A few things happening at once that people should connect.
Russia is now linked to the arson attacks on the Prime Minister's house and car last year. Shocker.
And we all saw what happened the moment that story broke. Our feeds flooded with a different story about who the men were and why they did it.
That's the operation. The arson is one half. The disinformation campaign is the other.
Flood the zone, muddy the water, get the country shouting at itself instead of asking who is behind it.
And at the same time, a chunk of the accounts pushing Scottish independence on X went dark the night Israel hit Iran's nuclear sites.
Ask yourself why. Why would hostile states be interested in sowing division across the country?
This is exactly what I mean when I say defence is the thread underneath everything now.
Again, it isn't tanks on a border. It's an arson attack on the PM's front door and state-sponsored disinformation campaigns in the replies. It's the argument about breaking up our country being run out of Tehran.
This is why resilience matters. And it's bigger than just factchecking a tweet. It's energy we can rely on. Industry we actually own. Institutions that are rock solid. Communities that don't split and fracture the moment someone pushes them. A country that is built to take a punch.
That's the job now.
Jacob Bethell became the fourth English man to score international hundreds in all three formats. Those three hundreds are the only hundreds he has scored in professional cricket. This is a weirdness that will never be repeated.
That tackle from Carragher before our 2nd is honestly a thing of beauty. I wish he didn’t talk himself down as much as he does coz people seem to think he was a clown, that’s a proper centre half
Vijay Singh doesn't owe anyone a graceful goodbye. And no, he is not taking anyone's spot. An ode to the idea that you are welcome reap the rewards of your years of work. @fried_egg_golf https://t.co/kyvGNOuf88
Hugely important story in Sunday Times.
Sixthformers need to be told which uni courses have no financial return - and which apprenticeships are the best bet.
HMG holds this info in the LEO database. It’s time to make it public - so all teenagers can make an informed choice.
Martin: Right, we've got Sarah from Basingstoke on line three. Sarah, you're on the Money Saving Expert hotline, what's your question?
Sarah: Hi Martin, love the show. So I've got about £40,000 sitting in a cash ISA earning 3%, and I was thinking of moving maybe £10,000 of it into a global index tracker....
Martin: [sound of tea being spat out]
Sarah. Sarah. SARAH. Can you hear yourself right now?
Sarah: I just thought, for the long term....
Martin: Let me stop you there. You have got, and I want everyone listening to really absorb this, you have got a GUARANTEED three percent. Guaranteed. Do you know what that word means? It means it's in the tin. It's locked in. You could put your head on your pillow tonight knowing, with absolute mathematical certainty, that your money is growing at three percent per annum.
Sarah: Right, but inflation is running at about.....
Martin: And you want to throw that away, THROW IT AWAY, for what? The possibility of ten percent? The hope? The dream?
Sarah: Well, historically, global trackers have.....
Martin: Historically! HISTORICALLY! Do you know what else happened historically, Sarah? The South Sea Bubble. The Wall Street Crash. That time my Premium Bonds didn't win anything for six consecutive months. History is LITTERED with financial corpses, Sarah.
Sarah: I was just going to leave it for twenty years and not look at it.....
Martin: Oh, you're not going to look at it! Marvellous! So when the market drops thirty percent, and it WILL drop thirty percent, probably on a Tuesday, probably the Tuesday after you invest, you'll just sit there, will you? In your house? Not looking? While your £10,000 becomes £7,000?
Sarah: I mean, that's paper losses, and if I don't sell.....
Martin: [hyperventilating] Can someone get me my laminated flowchart? The one about risk?
Sarah: Martin, I've got a stable job, no debt, six months' emergency fund.....
Martin: And a DEATH WISH, apparently! Let me paint you a picture. It's 2026. The markets have crashed. Your tracker fund is DOWN eighteen percent. You're weeping into a bowl of supermarket own-brand cornflakes because you can no longer afford Kellogg's. And you know what I'm doing? I'm sitting pretty on my guaranteed three percent. THREE. PERCENT.
Sarah: That doesn't even beat inflation though.....
Martin: I'm going to stop you there because I am not qualified to give investment advice. I need to be very clear: I am not saying don't invest. I am not saying do invest. I am simply saying that the very concept of investing keeps me awake at night in a cold sweat and I think it should do the same for you.
Sarah: So what should I.....
Martin: Have you considered Premium Bonds? You won't beat inflation but you MIGHT win a million pounds, and the hope is basically free.
Sarah: ...
Martin: Sarah?
Sarah: I think I'll just put it in the tracker.
Martin: [long pause] Well. That's your choice. I want everyone to know I tried. We're going to a break. When we come back: is your broadband contract up for renewal? Because THAT'S something I can help with.
We should pay for the triple-lock by imposing 100% VAT on pensioners on Saturdays and Sundays - and for holidays booked by retirees during the school holidays.
Didn’t want the rights to la liga
Most cricket moved to TNT
But we are given this absolute bundle of eye aids.
The fact that sky sports news report on it like it’s an actual football match is even worse.
Scottie since this tweet ...
15 tournaments
15 top eight finishes
6 wins
2 major championships
196 under par
45 rounds in the 60s
$25.2M in prize money