Jane Conway 💙🇪🇺

Working at being happily retired and enjoying as much travelling as possible

[Andy Fitchet @AndyFitchet]

So let me get this straight:

- Inflation lower than predicted
- unemployment falling
- small boat crossings falling
- NHS Waiting lists falling
- Interest rates stable
- Asylum hotel use falling
- net migration down 82%
- school attendance up

And Keir’s doing a really bad job?

[Mikey Smith @mikeysmith]

Incredible coincidence that @nigel_Farage watched the England game in the same spot in the same pub, with the same flags up, wearing the same top and standing next to someone wearing an identical top as he did during the Euros in 2024.

[Thomas | Less Noise, More Delivery @TomSoede]

⏯️ My Deep Dive of the Day

I used to think the problem in politics was what MPs forgot to declare (like the £5m)

Now I think the bigger problem is what they are allowed to declare.

Since the start of this Parliament in July 2024, MPs have declared over £33 million in donations, outside earnings, gifts, hospitality and funded travel.

Let us be clear.

That does not mean £33 million went straight into MPs’ personal bank accounts.

Some of it is staff support.

Some of it is campaign support.

Some of it is media work.

Some of it is speaking fees.

Some of it is flights, hotels, dinners, tickets and hospitality.

But that is exactly the point.

Politics is not only influenced by cash in a bank account.

It is influenced by access.

By networks.

By favours.

By who gets the phone call returned.

By who gets the dinner.

By who pays for the trip.

By who funds the office.

By who pays for the platform.

Take Nigel Farage.

He presents himself as the ordinary man against the establishment.

But his register shows around £968,000 in itemised outside earnings, plus high-value travel and hospitality.

GB News.

Direct Bullion.

Cameo.

Crypto events.

Speaking fees.

Overseas trips.

This is not a man outside the system.

This is a man very well paid by a different part of the system.

And it is not only Farage.

Look at the top declared totals since July 2024.

Sunak.

Farage.

Geoffrey Cox.

Charlie Maynard.

Kemi Badenoch.

Robert Jenrick.

Tom Tugendhat.

Jeremy Hunt.

James Cleverly.

Same parties in some bases.

Same problem.

Private money sits very close to public power.

And the defence is always the same:

“It was declared.”

Fine.

But declared does not mean clean.

Declared does not mean democratic.
Declared does not mean ordinary people have the same access.

That is the real problem.

Our political system does not really ask whether wealthy donors, media companies, think tanks, lobby groups and private interests should have this much influence around MPs.

It mainly asks whether the paperwork was filled in.

That is not enough.

Because democracy is not just about voting every five years.

It is about trust.

And trust dies when people look at Westminster and think:

“They do not live like us.”

“They do not move in our world.”

“They do not answer to the same people.”

I am not saying every declared interest is corrupt.

I am saying the system is far too comfortable with money sitting next to power.

Legal is not the same as clean.

Declared is not the same as democratic.

(source: UK Parliament Register for Members' Financial Interest)

[Parody Nigel Farage @Parody_PM]

Recycled patriotism.

[dave lawrence 🐟🐟🐠 @dave43law]

Remember that dodgy deal Ben Habib raised..........

Photos from 2019 when Farage and Johnson had never met each other 🤣🤣

[Mike Holden @MikeHolden42]

I'm just putting this up in memory of a happier time, not very long ago when Labour people were looking forward to Keir Starmer having a chance to run a government. Since then he has done huge good for the country with virtually no positive reporting, let alone 👇

[Paul Vick @PaulVick138203]

Is the BBC Chris Mason going to be investigating why the mainstream media are hardly reporting on an arson attack that may have been ordered by Vladimir Putin against the British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer?🤔

[History Pod @History_Pod]

Start the day with a short overview of an event from #history that happened #OnThisDay.
@History_Pod is available as an audio #podcast, a #YouTube video, and as a text transcript.
Subscribe at https://t.co/w0Ttdm6LRa to have each daily episode ready when you wake up!

[Mark Urban @MarkUrban01]

Fascinating that Starmer is widely regarded as doomed when so many key metrics are going his way: channel crossings, migration more generally, NHS waiting lists, and today’s inflation numbers

[Adi el Grande @icardo8]

🚨🗣️Nuevo: Luis Suárez critica la llegada de Uruguay a Estados Unidos para la Copa del Mundo, donde el equipo se enfrentó a perros detectores y rigurosos controles de seguridad:

“He estado en el fútbol durante mucho tiempo, y he visto torneos por todo el mundo. Pero lo que estamos presenciando aquí con Estados Unidos como anfitrión de esta Copa del Mundo es profundamente preocupante. Tomemos la llegada del equipo de Uruguay —jugadores de clase mundial como Manuel Ugarte, parados allí con los brazos cruzados, luciendo completamente desconcertados mientras los perros detectores revisan sus maletas como si fueran delincuentes comunes. Esa imagen lo dice todo. Estos son embajadores del deporte, no sospechosos en la frontera.

Esto no es hospitalidad; es humillación disfrazada de seguridad. Tienes a un árbitro somalí, uno de los mejores de África, al que se le niega la entrada a pesar de tener una visa válida —un hombre que soñó con arbitrar en la cima de su carrera, rechazado en el aeropuerto. Delegaciones africanas y sudamericanas enfrentando revisiones adicionales, caos de visas para aficionados y oficiales de naciones clasificadas. ¿Esto es la ‘tierra de los libres’ extendiendo la alfombra roja? Se siente más como una fortaleza con alambre de púas.

El hermoso juego merece algo mejor que ser convertido en un balón político o un puesto de control paranoico. La FIFA persiguió los dólares —y hay miles de millones por ganar, sin duda— pero han vendido el alma del torneo a un anfitrión que trata a las estrellas globales del fútbol y a los aficionados como posibles amenazas. Mientras tanto, los contribuyentes estadounidenses y las ciudades anfitrionas se quedan con una factura que asciende a cientos de millones por seguridad y logística que la FIFA en gran medida se embolsa.

El fútbol siempre ha sido sobre unidad, pasión y unir a la gente a través de las fronteras. En este momento, bajo esta organización, está siendo estrangulado por la sospecha y el exceso de control. El mundo está viendo estas escenas y conteniendo la respiración. Si esto continúa, corre el riesgo de dejar un sabor amargo que perdura mucho más que cualquier gloria en el campo. Necesitábamos una celebración del juego —no un escaparate de división. Algo tiene que cambiar.”

[New Direction AFRICA @Its_ereko]

🚨 Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly speaking facts:

"Africans can’t have their people" at the World Cup because of US travel bans.

Every other team gets their fans. But Global South teams like Senegal get blocked while the West lectures everyone about "inclusion" and "human rights".

This is the same empire that bombs, exploits, and restricts — then cries when others resist.

Football should unite people, not separate them with racist visa policies and double standards.

Stand with Koulibaly. Stand with the fans. Stand with the Global South.

No bows. Just raw truth. 💪🏿🇸🇳

[Diario Olé @DiarioOle]

LA FUERTE DENUNCIA DEL DT DE IRÁN 😡🇮🇷

✈️ Amir Ghalenoei criticó la decisión de las autoridades de Estados Unidos de obligarlos a regresar "inmediatamente" a México, donde hacen base, pese a que no era lo planeado

💬 "No sabemos por qué nos hacen volver. Es muy raro, porque otros están tomando las decisiones en nuestro nombre. Se supone que íbamos a llegar dos noches antes a Los Ángeles y no nos han permitido"

💬 "Se supone que íbamos a dormir aquí e íbamos a volver a la hora de la comida y no nos lo han permitido. Nuestro equipo es el más oprimido de todo el Mundial"

[Mr Ethical 🚩 @nw_nicholas]

Remember how Farage made up a story about his house being firebombed to justify the £5m gift for his security. Then changed his mind & said it was a reward for Brexit.

[Mr Ethical 🚩 @nw_nicholas]

Well spotted, another criminal offence from Farage

[Beth Rigby @BethRigby]

In a deeply personal interview, the PM tells me:

🚨 He wants Andy Burnham back in cabinet - to “have a big role in government”
🚨He says he will talk to Burnham “after the weekend”
🚨“I don't feel angry. I don't feel bitter” Starmer says, on the leadership crisis he’s facing
🚨Starmer says under no circumstances will he walk away, “I’m going to fight”
🚨Acknowledges he may not lead Labour into the next election, “We need to turn things around. I think that is obvious from the May elections”
🚨On his biggest regret in government, “none of us get every decision right”

[The National @ScotNational]

NEW: Nigel Farage has broken UK company law, it has emerged after the MP received an undisclosed £5 million gift from a crypto billionaire https://t.co/GN5mhYCAEI

[Peter Jukes @peterjukes]

More trouble for Tommy Robinson. He’s been working with Russia propagandists to incite violence in the UK well before fuelling pogroms in Belfast last week, from his well heeled perched in Moscow with agents like Malofeev

[dave lawrence 🐟🐟🐠 @dave43law]

Of course thousands picked up on the 'conspiracy theory' as it was magnified by large and fake accounts

Russian spy orchestrated arson attacks on PM - then started wild conspiracy theory that it was revenge by two Ukrainian rent boys
https://t.co/TYMPudyibq via @DailyMail

[Paul Castle @Goto_paulcastle]

THE QUESTION NOBODY WANTS TO ASK
If a foreign adversary targeted the Prime Minister's home and car, why isn't that the biggest story?
We are told constantly that democracy is under threat.
Yet when there are allegations of foreign interference, many seem more interested in leadership gossip than national security.
Some stories are ignored because they are inconvenient.
#Labour #KeirStarmer #PoliticsUK

[Ryan Rozbiani @RyanRozbiani]

What a Joke

🇮🇷🇺🇸 U.S. Gave an Iranian World Cup Player, Mehdi Torabi, a Visa Good for only ONE Entry

Torabi used it for the New Zealand opener in Los Angeles. The moment that match ended, his visa was expired.

The U.S. forced Iran to base in Mexico, leave American soil after every game, and re-enter for the next one. Under a setup built entirely on repeated entries, they handed one player a single entry.

The Iran Football Federation has taken steps to obtain a new visa for Torabi so that he can accompany the national team in upcoming matches.

This was NOT an accident.