@jo-elsmore.bsky.social
I think you have unwittingly made a telling and pertinent point. To be seen to be "pro business" is to get a free pass. The reverse of course also true. Explains a lot
I was, strangely, the Tory party staffer in 2009 responsible for tracking what Mandelson did. I wasn’t great at it and it was hard to make attacks stick to him, partly because he was so pro business. If we’d known his husband was taking cash from a pedophile financier…well, I think I’d have exploded
I’ve written this lengthy FT analysis overnight about the multiple multi-thousand pound Epstein payments to Mandelson’s husband
these particular paragraphs are worth reading slowly
www.ft.com/content/608a...
these particular paragraphs are worth reading slowly
www.ft.com/content/608a...
February 1, 2026 at 1:27 PM
I think you have unwittingly made a telling and pertinent point. To be seen to be "pro business" is to get a free pass. The reverse of course also true. Explains a lot
The kids are smart and will get round stuff line only goes so far. Employed against online safety act but porn traffic down dramatically. We still police laws about theft prostitution etc despite some always getting round them.
From what Australian friends tell me - kids who wanted to, just got round the ban and lied to parents and guardians.
Not convinced that's progress at all.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Not convinced that's progress at all.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
As a parent – and a Conservative – I know that banning social media for under-16s is the right thing to do | Kemi Badenoch
Britain’s parents know that this content is harming their children. It’s vital to put young people’s mental health first, says Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservative party
www.theguardian.com
January 22, 2026 at 7:42 AM
The kids are smart and will get round stuff line only goes so far. Employed against online safety act but porn traffic down dramatically. We still police laws about theft prostitution etc despite some always getting round them.
When contemplating what pragmatic compromises might be made with domestic opponents, consider this. Did you ever imagine you might champion Michael O'Leary in a fight?
January 21, 2026 at 3:52 PM
When contemplating what pragmatic compromises might be made with domestic opponents, consider this. Did you ever imagine you might champion Michael O'Leary in a fight?
Reposted
Critically, we also need the public to support actions that enable older people to live great lives without having to drive for when they fail the eye tests. So the public need to get onboard with no pavement parking, pedestrian priority, denser housing, fewer out-of-town shopping centres, etc etc
90% of Britons support government proposals to require drivers over the age of 70 to have their vision checked every three years - including 89% of the over-65s
yougov.co.uk/topics/trave...
yougov.co.uk/topics/trave...
January 7, 2026 at 8:11 AM
Critically, we also need the public to support actions that enable older people to live great lives without having to drive for when they fail the eye tests. So the public need to get onboard with no pavement parking, pedestrian priority, denser housing, fewer out-of-town shopping centres, etc etc
Remove disgusting & I'm with you. Struck that everyone including new MI6 Chief calling us to be ready to take on Russia. For reasons unknown this doesn't include publishing Russia Report or moving boldly to renewables & away from fossil fuels
Keir Starmer's Labour now also refusing to investigate Russian interference in Brexit
And also spinning the lie that there was no foreign interference, even though the Russia Report showed that the government didn't look for foreign interference
Labour just as disgusting as the Conservatives
And also spinning the lie that there was no foreign interference, even though the Russia Report showed that the government didn't look for foreign interference
Labour just as disgusting as the Conservatives
December 17, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Remove disgusting & I'm with you. Struck that everyone including new MI6 Chief calling us to be ready to take on Russia. For reasons unknown this doesn't include publishing Russia Report or moving boldly to renewables & away from fossil fuels
Reposted
The reality of the EHCR. Since 2017 the Court received 660 requests for interim measures in UK cases,15 were granted 15, i.e. 2% of requests, average of 2 per year. In 2023, the Court issued only 1 Rule 39 order against the UK, for a person's expulsion to the USA
ukandeu.ac.uk/explainers/t...
ukandeu.ac.uk/explainers/t...
The UK’s ECHR record: how common are Rule 39 orders and how often is the UK found to have violated rights? - UK in a changing Europe
Using the latest figures, Joelle Grogan and Alice Donald examine the UK's ECHR record and how common ‘Rule 39 orders’ are.
ukandeu.ac.uk
December 10, 2025 at 8:06 PM
The reality of the EHCR. Since 2017 the Court received 660 requests for interim measures in UK cases,15 were granted 15, i.e. 2% of requests, average of 2 per year. In 2023, the Court issued only 1 Rule 39 order against the UK, for a person's expulsion to the USA
ukandeu.ac.uk/explainers/t...
ukandeu.ac.uk/explainers/t...
Up until 1976 Dulwich College was a direct grant school with a quarter of pupils directly funded by the government. A similar percentage gained scholarships funded by local council's. Trevor Phillips hasn't done his homework.
December 9, 2025 at 6:28 AM
Up until 1976 Dulwich College was a direct grant school with a quarter of pupils directly funded by the government. A similar percentage gained scholarships funded by local council's. Trevor Phillips hasn't done his homework.
Online gambling, all gambling, the contradiction. A nation horrified by the inherent uncertainty of stocks and shares bets wildly on everything else. On the other hand I'd not trust my gambling friends with savings, they'd cash out years before the big money.
The personal finance advice & retail private asset management industry hasn't just been buried it's been nearly concreted over as if it was a republican arms cache.
What filled the vacuum was a motley assortment of YOLO tay & binary option trading, online gambling, crypto and cash ISAs.
What filled the vacuum was a motley assortment of YOLO tay & binary option trading, online gambling, crypto and cash ISAs.
November 29, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Online gambling, all gambling, the contradiction. A nation horrified by the inherent uncertainty of stocks and shares bets wildly on everything else. On the other hand I'd not trust my gambling friends with savings, they'd cash out years before the big money.
Not a good argument using middle class as a derogatory term. More of them are on your side than any other group and it's a constant tactic from the right, which youu amplify.
Bad choice of language, shouty right wing style headline - real story; Labour cuts middle class subsidies.
November 17, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Not a good argument using middle class as a derogatory term. More of them are on your side than any other group and it's a constant tactic from the right, which youu amplify.
But Truss claims the government pays for the BBC. Not only wrong, discredited and foolish but now telling big fat whoppers
Easy patriotism test for right wingers: do they think Brits, via the licence fee, should pay America’s bully-in-chief $5 billion for words he definitely uttered but in different parts of a rabble-rousing speech?
November 17, 2025 at 1:45 PM
But Truss claims the government pays for the BBC. Not only wrong, discredited and foolish but now telling big fat whoppers
Liz Truss has lost all credibility in her own country. She is on the final leg of a long journey to irrational incoherence and the bonkers end of US populism is there only audience left to her. I think they will drop her too.
If you're cheering Trump on then you have no right to call yourself a patriot.
You absolute moron.
You absolute moron.
November 17, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Liz Truss has lost all credibility in her own country. She is on the final leg of a long journey to irrational incoherence and the bonkers end of US populism is there only audience left to her. I think they will drop her too.
Reposted
If you're cheering Trump on then you have no right to call yourself a patriot.
You absolute moron.
You absolute moron.
November 15, 2025 at 5:55 PM
If you're cheering Trump on then you have no right to call yourself a patriot.
You absolute moron.
You absolute moron.
Reposted
"Why don’t we fight back? Because land is power. Every single piece of credible research says that Scots overwhelmingly do want to fight back. Land reform is wildly popular, supported by overwhelming majorities. Yet still it doesn’t happen. Why?"
#LandReform
#Scotland🏴
#LandReform
#Scotland🏴
Land is power – Scotland’s people have none
Land isn't just about wealth and justice, it's about power. Scotland is cut off from its own land resources and hence is poorer as a nation
bylines.scot
November 16, 2025 at 8:15 AM
"Why don’t we fight back? Because land is power. Every single piece of credible research says that Scots overwhelmingly do want to fight back. Land reform is wildly popular, supported by overwhelming majorities. Yet still it doesn’t happen. Why?"
#LandReform
#Scotland🏴
#LandReform
#Scotland🏴
Reposted
Really encourage everyone to read this. All of it
The reaction to the Panorama edit has been nothing short of hysterical. Yes the BBC has some impartiality problems. But its biggest isn't the one you think.
New piece from me.
open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...
New piece from me.
open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...
The truth about impartiality at the BBC
And the hysteria of the current "crisis"
open.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Really encourage everyone to read this. All of it
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Seems the BBC does stuff the shouters should approve of. Good research & reporting
Seems the BBC does stuff the shouters should approve of. Good research & reporting
Hundreds arrested in High Street crime crackdown
The illicit tobacco seized accounts for more than £3.5m worth of duty evaded, the NCA estimates.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 8:58 AM
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Seems the BBC does stuff the shouters should approve of. Good research & reporting
Seems the BBC does stuff the shouters should approve of. Good research & reporting
Reposted
🔥 Harrods: What do the survivors do now??
The courts, the redress scheme, the police — all form part of the same legal abyss.
◾ Survivors cannot access the courts, let alone for trafficking
◾ Harrods’ “redress” is run by the institution itself
◾ The Met refuses to name the crimes as trafficking
The courts, the redress scheme, the police — all form part of the same legal abyss.
◾ Survivors cannot access the courts, let alone for trafficking
◾ Harrods’ “redress” is run by the institution itself
◾ The Met refuses to name the crimes as trafficking
When power is untouchable: the legal abyss facing Harrods survivors
Survivors of abuse connected to Mohamed Al Fayed’s Harrods empire are discovering what “no one is above the law” really means
sussexbylines.co.uk
November 9, 2025 at 6:59 PM
🔥 Harrods: What do the survivors do now??
The courts, the redress scheme, the police — all form part of the same legal abyss.
◾ Survivors cannot access the courts, let alone for trafficking
◾ Harrods’ “redress” is run by the institution itself
◾ The Met refuses to name the crimes as trafficking
The courts, the redress scheme, the police — all form part of the same legal abyss.
◾ Survivors cannot access the courts, let alone for trafficking
◾ Harrods’ “redress” is run by the institution itself
◾ The Met refuses to name the crimes as trafficking
Reposted
Why are we so fixated on the need for incredibly cheap flights, that requires a bizarre tax free treatment - when half of us don’t fly and half of all flights are taken by just 10% of us. It’s a (relatively) rich persons thing, a luxury not a necessity. Tax it. And use the money to reduce poverty.
November 10, 2025 at 11:28 AM
Why are we so fixated on the need for incredibly cheap flights, that requires a bizarre tax free treatment - when half of us don’t fly and half of all flights are taken by just 10% of us. It’s a (relatively) rich persons thing, a luxury not a necessity. Tax it. And use the money to reduce poverty.
Reposted
The problem with this approach is that the government *also* have to be strong enough to tolerate the red tops running stories about the "undeserving poor" being given handouts.
They show no sign of being able to do this.
They show no sign of being able to do this.
They can be a good policy intervention for the tiny minority of families whose problem is having a chaotic life, whether that is mental health, drug addiction or whatever, but for most people in poverty, their problem is - wait for it - they don't have enough money!
November 10, 2025 at 1:14 PM
The problem with this approach is that the government *also* have to be strong enough to tolerate the red tops running stories about the "undeserving poor" being given handouts.
They show no sign of being able to do this.
They show no sign of being able to do this.
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One in 400 UK veterans experience homelessness. This small charity is using houseboats to lift them beyond the incoming tide.
Meet the veterans finding community and purpose on Britain's canals
www.bigissue.com
November 9, 2025 at 8:52 AM
One in 400 UK veterans experience homelessness. This small charity is using houseboats to lift them beyond the incoming tide.
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“‘Affordable housing’ feels like it was introduced as a cheat to justify building no actual social housing, and to pretend the market would somehow just fix it all, even with agonisingly strict planning rules. Instead, we’ve just ended up with no market housing and no social housing.”
READ MORE
Nish Kumar and James Acaster are campaigning against a much-needed development in Peckham
capx.co
November 4, 2025 at 8:13 AM
“‘Affordable housing’ feels like it was introduced as a cheat to justify building no actual social housing, and to pretend the market would somehow just fix it all, even with agonisingly strict planning rules. Instead, we’ve just ended up with no market housing and no social housing.”
Reposted
My wealth has increased by 25% since June. I have done absolutely nothing to earn this. I just put it in a tracker fund. I will be taxed on that gain at a lower rate than during the Thatcher government.
I’d pay more tax to make this country better and stop Putin in his tracks.
I’d pay more tax to make this country better and stop Putin in his tracks.
November 4, 2025 at 11:42 AM
My wealth has increased by 25% since June. I have done absolutely nothing to earn this. I just put it in a tracker fund. I will be taxed on that gain at a lower rate than during the Thatcher government.
I’d pay more tax to make this country better and stop Putin in his tracks.
I’d pay more tax to make this country better and stop Putin in his tracks.
Reposted
To read more articles like this subscribe to @thenerve.news & think about taking up a membership - around £1 per week
NEW: Police knew a Kremlin spy ring recruited former leader of Reform Wales at least 3 years ago.
So why was Nathan Gill not charged till Feb this year?
Pls read part 2 of @thenerve.news special investigation into Nathan Gill. And please share!
1/
So why was Nathan Gill not charged till Feb this year?
Pls read part 2 of @thenerve.news special investigation into Nathan Gill. And please share!
1/
October 18, 2025 at 9:58 PM
To read more articles like this subscribe to @thenerve.news & think about taking up a membership - around £1 per week
Utter nonsense from Jenrick. I attended football throughout the 80s, often with children in tow. It was grim threatening and violent. There was a reason that attendances were drifting inexorably downwards, it wasn't fun anymore
October 18, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Utter nonsense from Jenrick. I attended football throughout the 80s, often with children in tow. It was grim threatening and violent. There was a reason that attendances were drifting inexorably downwards, it wasn't fun anymore
I am always deeply suspicious of those that have experienced multiple conversions. An oddly unmoored self belief appears to be at the heart of it. Doubt and untruth are redundant in such minds
As a general point, where does someone like Blair get his self-belief from? I would love to pretend this was a man thing, but Merkel had it too.
September 30, 2025 at 3:49 PM
I am always deeply suspicious of those that have experienced multiple conversions. An oddly unmoored self belief appears to be at the heart of it. Doubt and untruth are redundant in such minds
Because a towering intellect doesn't always come with good judgement and an inclusive attitude. Some so called thick people are much, much better than this.
Why didn't his supposedly massive brain and brilliant instincts and intellect stop him from sending all those vile messages about a female black Labour MP?
September 16, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Because a towering intellect doesn't always come with good judgement and an inclusive attitude. Some so called thick people are much, much better than this.