Taylor-Roy Pitman

[Stuzi 🐝🐝 @stuzi_pants]

Thangam Debbonaire take a bow

It’s about fucking time someone stood in front of a mainstream media camera and told it straight

Reform’s Sarah Pochin is a racist who’s triggered by brown faces on telly… and she can piss and whinge all she likes

Truth hits hard

[Damian Low @DamianLow3]

Standard Reform.

Going on a US news show to talk the UK down.

The opposite of patriotism.

[Harry Eccles @Heccles94]

There are only 8 Reform MPs and they have a combined wealth of over £70,000,000.

They have consistently voted against every single improvement to workers rights and plan to scrap legal protections left right and centre.

They are funded by the bosses to rip up your rights.

[Gandalv @Microinteracti1]

This may well be the last time Europe extends an invitation to clowns to mark D-Day. Not a single person in the Trump administration comes close to having the character those landings demanded. The Americans who stormed those beaches on June 6, 1944 were fighting against exactly the kind of people Hegseth represents

[Marl Karx @BareLeft]

Ultimately, there is no amount of facts, logic, rebuttals, statistics, or graphs that can truly counteract a paid agitator snorting a line of coke backstage before lying to a crowd of people who want to be lied to so very much.

[Declan 🏄🏻‍♂️ @declan_19]

Rules are rules

[Nick Lowles @lowles_nick]

Just look at Tommy's core team. This is Guramit Singh, he's been around since the early EDL days.

He was once sentenced to six-and-a-half years for his part in a violent attempted robbery, when he and two others pinned a shop assistant to the ground and made threats to slash his throat if he did not hand over cash.

https://t.co/D8B2AoOlaw

[Jonathan Pie @JonathanPieNews]

I thought it was for his 'personal security'? That's the problem when you lie so much. You forget whatever bollocks you said in the past.

[GET A GRIP @docrussjackson]

🧵

Hey @Ofcom, why are you letting false misleading claims made by Chairman of Republicans Overseas UK (ROUK), Greg Swenson, go unchecked on the billionaire-owned GB News?

The claim made by Swenson on GB News, namely that “the United Arab Emirates has decided that their students can no longer do semesters or studying in the UK because they're afraid they'll be radicalized. So this is a Muslim country, saying that they don't want their students to come to the UK”, is false and highly misleading.

I’m simply going to ignore the preposterous claim foregrounded in the GB News tweet that “Outside of London, all of England is a third world country” because it's so absurd it doesn't warrant my attention.

Swenson is the Chairman of Republicans Overseas UK (ROUK), an organisation that promotes US Republican Party interests and conservative viewpoints among Americans living in the UK. ROUK is an explicitly political advocacy organisation whose purpose is to mobilise overseas voters and advance US Republican interests.

Swenson is also a London-based investment banker, founding partner of Brigg Macadam Ltd, whose professional worldview is shaped by deregulated finance, free-market absolutism, and elite transatlantic networks.

He’s also the co-founder of The Hamilton Society, a London-based “right-of-centre” forum closely tied to ROUK, and which operates with minimal transparency: no published donor lists; no detailed financial disclosures; and no clear accounting of influence, despite hosting private dinners and events with senior UK and US hard-right political figures. Named UK figures associated with or hosted/speakers at its events include Kemi Badenoch, Miriam Cates, Liz Truss, and Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Swenson is a frequent guest on GB News and other right-leaning UK media, where he defends Donald Trump, “America First” policies, and critiques UK politics, foreign policy, and society from a strongly pro-Trump perspective.

He is strongly aligned with the #MAGA movement and has publicly called for a “MAGA revolution” in Britain, defends Trump’s frequently unlawful actions (e.g., on Iran, NATO, tariffs), and positions himself as a mouthpiece for Trump-aligned views in UK debates. He even appeared on @bbcquestiontimein January 2026, defending Trump as “unfiltered” but trustworthy on defence (see the next tweet).

So what is the context and the actual situation regarding UAE students studying in the UK?
The UAE has categorically NOT banned, prohibited, or decided that its students “can no longer” study in the UK.

There is no law, policy, or directive preventing Emirati citizens from enrolling at British universities.

In June 2025, the UAE Ministry of Education updated its list of approved foreign universities eligible for state scholarships and sponsorships (generous government funding covering tuition, living costs, travel, health insurance, etc., for high-achieving Emirati students in priority fields). UK universities were deliberately excluded from this list (while institutions in the US, France, Israel, and others remained eligible).

While in January 2026, the FT, The Times, Times Higher Education, and University World News did attribute this to UAE concerns over potential exposure to Muslim Brotherhood influences - with some (undisclosed) sources citing fears that students could be "radicalised on campus" by Brotherhood-linked ideas tolerated in the UK environment - this is certainly NOT the full picture.

This is a funding and eligibility restriction, not a ban: privately funded Emirati (UAE) students (self-paying, family-sponsored, or employer-funded) can still enrol without issue. Degrees from non-approved (UK) institutions *might* not be officially recognised in the UAE for government jobs or certain professional purposes, acting as a strong deterrent, but no outright prohibition exists. Ongoing students (those already enrolled before the change) typically continue receiving support to complete their courses.

Allow me to put the impact/scale in context – something which Swenson and the GB News host completely failed to do.

The policy's impact on actual student numbers is minimal so far, especially when looking at the total population studying in the UK rather than just new arrivals.

Sponsored study visa grants (UK Home Office data, proxy for new incoming UAE students):

· Year ending September 2022: ~473
· Year ending September 2024: ~292
· Year ending September 2025: 213 (down 27% year-on-year and 55% from 2022; the sharper drop in the latter half aligns with the June 2025 announcement, but absolute numbers remain tiny—only ~79 fewer new grants in the affected period).

Now look at the total ‘enrolment stock’ (HESA data, actual UAE students enrolled and studying in UK universities):

2024/25 academic year (covering roughly October 2024–September 2025): *3,520* UAE students (down just *1.7%* or -60 from ~3,580 in 2023/24, per British Council/Universities UK analysis of HESA's January 2026 release). This total includes continuing students in multi-year degrees (e.g., 3–4 year undergrads or 1–2 year postgrads) who started before the policy, plus any new entrants.

The small dip reflects broader international trends (overall non-EU international enrolments fell 6.1% in 2024/25).

Like the misleading misinformation widely circulated last year about a mythical ‘millionaire exodus’ from the UK, there is absolutely NOT a dramatic UAE student exodus.

The UAE policy mainly affects the tiny proportion of future new students reliant on UAE government funding.

As of March 2026, THOUSANDS of UAE students remain in the UK, with no sign of a mass withdrawal or “no longer” studying.

Allow me spell out why Swenson’s claim is dramatically misleading.

Swenson’s wording, “can no longer do semesters or studying in the UK” and “they don't want their students to come to the UK”, very strongly implies a total or near-total prohibition, evoking a crisis where Emirati students are fleeing or barred en masse due to UK "radicalisation."

In reality:

· It's a targeted funding cutoff for new government-sponsored students, not a ban on study.
· Privately funded students continue unaffected.
· Total UAE enrolment dipped only marginally (just 1.7%) in the most recent full year, with visa inflows still in the low hundreds annually, a negligible figure in the UK’s ~686,000 international student market.

Swenson’s gross exaggeration amplifies a narrative of UK campus extremism and societal failure (common in MAGA/GB News commentary) to contrast unfavourably with the US or critique British policies, but it distorts the facts beyond recognition.

This is #disinformation – pure propaganda - made all the worse because nobody challenged Swenson’s profoundly misleading claim, amplified by a billionaire-owned TV channel with ‘news’ in the title, giving audiences a completely false, polarising, and culturally and economically harmful false impression of the UK. Such misleading claims contribute to polarisation by twisting isolated diplomatic signals into evidence of UK decline or danger.

In a media landscape where guests like Swenson are platformed as authoritative transatlantic voices, unchallenged inaccuracies erode trust in journalism, policy debates, and facts on sensitive issues like counter-extremism, international education, and UK-UAE relations.

Accurate context is vital, especially when sensational soundbites risk inflaming public perceptions without basis in the evidence.

I’m not alone in publishing detailed factual debunks of misleading claims made by populist politicians, think tanks/lobbyists, and ‘news’ media, and I’m tired of having to do this every other week.

Our print, broadcast, and social media is out of control in the sense that profoundly misleading, polarising, and otherwise harmful claims circulate widely and constantly, making it almost impossible for the average voter to make well-informed decisions about who to vote for.

A handful of billionaires have far too much influence over public opinion, @Ofcom and @ipso are clearly not fit for purpose, and social media regulation is woefully inadequate.

One of the biggest disappointments (among many) in the UK Labour Government is their flat refusal to act in the interests of ALL UK citizens by taking lawful measures to ensure news are at least vaguely honest.

[SV *Champions of England* @SVCarbaholic]

There’s always a tweet

[Owen Jones @owenjonesjourno]

This journalist is referring to Zack Polanski, Britain's only Jewish party leader.

Sarah Vine, who isn't Jewish, is comparing him to Adolf Hitler.

Why? Because he opposes Israel's genocide.

There are no words to describe how vile this is.

[Don McGowan @donmcgowan]

Nope. Let's call this exactly what it is, inherent misogyny with a smattering of Trumpian egoism.

@AnnaSophieGross consistently asks the best questions at these interminable press conferences.

But Farage is leaning HARD into Trump mode — calling women journalists 'silly'.

There's NOTHING he won't copy from the Orange Man in the White House.

Arrogant, misogynistic and rude.

Not sure about you guys, but that's not really what I want from a British politician, let alone Prime Minister.

[ALASTAIR CAMPBELL @campbellclaret]

Ever get the feeling someone really doesn’t know what he is talking about?

[Narinder Kaur @narindertweets]

The media are gunning for Mandelson (rightfully) but Today's question is -
Why are MSM protecting Nigel Farage who is mentioned FORTY 43 times and counting

£895,000 house paid for cash.
Nathan Gill
Russian bribes
32 former pupils say he's a racist bully
Epstein Files 43 mentions
Uk Church warden via khazakstan donor of £200k

Farage remains untouchable. Why?

[Harry Eccles @Heccles94]

Farage would hate it if you kept sharing this 👇

[The Rev. Anton Mittens 🌹👮🎓 @MittensOff]

During the Vietnam War, Donald Trump received five draft-deferments: four for education and one for bone spurs in his heels. His father Fred, although he was of draft age during World War II, also did not enlist or serve. Trump’s paternal grandfather, Friedrich, was born in Bavaria in 1869. He deliberately avoided mandatory military service by emigrating to the US aged 16 in 1885. At that time, military service was compulsory for young men in Germany.
Seems like Trumps always chicken out. #TACO

[Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 @Haggis_UK]

Nigel Farage(Reform): "The world would be a better & more secure place if America was in Greenland.. would America owning Greenland be better for the world.. it would"

Govt: "Time & again Farage jets abroad to undermine Britain,, he's incapable of acting in national interest.."

[Shaun Pinner @ShaunPinnerUA]

I’ve earned the right to say this, President Trump.

I served alongside U.S. and NATO troops. I still advise, at the request of the U.S. DoD, to help give American soldiers a better chance of survival if captured.

I was captured, tortured, falsely tried by a Russian proxy court, and sentenced to death after Russia invaded my country. America judged my experience worth listening to.

So when I say you are an offensive dick, when you dismiss allied service with “they’ll say they sent some troops,” then smirk and say they were “a little away from the front,” you insult every veteran who stood with America after 9/11.

You breed contempt, and that’s the second put-down to veterans in as many days, and to those who fought and died in Afghanistan to support you, the US

Thank you for your attention on this matter.
Shaun Pinner
Recipient of the Order of Courage
Ukraine 🇺🇦

[African @ali_naka]

Thank you to everyone who has cancelled their #WorldCup2026

FIFA is having an emergency meeting next week. Let’s maintain and sustain the pressure #BoycottWorldCup

[Daniel Korski @DanielKorski]

To be American is great. To be an American territory…well

Poverty rates:

🇺🇸American Samoa: ~57%
🇺🇸 Puerto Rico: ~43%
🇺🇸 US Virgin Islands: 22–25%
🇺🇸 Guam: ~23%
🇬🇱Greenland: ~10–12% poverty risk

Median income (PPP-adjusted, USD)

🇺🇸American Samoa: ~$18k
🇺🇸Puerto Rico: ~$24k
🇺🇸Guam: ~$35k
🇺🇸US Virgin Islands: ~$37k
🇬🇱Greenland: ~$45–50k (PPP-adjusted household income)

Just worth taking into account when talking about “offers” to Greenland