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realcaptainhaddock.bsky.social
Captain Haddock
@realcaptainhaddock.bsky.social
3.3K followers 1.8K following 5.4K posts
The tweeter formerly known as @jxb101 at the previous place

Brexit is shite


🇨🇦🇬🇧🇿🇦🇨🇿☸️🔸
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Captain Haddock
chanda.blacksky.app
this is a level of complicity that had not occurred to me
phillewis.bsky.social Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 6h
Gallup will no longer measure presidential approval after 88 years thehill.com/homenews/med...
A photo of gallup
February 11, 2026 at 7:28 PM
realcaptainhaddock.bsky.social
This sounds like exactly the sort of stuff Morgan McSweeney might put out there
flyingrodent.bsky.social flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 7h
Fascinating stuff from Tom McTague here in the New Statesman. I have questions: Has it been common knowledge that Tony Blair et al spent the late Brexit years scoping out creating a new Macronist party? Was anyone else aware this was happening? Who put up any money required for this stuff?
Yeah, I think these are really important moments in the MeSweeney and the Starmer story. If you cast your mind back to that period that we opened the podcast with where Keir Starmer is serving in the Corbyn shadow cabinet, and there's been the vote for Brexit in 2016, that period of time, if you cast your mind back, was when there was a real movement to block Brexit from happening and to have a second referendum. And what was going on behind the scenes was a real movement to set up a new party, one that would capture this sense of Remainer energy, progressive energy that was opposed to Corbyn's sort of more socialist populist turn. And it was, Morgan McSweeney is convinced, being led fundamentally, in some way, by Tony Blair. And Tony Blair was supportive of this. Now, of course, Tony Blair publicly rejects that claim, but there were dossiers produced, what this party would be. Remember that this was influenced by Emmanuel Macron's party. And you had at the time, Tony Blair returning in some way to British politics with the TBI, the Tony Blair Institute, which had this huge think tank that some people internally were thinking that this was a kind of vehicle for it. It was a new, it was a sort of described as a party in embryo, wasn't it? And you had some of these documents. It was like, it was a blueprint for a British on Marsh, which at that time, Macron's party was actually seen as successful. He wasn't this hated figure. It was a way the centre could be competitive again in British politics. Yeah, exactly. And again, we should stress that these weren't, you know, documents produced by Tony Blair, but by people who are close to him in terms of their allies. But they, but those people like McSweeney thought that they tacitly at least had Tony Blair support. And what McSweeney did at this point was to try and kill off these parties to save the Labour party. He was manoeuvring behind the scenes. He was getting donor money. He was trying to stop this thing from happening because he believed it would crush the Labour party. And what he was trying to do was trying to not only crush these start-up parties, but crush the ideas behind them, the sense that you could create a kind of middle class progressive party, the centrist party like Macron's. And he believed that you had to have a party rooted in the working class fundamentally. And that was the Labour party. And this was how the partnership with Keir Starmer came about, and that Morgan McSweeney helped to identify the candidate that he thought could win the Labour party leadership and move the party as he saw it into this position of electoral viability. That is the McSweeney legacy in a sense.
February 11, 2026 at 7:48 PM
realcaptainhaddock.bsky.social
Says immigrant colonising Switzerland

Remove this guy’s knighthood
February 11, 2026 at 6:43 PM
Reposted by Captain Haddock
seismatters.bsky.social
😂
One on left is a black dog and above it the words “Reality”. Below it is “I chased a squirrel” One the right is a black dog and above it says “LinkedIn”. Below it says, Proud to announce that I effectively executed a rapid-response squirrel displacement strategy to mitigate potential yard intrusions. Humbled by the unwavering support of my family and local stakeholders. This experience reinforced the importance of vigilance, ownership, and continuous improvement. Looking forward to scaling this impact in future engagements.
February 11, 2026 at 12:11 PM
Reposted by Captain Haddock
iandunt.bsky.social
It is so embarrassing that it has taken nearly a decade for a British minister to say this, a statement of the absolute bloody obvious
February 11, 2026 at 7:40 AM
Reposted by Captain Haddock
joxley.jmoxley.co.uk
Loss to Reform - 700k
Loss to Green - 800k
Loss to LD - 1m
Loss to Don't Know - 1.3m

Ref gain from Cons -1.7m
Ref gain from non-voting - 1.7m.

"Someone who is good at winning Reform votes please help me, my party is dying"

(all figs to Summer 2025, ripped from @dylandifford.bsky.social)
politicshome.bsky.social PoliticsHome @politicshome.bsky.social · May 14
On Tuesday, Starmer's political director briefed Labour MPs on how government plans to fight Reform. She said:

- Reform voters are "our people" but "pissed off" with the state of the country
- At Runcorn, Farage mobilised habitual non-voters, while Labour voters stayed at home
- Comms must improve
Top Starmer Aide: Reform Voters Are 'Labour People' – They're Just 'Pissed Off'
Reform UK voters are “our people” but are “pissed off” with Keir Starmer’s government, Labour’s political director has said.
www.politicshome.com
February 11, 2026 at 12:01 PM
realcaptainhaddock.bsky.social
I see we are reinventing the Department for Economic Affairs
libdems.org.uk Liberal Democrats @libdems.org.uk · 15h
🚨BREAKING: Lib Dems announce plan to replace Treasury with new Department for Growth based in Birmingham.

It's time to get Britain growing again.
Graphic under the heading 'get Britain growing again' showing Daisy Cooper announcing plans for a new UK department for Growth.
February 11, 2026 at 11:38 AM
realcaptainhaddock.bsky.social
Good grief
anneapplebaum.bsky.social Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.bsky.social · 2d
"While his father Steve Witkoff acts as President Trump’s all-purpose special envoy, 32-year-old Zach Witkoff now heads up World Liberty, which has doled out at least $1.4 billion to both families"
extraordinary reporting from @wsj.com
www.wsj.com/finance/curr...
One Generation Runs the Country. The Next Cashed In on Crypto.
Sons of top Trump administration officials made billions for their families, but their investors didn’t always fare so well.
www.wsj.com
February 11, 2026 at 11:35 AM
Reposted by Captain Haddock
implausibleblog.bsky.social
Daisy Cooper, "The European Union is right on our doorstep and you just can't fight geography"

"For the benefit of our country, to get Britain growing again so we can end the cost of living crisis, we have got to get a better deal with the European Union"

#RejoinEU
February 11, 2026 at 10:40 AM
Reposted by Captain Haddock
rahaeli.bsky.social
I genuinely cannot believe the degree to which we are pissing away this generational breakthrough, even given the fuckmuppets who are involved www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
FDA declines to review Moderna's mRNA flu shot
Under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Food and Drug Administration has taken an aggressive stance against mRNA technology.
www.nbcnews.com
February 10, 2026 at 11:32 PM
realcaptainhaddock.bsky.social
This is really bad news if correct

We can push Levelized Cost of Energy as showing renewables are ‘cheaper’ but if the system costs that is based upon are incorrect then what?

www.ft.com/content/c6bd...
UK electricity will cost more in 2030 than after invasion of Ukraine, warns Centrica
Need for more investment in British energy system drives up costs
www.ft.com
February 11, 2026 at 11:14 AM
Reposted by Captain Haddock
josiahmortimer.bsky.social
Ofcom’s founding director of standards has said he is “astounded” by the regulator’s decision not to investigate complaints about a GB News interview with Donald Trump, where he claimed unchallenged that human-induced climate change is “a hoax” (he was lavished with praise by GB News). Via Guardian
February 11, 2026 at 8:16 AM
Reposted by Captain Haddock
pascallth.bsky.social
This whole idea is madness - every polling station will be a Russian target and at no point has Russia shown any respect for the democratic will of Ukraine

bsky.app/profile/fina...
financialtimes.com Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 19h
The Ukrainian president’s move comes amid pressure by the White House to hold both votes by May 15 or risk losing proposed US security guarantees. ft.trib.al/7CayP4W
February 11, 2026 at 8:38 AM
realcaptainhaddock.bsky.social
🤪
February 11, 2026 at 6:13 AM
Reposted by Captain Haddock
sundersays.bsky.social
Nick Buckley sets out Advance UK immigration policy of Ben Habib's party

- bsn ILR & revoke aıı post-2018 grants
- encourage all settled migrants to leave
- bsn all work visas from India & all other majority non-white countries
- ban foreigners becoming citizens
- invade French waters
February 10, 2026 at 12:47 AM
Reposted by Captain Haddock
groverxv.bsky.social
This guy is absolutely gonna end up as this era’s Howard Hughes … alone in a hotel room in the dark, surrounded by glass jars of his own piss
February 10, 2026 at 1:34 AM
realcaptainhaddock.bsky.social
Spot on from @paulmason.bsky.social

Polanski is just a Corbynesque crank with better optics

open.substack.com/pub/htsf/p/l...
Leave NATO? No thanks Zack...
I don't think the Brazilian navy is coming to our rescue if Putin attacks
open.substack.com
February 10, 2026 at 9:34 AM
realcaptainhaddock.bsky.social
Jesus wept
wartranslated.bsky.social WarTranslated (Dmitri) @wartranslated.bsky.social · 2d
The foreign minister of supposedly neutral Switzerland, Ignazio Cassis, during a visit to Moscow, presented Lavrov with a music box playing Tchaikovsky, to remind him that Russia is "part of Europe".
February 10, 2026 at 6:41 AM
realcaptainhaddock.bsky.social
🙄
February 10, 2026 at 6:28 AM
realcaptainhaddock.bsky.social
Retired people voting for working people to go back to the office to pay for their triple lock
peterstefanovic.bsky.social Peter Stefanovic @peterstefanovic.bsky.social · 2d
BREAKING: Nigel Farage calls for an end to working from home and the focus on work-life balance

"People aren't more productive working from home - it's a load of nonsense”

Whatever you do JUST DON’T VOTE REFORM!
February 9, 2026 at 9:25 PM
Reposted by Captain Haddock
danneidle.bsky.social
Interesting email. Mandelson in 2013 considering shifting Global Counsel towards doing deals/arranging financings, rather than just lobbying/advisory.

Did that ever happen?
February 9, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Reposted by Captain Haddock
sundersays.bsky.social
Andre Ventura of Chega (change) running on anti-immigratiom slogans like "this isn't Bangladesh" and "Portugal is ours" has lost the Portugal presidential election in a landslide.

He was second on 23% to 31% in the first round but losing about 30-70 in the run-off to socialist António José Seguro
February 8, 2026 at 9:22 PM
Reposted by Captain Haddock
grudgie.bsky.social
Great example
zeddary.bsky.social Zeddy @zeddary.bsky.social · 2d
Beyonce and Ricky Martin performed at Bush's 2000 inaugural is a thing I think about a lot when considering how much more culturally isolated and extreme the right has become.
February 9, 2026 at 3:18 PM
Reposted by Captain Haddock
jimhenleymusic.bsky.social
BREAKING: “in my 24th year of my quest to settle the planet Mars, I have just been informed of a basic fact of celestial mechanics.”
Screenshot of Elon Musk post on Ex: “Elon Musk y X @elonmusk For those unaware, Space has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon, as we can potentially achieve that in less than 10 years, whereas Mars would take 20+ years. The mission of SpaceX remains the same: extend consciousness and life as we know it to the stars. It is only possible to travel to Mars when the planets align every 26 months (six month trip time), whereas we can launch to the Moon every 10 days (2 day trip time). This means we can iterate much faster to complete a Moon city than a Mars city. That said, SpaceX will also strive to build a Mars city and begin doing so in about 5 to 7 years, but the overriding priority is securing the future of civilization and the Moon is faster.”
February 9, 2026 at 10:31 AM
realcaptainhaddock.bsky.social
See what you did David Cameron?
joxley.jmoxley.co.uk John Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 2d
Starmer has to survive 38 days to have had a longer tenure than Rishi Sunak.

If a successor were to be in place by 13th July, we'd have had 7 PMs in a decade, which, by my reckoning, is the most since the 8 of 1827-37.
February 9, 2026 at 3:15 PM