Nick Danks

politics ~ music ~ education ~ the outdoors
fashion and Cornwall focused insta @nicholasdanks

[Nick Danks @NicholasDanks]

@NewStatesman Fascinating insight @PronouncedAlva (genuinely!) 👍🏻

[Nick Danks @NicholasDanks]

@LastBlairite R you sure? 😉

[Nick Danks @NicholasDanks]

@DPJHodges Genuinely don’t think this is a concept these days. Gilchrist changed everything.

[Nick Danks @NicholasDanks]

If there were a vote of confidence in Keir Starmer’s Govt tomorrow I think it’s fair to say it would lose ~ if the largest party can find a way to win a subsequent confidence vote (eg change of leader) then the Monarch will commission them as Prime Minister. That’s where we are.

[Mike Tapp MP @MikeTappTweets]

Is it time to legislate; if a change of leader is forced by its own Party then a General Election must be called.

That would stop the constant churn and focus all politicians on delivery, instead of work place politics. These endless ‘house of cards’ games would end and the country would benefit.

Let’s legislate to focus minds.

[Nick Danks @NicholasDanks]

*and critical friend

[Nick Danks @NicholasDanks]

Speaking as a strong BBC advocate, axing programmes such as The World Tonight and a specialist financial phone-in (not commercially viable elsewhere) suggests BBC is not confident about its vital publicly funded raison d’etre ~ but it retains stuff commercial providers do well 🤦‍♂️

[Sonia Sodha @soniasodha]

Really sorry to hear of further cuts at BBC News. While I've sometimes been a constructive critic of the BBC I am overall a huge supporter of its public-interest journalism and this isn't the time to be reducing investment in it. Solidarity with BBC colleagues.

[Nick Danks @NicholasDanks]

@SafferTheGaffer 🥰

[Nick Danks @NicholasDanks]

@ian4downton 🎯

[Nick Danks @NicholasDanks]

Perfectly put 💯

[Gyles Brandreth @GylesB1]

Yes, the BBC has to live within its means but if being a public service broadcaster is central to its mission The World Tonight is not the programme to cut. It takes a world view & intelligently & has been a nightly briefing for people like me since I discovered it at university.

[Nick Danks @NicholasDanks]

@GylesB1 Hard agree

[Nick Danks @NicholasDanks]

Axing @BBCRadio4 The World Tonight and full-length Midnight News are but 2 examples of the @BBC not having confidence / understanding why they exist; same with the recent decimation of local radio

[Nick Danks @NicholasDanks]

@hoffman_noa 🙌🏻😉

[Nick Danks @NicholasDanks]

Exactly this

[Andrew Griffith MP @griffitha]

It’s genuinely hard to think of a programme that better encapsulates ‘public service broadcasting’ than Radio 4’s The World Tonight.

I could certainly come up with a very long list of shows which could equally sit on any commercial outlet and that - even if gaining higher audiences - the BBC would not be the worse off without.

Respect Matt Brittin and the BBC does need to make tough choices but hope there is a rethink here.

[Nick Danks @NicholasDanks]

@griffitha @BBCWorld @guardian Exactly 👏

[Nick Danks @NicholasDanks]

@johnmcdonnellMP Thank you 🙏🏻 couldn’t agree more

[John McDonnell @johnmcdonnellMP]

The scale of the cuts to journalism at the BBC threatens the station’s ability to report the news & provide the expert analysis of the issues our community faces both here and across the globe. It’s a huge mistake. https://t.co/5ztNDrZGG3

[Nick Danks @NicholasDanks]

@darrenpjones Imagine the if this had been a video put out on the first week after the July landslide. 🤦‍♂️ played the weakest cards from a strong hand

[Nick Danks @NicholasDanks]

@VictoriaAtkins Go V! 👏

[Stephen Moss @StephenMossGdn]

Radio 4 cutting the news at midnight is the end of the world as far as I am concerned. I live for those chimes at midnight and the measured summing up of the day. Killing Radio 4 in pursuit of some digital dream is deranged

[Nick Danks @NicholasDanks]

As a father of a teen myself I recognise this dilemma: so much educational and hobby enrichment on YouTube; important to preserve access to this whilst filtering out the harmful content. Needs much careful consideration by government.

[Rosie Wrighting MP @rosie_wrighting]

I had social media growing up so I deeply understand the concerns.

But growing up I didn’t have access to tutors. My mum wasn’t around as she worked evenings. When I needed help revising for my GCSEs, I turned to educational content on YouTube. For kids from backgrounds like mine, it offers support they might not get elsewhere. That matters in this conversation.