Ben Matthews

[Stella Tsantekidou @Stsantek]

I will canvass tirelessly day and night for any @UKLabour politician willing to say we need to scrap the triple lock. Retweet this if you are a Labour activist committeed to defending clear eyed Labours MPs from the boomer vote.

[ALASTAIR CAMPBELL @campbellclaret]

More of this from 🇬🇧 politicians please. Why does it take an 🇺🇸 politician to do this? Though doubtless most of our media will focus with “Nigel Farage spoke out against the blah blah in DC today … and now we ask another talking head about the rise and rise of Reform …

[Ben Matthews @BenAMatthews]

Combined with his DP in the 5th and early dinger… what a day! Fast becoming an undisputed talisman. Anyway… get the 🧹 🧹 🧹 out!!

[Gordo @BOSSportsGordo]

Insanely heads up from Story… Possibly a game saver right there. Masterclass across the board from him today.

[Ben Matthews @BenAMatthews]

@IpswichTown My word, £12m for someone who I would’ve been chuffed to get £3-4m for… that’s insane. For all of Rudkin’s faults, this is exceptional for City. Hopefully now as a homegrown player this’ll release some funds to reinvest. Kasey a committed player, but is mid-Champ level at best.

[Ben Matthews @BenAMatthews]

@Wakefield90 I mean the easy argument against this is that he’s therefore banning any protest against our own human rights because not all protests have immediately domestic consequences, but can have an impact over the long term. It’s a maundering & utterly moronic ‘pledge’. Fascism.

[Edi Rama @ediramaal]

https://t.co/WlIb8ZvFbC

Ooopsss… Mr.@Nigel_Farage himself has just challenged me on the facts!

What an honor — for a “giant man,” as he described me (meaning, of course, from a “tiny country”) — to earn the attention of Britain’s unrivaled virtuoso of headline politics.

He said — and I quote:
“I tell you what, Mr. Rama, did you know one in 50 Albanians in Britain are in prison? So show some goodwill and take them all back tomorrow, because this is hypocrisy.”

Well, Mr. Farage — let me return the challenge with something unusually boring in your line of work: actual numbers.

That “one in 50 Albanians are in prison” claim? It’s not a fact. It’s bonkers. A classic from the post-truth Brexit playbook: “If it sounds scary, it must be true.”

Guess what? When the numbers are actually run — surprise! — even if we assumed every Albanian currently in prison is guilty (and in fact, many are caught up in an outdated and restrictive visa system), the rate of criminality among Albanians in the UK would be no higher than — and likely lower than — that of the British population itself.

Now, since we both seem to cherish “goodwill” and are clearly allergic to “hypocrisy,” here’s my offer:

Let’s both bring our numbers to the table. If your “one in 50” claim holds water — I will personally commit to taking them all back. That’s not a competing headline — it’s a public pledge.

But if your scary stat turns out to be just tabloid fuel, then no apology needed. No drama. Instead, you’ll come to Albania — as my guest of honor.

You’ll get real sun, real hospitality, and even more real facts — about Albania and its fabulous people. And all I ask in return is the simplest public pledge from you, made while enjoying our country: next time someone badmouths Albanians, you’ll be the first to tell them — in your histrionic way — not to do it again.

So what do you say? One fact-check for a full deportation — or a full vacation, with some of the warmest people you’ll ever meet.

Come on, Nigel. If you lose on a fact check, you’ll still win a whole nation of friends for life.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

[Ben Matthews @BenAMatthews]

@LCFCHQ Come on… This is just a post to whip up engagements & sit on the fence with a milquetoast & contradictory series of sentences. Be clear on where you stand, otherwise you’re just as guilty of “baffling” opinion as you say the #LCFC board are in terms of their decision making!

[Jamie Vardy @vardy7]

💙

[Ben Matthews @BenAMatthews]

@DraftVogel Disgraceful

[Ben Matthews @BenAMatthews]

@ProTottenham @ChloeRT9 Imagine him smashing in a title-winning goal for Rangers on the last day of the 25/26 season against Celtic… the look of Brendan’s face would be priceless!

[Ben Matthews @BenAMatthews]

- Always been a bridge QB.
- Unfortunately we’ve not found the other side of that bridge, but now’s the time to put up, or shut up!
- w/that in mind: $45m AAV over a long term deal for a mid-QB in his 34-38 age range?

Would’ve been insane & continued purgatory. Be bold #Seahawks

[Ben Matthews @BenAMatthews]

Love the move, but please not Rodgers!!

[Chris Simms @CSimmsQB]

Like the move for Seahawks too. They know Geno isn’t their long-term answer. Get assets and move on.
But gotta believe this is precursor to something else. Make a move in the Draft?? Sam Darnold??? Ohhhh Aaron Rodgers????

[Chris Simms @CSimmsQB]

Like the move for Seahawks too. They know Geno isn’t their long-term answer. Get assets and move on.
But gotta believe this is precursor to something else. Make a move in the Draft?? Sam Darnold??? Ohhhh Aaron Rodgers????

[Andy Burnham @andyburnham]

Normally you can’t escape @reformparty_uk MPs gobbing off on here but interesting, isn’t it, how silent they are about their friend’s campaign to undermine @ZelenskyyUa and Ukraine.

Just when you need them to use some influence to protect British interests, they don’t. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[Ben Matthews @BenAMatthews]

@TayyibAbu1 @JamesPike1702 @NFL_TStrack That means I’m gone, then! Au revoir, mon ami…

[Ben Matthews @BenAMatthews]

Bacon sarnie may forever remain undefeated, but irrespective of your opinion on the current state of politics, one should at least praise the positive intent. As a Labour member in Doncaster North, I’m proud to be repped by someone who genuinely seeks to drive a greener future.

[Ed Miliband @Ed_Miliband]

Clean energy investment, good jobs, and a bacon sandwich…

Great to be in Lowestoft last week to open the £35m @abports21 expansion.

[Ben Matthews @BenAMatthews]

Dems have an opportunity they must grasp NOW. Bennet an example of the direct, succinct coherence needed to challenge the current insidious status quo

We can’t let ourselves slip into a malaise that’ll enable the self-serving populists to continue dominating the global narrative

[ALASTAIR CAMPBELL @campbellclaret]

Putin asset gets grilled on being a Putin asset after being nominated by a Putin asset. History will have a lot to say about this collection of nomination abominations

[ALASTAIR CAMPBELL @campbellclaret]

Very odd that the Vice President of the USA has nothing better to do than troll my podcast partner @RoryStewartUK … perhaps he has not been given a proper job by the Narcissist in Chief.

[James Martin, SJ @JamesMartinSJ]

Actually no. This misses the point of Jesus's Parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10: 25-37). After Jesus tells a lawyer that you should "love your neighbor as yourself," the lawyer asks him, "And who is my neighbor?"

In response, Jesus tells the story of a Jewish man who has been beaten by robbers and is lying by the side of the road. The man is helped not by those closest to him (a "priest" and a "Levite"), but rather by a Samaritan. At the time, Jews and Samaritans would have considered one another enemies.

So Jesus's fundamental message is that *everyone* is your neighbor, and that it is not about helping just your family or those closest to you. It's specifically about helping those who seem different, foreign, other. They are all our "neighbors."

But Jesus's deeper point can only be understood from the point of view of the beaten man: our ultimate salvation depends, as it did for that man, upon those whom we often consider to be the "stranger."