James Thomas

[Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 @IAPonomarenko]

How else do you explain to the world what Putin’s fascist Russia really is today?

Over the past 24 hours or so, Russia has taken a heavy blow to its key oil port near St. Petersburg, lost two helicopters and a fighter jet while trying to repel a swarm of Ukrainian drones, watched its largest oil refinery in Omsk go up in flames and explosions yet again, and lost another roughly 1,000 soldiers on the Ukrainian front without advancing a single inch.

And what does this great, invincible, fearsome Russia do in response, as it prepares for a “new Yalta” to carve up the world among three superpowers alongside the United States and China?

It heroically bombs a home improvement store in Kyiv in the middle of the night!

[Garry Kasparov @Kasparov63]

😂

[Richard Corbett @RichardGCorbett]

Well done Yorkshire Post for featuring on its front page what London newspapers owned by tax avoidance exiles keep quiet about. Rejoining EU is a popular option.

[Andrew Hesselden @andrewhesselden]

If EU membership cost Britain around £8 billion a year, but Brexit is expected to leave our economy around £116 billion a year smaller, why did we do it?

Why did successive governments proceed?

And why did Parliament accept the economic consequences?

[Will Hayward @WillHayCardiff]

Reform UK have been the official opposition inside the Welsh Parliament for 6 months.

In that time Reform Senedd Members have been absent from almost as many committee meetings as every other party combined.

To mark six months since the Senedd election, my news letter carried out a deep-dive look inside the Reform UK group within the Welsh Parliament.

We have spoken to Reform Senedd Members, staffers and seen inside WhatsApp groups.

Full story in my pinned tweet.

[David Gauke @DavidGauke]

Anyone who thinks that the route to electoral success for right of centre parties is to embrace populism should be paying attention tonight.

[David @Zero_4]

Tory MP James Cleverly attempting to argue that we can’t rejoin the largest trading bloc on the planet (that could provide a 6% inc. in growth), because we’d have to leave a trade agreement on the other side of the earth that gives us about a 0.08% boost to GDP

#politicslive

[Barack Obama @BarackObama]

All across the country, I’ve heard from folks who are sick and tired of what they’re seeing from politicians right now. This Election Day, we have the power to vote for the candidates who will bring about the change we need.

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський @ZelenskyyUa]

We have intel that Russia is preparing a new massive attack on our country – primarily targeting energy and logistics. The assumption is basically that tomorrow the world will be watching the American midterms, and what is happening here in Ukraine, along with our difficulties with air defense and Patriot missiles, will be overlooked.

We need signals from the world to Russia that will make them feel that terror is no good, that it will bring no gains, and that as long as this war continues, their oil will burn, and they will not be able to make money doing business with the world. We must not play games with Russia’s oil or gas revenues. We must put pressure on Russia in such a way that it has no alternative but to end this war. America can do this.

[James Thomas @Jprthomas]

Celebrate Disney Christmas with Morrisons!
Visit the Morrisons More Card app for a chance to win a dream Norway Family Holiday!

[Richard Corbett @RichardGCorbett]

The relentless trend is of ever growing numbers supporting rejoining the EU:

[Richard Corbett @RichardGCorbett]

The euro-area economy grew at twice the pace analysts predicted
https://t.co/suEHUy1mLU

[Simon Harris @SimonHarrisMBD]

This seems like a great time to reshare my favourite Sir Patrick Stewart performance, ‘What has the ECHR ever done for us?’ It’s just perfect in every possible way … including the ending 😂😂😂 RIP.

🎥 The Guardian

[Dominic Sandbrook @dcsandbrook]

A landmark @TheRestHistory bonus episode today.

One of the most important moments in all European history, kicking off a bonus miniseries about Hungarian football in the 1950s.

Today: WOLVES CONQUER THE WORLD AND INVENT EUROPE.

[Lewis Goodall @lewis_goodall]

Remember, Remember

[Beth Rigby @BethRigby]

Re-upping this Makerfield focus group from last week in light of headlines around PM re-opening convo on EU. I thought he’d get a Brexit backlash. But my big surprise in group was that nearly all these leave voters had regret & open to PM’s look again
https://t.co/Hm2rU4XMQy

[Mike Galsworthy @mikegalsworthy]

450 million currently have the right to settle in Amsterdam.

But don’t.

The full 69.5 million population of the UK plus the full 5.5 million population of Ireland currently have the right to work and settle in Brighton.

But don’t.

Reform are being very silly, again.

[Andy Burnham @andyburnham]

Today, I stand with Aberfan. I stand with the people of Aberfan, and I stand with the community as we honour the memory of all those that were lost.

https://t.co/R4qW7urqNe

[Antonello Guerrera @antoguerrera]

NEW from @IPPR

UK must seek EU membership to protect our prosperity, security and democracy, says influential think tank 🇬🇧🇪🇺

As prime minister puts options for EU relationship on table, IPPR says full membership should be medium-term goal

‘Time to stop talking about Brexit’ and focus on future in a Europe that has changed in a world that has changed, IPPR says

Majority back EU membership across stress test of tough trade-offs, unique new research reveals
Think tank urges government to begin by building durable political support for EU
As the prime minister opens up a debate over Britain’s future relationship with Europe, a major new IPPR report argues that becoming a member of the EU should be the UK’s medium-term goal.
The research argues that the assumptions underpinning the UK’s foreign and economic policy have broken down in the face of Russian aggression, an unpredictable United States and growing economic coercion from China.
In a world increasingly organised around large economic and security blocs, IPPR argues that the UK lacks the scale to protect its prosperity, security and democratic institutions alone.
The report welcomes the shift towards a wider debate about the UK’s relationship with Europe. It argues that this must now go beyond piece-by-piece negotiations over trade and regulation. Instead, the UK should begin a sustained political rebuild with Europe, with the medium-term objective of securing a democratic mandate for EU membership.
New polling commissioned by IPPR and Persuasion UK finds that a majority of voters want a closer relationship with Europe. More than half (52 per cent) want to join the EU, compared with less than a third (29 per cent) who want to stay out. Among those expressing a view, that is a 64–36 split, leaving 10 per cent who ‘don’t know’ and 9 per cent opting out of voting. Even among Labour voters considering switching to Reform, 54 per cent want to join the EU, compared with 36 per cent who want to stay out.
In a separate and unique conjoint experiment, voters were shown different combinations of benefits, costs, and arguments for and against joining the EU. They were given only two options: to accept the deal, or not. In this, average headline support for EU membership was 52 per cent.

[Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick 🇺🇸 @RepBrianFitz]

I will be speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his team this week to discuss Starshield, sanctions, and other matters pertaining to the defense of our strong ally, Ukraine. I will be assuring President Zelenskyy that anyone who attempts to limit the use of Starshield for Ukraine will be fully investigated and will be held fully accountable, to include public congressional oversight hearings, and immediate harsh and punitive budget cuts to any responsible agency or agency head.

Congress will unequivocally reaffirm that Ukraine is an indispensable ally to the United States, that Russia is a self-declared enemy of the United States, and that the United States will 100% support and defend the people of Ukraine in their fight for their own freedom against this brutal, illegal, and unprovoked Russian invasion.

The United States must provide any and all defensive equipment that Ukraine needs to defend itself. The United States must not import a single drop of Russian oil. Sanctions against the Russian regime must be harsher and stronger than they’ve ever been before. Each and every one of these items will be brought to the House Floor—and each and every one of these items will pass on the House Floor by an overwhelming margin.

This is, after all, what Ronald Reagan would do. And this is what we will do now. Ukraine can, and will, defeat Russia. #PeaceThroughStrength