John O’Shea
@politicalhackuk.bsky.social
Labour. Former BCC councillor and cabinet member. Know too much about bins. All views my own. RTs may not be. Work for Jess Phillips MP. Promoted by Yardley Labour Party on behalf of John O'Shea, both at 62 Yardley Road, Acocks Green, B27 6HH.
Reposted by John O’Shea
One should always be suspicious when the state resists disclosure of documents.
And one should be more suspicious when the state suddenly purports to agree to the disclosure of documents.
And one should be more suspicious when the state suddenly purports to agree to the disclosure of documents.
November 19, 2025 at 11:15 AM
One should always be suspicious when the state resists disclosure of documents.
And one should be more suspicious when the state suddenly purports to agree to the disclosure of documents.
And one should be more suspicious when the state suddenly purports to agree to the disclosure of documents.
Don’t mention the Donald. I did it once, but I think I got away with it.
December 19, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Don’t mention the Donald. I did it once, but I think I got away with it.
Knew it couldn’t last. But what an innings. What a player.
The 9th wicket partnership ends at 106 runs - as Stokes is bowled by Starc
December 19, 2025 at 12:41 AM
Knew it couldn’t last. But what an innings. What a player.
Reposted by John O’Shea
The 9th wicket partnership ends at 106 runs - as Stokes is bowled by Starc
December 19, 2025 at 12:40 AM
The 9th wicket partnership ends at 106 runs - as Stokes is bowled by Starc
I know that it can’t last, but I am yet again amazed at Stokes’ sheer bloodyminded ability to bend reality to suit his will. He is such a magnificent player.
Once again, he’s got someone at the other end who has just decided to stick around and see what happens. Curiosity is keeping Archer going.
Once again, he’s got someone at the other end who has just decided to stick around and see what happens. Curiosity is keeping Archer going.
December 19, 2025 at 12:40 AM
I know that it can’t last, but I am yet again amazed at Stokes’ sheer bloodyminded ability to bend reality to suit his will. He is such a magnificent player.
Once again, he’s got someone at the other end who has just decided to stick around and see what happens. Curiosity is keeping Archer going.
Once again, he’s got someone at the other end who has just decided to stick around and see what happens. Curiosity is keeping Archer going.
This has been rumbling for a while and you do feel that this is going to break properly at some point soon. £500 million loaned out without any formal agreement in place? That seems... unusual.
These are strong words from an auditor.
These are strong words from an auditor.
Auditors and new officials have been turning over stones at the body in charge of Teesworks. Turns out the Tees Valley Combined Authority has been lending hundreds of millions of £ to connected orgs, without loan agreements, and those orgs are now struggling to repay
as.ft.com/r/ac457745-4...
as.ft.com/r/ac457745-4...
Auditors raise red flags at public body run by Ben Houchen
[FREE TO READ] EY said errors included ‘material misstatements’ in latest setback for Conservative metro mayor Lord Houchen
as.ft.com
December 18, 2025 at 10:18 AM
This has been rumbling for a while and you do feel that this is going to break properly at some point soon. £500 million loaned out without any formal agreement in place? That seems... unusual.
These are strong words from an auditor.
These are strong words from an auditor.
Nope, that's just too French.
how did I not know that Sarkozy met his second wife when he officiated at her wedding as the local mayor en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas...
December 17, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Nope, that's just too French.
Reposted by John O’Shea
Quote this with what you would have said your game of the year was at the end of 2018, and what you would say your favourite game of 2018 is now, if it differs
(Grid is just a refresher, not my top 25. For a more comprehensive refresher: backloggd.com/games/lib/po...)
(Grid is just a refresher, not my top 25. For a more comprehensive refresher: backloggd.com/games/lib/po...)
December 14, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Quote this with what you would have said your game of the year was at the end of 2018, and what you would say your favourite game of 2018 is now, if it differs
(Grid is just a refresher, not my top 25. For a more comprehensive refresher: backloggd.com/games/lib/po...)
(Grid is just a refresher, not my top 25. For a more comprehensive refresher: backloggd.com/games/lib/po...)
A certain circularity to the journey
If the Daily Mail backs Reform UK at the next election, it will be the first time it hasn't supported the Conservative Party since it came out in favour of the British Union of Fascists
December 14, 2025 at 11:04 PM
A certain circularity to the journey
This whole article is jaw-dropping - the spectacular economic growth of a nation that embraced the benefits of EU membership and immigration and has reaped success.
The couple they highlight came to a Britain under Labour and left after 12 years of the Tories and their Brexit chaos.
The couple they highlight came to a Britain under Labour and left after 12 years of the Tories and their Brexit chaos.
Amazing, the @dailymail.co.uk manages to publish an entire lengthy feature bewailing (!!!!) the exodus of Poles from Britain without once mentioning Brexit. Apparently this outcome (which is surely exactly what they campaigned for in 2016) is all the fault of Keir Starmer.
mol.im/a/15379789
mol.im/a/15379789
The great exodus: How Poles are ditching UK for their booming homeland
New statistics reveal that while 7,000 Poles arrived in the year ending last June, 25,000 returned home: a net outflow of 18,000. The UK's total Polish population has shrunk to 750,000.
mol.im
December 13, 2025 at 10:51 AM
This whole article is jaw-dropping - the spectacular economic growth of a nation that embraced the benefits of EU membership and immigration and has reaped success.
The couple they highlight came to a Britain under Labour and left after 12 years of the Tories and their Brexit chaos.
The couple they highlight came to a Britain under Labour and left after 12 years of the Tories and their Brexit chaos.
This is indeed very sad and an overreaction by a BBC desperate to avoid controversy.
In the end, it won’t save the BBC - it will weaken it further.
In the end, it won’t save the BBC - it will weaken it further.
Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.
December 13, 2025 at 10:39 AM
This is indeed very sad and an overreaction by a BBC desperate to avoid controversy.
In the end, it won’t save the BBC - it will weaken it further.
In the end, it won’t save the BBC - it will weaken it further.
Reposted by John O’Shea
Hello
If you happen to want to follow the live reveal of #sgtpepper2025 on Tuesday:
www.twitch.tv/christhebark
(Don't forget to like and subscribe or whatever?)
Remember you can bid for prints online via chrisbarkerprints.co.uk
If you happen to want to follow the live reveal of #sgtpepper2025 on Tuesday:
www.twitch.tv/christhebark
(Don't forget to like and subscribe or whatever?)
Remember you can bid for prints online via chrisbarkerprints.co.uk
December 11, 2025 at 6:58 AM
Hello
If you happen to want to follow the live reveal of #sgtpepper2025 on Tuesday:
www.twitch.tv/christhebark
(Don't forget to like and subscribe or whatever?)
Remember you can bid for prints online via chrisbarkerprints.co.uk
If you happen to want to follow the live reveal of #sgtpepper2025 on Tuesday:
www.twitch.tv/christhebark
(Don't forget to like and subscribe or whatever?)
Remember you can bid for prints online via chrisbarkerprints.co.uk
Movie you’ve watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Stars (either War or Trek), LOTR, or Marvel…
December 7, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Movie you’ve watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Stars (either War or Trek), LOTR, or Marvel…
These are brilliant. Sadly, too rich for my salary, but they are going for a worthwhile cause.
Morning all. The signed sgtpepper prints auction is live. Reminder, it says collection but delivery can be arranged for successful bidders, I just couldn’t make eBay work how I wanted it to…
www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?i...
This one-off auction supports actorstrust.org.uk and closes on 16th Dec.
www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?i...
This one-off auction supports actorstrust.org.uk and closes on 16th Dec.
December 7, 2025 at 8:56 AM
These are brilliant. Sadly, too rich for my salary, but they are going for a worthwhile cause.
Early relegation battle at Elland Road, but good to see the underdogs holding the big team to a draw. Leeds weren’t bad either.
December 6, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Early relegation battle at Elland Road, but good to see the underdogs holding the big team to a draw. Leeds weren’t bad either.
I also used that when speaking in Council. None of my speeches were written with AI, some would say they weren’t written with human intelligence.
My @politicshome.bsky.social story from the summer about the AI-generated "I rise to speak" phenomenon in Parliament has made it into @nytimes.com 🇺🇸
(sadly, without credit)
(sadly, without credit)
December 6, 2025 at 6:27 PM
I also used that when speaking in Council. None of my speeches were written with AI, some would say they weren’t written with human intelligence.
None of this is news to us in Birmingham. Good to see it covered on The Naked Week on R4. A comedy slot, but a brief canter through a system that impacts residents, neighbours and the public purse.
The council has done good work, but they lack enforcement powers.
The council has done good work, but they lack enforcement powers.
“The whole system is near-criminal in its ability to harvest public money so that exploitative providers can provide inadequate housing & support to vulnerable people"
For our last Naked Week-Observer investigation of the year, we delve into exempt accommodation
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
For our last Naked Week-Observer investigation of the year, we delve into exempt accommodation
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
‘Even Dickens would be lost for words’: inside the supported housing scandal | The Observer
observer.co.uk
December 6, 2025 at 3:05 PM
None of this is news to us in Birmingham. Good to see it covered on The Naked Week on R4. A comedy slot, but a brief canter through a system that impacts residents, neighbours and the public purse.
The council has done good work, but they lack enforcement powers.
The council has done good work, but they lack enforcement powers.
Reposted by John O’Shea
The GMB union's London Region has welcomed plans by MPs to bar parliamentary candidates from standing if they do not pass an enhanced DBS check.
GMB says "the status quo, which allows candidates who have been convicted of violent and sexual offences to stand for office, presents safeguarding risks"
GMB says "the status quo, which allows candidates who have been convicted of violent and sexual offences to stand for office, presents safeguarding risks"
December 5, 2025 at 6:17 PM
The GMB union's London Region has welcomed plans by MPs to bar parliamentary candidates from standing if they do not pass an enhanced DBS check.
GMB says "the status quo, which allows candidates who have been convicted of violent and sexual offences to stand for office, presents safeguarding risks"
GMB says "the status quo, which allows candidates who have been convicted of violent and sexual offences to stand for office, presents safeguarding risks"
Very clear that the US policy now is to simultaneously destabilise the EU for their own trade aims AND ensure that Europe can stand on its own two feet defensively against threats from Russia.
Those are not compatible aims.
Those are not compatible aims.
The new US National Security Strategy makes for scary reading. I wrote about how the US wants to support forces in Europe to tear itself apart back in November 2024, and last May. This NSS confirms that's exactly the US objective for Europe.
www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...
www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...
December 5, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Very clear that the US policy now is to simultaneously destabilise the EU for their own trade aims AND ensure that Europe can stand on its own two feet defensively against threats from Russia.
Those are not compatible aims.
Those are not compatible aims.
Reposted by John O’Shea
That is where median opinion is. It is very legitimate to keep reporting while there are non-credible denials. Farage can address thst
Media coverage should link it to the 2025 question. Why dont Farage/Reform have trust *today* and what could they do to try to get it
bsky.app/profile/sund...
Media coverage should link it to the 2025 question. Why dont Farage/Reform have trust *today* and what could they do to try to get it
bsky.app/profile/sund...
Reform UK's public reputation on racism
White British: 47% generally racist, 36% generally not racist
Black British: 61% generally racist, 19% generally not racist
British Indian: 68% generally racist, 14% generally not racist
Pakistani/B: 82% generally racist, 7% generally not
(YouGov, Oct 2025)
White British: 47% generally racist, 36% generally not racist
Black British: 61% generally racist, 19% generally not racist
British Indian: 68% generally racist, 14% generally not racist
Pakistani/B: 82% generally racist, 7% generally not
(YouGov, Oct 2025)
December 5, 2025 at 11:18 AM
That is where median opinion is. It is very legitimate to keep reporting while there are non-credible denials. Farage can address thst
Media coverage should link it to the 2025 question. Why dont Farage/Reform have trust *today* and what could they do to try to get it
bsky.app/profile/sund...
Media coverage should link it to the 2025 question. Why dont Farage/Reform have trust *today* and what could they do to try to get it
bsky.app/profile/sund...
Reposted by John O’Shea
Lifting more than half a million children out of poverty by the end of the parliament - now that's the government putting its money where its mouth is on its manifesto commitment to reduce child poverty.
More to do, but a good foundation to build from.
More to do, but a good foundation to build from.
December 5, 2025 at 10:52 AM
Lifting more than half a million children out of poverty by the end of the parliament - now that's the government putting its money where its mouth is on its manifesto commitment to reduce child poverty.
More to do, but a good foundation to build from.
More to do, but a good foundation to build from.
I've never seen a player like Stokes with the ability to change the direction of a match by his sheer will. He writes the narrative and delivers.
December 5, 2025 at 10:51 AM
I've never seen a player like Stokes with the ability to change the direction of a match by his sheer will. He writes the narrative and delivers.
An outstanding catch from Jacks there - diving, full extension and his right hand plucks the ball from the air.
December 5, 2025 at 10:41 AM
An outstanding catch from Jacks there - diving, full extension and his right hand plucks the ball from the air.