Thomas Penny
@thomaswpenny.bsky.social
Writer, editor, bereaved single Dad, Quaker, allotmenteer and very amateur musician.
Lover of strangers.
Lover of strangers.
Reposted by Thomas Penny
if you're still driving a tesla, give your head a wobble
January 8, 2026 at 3:13 PM
if you're still driving a tesla, give your head a wobble
Reposted by Thomas Penny
I call on my party and my government to remove themselves entirely from X and communicate with the public where they actually participate online and can be protected from such illegality.
January 8, 2026 at 12:31 PM
I call on my party and my government to remove themselves entirely from X and communicate with the public where they actually participate online and can be protected from such illegality.
Forget toddlers and tweens, right now 19 feels like a golden age for parenting...
January 8, 2026 at 2:33 PM
Forget toddlers and tweens, right now 19 feels like a golden age for parenting...
Reposted by Thomas Penny
One of these countries is scarier than the other
January 8, 2026 at 10:49 AM
One of these countries is scarier than the other
Reposted by Thomas Penny
BONUS EPISODE OUT NOW!
Today’s bonus is part 2 of David’s conversation with historian @robertsaunders.bsky.social about how the question of Irish Home Rule blew up British politics. What kept Britain from falling into the abyss of civil war in 1914?
Join PPF+ now: www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus
Today’s bonus is part 2 of David’s conversation with historian @robertsaunders.bsky.social about how the question of Irish Home Rule blew up British politics. What kept Britain from falling into the abyss of civil war in 1914?
Join PPF+ now: www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus
January 8, 2026 at 8:47 AM
BONUS EPISODE OUT NOW!
Today’s bonus is part 2 of David’s conversation with historian @robertsaunders.bsky.social about how the question of Irish Home Rule blew up British politics. What kept Britain from falling into the abyss of civil war in 1914?
Join PPF+ now: www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus
Today’s bonus is part 2 of David’s conversation with historian @robertsaunders.bsky.social about how the question of Irish Home Rule blew up British politics. What kept Britain from falling into the abyss of civil war in 1914?
Join PPF+ now: www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus
Reposted by Thomas Penny
A bit of positivity to start your working day.
Think society is in decline? Research gives us some reasons to be cheerful
If we look at people’s values - abstract ideals that guide our behaviour - there are reasons to be positive about society.
theconversation.com
January 8, 2026 at 9:06 AM
A bit of positivity to start your working day.
Reposted by Thomas Penny
“.. No one wants to go in there when a random fucking tweet can change the entire foreign policy of the country.”
@financialtimes.com 🇻🇪
www.ft.com/content/84e0...
@financialtimes.com 🇻🇪
www.ft.com/content/84e0...
January 8, 2026 at 10:51 AM
“.. No one wants to go in there when a random fucking tweet can change the entire foreign policy of the country.”
@financialtimes.com 🇻🇪
www.ft.com/content/84e0...
@financialtimes.com 🇻🇪
www.ft.com/content/84e0...
Reposted by Thomas Penny
I understand the pressures on the BBC, but Radio 4's coverage of the Minneapolis shooting is an example of "bad balance".
It's all "the Trump regime says she was a terrorist, but Democrats say it was murder".
The BBC has the footage. It doesn't have to treat truth and falsehood as equally valid.
It's all "the Trump regime says she was a terrorist, but Democrats say it was murder".
The BBC has the footage. It doesn't have to treat truth and falsehood as equally valid.
January 8, 2026 at 8:38 AM
I understand the pressures on the BBC, but Radio 4's coverage of the Minneapolis shooting is an example of "bad balance".
It's all "the Trump regime says she was a terrorist, but Democrats say it was murder".
The BBC has the footage. It doesn't have to treat truth and falsehood as equally valid.
It's all "the Trump regime says she was a terrorist, but Democrats say it was murder".
The BBC has the footage. It doesn't have to treat truth and falsehood as equally valid.
Reposted by Thomas Penny
A reminder that Kemi Badenoch wants to create a UK “Removals Force” explicitly modelled on ICE
January 8, 2026 at 9:06 AM
A reminder that Kemi Badenoch wants to create a UK “Removals Force” explicitly modelled on ICE
Reposted by Thomas Penny
Reposted by Thomas Penny
Rather that other people being under threat of death because some tosser wants to drink and drive huh
January 7, 2026 at 9:30 PM
Rather that other people being under threat of death because some tosser wants to drink and drive huh
Reposted by Thomas Penny
This is interesting because when I went for my first Covid vaccination, Farage arrived and pushed straight to the front of the queue.
Farage: "I believe in vaccinations when they're vaccinations. I don't think what happened with Covid were vaccinations. You have to keep having them every 6 months."
Conspiratorial nonsense.
Some vaccinations like Covid shots require multiple/seasonal doses because immunity fades & viruses change.
Conspiratorial nonsense.
Some vaccinations like Covid shots require multiple/seasonal doses because immunity fades & viruses change.
January 7, 2026 at 8:52 PM
This is interesting because when I went for my first Covid vaccination, Farage arrived and pushed straight to the front of the queue.
Why does he look like Enoch Powell?
Former BBC presenter Huw Edwards to be played by Martin Clunes in new drama
Former BBC presenter Huw Edwards to be played by Martin Clunes in new drama
Doc Martin star Martin Clunes will portray former BBC presenter Huw Edwards in a two-part factual series.
www.bbc.com
January 7, 2026 at 8:50 PM
Why does he look like Enoch Powell?
Take a few minutes to take a look at a stunningly beautiful Welsh church...
A heavily Victorianised small church, St Anno's, Llananno in Powys is, from the outside, a humble and largely forgettable building.
However, inside visitors can feast their eyes upon one of the finest pieces of medieval carpentry in Wales.
1/9
However, inside visitors can feast their eyes upon one of the finest pieces of medieval carpentry in Wales.
1/9
January 7, 2026 at 5:03 PM
Take a few minutes to take a look at a stunningly beautiful Welsh church...
Reposted by Thomas Penny
A heavily Victorianised small church, St Anno's, Llananno in Powys is, from the outside, a humble and largely forgettable building.
However, inside visitors can feast their eyes upon one of the finest pieces of medieval carpentry in Wales.
1/9
However, inside visitors can feast their eyes upon one of the finest pieces of medieval carpentry in Wales.
1/9
January 5, 2026 at 1:01 PM
A heavily Victorianised small church, St Anno's, Llananno in Powys is, from the outside, a humble and largely forgettable building.
However, inside visitors can feast their eyes upon one of the finest pieces of medieval carpentry in Wales.
1/9
However, inside visitors can feast their eyes upon one of the finest pieces of medieval carpentry in Wales.
1/9
Reposted by Thomas Penny
Lots of talk again about China, the US, and Russia dividing the world into spheres of influence. One problem with this idea is that after 30 years of trying, Russia's sphere is limited to Belarus, Georgia, and 20% of Ukraine. Another is that if China has a sphere, it includes Russia.
January 7, 2026 at 4:07 PM
Lots of talk again about China, the US, and Russia dividing the world into spheres of influence. One problem with this idea is that after 30 years of trying, Russia's sphere is limited to Belarus, Georgia, and 20% of Ukraine. Another is that if China has a sphere, it includes Russia.
I'm starting to rethink the FIFA Peace Prize... maybe Infantino was playing 3-D chess and trying to save NATO by offering Trump a bauble to look at?
Or maybe not...
Whatever his intent, he may have bought Europe a few weeks...
Or maybe not...
Whatever his intent, he may have bought Europe a few weeks...
Trump: "I single-handedly ENDED 8 WARS, and Norway, a NATO Member, foolishly chose not to give me the Noble Peace Prize. But that doesn’t matter! What does matter is that I saved Millions of Lives ... I DOUBT NATO WOULD BE THERE FOR US IF WE REALLY NEEDED THEM."
January 7, 2026 at 4:15 PM
I'm starting to rethink the FIFA Peace Prize... maybe Infantino was playing 3-D chess and trying to save NATO by offering Trump a bauble to look at?
Or maybe not...
Whatever his intent, he may have bought Europe a few weeks...
Or maybe not...
Whatever his intent, he may have bought Europe a few weeks...
Reposted by Thomas Penny
If you missed this question to Nigel Farage from The Critic's Rob Hutton – and it was over an hour into the press conference – then it was a particularly good one. The answer was... vague.
January 7, 2026 at 11:50 AM
If you missed this question to Nigel Farage from The Critic's Rob Hutton – and it was over an hour into the press conference – then it was a particularly good one. The answer was... vague.
Reposted by Thomas Penny
Trump's actions in Venezuela were a clear breach of international law, yet Keir Starmer refuses to call it out.
The Liberal Democrats will not look the other way.
Just as Charles Kennedy stood against the Iraq War, we will stand against Trump's law breaking in Venezuela.
The Liberal Democrats will not look the other way.
Just as Charles Kennedy stood against the Iraq War, we will stand against Trump's law breaking in Venezuela.
January 7, 2026 at 3:27 PM
Trump's actions in Venezuela were a clear breach of international law, yet Keir Starmer refuses to call it out.
The Liberal Democrats will not look the other way.
Just as Charles Kennedy stood against the Iraq War, we will stand against Trump's law breaking in Venezuela.
The Liberal Democrats will not look the other way.
Just as Charles Kennedy stood against the Iraq War, we will stand against Trump's law breaking in Venezuela.
Reposted by Thomas Penny
Greenlanders would much rather join the EU than the US. This fact deserves a broad global audience, useful correction of the idea that Europe is a decaying museum.
January 6, 2026 at 5:13 PM
Greenlanders would much rather join the EU than the US. This fact deserves a broad global audience, useful correction of the idea that Europe is a decaying museum.
Reposted by Thomas Penny
I reckon over the past decade I have been sexually harassed ten times more often inside the Palace of Westminster than I have on London streets
January 7, 2026 at 11:21 AM
I reckon over the past decade I have been sexually harassed ten times more often inside the Palace of Westminster than I have on London streets
Reposted by Thomas Penny
Kemi Badenoch's spokesman tells me Shadow Attorney General Lord Wolfson has recused himself from advising her on Ukraine due to his other role representing Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in his fight against sanctions
Says she is delighted to have him in her team
Says she is delighted to have him in her team
January 7, 2026 at 1:24 PM
Kemi Badenoch's spokesman tells me Shadow Attorney General Lord Wolfson has recused himself from advising her on Ukraine due to his other role representing Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in his fight against sanctions
Says she is delighted to have him in her team
Says she is delighted to have him in her team
Reposted by Thomas Penny
One point made by Michael Haigh of SocGen for an FT column Most Venezuelan oil is extra-heavy and highly viscous, requiring blending with lighter hydrocarbons (like naphtha) to be transported and exported. It relies on Russia and China for this www.ft.com/content/060c...
January 7, 2026 at 1:58 PM
One point made by Michael Haigh of SocGen for an FT column Most Venezuelan oil is extra-heavy and highly viscous, requiring blending with lighter hydrocarbons (like naphtha) to be transported and exported. It relies on Russia and China for this www.ft.com/content/060c...
US government: "All options are on the table" = We're going to invade Greenland.
UK government: "All options are on the table" = We're going to do nothing.
UK government: "All options are on the table" = We're going to do nothing.
Keir Starmer's spokesman tells me that X and Grok's creation of sexual deepfakes of children is "completely unacceptable" but again won't commit to taking direct action against them, or to stop posting there.
Says "all options are on the table" but suggests it's a matter for Ofcom, not Government
Says "all options are on the table" but suggests it's a matter for Ofcom, not Government
January 7, 2026 at 1:52 PM
US government: "All options are on the table" = We're going to invade Greenland.
UK government: "All options are on the table" = We're going to do nothing.
UK government: "All options are on the table" = We're going to do nothing.
Reposted by Thomas Penny
If the UK government had a Culture Secretary, that person would be in a position to take a view about whether child porn on demand was a good thing, or a bad thing. thecritic.co.uk/brin...
January 7, 2026 at 9:49 AM
If the UK government had a Culture Secretary, that person would be in a position to take a view about whether child porn on demand was a good thing, or a bad thing. thecritic.co.uk/brin...