Sign in

basilcat2.bsky.social

@basilcat2.bsky.social
24 followers 44 following 25 posts

Retired but still busy, long suffering Man Utd fan, okapi lover.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by @basilcat2.bsky.social
Liam Thorp @liamthorp.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
I’ve lost track of all the mad and bad things that Reform’s Makerfield candidate has said. From misogyny to absurd conspiracy theories and pro-Russia propaganda. What’s amazing is this is their top candidate. The guy they have chosen to fight the biggest by-election in living memory. This guy.
921051234
Reposted by @basilcat2.bsky.social
Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Turned on the Today programme for perhaps the first time this year. Instantly presented with three minutes of Chris Mason: glib, inane, uninformative, utterly banal. Turned it off again.
2262221319
basilcat2.bsky.social @basilcat2.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
020
Reposted by @basilcat2.bsky.social
Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Animals on money? Perish the thought that patriotic British people would ever countenance such a thing.
Old farthing with bird on it
55934127
Reposted by @basilcat2.bsky.social
Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Massive humiliation for Farage, who tipped off the UK press that he was flying to Florida to have dinner with Trump... only for Trump to decide he had more interesting things to do when Nigel arrived.
But, rather than receiving a formal
invite to meet Trump, Farage was in
fact invited to Mar-a-Lago by a
member of the club, according to
multiple people briefed on the matter


They said Farage had hoped he would
be able to catch Trump for a
conversation as the US president was
scheduled to travel to Mar-a-Lago that
evening. However, Trump had a
change in his itinerary and decided to
stay instead in Doral, about an hour`s
drive away


The Reform leader's failure to secure
an audience with the US president
underscores a weakening of ties
between the two populist leaders who
famously formed a close friendship in
the vears before and after the 2016
1681671547
Reposted by @basilcat2.bsky.social
The News Agents @thenewsagents.co.uk · 03/03/2026
“For all we know, we could be in the middle of Keir Starmer’s finest hour”. Starmer’s critics say he is imperiling the UK’s special relationship with the US... But is it Donald Trump who's doing the damage?
59664176
Reposted by @basilcat2.bsky.social
Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
just billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe throwing out some serious made-up numbers on TV
59511122
Reposted by @basilcat2.bsky.social
Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
Farage at school by those who knew him best: www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-...
Andy Field, 61, an NHS doctor who said he
knew Farage well because they took the
same train to school, has similarly clear
memories.


"When I became a prefect, he [Farage] said,
Tll show you how to do it,' claimed Field,.
"He took me for a walk up to the lower
school playground, where all the children
from about nine years old to 12 would be.
And he singled out, completely at random, a
kid of Asian extraction, and just put him in
detention for no reason whatsoever. I was
flabbergasted, absolutely stunned. I was just
disgusted, really. No rhyme or reason, just
purely based on the colour of his skin.
411077447
Reposted by @basilcat2.bsky.social
Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
Next time someone tells you that train drivers "just push buttons" show them this from the BBC
The driver "managed to contact the control
centre at Network Rail and get the train
diverted onto the slow line", Calder says.


"That was absolutely crucial because this
train was scheduled to be travelling through
Huntingdon station on the tracks with no
platform at 125mph."


"It didn't stop in the middle of nowhere,
which would have been very difficult."


Calder thinks this was handled in the "safest
possible way" thanks to the "incredible
professionalism from the driver and the
police". Train drivers are trained on how to
take appropriate action, he adds,
7136261037
Reposted by @basilcat2.bsky.social
Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 26/07/2025
In "Legitimate Concerns" news. 41% of the 899 arrested for taking part in Farage Riots last year had been reported for crimes associated with intimate partner violence. For those arrested by one police force, this figure was 68%. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
theguardian.com
Two in five arrested for last summer’s UK riots had been reported for domestic abuse
Police data indicates overlaps between public violent disorder and domestic violence and abuse
1111770892
Reposted by @basilcat2.bsky.social
Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 26/07/2025
This
316077
Reposted by @basilcat2.bsky.social
Larry the Cat @number10cat.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
Give the public what they want! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
532206240
Reposted by @basilcat2.bsky.social
Liam Thorp @liamthorp.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
What happens when a political agenda takes over any semblance of journalistic standards Telegraph admits its story about private school family not being able to go on five holidays was complete nonsense and not remotely fact-checked Beyond embarrassing www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/the-t...
telegraph.co.uk
An apology
On May 25 we published an online article “We earn £345k, but soaring private school fees mean we can’t go on five holidays” which included stock photographs and not, as the art...
35517208
Reposted by @basilcat2.bsky.social
Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
In amongst all the excitement I fear many have missed this outstanding bit of trolling by Friedrich Merz. The Chancellor gifted Trump a gilded framed copy of his grandfather’s German birth certificate... reminding Americans that Trump is both the child and grandchild of migrants.
23783272395
Reposted by @basilcat2.bsky.social
Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
I am getting increasingly frustrated by Labour bigwigs speechifying about how the world has changed and we need to be bold and then... not being bold
1673628699
Reposted by @basilcat2.bsky.social
Rory Cellan-Jones @rorycj.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p... Has the US really sent Ukraine $350 billion for its war? In less than 5 minutes @timharford.ft.com calmly demolishes Trump’s big lie
bbc.co.uk
BBC Radio 4 - More or Less: Behind the Stats, Defence Spending, Rare Earths and Trunk Truths
The numbers behind Ukraine’s rare earth worth and the UK’s defence spending ambitions
1136696
Reposted by @basilcat2.bsky.social
Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
❗❗❗ former leader of Reform UK in Wales has appeared in court accused of accepting bribes in exchange for making statements in the European Parliament that would benefit Russia, a court has heard www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Ex-Reform UK Wales leader accused of taking Russian bribes
The ex-MEP and former UKIP Wales leader made favourable statements about Russia for money, a court hears.
16523581235
Reposted by @basilcat2.bsky.social
Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
former Tory chief whip Simon Hart on the party’s current leader
492407324
Reposted by @basilcat2.bsky.social
Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
If the right wing press and their Tory allies want to go after politicians' cvs, then why didn't they go after Iain Duncan Smith when he was the actual party leader?
The many fibs on IDS CV
52912271