Ian McKim

Law. Parenting. Football. Irishness. Music. Miscellaneous. Not necessarily in that order.

Partner @JHA_London
Trustee @LDNIrishCentre
Serious Cases Panel @FA

[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

[Edward Levey @ED_LeveyKC]

Number of people outraged by volunteer ambulances run by Jews for the benefit of the entire local community: LOTS

Number of people troubled by the fact that Jews need volunteer security guards with stab-proof vests standing outside their schools & places of worship: NOT SO MANY

[Ian McKim @ipmckim]

@AndyMitten Got to get Agent Maya on the case and get him here in the summer

[Ian O'Doherty @OdohertyI64991]

This is the thing a lot of Irish people can't figure out. Was this particularly virulent and deeply stupid form of antisemitism always within so many of our friends, but lying dormant? Or is it just the latest fashionable pose?

[Anthony Etherin @Anthony_Etherin]

SOLEMN (Palindrome)

I sat, solemn.
I saw time open one poem.
It was in me, lost as I.

[John McGuirk @john_mcguirk]

The Nativity, of course, took place in the Jewish City of Bethlehem, in the Kingdom of Judea, in which not one single Jewish person may safely live today.

[Manchester United Women @ManUtdWomen]

Maya Le Tissier has started 104 games for United.

103 of them have been at centre-back.

[John McGuirk @john_mcguirk]

Kneecap are in trouble only because the nonsense tolerated and celebrated in Ireland is neither tolerated nor celebrated in other countries. They are only in trouble because they did what they did in the USA and the UK. Had they done it in Dublin they'd be the toast of the town.

[Ian McKim @ipmckim]

@dgmargolin @SpeechUnion You could even have gone with "u k hun?" 😉

[Sunday Sport @thesundaysport]

It seems that not watching Adolescence is now a crime up there with refusing to bang your pans on a Thursday during the lockdown.

[Ian McKim @ipmckim]

@moneillsf Do these flourishing children include all of his many victims?

[Keith Mills @KeithMillsD7]

R.I.P. to a real Irish hero who helped defeat real Nazis and who was never properly celebrated in his home country.
https://t.co/0jgvgOthJj

[John Mac @KBJohnMac]

@CormacMcQu31819 I still don't "get" why average Irish people have a sympathy for the Palestinians

We have literally nothing in common with them

A pure astroturfed association

[Joseph Arthur @josepharthur]

London was one of those magical
Even dream like gigs

@itspetergabriel joined us onstage for ‘In The Sun’
And though we had sung it together before (years ago)

It’s as if the years and the life that passed
Gave it more power
More emotion and urgency

My love for him is like family
And my love for Melanie Gabriel
Who
Has been joining me the last several gigs for many songs (as she did the last tour)
is similar in that way

Having us all up there belting out a plea for God’s love
In London on a Saturday Night was cathartic and uplifting

But it wasn’t just what was happening onstage that made this gig special

It was the people off stage as well
The vibe and energy of crowd was very enthusiastic

‘Biblical’ as Liam Gallagher puts it

The @westhampsteadartsclub is small but mighty

Terry who owns and operates the place
With Tamara running sound

Is simply one of the nicest guys I’ve had the pleasure of encountering after all these years on the road

And having my old friends Rob Shore (who did an excellent opening set),
@garygo there generously putting out his enthusiastic spirit
And Amelie Chopinet who has worked tirelessly organizing my recent tours

Gave the whole evening that much more magic

The road can be grueling and hard
(It can even seem thankless at times)

But there are those nights
When the spirit comes

The part of it all that goes beyond human understanding
And yet we understand all at the same time

Which shines a light from worlds beyond

And lets us know
It’s all been worth it.

[John McGuirk @john_mcguirk]

It will forever boggle my mind that there exists an organisation that can kidnap 1 and 3 year old babies, kill them, parade their coffins on stage to cheering crowds of civilians, and still be considered the victims by morons in the west.

[John McGuirk @john_mcguirk]

I suppose the good news is that the 30 odd thousand people still without electricity cannot turn on their computers or radios to find out about this.

This national obsession with Palestinians is becoming borderline demented.

[Declan Ganley @declanganley]

My part of Ireland this morning.
The blue circles are the number of outages in a more concentrated area. This is now ten days. TEN.
If this was Dublin, they’d be asking for a frickin’ binding UN resolution at this point.
The contempt which this governing class hold for rural Ireland just grabs you in the gut.

[Tom Harwood @tomhfh]

One argument for countries like Germany or the UK to dramatically cut emissions isn’t to cut global emissions but to be a ‘leader’ demonstrating what’s possible.

An under-appreciated side to this grand idea is that countries like the UK or Germany can also act as a warning.

[Ian O'Doherty @OdohertyI64991]

Much needed takedown of Kneecap by Brendan O'Neil, hitting the target as usual.
Let's be honest, Kneecap are just bourgeois, balaclava bores from Belfast. They're Brits and they know they are.
Kneecap reveal the scourge of phoney radicalism https://t.co/b3tePD5Ko9