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Paul Thompson

@candrpaul.bsky.social
684 followers 441 following 84 posts

Born English, identify as Scots, lived in Wales since Uni. Dad, grandad, retired Vicar (Canon Doctor), votes Labour, plays trombone, occasional bad guitarist, news junky (esp. politics).

PostsRepliesMedia
Paul Thompson @candrpaul.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
theconversation.com/e1-the-illeg... Good piece which lays out the present situation in Israel/ Palestine.
theconversation.com
E1: the illegal settlement at the heart of the UK’s West Bank trade ban
The international community has long seen the construction of E1 as a red line.
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Paul Thompson @candrpaul.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... This! 👇 👇 👇 👇
theguardian.com
Like Burnham, I was an altar boy. His Catholic upbringing is shaping the way he governs |Julian Coman
With a prime minister raised in a tradition that emphasises our mutual dependency, we may finally have a leader who can address the anomie gripping our country, says Guardian associate editor Julian C...
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Chris Bertram @crookedfootball.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Ian Wright saying we shouldn’t forget the way the Iranian team and the Somali referee were treated. Correct.
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Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
God I feel for him. It’s me at the disco when I was 17.
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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Tomorrow’s Independent front page:
The
INDEPENDENT
urop
The Way Bac
Their promises of more jobs, more trade, more power for Britain have proved a con, Michael Heseltine writes as the Brexit vote 10th anniversary approaches. Never have so few done so much damage to so many with so little ability to execute what they lied about. Their scandalously false prospectus has turned to dust and ashes. Naturally, they blame everyone but themselves.
They are the guilty men and should...
...hang their heads in shame
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Paul Thompson @candrpaul.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Sir Tony can't help himself can he. He is yesterday's man and hardly relevant today.
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LaindonFeminist @viviane49.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
The timing of Streeting and Burnham’s betrayal of their Party looks ridiculous. As the Gov is being praised for its delivery on the NHS, on immigration controls, on summer packages for kids it seems very poor judgement for the MPs and Mayors looking to rock the Labour boat.
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Politicians endlessly blame immigration for their own failures. So, when immigration is reduced, their ‘success’ isn’t recognised. No one’s life has particularly improved. Because no one’s life was ever going to improve by reducing immigration. Because our problems were never caused by immigration.
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
If journalists were doing their job properly, it would simply not be possible for the public to be labouring under this degree of ignorance when it comes to immigration. inews.co.uk/opinion/immi...
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
"This is not a problem for Jewish people to have to respond to. This is a problem for all of us to fix". This is the full text of the letter, of which I am among the signatories: the broad civic coalition of support for this message of solidarity was convened by the Together coalition.
The spectre of Jewish people being stabbed at random in the street, killed defending their synagogues and Jewish infrastructure being firebombed feel like a nightmare from another time. A throwback to grainy images of somewhere else, not delivered in technicolour from the streets of London in 2026. 

The terror attack in Golders Green last week would have been bad enough if it were an isolated incident - but it wasn’t. It was the latest salvo in an accelerating campaign of hatred against Jewish people designed to hurt, kill and spread fear across a whole community. To ‘other’ Jewish people and tell them they don’t belong here. 

This is not a problem for Jewish people to have to respond to. This is a problem for all of us to fix.

As leaders of British organisations - with different views on faith, politics, foreign policy and pretty much everything else - we come together today to send a message to our Jewish brothers and sisters. This country belongs to you as much as any of us. You are as British as all of us who call this country home. And we will do everything we can to protect you and your community from the extremists who threaten you.

That will take resolute action from the government of course - to tackle the extremists, the states who promote terror and the vile online environment that drives so much of this -  but if it’s to be effective, we all need to play a part. 

Along with the vast majority of British people we share a vision of our country where people of different faiths, races and beliefs come together to build communities and a country that we can all be proud of. 

That must be one where Jewish people feel safe. We will be allies and partners in that cause.
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
I like this message.
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Duncan Jones @manmademoon.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
I do think we should start calling it “Brexit Farage’s Reform party.”
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Reform Party UK Exposed @reformexposed.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Reform do not have answers to UK's problems - the politics of Nigel Farage are an insult
mirror.co.uk
'Reform don't have answers to UK's problems - Farage's politics are insulting'
'The power is yours. Use it for the street you live on, the school your children attend, the care your parents deserve and the town you believe can be better'
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Paul Thompson @candrpaul.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
We're British. That wouldn't be polite. 😏
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Reform Party UK Exposed @reformexposed.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Advice.
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Paul Thompson @candrpaul.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... This! 👇👇👇
theguardian.com
It’s no surprise Trump has met his match in Pope Leo – the US president represents the polar opposite of Christianity | Jonathan Freedland
Name the deadliest of sins – cruelty, deceit, avarice – and Trump will both exhibit them and celebrate them, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland
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European Movement UK @europeanmovement.co.uk · 23/04/2026
thenewworld.co.uk
Starmer has to step up and tell the truth about the Brexit disaster
If he did he’d have public opinion firmly on his side. Nowadays, even a majority of Daily Mail readers can see that leaving the EU was a catastrophe
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Paul Thompson @candrpaul.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... The poor and middle pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the very rich pay lawyers – and the ultra-rich pay politicians.
theguardian.com
A catastrophic climate event is upon us. Here is why you’ve heard so little about it | George Monbiot
Scientists say a crucial Atlantic system is set to collapse. But the billionaire death cult that steers humanity’s destiny just doesn’t do existential crises, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
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Patrick - Here for the craic❗️🤷🏼‍♂️😉 @paddyopatrick.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
600 migrants crossed Channel in a single day BBC screams Yet not a word on the £600,000 Reforms Richard Tice avoided paying or nearly £100,000 he underpaid from a company that donates money to Reform Which is corrupt as hell and as an MP far more newsworthy than migrants but its Reform 🤷🏼‍♂️😡
bbc.co.uk
More than 600 migrants cross English Channel in single day
On Saturday, 602 people arrived on nine boats, marking the second busiest day so far this year.
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Zeteo @zeteo.com · 13/04/2026
Did Trump just pick a fight with the Pope? 🤔 Here are 9 times Trump has ridiculously insulted Christians, denigrating the people who put him in the White House. Read more: zeteo.com/p/trump-insu...
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Patrick - Here for the craic❗️🤷🏼‍♂️😉 @paddyopatrick.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
You know when you have really gone way toooo far when the Pope personally criticises you not just once..
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Paul Thompson @candrpaul.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
They could start by making it illegal for gambling companies to advertise.
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Imran Bristol @imranicus.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
David Dimbleby labels King Charles’ US visit ‘an embarrassment’ - urging ministers to call it off BBC presenter says he feels sorry for monarch having state dinner with leader who ‘goes out of his way’ to insult Britain, UK troops and Nato www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
independent.co.uk
David Dimbleby labels the King’s US visit ‘an embarrassment’
BBC presenter says he feels sorry for monarch having state dinner with leader who ‘goes out of his way’ to insult Britain, UK troops and Nato
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Wanderscotwild @wanderscotwild.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
If you're confused about the UK's position on Iran, then PLEASE read Warren's explainer (based on facts) Don't let anonymous accounts tell you porkies . . .
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Paul Thompson @candrpaul.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
"Trump says US considering 'winding down' war in Iran but other nations must guard Hormuz" (BBC News) So now he has created this mess he expects others to clean it up for him 🙄
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Paul Thompson @candrpaul.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
@georgemonbiot.bsky.social as usual, completely on the button. Thank you!
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Paul Thompson @candrpaul.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
theconversation.com/would-more-n...
theconversation.com
Would more North Sea drilling lower UK energy bills? Our analysis says no
Maximising North Sea production would reduce bills by just £16 to £82 per year, say researchers.
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Again, Farage, Badenoch and their fellow travellers on X are wildly out of touch with the public on Iran. Even the majority of Reform supporters oppose their position.
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Sonia L @sonial77.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
I have written up some context and analysis of the latest Home Office nonsense open.substack.com/pub/thoughts...
open.substack.com
The reality behind the Home Office's latest announcement on asylum work and study visas
The Home Office has made another announcement ahead of tomorrow’s statement of changes.
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Bridget Phillipson MP @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
For too long too many children haven’t had the support they need to succeed. That must change. Labour will transform our schools system so every child can achieve and thrive. www.theguardian.com/education/20...
theguardian.com
Ministers to set out plans to halve attainment gap in England’s schools
White paper proposes changing criteria under which schools get funding to support the most disadvantaged students
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 22/02/2026
‘She did kill. There’s no grey area there’: Labour MP Naz Shah on the day she and her mother were arrested for murder
theguardian.com
‘She did kill. There’s no grey area there’: Labour MP Naz Shah on the day she and her mother were arrested for murder
The politician was 18 when she and her mum were hauled off to a police station for the killing of the man she’d considered an uncle. What happened next would shape her future. She talks Labour’s woes, making mistakes, and why it’s finally time to share her own traumatic story
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Very good from @verybrexitproblems.bsky.social
Johnson partied as
pensioners died
alone. Why didn't
Johnson get this
pressure to resign.
Farage appointed a
Russian Agent as the
leader of Reform UK
in Wales. Why doesn't
Farage get this
pressure to resign
The answer is the
Tory Press.
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Don Lemon @donlemonofficial.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
My first remarks since being arrested last night.
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Don Lemon @donlemonofficial.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
I won’t stop reporting the truth. The First Amendment is the bedrock of our democracy, and I’ll continue to fight to protect it 🤝🏾🇺🇸
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LaindonFeminist @viviane49.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
Still our PM. And I am grateful every day for that.
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Paul Thompson @candrpaul.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
open.substack.com/pub/markclav... Worth a read.
open.substack.com
Reappraising the Old High Churchmen
Can they offer wisdom for our age of populism and polarisation?
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Paul Thompson @candrpaul.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
What is the difference between what Russia is doing in Ukraine and this American invasion of Venezuela, which they now intend to govern. This action is terrorism against the people and government of s sovereign nation. It's illegal under international law and should be condemned.
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Paul Thompson @candrpaul.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
Is Madura and his wife to be tried according to international law, because surely Venezuela is outside of American jurisdiction. Trump says they will face American justice. Surely they should be facing international justice.
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Elon Musk 🇺🇸 Parody @elonmusk-parody.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
No more wars, said Trump. You're a terrorist. The entire Senate should grow a spine and call for impeachment.
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Paul Thompson @candrpaul.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
Whatever you think of Maduro, this breach of international law sets a dangerous precedent for the USA. 'The USA will use whatever means it has to get what they want' (BBC correspondent).
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Paul Thompson @candrpaul.bsky.social · 28/12/2025
You should circulate this...absolutely hilarious!
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pineapplepictures.bsky.social @pineapplepictures.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
Brits of a certain age remember a different Trumpton... @stephencolbert.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=REPx...
youtube.com
Trumpton | Season Marathon Ep.1-4 | Full Episodes
YouTube video by ITV Retro
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jedi-shaman.bsky.social @jedi-shaman.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
"Make Trumpton great again."
Trumpton
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Paul Thompson @candrpaul.bsky.social · 28/12/2025
Excellent response from Canada
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Cheryl in Nova Scotia 🇨🇦🍁🍁 @minibubbly.bsky.social · 28/12/2025
From CBC News #NovaScotia #Canada President Zelenskyy meets with Prime Minister Carney in Halifax
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mimij9.bsky.social @mimij9.bsky.social · 28/12/2025
www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte... Oh, this teacher must be lying too. 🤷‍♀️
theguardian.com
‘Of course he abused pupils’: ex-Dulwich teacher speaks out about Farage racism claims
Exclusive: Chloë Deakin tells how she wrote to Dulwich college master to argue against Farage’s nomination as prefect
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LaindonFeminist @viviane49.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
Imagine the PM hiding because he had to answer a question about possible foreign influence/money being channeled illegally into his property. You can’t. Because it’s not what a PM or a potential PM would ever do. Whichever Party. That’s why Farage will never be PM.
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Sarah Good @sassy0210.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
Caturday Friends #7 @maxima-infinity.bsky.social @thisdudeabides.bsky.social @hopething.bsky.social @baconskingirl.bsky.social @kelofchgo.bsky.social @allie-froglegs.bsky.social @docpsych.bsky.social @randombroad.bsky.social @freebo.bsky.social @gentlem.bsky.social @keithmuise.bsky.social
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CatDaMaMa @catdamama.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
F-wit bombed parts of Nigeria claiming the strikes were meant to protect Christians from ISIS. But local residents in the affected villages say there’s no history of ISIS activity there & report that Christians & Muslims have lived peacefully together. The airstrikes instead caused fear among them.
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