Adam Tomas

Ranting aimlessly into the ether

[Al Carns @AlistairCarns]

The next war won't be won by armies, navies or air forces alone.

It'll be won by the country whose 19 year olds can code, whose factories can build drones in weeks not years, and whose grid stays on when someone tries to switch it off.

Industry. Society. Economy. That's the fight now.

We're not ready. And we're not being honest about what getting ready will cost.

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

Remarkable story in Telegraph revealing just how useless recent Tory governments were:
A secret Whitehall report found that more than £28bn in foreign aid and Covid-19 loans was handed to terrorists, hostile states and gangsters!
The misappropriation of taxpayer funds from 2015 to 2021, includes millions sent to the Islamic State and Russia.
Those responsible remain unpunished and the dossier was buried to spare official embarrassment.

[Chris Rose @ArchRose90]

In 2024, Tom Kerridge was 1 of 121 business leaders included in an open letter giving their backing to Labour in the General Election ‘to achieve the UK’s full economic potential.’

In 2026, he’s the face of a ‘VAT's the problem’ campaign.

Buyer’s remorse

[Rush @exRAF_Al]

The same Lewis Hamilton who used a corporate leasing structure to save money on taxes (around £3.3 million in VAT) when acquiring his Bombardier Challenger 605 private jet in 2013? The same Lewis Hamilton who bought the £16.5 million jet through his British Virgin Islands company (Stealth Aviation Ltd) and who then set up an Isle of Man leasing company (Stealth (IOM) Ltd, to import it into the EU and sub-leased it to a UK jet management firm (TAG Aviation), which in turn provided it back to Hamilton and his Guernsey company under charter agreements? *That* Lewis Hamilton?

[Claire Coutinho @ClaireCoutinho]

South Wales Police has instructed officers to log comments they feel are beyond "legitimate" criticism of Islam.

This is, exactly as I warned, a blasphemy law through the back door.

Nobody voted for this.

My letter to the Chief Constable👇🏾

[Paul Embery @PaulEmbery]

This exchange is so revealing. Kenyon points out the obvious - that the more people that enter a country, the more houses that country will need. But upon hearing the argument that immigration puts pressure on the housing supply, the Green candidate immediately defaults to her "I'm shocked and horrified you could ever say such a thing!" mode. The funny thing is, she ends up agreeing with him, but even then she tries to pretend he has said something appalling. This is what happens when politics is rooted in feelings rather than facts.

[Department of State @StateDept]

Ideological conditioning and two-tiered policing are glaring symptoms of civilizational decline. They must be rejected across the West.

The United States sends our condolences to the family of Henry Nowak and the people of the United Kingdom at this troubling time.

[Konstantin Kisin @KonstantinKisin]

Our country is run by people who believe that the best way to solve a problem is to pretend it doesn't exist.

[Konstantin Kisin @KonstantinKisin]

"It's very important not to politicise a personal tragedy."

[Rt. Hon. Alan B’Stard MP @NoWayWoke]

This is going to run until the next election, isn’t it 😁

[Old Gassy @OldGassy1984]

Nicola Sturgeon finds herself struggling to log in to a website...

[Claire Coutinho @ClaireCoutinho]

First, you can use the tax revenue to cut bills.

Second, your balance of payments improves which lowers costs across everything.

Third, there are entire sectors supported by the oil and gas industry - chemicals, plastics, even renewables - which is why a Government attacking its own industry is sheer insanity.

You talk about the centre ground, which is something you seem to think other people create - rather than accurately diagnosing the country's problems and pushing for the right solutions.

Maybe that’s why you pushed Net Zero legislation with no plan and with no forecast on the cost of energy.

Growth and cheap reliable energy is our priority.

[Ospreys @ospreys]

Work is progressing at St Helen’s as the old turf makes way, ready for the new playing surface 🪏

Thank you to RNA for getting things underway 🤝

#OurBloodIsBlack

[Adam Lake @AdamLake]

I read the Tony Blair essay last night. I thought it was a really clear articulation of the challenges faced not just by Britain, but the world. I found myself agreeing, strongly, with about 90% of it.

I am stunned by the response today. Now living in the US, I'm significantly less connected to the UK vibe, but I'm pretty astonished at the blinkers so many supposed political leaders force on themselves.

The main rebuttal seems to be that these global changes aren't as fun to talk about as traditional town hall politics. As Blair sets out, only utter irrelevance will come from this.

In the US, there are similar challenges, and too often politicians look to simplify the global situation. The difference is the private sector in the US is so vast, the scale and speed is so strong in these emerging markets, that it doesn't hold progress back.

The UK will never compete with the US or China on the AI revolution, but it is best placed to be a strong third. For the size of our economy, that should be seen as our number one pursuit.

To say, "Why are you talking about AI when you should be focussing on the NHS and the cost of living" shows a level of naivety that is crushing. If those voices lead the conversation in the UK, its future is bleak. It is the flat earth equivalent. Whether you like it or not, that is the reality. We can embrace it and reap the benefits for society, or ignore it and forever be a poor follower.

[Tim Shipman @ShippersUnbound]

Further to Blair. Literally every honest sensible person in all the main parties privately agrees with all these propositions:

- welfare spending is too high and is throwing good people on the scrapheap
- defence spending is too low
- the triple lock is unsustainable
- without cheap energy we cannot exploit the AI revolution
- we should be investing in EVERY form of energy: renewables, nuclear and the North Sea
- migration needs to be controlled to boost social cohesion and because the boats look like a huge failure of the state
- any new relationship with the EU will be imposed on us until we are stronger and cannot involve the closeness some desire without freedom of movement
- we are deeply embedded with America in ways which the public does not understand and cannot be told and however joyous it makes us feel to hate Trump, disengagement at the deep state level is not only wholly unrealistic but also undesirable
- Whitehall needs a total overhaul so specific project expertise and political appointees can be brought in quickly

Blair basically says all that.

The one thing he doesn’t say and which the same group of people agree on is this and it’s something Blair left behind:

- judges and quangos have too much power, are unaccountable and without redressing the balance in favour of parliament it is very difficult to do anything big fast
- the bare minimum that needs to change in this regard is to reform judicial review and planning law so we can put building and economic growth ahead of newts and NIMBYs

None of that above really ought to be up for discussion. It is all common sense but not one of our politicians will publicly say all of it

Whatever you think of Blair, engage with what he’s saying not how he makes you feel. The bare minimum we should expect from any leader is that they have an analysis of the current situation and a plan to deal with it which is as coherent and realistic as his intervention. Pretty well every critique I’ve read so far has failed to meet this requirement.

Over to Andy and Keir and Kemi and Nigel and Zack and all the others

[Laura Kuenssberg @bbclaurak]

Excl - Alan Milburn reveals his report finds govt spends TWENTY FIVE times as much on benefits for young people as helping them find work - tells us it’s ‘shameful’

[Kroquegg Overon @kroquegg_overon]

I believe in nothing, Lebowski. Nothing.

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

I should add that Makerfield has had a Labour MP since the constituency was created in 1983.
It’s been run by a Labour council since it fell within the Wigan local authority in 1974.
It falls within the ambit of the Greater Manchester mayor, who is also Labour (that would be you — for now).
There was a Labour government between 1997 and 2010 (of which you were a part) with huge majorities.
These is a Labour government in power now, with an even bigger majority.
So it’s a bit odd to blame Makerfield’s woes on a PM who left office in 1990.
I understand she left a legacy you don’t like. But you and your party have had more than enough time to clean it up. Why would more time make any difference?

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

Nice to hear from you, Andy. Thanks for the by election. We live for such things.
I’m in no doubt life is tough for lots of folk in Makerfield. But it’s hardly a poster child for urban squalor/deprivation.
Thatcher left power in 1990. She was followed by seven years of unThatcher Major and 13 years of Labour government, of which you were a part. So it’s quite a stretch to blame her for any continuing woes. Unless we blame Labour for failing to put anything right.
On the other hand the houses you were walking past were bought by the tenants under Thatcher’s right to buy scheme, which has given them some pride in place and some wealth they once could only have dreamt of accumulating.
I assume your pledge to ‘renationalise housing’ does not include taking these homes back into public ownership ... even if that would constitute a proper, radical reversal of the Thatcherism you’re (some what bizarrely) campaigning against.