!)
- a link or details on how people can buy
I will boost you!
Everyone else: buy the cool things! Repost this post! ⛄
Reposted by GhostLad
NEW BLOGPOST
Abolishing trial by jury: why is the government overlooking the obvious?
thesecretbarrister.com/2025/12/02/a...
Abolishing trial by jury: why is the government overlooking the obvious?
thesecretbarrister.com/2025/12/02/a...
Abolishing trial by jury: why is the government overlooking the obvious?
Today, the government has confirmed that it intends to remove the right to trial by jury in the vast majority of cases in the Crown Courts. Serious criminal allegations, carrying up to three years …
thesecretbarrister.com
December 2, 2025 at 4:38 PM
NEW BLOGPOST
Abolishing trial by jury: why is the government overlooking the obvious?
thesecretbarrister.com/2025/12/02/a...
Abolishing trial by jury: why is the government overlooking the obvious?
thesecretbarrister.com/2025/12/02/a...
Reposted by GhostLad
It's astoundingly bad. Like an encyclopedia of all the ways government screws up procurement all on the same project.
The British army wanted an armoured monster truck with a gun on it. £6 billion and 31 hospitalised soldiers later, they got one of the biggest procurement fuckups of all time defence-blog.com/insider-says...
Insider says only hull redesign can save British Ajax
The British Army’s troubled Ajax armoured fighting vehicle has returned to the centre of national criticism in recent days, after new noise-related injuries forced the suspension of training and sent ...
defence-blog.com
December 4, 2025 at 9:27 PM
It's astoundingly bad. Like an encyclopedia of all the ways government screws up procurement all on the same project.
Reposted by GhostLad
A: Who gives a fuck apart from racists?
B: His figure is wrong. 71.2% of Glaswegian children speak English as their first language.
C: So that's 28.8% who speak it as a second and I'll bet you they speak brilliant English and that it's much better than most Reform voters I've met online.
B: His figure is wrong. 71.2% of Glaswegian children speak English as their first language.
C: So that's 28.8% who speak it as a second and I'll bet you they speak brilliant English and that it's much better than most Reform voters I've met online.
December 3, 2025 at 10:43 PM
A: Who gives a fuck apart from racists?
B: His figure is wrong. 71.2% of Glaswegian children speak English as their first language.
C: So that's 28.8% who speak it as a second and I'll bet you they speak brilliant English and that it's much better than most Reform voters I've met online.
B: His figure is wrong. 71.2% of Glaswegian children speak English as their first language.
C: So that's 28.8% who speak it as a second and I'll bet you they speak brilliant English and that it's much better than most Reform voters I've met online.
The problem with the courts are manifold and known. Juries are not what is holding up the show. Would be nice if the government would just listen to evidence rather than go for headlines and savings.
Here is a list of reasons why some of my hearings and trials this year have been delayed and kicked off into the long grass, stuck in our record court backlog. Serious allegations which will now be tried *years* after the event. 🧵👇
December 2, 2025 at 7:59 AM
The problem with the courts are manifold and known. Juries are not what is holding up the show. Would be nice if the government would just listen to evidence rather than go for headlines and savings.
Reposted by GhostLad
Just to actually address some things that are driving me mad:
The government has pledged to bring down immigration and is relying on higher migration to make its budgets work.
They have reduced tax incentives for saving in pension schemes whilst perceiving those schemes as engines of investment.
The government has pledged to bring down immigration and is relying on higher migration to make its budgets work.
They have reduced tax incentives for saving in pension schemes whilst perceiving those schemes as engines of investment.
There is an actual interesting little deceit in the budget, namely ther have the OBR still forecasting based on increasing net immigration back to 300-350k whilst the Home Secretary is promising to bring it down from 200k, which does dissolve about half the headroom, but somehow we're doing vibes.
Think this is exactly right - political journalism that is completely abstracted from policy, which was not the norm before 2017, has become the default. Impossible to have a serious attempt to either shrink what the state does or widen the tax base (have to do at least one) on that basis.
December 1, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Just to actually address some things that are driving me mad:
The government has pledged to bring down immigration and is relying on higher migration to make its budgets work.
They have reduced tax incentives for saving in pension schemes whilst perceiving those schemes as engines of investment.
The government has pledged to bring down immigration and is relying on higher migration to make its budgets work.
They have reduced tax incentives for saving in pension schemes whilst perceiving those schemes as engines of investment.
Reposted by GhostLad
Imagine being turned away from a bathroom, hospital, or cinema for “not looking female enough”. The leaked EHRC guidance could do just that. Along with my Lib Dem colleagues, I’ve written to the Minister calling for new, inclusive, practical guidance that protects everyone’s rights.
November 28, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Imagine being turned away from a bathroom, hospital, or cinema for “not looking female enough”. The leaked EHRC guidance could do just that. Along with my Lib Dem colleagues, I’ve written to the Minister calling for new, inclusive, practical guidance that protects everyone’s rights.
Reposted by GhostLad
blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...
The left are saying
▶️that govt spending can be maintained without increasing income tax
▶️that wealth tax and the BoE printing money can do the heavy lifting
but
As WC Fields might have said... "guess again"
And more, from @jomichell.bsky.social .....Good read⬇️⬇️
The left are saying
▶️that govt spending can be maintained without increasing income tax
▶️that wealth tax and the BoE printing money can do the heavy lifting
but
As WC Fields might have said... "guess again"
And more, from @jomichell.bsky.social .....Good read⬇️⬇️
Wealth tax and looser fiscal rules won’t save the Budget | British Politics and Policy at LSE
The narrative on the left that a wealth tax and looser fiscal rules would solve the Chancellor's 2025 Budget headaches has got out of hand.
blogs.lse.ac.uk
November 25, 2025 at 7:21 PM
blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...
The left are saying
▶️that govt spending can be maintained without increasing income tax
▶️that wealth tax and the BoE printing money can do the heavy lifting
but
As WC Fields might have said... "guess again"
And more, from @jomichell.bsky.social .....Good read⬇️⬇️
The left are saying
▶️that govt spending can be maintained without increasing income tax
▶️that wealth tax and the BoE printing money can do the heavy lifting
but
As WC Fields might have said... "guess again"
And more, from @jomichell.bsky.social .....Good read⬇️⬇️
Reposted by GhostLad
At Labour’s conference, Keir Starmer promised his government would “fight with everything we have” against those pushing racism and the idea of two-tier Britishness.
Now it is the clear and stated policy rationale of his government that the racists were correct and must be appeased.
Now it is the clear and stated policy rationale of his government that the racists were correct and must be appeased.
It’s just nuts. Even if you accept Labour’s policy diagnosis, we “lost control” of our borders, and concern about immigration was rising long before the alarming rise of racism. The big change on racism has been we traded an anti-racist government for one that is at best Trappist on it.
I find insane that shabana mahmood is going out there and saying "white british people cannot be asked to accept too many of us outsiders, it is not in their nature, and their pushback against all of us is to be placated". What???
November 21, 2025 at 3:04 PM
At Labour’s conference, Keir Starmer promised his government would “fight with everything we have” against those pushing racism and the idea of two-tier Britishness.
Now it is the clear and stated policy rationale of his government that the racists were correct and must be appeased.
Now it is the clear and stated policy rationale of his government that the racists were correct and must be appeased.
The title does speak for itself, and is very relatable to me. Give it a read if you care. There are good words in there like "cleverer than a housefly" and also a section on affordable art for London based folks.
this week's newsletter is titled "aren't you tired of feeling insane all the time?" and I think it speaks for itself
it is also free to read
youngvulgarian.substack.com/p/arent-you-...
it is also free to read
youngvulgarian.substack.com/p/arent-you-...
November 21, 2025 at 10:37 AM
The title does speak for itself, and is very relatable to me. Give it a read if you care. There are good words in there like "cleverer than a housefly" and also a section on affordable art for London based folks.
Reposted by GhostLad
This (from: www.ft.com/content/75ce...) is something you can *feel* if you are in the UK, especially if you've experienced living abroad. But infuriatingly successive governments and our entire media are somehow absolutely committed to suggesting anyone who wants to change this is the devil...
November 21, 2025 at 7:38 AM
This (from: www.ft.com/content/75ce...) is something you can *feel* if you are in the UK, especially if you've experienced living abroad. But infuriatingly successive governments and our entire media are somehow absolutely committed to suggesting anyone who wants to change this is the devil...
Reposted by GhostLad
This government has not taken a single meaningful step to tackle the causes of the horrendous inefficiencies in the criminal justice system, instead rushing to dismantle trial by jury.
Legal professionals have offered numerous alternatives to address the backlog.
Ministers are not listening.
Legal professionals have offered numerous alternatives to address the backlog.
Ministers are not listening.
MoJ to remove right to trial by jury for thousands of cases in controversial overhaul
MoJ to remove right to trial by jury for thousands of cases in controversial overhaul
Exclusive: Courts minister says change needed to stop criminals opting for juries to delay cases, sometimes by years, and clear huge backlog
*
UK politics live – latest updates
Criminals will be stopped from “gaming the system” by choosing trial by jury in order to increase the chances of proceedings collapsing, the courts minister has said, promising to enact radical changes to limit jury trials by the next election.
Drug dealers and career criminals were “laughing in the dock” knowing cases can take years to come to trial, Sarah Sackman told the Guardian, saying inaction would be a road to “chaos and ruin”. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 21, 2025 at 7:57 AM
This government has not taken a single meaningful step to tackle the causes of the horrendous inefficiencies in the criminal justice system, instead rushing to dismantle trial by jury.
Legal professionals have offered numerous alternatives to address the backlog.
Ministers are not listening.
Legal professionals have offered numerous alternatives to address the backlog.
Ministers are not listening.
Reposted by GhostLad
Handy primer on how the politics of Danish approach to asylum played out in the actual Denmark ukandeu.ac.uk/denmarks-mig...
Denmark’s migration policy – an example to follow? - UK in a changing Europe
Kristina Bakkær Simonsen explains why countries feel they have something to learn from Denmark's strict migration policy, but argues that there are many key pitfalls.
ukandeu.ac.uk
November 17, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Handy primer on how the politics of Danish approach to asylum played out in the actual Denmark ukandeu.ac.uk/denmarks-mig...
Reposted by GhostLad
Here's the thing, removing permanent settlement is utterly counterproductive, as well as cruel. As @t0nyyates.bsky.social points out, most people seeking asylum don't know the asylum policies of countries they seek it in, so it isn't in any way a "deterrent". 1/3
It will reduce the effort refugees make to integrate, something that the racists in Labour and elsewhere claim to worry about. As asylum experts point out, grasp of local policies is often not great so it probably won't reduce the flow of asylum seekers, which is presumably the hope.
November 15, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Here's the thing, removing permanent settlement is utterly counterproductive, as well as cruel. As @t0nyyates.bsky.social points out, most people seeking asylum don't know the asylum policies of countries they seek it in, so it isn't in any way a "deterrent". 1/3
Reposted by GhostLad
Yes, I think this is what the “it’s smart not to do income tax” stuff is missing. If you remove salary sacrifice on someone’s pension contributions you are increasing their income tax! If you freeze thresholds you are increasing their income tax!
Issue for Labour now isn't whether they break their manifesto pledge on tax. It is whether they do so in a way which is blatant, honest but sustainable - or whether they do so by a myriad of complex and likely insufficient means whilst arguing they are not.
Imho, one seems more toxic than the other
Imho, one seems more toxic than the other
November 14, 2025 at 10:16 AM
Yes, I think this is what the “it’s smart not to do income tax” stuff is missing. If you remove salary sacrifice on someone’s pension contributions you are increasing their income tax! If you freeze thresholds you are increasing their income tax!
Reposted by GhostLad
I find the glee here about making thousands of hard working NHS staff redundant - and simultaneously therefore ensuring that clinical staff's workloads are increased even further with administration tasks they didn't sign up for - both tone deaf and distasteful.
November 12, 2025 at 6:14 PM
I find the glee here about making thousands of hard working NHS staff redundant - and simultaneously therefore ensuring that clinical staff's workloads are increased even further with administration tasks they didn't sign up for - both tone deaf and distasteful.
Reposted by GhostLad
A total and utter hero
November 4, 2025 at 11:08 AM
A total and utter hero
Rarely has a person been more French! Full marks.
A French cyclist survived for three days after a horrendous 130-foot fall into a ravine, kept alive by the bottles of red wine he had in his shopping bag, police said.
Cyclist falls down 130-foot ravine in France, survives 3 days by drinking wine he had in shopping bag
A helicopter airlifted him to hospital, with a rescue doctor calling his survival "a miracle."
cbsn.ws
October 31, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Rarely has a person been more French! Full marks.
Reposted by GhostLad
why did this take two fucking days though? did the Prime Minister have his notifications switched off? was he stuck in the bath? why, exactly, is this obviously true thing something that apparently needs running past the boss anyway? what is *wrong* with their comms operation?
NEW: Labour condemn Tory plan to strip people of indefinite leave to remain:
“It’s utterly grotesque that Tories want to deport people with the lawful right to be here to achieve ‘cultural coherence’.
“This policy would mean tearing families apart and ripping out our neighbours from communities."
“It’s utterly grotesque that Tories want to deport people with the lawful right to be here to achieve ‘cultural coherence’.
“This policy would mean tearing families apart and ripping out our neighbours from communities."
October 22, 2025 at 6:12 PM
why did this take two fucking days though? did the Prime Minister have his notifications switched off? was he stuck in the bath? why, exactly, is this obviously true thing something that apparently needs running past the boss anyway? what is *wrong* with their comms operation?