@jk_rowling This particular man is one of the worst. His misogynistic ranting has caused more damage to the cause of "transwomen" than any gender critical woman's commentary. He couldn't be more male with his obvious aggression and sense of entitlement.
One of the men in this picture is a politician currently serving 10 and a half years in prison for accepting Russian bribes. The other was his boss and doesn't think there's evidence of Russia interfering in UK politics.
@SteveShovlar With First Past the Post, people can't necessarily vote for a Labour candidate even if they want to. Tactical voting is needed in most constituencies.
Brexit cost an estimated £90 billion in lost tax revenue in 2025 alone. That money could have eased the tax burden on working people and funded our NHS and public services.
I welcome the Prime Minister’s opening to Europe, but he must go further. Rejoining the single market and a customs union would bring growth and prosperity back to Britain.
With war in Europe and an unpredictable White House, our security also depends on standing with our closest neighbours - cross-border problems need cross-border solutions.
@andyburnham has finally said what millions of people have known for years: Brexit has done more harm than good.
This isn’t about relitigating 2016, it’s about being honest about the damage and deciding, with evidence, how to repair it.
The economic case:
Brexit didn’t take back control; it took away choices - making trade harder, investment weaker, and families poorer.
On the way forward:
The Prime Minister is right that all options must now be on the table - a customs union, single-market alignment, a Swiss style model, associated membership as Canada, Australia and New Zealand are pursuing - and leaving the door open to ultimately rejoining; depending on where the EU and the world are in the 2030s.
But this must be done carefully, transparently and with the country brought with us, not divided again.
On trust:
People were promised control, prosperity and lower immigration. They were let down.
The decent, honest thing now is not to pretend it worked, but admit the failure, set out the real choices, and let people decide Britain’s future with the facts in front of them.
Fixing #Brexit is not a silver bullet. But it is a necessary step towards a Britain that is secure, prosperous, fair and confident in the world.
@Independent@politico
In 2024, the late former MI6 chief Sir Alex Younger delivered a warning Britain should have taken far more seriously:
“Putin would’ve been absolutely delighted by our decision [to leave the EU], and so would Xi.”
“We’ve made ourselves irrelevant.”
“France has effectively eclipsed us.”
“Brexit has marginalised us. It was kind of intended to do exactly that.”
Now @andyburnham says British authorities have confirmed that Russia interfered in the 2016 referendum.
Put those facts together.
Putin wanted a weaker, divided Europe. Brexit removed one of Europe’s strongest military and diplomatic powers, diminished Britain’s influence and left us more exposed in a world dominated by larger blocs. Russia did not merely welcome that outcome: it interfered in the democratic process that produced it.
Publish the intelligence assessment. Establish an independent inquiry. Follow the evidence wherever it leads.
Then secure our democracy properly before asking the British people to vote on our European future again.
Burnham says it is ‘clear’ Russia interfered in Brexit referendum.
In 2020, the Intelligence and Security Committee stated that the UK government had "actively avoided" looking into possible Russian interference in the Brexit referendum.
It is excellent to see that Burnham has ended the establishment cover-up of Russian interference in Brexit. We do, however, need a full inquiry into the cover-up.
https://t.co/aRwfgQWwjp
NEW: Ten years on, Prime Minister @andyburnham tells @campbellclaret & @RoryStewartUK that there was ‘clear’ Russian interference in the Brexit vote.
FINALLY after years of cover-ups & denials from the highest levels of the UK govt. That in itself deserves an inquiry.
1/
Trump: "Zelensky could have settled this war many, many times, but he chooses not to."
Sick liar! This rant is full-on Russian propaganda straight from the mouth of the US president. There is no deal on the table that Ukraine could have accepted. All Russia has ever suggested is for Ukraine to surrender so they can kill us quietly behind the cover of occupation, like they did in Bucha and Izium, and like they are doing now in Oleshky and across the occupied territories.
Trump: "We said, 'You can do whatever you want to Russia, don't hit the refineries because that's a world problem.' And he wants to make problems for the world. He wants to make problems for our farmers, our ranchers with diesel fuel."
Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure are crippling Russia's ability to wage war, not the American ranchers or farmers, who suffer because of failed war in Iran.
Buying diesel from Russia directly fuels their war.
I didn’t really get the problem with gender ideology at first.
I’m liberal-minded about most things. 'Live and let' live has generally been my motto. I believed inclusion mattered. I believed in being kind. In not using language that might upset people unnecessarily.
I knew people who identified as transgender. I knew some adults chose medical treatments or surgery to resemble the opposite sex. That seemed to me a matter of personal autonomy. Adults can do what they wish with their own bodies.
What I hadn’t realised - and I feel slightly embarrassed admitting this - was that I’d misunderstood what was being claimed.
I thought “transgender” meant a form of self-expression. A man who liked wearing women’s clothes. Someone changing their name. Gender non-conformity.
What I hadn’t grasped was that some activists weren’t just asking for tolerance. They were asserting that declaring yourself the opposite sex made you the opposite sex. Not metaphorically. Literally.
And that this wasn’t just cultural. It had legal consequences.
- It meant men who said they were women were demanding access to women’s sports, prisons, domestic violence shelters and hospital wards
- It meant the rewriting of healthcare language - “pregnant people”, “bodies with cervixes” - to avoid saying “women”
- It meant children struggling with identity being affirmed onto medical pathways with lifelong implications
And also redefining same-sex attraction. Lesbians called 'bigoted' for not wanting relationships with men who identify as women. Gay men accused of prejudice for saying they're not attracted to female bodies. None of which made any sense.
But I'd also overlooked how far this had travelled - into HR policies, professional bodies, schools, political parties and public institutions.
And how easily disagreement was framed as cruelty. Speaking up felt risky - because others were being publicly humiliated for doing so.
None of this is abstract.
Because sex is the basis on which safeguarding works. On which data is collected. On which cancer screening programmes run. On which fair sport and single-sex spaces depend. It’s written into law - including the Equality Act - because material differences matter.
If sex becomes a 'feeling' rather than a biological category, those protections become unstable.
And once reality becomes negotiable, everything does.
Once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it.
But I needed to be sure.
So I read. Books, research papers, policy documents. When I finally spoke publicly, there was backlash from all directions.
Many women thanked me - both quietly and publicly.
But some feminists criticised me for speaking too late.
Others were angry about a past interview I’d done with the parent of a transgender person, accusing me of promoting harm.
It takes courage to change your mind publicly.
It takes courage to speak when you know your reputation, friendships or livelihood may be on the line - when you know raising your voice could strain, or even end, relationships you value.
Once I understood what was at stake, staying silent was no longer an option. I lost my livelihood simply for saying I didn’t like the phrase “pregnant people”. That alone tells you something is deeply wrong. It shouldn’t be this way.
I will never judge any woman for when she finds her voice.
Because every voice adds value - whenever it is raised.
And I know how persuasive this ideology can be. I know how easily it bypassed me. And I know how much courage it takes to admit, publicly, that you got something wrong.