Ash

let’s talk sense

[Ash @SplashBlack]

@KemiBadenoch , you delivered that well even if I don’t agree with every point, the conviction was clear.
But there’s a much bigger issue than today’s Budget.

We’re entering a new industrial era driven by AI, and Britain is nowhere near ready for the energy and compute this transition requires.

AI isn’t powered by speeches - it’s powered by electricity.
The US is building AI-grade nuclear capacity.
China is accelerating small modular reactors and uranium supply chains.
Both are preparing for an era where compute = national power.

Meanwhile the UK is debating tax tweaks while running out of the energy needed to power a single large-scale AI site.

So I’m asking you directly, publicly:
What is the Conservative plan to ensure Britain has the nuclear, uranium and AI-compute infrastructure needed to compete with the US and China - instead of sliding into a modern Dark Age?

Because leadership in this era won’t be judged by today’s Budget, but by whether we’re still an AI nation in 10 years.

[Fabio Wardley @FabioWardley]

My body failed me, but not my heart. And that I can live with…

Congratulations @DynamiteDubois , thank you for a great fight worthy of the history books.

Thank you to the city of Manchester and everyone that has been along on this journey with me. #TeamWardley ❤️

[Ash @SplashBlack]

@IFLTV @DynamiteDubois @ringmagazine No

[Ash @SplashBlack]

@UKLabour I don’t think they read the comments. Let’s just be honest. Everyone’s venting and they’re just laughing.

[Ash @SplashBlack]

This is arguing the symptom, not the system.

The UK produces oil & gas, yet households see no pricing benefit because it’s sold at global rates.

That’s the flaw.

Until that’s addressed, “drill more” or “don’t drill” is the wrong conversation.

And presenting it as a complete answer without acknowledging that gap isn’t serious.

We are not fools and will not be fooled
@ZackPolanski

[Ash @SplashBlack]

@Ed_Miliband That’s a complete waste of money. Why don’t you use that? 64 million stop the Ludacris taxes on North Sea and drill baby drill we know that is one of the most abundant things on the planet.

[Ash @SplashBlack]

@PaulBarasi @implausibleblog @ZackPolanski 99% of every other party too many to name
But given your statement, I’m sure he could use his mind powers on you to make you think that your breast of grown too

[Ash @SplashBlack]

@implausibleblog @ZackPolanski It’s all utter nonsense. The company that rips us off is the government as they make most of the money and the profit on our energy cost it’s all smoke and mirrors.

[Ash @SplashBlack]

@MartinSLewis I would give more to the one that’s more successful

[Ash @SplashBlack]

@RachelReevesMP @bphillipsonMP It’s too expensive to do business here. Taxes are too high.
Energy price is too high.
Red tape is too high.
And anyone who believes otherwise must be high!!

[Ash @SplashBlack]

@ideological_1 Hard to understand how a company charging such high parking fees can still end up in debt. Something doesn’t add up.

[Ash @SplashBlack]

@robprogressive Some might call it foolish and suggest cutting corners here or there but those opinions usually come from people who’ve never operated at a £10k-plus level. When you’re playing a different game, the decisions look different.

[Ash @SplashBlack]

@robprogressive The logic for them is that they are not for small business they are for government owned government employed government subsidised and if the government is not involved they don’t want it

[Ash @SplashBlack]

I’m not arguing against vaccination, and I’m not interested in culture wars.

What I am concerned about is how easily parental judgment is dismissed or vilified when it doesn’t fit a neat narrative.

After my son had severe reactions to his first two vaccinations, including becoming unconscious and non-responsive, we were still pressured to continue. That pressure did not just come abstractly. It came from people working within the GP surgery itself. The tone was not neutral or supportive. It was dismissive. At times it crossed into judgement, with the implication that refusing further vaccinations made us bad parents or “anti-vax.”

That framing is dangerous.

We were fortunate in one sense. We are not faint-hearted, naive, or easily intimidated. We trusted what we had already seen happen to our child. Many parents are not in that position. They defer. They comply. They silence their instincts because they are made to feel ignorant or irresponsible.

In our case, if we had done that, I genuinely believe my child would not be here.

This is exactly why this issue deserves serious, open debate. Public health cannot be built on coercion, shame, or the erosion of informed consent. Science depends on nuance. Medicine depends on individual assessment. Parenting depends on courage.

Labeling concerned parents instead of listening to them is not evidence-based practice. It is authority without accountability.

That should concern everyone, regardless of where they stand on vaccines.

[Ash @SplashBlack]

@elonmusk I couldn’t agree more

[Ash @SplashBlack]

@ClarksonsFarm1 I run multiple businesses and they’re all feeling it.

We’re studying everything, planning for multiple scenarios - but right now we’re on a hiring freeze across every business, and an investment freeze too.

Caution has replaced confidence, and that tells its own story.

[Ash @SplashBlack]

That feels true in a lot of areas.

The hard question is why we keep repeating it.
is it because policymakers don’t engage with the people actually hiring, training, and managing day to day?

What do you think would change if policy started with incentives and trade-offs rather than intentions?

[Ash @SplashBlack]

This is exactly where it heads.

Employers won’t take on permanent risk they’ll shift to Amazon-style models: agency labour, zero attachment, zero security.

“Sorry, there’s no work for you today” becomes the norm.

Fewer rights in practice, not more just pushed one step further away from the employer.

[Ash @SplashBlack]

@SRFielding72 @Keir_Starmer Up up up

[Ash @SplashBlack]

I get the intention, but the unintended consequence is real.

This will make people riskier to employ, not safer - especially for small businesses.

When costs and liabilities rise overnight, hiring slows, flexibility disappears… and yes, I can already see a lot more “Monday sickness” pending.

Good policy has to work in the real world, not just on paper.