The Prophet Cassandra
@prophetcassandra.bsky.social
Talks occasionally.
Trans. 28. London. She/Her.
Trans. 28. London. She/Her.
Pinned
Wrote a short story about making the perfect Christmas Lunch since it's the season
Reviews so far:
"Gave me an existential crisis"
"Thoroughly Enjoyed that"
"Can't believe it had such a happy ending"
Reviews so far:
"Gave me an existential crisis"
"Thoroughly Enjoyed that"
"Can't believe it had such a happy ending"
Should probably reup this while it's seasonally appropriate.
Reposted by The Prophet Cassandra
Cuts to overseas aid by the UK are set to go further and faster than those made by the Trump administration in the US, as Sir Keir Starmer’s government wrestles with funding pressures
www.ft.com/content/ad52...
www.ft.com/content/ad52...
UK overseas aid cuts to outstrip those of Trump administration
Spending will drop 27% this year from 2024 levels to help fund higher defence budget
www.ft.com
February 16, 2026 at 7:51 AM
Cuts to overseas aid by the UK are set to go further and faster than those made by the Trump administration in the US, as Sir Keir Starmer’s government wrestles with funding pressures
www.ft.com/content/ad52...
www.ft.com/content/ad52...
Reposted by The Prophet Cassandra
This is part of a bigger story that hasn't had much coverage about the FCDO being cut to ribbons.
Development funding has been slashed but foreign office staff are also being reduced by 20-30%.
Development funding has been slashed but foreign office staff are also being reduced by 20-30%.
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 9:24 PM
This is part of a bigger story that hasn't had much coverage about the FCDO being cut to ribbons.
Development funding has been slashed but foreign office staff are also being reduced by 20-30%.
Development funding has been slashed but foreign office staff are also being reduced by 20-30%.
Reposted by The Prophet Cassandra
I think one of the real challenges in discussing anything to do with trans people is that the media simply cannot accept that the anti-position is entirely eliminationist. There is no way to "exist in public whilst trans" that they will accept, right down to celebrating a doctor quitting.
Susan Smith of For Women Scotland is quoted in this piece saying that Dr Upton leaving the NHS will be "a relief to female patients."
The employment tribunal found that Upton had done nothing wrong! She was completely innocent of any kind of harassment!
www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/1592555...
The employment tribunal found that Upton had done nothing wrong! She was completely innocent of any kind of harassment!
www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/1592555...
Trans doc at centre of landmark Sandi Peggie court battle quits NHS
THE trans medic at the heart of a changing room war that cost taxpayers a staggering £400,000 has walked out on the NHS. NHS Fife bosses racked up the eye-watering bill in a failed bid to hush up n…
www.thescottishsun.co.uk
February 15, 2026 at 11:00 AM
I think one of the real challenges in discussing anything to do with trans people is that the media simply cannot accept that the anti-position is entirely eliminationist. There is no way to "exist in public whilst trans" that they will accept, right down to celebrating a doctor quitting.
Reposted by The Prophet Cassandra
I retract my previous statement that Labour Together were scammed out of £36k for a report that said: 'You have a leak'.
They were actually scammed out of £36k for a report that fabricated a series of damaging claims about journalists, in order to justify itself.
www.thetimes.com/article/e5ef...
They were actually scammed out of £36k for a report that fabricated a series of damaging claims about journalists, in order to justify itself.
www.thetimes.com/article/e5ef...
Labour activists paid for smear campaign against journalists
Labour Together, the group that helped make Keir Starmer leader, hired lobbyists who falsely suggested reporters were linked to Russia
www.thetimes.com
February 14, 2026 at 9:26 PM
I retract my previous statement that Labour Together were scammed out of £36k for a report that said: 'You have a leak'.
They were actually scammed out of £36k for a report that fabricated a series of damaging claims about journalists, in order to justify itself.
www.thetimes.com/article/e5ef...
They were actually scammed out of £36k for a report that fabricated a series of damaging claims about journalists, in order to justify itself.
www.thetimes.com/article/e5ef...
Reposted by The Prophet Cassandra
"I can tell you one thing, a kangaroo from the inside doesn't smell very nice" - Christopher Mies, with a quote that I was categorically not expecting to hear today when I woke up
February 14, 2026 at 10:32 PM
"I can tell you one thing, a kangaroo from the inside doesn't smell very nice" - Christopher Mies, with a quote that I was categorically not expecting to hear today when I woke up
Reposted by The Prophet Cassandra
I'd missed that the government last week ordered the deletion of the site Courtsdesk. It's hard to describe how impossible it is for journalists to find court listings in UK. There's countless hearings I'd send a reporter to... if I knew they were happening. www.legalcheek.com/2026/02/mini...
Ministry of Justice orders deletion of the UK’s largest court reporting database - Legal Cheek
Blow for open justice
www.legalcheek.com
February 13, 2026 at 11:39 AM
I'd missed that the government last week ordered the deletion of the site Courtsdesk. It's hard to describe how impossible it is for journalists to find court listings in UK. There's countless hearings I'd send a reporter to... if I knew they were happening. www.legalcheek.com/2026/02/mini...
Reposted by The Prophet Cassandra
I don’t ever want to hear a single word from a Labour MP (who hasn’t spoken out against this issue) about Brianna Ghey again.
Trans children deserve dignity and equality in life, not just death. If you wouldn’t accord them the former don’t try and engage on the latter
Trans children deserve dignity and equality in life, not just death. If you wouldn’t accord them the former don’t try and engage on the latter
February 12, 2026 at 4:44 PM
I don’t ever want to hear a single word from a Labour MP (who hasn’t spoken out against this issue) about Brianna Ghey again.
Trans children deserve dignity and equality in life, not just death. If you wouldn’t accord them the former don’t try and engage on the latter
Trans children deserve dignity and equality in life, not just death. If you wouldn’t accord them the former don’t try and engage on the latter
Reposted by The Prophet Cassandra
This is so infuriating I really don’t have the words. Morally indefensible.
I actually think this is even more poisonous than section 28. S28 was deeply insidious, but this is quite literally state sanctioned discrimination and harassment. It’s making the lives of trans children unliveable
I actually think this is even more poisonous than section 28. S28 was deeply insidious, but this is quite literally state sanctioned discrimination and harassment. It’s making the lives of trans children unliveable
One of the horrific things about this positioning is that it takes agency away from children and families. If you're a parent who is happy for your eight year old son to share overnight accommodation with his trans schoolfriend, and they are both happy, why is Labour telling them they can't?
February 12, 2026 at 4:42 PM
This is so infuriating I really don’t have the words. Morally indefensible.
I actually think this is even more poisonous than section 28. S28 was deeply insidious, but this is quite literally state sanctioned discrimination and harassment. It’s making the lives of trans children unliveable
I actually think this is even more poisonous than section 28. S28 was deeply insidious, but this is quite literally state sanctioned discrimination and harassment. It’s making the lives of trans children unliveable
Reposted by The Prophet Cassandra
This is an extraordinary interview in which the former FCDO perm sec basically tells No 10 not to appoint Antonia Romeo to be cab sec, and that they should talk to him about her record.
‘Due diligence vitally important’ in next top civil servant appointment – Lord McDonald
www.channel4.com/news/due-dil...
www.channel4.com/news/due-dil...
‘Due diligence vitally important’ in next top civil servant appointment – Lord McDonald
Another high profile departure from No 10 in the wake of the Mandelson scandal is due to be Britain's top civil servant.
www.channel4.com
February 11, 2026 at 8:42 PM
This is an extraordinary interview in which the former FCDO perm sec basically tells No 10 not to appoint Antonia Romeo to be cab sec, and that they should talk to him about her record.
Reposted by The Prophet Cassandra
I'm always hesitant to post this take because it pleases no one, but my Eastern European side can't help but interpret Starmer as 'what if Brezhnev had focus groups'
February 11, 2026 at 12:49 PM
I'm always hesitant to post this take because it pleases no one, but my Eastern European side can't help but interpret Starmer as 'what if Brezhnev had focus groups'
Reposted by The Prophet Cassandra
NEW
Three reasons why the Mandelson disclosure exercise will be a shock for the government
Ministers and officials usually are in control of disclosure exercises - but here they will not be - and why that matters
A detailed post by me:
emptycity.substack.com/p/three-reas...
Three reasons why the Mandelson disclosure exercise will be a shock for the government
Ministers and officials usually are in control of disclosure exercises - but here they will not be - and why that matters
A detailed post by me:
emptycity.substack.com/p/three-reas...
February 10, 2026 at 10:56 AM
NEW
Three reasons why the Mandelson disclosure exercise will be a shock for the government
Ministers and officials usually are in control of disclosure exercises - but here they will not be - and why that matters
A detailed post by me:
emptycity.substack.com/p/three-reas...
Three reasons why the Mandelson disclosure exercise will be a shock for the government
Ministers and officials usually are in control of disclosure exercises - but here they will not be - and why that matters
A detailed post by me:
emptycity.substack.com/p/three-reas...
Reposted by The Prophet Cassandra
in some ways, jfk's entire notion of the Best and Brightest contains within it the seeds that would allow Trumpism to bloom but it is hard not to feel a certain kind of sadness and wistfulness.
the country lost its mind watching a man die and, 60 years later, we have nothing to show for it.
the country lost its mind watching a man die and, 60 years later, we have nothing to show for it.
February 10, 2026 at 2:37 AM
in some ways, jfk's entire notion of the Best and Brightest contains within it the seeds that would allow Trumpism to bloom but it is hard not to feel a certain kind of sadness and wistfulness.
the country lost its mind watching a man die and, 60 years later, we have nothing to show for it.
the country lost its mind watching a man die and, 60 years later, we have nothing to show for it.
Reposted by The Prophet Cassandra
Keir Starmer is the most unpopular British prime minister since records began: the sick man who cannot afford to catch a cold. That's why the Mandelson scandal has been so destabilising www.economist.com/britain/2026...
February 9, 2026 at 9:43 PM
Keir Starmer is the most unpopular British prime minister since records began: the sick man who cannot afford to catch a cold. That's why the Mandelson scandal has been so destabilising www.economist.com/britain/2026...
Reposted by The Prophet Cassandra
shoutout to mandelson for somehow having a government-ending epstein scandal where the fact that epstein was a pedophile child trafficker isnt even at the heart of the issue
February 9, 2026 at 7:18 PM
shoutout to mandelson for somehow having a government-ending epstein scandal where the fact that epstein was a pedophile child trafficker isnt even at the heart of the issue
Reposted by The Prophet Cassandra
In a competitive field, “hiring Chris Wormald and then being surprised that he is a civil service mandarin of the old school” is the most embarrassing thing Keir Starmer has done.
If everyone apart from the person who appointed them all leaves then that will sort it.
EXCL: Chris Wormald, the most senior civil servant in Downing Street, is negotiating his exit as part of a wider shakeup of Keir Starmer’s operation after dramatic day - @kiranstacey.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
February 9, 2026 at 7:51 PM
In a competitive field, “hiring Chris Wormald and then being surprised that he is a civil service mandarin of the old school” is the most embarrassing thing Keir Starmer has done.
Reposted by The Prophet Cassandra
Ah we're at the "cabinet ministers tweeting the same message of support" stage of the endgame.
February 9, 2026 at 2:56 PM
Ah we're at the "cabinet ministers tweeting the same message of support" stage of the endgame.
Reposted by The Prophet Cassandra
arguably the biggest news of the week that Lisa Nandy is currently doing something related to her brief
Only three cabinet ministers have not Tweeted or put out a message of support for Starmer:
Wes Streeting
Shabana Mahmood
Lisa Nandy (who is at the Winter Olympics)
This could of course change, but it's where we're at just before 3:30pm
Wes Streeting
Shabana Mahmood
Lisa Nandy (who is at the Winter Olympics)
This could of course change, but it's where we're at just before 3:30pm
February 9, 2026 at 3:27 PM
arguably the biggest news of the week that Lisa Nandy is currently doing something related to her brief
Reposted by The Prophet Cassandra
Reposted by The Prophet Cassandra
Every comment from one of his defenders reads like either the set-up or punchline for one of those old political jokes from the Soviet Union
February 9, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Every comment from one of his defenders reads like either the set-up or punchline for one of those old political jokes from the Soviet Union
Reposted by The Prophet Cassandra
It really embodies the very specific ways that some people in politics are a) bad at their jobs and b) too online that you can be supportive of 'the Labour government 2024 to 2026, and McSweeney's role in it' and use these words *at all*, not least in many ways: that's what they're doing!
If you are using the phrase "full speed ahead to uber-woke, net-zeroist, rejoinerism", especially if you are of the left, a loved one should take your phone off you and send you to Baden-Baden or somewhere for a month.
Yes, god help we risk a floundering government that feels like no one is in charge.
February 8, 2026 at 5:53 PM
It really embodies the very specific ways that some people in politics are a) bad at their jobs and b) too online that you can be supportive of 'the Labour government 2024 to 2026, and McSweeney's role in it' and use these words *at all*, not least in many ways: that's what they're doing!
Reposted by The Prophet Cassandra
mashallah he is gone, to celebrate I've made the piece I wrote last year about arguably the most embarrassing project I've ever worked on free to read: youngvulgarian.substack.com/p/so-about-t...
February 8, 2026 at 3:59 PM
mashallah he is gone, to celebrate I've made the piece I wrote last year about arguably the most embarrassing project I've ever worked on free to read: youngvulgarian.substack.com/p/so-about-t...
Reposted by The Prophet Cassandra
In a touching tribute to his mentor, Morgan McSweeney has resigned in disgrace.
February 8, 2026 at 2:46 PM
In a touching tribute to his mentor, Morgan McSweeney has resigned in disgrace.
Reposted by The Prophet Cassandra
Right that the prime minister has resigned. His successor, Keir Starmer, has a very difficult inheritance.
Morgan McSweeney resigns as Downing Street chief of staff
Exit of Mandelson protégé comes as Sir Keir Starmer seeks to stave off leadership speculation
www.ft.com
February 8, 2026 at 2:33 PM
Right that the prime minister has resigned. His successor, Keir Starmer, has a very difficult inheritance.
Reposted by The Prophet Cassandra
Woah this polling is looking good
February 6, 2026 at 10:05 PM
Woah this polling is looking good
Reposted by The Prophet Cassandra
On the Labour side, there’s a lot of “the public are not able to face up to Hard Choices” - you never gave them the chance to! You instead presented a manifesto that was either an act of self-deception or just of regular deception!
February 6, 2026 at 1:13 PM
On the Labour side, there’s a lot of “the public are not able to face up to Hard Choices” - you never gave them the chance to! You instead presented a manifesto that was either an act of self-deception or just of regular deception!