Tom Lavelle

Campaigns, Communications & Digital. Talking all things from politics, AI, privacy, and tech.

[Nick Lowles @lowles_nick]

Farage: The King of Sleaze

A slurry of sleaze is slithering out of Millbank Tower and could well smother Farage and Reform UK

Read on:

https://t.co/vA4dXB4u57

[Byline Times @BylineTimes]

🔴 NEW ‘Posh George’, Two Passports, and a Fraudulent Identity: Convicted Fraudster and Nigel Farage Funder’s Connections to Reform UK’s Murky Financial Structures

Why did Reform UK change from being a privately-owned company to a non-profit company limited by guarantee in 2025? @NafeezAhmed investigates a fraudulent identity used by George Cottrell – and how his former boss in the City became the party's treasurer…

Support independent, reader-funded journalism.
Subscribe to Byline Times.

READ ON: https://t.co/hdZQPhUUo8

[Nick Lowles @lowles_nick]

Burnham’s in-tray: My ten proposals to take us from Despair to HOPE

https://t.co/opWvMj0YCO

[Rachel Reeves @RachelReevesMP]

I will accept Nigel Farage’s request to be appointed Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead.

It is a farce and a desperate distraction, and the people of Clacton deserve better.

But if he wants to spend the summer arguing with a bin, I won't stop him.

[Tom Lavelle @TELavelle]

This is the right take on Starmer's knee jerk social media ban. https://t.co/TwTSBoSsUS

[John Scott-Railton @jsrailton]

The ban will fail. But the privacy loss will be permanent.

Long after UK teens have bypassed it (just as Australian kids did, by the way)...

...the British will be stuck self-doxxing to surveillance gatekeepers to use the internet.

Embarrassing legacy for Starmer, who should know better.

And a daily reminder to Brits of government overreach.

[Charles Hymas @charleshymas]

The father of Molly Russell has accused Sir @Keir_Starmer of “political opportunism” in rushing out plans to ban children from social media sites before Thursday’s Makerfield by-election @mollyroseorg @AndyBurnhamGM @_andyburrows @NSPCC @NSPCCChris @NSPCC_Press @5RightsFound @PoliceInspForum @DannyShawNews @DamianCollins @leicesterliz @ShabanaMahmood @LabourSJ https://t.co/EhtiwLGDJu

[Signal @signalapp]

Our statement on the UK government’s demand that all content on all devices sold or used in the country be scanned, on the presumption of nudity, using a dystopian combination of age verification and content scanning. This proposal will not safeguard children. It endangers us all.

https://t.co/VdWe9uhi8p

[Peter Jukes @peterjukes]

So I went on a deep dive last night into the archives of the suspended X account of Reform UK’s Makersfield election candidate, Robert Kenyon.

This is what I found… https://t.co/GQKIgavjCK

[Andy Burnham @andyburnham]

Politics isn’t working for places like ours.

I will change that.

#AndyBurnham #ForUs

[Byline Times @BylineTimes]

🔴'I Set Up a Fake Far-Right News Channel to Interview Reform UK Candidates and This Is What They Told Me'

Reform hopefuls were quick to condemn scandals supposedly overseen by Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat councils, without realising....

https://t.co/Z6tsqXhY8S

[Byline Times @BylineTimes]

🔴 ‘I Set Up a Fake Far-Right News Channel to Interview Reform UK Candidates and This Is What They Told Me’

The Reform hopefuls were quick to condemn scandals supposedly overseen by Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat councils, without realising they were actually condemning the actions of their own party

https://t.co/8PjGZQPT9N

[Nick Lowles @lowles_nick]

A @hopenothate and @DailyMirror investigation reveals Reform UK candidates were former BNP members

[Britain's First Line of Defence @line_of_defence]

As veterans who have served in the British armed forces, we have seen first-hand the value of international aid. Aid is Britain's first line of defence and must be protected.

Please watch, like and share.

#Veterans #BritishArmy #RAF #UKaid

[Sarah Brown @SarahBrownUK]

Listening to the strong words about UK defence spending this week, I was struck when I watched this video by this reminder of all the ways we can defend Britain and step up to help others more vulnerable in the world. Interesting work from veterans at @line_of_defence

[Tom Lavelle @TELavelle]

These veterans share a powerful message: international aid is Britain’s first line of defence. Watch now: https://t.co/9yUHVsGZw5

[Anthropic @AnthropicAI]

Introducing Project Glasswing: an urgent initiative to help secure the world’s most critical software.

It’s powered by our newest frontier model, Claude Mythos Preview, which can find software vulnerabilities better than all but the most skilled humans.
https://t.co/NQ7IfEtYk7

[Luke Tryl @LukeTryl]

Not sharing the most recent poster as don’t want to contribute to a pile on. But every few weeks someone posts this graph or similar as “evidence” a reform voters are stupid and it’s not just wrong/offensive but also deeply incurious. Some thoughts:

On the “wrong/offensive” firstly this is partly just an age effect, mass HE benefits younger people. Secondly degree status clearly doesn’t equal intelligence.

But also the idea that Reform voters (and you hear the same about Green voters) haven’t applied rationale thinking to their choice is just nonsense. Many have concluded entirely understandably that the status quo isn’t working and that there is a need to try something new.

But secondly the incurious bit strikes me. It’s far easier to write off a voter you disagree with, whether Reform, Green or anything else as stupid/victims of misinformation. But if you’re interested in trying to win people back surely you’re interested in why they’re abandoning the mainstream rather than just dismissing them as wrong .

As someone who has the opportunity to spend time every week talking to Reform, Green and many other voters it is clear the primary driver is the sense of a broken social contract, life which feels too much “surviving not living” and disrespect from political class.

You can have a very legitimate debate about whether Reform or Green solutions will address that vs established mainstream. Insulting voters intelligence, naivety or rationality isn’t that.

[Tom Lavelle @TELavelle]

Could you afford Reform UK healthcare? https://t.co/KQphV3BDzb

[Tom Lavelle @TELavelle]

Not the announcement everyone else is following.

[Tom Lavelle @TELavelle]

The perils of automated campaigns in a rolling news environment, exhibit A: