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JohnG

@butleighjohn.bsky.social
173 followers 296 following 873 posts

Retired Journo, dog slave, more centrist dad than fire-breathing leftist. Grammar nazi. Guitars, guitars, gimme more.

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Reposted by JohnG
Parody Nigel Farage @parodypm.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Man who supported Brexit then fucked off to Monaco to avoid contributing a penny of his £15 billion fortune to public services makes the mistake of thinking anyone gives a shit what he thinks.
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
All of the below 👇plus the fact that the Trumpist nut jobs are trying to impose their detestable politics onto our, and our allies’, communities. The US should be kept as far as possible at arm’s length.
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James O'Malley @jamesomalley.co.uk · 17/09/2026
Burnham should visit an RLNI station and thank the volunteers. There's no way that the vast majority of people, even those who are more hawkish on immigration, are not going to side with the RLNI over a mob of balaclava-wearing thugs.
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I don’t want to jump to any conclusions about this but it’s a bit smelly, all things considered.
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Dan Kaszeta FRHistS @dankaszeta.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
What
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Chartered accountants and credit analysts; just what you need for an exciting and joyous evening. I speak as a former bond market maven.
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
There’s a LOT of pretty hysterical pearl clutching in the comments—almost like it’s happened and MSF have been outlawed. Folks, it hasn’t happened and the likelihood of it happening is close to zero. Not impossible but really not going to happen anytime soon.
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James O'Malley @jamesomalley.co.uk · 10/09/2026
The Guardian recently claimed that a new data centre campus in London would cause the same emissions as 27,000 flights. The story of how that incorrect number was landed on is even madder than you might think.
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Laurie Dunkin Wedd @ldw1.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Left: a terrorist. Right: protestors.
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HOPE not hate @hopenothate.org.uk · 08/09/2026
Read the whole story: hopenothate.org.uk/2026/09/07/e...
hopenothate.org.uk
EXCLUSIVE: Did Kent Police ignore Dover blockade 999 call? – HOPE not hate
HOPE not hate can exclusively reveal that Kent Police were tipped off about the Patriot Platform mobilisation – and seemingly did not act.
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Christ on a bike, let a collection of cranks and ignoramuses loose and whaddya get? A clusterfuck like this. Inside the D.O.J.’s Investigation of Fauci and Other Virus Scientists www.nytimes.com/2026/09/05/h...
nytimes.com
Inside the D.O.J.’s Investigation of Fauci and Other Virus Scientists
As Dr. Anthony Fauci has faced public scrutiny from congressional Republicans, the D.O.J. has pursued a quieter and more expansive effort against a wider circle of researchers.
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
“Patriot” Platform. Meet your friendly neighbourhood thugs and domestic abuse practitioners.
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Tomas Hirst @tomashirstecon.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Arrest and charge them, publish their names, inform their employers - these people do not get to hide behind their balaclavas.
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John Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 05/09/2026
1) This is an attack on infrastructure and they should throw the book at all of them. 2) This is an absolutely outrageous response from a Reform councillor and shows how deeply unserious they are.
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Phil Brickell MP @philbrickellmp.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
🗣️My contribution yesterday in the report stage of the Representation of the People Bill. It's on all of us as MPs to ensure we safeguard our democracy against those who would seek to subvert it. This is the chance to do exactly that 👇
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
This. Terrible people caught on film doing terrible things. And what comes over strongly is that Farage’s people are utter shits. But they are rat-clever. So the decent side of politics, even (some of) the Tories, needs to kick them while they’re down. Strike while the iron’s hot.
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
You would have thought that Ofcom would act in the face of such arrant nonsense being broadcast over the airwaves but nope. So over to the minister, Lisa Nandy. Oh dear she seems to be asleep. What a shame, no harm done though. Wait…
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
“War on motorists” folks. Bloody council is worse than the Russians.
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Phil Tinline @philtinline.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Free Speech news
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
The Romans called this ‘damnatio memoriae’ and it’s a damn good idea. Your legacy, Donald, is that you have no legacy.
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Absolutely bloody right. Hold his feet to the fire.
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
The leopards eat your face party eats your face. I haven’t read the piece, but that much seems clear. Don’t tempt the leopards.
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 31/08/2026
Why are prisons overcrowded? Because no government will stand up to the tabloids | Zoe Williams
theguardian.com
Why are prisons overcrowded? Because no government will stand up to the tabloids | Zoe Williams
Whatever happens to the early release scheme, Andy Burnham needs to consider the possibility that sentences are just too high, writes Zoe Williams
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Tom Roberts @tpgroberts.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Lam of course got strong headlines earlier this year when she argued that we needed mass deportations to make the UK more "culturally coherent."
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
The price of doing this is that everything goes into your ordinary inbox. Promotions, updates, notes from your mum etc all jumbled up together. Total pain in the bum.
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
So which side of the Ukraine/Russia war is MAGA America on? No need to answer that, it’s obvious.
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Gillian Brockell @gillianbrockell.com · 31/08/2026
NEW FROM ME: On a hellish third-country removal flight last month, passengers say ICE-contracted guards got drunk, teased and beat them, tied them up, refused to let them use the lavatory. One says he witnessed an ICE agent admit to illegal chain refoulement. prospect.org/2026/08/31/w...
prospect.org
‘What America Did to Me Is Wrong’: Inside One of the Largest Third-Country Removal Flights So Far - The American Prospect
On July 31, an estimated 71 detainees were expelled to various countries on a hellish flight to Africa. Many were then illegally returned to their home countries.
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
I will always love yew trees
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Peeps, check this site out! Choose between £100+ and 30-odd quid for an Inverness-London single after Sept. 1.
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Jim Waterson @jim.londoncentric.media · 28/08/2026
Oh well! Thanks Meta. Link to ad: www.facebook.com/share/v/19TT...
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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
It would be impossible to guess any of this from most media coverage.
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David Henig @davidheniguk.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Seems like an obvious step. Also, where Europe needs to be innovating to show how different objectives can be balanced, if only we can move away from the political competition over who can invent the best idyllic past
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
“Lord” Toby Young is a hypocritical, self publicising twerp. His free speech union, infested as it is with those well known paladins of free speech like Orban fanboy frank furedi and Claire Fox, really should be ignored.
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Can I just say that Peter Harris of EssexCounty Council is a sh*thead? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Is Wethersfield asylum centre just a 'holiday camp'?
The leader of Essex County Council makes the comment after touring MDP Wethersfield.
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Alan Jagolinzer @jagolinzer.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Former Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull at the 2026 Cambridge Disinformation Summit: “Murdoch has done more damage to democracy in the English-speaking countries than any other individual alive.” youtube.com/shorts/riRrb...
youtube.com
Malcolm Turnbull
YouTube video by Cambridge Disinformation Summit
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Do not underestimate the enemy. Philp went to grammar school, then Oxford, so he’s not dumb. He’s the son of a Ukipper so was brought up in a certain ambience, one that involves questionable political stances. That just means he should be able to make a strong case for his position. Take care.
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
monkdebunks.substack.com/p/the-media-...
monkdebunks.substack.com
The media frenzy that stripped Jason Arday of one of his life-defining achievements.
Plus the available evidence on the 30 marathons in 35 days and the footballing claims
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
I downloaded the podcast to listen to that discussion, but what did I get? A lady talking about a conversation with a cab driver, I think, which wasn’t the idea. I was somewhat annoyed, to be honest. Perhaps I’m not being fair.
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Emma Monk @monkemma.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
I clicked on the link and it took me here👇 But look at the web address dailyexpress.uk.com. The web address of the actual Daily Express is www.express.co.uk 2/
An Express article discusses the UK Prime Minister's plan to bring thousands of stranded migrants from Ceuta to Britain.

It highlights the incorrect web address showing this did not come from the Express itself
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Tony - Pod Guy - Groves @tonygroves.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
BBC invited Palestinian writer, researcher and analyst Muhammad Shehada on to talk about Israel’s decision to investigate the killing of Hind Rajab. Below is Muhammad’s account of what happened next. Full disclosure: I know him years and he’s a regular on the pod. So naturally I believe him 100%.
@muhammadshehad2
Disappointed the BBC cancelled my interview on
Israel's killing of Hind Rajab
2 producers eagerly reached out. They confirmed the time & one called to prepare a brief for the anchor
She asked me whether Israel's announcement is positive, I explained in detail it was a cover up.
The IDF is blaming the killing of Hind, her uncle, aunt & 4 cousins on the family itself for trying to flee by car & on the ambulance sent to rescue her for "failures in the co-ordination of the movement."
None of this is remotely true! The Red Cross immediately informed the IDF about 5-year-old Hind who was hiding in that motionless car, & they requested permission from Israel to allow an ambulance to rescue them.
After multiple long hours, Israel granted greenlight to the ambulance & provided them with a designated route on a GPS to drive on.soon as the ambulance reached Hind's car, the IDF ambushed & bombed them immediately with an American made anti-tank missile then opened fire on Hind's car. The car was hit with 355 bullets.
Israel then kept that area under lockdown for 12 days, & prevented anyone from approaching.
Hind's mom went daily to the Ahli baptist hospital hoping to find her daughter, until her lifeless body was brought in along with the charred remains of the ambulance men.
Israel then claimed after an "initial investigation" that its troops were NEVER in that area to begin with. They maintained that claim for 2 years despite ample recordings & satellite images debunking this lie.
The only reason Israel is now making this new announcement of a deeper investigation is to shield its soldiers & generals from the International Criminal Court by invoking the principle of "complementarity;" that the ICC cannot investigate a state that is already investigating itself in good faith.I told the BBC producer Israel today also quietly shut down the investigation into the triple tap killing of American, Canadian, British, Australian & Polish citizens in the WCK massacre. Israel blamed the massacre on the aid workers themselves for "deviating from the predesignated route" & for hiring an armed security guard "without informing the IDF" (both claims where debunked by WCK themselves, who had coordinates their every step with the IDF).
I told the producer the Israeli commander responsible for this massacre, Nochi Mendel, is a fanatical settler who had signed a petition calling for starving Gaza & that he was celebrated by settler leaders & supported by Israeli government leaders after what he did.
Mendel even received a box of chocolate from the settler council's leader & a letter of support for what he did.
Mendel was initially dismissed by the IDF & blamed for the massacre, but was quickly & quietly reinstated & promoted in the Defence Ministry as the head of the settlements and notionol infroctrunturo unitIt's abundantly clear Israel is NOT serious about prosecuting any of the atrocities committed in Gaza. Since the genocide began, only two soldiers were punished by the IDF; one for microwaving a living frog & another for cooking sausages in the army kitchen on Shabbat.
The producer asked me: What about the 150 cases the IDF said are pending review?
I answered: it's just a number designed to give the appearance of seriousness, but it's essentially meaningless.
If it took the IDF two whole years to admit the simplest of facts that the entire world had already known, which is that their troops were the ones who fired on Hind Rajab's car, how do you expect them to do with the remaining cases that are not as high profile?
Five minutes after the call, the producer wrote me that they decided to cancel the interview & will not even host anyone else to comment on the issue, & instead they'll play archival footage!
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Braverman etc should explain why golf course management — which incudes turf science, agronomy, business, etc — is so much more “mickey mouse” than say PPE, or Classics. PPE, whose holders infest the Tory party, certainly has a lot more to answer for than golf management.
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Couldn’t the ghouls with their hot takes leave the guy alone for a little bit? He wasn’t George Floyd, he was a separate person. Just let him be. And editors: stop. Just stop.
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Like every other critique he’s made of the administration he is going to do nothing whatsoever about it.
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
WSJ on the lady who runs the company that’s giving Ukraine the means of blowing up Russia’s oil industry (and much else besides) I didn’t know any of this. www.wsj.com/world/ukrain...
wsj.com
A Millennial Furniture Designer Is Behind the Drones Battering Russia
Iryna Terekh, 34, used to design benches. She is now the CEO of Ukraine’s largest private defense company.
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Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Not hard to see why Reform did not announce their plan to abolish Personal Independence Payment until *after* the by-election..
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Something something climate change is a hoax something something.
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
I’ve read this. It’s very good. Recommended (fwiw)
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JohnG @butleighjohn.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Reform UK reports Zack Polanski to police over guillotine T-shirt post www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... I don’t condone Polanski’s behaviour but I thought those clowns in Reform were all about free speech, just saying what ppl think etc. Perhaps I was wrong…
bbc.co.uk
Reform UK reporting Green leader Zack Polanski to police over Instagram post
The post included a photo of a man wearing a top featuring the name "Nigel" alongside an image of a guillotine.
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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 26/07/2026
Is welfare spending ''out of control''? It's estimated to be 11.1 per cent of GDP this financial year. That's just 1.1 per cent of GDP higher than in 2007-08, and total welfare spending has actually fallen by 0.9 per cent of GDP since 2012-13 ⤵️
chart showing Social security spending as a proportion of GDP, by category: GB
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