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Lynn Middleton

@lynnm.bsky.social
950 followers 1.2K following 199 posts

European. Languages no tories school governor pastoral work and children 🇪🇺🇪🇺🇪🇺🇪🇺 #FBPE

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Reposted by Lynn Middleton
European Movement West London #FBPE #FBPR #RejoinEU @em-westlondon.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
There will be a Westminster Hall debate this Wednesday 2nd September on the impact of the 2016 EU membership referendum on the UK Please share commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-bri...
commonslibrary.parliament.uk
Debate on impact of the 2016 EU membership referendum on the UK
There will be a Westminster Hall debate on 2 September 2026 on the impact of the 2016 EU membership referendum on the UK. Pete Wishart MP (SNP) will lead the debate.
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Reposted by Lynn Middleton
Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Iceland is not in the EU, but it is a member of the Schengen area. It’s also a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and is part of the Single Market, meaning it enjoys freedom of movement with the EU. Good to know that doesn’t impact their independence. Maybe we should try it, Nige.
Nigel Farage 
@Nigel_Farage
Congratulations to Iceland on voting to keep their independence.
09:40 • 30/08/2026 •
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Reposted by Lynn Middleton
Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
None of these tax dodging, foreign-based crypto billionaires and moneymen give a single shit about our country or democracy. They’re buying Farage power so he’ll remove our rights and protections to maximise their profits. It really is that simple and that corrupt. www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...
mirror.co.uk
Reform UK handed another £3million from crypto billionaire as donations soar
Figures from the Electoral Commission show Nigel Farage's party is raising millions more than their political rivals through private donations, including £3million from Christopher Harborne
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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
61% of all political donations in the last quarter came from just 14 people Reform took in £9.3m from a handful of super rich donors British democracy is being bought. We urgently need action to take the money out of our politics
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Gary Gilligan @garygilligan.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Zia Yusuf styles himself as "Shadow Home Secretary". Farage makes an "emergency address to the nation", as if everyone cares. Add Tice and Jenrick, and the sheer vanity, pomposity and delusion amongst Reform's leaders is off the scale.
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Just remember. Farage isn’t really winning. He’s having power bought for him by foreign-based crypto billionaires and fossil fuel magnates. They want a corrupt PM who’ll sell off our NHS, bin NetZero and scrap our rights and protections to make more profit for them. Good day for moneymen and morons.
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
Strongly disagree with Nelson on his claim that Farage offers “*genuine* hope to people who feel betrayed by the established parties” As with Brexit, it’s hope built on lies and prejudice, funded by corrupt power-brokers who offer nothing but cost and loss to ordinary people. The ultimate betrayal.
Extract:

How did Nigel Farage manage to rustle up £215,000 to invest in Kwasi Kwarteng’s crypto company?
….

 Nine years ago, aged 53, he declared himself “skint” because “there’s no money in politics”.

Only two years ago he was telling friends that he could not afford to run in the coming election. Then suddenly, his fortunes seemed to change — and change utterly. How? The likely explanation emerged this week: he was given £5 million by Christopher Harborne, a Thailandbased crypto billionaire and Reform UK donor. The money, Farage says, was a personal gift — so, not disclosable. It was to pay for bodyguards, he said, making him “safe and secure for the rest of my life”. But such protection costs are, at most, £300,000 a year. Farage was given a lifetime of financial security, clearing the way for his return to the political arena. Albeit with a lifelong feeling of debt to Harborne, who sits in a web of interlocking global financial interests.
….

Harborne says he wants nothing in return for his donations. Perhaps.

But it just so happens that Farage proposes a new “Big Bang” that could add tens of billions to crypto companies’ market value. A Reform government would order HM Treasury to stop work on its own digital currency apparatus, which could threaten the current crypto elite. The Bank of England would instead be told to hold Bitcoin, elevating it from a cowboy currency to a UK-approved official asset class.

Tax on crypto trades — and only crypto trades — would be cut from 24 to 10 per cent.

All this would greatly help Tether, a crypto giant in which Harborne holds a 12 per cent stake. Farage says the company is worth $500 billion. If he’s right, then Harborne could afford to give away £5 million a day, each day, for the next two years and barely eat into 1 per cent of his fortune. By the standards of UK politics, Harborne’s donations are enormous: no living man has ever given as much to any party.
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
The corruption is staggering. In plain sight. Barely mentioned by mainstream media. As Reform dominates the polls and the airwaves, no one really seems capable or willing to scrutinise this deeply murky and frenziedly greedy operation. No one holds Farage to account as he deceives voters again.
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Lynn Middleton @lynnm.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
I've just signed a petition calling on the UK government to give British businesses a better deal with Europe. Add your name: www.europeanmovement.co.uk/single-marke...
europeanmovement.co.uk
British businesses need a better deal with Europe
Sign our petition to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and demand a better deal for British businesses trading with Europe
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Reposted by Lynn Middleton
Gary Gilligan @garygilligan.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
My latest political digest. I would appreciate reposts please. centralbylines.co.uk/politics/a-l...
centralbylines.co.uk
A long time in politics: week 7 – is the Reform tide ebbing?
Labour regroups after Mandelson fallout, Reform stumbles through candidate rows and council chaos, and a new party enters the fray
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Reposted by Lynn Middleton
Gary Gilligan @garygilligan.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
My regular political round-up for Central Bylines. Reposts would be much appreciated! centralbylines.co.uk/politics/a-l...
centralbylines.co.uk
A long time in politics: week 5 – Scandal in the Wind, and A New Kid in Town
A regular digest and commentary on key UK political events in the recent week, this week saw scandals and potential electoral law breaking
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The Empty City @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Instead of conferring titles, gongs and baubles and then demanding those titles, gongs and baubles be removed… …perhaps as a modern, mature polity we should have far fewer titles, gongs and baubles in the first place.
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
Tax breaks for foreign millionaires but mass deportations for the rest. Huge austerity and NHS cuts, replacing NHS with insurance model, scrapping NetZero, workers’ rights and online safety act. And a trade war with the EU. Reform: Corrupt. Ruinous. Racist. Moronic. www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...
mirror.co.uk
10 Reform policies that would clobber Brits
Whether it's mass deportations, slashing hundreds of billions of spending, or tax cuts for the super-rich, Reform UK and Nigel Farage have set out their pitch to voters
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Farrukh @implausibleblog.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
Five years after a pandemic begins: ❌No clean air in schools ❌ No vaccines for flu and covid available to all ❌ No masks when things get worse Result = flu everywhere, teachers and pupils sick 🆘No lessons learnt
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Gary Gilligan @garygilligan.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
Worth sharing... www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...
mirror.co.uk
Tories should hang their heads in shame after Benefits Street lies
Former PM Gordon Brown lambasts the Conservatives for peddling cruel myths about welfare scroungers - and shines a light on their record pushing children into poverty
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
So, #r4today reports on the Covid inquiry and the “too little, too late” Tory govt, then says they’ll be talking to *Lord* Gove about it. Ugh. That just sums up so much that’s so very wrong with our politics and media. Rewarding, rather than punishing, those responsible for failing us all.
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Gary Gilligan @garygilligan.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
Reposts appreciated please. We need to get the message out about the reality of Reform...
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Farage says leaving the ECHR is the “unfinished business" of Brexit and that the UK is "not sovereign” while we are in it. But Farage lies. And Brexit is a shitshow. So, “finishing” it should fill us all with dread. Sovereignty without rights is dictatorship. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...
independent.co.uk
Leaving the ECHR won’t stop the boats, 300 organisations warn in rallying cry
Prime minister Keir Starmer urged to make positive case for ECHR after Kemi Badenoch pledged a Tory government would leave the treaty
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
Farage “will argue that the heroic liberation dream was traduced by cowardice in the implementation but even that puts him in complicity with disappointment. Simpler to change the subject” So, don’t let him. His lies got us into this mess. Only truth gets us out. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Nothing else has worked – so Starmer and Reeves are finally telling the truth about Brexit | Rafael Behr
It is the right way to go, but taking the long way round to such an obvious point has cost Labour precious time and credibility, says Guardian columnist Rafael Behr
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
Labour have presided over a "doom loop of higher taxes, weaker borders and month after month of chaos" says Kemi Badenoch who was part of a government that raised taxes and immigration levels by record amounts, whilst changing leader no fewer than four times
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 27/09/2025
Nathan Gill is no fringe politician. He was the leader of the Reform Party and before that UKIP in Wales. A Brexit Party MEP. A friend and ally of Nigel Farage, who in 2016 called him: "terrific," and "as honest as the day is long." This is a MASSIVE story www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Reform UK's ex-Wales leader Nathan Gill admits pro-Russia bribery
Nathan Gill admits eight charges of bribery while being a Member of the European Parliament.
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 28/09/2025
So, Sunday Times runs with latest poll showing Farage winning if there was an election now. But makes NO mention of Reform’s collusion with Russia. And this is how democracy gets beaten to death in the dark. Voters are not being told the truth. Reform is given the stage but is NEVER held to account.
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Alice Roberts @profaliceroberts.bsky.social · 14/09/2025
Two very important graphs. Net migration reached record levels in 2023 - and has since halved. The vast majority of arrivals comprises students and workers. Arrivals in small boats and asylum seekers - less than 5%. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
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Simon Pease @simonpease.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
Elon Musk is a wealthy foreign individual attemting to interfere directly in our political process and to stimulate violence on our streets. For our government to ignore this would send the wrong signal to the world. They must do something now.
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Susie Dent @susiedentwords.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
An ‘ultracrepidarian’ (19th century) is one who loves to give their opinion, at length, on matters they know nothing about.
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Pam Jarvis @drpam.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
Yes. I’ve been writing about this for several years in @yorkshirebylines.co.uk What on earth do schools need superannuated business managers for? One of the biggest Tory cons ever. Stark naked emperors.
theguardian.com
Questionable value of school executive roles | Letters
Letters: Readers raise concerns that multi-academy trusts in England are diverting funds from classrooms to corporate managers
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Sue Wilson MBE @suewilson91.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
The "Brexiteer sport of speed wishful thinking" has been given an "unexpected boost". www.theneweuropean.co.uk/steve-angles...
theneweuropean.co.uk
No, Trump’s tariffs don’t prove a Brexit win
The GDP hit from being out of the EU is far worse than the one we’re facing from the White House
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David Henig @davidheniguk.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
So, final reminder. These are wholly unjustified and damaging US tariffs which won't achieve their stated aims and will cause huge disruptions. Best way to deal with them is for countries to deepen trade ties with others. And deal with the US as best they can. /end ecipe.org/blog/alterna...
ecipe.org
Finding an Alternative to Populist Trade Policies
Even before the chaos of Trump’s second term, bringing back factory jobs and talking about tariffs were the predominant trade policy discussions in many countries. While these clearly have some sign
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
Ugh. Tax breaks for US big tech, lowering our own standards and selling out our farmers in a desperate bid to maybe, temporarily avoid the orange despot’s tariffs…until he changes his mind and gets cross about something else… What a godawful brexity mess. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
theguardian.com
Starmer offers big US tech firms tax cuts in return for lower Trump tariffs
Exclusive: UK willing to placate Trump with lower digital services tax rate also encompassing non-US companies
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Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR) @hcrichardson.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
April 1, 2025
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
April 1, 2025
Today Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) made history.
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 30/03/2025
Our govt and the Tories say they want a deal with Trump to avoid tariffs (and to try to assert some desperate Brexit ‘benefit’) Not sure it’s ever been quite so screamingly obvious that the deal we need is with the EU and not this vengefully deranged and dangerous MAGA outfit.
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 22/03/2025
“While drug shortages have become a problem globally in recent years, the UK is facing “a worsening situation” compared with the rest of Europe because of Brexit” Excellent work, Brexiters. Absolutely nailing our sovereign right to be self-harmingly idiotic. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
theguardian.com
Brexit a key factor in worst UK medicine shortages in four years, report says
Nuffield Trust says supply chains have shifted, with medicines for epilepsy and cystic fibrosis among those now scarce
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The Empty City @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 16/03/2025
US deports hundreds of Venezuelans "despite" court order. Meaning, of course: "in breach of". On the face of it, it looks like there is now a full constitutional crisis in United States, in that the executive is now freely ignoring court orders. Crisis point reached. www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
US deports hundreds of Venezuelans to El Salvador despite court order
Their arrival comes less than 24 hours after a federal judge blocked a law Trump planned to use for the deportations.
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European Movement West London #FBPE #FBPR #RejoinEU @em-westlondon.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
Finally Starmer is ready to offer a reciprocal Youth Mobility Scheme to the EU, addressing labour shortages and opportunities: a win-win for both the UK and the EU. No one born this century voted for #Brexit. eastangliabylines.co.uk/news/brexit/...
eastangliabylines.co.uk
New: Starmer ready to offer Youth Mobility Scheme
Keir Starmer's youth mobility proposal aims to strengthen UK-EU relations, addressing labour shortages and opportunities
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God @thegodshow.com · 18/02/2025
Imagine being rich enough to do anything you want and choosing to take food and medicine from starving children to give yourself even more money.
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
As being “free to make our own trade deals” has delivered the square root of jack shit and, as Brexiters still can’t tell us what EU regulations they want to scrap, closer alignment with the EU should be a no-brainer. Great work @bestforbritain.bsky.social www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
thetimes.com
Research claims EU deal will fuel growth — and Labour is listening
A report says Britain can mend some of the economic damage of Brexit without crossing the red lines set by Keir Starmer
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
A brilliant analysis of the epic Brexit failure. Scorn for the liars and solidarity for the rest of us. “We lost something intangible and yet priceless, something we might never get back: an idea of our country.” Heartbreaking, enraging and yet, still hopeful. iandunt.substack.com/p/brexit-fiv...
iandunt.substack.com
Brexit five years on: A triumph of lies
The promises turned out to be false. The warnings turned out to be true.
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
YouGov find just 30% of people think we were right to leave the EU. The lowest number yet. Just 10% of 18-24 year olds think it was the right decision.
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 26/01/2025
🚨 "With Trump threatening new tariffs as soon as this week, the government should listen to voters and break down trade barriers with our largest market before pursuing deals elsewhere." @pimlicat.bsky.social on our new polling in the Observer 👇
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‘Move closer to Europe – not Trump’ voters tell Starmer in major UK poll
Pressure growing on Labour to improve trade with EU as Rachel Reeves admits Brexit damaged UK
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
“Brexit continues to haunt us. It’s posing real economic problems. The govt doesn’t like the equilibrium we’ve reached but is unwilling to do much about it…the EU feels little pressure to change the status quo” What a tedious, costly, bandwidth-consuming mess. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
UK haunted by Johnson’s ‘botched Brexit deal’ and Labour’s plans don’t go far enough | Anand Menon and Joël Reland
Five years on, it’s unclear how a proposed UK-EU relationship reset would repair damage to the economy
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
Trump is a feral menace threatening our trade, our security and our democracy. To NOT prioritise trade and improved relations with our own continent over trying to deal with that loose cannon would be completely mad. Luckily most of us aren’t. Even in Clacton. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
‘Move closer to Europe – not Trump’ voters tell Starmer in major UK poll
Pressure growing on Labour to improve trade with EU as Rachel Reeves admits Brexit damaged UK
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Edwin Hayward @edwinhayward.com · 25/01/2025
Well said!
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Liz Webster 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇬🇧🇪🇺 @lizwebster.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
Two polls show Brexit and threat of Trump are transforming Britons, drawing them closer to Europe and away from USA. These findings make it even more absurd that Labour govt desperate for growth remains so reluctant to take up offers to alleviate Brexit difficulties. archive.ph/2025.01.25-0...
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
As Labour timidly considers this tiny step towards damage control… Brexit’s moronic mascot, Priti Patel, declares “Starmer and his chums are all too happy to put their ideology ahead of our national interest, no matter the cost." And irony collapses in on itself. liveapp.inews.co.uk/category/uk-...
liveapp.inews.co.uk
New softer Brexit plan could be agreed in UK-EU talks
The EU has indicated Britain could join the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention
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Mike Galsworthy @mikegalsworthy.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
Even more relevant now…
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
You might expect that one of the world's biggest media organisations admitting to illegal practices in accessing private information about a member of the royal family and a government minister would be front page news across the board, but apparently not.
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
How evil/moronic do you have to be, to think binning the Equality Act would raise productivity, restore confidence and create meritocratic workplaces? How TF could scrapping people’s rights to NOT be discriminated against, harassed or victimised at work be IN ANY WAY a good thing? It simply can’t.
Suella Braverman post:

Can you imagine if we got rid of all Diversity and Inclusion Officers/ Advisors/Champions/ Courses/Budgets etc from our Civil Service?!
And scrapped the Equality Act?
We'd save millions of pounds, increase productivity, restore public confidence and build a truly meritocratic workplace.
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Farrukh @implausibleblog.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Left: Rachel Reeves, "That's been the problem in Britain. For a long time, when there was a choice between something that would grow the economy and anything else. Anything else has always won" Right: The Independent, "Catastrophic cost of Brexit on UK trade revealed in stark OBR warning"
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James O’Brien @mrjamesob.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Front cover of Private Eye.
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Peter Stefanovic @peterstefanovic.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
🚨 "Ministers have rejected calls for the UK to move closer to the EU in order to boost economic growth, insisting that Brexit has brought “opportunities” and some benefits for the British economy.” Imagine the shock when they see this
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