Samira Shackle
@samirashackle.bsky.social
Freelance journalist (mostly for the Guardian Long Read) and author of Karachi Vice. I am also on Substack @samirashackle. Currently on maternity leave!
Reposted by Samira Shackle
The Vanity Fair photographer from the Susie Wiles story.
Holy. Shit.
www.washingtonpost.com/style/power/...
Holy. Shit.
www.washingtonpost.com/style/power/...
December 17, 2025 at 8:34 PM
The Vanity Fair photographer from the Susie Wiles story.
Holy. Shit.
www.washingtonpost.com/style/power/...
Holy. Shit.
www.washingtonpost.com/style/power/...
Reposted by Samira Shackle
WHY ARE YOU ANNOYED THIS IS WHAT YOU WANTED TO HAPPEN
December 13, 2025 at 6:41 PM
WHY ARE YOU ANNOYED THIS IS WHAT YOU WANTED TO HAPPEN
Reposted by Samira Shackle
computer going to take my job? no. i’ll pour water on it
December 6, 2025 at 8:05 PM
computer going to take my job? no. i’ll pour water on it
Reposted by Samira Shackle
One of the many reasons AI can't produce good writing is it can't hate its own writing. It can't think to itself "Maybe I'm illiterate" during the writing process. And that's essential
December 9, 2025 at 8:45 PM
One of the many reasons AI can't produce good writing is it can't hate its own writing. It can't think to itself "Maybe I'm illiterate" during the writing process. And that's essential
Reposted by Samira Shackle
Labour’s shift away from “immigration is good but it needs to be managed” to “it is bad” is a gift to essentially everyone they compete with, because it means that they don’t have the right position to be able to attack *anyone*.
I'm sorry, but these attacks are just not going to convince Green-curious voters, because Labour is so visibly out of step with those voters' core values
This by @umakumaran.bsky.social is good - and a example of exactly how Labour should be taking on the Greens; on values, direct and on Labour territory. Taking them seriously.
December 10, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Labour’s shift away from “immigration is good but it needs to be managed” to “it is bad” is a gift to essentially everyone they compete with, because it means that they don’t have the right position to be able to attack *anyone*.
A round up of the year from my mobile banking app?? In this economy???
December 9, 2025 at 8:13 PM
A round up of the year from my mobile banking app?? In this economy???
Reposted by Samira Shackle
But the good news is, by doing this, we defeated racism in the UK.
Government has now - belatedly -published the impact assessment for the changes to skilled worker and care worker visas announced in May.
Impact is estimated between -£2 billion and £-10 billion (central - £10 billion).
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6937e6...
Impact is estimated between -£2 billion and £-10 billion (central - £10 billion).
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6937e6...
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
December 9, 2025 at 1:01 PM
But the good news is, by doing this, we defeated racism in the UK.
Reposted by Samira Shackle
this is cowardly and also pointless: Labour will never win over the British voters who hate Sadiq because he’s Muslim, and failing to stick up for your capital’s mayor (who is also part of your party!!!) against a foreign leader makes you look really weak
Asked repeatedly about Donald Trump calling Sadiq Khan "disgusting" and suggesting that he was only elected because of immigrants, Keir Starmer's spokesman says only that the PM has a "strong relationship" with the President which has "yielded positive results for this country"
December 9, 2025 at 1:14 PM
this is cowardly and also pointless: Labour will never win over the British voters who hate Sadiq because he’s Muslim, and failing to stick up for your capital’s mayor (who is also part of your party!!!) against a foreign leader makes you look really weak
I find stuff like this so worrying. The rapidity with which people are willing to give up on basic critical thought or, you know, checking sources.
I wish a notice like this wasn't necessary.
www.icrc.org/en/article/i...
www.icrc.org/en/article/i...
Important notice: AI-generated archival references
www.icrc.org
December 9, 2025 at 1:45 PM
I find stuff like this so worrying. The rapidity with which people are willing to give up on basic critical thought or, you know, checking sources.
Reposted by Samira Shackle
Labour bearing down on immigration will fix this any day now.
GB News now broadcasting calls to remove the ethnic minority MPs from parliament
December 4, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Labour bearing down on immigration will fix this any day now.
Reposted by Samira Shackle
The Home Office has started taking action on cases of Syrian refugees with pending settlement applications. People are being sent letters saying they have 21 days to provide evidence as to why they should not be returned to Syria. Panic is spreading.
December 2, 2025 at 4:33 PM
The Home Office has started taking action on cases of Syrian refugees with pending settlement applications. People are being sent letters saying they have 21 days to provide evidence as to why they should not be returned to Syria. Panic is spreading.
Reposted by Samira Shackle
December 2, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Reposted by Samira Shackle
Right, this is the thing, "the Budget is not honest", okay, sure, I'm with you, "because they made things seem worse than they are" - are you on glue?
There is an actual interesting little deceit in the budget, namely ther have the OBR still forecasting based on increasing net immigration back to 300-350k whilst the Home Secretary is promising to bring it down from 200k, which does dissolve about half the headroom, but somehow we're doing vibes.
Think this is exactly right - political journalism that is completely abstracted from policy, which was not the norm before 2017, has become the default. Impossible to have a serious attempt to either shrink what the state does or widen the tax base (have to do at least one) on that basis.
December 1, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Right, this is the thing, "the Budget is not honest", okay, sure, I'm with you, "because they made things seem worse than they are" - are you on glue?
Reposted by Samira Shackle
thought this was an Onion headline
OpenAI says a suicidal teenager should have read their fine print
OpenAI says a suicidal teenager should have read their fine print
OpenAI says a suicidal teenager should have read their fine print
www.independent.co.uk
November 30, 2025 at 8:07 PM
thought this was an Onion headline
Reposted by Samira Shackle
It's part of the electionification of everything, which is why we as a country are failing to have a proper conversation about our actual problems. It's bad for the left *and* the right.
It's such a bizarre framing. Labour MPs think taking 450k kids out of poverty is putting the country first! That's why they wanted it to happen! It's not because they personally benefit.
Headline on The World at One just now:
"Sir Keir Starmer has denied putting the Labour Party before the country by ending the two-child benefit cap".
Can we please go back to reporting the actual news, not someone's partisan take on it?
"Sir Keir Starmer has denied putting the Labour Party before the country by ending the two-child benefit cap".
Can we please go back to reporting the actual news, not someone's partisan take on it?
November 27, 2025 at 10:17 PM
It's part of the electionification of everything, which is why we as a country are failing to have a proper conversation about our actual problems. It's bad for the left *and* the right.
Reposted by Samira Shackle
Today's migration stats illustrate the migration doom loop in action...
(from my presentation at the IMF last week)
(from my presentation at the IMF last week)
November 27, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Today's migration stats illustrate the migration doom loop in action...
(from my presentation at the IMF last week)
(from my presentation at the IMF last week)
Having relied heavily on Google for my entire career, I really can’t get over this. It’s just so bad now!
Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea
November 25, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Having relied heavily on Google for my entire career, I really can’t get over this. It’s just so bad now!
Reposted by Samira Shackle
this just shows how the Western family unit has completely broken down because in Asia we all have uncles to fulfill this function in our lives
November 23, 2025 at 11:21 AM
this just shows how the Western family unit has completely broken down because in Asia we all have uncles to fulfill this function in our lives
Reposted by Samira Shackle
I find insane that shabana mahmood is going out there and saying "white british people cannot be asked to accept too many of us outsiders, it is not in their nature, and their pushback against all of us is to be placated". What???
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood made more explicit her argument that when ethnic minorities face racism, "we have no choice but to ask: what is the cause of our division"
Her answer is the level of net migration, 2019-23 causes racism. (She on Monday said it was caused by the scale of asylum)
Her answer is the level of net migration, 2019-23 causes racism. (She on Monday said it was caused by the scale of asylum)
November 21, 2025 at 9:47 AM
I find insane that shabana mahmood is going out there and saying "white british people cannot be asked to accept too many of us outsiders, it is not in their nature, and their pushback against all of us is to be placated". What???
Reposted by Samira Shackle
Quite the correction by the Telegraph. The publication in question is @freemovement.bsky.social
November 21, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Quite the correction by the Telegraph. The publication in question is @freemovement.bsky.social
Reposted by Samira Shackle
This story is all Nigel Farage should be asked about by journalists for months
Ex-leader of Reform UK in Wales sentenced to 10-and-a-half years for taking pro-Russian bribes
The judge tells Nathan Gill his actions were a
www.bbc.co.uk
November 21, 2025 at 2:34 PM
This story is all Nigel Farage should be asked about by journalists for months
Reposted by Samira Shackle
This is one of the changes in the UK media landscape that should be more remarked on: the fact that being a very open, proud, outright racist is no longer a bar to being a pundit on some TV stations (in this case GBN and Talk TV).
Lucy White advocates a ban on "non-natives" from office, citing Rishi Sunak and Priti Patel.
So she is referring to UK-born ethnic minority citizens. (Her argument would apply equally to Shabana Mahmood, Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman and others)
Lucy White continues to be a GB News regular
So she is referring to UK-born ethnic minority citizens. (Her argument would apply equally to Shabana Mahmood, Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman and others)
Lucy White continues to be a GB News regular
November 21, 2025 at 11:12 AM
This is one of the changes in the UK media landscape that should be more remarked on: the fact that being a very open, proud, outright racist is no longer a bar to being a pundit on some TV stations (in this case GBN and Talk TV).
Reposted by Samira Shackle
Implying that the "cause of our division" is too many care workers, as Mahmood does here, is both absurd and sinister.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood made more explicit her argument that when ethnic minorities face racism, "we have no choice but to ask: what is the cause of our division"
Her answer is the level of net migration, 2019-23 causes racism. (She on Monday said it was caused by the scale of asylum)
Her answer is the level of net migration, 2019-23 causes racism. (She on Monday said it was caused by the scale of asylum)
November 21, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Implying that the "cause of our division" is too many care workers, as Mahmood does here, is both absurd and sinister.
Mandatory jail sentences for all asylum seekers seen smiling, laughing or dancing.
There is so much messed up about this front page Express story today.
There's no suggestion or evidence ANY alcohol or drugs was consumed. This is literally just people dancing.
And buried in the piece: "The footage is believed to have been filmed just before Labour took power in July last year."
There's no suggestion or evidence ANY alcohol or drugs was consumed. This is literally just people dancing.
And buried in the piece: "The footage is believed to have been filmed just before Labour took power in July last year."
November 19, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Mandatory jail sentences for all asylum seekers seen smiling, laughing or dancing.
Reposted by Samira Shackle
Indentured servitude as government policy? Great! Great news!!
Watching the Mahmood announcement and debate. Tory backbencher (Karen Bradley) suggests putting refugees into debt and making them repay during the rest of their lives. Mahmood says she’ll think about it.
November 17, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Indentured servitude as government policy? Great! Great news!!