Mirn
@mirn.bsky.social
Reposted by Mirn
"History is women following behind with the bucket."
So Morgan McSweeney has been replaced by Jill Cuthbertson and Vidhya Alakeson. Antonia Romeo is about to take over from Chris Wormald. Steph Driver may return to fill Tim Allan's vacancy.
Sense that now there's a mess to mop up, get the women in
So Morgan McSweeney has been replaced by Jill Cuthbertson and Vidhya Alakeson. Antonia Romeo is about to take over from Chris Wormald. Steph Driver may return to fill Tim Allan's vacancy.
Sense that now there's a mess to mop up, get the women in
February 11, 2026 at 11:05 AM
"History is women following behind with the bucket."
So Morgan McSweeney has been replaced by Jill Cuthbertson and Vidhya Alakeson. Antonia Romeo is about to take over from Chris Wormald. Steph Driver may return to fill Tim Allan's vacancy.
Sense that now there's a mess to mop up, get the women in
So Morgan McSweeney has been replaced by Jill Cuthbertson and Vidhya Alakeson. Antonia Romeo is about to take over from Chris Wormald. Steph Driver may return to fill Tim Allan's vacancy.
Sense that now there's a mess to mop up, get the women in
Reposted by Mirn
We pride ourselves on being a democracy and yet there’s a medieval theocratic anachronism in the heart of parliament: 26 bishops with automatic seats in the House of Lords. (The only other country in the world with clerics automatically entering a government is… Iran).
Great news. MPs should also pay attention to our campaigns:
● Remove the 26 bishops
Religious office should not grant automatic voting rights in a parliamentary democracy.
● Scrap parliamentary prayers
Attending prayers should not to provide speaking advantages🧵
observer.co.uk/news/politic...
● Remove the 26 bishops
Religious office should not grant automatic voting rights in a parliamentary democracy.
● Scrap parliamentary prayers
Attending prayers should not to provide speaking advantages🧵
observer.co.uk/news/politic...
February 9, 2026 at 8:09 PM
We pride ourselves on being a democracy and yet there’s a medieval theocratic anachronism in the heart of parliament: 26 bishops with automatic seats in the House of Lords. (The only other country in the world with clerics automatically entering a government is… Iran).
Reposted by Mirn
Doesn't this mean the Met Police should also be opening an investigation into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor for misconduct in public office and breach of the official secrets act?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Andrew shared confidential information with Epstein as trade envoy, files suggest
Under official guidance, trade envoys have a duty of confidentiality over sensitive, commercial, or political information.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 9, 2026 at 11:03 AM
Doesn't this mean the Met Police should also be opening an investigation into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor for misconduct in public office and breach of the official secrets act?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Mirn
Epstein was in and out of Russia every few months according to his travel documents, but Mandelson was partying in nightclubs in St Petersburg and regularly in Moscow.
How did our intelligence services fail to pick this up? Or were their reports and investigations suppressed?
How did our intelligence services fail to pick this up? Or were their reports and investigations suppressed?
February 8, 2026 at 12:25 PM
Epstein was in and out of Russia every few months according to his travel documents, but Mandelson was partying in nightclubs in St Petersburg and regularly in Moscow.
How did our intelligence services fail to pick this up? Or were their reports and investigations suppressed?
How did our intelligence services fail to pick this up? Or were their reports and investigations suppressed?
Reposted by Mirn
Since #bbclaurak is trending, let’s remind ourselves that ONE MONTH ago, the BBC invited Mandelson on for a soft-ball interview on her show. While HIS CLIENT , Palantir’s Louis Moseley appeared as a pundit
Both, as I wrote at time, were ‘abject failures of journalism’
1/
Both, as I wrote at time, were ‘abject failures of journalism’
1/
February 8, 2026 at 10:13 AM
Since #bbclaurak is trending, let’s remind ourselves that ONE MONTH ago, the BBC invited Mandelson on for a soft-ball interview on her show. While HIS CLIENT , Palantir’s Louis Moseley appeared as a pundit
Both, as I wrote at time, were ‘abject failures of journalism’
1/
Both, as I wrote at time, were ‘abject failures of journalism’
1/
Reposted by Mirn
Cabinet Office minister Josh Simons commissioned PR firm to investigate journalists and their sources
Why? Because they were digging into the dark money behind Labour Together, and Keir Starmer's rise
Me on D4S, on why our revelations matter so much: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/labour-tog...
Why? Because they were digging into the dark money behind Labour Together, and Keir Starmer's rise
Me on D4S, on why our revelations matter so much: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/labour-tog...
‘Labour Together broke the law’
The think tank that propelled Starmer to power hired private investigators to shut down scrutiny of its dark money - I speak to one of its targets, journalist Paul Holden
democracyforsale.substack.com
February 7, 2026 at 11:10 AM
Cabinet Office minister Josh Simons commissioned PR firm to investigate journalists and their sources
Why? Because they were digging into the dark money behind Labour Together, and Keir Starmer's rise
Me on D4S, on why our revelations matter so much: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/labour-tog...
Why? Because they were digging into the dark money behind Labour Together, and Keir Starmer's rise
Me on D4S, on why our revelations matter so much: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/labour-tog...
Reposted by Mirn
Those surprised at the BBC promoting Reform (whole programme promoting them, and Yusuf yet again on #bbcqt ) should remember this is nothing new. Look the incredible bias in their choice of MEPs on BBC Question Time during the Brexit years:
February 6, 2026 at 8:28 AM
Those surprised at the BBC promoting Reform (whole programme promoting them, and Yusuf yet again on #bbcqt ) should remember this is nothing new. Look the incredible bias in their choice of MEPs on BBC Question Time during the Brexit years:
Reposted by Mirn
It’s politicians like Sarwar who have broken politics. They come with no principles or vision apart from their own tawdry ambition and the pursuit of power for the mere sake of power. Decades of their lies and failures and venality have brought Britain to the sorry state it’s in today.
February 5, 2026 at 3:36 PM
It’s politicians like Sarwar who have broken politics. They come with no principles or vision apart from their own tawdry ambition and the pursuit of power for the mere sake of power. Decades of their lies and failures and venality have brought Britain to the sorry state it’s in today.
Reposted by Mirn
strong agree
get Palantir out of NHS heath data
get Palantir out of NHS heath data
Mandelson’s malign influence runs right through the heart of this Government.
Not least in the govt’s NHS data deal with Palantir – a spy-tech firm co-founded by a man who thinks the NHS should be ‘ripped up.’
I've written to Wes Streeting urging him to ditch this dangerous deal.
Not least in the govt’s NHS data deal with Palantir – a spy-tech firm co-founded by a man who thinks the NHS should be ‘ripped up.’
I've written to Wes Streeting urging him to ditch this dangerous deal.
February 5, 2026 at 1:04 PM
strong agree
get Palantir out of NHS heath data
get Palantir out of NHS heath data
Reposted by Mirn
Epstein wasn’t a “bad apple”
He didn’t “slip through the cracks”
He was the logical outcome of systems designed to protect rich, powerful men & discipline the rest.
Prisons didn’t stop him. Policing didn’t stop him. The state didn’t stop him.
He was protected & enabled by institutions of power.
1/n
He didn’t “slip through the cracks”
He was the logical outcome of systems designed to protect rich, powerful men & discipline the rest.
Prisons didn’t stop him. Policing didn’t stop him. The state didn’t stop him.
He was protected & enabled by institutions of power.
1/n
February 4, 2026 at 7:19 PM
Epstein wasn’t a “bad apple”
He didn’t “slip through the cracks”
He was the logical outcome of systems designed to protect rich, powerful men & discipline the rest.
Prisons didn’t stop him. Policing didn’t stop him. The state didn’t stop him.
He was protected & enabled by institutions of power.
1/n
He didn’t “slip through the cracks”
He was the logical outcome of systems designed to protect rich, powerful men & discipline the rest.
Prisons didn’t stop him. Policing didn’t stop him. The state didn’t stop him.
He was protected & enabled by institutions of power.
1/n
Reposted by Mirn
OK this makes me extremely angry. Has everyone forgotten the massive profiteering from thousands of avoidable pandemic deaths?? The unconstitutional suspension of parliament to force through an act of nationalist destruction that cost our children their future??
“It’s potentially the biggest political scandal of this century”
As MPs force Keir Starmer to publish files about Peter Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador Skys Beth Rigby provides a detailed summary of how we got here
As MPs force Keir Starmer to publish files about Peter Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador Skys Beth Rigby provides a detailed summary of how we got here
February 5, 2026 at 8:45 AM
OK this makes me extremely angry. Has everyone forgotten the massive profiteering from thousands of avoidable pandemic deaths?? The unconstitutional suspension of parliament to force through an act of nationalist destruction that cost our children their future??
Reposted by Mirn
“I look at the performative hand-wringing, all the ‘OMG can’t believe Starmer appointed him despite all this!’ and I feel I’m in a parallel universe. Starmer appointed him BECAUSE of, not despite it. To be our interface with a corrupt WH that operates in precisely the same way. Everyone understood.”
🔥 NEW: Binfire of the Vanities
👿 Mandelson: Beyond the schadenfreude
🎒 Education: What next for SEND policy?
🏺 Plus a very Homeric Wokey Dokey
@sturdyalex.bsky.social, @mrkennycampbell.bsky.social & guest @samfr.bsky.social
🎧 open.spotify.com/episode/61di...
🍏 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/q...
👿 Mandelson: Beyond the schadenfreude
🎒 Education: What next for SEND policy?
🏺 Plus a very Homeric Wokey Dokey
@sturdyalex.bsky.social, @mrkennycampbell.bsky.social & guest @samfr.bsky.social
🎧 open.spotify.com/episode/61di...
🍏 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/q...
Binfire of the Vanities
Podcast Episode · Quiet Riot · 05/02/2026 · 1h 12m
podcasts.apple.com
February 5, 2026 at 9:01 AM
“I look at the performative hand-wringing, all the ‘OMG can’t believe Starmer appointed him despite all this!’ and I feel I’m in a parallel universe. Starmer appointed him BECAUSE of, not despite it. To be our interface with a corrupt WH that operates in precisely the same way. Everyone understood.”
Reposted by Mirn
Weird and almost universal revisionism today. Even at the time, it was pretty clear that Mandelson wasn't appointed *despite* his dodgy links but *because* of them. Trump's Washington is a dirty swamp. Mandelson was deemed a man able to swim in it. This wasn't a secret. Everybody said it out loud.
February 4, 2026 at 8:55 PM
Weird and almost universal revisionism today. Even at the time, it was pretty clear that Mandelson wasn't appointed *despite* his dodgy links but *because* of them. Trump's Washington is a dirty swamp. Mandelson was deemed a man able to swim in it. This wasn't a secret. Everybody said it out loud.
Reposted by Mirn
Top 8 stories on Guardian are on the Epstein files, and Trump is not mentioned on the front page once (though is in pic).
This is what happens when you control which documents are disclosed and which are not.
This is what happens when you control which documents are disclosed and which are not.
February 4, 2026 at 11:09 AM
Top 8 stories on Guardian are on the Epstein files, and Trump is not mentioned on the front page once (though is in pic).
This is what happens when you control which documents are disclosed and which are not.
This is what happens when you control which documents are disclosed and which are not.
Reposted by Mirn
Is Mandelson's real sin that he gave confidential information to Epstein? Or that he got caught doing what so many do? Why do Ministers sell access to business people for huge 'donations'?
February 4, 2026 at 8:09 AM
Is Mandelson's real sin that he gave confidential information to Epstein? Or that he got caught doing what so many do? Why do Ministers sell access to business people for huge 'donations'?
Reposted by Mirn
Peter Mandelson did not happen in isolation. He was enabled by a class of politicians, media & corporate business & is the embodiment of a rotten, venal, self-serving political & economic system. Below: Jon Sopel writing that "Mandelson is a class act" one year ago.
February 3, 2026 at 8:09 PM
Peter Mandelson did not happen in isolation. He was enabled by a class of politicians, media & corporate business & is the embodiment of a rotten, venal, self-serving political & economic system. Below: Jon Sopel writing that "Mandelson is a class act" one year ago.
Reposted by Mirn
Long NHS waits in Scotland are coming down - today’s statistics show they have fallen for 7 months in a row.
At the same time, we are performing more operations.
There is still more to do, but this is real progress for patients and a huge credit to our NHS staff. 👏
At the same time, we are performing more operations.
There is still more to do, but this is real progress for patients and a huge credit to our NHS staff. 👏
February 3, 2026 at 1:40 PM
Long NHS waits in Scotland are coming down - today’s statistics show they have fallen for 7 months in a row.
At the same time, we are performing more operations.
There is still more to do, but this is real progress for patients and a huge credit to our NHS staff. 👏
At the same time, we are performing more operations.
There is still more to do, but this is real progress for patients and a huge credit to our NHS staff. 👏
Reposted by Mirn
I knew there were always some people pulling strings behind scenes, leveraging contacts, trying to influence govt. But the degree of greed, selfishness, ambition, corruption and lust genuinely astounds me. I naively trusted our systems were better than that. They aren’t. We’ve all been duped.
February 3, 2026 at 12:43 AM
I knew there were always some people pulling strings behind scenes, leveraging contacts, trying to influence govt. But the degree of greed, selfishness, ambition, corruption and lust genuinely astounds me. I naively trusted our systems were better than that. They aren’t. We’ve all been duped.
Reposted by Mirn
It’s so tawdry, grubby and shameful. I can’t stand the sleaze, greed, corruption. Trump, Epstein, Russia, Bannon, Palantir, Israel, Mandelson, Brexit, discredited royals, aging male hacks, hasbeens, wannabes. Old white men abusing young women, exploiting their status, corrupting our entire system. 🧵
The Peter Mandelson scandal on the front pages of UK papers. For decades Mandelson has briefed, lobbied & spun his views to senior journalists undermining colleagues in his own party & advocating for corporate interests (who were paying him). Finally the dam has burst.
February 3, 2026 at 12:43 AM
It’s so tawdry, grubby and shameful. I can’t stand the sleaze, greed, corruption. Trump, Epstein, Russia, Bannon, Palantir, Israel, Mandelson, Brexit, discredited royals, aging male hacks, hasbeens, wannabes. Old white men abusing young women, exploiting their status, corrupting our entire system. 🧵
Reposted by Mirn
Instead of conferring titles, gongs and baubles and then demanding those titles, gongs and baubles be removed…
…perhaps as a modern, mature polity we should have far fewer titles, gongs and baubles in the first place.
…perhaps as a modern, mature polity we should have far fewer titles, gongs and baubles in the first place.
February 2, 2026 at 11:28 PM
Instead of conferring titles, gongs and baubles and then demanding those titles, gongs and baubles be removed…
…perhaps as a modern, mature polity we should have far fewer titles, gongs and baubles in the first place.
…perhaps as a modern, mature polity we should have far fewer titles, gongs and baubles in the first place.
Reposted by Mirn
Hadn't previously thought this, but if this Labour government wants to show any understanding of the situation then McSweeney's position is untenable. Now. Not after May.
The change needed is in attitudes more than delivery.
The change needed is in attitudes more than delivery.
February 3, 2026 at 8:33 AM
Hadn't previously thought this, but if this Labour government wants to show any understanding of the situation then McSweeney's position is untenable. Now. Not after May.
The change needed is in attitudes more than delivery.
The change needed is in attitudes more than delivery.
Reposted by Mirn
FWIW - we know about Epstein backing Trump - but what about Brexit? Some preliminary analysis of his comments on the EU Ref in 2016
February 2, 2026 at 2:07 PM
FWIW - we know about Epstein backing Trump - but what about Brexit? Some preliminary analysis of his comments on the EU Ref in 2016
Reposted by Mirn
When all the lads said they just wanted to go back to normal regular politics, they very did much mean this guy and his friends, doing the type of stuff they do.
February 2, 2026 at 10:32 AM
When all the lads said they just wanted to go back to normal regular politics, they very did much mean this guy and his friends, doing the type of stuff they do.
Reposted by Mirn
Most of Epstein’s victims were either too frightened to come forward, or silenced through legal threats. Oh, and here’s a senior British politician giving Epstein tips on how to silence them
February 1, 2026 at 11:25 AM
Most of Epstein’s victims were either too frightened to come forward, or silenced through legal threats. Oh, and here’s a senior British politician giving Epstein tips on how to silence them