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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶

@barrysw19.bsky.social
259 followers 184 following 901 posts

Liberal Democrat Councillor for Abbey Ward, Merton. Following (back) 🔶 LibDems 🔶 Promoted by P. Gilbert on behalf of B. Smith (Liberal Democrats), all at 181 Merton Road, London, SW19 1EE.

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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Ukraine is finally going after Russian data centres. In other news, online support for European far-right parties seems to be suddenly drying up.
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
In other words, the time when politicians tend to turn to rent controls is the worst possible time to turn to rent controls.
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
The Internet was originally designed by ARPA to survive nuclear war - it's quite hard to shut down.
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
As Russian attacks across Europe increase, when exactly is NATO going to wake up to the threat?
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Correction - "to prepare impossible ground offensives against Kyiv and Chernihiv".
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Clearly 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?
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Surely everyone knows it's the Caro-Kann by now.
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
They are plotting something... #InternationalCatDay
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
1. e4?? c6!! and white is lost. #chesspunks
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Your Wildberries delivery is on its way.
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Not a bad accuracy score in that game. What do you reckon Kramnik? #chesspunks
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Well, 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.
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Got 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
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Andy 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.
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Someone who apparently supports PR should not call 34% a 'victory'.
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Proud to make my maiden speech as a Councillor for Abbey Ward.
youtu.be
Council, 15 July 2026 6.00pm
YouTube video by Merton Council
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Rule No. 17: "Bishops are better than knights in an endgame with pawns on both sides of the board." #chesspunks
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Me: "That was a great victory. Stockfish, show me how well I played." Stockfish: "You suck" #chesspunks
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
I beat the easiest bot on chess.com! Ok, not the greatest achievement in the world, except I played it blindfold. #chesspunks
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
One of my best games in a while I think - lichess.org/TnZpyHb1ubRf #chesspunks
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
We now go live to Moscow.
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Russia today.
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Farage: "Voters don't care about the £5m" Voters:
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Let's take a moment to remember that, until that attack, Russia was an ally of the Nazis.
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
How it started (2018) - How it's going (2026)
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
All 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.
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Go woke, go broke... Oh.
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
It seems to me we could avoid the whole Labour leadership contest if Keir Starmer could just manage a decent Northern accent.
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
We'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.
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Every British Prime Minister gets a statue in Westminster. I think they're going to need to open a new wing for them all soon.
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
How 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.
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
One 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.
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Their vote share dropped from 43% to 31% - Martin Whelton has a very strange idea of what a strong endorsement is.
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
static.klipy.com
Frozen Elsa: Let It Go!
ALT: Frozen Elsa: Let It Go!
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Probably because Ukraine will only allowed Russia to keep selling oil if they aren't making any profit from it.
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
It'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.com
Ukraine's role in European security
YouTube video by Anders Puck Nielsen
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Reposted by Cllr Barry Smith 🔶
🔶 South Wimbledon (Abbey Ward) LibDems 🔶 @libabbey.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
All 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.
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
There 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.
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
Ukraine 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.
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Vote Green, get Reform.
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Another by-election - another victory for the LibDems over Reform.
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
The Reform spokesman who said 'fires happen' has been fired.
independent.co.uk
Reform sack housing spokesman over ‘deeply dehumanising’ Grenfell comments
Simon Dudley said ‘everyone dies’ and claimed ‘the pendulum has swung too far’ on building safety regulations
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Now it makes sense...
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
The USA is not about to leave NATO and abandon all these military bases.
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Reposted by Cllr Barry Smith 🔶
Wimbledon & Merton Lib Dems 🔶 @mertonlibdems.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Meet 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
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Thanks!
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Better a conflict about rejoining than not rejoining with Labour.
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
The Russians make plans and the Ukrainians laugh.
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Cllr Barry Smith 🔶 @barrysw19.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Right 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.
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