Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 12/10/2026Ukraine is finally going after Russian data centres. In other news, online support for European far-right parties seems to be suddenly drying up. 010
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 04/10/2026In other words, the time when politicians tend to turn to rent controls is the worst possible time to turn to rent controls. 030
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 26/09/2026The Internet was originally designed by ARPA to survive nuclear war - it's quite hard to shut down. 000
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 19/09/2026As Russian attacks across Europe increase, when exactly is NATO going to wake up to the threat? 021
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 30/08/2026Correction - "to prepare impossible ground offensives against Kyiv and Chernihiv". 000
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 13/08/2026Clearly has no idea how councils are run - he seems to think his role is to micromanage council staff. Putting someone with no experience of how large organisations work in change of a council - what could go wrong? 210
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 09/08/2026Surely everyone knows it's the Caro-Kann by now. 000
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 08/08/2026They are plotting something... #InternationalCatDay 051
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 08/08/20261. e4?? c6!! and white is lost. #chesspunks 000
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 28/07/2026Not a bad accuracy score in that game. What do you reckon Kramnik? #chesspunks 000
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 28/07/2026Well, that's QE rather than money printing, which is not really a problem in a country with low inflation and spare capacity in the economy. Oh. 061
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 26/07/2026Got to love those games where you learn from your blunders but also get a win. My opponent resigned here, thinking their queen was lost. Can you spot their winning move (which I also missed in my calculations)? #chesspunks 140
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 18/07/2026Andy Burnham has said he supports Proportional Representation, devolving power and rejoining the EU. If he follows through he'll be a great Liberal Democrat Prime Minister. 130
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 17/07/2026Someone who apparently supports PR should not call 34% a 'victory'. 020
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 17/07/2026Proud to make my maiden speech as a Councillor for Abbey Ward.youtu.beCouncil, 15 July 2026 6.00pmYouTube video by Merton Council 001
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 12/07/2026Rule No. 17: "Bishops are better than knights in an endgame with pawns on both sides of the board." #chesspunks 000
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 12/07/2026Me: "That was a great victory. Stockfish, show me how well I played." Stockfish: "You suck" #chesspunks 000
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 05/07/2026I beat the easiest bot on chess.com! Ok, not the greatest achievement in the world, except I played it blindfold. #chesspunks 120
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 03/07/2026One of my best games in a while I think - lichess.org/TnZpyHb1ubRf #chesspunks 010
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 23/06/2026Farage: "Voters don't care about the £5m" Voters: 051
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 23/06/2026Let's take a moment to remember that, until that attack, Russia was an ally of the Nazis. 020
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 13/06/2026How it started (2018) - How it's going (2026) 041
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 10/06/2026All the AI talk seems to suggest that, once an AI system becomes capable of producing a better version of itself, it will result in exponential growth in machine intelligence. I think a more likely scenario is that it rapidly approaches a limit based on the available quality of training data. 320
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 24/05/2026It seems to me we could avoid the whole Labour leadership contest if Keir Starmer could just manage a decent Northern accent. 151
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 20/05/2026We've had ten years to find these wonderful trade deals the Brexiters told us we could get outside the EU. If we haven't found them by now they don't exist - rejoin the EU. 000
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 14/05/2026Every British Prime Minister gets a statue in Westminster. I think they're going to need to open a new wing for them all soon. 010
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 10/05/2026How perverse is an electoral system which sees Labour's vote fall 28% but they end up with a seat more than last time? No wonder the country is losing faith in the political system when results bear little relevance to votes. 000
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 10/05/2026One thing the LibDems and Reform agree on is that politics is broken. The difference is that the LibDems believe the solution is to give power back to the people, moving power from Westminster to local groups and politicians. Reform believe the answer is to give all the power to one strong Leader. 000
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 09/05/2026Their vote share dropped from 43% to 31% - Martin Whelton has a very strange idea of what a strong endorsement is. 000
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 08/05/2026static.klipy.comFrozen Elsa: Let It Go!ALT: Frozen Elsa: Let It Go! 100
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 14/04/2026Probably because Ukraine will only allowed Russia to keep selling oil if they aren't making any profit from it. 010
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 14/04/2026It's not 2022 any more. Ukraine now has an army bigger than Britain, France and Germany combined. And their army is one of only two experienced in modern warfare. We need European alliance and we need Ukraine in it.youtube.comUkraine's role in European securityYouTube video by Anders Puck Nielsen 000
Reposted by Cllr Barry Smith 🔶🔶 South Wimbledon (Abbey Ward) LibDems 🔶 @libabbey.bsky.social · 10/04/2026All we need to update from four years ago is the election date. Vote for the team that's committed to serving South Wimbledon for the long-term. 021
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 10/04/2026There is an alternate reality where Ukraine surrendered to a Russian occupation then, when Orban lost the Hungarian election he invited Russian troops from Ukraine to occupy Hungary to overturn the result. Ukraine is the barrier keeping the Russians out of Europe. 010
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 10/04/2026Ukraine is paying commercial companies on the basis of how many Russian drones they destroy. This has become, quite literally, a war of capitalism versus state managed economy. 000
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 03/04/2026Another by-election - another victory for the LibDems over Reform. 000
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 02/04/2026The Reform spokesman who said 'fires happen' has been fired.independent.co.ukReform sack housing spokesman over ‘deeply dehumanising’ Grenfell commentsSimon Dudley said ‘everyone dies’ and claimed ‘the pendulum has swung too far’ on building safety regulations 000
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 02/04/2026The USA is not about to leave NATO and abandon all these military bases. 100
Reposted by Cllr Barry Smith 🔶Wimbledon & Merton Lib Dems 🔶 @mertonlibdems.bsky.social · 01/04/2026Meet your ward team for Abbey! You can find out more about Klaar, Barry & John, and their priorities for the community, here: www.mertonlibdems.org.uk/abbey 053
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 01/04/2026Better a conflict about rejoining than not rejoining with Labour. 040
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 01/04/2026The Russians make plans and the Ukrainians laugh. 000
Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 01/04/2026Right now there are only two countries which know how to fight modern warfare - Ukraine and Russia. If Russia wins this war, and conscripts Ukraine's forces, they will be the only country experienced in modern war and no European country would be ready to resist. Ukraine is Europe's war. 020