John Gray - SRFC - @anglobreton.bsky.social

John Gray - British expat in Brittany. FIFAFanMovement Ambassador @staderennais @basingstoke_fc -traducteur @rougememoire.English Teacher & Erasmus+ Coordinator

[John Gray - SRFC - @anglobreton.bsky.social @HerminesRouges]

@Roueazone Pour ceux qui n’ont pas pu assister, voici (en VO 😉) le commentaire du but de @BourigeaudB29 face à Arsenal d’hier (filmé par ma fille Célestine 🔴⚫️🙌) #toutdonner @staderennais #jda2025

[John Gray - SRFC - @anglobreton.bsky.social @HerminesRouges]

@Basingstoke_FC 😆😆😆😆 I’d be slightly more worried by someone having feet where their hands should be 😉😉

[Cathy Newman @cathynewman]

After @Keir_Starmer accused @elonmusk of whipping up division I thought I’d share some of the misogynistic abuse and death threats I’ve received on this platform. 👀
https://t.co/5FBBVbjZtA

[Andrew Hesselden @andrewhesselden]

Excellent website: https://t.co/d3ggF2Gars

[John Ashton ( you, us, I) @Johnrashton47]

Is this true? If so why does our mainstream media not report it in the oldest modern democracy ? Have we been brought under the thumb of special interests?

[Socialist Opera Singer @OperaSocialist]

@JDVance Please show some respect for the family of Henry Nowak and stop this kind of divisive interference.

[GET A GRIP @docrussjackson]

Predictably, when asked about Britain's housing crisis, Reform UK's ill-informed simple-minded candidate for the #Makerfield by-election, Robert Kenyon, blamed the 'ten million recent arrivals', and actually said 'stop the boats'.

This divisive misleading bollocks is tiring. 😩

I bring the receipts.

Allow me to explain in plain English why cheap slogans and simplistic misleading fearmongering misinformation is unhelpful in trying to understand the housing crisis.

While Britain's foreign-born population is now around 13 million (about 19% of the UK), this total hasn't happened quickly, it built up very gradually, reflecting several decades of steady immigration, not in a sudden surge:

Here are the approximate figures for the UK's foreign-born population (expressed in millions, and as a % of the total UK population at the time):

1970: 3.2M (5.7%)
1975: 3.3M (6.1%)
1979 (Thatcher elected): 3.4M (6%)
1985: 3.6M (6.3%)
1991: 3.8M (6.7%)
1997 (Blair): 4.5M (7.7%)
2001: 4.9M (8.3%)
2010 (Coalition Govt): 7.6M (12.1%)
2015: (Cameron): 8.6M (13.3%)
2016: (Brexit): 9.2M (14.2%)
2020 (COVID): 9.5M (14.2%)
Mid-2024 (Starmer): 13.1M (19%)

In the *13* years under Labour (1997 - 2010), there was an increase of 3.1M.

In the *8* years since Brexit (2016 to mid-2024), the UK’s foreign-born population rose by 3.9M, and virtually all of that increase came from non-EU born people.

Many people arrived long ago, and not everyone stays permanently.

Settlement (permanent residency) also takes many years.

The housing crisis is primarily the result of a decades-long failure of successive governments to build enough homes.

England has a backlog of roughly 4 million homes. Governments have long targeted 300,000–340,000 new homes per year, but completions often hover around 200,000–220,000.

The main reasons for the housing crisis have very little to do with immigration, and include:

Restrictive planning laws, green belt rules, and local NIMBY opposition that block development.

Decades of underbuilding (especially after Right to Buy reduced social housing stock without full replacement).

Rising demand from smaller households, ageing population, and overall growth - not just migration.

The core problem is choked supply: even without *any* new arrivals, prices and rents would still be high because Britain simply hasn't kept up with building for generations.

So how does the UK's intake of foreign-born people compare to similar countries internationally?

Over the last 35 years, the UK's rise in foreign-born population (from ~6-7% to 19%) is not an outlier among comparable high-income countries on a per capita basis:

It's slightly higher than: France (~13–15%), and the US (~13–14%)

Similar to: Germany (~19–20%)

Lower than: Australia (~30%), Canada (~21–23%), and Switzerland (~32%)

On net migration per capita, the UK has generally sat in the middle of the pack for developed nations.

The trend reflects a common pattern across ageing high-income economies needing labour, not a UK-specific explosion.

Blaming 'ten million arrivals over recent years' (it took 50 years) distracts from the fix: planning reform to unlock housebuilding at scale.

Even stricter immigration controls will not solve our structural housing shortage, which is rooted in decades of planning failure.

Contrary to widespread misconceptions and popular belief, fueled by fear mongering, misinformation and narratives in the national news media and pushed by populist politicians and far right activists, net migration has fallen sharply since Labour came to power in July 2024: it dropped to 171,000 in 2025, which is nearly half the 2024 figure, and down 82% from the 2023 peak of 944,000.

#bbcqt

[Adam Mockler @adammocklerr]

Imagine spending months claiming you’re going to make government more efficient…

…only to get outperformed by a democratic socialist mayor.

@ZohranKMamdani

[Democratic Wins Media @DemocraticWins]

BREAKING: Leader Hakeem Jeffries just announced that Democrats will support legislation that permanently bans Donald Trump's taxpayer funded slush fund for January 6th Insurrectionists. Let's go.

[Brian Krassenstein @krassenstein]

Trump is hated everywhere. Even Albania.

[Just Dave now @justdavenow89]

Nobody in the UK likes or cares about JD Vance

[Anonymous @YourAnonCentral]

"2,514 Ukrainian civilians killed and 12,142 injured in 2025, a 31% increase on 2024 and 70% higher than 2023."

"After Trump returned to office and paused military aid, Kyiv began facing shortages of air defence missiles."

[Garry Kasparov @Kasparov63]

So no, Congressman, no amount of words will save you from the disgrace of providing cover for Trump's policy of siding with the Russian dictator in the genocidal war against heroic Ukraine. We are watching; we see you clearly and we will not forget.

[Farrukh @implausibleblog]

Ian Hislop, "Nigel Farage has been trying to exploit a tragedy for his own personal political gain, which is rather nauseating"

"Nigel Farage did exactly what the family asked people not to do, to turn this into a divisive issue"

[François Rauzy @RauzyFrancois]

Tout ce que ces tocards ont à faire : reprendre des contenus qui ne sont pas leurs, faire gaffe à ce qui y est dit, et même ça ils en sont incapables ces nullards.

[François Rauzy @RauzyFrancois]

Allez 3 « médias » à mettre dans la poubelle des incapables de faire une reprise à partir d’un contenu original : @VibesFoot, @Footballogue, @footmercato. Aucun pour se dire « tiens un Rennes - Newcastle ça me dit rien et si je prenais 2mn pour vérifier ? » 🚮🚮

[Hunter Biden @HunterBiden]

Wait…Did he just say checkered past ? I’m 28 felonies, 6 bankruptcies, and an Epstein bromance short of his checkered past.

[Andrew Hesselden @andrewhesselden]

The Rejoin Ramble arrives in Brussels today.

Every step has been a reminder that the European story isn’t over. Millions of people still believe the UK’s future is closer cooperation, closer friendship and ultimately a return to the EU.

Well done to @marchforrejoin and everyone who walked.

[Zack Polanski @ZackPolanski]

@WestminsterWAG It's not a list of British Jews, though.

It's a list of people who have potentially committed war crimes.

Nothing to do with those of who are Jewish!

[Harriet Williamson @harriepw]

BREAKING: Four Palestine Action activists found guilty of criminal damage are applying to remove the judge in their case on the grounds of bias. Mr Justice Jeremy Johnson is expected to sentence them as terrorists – despite being convicted of an ordinary criminal offence – in a move kept secret from the jury

[Equipe de France Féminine @equipedefranceF]

On reprend la tête 💪📊
Encore une dernière marche face à l’Irlande mardi pour se qualifier directement pour 𝐥𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐞 𝐝𝐮 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞 2027 👊