In advance of an all-singing, all-dancing website, anyone who wants to keep up with my
#writing
can find everything here, thanks to the lovely people at
@Authory
.
So
@BethRigby
and
@KayBurley
have both rolled out - to the delight of the Left - the idea that Truss was lying when she said she was the first PM to attend a comprehensive school. One hitch: it’s true. They’ve misled people about Gordon Brown’s schooling and parroted Labour lies.
Just to be very clear, the prime minister’s argument that he has a mandate from 14 million voters is simply incorrect. He doesn’t. It’s not debatable or arguable: it’s wrong. He has the mandate of the
@Conservatives
in Parliament, on the basis of which the Queen appointed him.
With the
@RoyalFamily
in focus this week, I look at one of the stalwarts of the Firm, the reliable and hard-working
#Sophie
, Duchess of Edinburgh. From middle-class
#PR
exec to a favourite of the late
#ElizabethII
. In today’s
@theipaper
.
As we ponder the role and size of the state, worth remembering A.J.P. Taylor's English History 1914 - 1945: "until August 1914 a sensible, law-abiding Englishman could pass through life and hardly notice the existence of the state beyond the post office and the policeman."
Thanks to all those framing the Battle of
#Culloden
as English v Scots, it lets the rest of us know you haven't the faintest clue about Scottish history, which is handy to know.
#RedcoatCafe
I've tried to give Bragg the benefit of the doubt because I regard him with an affectionate nostalgia as a very 1980s Red Wedge lefty who means well. It's impossible to do that now. This is unspeakable. Anyone who saw the video of Joyce and Forstater and thought it was fine...
So, a braying mob - so sure of their cause they would hurl abuse & wear masks or balaclavas - harasses
@MForstater
@HJoyceGender
& other women in Manchester yesterday. Yet Bragg sides with mob because women maintained their dignity & composure. We see you, Bragg.
#misogyny
Murphy was convicted of the murders of Cpls Derek Wood and David Howes. They were dragged from their car by a mob in Belfast in 1988, beaten, stripped, tortured and eventually shot dead. Fr Alec Reid gave the last rites to Cpl Howes before the IRA sent him away.
This is IRA volunteer Alex Murphy being led across the carpark in Castlereagh in 1988. Like many republicans, I too, made that walk, handcuffed and knowing for sure you’re going to prison. Cops making jokes, sneering. Some experience. To those who made it, my respect.
It’s time for us to stop propping up the failed Somali state.
#Somaliland
functions, has freedoms,
#elections
and an
#economy
, and wants and needs our help. Let’s get on with it. For
@thehill
.
It almost defies imagination that the text of Zadok the Priest (a translation of the antiphon Unxerunt Salomonem, taken from 1 Kings 1:38-40) has been in use at the
#Coronation
since 973. Leif Erikson was a baby at the time. John I was on the throne in Constantinople.
Rejoice!
@SuellaBraverman
is back in government. As Home Secretary (again) I hope she can make this time make the case for the UK to leave the ECHR, solve a border with more holes than Swiss cheese and get the police’s priorities back to law & order, not whackery & wokery.
@mikeysmith
I’m going to take a wild punt and say the prime minister hasn’t taken out a library book or collected a parcel any time recently. Or, possibly, ever.
The Irish government is going to use legislation to stipulate that a third country deemed unsafe for deportees (in this case the UK) is, in fact, by the power of statute deemed to be safe. You see the irony, don't you? We can all see this?
I find it utterly depressing that 52 per cent of respondents think the prime minister should travel by public transport even if it’s slower than other means. So they think the gesture is the most important thing. Not the head of government’s safety and convenience, the symbolism.
If Alastair Campbell is going to lose his shit every time be appears on the
#BBC
, and start ranting like a non-drinking pub bore, maybe be shouldn't go on the BBC, for his own sake.
#Newsnight
I don’t especially dislike
@MattHancock
but when the president of the
@oxfordunion
is much better dressed than you, a former Secretary of State, and you’re going to be speaking in a formal
#debate
, maybe tuck your shirt in at least? And not wear trainers?
@MerrynSW
It says exactly that. Worse, it says the principal quality in a head of government should be what he or she “represents”. Not what they do, what vibe they give. It’s an extraordinary and corrosive article. (And I say that as an atheist.)
Today is
#Somaliland
's independence day, marking its declaration of separation from the Somali Democratic Republic in 1991. The country remains largely unrecognised except by
#Taiwan
; in
@thehill
I argued it is a functioning state and deserves its place.
Unreserved round of applause. Lord Arbuthnot was my chairman in the House of Commons 2006-08, and was unfailingly fair, decent, conscientious, calm and human. Deserves every last bit of recognition for his work on
#Horizon
#PostOfficeScandal
.
Watching Lord Arbuthnot at the Post Office Inquiry, he's another deeply impressive man who has dedicated years of his life to exposing systemic failures, pursuing justice for victims, and doggedly refusing to be brushed off by Paula Vennells (whose duplicity is incontrovertible).
I think Brian Cox is a magnificent actor: superb in Manhunter (the best Hannibal), peerless as Bob Servant, great in Succession. Saw him on stage recently: fantastic. But why would I care what he thinks about politics, just because he's famous? (This applies to a lot of slebs.)
I think this is pretty much irrefutable. Elected officials are undermining anything they can (judge, prosecutor, legal system) in favour of their leader and pre-doubting the election in case Biden wins. This is a personality cult. Pure and simple.
Media coverage of Republicans stampeding to NYC to attack Trump's trial as illegitimate is marred by euphemism. This isn't just "currying favor" with Trump or "expressing loyalty" or auditioning to be his veep. It's placing Trump over the rule of law. 1/
Brilliant.
@karaalyskennedy
absolutely nails the whole awful business of
#HarryandMeghanNetflix
, with its gruesome self-pity, high-minded piety and eternal quest for the only thing that matters, victimhood.
Could not agree more with
@karaalyskennedy
in this piece. Prince Harry’s bid for tragic status is self-absorbed, narcissistic and over-full of pity. Very much not the values his grandmother exemplified. He needs to catch himself on, but I fear the damage is already done.
Well, the people at
@BylineTV
have kindly asked me to appear on their 8.00 pm show this evening with
@mikegalsworthy
and
@DeborahMeaden
to talk about the Conservative Party conference. It should be a lark: do tune in if you’d like.
@samparkercouk
My standard answer to this - that exact phrase "perfect pop song" - is There She Goes by
@thelasofficial
. Short, poignant, tuneful, jangling guitars. Everything you could want. And makes it feel like a sunny afternoon in 1990 when you've seen your first crush.
As
#TinkerTailorSoldierSpy
drew to a close on BBC4 last night, I penned some thoughts, especially on its perfect evocation of the sense of decline of Britain in the 1970s with its lack of purpose and post-imperial hangover.
#Espionage
Have absolutely no reason to think Ian Hislop is anti-Semitic. Satire about very serious stuff is hard, and doesn't always work, and the judgements are very fine. My only problem with this is that it's neither uncomfortably true nor especially funny. It doesn't say much.
I continue to be astonished at the mental and moral gymnastics people will perform when discussing the Falklands War to make Britain (actually, usually Thatcher) the bad guy. Military dictatorship invades and occupies other country’s sovereign territory. And yet…
Massive congratulations to
@BBCNews
for the most muddled and historically illiterate take on the
#Coronation2023
so far. It is an explicitly and almost wholly religious ceremony which solemnised the monarch’s position. Those aren’t “religious elements”.
@tc1415
@MechaNonPlacet
I'm very much against "no-platforming" people, but one does have to ask in what capacity
@Peston
is interviewing
@Nigel_Farage
. He's not elected, he's not a party leader, and he literally has his own TV show as a platform. As a commentator? I think you ought to be clear.
In 1834, the king invited Lord Melbourne to become prime minister. He hesitated. But his secretary told him: “Why, damn it all, such a position was never held by any Greek or Roman: and if it only lasts three months, it will be worthwhile to have been Prime Minister of England.”
Can I just check: are we OK with this? I'm really not sure I am. No actual violence, but a very nasty and sustained barracking of a cabinet minister by a mob. Massive credit to Michael Gove for not turning a hair. It's worse than tipping glitter on Keir Starmer, I'd argue.
@SalemLola
@TonyDowson5
It’s also empty and pathetic, but simultaneously arrogant: it says “MY political stance is so important it justifies vandalism which can never be repaired”.
Seriously, I know politicians have to have a certain lack of shame and a brass neck, but how does Reeves brush off this pre-election statement from the FT? She’s literally about to do something she explicitly said she wouldn’t be able to do.
How dare you, you unspeakable grifter. *Starmer* has exacerbated public anger? Of course, not agitators like you and Robinson and "just asking the question" Farage, with a drumbeat of "immigration = crime".
Protests kicking off in Sunderland tonight.
Riot police out in full force with dogs and drones.
Sir Keir Starmer has exacerbated, not controlled, public anger.
Except that’s a lie, isn’t it? That photo is from 1918, tanks were never deployed and no protestors or rioters were killed. So you’re lying for effect.
In 1919, in what became known as the ‘Battle Of George Square,’ Winston Churchill sent tanks and troops into Glasgow to crush striking workers. The strike leaders were arrested for incitement.
If Tories are permitted to make laws it'll happen again.
The first two episodes of
#ConversationswithFriends
were very, very good and promising. But
@josalw
and Alison Oliver’s awkward, minimum-eye-contact flirting was honestly one of the most powerful things I’ve seen on screen for a while. Brilliant performances.
@WalkerMarcus
@Francis_Hoar
Graham Greene, whose supervisor in SIS Philby had been, remained ambivalent about Philby and his betrayal. John le Carré, whose identity Philby revealed, was much less forgiving. Truth is that Philby sold out to an evil régime and had a lot of blood on his hands.
I don't believe in mindless optimism but
@PennyMordaunt
is quite right to say that positivity is important. It's a particularly British trait to do ourselves down, but the UK has a lot going for it. Success is achievable with work and skill: but we can't write ourselves off.
On the Gaza
#hospital
strike, three options: 1) automatically believe
#Hamas
; 2) automatically believe
#IDF
; 3) wait for more evidence. Each of these says something about you, I think. Good and bad. Observation, not criticism.
Disappointing that the Mansion House dinner is now lounge suits. I could grit my teeth and bear a downgrade to black tie (though I don’t see why) but abandoning formal dress altogether - in the
@cityoflondon
, of all places - is just craven.
Last night, I welcomed the Chancellor and the Governor of Bank of England to Mansion House for the annual Financial and Professional Services Dinner, and spoke about how the newly-signed Mansion House Compact - which saw DC pension funds commit to allocate more assets to unlisted
Massive kudos to
@DrMatthewSweet
who, by making wholly valid criticisms of the editorial standards of GB News, has managed to get
#Razzle
trending on Twitter, which will bring a nostalgic warmth to the heart of every keen student of grumble-mag history. Thank you, Matthew.
Does anyone else remember The Hour with Ben Wishaw, Romola Garai, Anna Chancellor and Dominic West, and does anyone else remember thinking it was quite good?
I’m curious: what do actual
#Irish
people think of this performative, clichéd version of “Irish” identity? Biden talks as if he’s just stepped off the boat but is fourth or fifth generation American. Do you find it charming or offensive?
#StPatricksDay2023
This is actually outrageous:
@SuellaBraverman
won’t let
@CommonsPAC
see the cost of the
#Rwanda
policy even under strict secrecy. Select committees are able to see highly sensitive documents, even if under supervision (ones I worked on certainly did).
I genuinely don’t understand the adulation around Laura Pidcock. Loses a council seat to the Conservatives, gets a rock-solid Labour constituency (red since its creation in 1950), and loses it to the Tories two-and-a-half years later. Leaders need to be electable.
A fixed penalty notice is not a criminal conviction. That you don’t know that as someone with a legal qualification means your recall is poor or you are mendacious. It would be wise to own up to your mistake and apologise to
@RishiSunak
.
‼️ Rishi Sunak is the first Prime Minister to enter 10 Downing Street, having ALREADY committed a criminal offence while in government. ‼️
Are any journalists mentioning this? Or are they letting him paint himself as restoring integrity after Boris Johnson.
An excellent leader from
@TheEconomist
sets out the case for accepting reality and recognising
#Somaliland
’s independence. The country has a way to go but needs friends and allies: security through development is an achievable goal.
I'm 46, went to public school and know a lot of fairly conservative people, but I've grown up in a world where the portrayal of the British Empire as entirely benevolent and virtuous was markedly outdated. I don't know what a lot of modern writers think they're kicking against.
@RoryStewartUK
@Saddamhakim1
Egregious mistakes like this should be sortable within the hour by phone calls from whatever authority - ministerial or official - is necessary. Either a perm sec or a minister needs to make sure this is resolved, without fail.
This is a story about a woman promoted dramatically above her ability who leveraged unquestioning loyalty to a proven liar to secure the promise of a peerage and now is upset she can’t have it, but is so committed to public service that she flounces out of the Commons anyway.
"This story is about a girl from Liverpool who had something that was offered to her removed by two privileged posh boys."
Nadine Dorries blames Rishi Sunak and James Forsyth for not getting the peerage she says Boris Johnson promised her.
@NadineDorries
|
@piersmorgan
We have now passed Tony Blair's 1999 aspiration of 50% of young people attending university.
In 1950, within my parents' lifetime, that figure was 3.4%.
We have had frighteningly little public conversation about the desirability or implication of this. Changed, changed forever.
@carolvorders
You are aware, are you, that the West Country has a Liberal tradition that goes back a century and more, and that the Conservatives only took the seat in 2015? So farmers maybe not being that revolutionary.
I know I’m old-fashioned, but there are MPs who can barely produce a speech in the
@HouseofCommons
, even with a script (which used to be very frowned upon). This is an important skill: presentation, argument, persuasion. It needs a sharp and ordered mind. Get better at it.
This idiot thinks a million people died from aerial bombing in Iraq, all of them the sole responsibility of Tony Blair. It must be comforting to live in a world which you imagine simply to stoke your own righteous anger.
"one man dropped bombs that killed a million people & hes not in prison. So as long as hes nibbling on canopies.. nobody who wants to imprison w/c kids for shoplifting gets to claim crime is really what they care about"
@BarnabyRaine
on Keir Starmer delivering a speech on crime.
Staggering lack of professionalism. Also betrays a certain arrogance, a sense that voting remain was so “logical” that it would be assumed he would have done so, and so it was OK to tell people. Not surprised Helen McNamara was astonished.
In 1947, aged 21, Princess Elizabeth told the world, “I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.” I still find listening to that intensely moving.
I’ve realised. Some people (like me) use Twitter to learn, comment, chat, laugh, having an occasional spat. Others are locked in forever wars, blocking and muting by the hundred, feeling embattled and assailed. And neither group understands the experience of the other.
@EilisOHanIon
@richardtgarland
The desperation to talk about herself (and receive plaudits for being extraordinary and interesting and unusual) is overwhelming. That no-one cares doesn’t even cross her mind.
This is in no way an original insight but it strikes me once again:
@TheRestHistory
really is as astonishingly rich resource. Hundreds of witty and informed conversations between
@dcsandbrook
and
@holland_tom
on a dizzying range of subjects. Just sheer joy.
@lukemcgee
It would be interesting to know how many supported the prime minister because they believed in whatever he stands for and how many simply decided he was the likely winner.
The fawning, almost hagiographical tributes to Caroline Lucas (exclusively from the Left) as she announces her departure from the Commons: as if she’s a Green Jehanne d’Arc as opposed to an anti-nuclear Jean Brodie. Amazing, soaring levels of cant.
@MPMursalKhaliif
@GavinWilliamson
I'm not proposing redrawing any borders, I'm proposing the recognition of what has already happened on the ground. Why should we say no to Hargeisa?
Can anyone think of a mainstream left-wing politician recently at whose death people on the right openly celebrated and vilified their memory as the corpse was still cooling? I confess I’m struggling.
@BarryBlackNE
@afneil
@AlynSmith
A passionate excoriation from
@afneil
and the "Glasgow effect" is a chilling phenomenon.
@theSNP
try to run and hide from this one but they've been in charge for nearly a decade. Education getting worse, public health poor, attainment gap substantial and widening. Always excuses.
I’m sorry, this is postmodern bollocks. There is *not* as much truth in “what he remembers” as in “facts” (whether “so-called” or not). This idea that all truth is relative and feelings are of equal importance is horseshit. Sir.
Great piece by
@PennyMordaunt
for
@ConHome
on concluding a
#trade
deal with
#Indiana
; more MoUs with other states to follow. So proud of the work Penny’s put in to make these agreements happen. Recognises the value of sub-national policy-making. Brava.