JWexTheSpa
@jwsidders.bsky.social
South West England via the Midlands but made in NW5.
Spurs, Spain and social democracy. I like a hike.
Spurs, Spain and social democracy. I like a hike.
Pinned
JWexTheSpa
@jwsidders.bsky.social
· Dec 15
Apologies to all those I follow and missed - I couldn’t work out how to do it properly. Please add names and links. The key here is it’s people who post mostly in English - not Spanish - about Spain and Spain-related stuff.
Reposted by JWexTheSpa
Important to be clear here that the proposed homes wouldn't mean demolishing the 18th century garden - it's just that they might possibly be visible from it. What appallingly selfish behaviour.
November 10, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Important to be clear here that the proposed homes wouldn't mean demolishing the 18th century garden - it's just that they might possibly be visible from it. What appallingly selfish behaviour.
Reposted by JWexTheSpa
Trump wants to destroy the BBC and take our money. And Nigel Farage is egging him on.
All true patriots should tell them both: hands off our BBC.
All true patriots should tell them both: hands off our BBC.
November 10, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Trump wants to destroy the BBC and take our money. And Nigel Farage is egging him on.
All true patriots should tell them both: hands off our BBC.
All true patriots should tell them both: hands off our BBC.
Reposted by JWexTheSpa
Donald Trump is not going to sue the BBC for $1 billion
The real story today is both Reform/Farage and the Conservatives/Badenoch talking today about radically changing the BBC
This is the real agenda
The real story today is both Reform/Farage and the Conservatives/Badenoch talking today about radically changing the BBC
This is the real agenda
November 10, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Donald Trump is not going to sue the BBC for $1 billion
The real story today is both Reform/Farage and the Conservatives/Badenoch talking today about radically changing the BBC
This is the real agenda
The real story today is both Reform/Farage and the Conservatives/Badenoch talking today about radically changing the BBC
This is the real agenda
Reposted by JWexTheSpa
1/ The US Government has quietly removed a memorial to Black soldiers who died in World War II from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, South Limburg. The move follows a complaint from the right-wing Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission. ⬇️
November 10, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Reposted by JWexTheSpa
This is rather on the nose and gets to my view that if you wanted a group of people who were very often completely wrong about everything while at the same time being absolutely convinced of their perfect rightness look no further than British politicians / pundits 2020-2015.*
* Exceptions apply
* Exceptions apply
The Anglo consensus of the first half of 2010s was that where continental Europeans were endemically subject to crises and demagoguery, "we" were distinctly were more enlightened. Cameron's Britain. Obama's America. Ponderous essays about Magna Carta and the "golden thread".
How wrong it all was.
How wrong it all was.
I fear we are seeing in the UK what has become abundantly clear in the US: for all their power and privilege, elites and institutions are absolute cowards in the face of right-wing authoritarianism. Weak, weak, weak, as Tony Blair once said
November 10, 2025 at 7:18 PM
This is rather on the nose and gets to my view that if you wanted a group of people who were very often completely wrong about everything while at the same time being absolutely convinced of their perfect rightness look no further than British politicians / pundits 2020-2015.*
* Exceptions apply
* Exceptions apply
Reposted by JWexTheSpa
Some of the most powerful and well-paid people in the world don't understand a lesson that every schoolchild knows: if you surrender to bullies, they will only bully you more
November 10, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Some of the most powerful and well-paid people in the world don't understand a lesson that every schoolchild knows: if you surrender to bullies, they will only bully you more
An attack on the BBC is an attack on its licence fee payers. That's us. Trump wants $1 billion from the British people.
Trump is threatening to sue the BBC for $1 billion over the documentary about him.
Trying to control a media outlet by bullying. Worked in the US where all the craven media capitulated. Will it work in the UK?
Trying to control a media outlet by bullying. Worked in the US where all the craven media capitulated. Will it work in the UK?
BBC Trump scandal - latest: US president threatens to sue for $1 billion over misleading speech edit - Yahoo News UK
The BBC has apologised for an "error of judgement" that led to the resignation of two senior executives.
uk.news.yahoo.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:58 PM
An attack on the BBC is an attack on its licence fee payers. That's us. Trump wants $1 billion from the British people.
A lot of the US law firms that did deals with Trump have big and very lucrative UK offices. Lean on them. Big time.
November 10, 2025 at 3:56 PM
A lot of the US law firms that did deals with Trump have big and very lucrative UK offices. Lean on them. Big time.
When will someone notice 14th October happened quite a while ago?
November 10, 2025 at 3:52 PM
When will someone notice 14th October happened quite a while ago?
Polanski has made Your Party pointless.
Three people who’d be expected to be Your Party bigwigs have largely walked away from Corbyn’s project: former NE mayor Jamie Driscoll, former Labour MP Beth Winter, and former ANC MP Andrew Feinstein.
I have some new intel on the fall-out, if you’re interested in that sort of thing… 🧵
I have some new intel on the fall-out, if you’re interested in that sort of thing… 🧵
November 10, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Polanski has made Your Party pointless.
I'll believe it when I see it but if I do see it I will be absolutely delighted. If Labour goes down - and that is by no means certain - it should go down doing the right thing.
NEW: Rachel Reeves signals she intends to remove the two-child cap *in full*
"I don't think a child should be penalised because they're in a bigger family through no fault of their own," she tells BBC.
"I don't think a child should be penalised because they're in a bigger family through no fault of their own," she tells BBC.
November 10, 2025 at 3:46 PM
I'll believe it when I see it but if I do see it I will be absolutely delighted. If Labour goes down - and that is by no means certain - it should go down doing the right thing.
Reposted by JWexTheSpa
Absolutely right. I criticise BBC News, because we need it to be as good as we know it can be. People like Farage criticise the BBC, because they work for its competitors and don't want it to exist.
🎯 Davey is spot on. "We can have criticism of the BBC, but within that, we need to recognise how valuable an institution it is [and how] precious to our country. And that's one of the reasons why people like President Trump and Nigel Farage, want to undermine the BBC." 👏🏽~AA
November 10, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Absolutely right. I criticise BBC News, because we need it to be as good as we know it can be. People like Farage criticise the BBC, because they work for its competitors and don't want it to exist.
Reposted by JWexTheSpa
I agree with this, but I think if the BBC were better led, it would make fewer culpable errors and it would both directly and indirectly be better placed to fight the real and concerted campaign against it.
The fact that the BBC has made serious culpable errors does not negate the point that there is a real and concerted right-wing media campaign to destroy it. Both points can be true at the same time and the campaign would not end even if the errors did.
November 10, 2025 at 2:28 PM
I agree with this, but I think if the BBC were better led, it would make fewer culpable errors and it would both directly and indirectly be better placed to fight the real and concerted campaign against it.
Reposted by JWexTheSpa
I'm worried about both equally TBH: Facebook is radicalising older, normal people en masse.
Twitter radicalising elites who are hyper engaged.
Both feeding each other in poisioning the discourse and media ecosystem. It's brutal and a pretty nasty feedback loop.
Algorithm social media is a curse
Twitter radicalising elites who are hyper engaged.
Both feeding each other in poisioning the discourse and media ecosystem. It's brutal and a pretty nasty feedback loop.
Algorithm social media is a curse
Fell down a facebook rabbit hole thanks to something a family member shared. Labour should be really concerned, the tone and circulation of posts now has a simialr feel to Conservatives in 2023 but with an added side of far right memes. Facebook worries me far more than X
November 10, 2025 at 3:27 PM
I'm worried about both equally TBH: Facebook is radicalising older, normal people en masse.
Twitter radicalising elites who are hyper engaged.
Both feeding each other in poisioning the discourse and media ecosystem. It's brutal and a pretty nasty feedback loop.
Algorithm social media is a curse
Twitter radicalising elites who are hyper engaged.
Both feeding each other in poisioning the discourse and media ecosystem. It's brutal and a pretty nasty feedback loop.
Algorithm social media is a curse
Reposted by JWexTheSpa
The other fact that people are ignoring is that Prescott is not some random chap plucked out of obscurity to do an 'independent' report. He's part of the campaign from the start.
The fact that the BBC has made serious culpable errors does not negate the point that there is a real and concerted right-wing media campaign to destroy it. Both points can be true at the same time and the campaign would not end even if the errors did.
November 10, 2025 at 1:36 PM
The other fact that people are ignoring is that Prescott is not some random chap plucked out of obscurity to do an 'independent' report. He's part of the campaign from the start.
I very confidently predict TACO here. But I would love to be wrong. It would be great to see him lose.
The US president has sent a letter to the corporation threatening legal action.
Donald Trump Preparing To Sue BBC Over Panorama Speech Row
The US president has sent a letter to the corporation threatening legal action.
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 2:15 PM
I very confidently predict TACO here. But I would love to be wrong. It would be great to see him lose.
Reposted by JWexTheSpa
If only Fox News or GB News were held to even 100th of the standard that the BBC is expected to operate.
Nandy needs to offer full throated support for the organisation. I fear she won't.
Nandy needs to offer full throated support for the organisation. I fear she won't.
November 10, 2025 at 1:36 PM
If only Fox News or GB News were held to even 100th of the standard that the BBC is expected to operate.
Nandy needs to offer full throated support for the organisation. I fear she won't.
Nandy needs to offer full throated support for the organisation. I fear she won't.
Reposted by JWexTheSpa
Barely more than a week ago The Times published an interview with the wrong Bill De Blasio slagging off Mamdani. It is about a serious error as one can get. The editor of The Times has not resigned and there isn't a campaign for him to do so.
November 10, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Barely more than a week ago The Times published an interview with the wrong Bill De Blasio slagging off Mamdani. It is about a serious error as one can get. The editor of The Times has not resigned and there isn't a campaign for him to do so.
Reposted by JWexTheSpa
Sky News just had Kelvin Mackenzie on, former editor of The Sun, one of the people at the centre of probably the most disgraceful front page in newspaper history, complaining about BBC journalists not being objective and 'fake news'. Astonishing. ~AA
November 10, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Sky News just had Kelvin Mackenzie on, former editor of The Sun, one of the people at the centre of probably the most disgraceful front page in newspaper history, complaining about BBC journalists not being objective and 'fake news'. Astonishing. ~AA
Reposted by JWexTheSpa
The fact that the BBC has made serious culpable errors does not negate the point that there is a real and concerted right-wing media campaign to destroy it. Both points can be true at the same time and the campaign would not end even if the errors did.
November 10, 2025 at 1:08 PM
The fact that the BBC has made serious culpable errors does not negate the point that there is a real and concerted right-wing media campaign to destroy it. Both points can be true at the same time and the campaign would not end even if the errors did.
Reposted by JWexTheSpa
I’ve written to Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage urging them to condemn Donald Trump’s attack on the BBC.
The BBC belongs to Britain, not Trump. We must defend it together.
The BBC belongs to Britain, not Trump. We must defend it together.
November 10, 2025 at 11:29 AM
I’ve written to Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage urging them to condemn Donald Trump’s attack on the BBC.
The BBC belongs to Britain, not Trump. We must defend it together.
The BBC belongs to Britain, not Trump. We must defend it together.
Reposted by JWexTheSpa
Maybe Keir should demand the heads of major US news networks any time they imply Britain is on the brink of civil war or that we live under sharia law. Or does it not work both ways?
November 10, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Maybe Keir should demand the heads of major US news networks any time they imply Britain is on the brink of civil war or that we live under sharia law. Or does it not work both ways?
Reposted by JWexTheSpa
The two child cap is a test of the government’s seriousness: if you are serious about child poverty, you lift it, and if you are serious about not wasting money, you don’t fritter away cash on dumb things like vouchers to try and manage the PLP.
If the government chooses to keep the 2 child limit and spend money on vouchers and parenting programmes instead, child poverty will rise and this will be a conscious and deliberate political choice in defiance of all the evidence
Scrapping the cap entirely is both good policy *and* good politics.
Half measures will "save" some money short-term, but will piss *everybody* off and still leave very large numbers of children suffering from a policy designed to make them poorer.
inews.co.uk/news/politic...
Half measures will "save" some money short-term, but will piss *everybody* off and still leave very large numbers of children suffering from a policy designed to make them poorer.
inews.co.uk/news/politic...
November 10, 2025 at 12:59 PM
The two child cap is a test of the government’s seriousness: if you are serious about child poverty, you lift it, and if you are serious about not wasting money, you don’t fritter away cash on dumb things like vouchers to try and manage the PLP.
Reposted by JWexTheSpa
Meanwhile, in Reform's Lancashire CC, the councillor in charge of care homes, owns a private care home, and is closing council care homes. 👀
A resident’s son, a Reform party member, said any move would “kill” his mother. ~AA
#NeverThoughtTheLeopards
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
A resident’s son, a Reform party member, said any move would “kill” his mother. ~AA
#NeverThoughtTheLeopards
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Lancashire’s Reform-run council plans to close care homes and day centres
Questions about potential conflict of interest as council’s cabinet member for social care owns private care company
www.theguardian.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:08 AM
Meanwhile, in Reform's Lancashire CC, the councillor in charge of care homes, owns a private care home, and is closing council care homes. 👀
A resident’s son, a Reform party member, said any move would “kill” his mother. ~AA
#NeverThoughtTheLeopards
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
A resident’s son, a Reform party member, said any move would “kill” his mother. ~AA
#NeverThoughtTheLeopards
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
I keep saying it but I do not think people across the political spectrum - from the left to old school Tories - have even begun to understand what a far-right Reform/Tory government would mean for the UK. It would be a power grab specifically designed to take total and immovable control.
The far-right is coming for everything - the BBC is just tip of the iceberg. Give it power and it will take control of the courts, the Electoral Commission, the universities, the school curriculum and all other organs of civic power. The aim is very simple: never losing power again.
November 10, 2025 at 10:27 AM
I keep saying it but I do not think people across the political spectrum - from the left to old school Tories - have even begun to understand what a far-right Reform/Tory government would mean for the UK. It would be a power grab specifically designed to take total and immovable control.