Nick Beales
@nickbeales.bsky.social
Head of Campaigning at RAMFEL
Views own (or nabbed from others)
Views own (or nabbed from others)
Reposted by Nick Beales
I mean it's only a matter of time before a woman without access to cash support living in an asylum hotel support goes into labour and needs to get to hospital. Irresponsible & dangerous policy change.
An abhorrent policy which inevitably leads to people seeking asylum being denied necessary medical support.
People seeking asylum don't receive enough financial support to pay for taxis, or often public transport, themselves, but still need to travel to appointments 1/
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
People seeking asylum don't receive enough financial support to pay for taxis, or often public transport, themselves, but still need to travel to appointments 1/
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Ban on asylum seekers using taxis for medical appointments comes into force
It comes after a BBC investigation which showed people travelling long distances at high cost.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 5, 2026 at 9:22 AM
I mean it's only a matter of time before a woman without access to cash support living in an asylum hotel support goes into labour and needs to get to hospital. Irresponsible & dangerous policy change.
Massively increasing settlement routes, applying these changes retrospectively, penalising poorer people & rewarding richer people is definitely not ‘fair’.
Staggering that this needs saying to a Labour Home Sec.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Staggering that this needs saying to a Labour Home Sec.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Shabana Mahmood defends immigration reforms amid Labour opposition
Around 40 Labour MPs have raised concerns about the impact of the government's proposals.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 5, 2026 at 11:28 AM
Massively increasing settlement routes, applying these changes retrospectively, penalising poorer people & rewarding richer people is definitely not ‘fair’.
Staggering that this needs saying to a Labour Home Sec.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Staggering that this needs saying to a Labour Home Sec.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Even if Starmer is right that McSweeney did help him win an election:
- In 2017, Corbyn got 12.9 million votes
- In 2019, Corbyn got 10.3 million votes
- In 2024, Starmer got 9.7 million votes
McSweeney did not and has not made Labour popular nor made Starmer likeable.
- In 2017, Corbyn got 12.9 million votes
- In 2019, Corbyn got 10.3 million votes
- In 2024, Starmer got 9.7 million votes
McSweeney did not and has not made Labour popular nor made Starmer likeable.
Kemi Badenoch: "Does he have the same full confidence in Morgan McSweeney that he had in Peter Mandelson?"
Keir Starmer: "Morgan McSweeney is an essential part of my team. He helped me change the Labour party and win an election" #PMQs
Keir Starmer: "Morgan McSweeney is an essential part of my team. He helped me change the Labour party and win an election" #PMQs
February 4, 2026 at 10:16 PM
Even if Starmer is right that McSweeney did help him win an election:
- In 2017, Corbyn got 12.9 million votes
- In 2019, Corbyn got 10.3 million votes
- In 2024, Starmer got 9.7 million votes
McSweeney did not and has not made Labour popular nor made Starmer likeable.
- In 2017, Corbyn got 12.9 million votes
- In 2019, Corbyn got 10.3 million votes
- In 2024, Starmer got 9.7 million votes
McSweeney did not and has not made Labour popular nor made Starmer likeable.
Reposted by Nick Beales
'Retrospectivity is un-British' - Labour MP @tonyvaughanmp.bsky.social told a packed Westminster Hall debate that plans to double migrants' wait for settlement must be abandoned.
'Let us be a country that always honours its debts, not just its financial ones, but its moral ones too'👏Thank you Tony
'Let us be a country that always honours its debts, not just its financial ones, but its moral ones too'👏Thank you Tony
February 3, 2026 at 12:21 PM
'Retrospectivity is un-British' - Labour MP @tonyvaughanmp.bsky.social told a packed Westminster Hall debate that plans to double migrants' wait for settlement must be abandoned.
'Let us be a country that always honours its debts, not just its financial ones, but its moral ones too'👏Thank you Tony
'Let us be a country that always honours its debts, not just its financial ones, but its moral ones too'👏Thank you Tony
Starmer & McSweeney are so out of touch & lacking political judgement.
Posts like this make the UK look like an authoritarian police state & are voter kryptonite. This mythical wavering Labour voter who gets their rocks off at the government brutalising black & brown people simply doesn’t exist.
Posts like this make the UK look like an authoritarian police state & are voter kryptonite. This mythical wavering Labour voter who gets their rocks off at the government brutalising black & brown people simply doesn’t exist.
February 4, 2026 at 9:35 PM
Starmer & McSweeney are so out of touch & lacking political judgement.
Posts like this make the UK look like an authoritarian police state & are voter kryptonite. This mythical wavering Labour voter who gets their rocks off at the government brutalising black & brown people simply doesn’t exist.
Posts like this make the UK look like an authoritarian police state & are voter kryptonite. This mythical wavering Labour voter who gets their rocks off at the government brutalising black & brown people simply doesn’t exist.
I suppose this makes sense if Starmer doesn’t want to be the person with the worst political compass and judgment in his inner circle.
"Morgan McSweeney is an essential part of my team... Of course I have full confidence in him," says Keir Starmer...
February 4, 2026 at 5:01 PM
I suppose this makes sense if Starmer doesn’t want to be the person with the worst political compass and judgment in his inner circle.
So I’ll save less than 1% of the cost of my pint and plunge hundreds of thousands of kids back into poverty?
February 4, 2026 at 2:09 PM
So I’ll save less than 1% of the cost of my pint and plunge hundreds of thousands of kids back into poverty?
The first few months of Starmer weren’t terrible, but from 2025 onwards he’s made concession after concession to the far-right. This has allowed them to shape the narrative, mainstreamed their views, alienated the Labour base & seen the government constantly second guessing itself and flip-flopping.
We all knew Mandelson was the wrong choice but as Starmer took a gamble, we put our trust in Starmer to do the due diligence, and took the gamble with him - @mrjamesob.bsky.social
The gamble failed
Most of us liked Starmer in opposition, but the decline of Labour has been under Starmer
The gamble failed
Most of us liked Starmer in opposition, but the decline of Labour has been under Starmer
February 4, 2026 at 11:21 AM
The first few months of Starmer weren’t terrible, but from 2025 onwards he’s made concession after concession to the far-right. This has allowed them to shape the narrative, mainstreamed their views, alienated the Labour base & seen the government constantly second guessing itself and flip-flopping.
I get that there’s no way Labour can make up a good excuse for hiring Mandelson, but unless their entire leadership team claims they don’t have eyes, ears, memories, research teams & access to internet/books, then they cannot claim they were unaware Mandelson carried a high risk of scandal & sleaze.
Wes Streeting saying on Today that Mandelson is ‘not the man we thought he was’ but the trouble is, he is exactly the man we thought, just on a much worse scale than almost anyone thought. And there is an alternative world where none of this is this govt’s problem, because they never gave him a job
February 4, 2026 at 10:38 AM
I get that there’s no way Labour can make up a good excuse for hiring Mandelson, but unless their entire leadership team claims they don’t have eyes, ears, memories, research teams & access to internet/books, then they cannot claim they were unaware Mandelson carried a high risk of scandal & sleaze.
Reposted by Nick Beales
It’s just impossible to comprehend the Reform phenomenon, least of all its electoral prospects, without addressing the racism which is both part of its appeal to some & a reason for horror & repulsion for most. If you got your news mainly from the BBC I don’t see how you’d understand anything really
It’s obviously vital Reform gets this sort of basic scrutiny which has been missing in the past, but equally Kuenssberg’s yet again intent on ignoring the elephant in the room: that the racism of both Farage and numerous of his followers is not an embarrassing bug but a central feature of the party
Inside Reform: Laura Kuenssberg follows Farage's party as it experiences the glare of scrutiny
The BBC has spent time interviewing senior figures and witnessing Reform's work at the largest council it runs.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 4, 2026 at 9:12 AM
It’s just impossible to comprehend the Reform phenomenon, least of all its electoral prospects, without addressing the racism which is both part of its appeal to some & a reason for horror & repulsion for most. If you got your news mainly from the BBC I don’t see how you’d understand anything really
If Labour think the massive increase in tuition fees that the Tories introduced, which clearly harm graduates’ long-term prospects, is a ‘fair system’ but taxing billionaires a little bit more that they can easily afford is somehow unfair then these parties are basically indistinguishable.
February 3, 2026 at 6:46 PM
If Labour think the massive increase in tuition fees that the Tories introduced, which clearly harm graduates’ long-term prospects, is a ‘fair system’ but taxing billionaires a little bit more that they can easily afford is somehow unfair then these parties are basically indistinguishable.
1/ This is what this by-election is about for Reform: whether Tommy Robinson is too toxic for them to incorporate him and his supporters.
Win or lose, what they really care about is stress-testing if they can get away with associating with Robinson and Goodwin.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Win or lose, what they really care about is stress-testing if they can get away with associating with Robinson and Goodwin.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Labour accuses Reform candidate of ‘toxic politics’ after Tommy Robinson endorsement
Far-right activist tells X followers to vote for Reform’s Gorton and Denton candidate, Matthew Goodwin
www.theguardian.com
January 30, 2026 at 3:36 PM
1/ This is what this by-election is about for Reform: whether Tommy Robinson is too toxic for them to incorporate him and his supporters.
Win or lose, what they really care about is stress-testing if they can get away with associating with Robinson and Goodwin.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Win or lose, what they really care about is stress-testing if they can get away with associating with Robinson and Goodwin.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Great piece about the by-election @robfordmancs.bsky.social
As everything must go right for Reform to win & a clearly divisive candidate like Goodwin risks alienating voters, I’m certain that testing racist guardrails matters more to them here than winning
swingometer.substack.com/p/the-gorton...
As everything must go right for Reform to win & a clearly divisive candidate like Goodwin risks alienating voters, I’m certain that testing racist guardrails matters more to them here than winning
swingometer.substack.com/p/the-gorton...
The Gorton and Denton by-election: a tale of two Manchesters?
Unpopular incumbent + fragmented opposition + unusual seat = unpredictable contest
swingometer.substack.com
January 29, 2026 at 7:18 PM
Great piece about the by-election @robfordmancs.bsky.social
As everything must go right for Reform to win & a clearly divisive candidate like Goodwin risks alienating voters, I’m certain that testing racist guardrails matters more to them here than winning
swingometer.substack.com/p/the-gorton...
As everything must go right for Reform to win & a clearly divisive candidate like Goodwin risks alienating voters, I’m certain that testing racist guardrails matters more to them here than winning
swingometer.substack.com/p/the-gorton...
Reposted by Nick Beales
"The British electorate has repeatedly voted for change – yet change has consistently failed to come. Little wonder a fair chunk of them now seem ready to kick everything over in frustration."
Regarding @philtinline.bsky.social's fascinating report on the incapacity of the British state
Regarding @philtinline.bsky.social's fascinating report on the incapacity of the British state
The Gordian Knot
This week: why is the British state broken? Also: fraudsters hate this one weird trick for spotting man-made numbers! And a map of what’s left of the Roman limes.
jonn.substack.com
January 29, 2026 at 11:40 AM
"The British electorate has repeatedly voted for change – yet change has consistently failed to come. Little wonder a fair chunk of them now seem ready to kick everything over in frustration."
Regarding @philtinline.bsky.social's fascinating report on the incapacity of the British state
Regarding @philtinline.bsky.social's fascinating report on the incapacity of the British state
This is not what Labour needs to do. They need to combat Reform’s racism and dystopian vision for the UK head on.
Telling people to vote for you to maintain the status quo when people are throughly fucked off with the status quo encapsulates perfectly why people are fucked off with the status quo.
Telling people to vote for you to maintain the status quo when people are throughly fucked off with the status quo encapsulates perfectly why people are fucked off with the status quo.
January 29, 2026 at 5:41 PM
This is not what Labour needs to do. They need to combat Reform’s racism and dystopian vision for the UK head on.
Telling people to vote for you to maintain the status quo when people are throughly fucked off with the status quo encapsulates perfectly why people are fucked off with the status quo.
Telling people to vote for you to maintain the status quo when people are throughly fucked off with the status quo encapsulates perfectly why people are fucked off with the status quo.
I obviously hope Goodwin loses the by-election.
But all parties should be condemning him & his racism vocally & unequivocally & drawing a clear line in the sand between them & him.
The Greens will do this.
Labour are attacking the Greens instead of doing this.
That tells you all you need to know.
But all parties should be condemning him & his racism vocally & unequivocally & drawing a clear line in the sand between them & him.
The Greens will do this.
Labour are attacking the Greens instead of doing this.
That tells you all you need to know.
Labour attacks Green party drugs policy in Gorton and Denton byelection
Labour attacks Green party drugs policy in Gorton and Denton byelection
Online ads target Zack Polanski’s drugs stance as Labour aims to sideline Greens and consolidate anti-Reform vote
Labour has launched an attack on the Green party for wanting to legalise drugs, as the parties vie to be seen as the main leftwing contender against Reform UK in the Gorton and Denton byelection.
The party is pursuing a strategy of trying to sideline Zack Polanski’s party after warnings Labour was too slow to pitch itself as the “Stop Reform” party in Caerphilly, which was won by Plaid Cymru. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
January 29, 2026 at 4:37 PM
I obviously hope Goodwin loses the by-election.
But all parties should be condemning him & his racism vocally & unequivocally & drawing a clear line in the sand between them & him.
The Greens will do this.
Labour are attacking the Greens instead of doing this.
That tells you all you need to know.
But all parties should be condemning him & his racism vocally & unequivocally & drawing a clear line in the sand between them & him.
The Greens will do this.
Labour are attacking the Greens instead of doing this.
That tells you all you need to know.
This is just horrifying to read.
Yet a large chunk of the British political establishment are taking inspiration from this brutal and unhinged cruelty.
Yet a large chunk of the British political establishment are taking inspiration from this brutal and unhinged cruelty.
January 29, 2026 at 8:56 AM
This is just horrifying to read.
Yet a large chunk of the British political establishment are taking inspiration from this brutal and unhinged cruelty.
Yet a large chunk of the British political establishment are taking inspiration from this brutal and unhinged cruelty.
Are these so-called moderate Tories delusional or just desperate?
How could they think that Braverman defecting would see Kemi pivot to the left?
She’s openly courted and legitimised the far-right and Cruella leaving clearly wasn’t going to change that.
How could they think that Braverman defecting would see Kemi pivot to the left?
She’s openly courted and legitimised the far-right and Cruella leaving clearly wasn’t going to change that.
January 28, 2026 at 12:59 PM
Are these so-called moderate Tories delusional or just desperate?
How could they think that Braverman defecting would see Kemi pivot to the left?
She’s openly courted and legitimised the far-right and Cruella leaving clearly wasn’t going to change that.
How could they think that Braverman defecting would see Kemi pivot to the left?
She’s openly courted and legitimised the far-right and Cruella leaving clearly wasn’t going to change that.
Reposted by Nick Beales
No response yet from Reform pundit and activist Tim Montgomerie about his party's selection in Gorton and Denton
January 28, 2026 at 10:55 AM
No response yet from Reform pundit and activist Tim Montgomerie about his party's selection in Gorton and Denton
“Buckle up, the country is fucked with a capital F”
The Telegraph’s political editor is saying, more subtly, what others are saying brutally.
January 28, 2026 at 11:25 AM
“Buckle up, the country is fucked with a capital F”
If winning the seat was Reform’s only goal, they wouldn’t select Goodwin.
Reform want to push boundaries & see how Goodwin’s overt, say the quiet part out loud racism goes down.
He’s a test case to establish how figures like Yaxley-Lennon will be received. Winning the seat is of secondary importance
Reform want to push boundaries & see how Goodwin’s overt, say the quiet part out loud racism goes down.
He’s a test case to establish how figures like Yaxley-Lennon will be received. Winning the seat is of secondary importance
If Matthew Goodwin is the very best Reform can muster for an eminently winnable by-election, the unfeasibly warm welcomes for the worst of Johnson & Truss's flotsam & jetsam suddenly make much more sense.
January 28, 2026 at 10:58 AM
If winning the seat was Reform’s only goal, they wouldn’t select Goodwin.
Reform want to push boundaries & see how Goodwin’s overt, say the quiet part out loud racism goes down.
He’s a test case to establish how figures like Yaxley-Lennon will be received. Winning the seat is of secondary importance
Reform want to push boundaries & see how Goodwin’s overt, say the quiet part out loud racism goes down.
He’s a test case to establish how figures like Yaxley-Lennon will be received. Winning the seat is of secondary importance
Running on a ‘stop Reform’ platform would be a loser at the best of times.
But for a deeply unpopular incumbent govt it will be disastrous, esp as they have gone out of their way to mainstream, legitimise & detoxify Reform’s positions. How do Labour not get that?
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
But for a deeply unpopular incumbent govt it will be disastrous, esp as they have gone out of their way to mainstream, legitimise & detoxify Reform’s positions. How do Labour not get that?
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Starmer says Reform pursuing politics of ‘toxic division’ after Matt Goodwin unveiled as byelection candidate
Prime minister says Reform seeking to ‘tear people apart’ after Gorton and Denton candidate questions whether all UK-born people are British
www.theguardian.com
January 28, 2026 at 9:09 AM
Running on a ‘stop Reform’ platform would be a loser at the best of times.
But for a deeply unpopular incumbent govt it will be disastrous, esp as they have gone out of their way to mainstream, legitimise & detoxify Reform’s positions. How do Labour not get that?
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
But for a deeply unpopular incumbent govt it will be disastrous, esp as they have gone out of their way to mainstream, legitimise & detoxify Reform’s positions. How do Labour not get that?
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Huge credit to the Spanish government.
It wasn’t that long ago that Labour & even some Conservative politicians (inc Boris!) recognised the massive benefits of an amnesty for undocumented migrants here in the UK. Now they desperately try to appear nastier & more hate-filled than Braverman & Jenrick.
It wasn’t that long ago that Labour & even some Conservative politicians (inc Boris!) recognised the massive benefits of an amnesty for undocumented migrants here in the UK. Now they desperately try to appear nastier & more hate-filled than Braverman & Jenrick.
Spain to grant around half a million undocumented migrants legal status reut.rs/45UIrJJ
Spain to grant around half a million undocumented migrants legal status
Spain's Socialist-led government presented a draft decree on Tuesday to expedite legal status to hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants, in its latest move to integrate migrant workers even as other European countries curb immigration.
reut.rs
January 27, 2026 at 10:19 PM
Huge credit to the Spanish government.
It wasn’t that long ago that Labour & even some Conservative politicians (inc Boris!) recognised the massive benefits of an amnesty for undocumented migrants here in the UK. Now they desperately try to appear nastier & more hate-filled than Braverman & Jenrick.
It wasn’t that long ago that Labour & even some Conservative politicians (inc Boris!) recognised the massive benefits of an amnesty for undocumented migrants here in the UK. Now they desperately try to appear nastier & more hate-filled than Braverman & Jenrick.
Not at all defending Kemi, but I imagine this being exactly how Reform is with Farage as leader.
Suella Braverman calls Kemi Badenoch a "Supreme Leader" who Tory MPs must pledge "lifelong allegiance" to
"It's a very toxic environment. There is now a concerted effort to expunge from the party anyone who wants robust borders"
"It's a very toxic environment. There is now a concerted effort to expunge from the party anyone who wants robust borders"
January 27, 2026 at 8:25 PM
Not at all defending Kemi, but I imagine this being exactly how Reform is with Farage as leader.
I’m sorry, which commentators are surprised that Reform is running a bigoted, attention-seeking wasteman? And how I get on that gravy train as knowledge let alone awareness of current affairs clearly aren’t prerequisites.
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January 27, 2026 at 8:20 PM
I’m sorry, which commentators are surprised that Reform is running a bigoted, attention-seeking wasteman? And how I get on that gravy train as knowledge let alone awareness of current affairs clearly aren’t prerequisites.
👇👇
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