Phil
@philparsons.bsky.social
This guy hasn't been in the Echo for ages (used to be quoted daily) but how many independent groups are there?! What is the point?!
www.echo-news.co.uk/news/2585350...
www.echo-news.co.uk/news/2585350...
Independent councillor to break away and form new Southend East group
A FORMER mayor of Southend has announced he will resign from the council’s Independent Group after the May elections
www.echo-news.co.uk
February 16, 2026 at 1:36 PM
This guy hasn't been in the Echo for ages (used to be quoted daily) but how many independent groups are there?! What is the point?!
www.echo-news.co.uk/news/2585350...
www.echo-news.co.uk/news/2585350...
First time it hasn’t been raining when I step out of the office in the evening in forever!
February 13, 2026 at 5:28 PM
First time it hasn’t been raining when I step out of the office in the evening in forever!
Reposted by Phil
'I'm going on LBC this morning, Nige. Anything I should say?'
'Do you have a story about how dangerous London is these days?'
'Well, this guy walked past me in a funny way yesterday morning.'
'Sounds absolutely terrifying. Go for it.'
'Do you have a story about how dangerous London is these days?'
'Well, this guy walked past me in a funny way yesterday morning.'
'Sounds absolutely terrifying. Go for it.'
Nadhim Zahawi thinks London is now unsafe, because the other day a tired-looking man walked past him during the morning rush hour.
February 13, 2026 at 2:11 PM
'I'm going on LBC this morning, Nige. Anything I should say?'
'Do you have a story about how dangerous London is these days?'
'Well, this guy walked past me in a funny way yesterday morning.'
'Sounds absolutely terrifying. Go for it.'
'Do you have a story about how dangerous London is these days?'
'Well, this guy walked past me in a funny way yesterday morning.'
'Sounds absolutely terrifying. Go for it.'
An interesting article
www.bigissue.com/news/social-...
www.bigissue.com/news/social-...
Jim Ratcliffe: does he pay more tax than immigrants?
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has said immigrants are 'colonising the United Kingdom'. But who is contributing more to the UK economy?
www.bigissue.com
February 13, 2026 at 4:25 PM
An interesting article
www.bigissue.com/news/social-...
www.bigissue.com/news/social-...
Apart from my lunch break, I think I’ve forgotten to drink today. That’ll be why I’ve got a headache then.
February 13, 2026 at 4:07 PM
Apart from my lunch break, I think I’ve forgotten to drink today. That’ll be why I’ve got a headache then.
Reposted by Phil
Govt to spend £5bn to pay off 90% of the English councils debts for supporting children & young people with special educational needs.
The real problem is privatisation and profiteering by corporations, huge wealth transfer from public to private
How long before the write-off needs to be repeated?
The real problem is privatisation and profiteering by corporations, huge wealth transfer from public to private
How long before the write-off needs to be repeated?
£5bn council SEND debts to be paid off by government
It comes days after the Local Government Association warned that eight in 10 English councils would face bankruptcy, if they had to honour deficits.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 10, 2026 at 8:18 AM
Govt to spend £5bn to pay off 90% of the English councils debts for supporting children & young people with special educational needs.
The real problem is privatisation and profiteering by corporations, huge wealth transfer from public to private
How long before the write-off needs to be repeated?
The real problem is privatisation and profiteering by corporations, huge wealth transfer from public to private
How long before the write-off needs to be repeated?
Reposted by Phil
Since #bbclaurak is trending, let’s remind ourselves that ONE MONTH ago, the BBC invited Mandelson on for a soft-ball interview on her show. While HIS CLIENT , Palantir’s Louis Moseley appeared as a pundit
Both, as I wrote at time, were ‘abject failures of journalism’
1/
Both, as I wrote at time, were ‘abject failures of journalism’
1/
February 8, 2026 at 10:13 AM
Since #bbclaurak is trending, let’s remind ourselves that ONE MONTH ago, the BBC invited Mandelson on for a soft-ball interview on her show. While HIS CLIENT , Palantir’s Louis Moseley appeared as a pundit
Both, as I wrote at time, were ‘abject failures of journalism’
1/
Both, as I wrote at time, were ‘abject failures of journalism’
1/
Haven’t seen it yet, but it seems to have ticked the right boxes. Well, the box.
Bad Bunny makes history at Super Bowl with Spanish performance - as Trump blasts it 'absolutely terrible'
Bad Bunny makes history at Super Bowl with Spanish performance - as Trump blasts it 'absolutely terrible'
Bad Bunny has made history by becoming the first Super Bowl halftime show headliner to perform entirely in Spanish - and to host a wedding during the performance.
news.sky.com
February 9, 2026 at 7:41 AM
Haven’t seen it yet, but it seems to have ticked the right boxes. Well, the box.
The “brains behind Labour’s comeback”? I could have told Labour to do what they did. Just keep quiet and let the Tories get on with looking incompetent. The problems started when Labour got into power.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Morgan McSweeney: brains behind Labour’s comeback undone by poor judgment
Starmer’s chief of staff, who has quit over Mandelson appointment, was accused of presiding over a toxic No 10
www.theguardian.com
February 8, 2026 at 6:21 PM
The “brains behind Labour’s comeback”? I could have told Labour to do what they did. Just keep quiet and let the Tories get on with looking incompetent. The problems started when Labour got into power.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
I wonder why he deleted this tweet. How is Akehurst always wrong I wonder?
February 6, 2026 at 5:47 PM
I wonder why he deleted this tweet. How is Akehurst always wrong I wonder?
Just walking home up Hamlet Court Road and a guy gave me a nod. Took me a second to realise it was my son’s primary school teacher during Covid. I think I really only saw him on a screen!
February 5, 2026 at 6:20 PM
Just walking home up Hamlet Court Road and a guy gave me a nod. Took me a second to realise it was my son’s primary school teacher during Covid. I think I really only saw him on a screen!
Walking back to Fenchurch Street, two people just walked past with balloons. One a 5 and one a 0. I cannot get away from those numbers this week! A contractor came in today and said, “I’m 50 this year too!” Thanks!
January 29, 2026 at 4:54 PM
Walking back to Fenchurch Street, two people just walked past with balloons. One a 5 and one a 0. I cannot get away from those numbers this week! A contractor came in today and said, “I’m 50 this year too!” Thanks!
Just had a text from the NHS. So I’m of the age I’m being sent a bowel cancer screening kit. Great!
January 29, 2026 at 4:27 PM
Just had a text from the NHS. So I’m of the age I’m being sent a bowel cancer screening kit. Great!
At last, he’s gone! He just asked me what part of Southend I lived, I told him Westcliff. He said, “ooo posh”. I said, “No.”
The access control guy started off moaning that the country was failing because people were working from home. Later on he was saying how good at was for his daughter. My colleague was impressed by how I managed to keep a straight face.
January 23, 2026 at 3:48 PM
At last, he’s gone! He just asked me what part of Southend I lived, I told him Westcliff. He said, “ooo posh”. I said, “No.”
Had way to many people in the office today. Two guys to cover one guy that doesn’t seem to be coming back from Colombia and another guy servicing the access control. All talking way too much!
January 16, 2026 at 5:16 PM
Had way to many people in the office today. Two guys to cover one guy that doesn’t seem to be coming back from Colombia and another guy servicing the access control. All talking way too much!
You know you’re getting old, when you end up having a conversation with the lady in the local shop, about driving to Liverpool on Friday with all the weather warnings.
January 7, 2026 at 6:29 PM
You know you’re getting old, when you end up having a conversation with the lady in the local shop, about driving to Liverpool on Friday with all the weather warnings.
Just got home and got sent to the shop. As I walked past some flats, I remembered that a woman ran past my front door this morning in her dressing gown and slippers. Must have needed something from her car.
January 6, 2026 at 6:22 PM
Just got home and got sent to the shop. As I walked past some flats, I remembered that a woman ran past my front door this morning in her dressing gown and slippers. Must have needed something from her car.
Reposted by Phil
In the end, someone has to ask *why* people have been persuaded to be so terrified of immigration, when it has so many benefits and so few real downsides. Almost all of the claimed downsides are either lies or misinterpretations of statistics.
Why would any sane country do this to itself?
Why would any sane country do this to itself?
January 6, 2026 at 8:13 AM
In the end, someone has to ask *why* people have been persuaded to be so terrified of immigration, when it has so many benefits and so few real downsides. Almost all of the claimed downsides are either lies or misinterpretations of statistics.
Why would any sane country do this to itself?
Why would any sane country do this to itself?
Just did a door report to see how many people are in the building, and there are 69.
a little girl in a blue shirt is standing in front of a shelf filled with glassware .
Alt: a little girl in a blue shirt is standing in front of a shelf filled with glassware .
media.tenor.com
December 30, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Just did a door report to see how many people are in the building, and there are 69.
This headline popped up on my phone earlier and I rolled my eyes, but it’s actually a good article.
Out of a job and on benefits: Why Britain isn't working
Out of a job and on benefits: Why Britain isn't working
Winter is closing in on the Bidston Rise housing estate in Birkenhead, but there's one front garden that hasn't given in yet.
news.sky.com
December 16, 2025 at 1:09 PM
This headline popped up on my phone earlier and I rolled my eyes, but it’s actually a good article.
This is the problem with the government relying on charity to do its job. Once people feel less well off the stop giving.
www.echo-news.co.uk/news/2569419...
www.echo-news.co.uk/news/2569419...
Major blow as Southend Foodbank announces four sites to shut amid soaring costs
Southend Foodbank has announced four of its eight distribution centres across the city will close amid spiralling costs and tumbling donations.
www.echo-news.co.uk
December 15, 2025 at 2:15 PM
This is the problem with the government relying on charity to do its job. Once people feel less well off the stop giving.
www.echo-news.co.uk/news/2569419...
www.echo-news.co.uk/news/2569419...