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cynic65.bsky.social

@cynic65.bsky.social
181 followers 320 following 77 posts

Professional cynic & europhile into good food & even better wine, Socialism, Humanism, MMT & Liverpool FC. Alter ego of Mike Cawood

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cynic65.bsky.social @cynic65.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Well her glorious leader spectacularly fails the test. Is she brave enough to tell him?
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 02/10/2026
Oli Dugmore brilliantly outlines the struggles young people face today. Brexit robbed them of countless opportunities. Restoring our EU membership is the easiest way to help our young people.
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cynic65.bsky.social @cynic65.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
My guess is he uses the Summit to try and piggy back on the deal offered to Canada, without FOM of course because he can't sell that, etc.
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David Henig @davidheniguk.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Since I'm not going to Liverpool this year to discuss, a short state of play on UK EU relations and the Labour Party. The very short version - they're terrified. And trying to find ways to avoid the question none of which will work.
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AdyBee 🐝 @adybee.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
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Niall Ó Conghaile @nialloconghaile.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
"We cannot afford to be outflanked by Canada on Europe" - Alastair Campbell Canada does not need Britain to have a relationship on Europe. Canada and Europe set our own path. Perhaps try being positive about Europe? 1
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6JQ6LT79X8etFIXzFQ5tYJ
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Prospect Magazine @prospectmagazine.co.uk · 23/09/2026
If you think of GB News as the media wing of Nigel Farage’s political project, the total subsidy funnelled his way by its owners and his crypto donors (just four men) tops £200m, writes Alan Rusbridger
prospectmagazine.co.uk
Farage and the £130m even his detractors have missed
GB news has provided relentless positive PR for Nigel Farage while racking up tens of millions in financial losses. And now there is a new channel in ...
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Emma Yeomans @yeomans.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Worrying scenes in the Channel today, for all interested in asylum policy and maritime tactics. A small boat from Normandy spent more than 30 hours at sea. Those on board now on their 2nd rescue vessel as Border Force forced to play cat and mouse with far-right activists who have their own boat.
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Jessica Elgot @jessicaelgot.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Started watching Sky’s War Game last night where Michael Gove is the PM during the Russian attack and I’m afraid it is just very difficult to watch it without thinking of this, one of the great cartoons ever published
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cynic65.bsky.social @cynic65.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Two words: Robbie Gibb
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cynic65.bsky.social @cynic65.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Carney was here in 2016 and knows what a good deal being in the SM is. If only we had leadership like this.....
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Hassinator @hassinator.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
a great letter in the times today. perhaps worth sharing in these troubled times. #RNLI #heroes
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MeidasTouch @meidastouch.com · 12/09/2026
Not so sure Ireland is the biggest fan of Donald Trump (REUTERS/Natalia Campos)
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Daniel Moser @dmoser.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Pollution levels in London after 10 years of advancing sustainable transport.
Map showing Lower Pollution levels in London after 10 years of advancing sustainable transport.
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cynic65.bsky.social @cynic65.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Brexit was a coup not a crime
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Niall Ó Conghaile @nialloconghaile.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
This is the best summary of where Labour is at with Europe that you're going to read. It's from @chrisgrey.bsky.social . It's also, for those who want a pro-European UK, utterly emptying. Let's look at the four paragraphs A 🧵 chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2026/08/brex...
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
That sobbing you can hear outside is Lord Hannan of CANZUK beating his tiny little fists against an invisible Brexit unicorn
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cynic65.bsky.social @cynic65.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Note not the UK, er, the fellow Commonwealth member. I wonder why....
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
A year ago I wrote one of my most popular posts: "the financial crisis theory of everything". It looks at how the 2008 crash led to Trump, the rise of the radical right, Brexit, the war in Ukraine etc... I've taken off the paywall so it's now free to read. samf.substack.com/p/the-financ...
samf.substack.com
The financial crisis theory of everything
Last month there was a fascinating poll from More in Common asking people to pick the main reason Britain is “on the wrong track”.
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UK Parliament @ukparliament.parliament.uk · 23/08/2026
Tonight the Palace of Westminster is illuminated in the colours of the Ukrainian flag to mark Ukraine’s Independence Day and show Parliament’s support for the people of Ukraine.
Houses of Parliament illuminated in blue and yellow at night, reflected on the River Thames
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👻 Dead Chachra 💀 @debcha.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
This explainer out of Australia is genuinely useful background and analysis of what happened with the Canada-US trade deal last night. Note that it is extremely and delightfully sweary. Also there’s an appended glossary of Australian slang. ifloz.substack.com/p/king-carne...
ifloz.substack.com
KING CARNEY ACTIVATES KONG MODE WITH ZERO FUCKS
Carney Reads the Clock Like a Pro Wrestler
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Count Binface @countbinface.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
A brief note for Nadhim Zahawi.
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cynic65.bsky.social @cynic65.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Deep sigh. Another year drifts by...
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Niall Ó Conghaile @nialloconghaile.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
@aphclarkson.bsky.social hits it out of the park with this thread. Brilliant. There is a cultural Europhobia in UK society which accepted and even supported. How much policy is based on "getting one over the French/Germans" or "putting the Spanish/Irish in their place". 1
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Niall Ó Conghaile @nialloconghaile.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Good piece. Andy Burnham seems to like politics and he's good at it @rafaelbehr.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Suddenly the British right feels a political chill. It’s getting cold in Andy Burnham’s shadow | Rafael Behr
The Tories and Reform had it easy when Keir Starmer was self-destructing – but a new PM with ideas exposes how vacant the opposition has become, says Guardian columnist Rafael Behr
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cynic65.bsky.social @cynic65.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Problem was UK couldn't be bothered to apply any rules such as exist in Belgium for instance. Had Cameron done that instead of his pointless "negotiations" he could have seen off a referendum. Basically, for a nation with some of the world's best educational facilities, us Brits are remarkably dim.
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cynic65.bsky.social @cynic65.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Euro should be an easy sell: 1. With pound Euro becomes world's largest/strongest currency 2. No transaction costs when trading with Europe 3. No need to buy Euros for holidays 4. Can create UK branded Euro notes 5. Once converted would anyone care especially with electronic transactions
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Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Starmer and Reeves' legacy is stabilisation without a strategy. My unsolicited advice to Andy Burnham and the new Chancellor. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Burnham must learn from Starmer’s mistakes: Labour was elected to transform the economy, not just stabilise it | Jonathan Portes
Devolution, tax, the EU and immigration: these are all opportunities for growth if Burnham abandons the excessive caution of the past few years, says economist Jonathan Portes
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cynic65.bsky.social @cynic65.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Leave - we can trade on same terms whilst also benefitting from trade deals with non-Eu countries on our terms; Remain - the economy would collapse the day after a Leave win. The biggest economic influence on the result was probably Austerity which drove many undecideds into the Leave camp.
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cynic65.bsky.social @cynic65.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
In a GE parties feel obligated to publish a costed economics plan as part of their manifesto. You might query the quality and significance of these documents but the lack of such plans from both Leave and Remain was significant as it allowed them both to make palpably absurd claims.
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cynic65.bsky.social @cynic65.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Deep sigh. For a long time the UK has misinterpreted it's undoubted global soft power as meaning it still has hard power globally and being merely a large European state is somehow beneath its dignity. Our self-delusion is visible from Alpha Centauri.
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Niall Ó Conghaile @nialloconghaile.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Overall, what we're getting from Roland, and which is sadly missing from too many UK-based commentators, is the IQ to be intellectually flexible about what can be done, and the EQ to understand what Europe is feeling on matters and how that is central Do read 12 rolandmcs.substack.com/p/on-rejoin
rolandmcs.substack.com
On Rejoin
How should the UK approach rejoining the EU?
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cynic65.bsky.social @cynic65.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
This is akin to charging prisoners board and lodging if their sentence is quashed.
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cynic65.bsky.social @cynic65.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
It's probably because Scotland, Wales and Northern ireland are the last remnants of Empire. Even the North of England is regarded with condescension. The true England is represented by the "Home Counties" of course.
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
This is the single greatest opportunity for constitutional reform in our lifetime. One of ours is about to get into Downing Street. That never happens. iandunt.substack.com/p/finally-so...
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Led By Donkeys @ledbydonkeys.org · 23/06/2026
Exactly 10 years since the Brexit vote, the verdict is in.
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cynic65.bsky.social @cynic65.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
The UK will not be fit to rejoin until it admits it needs to be in the EU and is fundamentally a European nation & no longer a world power.
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cynic65.bsky.social @cynic65.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Please don't apologise. We had it coming. When the ESCS was set up in 1955 the founding nations wanted the UK to lead it. The UK turned up its nose as being far too important and within a year discovered their true place in world affairs after the Suez debacle. Been downhill ever since...
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
No joy to be found today. No satisfaction. Just frustration and a profound sense of squandered opportunity iandunt.substack.com/p/the-traged...
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John Springford @johnspringford.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Gove claims Brexit has improved public services, has given British politicians the power to govern (if badly, he says), acknowledges it has been costly but the uptick is coming 🤷 new-app.spectator.co.uk/article/6703...
new-app.spectator.co.uk
The Brexit decade: was it worth it?
It may not feel or sound like it but Keir Starmer is a born-again Brexiteer. His achievements in office may be nugatory, his search for a legacy tragicomic, but there are countless actions this govern...
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Niall Ó Conghaile @nialloconghaile.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
@chrisgrey.bsky.social is excoriating this week. Well worth your time, albeit perhaps with a stiff drink. 🫡
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
“It’s a tragic tale- a once-confident nation making such a fearful, self-harming decision. Our economy…politics… daily lives in 2026 – all of it bears the imprint of that calamitous error” Brexit 10yrs on. Nothing to celebrate. Except the likelihood we’ll rejoin. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Britain is a swamp of lies and disinformation – and we got here on the Brexit bus | Jonathan Freedland
Ten years after the vote, our economy is battered – and our national conversation darkens by the day. Still, there is reason for hope, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland
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cynic65.bsky.social @cynic65.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Which is the best football team in england?
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
A Reform voter tells me: "[Farage] cares about working people. He will make this country great again.” Such devotion, such faith in one so unworthy. It does my head in.” You and so many of us @yasminalibhaibrown.bsky.social Disgusted by the man and the abject failure to hold him to account iPaper
iPaper

My View
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown

Extract 

Farage's finances are deeply revealing
Reform UK leader has ushered in a new era of politics
In times to come, British politicians, historians and voters will try to figure out how, in the first quarter of the 21st century, Nigel Farage became one of the most
›powerful operators on these isles.
How did he lure and captivate so many? Why did they not question his fibs and postures?
This chap was born into a wealthy family, attended a private school, was a city trader, wears fine suits,
belongs to the most excuisive of London clubs, and socialises with millionaires and powerful elites.
But Martha, 65, a neighbour who worked for years as a shop assistant, and is a former Tory but now Reform voter, tells me: "He cares about working people. He will make this country great again." Such devotion, such faith in one so unworthy, It does my head in.
Farage gives off the appearance of a spiv - defined in most dictionaries as a flashy, shady dealer. He dresses ostentatiously and plays the political system. His well-practised grins and glasses of ale, his choreographed moments of patriotic fervour and emotionally-charged nationalism, and various
other manipulations have created an avatar. The real Mr Farage is a grubby, shameless distorter of truths, a dissembler who ducks accountability.
As the former Green leader, Caroline Lucas recently wrote about his part in getting the Brexit vote through: "There is a particular kind of audacity required to spend decades dismantling something then point to the rubble and declare it someone else's fault. Nigel Farage has that audacity in spades. He has built an entire political career on it."
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Led By Donkeys @ledbydonkeys.org · 17/05/2026
Immigration make Britain brilliant
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Phillips OBrien @phillipspobrien.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Hi everyone, just sent out my free weekend update (a little early). This was a week of contrasts. While Russia showed it is happy to attack civilians, and the US showed how deep corruption has pervaded the system, Ukraine fought atrocities with strategic strikes… open.substack.com/pub/phillips...
open.substack.com
Weekend Update #185: The Week Of Contrasts
Ukraine Shows Not Only How It Is Superior To Putin's Russia But Also Trump's USA
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cynic65.bsky.social @cynic65.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
He was offered Security by the Home Office at the time so didn't need the money.
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Brexit ‘no mates’ Britain still sitting in a sulk outside the room because yet another prime minister doesn’t have the courage to say how geopolitically insane and economically illiterate this is. Or admit the lies they’ve all told about immigration and freedom of movement. What failure.
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cynic65.bsky.social @cynic65.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Just finished Vassal State about the level of penetration & control the US state and business exerts over the UK. In the 1950s the French chose independence & were mocked in this country. With Trump in the White House we're not laughing now. The EU are wise to regard the UK as untrustworthy allies.
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cynic65.bsky.social @cynic65.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
Sikorski is a seriously impressive politician who stands head & shoulders over any active UK politician but he underestimates the lack of basic knowledge of how the world works in the UK electorate & how this is linked to incipient feudalism. In retrospect, the 1975 referendum result was a miracle!
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