scillsmatthews.bsky.social
scillsmatthews.bsky.social
@scillsmatthews.bsky.social
Reposted by scillsmatthews.bsky.social
I don't think most people realise how completely our military and intelligence services are entwined with the US.

We may well need to become more independent, but it's not something that can happen overnight.
I see a lot of "no more", "isolate the US", "stand with Europe", etc. But what does that look like? Do we recall diplomatic staff and kick theirs out? Stop sharing FiVeEYes intel? NATO expulsion (no mechanism)? UN resolution? Scrap AUKUS? What form does "no more" take? What are the consequences?
March 1, 2025 at 9:33 AM
Reposted by scillsmatthews.bsky.social
US Vice President JD Vance says there have been "infringements on free speech" in the UK

Keir Starmer hits back: "We have had free speech for a very long time in the UK"
February 27, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Reposted by scillsmatthews.bsky.social
so much for Trump’s 4% claim
February 19, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Reposted by scillsmatthews.bsky.social
OBSERVER; Starmer set to join Europe crisis summit on Trump Ukraine plan #TomorrowsPapersToday
February 15, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Reposted by scillsmatthews.bsky.social
No matter where you fall on the TikTok ban, the President undoing by “executive order” a law passed by Congress and upheld unanimously by the Supreme Court is an unconstitutional abuse of power.
January 19, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Reposted by scillsmatthews.bsky.social
It’s almost as if the political game of calling for an inquiry into almost everything while in opposition and allowing them on almost nothing while in government might eventually have consequences, isn’t it?
January 2, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Reposted by scillsmatthews.bsky.social
Elon Musk is starting to risk getting Jess Phillips killed. She's been safeguarding minister for six months. She oversaw nothing relating to the rape gangs. As an opposition MP she was one of the most prominent campaigners for the victims.

What he's doing is a travesty.
January 3, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Reposted by scillsmatthews.bsky.social
Was just writing a post to the same effect. I keep seeing people say Labour should do something in response. But what exactly?
Subtweet: I don’t think the answer to “how should a midsized open economy react to the critical posts of a man who is a close adviser to the next president of the country thar is the central component of Five Eyes, Nato, the global economy, etc.” is a question with an obvious right answer.
January 3, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Reposted by scillsmatthews.bsky.social
Read this while smashing my head against wall due to the BA website refusing to accept correct passport information. Anyway, FYI for future reference, thanks to Reddit, the workaround is “use FinnAir’s website to manage your BA bookings as they’re on the same system and their IT actually works”.
December 28, 2024 at 10:37 AM
Reposted by scillsmatthews.bsky.social
About a 10th of the number of Ukrainian refugee children state schools took in without any panicked coverage.

Such nonsense.
There are more than 10m children in school in the UK…but, per Times, 3,000 might move to state sector because of VAT rise…so Whitehall is “braced” 😲😲😲

Says a lot about UK media bubble, the way this story is reported.

You pay VAT on luxuries. Private schooling is that.
December 26, 2024 at 9:15 AM
Reposted by scillsmatthews.bsky.social
If indeed American exceptionalism is "the mother of all bubbles", pumped by deficits and mania, I wonder how that changes the narrative around Europe.

Looking back, will we end up thinking "Europe looked like it was falling behind for a bit, until America popped"?

www.ft.com/content/9a0d...
How ‘the mother of all bubbles’ will pop
It’s time to bet against American exceptionalism
www.ft.com
December 16, 2024 at 6:58 AM
Reposted by scillsmatthews.bsky.social
UK MPs vote in favour of allowing assisted dying after emotional Commons debate
#BBCNews live page www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c9...
#AssistedDying
Assisted dying vote live updates: MPs vote in favour of allowing assisted dying after emotional debate
The bill passes the first stage in the Commons but will be followed by months of parliamentary activity before it becomes a law.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 29, 2024 at 2:59 PM
Reposted by scillsmatthews.bsky.social
Wow. Here is one to brighten up your morning. The first images of the restored interior of Notre Dame cathedral. Breathtaking. In just five years France did it
November 29, 2024 at 8:08 AM
Reposted by scillsmatthews.bsky.social
Worth a repost I think. Business / 'the markets' are definitely not on board with Trump on tariffs.
Tricky balancing act for Trump on Treasury Secretary, any credible candidate will know the tariff plan if enacted is deeply damaging, and anyone who thinks the tariff plan sane is unlikely to generate much confidence in the markets. www.ft.com/content/3c98...
Trump seeks pledge that his Treasury secretary will enact tough tariffs
[FREE TO READ] President-elect’s key economic appointment has kicked off a fierce lobbying effort among his loyalists
www.ft.com
November 18, 2024 at 5:48 PM
Reposted by scillsmatthews.bsky.social
I do get that the two child limit and and welfare cap are popular with the public (and I get why).

But the consequences of this are not popular and ultimately matter more both in the real world and electorally.
Shocking news. 36% of UK children are living in poverty according to the latest Social Metrics Commission research (I am one of the Commissioners)
www.theguardian.com/society/2024...
November 18, 2024 at 6:21 PM
Reposted by scillsmatthews.bsky.social
🚨 NEW: Transport Secretary Louise Haigh will announce plans to invest £1bn in bus services on Monday as she promises London-style services to the whole country

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...
Buses get £1 billion boost - how much cash each area will get confirmed
Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said it would bring to an end the postcode lottery of unreliable bus services - with funding allocated on need, levels of deprivation and population
www.mirror.co.uk
November 16, 2024 at 10:14 PM
Reposted by scillsmatthews.bsky.social
Why are there not articles about Europe having to choose between trading with the US or China, which is after all a more likely problem?

Or indeed about the choices companies will have?

More ridiculous panic in the UK media. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
UK must choose between EU and Trump, trade experts warn
Pascal Lamy, former head of the WTO, says Britain will have to take sides if new US administration slaps hefty tariffs on imports, as fears grow over possible trade war
www.theguardian.com
November 16, 2024 at 8:45 PM
Reposted by scillsmatthews.bsky.social
Bluesky by the Numbers today:

1.3M people Posted 6.5M posts
2.3M people Liked 37.5M posts
2.9M people Followed 41.5M people (!!!!!)

Over 1,000,000 people joined the network!!!!!!

We broke all-time traffic records by over 30% today across the board.

Follows are up 20x from 2 weeks ago!

Holy Moly
November 15, 2024 at 5:54 AM
Reposted by scillsmatthews.bsky.social
Hi there - a first post on this platform. Do please repost this message just in case anyone should want to find me here -- thank you...
November 13, 2024 at 12:58 PM