Ali Walker

Senior Editor, European News @POLITICOEurope | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 | Politics in sport? 📩 [email protected]

[quibble @quibbleUK]

Hello, we are Jonathan and Abigail - unashamed pedants who want to bring this affliction to bear on all things public policy and practice.
We believe that details matter, especially in public administration. This is why today we are founding quibble: a campaign to fix the small stuff.
Think, for example, about the cookie banner that we click on every webpage. Each instance is not a big deal, so we just put up with it. But its cumulative impact adds up - on average we press it 5 times per day. The European Commission estimates that it costs EU citizens 343 million hours per year.
And who is there to represent the impacts of seemingly minor issues like this in a systematic way? We want quibble to be the answer. In the case of the cookie banner, lots of advocacy has rightly focused on privacy, but has this meant that user experience has taken a backseat? We believe there are ways to improve user experience without compromising on privacy. We will share more about this soon.
Consider another example. Did you know that in some government-run car parks you can be fined for a minor keying error, such as accidentally typing a zero instead of an “o”? Again, we will come to the detail of this quibble in the coming weeks, but for now just consider again the question: who? Who is there currently to systematically represent the interests of the parker who is given an unfair ticket?
An inherent feature of consumer interests is that those who have them rarely have enough other things in common to make collective organisation and representation feasible. This is the gap that quibble seeks to fill. Now of course excellent consumer interest groups exist. But understandably quibbles might not be at the top of their lists. Our hope is that quibble will be complementary; picking up the bottom-of-the-list issues faced by various groups - the stuff they are almost too embarrassed to raise because they are too small.
We are not embarrassed about detail. If you’ve ever had a splinter, you know small things can have a big impact. This is what quibble is committed to tackling, and our wider hope is that by doing so we will also incentivise policy makers to be even more careful about detail.
Check out our website here, including our first four campaigns: https://t.co/gZiqqHbhIL

[Graham Spiers @GrahamSpiers]

It might be 40-plus years since I last anticipated a Scottish league game as keenly and excitedly as this. When football completely grips you.

[Gary Lineker @GaryLineker]

This might be the worst VAR decision I’ve seen (and there’s a lot of competition). Extraordinary given the significance.

[Daniel Taylor @DTathletic]

John Robertson, and an article I never wanted to write.

RIP Robbo ❤️

https://t.co/5tyRG0wFaw

[Ali Walker @AliWalker24]

Here's the full story looking at the NBA's European expansion, a proposal where some key political and sports figures see echoes of the ill-fated football Super League. 5/5

https://t.co/RF0JU8AhzO

[Ali Walker @AliWalker24]

🚨 Exclusive: European officials and major sports leagues are looking to hamstring the NBA — home to global superstars including LeBron James and Steph Curry — before it can get off the ground to launch in key cities around Europe. 🧵/5

[Ali Walker @AliWalker24]

Two industry officials told POLITICO that Spain’s La Liga held a meeting with the NBA to emphasize that the format presented is contrary to the European sports model and that, if implemented, it would be met with staunch opposition. 4/5

[Ali Walker @AliWalker24]

Brilliant as Ziggy Sobotka. Even better as Josh Ray Person in Generation Kill. Such sad news.

[TMZ @TMZ]

'The Wire' Star James Ransone Dead at 46 After Apparent Suicide https://t.co/0up4sKXAqX

[POLITICO @politico]

🚨 EXCLUSIVE: @realDonaldTrump made his sharpest critique of Europe yet to our @DashaBurns, slamming "weak" leaders of the "decaying" continent and saying he'd back candidates aligned with his vision. https://t.co/tlGUWk3zHr

[Jonathan Martin @jmart]

this would be like if one of the characters in a WWF match stops the fight, grabs the mic and explains to the crowd that, no, it’s not real blood

[Nozza_ @Nozza_]

Turns out staying up late to memorise Monty Panesar’s Mastermind answers isn’t the best prep for an Ashes Test

[𝐃𝐈𝐆𝐁 @_DIGB]

Pitchside audio of all the goals 🗣️

What a noise 😮‍💨

[Ferdinand Knapp @ferdinandknapp]

🇩🇪🇧🇷 Merz and Lula disagree about the wonders of #Brazil. Here’s the head to head.

Story for @POLITICOEurope with @AliWalker24, @pdallisonesque and @carlomartu.

https://t.co/bbAntTNIjC

[Tom English @TEnglishSport]

Not sure there’s a country in the world that loves football more than Scotland. It’s in the bones of the people. Twenty-seven year wait is now over. Sixty-one nations have played in the World Cup since Scotland last played in it. Scotland earned this - and it’s majestic

[Betty Glover @BettyGlover_]

The bbc radio Scotland comms for Tierneys goal. Incredible.

[FOX College Football @CFBONFOX]

OMAR COOPER UNREAL CATCH FOR THE TD 😱🤯

WHAT A GAME. WHAT A CATCH.

@IndianaFootball

[Barry Anderson @BarryAnderson_]

Celtic manager resigns, the club chief publicly savages him, the stand-in manager says Hearts can win the league, while Aberdeen appoint a penguin-stealing sports director who spent time in jail & modelled for Armani. That's enough for today. You'll never beat Scottish football.

[Celtic Football Club @CelticFC]

Club Statement.