Scandifriend
@scandifriend.bsky.social
Wigan-based diminutive middle-aged would-be punk elfin. Obsessed with all things Scandi, chess, politics, music, languages, cooking, and doing the washing up https://worldlyscandifriend.wordpress.com/
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Fairly certain Kemi Badenoch is hoping that nobody has noticed this.
Pretty brazen...
Pretty brazen...
November 29, 2025 at 9:47 AM
Fairly certain Kemi Badenoch is hoping that nobody has noticed this.
Pretty brazen...
Pretty brazen...
A random Electoral Calculus prediction on the basis of the opinion poll that has gone around today: Reform 307, Lab 107, LD 75, Con 50, SNP 45, Green 28. Doesn't allow for tactical voting though. (We should have electoral reform though because it was daft Labour won so handily on 33.7% last time)
November 26, 2025 at 11:16 AM
A random Electoral Calculus prediction on the basis of the opinion poll that has gone around today: Reform 307, Lab 107, LD 75, Con 50, SNP 45, Green 28. Doesn't allow for tactical voting though. (We should have electoral reform though because it was daft Labour won so handily on 33.7% last time)
Personally rather looking forward to the LD/Lab/Con grandest coalition in 2029 where Ed Davey becomes PM, John McDonnell Chancellor and Desmond Swayne Foreign Secretary like an episode of Borgen on crystal meth
"Reform win outright themselves" is one of those which is up there with "Lib Dems win outright themselves" in plausibility. They're polling UKIP 2014 numbers - they're the narrow frontrunner purely because both Tories and Labour have collapsed
November 26, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Personally rather looking forward to the LD/Lab/Con grandest coalition in 2029 where Ed Davey becomes PM, John McDonnell Chancellor and Desmond Swayne Foreign Secretary like an episode of Borgen on crystal meth
I think the people of this country have had enough of charlatan shithouses (eg Glasman) pretending to be experts
November 26, 2025 at 10:11 AM
I think the people of this country have had enough of charlatan shithouses (eg Glasman) pretending to be experts
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I suspect we are going to be hearing a lot from people who are vehemently opposed to immigration and lifting the two-child cap over the next few days - and that they will almost never be challenged on the total contradiction.
November 26, 2025 at 9:29 AM
I suspect we are going to be hearing a lot from people who are vehemently opposed to immigration and lifting the two-child cap over the next few days - and that they will almost never be challenged on the total contradiction.
Exactly two years since one of the happiest experiences of my life when we took a dinky little plane on a domestic Norwegian flight from Røros to Oslo and got very lucky with the views
November 26, 2025 at 10:08 AM
Exactly two years since one of the happiest experiences of my life when we took a dinky little plane on a domestic Norwegian flight from Røros to Oslo and got very lucky with the views
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Because the argument is no longer freer market smaller state vs more regulated market larger state. The political battle is now just really social policy and the right’s is incoherent with their supposed economic beliefs as are the lefts. So it’s all just a mess.
November 26, 2025 at 9:43 AM
Because the argument is no longer freer market smaller state vs more regulated market larger state. The political battle is now just really social policy and the right’s is incoherent with their supposed economic beliefs as are the lefts. So it’s all just a mess.
Here I briefly thought of Bulgaria with seven general elections in the last four years and the possibility of an eighth any time soon
We are moving inexorably to the end point of electoral chaos - five parties all tied on 19% in the polls, election to be decided by blindfolded chimps chucking coloured darts at a constituency map
Westminster Voting Intention:
RFM: 25% (-2)
LAB: 19% (=)
CON: 18% (+1)
GRN: 16% (-1)
LDM: 15% (+2)
SNP: 3% (=)
Via @yougov.co.uk, 23-24 Nov.
Changes w/ 16-17 Nov.
RFM: 25% (-2)
LAB: 19% (=)
CON: 18% (+1)
GRN: 16% (-1)
LDM: 15% (+2)
SNP: 3% (=)
Via @yougov.co.uk, 23-24 Nov.
Changes w/ 16-17 Nov.
November 26, 2025 at 9:20 AM
Here I briefly thought of Bulgaria with seven general elections in the last four years and the possibility of an eighth any time soon
Again back to Finchy throwing Tim's shoes over the pub building in order to win the quiz
In other words, all that matters is the ‘show’ because the ‘tell’ is largely out of our control. So everything ends up being a series of meta discourses / plays within plays / shadows on cave walls etc etc because nothing else is achievable.
November 26, 2025 at 9:09 AM
Again back to Finchy throwing Tim's shoes over the pub building in order to win the quiz
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It’s Wilson 64-70. Handicapped his growth ambitions by ruling out devaluation and had to change course in ‘67 at great cost to his reputation. Starmer can wait for policy to implode or use Trump 2.0 to break out of the self imposed straitjacket. Reeves is toast either way.
March 20, 2025 at 8:54 AM
It’s Wilson 64-70. Handicapped his growth ambitions by ruling out devaluation and had to change course in ‘67 at great cost to his reputation. Starmer can wait for policy to implode or use Trump 2.0 to break out of the self imposed straitjacket. Reeves is toast either way.
I think the problem is that Brexit ended up becoming like Chris Finch throwing Tim's shoes over the pub building in order to win the quiz. Politicians have bought into zero-sum winner-takes-all games without stopping to think about the fact they might be stupid and lack serious agency or substance
On budget, Brexit and UK politics paddling in the shallow end of a problem that goes way deeper than just tax rises. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Rachel Reeves has many problems. She’s realising that her Brexit bind may be the biggest of all | Rafael Behr
Brutal economic realities are prompting a shift in Labour’s tone on Europe. But will it dare tell the whole truth about Britain’s predicament, asks Guardian columnist Rafael Behr
www.theguardian.com
November 26, 2025 at 9:05 AM
I think the problem is that Brexit ended up becoming like Chris Finch throwing Tim's shoes over the pub building in order to win the quiz. Politicians have bought into zero-sum winner-takes-all games without stopping to think about the fact they might be stupid and lack serious agency or substance
First Test, Brisbane, November 2065. England 25 (Z Crawley 0) and 36 (Z Crawley -1), Australia 198 (Australia win by an innings and 137 runs). England management: we still have faith in our batting line-up and will prove our critics wrong
November 26, 2025 at 8:36 AM
First Test, Brisbane, November 2065. England 25 (Z Crawley 0) and 36 (Z Crawley -1), Australia 198 (Australia win by an innings and 137 runs). England management: we still have faith in our batting line-up and will prove our critics wrong
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new allegation concerning Farage’s behaviour when he was 18 years old
November 26, 2025 at 7:59 AM
new allegation concerning Farage’s behaviour when he was 18 years old
An uncanny echo of 1964-7 when Labour inherited a whopping balance of payments deficit from the Tories and should have levelled with the public the moment they got elected
You could also throw in ‘it still takes months to get a hospital appointment, schools are filled with peeling paint and dodgy ceilings, and Brexit cost us billions in lost trade - we’ve tried fixing it without tax rises, but the mess caused by Boris, Truss, and Farage was just too big’.
November 26, 2025 at 8:21 AM
An uncanny echo of 1964-7 when Labour inherited a whopping balance of payments deficit from the Tories and should have levelled with the public the moment they got elected
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You could also throw in ‘it still takes months to get a hospital appointment, schools are filled with peeling paint and dodgy ceilings, and Brexit cost us billions in lost trade - we’ve tried fixing it without tax rises, but the mess caused by Boris, Truss, and Farage was just too big’.
November 26, 2025 at 8:14 AM
You could also throw in ‘it still takes months to get a hospital appointment, schools are filled with peeling paint and dodgy ceilings, and Brexit cost us billions in lost trade - we’ve tried fixing it without tax rises, but the mess caused by Boris, Truss, and Farage was just too big’.
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Utterly surreal that a key part of the pre Budget narrative from the government hasn’t been ‘Russian planes keep buzzing the Essex coast, US support for NATO is looking shaky, and thanks to the Tories our army fits in Old Trafford - that’s why we need to raise taxes’.
November 26, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Utterly surreal that a key part of the pre Budget narrative from the government hasn’t been ‘Russian planes keep buzzing the Essex coast, US support for NATO is looking shaky, and thanks to the Tories our army fits in Old Trafford - that’s why we need to raise taxes’.
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What can you say?
EXCLUSIVE: US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff advised Russia on how to pitch Ukraine plans to Trump, in audio files reviewed by Bloomberg
Witkoff Advised Russia on How to Pitch Ukraine Plan to Trump
US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, fresh from the triumph of the Gaza peace deal, held a phone call last month with a senior Kremlin official to suggest they work together on a similar plan for Ukraine — and that Vladimir Putin should raise it with Donald Trump.
bloom.bg
November 25, 2025 at 8:59 PM
What can you say?
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Small price to pay to fully empower the UK Parliament, Britain's most trusted institution filled with its most beloved and inspiring leaders.
Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.
The Economic Impact of Brexit
Other
siepr.stanford.edu
November 25, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Small price to pay to fully empower the UK Parliament, Britain's most trusted institution filled with its most beloved and inspiring leaders.
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Gove has been an extremely poisonous influence on our politics. Undermining expert consensus on Brexit [had enough of experts, etc] and lying his way through the whole process in the aftermath of the Referendum. A travesty that he is on this panel of judges assessing political writing.
I’m a past winner of the Orwell Prize & won partly because I exposed Vote Leave’s unlawful activities.
Michael Gove was its co-convener & refused to answer a single q. He’s now a judge of the prize & our world is truly one that Orwell would recognise
bylinetimes.com/2025/11/25/m...
Michael Gove was its co-convener & refused to answer a single q. He’s now a judge of the prize & our world is truly one that Orwell would recognise
bylinetimes.com/2025/11/25/m...
Michael Gove Made Orwell Prize Judge Despite Record of Attacking Journalists and Dodging Scrutiny
Critics say "Orwell would have enjoyed the irony" of the former Conservative minister's appointment
bylinetimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Gove has been an extremely poisonous influence on our politics. Undermining expert consensus on Brexit [had enough of experts, etc] and lying his way through the whole process in the aftermath of the Referendum. A travesty that he is on this panel of judges assessing political writing.
In St Helens this morning
November 25, 2025 at 11:13 AM
In St Helens this morning
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And still not a single mea culpa from the architects, many of whom continue to be regarded as sages by much of the press.
Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.
The Economic Impact of Brexit
Other
siepr.stanford.edu
November 25, 2025 at 7:04 AM
And still not a single mea culpa from the architects, many of whom continue to be regarded as sages by much of the press.
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The Polish prime minister reacts
November 23, 2025 at 10:48 AM
The Polish prime minister reacts
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“Bow down before me, you’re not a real country” vs. “We want to keep our freedom and self-determination” are incompatible positions.
Trump diplomacy has aimed at getting Ukraine to bow down. Declining to play along with that isn’t ceding the diplomatic field, it’s rejecting imperialist demands.
Trump diplomacy has aimed at getting Ukraine to bow down. Declining to play along with that isn’t ceding the diplomatic field, it’s rejecting imperialist demands.
Any analysis that treats the erratic incompetence of the Trump administration seriously is in itself unserious
November 22, 2025 at 4:41 PM
“Bow down before me, you’re not a real country” vs. “We want to keep our freedom and self-determination” are incompatible positions.
Trump diplomacy has aimed at getting Ukraine to bow down. Declining to play along with that isn’t ceding the diplomatic field, it’s rejecting imperialist demands.
Trump diplomacy has aimed at getting Ukraine to bow down. Declining to play along with that isn’t ceding the diplomatic field, it’s rejecting imperialist demands.
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It's that time of year
November 22, 2025 at 11:54 AM
It's that time of year
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Anyway, I think it's interesting to think about how men like Kruger and Farage and Johnson are allowed to say increasingly outlandish and bizarre things but are taken seriously because of their overall appearance and demeanour, which draws on a pre-Blair/90s/Cool Britannia aesthetic
November 22, 2025 at 8:36 AM
Anyway, I think it's interesting to think about how men like Kruger and Farage and Johnson are allowed to say increasingly outlandish and bizarre things but are taken seriously because of their overall appearance and demeanour, which draws on a pre-Blair/90s/Cool Britannia aesthetic