Quentin Campbell
@qgcampbell.bsky.social
Interested in Korean Peninsula & humanitarian issues in DPRK. Active volunteer with Distributed Proofreaders (pgdp.net). Radio Amateur (UK). Blog at nkhumanitarian.org. Photo of North Korean children on rollerblades, Chŏngjin city centre, May 2013.
Pinned
The elegant and eloquent characterisation of the philosophy and practice of fascism describes what we see in Trump's U.S. today.
Reposted by Quentin Campbell
Will President Trump sue the BBC for $1 billion? As the US president no doubt intended, it’s a figure that appears in almost every front-page newspaper headline today.
rozenberg.substack.com/p/will-trump...
rozenberg.substack.com/p/will-trump...
Will Trump sue?
Not if the BBC makes sufficient amends this week
rozenberg.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:05 AM
Will President Trump sue the BBC for $1 billion? As the US president no doubt intended, it’s a figure that appears in almost every front-page newspaper headline today.
rozenberg.substack.com/p/will-trump...
rozenberg.substack.com/p/will-trump...
Reposted by Quentin Campbell
this is brilliant satire:
“Given what I took to be the anti-Trump nature of the Sketch, I of course assumed there would be a similar, balancing Sketch discussing the possibility that the Capitol building had attacked the rioters....."
“Given what I took to be the anti-Trump nature of the Sketch, I of course assumed there would be a similar, balancing Sketch discussing the possibility that the Capitol building had attacked the rioters....."
Crisis at the Critic Sketchcasting Corporation!
Crisis at the CSC | Robert Hutton | The Critic Magazine
From the desk of Lord Kronsteen, founder and proprietor of the Critic Sketchcasting Corporation. To all staff, It is with a heavy heart that I take pen in hand to inform you of the resignation of both…
thecritic.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 5:54 PM
this is brilliant satire:
“Given what I took to be the anti-Trump nature of the Sketch, I of course assumed there would be a similar, balancing Sketch discussing the possibility that the Capitol building had attacked the rioters....."
“Given what I took to be the anti-Trump nature of the Sketch, I of course assumed there would be a similar, balancing Sketch discussing the possibility that the Capitol building had attacked the rioters....."
Reposted by Quentin Campbell
Most people think the BBC is biased but in different directions (or they're not sure).
November 10, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Most people think the BBC is biased but in different directions (or they're not sure).
Reposted by Quentin Campbell
Some preliminary points:
Trump is unlikely to succeed in a claim for defamation against the BBC (on information available).
Even if he succeeded, damages for this alleged defamation would be no more than about £50k, probably less. Even the worst libels, now no more than about £100k.
£1bn? No way.
Trump is unlikely to succeed in a claim for defamation against the BBC (on information available).
Even if he succeeded, damages for this alleged defamation would be no more than about £50k, probably less. Even the worst libels, now no more than about £100k.
£1bn? No way.
November 10, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Some preliminary points:
Trump is unlikely to succeed in a claim for defamation against the BBC (on information available).
Even if he succeeded, damages for this alleged defamation would be no more than about £50k, probably less. Even the worst libels, now no more than about £100k.
£1bn? No way.
Trump is unlikely to succeed in a claim for defamation against the BBC (on information available).
Even if he succeeded, damages for this alleged defamation would be no more than about £50k, probably less. Even the worst libels, now no more than about £100k.
£1bn? No way.
Reposted by Quentin Campbell
Whatever the objective reality, there’s a visceral belief on the right that the BBC is biased against them. Perhaps they should stop reading the anti-BBC press?
November 10, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Whatever the objective reality, there’s a visceral belief on the right that the BBC is biased against them. Perhaps they should stop reading the anti-BBC press?
Reposted by Quentin Campbell
Send Pundit of the Year medal to @stephenkb.bsky.social who has been predicting exactly this outcome on a regular basis pretty much since the first time Labour said they wouldn't remove the cap.
NEW: Rachel Reeves signals she intends to remove the two-child cap *in full*
"I don't think a child should be penalised because they're in a bigger family through no fault of their own," she tells BBC.
"I don't think a child should be penalised because they're in a bigger family through no fault of their own," she tells BBC.
November 10, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Send Pundit of the Year medal to @stephenkb.bsky.social who has been predicting exactly this outcome on a regular basis pretty much since the first time Labour said they wouldn't remove the cap.
Reposted by Quentin Campbell
This week, President Trump pardoned allies accused of trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election. It is part of an uptick in "insider pardons" issued in his second term, one legal expert says. n.pr/3WQe563
Trump ramps up the 'insider pardon' for those in his personal, political orbit
This week, President Trump pardoned allies accused of trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election. It is part of an uptick in "insider pardons" issued in his second term, one legal expert says.
n.pr
November 10, 2025 at 3:41 PM
This week, President Trump pardoned allies accused of trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election. It is part of an uptick in "insider pardons" issued in his second term, one legal expert says. n.pr/3WQe563
Reposted by Quentin Campbell
There are cases like this happening every day. Trump is the most pro-criminal president in history - if you are wealthy and have connections. Spare us the “Law and Order” bs.
November 10, 2025 at 3:08 PM
There are cases like this happening every day. Trump is the most pro-criminal president in history - if you are wealthy and have connections. Spare us the “Law and Order” bs.
Reposted by Quentin Campbell
The need was obvious at the time the pledges were made, and pointed out at the time the pledges were made - "Labour's manifesto offers no indication that there is a plan for where the money to come from to finance this." Labour made a choice to promise change without money. Now they pay the price.
November 10, 2025 at 8:28 AM
The need was obvious at the time the pledges were made, and pointed out at the time the pledges were made - "Labour's manifesto offers no indication that there is a plan for where the money to come from to finance this." Labour made a choice to promise change without money. Now they pay the price.
Reposted by Quentin Campbell
While going through the proofs for "The British General Election of 2024" (out very soon!) I came across this - Paul Johnson of the IFS's verdict on Labour's manifesto last year. Labour's current attempts to claim the need to break their tax pledges was impossible to forsee don't stack up
November 10, 2025 at 8:28 AM
While going through the proofs for "The British General Election of 2024" (out very soon!) I came across this - Paul Johnson of the IFS's verdict on Labour's manifesto last year. Labour's current attempts to claim the need to break their tax pledges was impossible to forsee don't stack up
Reposted by Quentin Campbell
Breaking the tax pledge is the right call...and politically sulphurous. Reeves must argue, far more forcefully, that taxes are *the* essential downpayment we all pay for a fairer society.
Patrick Diamond and I wrote for @renewaljournal.bsky.social. Key points in 🧵 👇
renewal.org.uk/blog/if-labo...
Patrick Diamond and I wrote for @renewaljournal.bsky.social. Key points in 🧵 👇
renewal.org.uk/blog/if-labo...
If Labour want a fairer society, they must argue for it
Labour must make the political argument: taxes are the critical downpayment we all pay to live in a fairer society.
It now seems all but certain that direct taxes will rise in the forthcoming Budget...
renewal.org.uk
November 10, 2025 at 7:34 AM
Breaking the tax pledge is the right call...and politically sulphurous. Reeves must argue, far more forcefully, that taxes are *the* essential downpayment we all pay for a fairer society.
Patrick Diamond and I wrote for @renewaljournal.bsky.social. Key points in 🧵 👇
renewal.org.uk/blog/if-labo...
Patrick Diamond and I wrote for @renewaljournal.bsky.social. Key points in 🧵 👇
renewal.org.uk/blog/if-labo...
Reposted by Quentin Campbell
Maybe Keir should demand the heads of major US news networks any time they imply Britain is on the brink of civil war or that we live under sharia law. Or does it not work both ways?
November 10, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Maybe Keir should demand the heads of major US news networks any time they imply Britain is on the brink of civil war or that we live under sharia law. Or does it not work both ways?
Reposted by Quentin Campbell
The BBC will fuck things up from time to time. Lots of major news organisations do; just look at The Times having to memoryhole several fake news stories in a matter of weeks.
No one is calling for the abolition of The Times, however.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
No one is calling for the abolition of The Times, however.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
UK newspaper editor calls Bill de Blasio fake interview blunder ‘humiliating’
A Times associate editor reportedly addressed situation in an email to staff, saying: ‘We should have been on our guard’
www.theguardian.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:53 AM
The BBC will fuck things up from time to time. Lots of major news organisations do; just look at The Times having to memoryhole several fake news stories in a matter of weeks.
No one is calling for the abolition of The Times, however.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
No one is calling for the abolition of The Times, however.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reposted by Quentin Campbell
This as not simply populism, it's an extreme assault on public institutions and structures. The last week has been about the BBC, but comes alongside mounting attacks on judicial independence/the European Court of Human Rights. Treating each issue in isolation will see them killed off one by one.
What you’re witnessing is a populist assault on the BBC.
This is not an institutional scandal in any meaningful sense of the word. It is an attack on public service broadcasting.
iandunt.substack.com/p/extra-edit...
This is not an institutional scandal in any meaningful sense of the word. It is an attack on public service broadcasting.
iandunt.substack.com/p/extra-edit...
November 10, 2025 at 11:32 AM
This as not simply populism, it's an extreme assault on public institutions and structures. The last week has been about the BBC, but comes alongside mounting attacks on judicial independence/the European Court of Human Rights. Treating each issue in isolation will see them killed off one by one.
Reposted by Quentin Campbell
It's an easy card to play for Polanski because if Labour do so badly in 2029 that it needs a Green coalition partner then Starmer won't be leader anyway
Green leader says Starmer is ‘not a man I would be willing to work with’
Green leader says Starmer is ‘not a man I would be willing to work with’
Green leader says Starmer is ‘not a man I would be willing to work with’
www.independent.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 9:07 AM
It's an easy card to play for Polanski because if Labour do so badly in 2029 that it needs a Green coalition partner then Starmer won't be leader anyway
Reposted by Quentin Campbell
Some thoughts on why Remembrance is so important, and why attempts to police it should be resisted.
One of the most precious things about Remembrance is that it sets no political tests.
It asks only that we "remember", and that we do so in the silence of our own thoughts.
It doesn't dictate what we remember, how we remember or what lessons we draw.
That's between ourselves and our conscience.🧵
It asks only that we "remember", and that we do so in the silence of our own thoughts.
It doesn't dictate what we remember, how we remember or what lessons we draw.
That's between ourselves and our conscience.🧵
November 9, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Some thoughts on why Remembrance is so important, and why attempts to police it should be resisted.
Reposted by Quentin Campbell
In 2020, Boris Johnson said that Trump "encouraged people to storm the Capitol ... I believe that that was completely wrong. ... I unreservedly condemn encouraging people to behave in the disgraceful way that they did in the Capitol".
Does he still think that?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgCi...
Does he still think that?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgCi...
Boris Johnson condemns Trump after Capitol attack: 'Completely wrong'
YouTube video by Guardian News
www.youtube.com
November 9, 2025 at 9:08 PM
In 2020, Boris Johnson said that Trump "encouraged people to storm the Capitol ... I believe that that was completely wrong. ... I unreservedly condemn encouraging people to behave in the disgraceful way that they did in the Capitol".
Does he still think that?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgCi...
Does he still think that?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgCi...
Reposted by Quentin Campbell
Note that still in post at the BBC is Robbie Gibb, who helped set up GB News, and John McAndrew, formerly director of news and programmes at GB News.
November 10, 2025 at 5:56 AM
Note that still in post at the BBC is Robbie Gibb, who helped set up GB News, and John McAndrew, formerly director of news and programmes at GB News.
Reposted by Quentin Campbell
Going to enjoy how the BBC tries to cover this today!
November 10, 2025 at 11:16 AM
Going to enjoy how the BBC tries to cover this today!
Reposted by Quentin Campbell
Reposted by Quentin Campbell
This corrupted, neoliberal idea of government…
Swarming with lobbyists & drowning in corporate money.
Serving shareholder profit instead of people & planet.
It’s a cancer that belongs to the bin fire of history.
And more & more people are waking up to this.
Swarming with lobbyists & drowning in corporate money.
Serving shareholder profit instead of people & planet.
It’s a cancer that belongs to the bin fire of history.
And more & more people are waking up to this.
Developers met ministers dozens of times over planning bill while ecologists were shut out
Exclusive: Leading ecologists say warnings over threat to wildlife have been ignored in drive to build 1.5m new homes
www.theguardian.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:17 AM
This corrupted, neoliberal idea of government…
Swarming with lobbyists & drowning in corporate money.
Serving shareholder profit instead of people & planet.
It’s a cancer that belongs to the bin fire of history.
And more & more people are waking up to this.
Swarming with lobbyists & drowning in corporate money.
Serving shareholder profit instead of people & planet.
It’s a cancer that belongs to the bin fire of history.
And more & more people are waking up to this.
Reposted by Quentin Campbell
The BBC's depressing lack of inherent institutional strength
The BBC needs to be a robust, independent institution
By me
Substack emptycity.substack.com/p/the-bbcs-d...
Personal blog davidallengreen.com/2025/11/the-...
The BBC needs to be a robust, independent institution
By me
Substack emptycity.substack.com/p/the-bbcs-d...
Personal blog davidallengreen.com/2025/11/the-...
The BBC's depressing lack of of inherent institutional strength
The BBC needs to be a robust, independent institution
emptycity.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:11 AM
The BBC's depressing lack of inherent institutional strength
The BBC needs to be a robust, independent institution
By me
Substack emptycity.substack.com/p/the-bbcs-d...
Personal blog davidallengreen.com/2025/11/the-...
The BBC needs to be a robust, independent institution
By me
Substack emptycity.substack.com/p/the-bbcs-d...
Personal blog davidallengreen.com/2025/11/the-...
Reposted by Quentin Campbell
See also the prison service, universities, local government, and the rest.
And the response of this government?
No - not to fund and run them better and prepare the ground for success.
But to join the baying mob. 2/2
And the response of this government?
No - not to fund and run them better and prepare the ground for success.
But to join the baying mob. 2/2
November 10, 2025 at 8:32 AM
See also the prison service, universities, local government, and the rest.
And the response of this government?
No - not to fund and run them better and prepare the ground for success.
But to join the baying mob. 2/2
And the response of this government?
No - not to fund and run them better and prepare the ground for success.
But to join the baying mob. 2/2
Reposted by Quentin Campbell
The BBC is the latest part of ‘the public realm’ to feel the wrath of the right.
The playbook is wearyingly similar.
Underfund them. Hold them (piously) to the highest standards. Pillory them for all errors. And then co-opt, or neuter, them. 1/2
The playbook is wearyingly similar.
Underfund them. Hold them (piously) to the highest standards. Pillory them for all errors. And then co-opt, or neuter, them. 1/2
November 10, 2025 at 8:32 AM
The BBC is the latest part of ‘the public realm’ to feel the wrath of the right.
The playbook is wearyingly similar.
Underfund them. Hold them (piously) to the highest standards. Pillory them for all errors. And then co-opt, or neuter, them. 1/2
The playbook is wearyingly similar.
Underfund them. Hold them (piously) to the highest standards. Pillory them for all errors. And then co-opt, or neuter, them. 1/2
Reposted by Quentin Campbell
One thing not being said - indeed, I think everyone misses this - but the requirement for the BBC to show impartiality and balance relates to the politics of *this* country, there’s no requirement to show some mythical balance globally, only to report the truth without fear or favour.
November 10, 2025 at 8:40 AM
One thing not being said - indeed, I think everyone misses this - but the requirement for the BBC to show impartiality and balance relates to the politics of *this* country, there’s no requirement to show some mythical balance globally, only to report the truth without fear or favour.