Sid Dipper
@siddipper.bsky.social
Former low grade HMRC worker, now taking time for Tiffin. Blog ("Excellent" Captain Swing 2023) at https://exofficerx.blogspot.com/
“the sums gifted personally to both Farage Johnson are unprecedented in UK politics, as is their timing. Harborne gave £5m to Farage shortly before he returned to frontline politics…And £1m to Johnson after he stepped down as prime minister. But for what?” 🧐 www.thenerve.news/p/harborne-r...
As Farage is investigated … did Boris Johnson also fail to disclose a gift from Christopher Harborne?
Leaked documents reveal a previously undeclared trip made by the former PM with the crypto and defence billionaire to the heart of war-torn Ukraine. Report by Carole Cadwalladr and Charlie Young
thenerve.news
Mason: man who speaks in clumsily constructed sentences, constantly searching for, but never finding, profundity. See also: hapless political reporter Brian O'Hanrahahanrahan on The Day Today. Seriously, that series needs repeating.
Iranian singer sentenced to 74 lashes for performing without hijab, says human rights group. Solidarity with the women of Iran. State power and religion always make a toxic mix of intolerance and obedience. Yet the far-right in the USA, UK, West pursuing religious nationalism.
Iranian singer sentenced to 74 lashes for performing without hijab - rights group
The 29-year-old and eight other musicians have been punished by the autocratic regime for sharing ‘vulgar and immoral content’
independent.co.uk
When I was at school I got told “you work hard considering you’re black” when I was in year seven, I was 11 so thought it was a compliment And when I was 15, the kid who called me a n*gger got made head boy This was late 00s/early 2010s But of course, anti-white discrimination is the scourge
Does it change our perception of our society to know that a fair chunk of extremist behaviour is in fact a Russian sabotage campaign? www.ft.com/content/8fa3...
Russian saboteurs hired third operative for UK attacks
Footage points to the role of an unidentified man spraying anti-Muslim graffiti in London
ft.com
Keir Starmer’s under-16 social media ban can only work if everyone proves who they are, so it’s a natural move for a government selling surveillance as safety By tech policy expert and digital rights advocate @heatherburnstech.bsky.social www.thenerve.news/p/under-16-s...
The circle of life... George Osborne was replaced as editor of the Evening Standard by Emily Sheffield, sister of Samantha Cameron, who is the wife of David Cameron, whose Chancellor was George Osborne, who was replaced as editor of the Evening Standard by... #politicslive bsky.app/profile/paul...
paulusthewoodgnome@paulusthewoodgnome.bsky.social · 5mo agoAfter she lost her job as an editor of Vogue, Emily Sheffield went for dinner at the Camerons' with George Osborne. "George's advice to consider what I want next would prove the most salient." And so she became editor of the Evening Standard, taking over from... George Osborne. #politicslive
It’s Sunday (late) morning. In England. The eggs have white shells.
Dream involving chainsaw killers, vampires and werewolves. That was all great fun. But the horrific part of the dream, the part that turned it into a nightmare, was the realisation that I was supposed to be compiling a list of Top Twenty Doors in Films and ought to have submitted it yesterday.
Musk is a generationally repulsive monster. But he didn't make the Today Program's Justin Webb say that migrants in NI “have been able to come here and get access to services’ that local people can’t”. He didn't make the BBC head its live coverage of the pogroms with “Belfast Knife Attack Latest”.
The open border between Northern Ireland & the Republic has been in operation since 1923. #bbcpm
'Angela Rayner said it was "un-British" to make care staff already here wait up to 15 years, rather than the current 5, before allowing them to settle permanently. Controlling borders was completely different to "retrospective action on people who've made a life here".' www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Changing visa rules for care workers is wrong, says Rayner
The former deputy prime minister says changing visa rules for migrants already living in the UK would be "un-British".
bbc.co.uk
"Despite widespread nostalgia for manufacturing jobs, new US factories often struggle to find reliable workers" Hey, who'd have thought that young people wouldn't have the same nostalgic fervour as ageing politicians? Maybe we get the economy we want? www.ft.com/content/e7a3...
What happened to the great rebirth of American manufacturing?
Skills shortages, shifting tariffs and complex permitting processes are major barriers
ft.com
Only yesterday morning Ofcom released its code of practice on crisis response protocols which they expect smaller online services to deploy during Southport-scale incidents. Begs the question of why they are shifting the labour to smaller platforms for incidents directed by the owner of a large one.
Graham Simpson@grahambs.bsky.social · 2mo agoElon Musk is using his X platform to incite violence on our streets. It’s time the government and the rest of us shut his cesspit platform down!
“The breadth of support for water renationalisation, a wealth tax & donation caps indicates that these are not fringe positions but mainstream concerns” #TaxTheSuperRich paying proportionately less % tax than the rest of us diverting income into holding companies www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Most Makerfield voters say offensive posts would put them off candidate, poll finds
Survey in run-up to byelection also finds support for water renationalisation, wealth tax and cap on political donations
theguardian.com
Parking social media for a moment for another massive story of the modern global economy, what is happening in the tangle of pharmaceutical pricing, investment, and government trade policy. Really complex policy problem. www.politico.eu/article/us-d...
Trump’s drug pricing war comes for Germany
U.S. and German officials are meeting in secret to talk about drug prices.
politico.eu
Remember when Remainers warned that Brexit might cause Irish border problems – 'Project Fear!'? And remember, later, when Brexiters wailed at the EU that 'we're not putting up a hard border between NI and Ireland; it's on you if you put one up'? Now Lord Frost calls for a hard border.
English commentators need to stop analysing Northern Ireland through an English lens! When you see anti-immigrant riots in Belfast, Ballymena or Larne and immediately reach for "Britain's far-right problem", you're missing half the story. This isn't just racism. It's loyalist terrorism. 1/
I think this post was meant to be a private email to Putin.
What we seeing in the UK today is an attempt by foreign-backed far-right extremists to destabilise our country by stoking rage and division. This anti-immigrant violence must be stopped, and the thugs who encourage it prosecuted. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026... (1/2)
Violence erupts in Belfast after protests over knife attack
Crowds, including people in masks and hoods, burned vehicles and properties after calls for demonstrations from far-right figures
theguardian.com
For the hundredth time. These are not "patriots". They are conspiring with our enemies to destroy this country and need to be treated accordingly
Tony Tassell@tonytassell.bsky.social · 2mo agoQuite the quote from Stephen Yaxley-Lennon on why he went to Russia where he met with Elon Musk's father www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
#RejoinEU “winning a referendum will only happen if the groundwork has been laid. Laying the groundwork will require patience, discipline, strong communication and a lot of political skill – all of which have so far been scarce in this government.” lordashcroftpolls.com/2026/06/shou...
Should Labour promise a rejoin referendum? - Lord Ashcroft Polls
The ten-year anniversary of the Brexit referendum and the musings of Labour leadership hopefuls have combined to revive the debate over Britain’s relationship with Europe. Would it help Labour to make...
lordashcroftpolls.com
The positive side to white Brits committing murder is that Cambridge doesn't have to worry about far-right thugs descending on its streets to attack police and terrorise local communities. 👍 bsky.app/profile/sund...
Sunder Katwala (sundersays)@sundersays.bsky.social · 2mo agoConstruction worker Chas Corrigan has been sentenced for life (minimum 22 years) for the drink + drug fuelled Cambridge murder by stabbing Saudi student Mohammed Algasim, who had come to the city to study English. The offender's father assisted in hiding evidence www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The company has had since 2023 to clean up one single former fracking site in Lancashire + return it to farmland. After 3 years of delays, the work's still not complete. If fracking were rolled out at scale in the UK, would firms be any more efficient at cleaning up than they are in the US?
@drillordrop.bsky.social · 2mo agoThe controversial shale gas site at Preston New Road in Lancashire must be restored to farmland by the end of the year. Lancashire County Council said in a statement it had served an enforcement notice on Cuadrilla for the site near Blackpool. drillordrop.com/2026/06/08/c...
Always a treat to see the map of Most Frackable Bits of Britain and be reminded precisely what the Reform voters of Surrey and Kent are signing up for.
Leana Hosea@leanahosea.bsky.social · 2mo agoBritish Geological Survey map of parts of the UK with potential for fracking exploration. Presently, fracking is paused in the UK. Reform has pledged to open up the country to fracking if elected: nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/51...
