Mark Barrett

he/him - IT Manager and PRIDE co-chair, love all things food. 🐱👬🏳️‍🌈🇪🇺🍷☕️🐶🐶 All content, opinions are my own personal view.

[Farrukh @implausibleblog]

Left: Theresa May, "Brexit Means Brexit"

Right: Sunday Times, "Suspend border checks for Britons this summer, airline tells EU"

Your reminder that on On Nov 30th 2017, when the UK was still in the EU, the UK government (as part of the EU Council, where it still had a seat and vote on legislation) voted to adopt Regulation (EU) 2017/2226, which established the EU Entry/Exit System (EES)

This is a biometric border system requiring the collection of fingerprints and facial images from non-EU (“third-country”) nationals entering the Schengen Area

Such is the love of queues for Brits, that before we left the EU we voted to make queues for Brits wanting to visit the EU 🤷‍♂️

[Mark Barrett @markbdover]

I just signed: Tell Labour MPs: Hold the line. — add your name too. via @labholdtheline https://t.co/XZ9j91vV5c

[Brendan May @bmay]

Who should be Labour Leader? Reply if other.

[Mark Barrett @markbdover]

@RichardBurgon No we don’t…

[Mark Barrett @markbdover]

@jessicaelgot @MikeTappTweets any thoughts, I feel we need consistent and grown up leadership with Starmer, don’t become the Tories changing PM every 5 mins, this plays in to Farage’s hands. Please sign.

[JonnyUtd @Fx1Jonny]

Farage is praying you don’t watch this.

When we used to have “open borders” migrants not only could be returned if they came illegally but the legal 1’s would return home after their work visa expired.

That’s all finished now thanks to Farage’s Brexit.

[dave lawrence 🐟🐟🐠 @dave43law]

So Reform hid a vote of no confidence in the Leader in Northumberland because they didn't want bad press

This is how Reform work

Hide it, deflect it, never tell the truth at any cost

[BladeoftheSun @BladeoftheS]

Caroline Lucas of the Green Party reckons that Water needs to be Renationalised.

RT if you know it has to be.

[BladeoftheSun @BladeoftheS]

The Green Party propose a 1% wealth tax on people with over £10m that would bring in £50-60bn a year for our Public Services.

RT if you would like to see it.

[Don McGowan @donmcgowan]

Our media fixation with Keir Starmer is becoming a literal drag on the country now.

As I write this, I can already see the replies forming below, accusing me of being a Labour shill etc. but, believe it or not, I am not.

Maybe it's worth setting this out — I have no party affiliation. None. I'm not 'on the right' … but that's as far as it goes.

There are policies and people that I admire across the Lib Dems, Greens and Labour. Conversely, there are policies and people I am vehemently against within each of those parties as well.

There are some decent Conservatives left but fewer and fewer in frontline politics and I can have excellent discussions with those moderate Tories that remain.

Where my line in the sand is drawn though, as I'm sure you're all aware, is the far-right. Reform UK and Restore Britain. I have no common ground with their populism — I see through the propaganda.

This doesn't mean that I think every member of Reform UK is a bad person, far from it, but I cannot rationalise their top-line bravado into credible politics.

So, with all that being said, I think the witch-hunt of Keir Starmer is distracting the public from some far more serious crises.

Since the very day Starmer took office, there has been an onslaught from the media; desperation to try and topple him and his principal team. This played out successfully with Angela Rayner, and they have been vicious and relentless pursuing Rachel Reeves.

I listened to Paul Brand on LBC at the weekend continuously comparing Starmer to Boris Johnson in terms of sleaze.

Have we collectively lost our minds? There is no other Prime Minister in history that compares to Johnson for scandal.

The elephant in the room — Peter Mandelson.

But is it really an elephant still? Clearly, Starmer should never have brought the Prince of Darkness into his team, that was a madness and severe failing of judgement. One for which he has accepted responsibility and apologised on multiple occasions.

The vetting process appears to be, pretty much, a non-story, despite what Dan Hodges and GB News are shovelling out.

So … we should be moving on. Shouldn't we?

Kemi Badenoch and her famously robust judgement felt not yesterday, and spent more of her diminishing political currency by pushing Starmer with six questions at PMQs on the subject. She was met with a well briefed lawyer, that, in all honesty, made her look a bit silly for continuing her defeated line of questioning.

While this continues to dominate the headlines, other far more crucial issues are being missed — we're going to run low on fuel soon, the cost of living is about to skyrocket, holidays will be cancelled imminently.

But mainly ... the cost of living is about to skyrocket.

We saw in yesterday's inflation rise that food is already moving upward, if Trump's ludicrous war in Iran continues, then we're all going to suffer the consequences.

Surely, this is a far more pressing matter? One in which the government should be fully engaged in order to help protect the public — it's number one duty.

It is very telling that Reform UK are spending very little time on the Starmer issue. They sent Lee Anderson out to raise this issue, for goodness’ sake. LEE ANDERSON.

Farage is hyper focused on the local elections, safe in the knowledge that the media is obsessing over Keir Starmer, once again. He's making hay while the S*n shines on Labour.

Jeez! This went on a bit, sorry, but it feels critical to me. We are being led around by the nose by the legacy media outlets. They smell blood in the water, but I really don't think the story is there. Not yet.

And while the sharks circle, Reform UK are flying under the radar, ready to swoop on the local elections [sorry for the weird mixed metaphors — it's early!].

Have a lovely sunny day. 🌞

[The Other 98% @TheOther_9]

Trump in 2008: Anyone who invades the Middle East under false pretenses should be impeached.

Let’s make sure it goes viral here.

[BladeoftheSun @BladeoftheS]

Mick Lynch "Nigel Farage is a racist."

RT if Mick is right.

[Election Maps UK @ElectionMapsUK]

Murton (Durham) Council By-Election Result:

🌹 LAB: 50.6% (+17.6)
➡️ RFM: 39.6% (-4.5)
🌍 GRN: 4.8% (New)
🌳 CON: 3.1% (-2.0)
🔶 LDM: 1.9% (-2.3)

No Ind (-13.6) as previous.

Labour GAIN from Reform.
Changes w/ 2025.

[Brendan May @bmay]

I never tire of listening to a literal beneficiary of multiculturalism, her parents being people of Indian heritage who came to Britain from Mauritius and Kenya, complaining about said multiculturalism.

She is an utter abomination.

[Harry Eccles @Heccles94]

Nigel Farage has kindly asked we stop sharing this video of him talking about why we should privatise the NHS 💙

You know what to do!

[The Purple Pimpernel @Eyeswideopen69]

Retweet far and wide.

[Mukhtar @I_amMukhtar]

Gary Lineker: Genocide is bad.

The right: Stick to football.

Jim Ratcliffe: The UK is being colonised, and I don't pay personal income tax here.

The right: Yaay, Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Man of the people. True patriot.

Rashford: Feed the kids.

The right: Boo. Stick to football.

[Charlotte Salomon @SalomonSoup]

lol.

[Peter Stefanovic @PeterStefanovi2]

🚨VERY IMPORTANT!

ON 16 MARCH PARLIAMENT WILL DEBATE A PETITION FOR BY-ELECTIONS TO BE TRIGGERED AUTOMATICALLY WHEN MP’S DEFECT

In 2020 Nigel Farage said of MPs who defect & refuse a by-election “it’s not right, it’s dishonorable”

So where are the by-elections for all those MPs now defecting to Reform?

Giving voters the right to have a say on an MPs defection is vital to restoring trust in our politics - and isn’t that exactly what the government has pledged to do?

PLEASE SHARE THIS FILM, contact your MP and ask them to attend the debate on 16 March and support this petition - let’s sort this out once and for all

[Mark Mitchener @markofagenius]

Personally I can cope better with the mistakes Labour has made better than the decisions ReformUK would make on purpose.