Ric Brackenbury
@ricmk.bsky.social
A random combination of political nerdery, faith, running and enjoying Milton Keynes life with a young family. Ex-city councillor, still interested in what makes MK tick.
Lots of fun marshalling at Middleton fireworks this evening.
November 8, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Lots of fun marshalling at Middleton fireworks this evening.
If this is enacted, I'd urge you to make sure you never get sick, have children, become a pensioner, or take up a job paying less well but of greater benefit to our society. This is wrong on every level. Fair play to those calling it out.
Via @sundersays.bsky.social the Conservatives' draft legislation - absolutely clear that it applies to (and is intended to apply to) legal permanent residents claiming state pension (on the basis of their contributions) or child benefit for British kids.
publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbi...
publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbi...
October 22, 2025 at 9:30 AM
If this is enacted, I'd urge you to make sure you never get sick, have children, become a pensioner, or take up a job paying less well but of greater benefit to our society. This is wrong on every level. Fair play to those calling it out.
Reposted by Ric Brackenbury
Ming Campbell was a dedicated public servant and a true Liberal giant.
His principled leadership opposing the Iraq War was a mark of his morality, courage and wisdom.
But more than that, he was an incredibly warm and caring friend and colleague.
We will miss him terribly.
His principled leadership opposing the Iraq War was a mark of his morality, courage and wisdom.
But more than that, he was an incredibly warm and caring friend and colleague.
We will miss him terribly.
September 26, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Ming Campbell was a dedicated public servant and a true Liberal giant.
His principled leadership opposing the Iraq War was a mark of his morality, courage and wisdom.
But more than that, he was an incredibly warm and caring friend and colleague.
We will miss him terribly.
His principled leadership opposing the Iraq War was a mark of his morality, courage and wisdom.
But more than that, he was an incredibly warm and caring friend and colleague.
We will miss him terribly.
Turns out that Mambo No 5 is the perfect length for a Channel 4 advert break. We checked twice. #taskmaster
September 25, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Turns out that Mambo No 5 is the perfect length for a Channel 4 advert break. We checked twice. #taskmaster
Reposted by Ric Brackenbury
Reform's ‘plan’ to revoke the legal status of millions of UK residents is morally abhorrent & economic madness
The public believe in fairness & mutual respect, not this cruel Trumpian policy that would leave us all poorer. We are not America - we must resist this dangerous turn in British politics.
The public believe in fairness & mutual respect, not this cruel Trumpian policy that would leave us all poorer. We are not America - we must resist this dangerous turn in British politics.
September 22, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Reform's ‘plan’ to revoke the legal status of millions of UK residents is morally abhorrent & economic madness
The public believe in fairness & mutual respect, not this cruel Trumpian policy that would leave us all poorer. We are not America - we must resist this dangerous turn in British politics.
The public believe in fairness & mutual respect, not this cruel Trumpian policy that would leave us all poorer. We are not America - we must resist this dangerous turn in British politics.
This isn't mine but it could be. In COVID times, I appreciated the quiet final hour more than ever.
I like to do a supermarket shop in the evening. Tell my wife because it's quicker when it's quieter. It's actually for the joy of gliding down the aisles on the trolley without people in the way. I'm an accountant and company director in my 40s.
September 12, 2025 at 2:14 PM
This isn't mine but it could be. In COVID times, I appreciated the quiet final hour more than ever.
Enjoyed watching the cycling Tour of Britain starting in Milton Keynes on Thursday.
September 6, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Enjoyed watching the cycling Tour of Britain starting in Milton Keynes on Thursday.
A great day for Leanne Wood of Plaid Cymru! No longer the holder of the UK's most embarrassing leadership election result as incumbent....
September 2, 2025 at 10:35 AM
A great day for Leanne Wood of Plaid Cymru! No longer the holder of the UK's most embarrassing leadership election result as incumbent....
Feels like Labour are conceding the next election without a fight, if this is the best they have.
No10 spokesman not prepared to criticise anything about Farage speech today.
Not his description of "invasion", not his prediction that the UK on brink of civil war, not plans to pay the Taliban or Iran to take back migrants, or indeed to rule out doing so themselves.
Not his description of "invasion", not his prediction that the UK on brink of civil war, not plans to pay the Taliban or Iran to take back migrants, or indeed to rule out doing so themselves.
August 26, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Feels like Labour are conceding the next election without a fight, if this is the best they have.
Reposted by Ric Brackenbury
Reposted by Ric Brackenbury
Trump insisted he'd stop the war on Day One. He's been back 208 days and achieved nothing. He has talks and summits where he claims "progress" then Russia immediately goes back to slaughtering Ukrainians. He's failed. Humiliatingly. That should be the headline. Putin is playing him like a fiddle.
August 16, 2025 at 6:43 AM
Trump insisted he'd stop the war on Day One. He's been back 208 days and achieved nothing. He has talks and summits where he claims "progress" then Russia immediately goes back to slaughtering Ukrainians. He's failed. Humiliatingly. That should be the headline. Putin is playing him like a fiddle.
If this is true, it’s a complete surrender. We need to back Ukraine in refusing it
1/ The Trump Administration is reportedly finalising a peace proposal that would allow Russia to take over the entirety of the Donetsk region and force Ukraine to surrender the unoccupied portion. All territory currently occupied by Russia would remain under Russian control. ⬇️
August 8, 2025 at 5:23 PM
If this is true, it’s a complete surrender. We need to back Ukraine in refusing it
Sad news. What a legacy in Milton Keynes though, through The Stables. I met her once, when she came to object to a planning application and I was on the committee. RIP.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Cleo Laine: Acclaimed jazz singer dies aged 97
She was the first British singer to win a Grammy in a jazz category and performed with all the greats.
www.bbc.co.uk
July 25, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Sad news. What a legacy in Milton Keynes though, through The Stables. I met her once, when she came to object to a planning application and I was on the committee. RIP.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Agyemang and Kelly off the bench. Talk of impact subs.
Coming home folks
Coming home folks
July 22, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Agyemang and Kelly off the bench. Talk of impact subs.
Coming home folks
Coming home folks
I was at a conference week before last - civil servants withdrawn as speakers at the last minute - just left confusion and an opportunity to bash the Government from a group who are vital to implement a policy and need to be onside. Madness.
Story tonight about our joint open letter to The Times
We’re calling for the guidance that is preventing civil servants from participating in public and stakeholder events to be withdrawn
www.thetimes.com/article/2e4f...
We’re calling for the guidance that is preventing civil servants from participating in public and stakeholder events to be withdrawn
www.thetimes.com/article/2e4f...
![In their letter the think tanks describe the new rules as a "mistake", saying that
"effective government" relies on public servants hearing directly from businesses, charities and citizens to help them make better policy. They warned: "They should be able to explain government activity to those same groups. It the guidance] is causing confusion and a chilling effect on public discussion. The government should withdraw it."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:omxdpil26ujygcgfuel3otja/bafkreiayylan4f5f3sccymqebad2uhkr4tjc2lz7tf5lqynxkedurvcpeq@jpeg)
July 13, 2025 at 6:09 PM
I was at a conference week before last - civil servants withdrawn as speakers at the last minute - just left confusion and an opportunity to bash the Government from a group who are vital to implement a policy and need to be onside. Madness.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
I don't usually welcome planning appeals - decide it locally - but The Point's time has been and gone and it's time for Milton Keynes to move on.
I don't usually welcome planning appeals - decide it locally - but The Point's time has been and gone and it's time for Milton Keynes to move on.
Milton Keynes cinema The Point to be demolished for new flats
It opened in 1985 with a viewing of Rocky IV.
www.bbc.co.uk
July 9, 2025 at 7:07 PM
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
I don't usually welcome planning appeals - decide it locally - but The Point's time has been and gone and it's time for Milton Keynes to move on.
I don't usually welcome planning appeals - decide it locally - but The Point's time has been and gone and it's time for Milton Keynes to move on.
Reposted by Ric Brackenbury
A Tory amendment seeks to ban non-British citizens like my father, who has worked in the NHS for over 40 years from accessing universal credit and PIP should they ever need it. It’s divisive and disgusting. It’s anti-British and we should not stand for it.
July 9, 2025 at 3:58 PM
A Tory amendment seeks to ban non-British citizens like my father, who has worked in the NHS for over 40 years from accessing universal credit and PIP should they ever need it. It’s divisive and disgusting. It’s anti-British and we should not stand for it.
Reposted by Ric Brackenbury
The scale of radicalisation needed for a frontbencher to place any sickness/out-of-work benefits I receive, as a British citizen of many generations standing, into the ‘morally dubious spending’ pile, solely because of the nationality of my partner - as Vickers does here - is frankly mind-blowing.
This really is not getting the attention it should. The Tories' latest proposal is to exclude *any household that includes any foreign national from any benefit*.
And when asked about it, they keep citing small boat crossings - a minute fraction of migration - to justify it. ~AA
And when asked about it, they keep citing small boat crossings - a minute fraction of migration - to justify it. ~AA
July 7, 2025 at 1:14 PM
The scale of radicalisation needed for a frontbencher to place any sickness/out-of-work benefits I receive, as a British citizen of many generations standing, into the ‘morally dubious spending’ pile, solely because of the nationality of my partner - as Vickers does here - is frankly mind-blowing.
Exactly this. These changes look far less defendable than the Winter Fuel cuts, to me.
The problem for the government now is that it has to justify to its own MPs why it could u-turn for a household on £30,000 a year losing £200-£300, but not for a disabled person losing £10,000 a year, at once, because of the government’s choices.
No-one lost more than £300 a year due to Labour’s changes to Winter Fuel Allowance.
Labour’s changes to disability benefit could cost some households *more than £10,000 a year* – and the plans tabled this week do nothing to fix that.
It’s no wonder campaigners are raising alarms with MPs.
Labour’s changes to disability benefit could cost some households *more than £10,000 a year* – and the plans tabled this week do nothing to fix that.
It’s no wonder campaigners are raising alarms with MPs.
June 20, 2025 at 10:23 AM
Exactly this. These changes look far less defendable than the Winter Fuel cuts, to me.
Reposted by Ric Brackenbury
Britain's political and media classes are way out of date (and out of touch) when it comes to opinion about Brexit.
Leave has comprehensively lost the argument. However, possession is nine-tenths of the law here and the status quo isn't going to change with Reform so strong in the polls.
Leave has comprehensively lost the argument. However, possession is nine-tenths of the law here and the status quo isn't going to change with Reform so strong in the polls.
Next week marks 9 years since the EU referendum; most Britons would now support rejoining
Closer relationship without rejoining: 67% support
Rejoining: 56%
Status quo: 28%
Further loosening ties: 18%
yougov.co.uk/politics/art...
Closer relationship without rejoining: 67% support
Rejoining: 56%
Status quo: 28%
Further loosening ties: 18%
yougov.co.uk/politics/art...
June 20, 2025 at 8:30 AM
Britain's political and media classes are way out of date (and out of touch) when it comes to opinion about Brexit.
Leave has comprehensively lost the argument. However, possession is nine-tenths of the law here and the status quo isn't going to change with Reform so strong in the polls.
Leave has comprehensively lost the argument. However, possession is nine-tenths of the law here and the status quo isn't going to change with Reform so strong in the polls.
All I want to know is whether she's changed her PIN number since www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Woman charged £4,586 for two-hour car park stay in Slough
It took three weeks for the mum to receive a refund for the accidental overcharge.
www.bbc.co.uk
June 16, 2025 at 12:36 PM
All I want to know is whether she's changed her PIN number since www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Ric Brackenbury
Oooh, you mean it's OK to leave, realise it's a mistake, then rejoin? 😉
June 7, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Oooh, you mean it's OK to leave, realise it's a mistake, then rejoin? 😉
Reposted by Ric Brackenbury
Starmer's language was deplorable.
It was grotesquely offensive, accusing people who have brought their gifts to this country of doing "incalculable" "damage"; & politically foolish, in endorsing Farage's claims of an establishment conspiracy.
But bad analogies with Powell miss the key problem. 🧵
It was grotesquely offensive, accusing people who have brought their gifts to this country of doing "incalculable" "damage"; & politically foolish, in endorsing Farage's claims of an establishment conspiracy.
But bad analogies with Powell miss the key problem. 🧵
May 14, 2025 at 10:50 AM
Starmer's language was deplorable.
It was grotesquely offensive, accusing people who have brought their gifts to this country of doing "incalculable" "damage"; & politically foolish, in endorsing Farage's claims of an establishment conspiracy.
But bad analogies with Powell miss the key problem. 🧵
It was grotesquely offensive, accusing people who have brought their gifts to this country of doing "incalculable" "damage"; & politically foolish, in endorsing Farage's claims of an establishment conspiracy.
But bad analogies with Powell miss the key problem. 🧵
Reposted by Ric Brackenbury
Going to be so many weird three/four split results like this next week. Including for the mayoralites. We badly need PR for locals/mayors at v least.
(No one can claim FPTP provides "strong administration" at local level given the number of councils in no overall control).
(No one can claim FPTP provides "strong administration" at local level given the number of councils in no overall control).
Marine (Arun) Council By-Election Result:
➡️ RFM: 26.0% (New)
🔶 LDM: 25.2% (-2.8)
🌹 LAB: 20.1% (-1.1)
🌳 CON: 16.3% (-1.3)
🌍 GRN: 9.8% (New)
🙋 IND: 2.6% (New)
No IND (-33.4) as previous.
Reform GAIN from Independent.
Changes w/ 2023.
➡️ RFM: 26.0% (New)
🔶 LDM: 25.2% (-2.8)
🌹 LAB: 20.1% (-1.1)
🌳 CON: 16.3% (-1.3)
🌍 GRN: 9.8% (New)
🙋 IND: 2.6% (New)
No IND (-33.4) as previous.
Reform GAIN from Independent.
Changes w/ 2023.
April 25, 2025 at 8:57 AM
Going to be so many weird three/four split results like this next week. Including for the mayoralites. We badly need PR for locals/mayors at v least.
(No one can claim FPTP provides "strong administration" at local level given the number of councils in no overall control).
(No one can claim FPTP provides "strong administration" at local level given the number of councils in no overall control).