Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialPaul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 14hReform UK has said that ‘there’s no room for racism’ in the party. Is that because it’s already chock-full of racism, from head to toe? 37688142
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialJohn Bull @garius.bsky.social · 29/09/2026A cash-strapped rural police force struggles to deal with Red Diesel gangs. Until its chief inspector realises can get the Met Police to deal with the problem... ...if he pretends they're Iranian. A new six part comedy starring Toby Jones. 641238371
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialSean Jones KC @seanjones.org · 29/09/2026The rush to speculate that asylum seekers are responsible for every crime in the news is a sort of opportunistic informational terrorism. Until it’s disproved it stokes fear and hatred. When it is disproved there are no adverse consequences and they know that they only have to be lucky once. 561634528
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialSam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Times this morning. Me in December last year. It was pretty damn obvious this would happen to anyone who did the maths. samf.substack.com/p/the-oversh... 22695194
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialChris Smith @ledredman.bsky.social · 28/09/2026The dishonesty from politicians that the falling birth rate and ageing population does not force us to accept large amounts of migration, is at the heart of the problem. We are not growing " young men ( or women) of fighting age" ourselves. There is an inevitable consequence. 193
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialJohn Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 28/09/2026"Once, I went out on the rob for diesel, and sparked a major international security incident" 16847156
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialJonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Rayner is correct: these proposals are economically damaging and politically counterproductive. Pretty clear that view is now almost universal in the Cabinet/Labour Party and the informed public. www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...thetimes.comAngela Rayner condemns Labour’s migrant visa crackdownSpeaking before the party conference, the housing secretary says Shabana Mahmood’s immigration plans would affect care workers 21677183
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialM a r c u s 🏳️🌈🇧🇧🇬🇧 @marcusjdl.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Once again, our leaders prefer racism to prosperity 05115
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialPeter Whitewood @pwhitewood.bsky.social · 21/09/2026This was published the same day that Jacqui Smith called on universities to ‘get out there and argue the case’ for the UK as a study destination. Is the Home Office listening? 0241
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialDavid Beech @davidbeech.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Regardless of what has or has not gone here my 'controversial' opinion is it's absolute fine for him to not want to express an opinion on Gaza and just play his (bland) music. 1122
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialDavid Beech @davidbeech.bsky.social · 20/09/2026I don't care what's gone on, either. But I do get irritated with the idea everyone ,( famous or not) should have an opinion- or be expected to share it - on anything and everything. Social media innit. 292
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialWill Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Time is long overdue that the political mainstream in Britain vigorously re-asserts its longstanding anti-racism norms... these have been allowed to be significantly eroded the last few years. 528458
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialstuart84.bsky.social @stuart84.bsky.social · 16/09/2026The good people of Piddington leaving the village to do their weekly shopping. 1244
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialFionna O’Leary @fascinatorfun.bsky.social · 16/09/2026A personal story about that phrase “young men of fighting age” applied to asylum seekers. As many of you know I took in a young Ukrainian woman under the Homes for Ukraine scheme. As part of that process, soon after she arrived we were visited by the local authority rep and a Fire Brigade rep. 13460202
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialPete Fraser @petefrasermusic.bsky.social · 16/09/2026In the movie version of this, after Piddington runs out of food water and money as a result of leaving the UK, the residents apply for asylum and end up housed in a military base, with HILARIOUS consequences. www.bbc.com/news/article...bbc.comPiddington in Oxfordshire votes to leave UK over asylum plansPiddington residents voted over proposals to house up to 1,256 male asylum seekers nearby 1663524838
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialBrass Monkeys @brassmonkeys.bsky.social · 16/09/2026Keep an eye out for any of these musicians playing near you. Get along, show support - and buy their merch. 022
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialDave Boden @bodendave.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Personally I think these proposals are abhorrent. Pandering to the extremists. Way over the top for a problem that is already working and reducing illegal migration. Better to address legal ways off seeking asylum. Like using embassies before people struggle to reach UK shores 0132
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialDonnachadh McCarthy @donnachadhmc.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Ending this Thatcher era railway insanity is a good move by Burnham Lab govt. One should always have been able to catch alternative train, without extra charge, if train breaks down or is cancelled. 151
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialTanita Tikaram @tanitatikaram.bsky.social · 12/09/2026What I love about Western democracy is you can bung a political party £ 36 million earned from criminal activity & most media will continue to point at asylum seekers & migrant care workers with families as the barbarians at the gate we need to defend ourselves from 🙄. 3730131004
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialBest for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 11/09/2026This voter in Birmingham gets it 👏 Immigration enriches our country ♥️ 6454136
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialHeather Stewart @guardianheather.bsky.social · 10/09/2026“The idea that you could be here for the next 10, 15 years and you’d still have no legal right to remain in the country … how the hell do you plan?..It cuts across any effort to integrate at all.” www.theguardian.com/politics/202...theguardian.com‘Fundamentally unfair’: Burnham must overhaul migration reforms, says TUC general secretaryPaul Nowak says changes to immigration rules risk overstretching social care and fuelling far-right sentiment 11577179
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialLeftback @leftback.bsky.social · 10/09/2026Well at least we've heard the worst of this story oh wait the mob got into the hotel onto the floor the players were on and were knocking on bedroom doors. I think I'm moving to rage now. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...bbc.co.ukGroup entered hotel of Pakistan cricketers mistaken for migrantsProtesters congregated at a Portsmouth hotel after false rumours that a coach of migrants had arrived. 27540222
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialRobert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 10/09/2026It's good that this story is getting attention, but it would be equally outrageous if the people whose doors were being hammered on actually were asylum seekers. It's not just a problem because they're international cricketers. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...bbc.co.ukGroup entered hotel of Pakistan cricketers mistaken for migrantsProtesters congregated at a Portsmouth hotel after false rumours that a coach of migrants had arrived. 17434117
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.social@bobhudson.bsky.social @bobhudson.bsky.social · 10/09/2026Why did the hotel call a Reform councillor rather than the police? Balaclava-dressed men knocking on hotel doors? On #WATO today the councillor portrayed them as peaceful people who mistakenly thought they had a legitimate grievance. He wasn’t challenged. share.google/BQPurN9eohps...share.googleProtesters outside Portsmouth hotel mistake Pakistan U19 cricket team for asylum seekersA group of masked agitators gathered outside a four-star hotel in Portsmouth after reports a group of asylum seekers had been taken there, when it was in fact Pakistan’s under-19 cricket team on a tou... 152
mwesten.bsky.social @mwesten.bsky.social · 09/09/2026www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/s... c'mon man. The guys just want to play some crickettheguardian.comProtesters outside Portsmouth hotel confuse Pakistan U19 cricket team for asylum seekersAnti-immigration protesters gathered outside a Portsmouth hotel were forced to cancel their demonstration after discovering the Pakistan Under-19 cricket team rather than a group of asylum seekers wer... 000
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialAdam Schwarz @adamjschwarz.bsky.social · 08/09/2026The Burnham govt's actions and statements against Israel strike the appropriate balance and reflect the nuance that's needed. We don't have to chose between 'Zionist Israel is the most evil entity to ever exist and should be destroyed' vs 'Israel is the greatest and most flawless gift to humanity'. 79614
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialAdam Schwarz @adamjschwarz.bsky.social · 08/09/2026I encourage everyone to listen to Ed Miliband's full statement announcing the UK ban on Israeli West Bank settlement goods. It perfectly captures the anguish of many of us UK Jews who don't want to see Israel destroyed but who are increasingly horrified at Israel's barbarism against Palestinians. 20388114
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialLewis Baston @lewisbaston.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Look, I want to defend the BBC as an institution but they make it very difficult. When the right comes to attack it, as they will, there will hardly be anyone there to defend it. 828162
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialChaminda Jayanetti @cjayanetti.bsky.social · 08/09/2026I think the worst part of Labour's response to the fascist mobilisation is Andy Burnham's absence. He's the most popular politician in the country, with social media reach and actual powers of persuasion, and he's saying nothing in public. He can actually be of use here but he's choosing not to 451458420
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialMic Wright @brokenbottleboy.bsky.social · 08/09/2026A detail missing from The Times story… the woman who took the photo shared it to a Facebook group called ‘South east patriots’. 23643311490
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialDavid Osland @davidosland.bsky.social · 07/09/2026The RNLI isn't subsidised by the taxpayer. Some people seem to be getting them mixed up with Eton, Harrow and Winchester. 14723196
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialJonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 07/09/2026The Times. Explicitly and deliberately, as a matter of editorial policy, promoting violent racist thugs. 36691247
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialPolly Pallister-Wilkins @pollypw.bsky.social · 07/09/2026When I lived in the UK none of my concerns e.g. affordable housing, climate action, increases in welfare spending, scrapping tuition fees, an ethical foreign policy, were ever framed as legitimate concerns. lnstead I was routinely told to fuck off by most political parties for having such concerns. 201782453
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialderek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 06/09/2026this is the kind of design costume designers make to tell you who are the bad guys in a space movie 1272207213992
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialDan Snow @thehistoryguy.bsky.social · 06/09/2026There was a very active critic of the history syllabus in the 90s. Very wise people scoffed at how much time kids were forced to spend learning about the Nazis and democratic decay in the 30s. Turns out we should have gone much harder. 33871176
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialReform Party UK Exposed @reformexposed.bsky.social · 06/09/2026Reform UK Conference 2026 This is all it will be remembered for. 2062171898
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialflyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 05/09/2026As you watch the fun scenes at this Reform conference, remember: these are the people Morgan McSweeney thought he could win over with flags and performative cruelty, to secure Labour as the natural party of government. Nobody who matters said: But surely that is a disastrously stupid idea. 10447115
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialJohn Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 05/09/2026I think standard police practice now is to try and sweep them up in the following weeks, but this sort of stuff probably needs a more instant, visible corrective. 8403
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialMinnie Rahman @minnierahman.bsky.social · 04/09/2026The Verbatim/Channel 4 doc is absolutely brilliant. I am however concerned about how the broader public receive/engage with these allegations. My sense is that most people already think politicians are corrupt, so they don't massively care when they are proven to be (1). 2327
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialCreophilus @creophilus.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Ah I see... maybe entitlement plus insecurity? There's a Derren Brown quote, which resonated so strongly with me that refer back to it frequently: "A final piece of advice: recognise and beware the toxic blend of low self-esteem and grandiose self-regard known only to the truly damned." 2251
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialRoland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Larry as rat catcher. 13906211
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialChris Addison @mrchrisaddison.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Possibly the most shocking revelation in this whole thing is that Nigel Farage was at one point in Clacton. 02977406
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialOtto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Just an idea, but maybe the spineless organ that is supposed to regulate our political parties could grow one. 31960125
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialAlex Andreou @sturdyalex.bsky.social · 03/09/2026In case this is helpful to the Metropolitan Police, all those exposed in tonight's @channel4news.bsky.social expose, including Nigel Farage, will all be either on or near Stage A of the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, tomorrow at 4pm. You're welcome. 491263295
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialSir Michael Take CBE @sirmichaeltake.bsky.social · 04/09/2026In light of these new allegations about illegal funding, it is my opinion that Nigel Farage should step down as MP for Clacton. He should then stand again in the by-election and let the people of Clacton decide if he’s guilty or not of breaking electoral law. 😉 1631520404
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialPeter Jukes @peterjukes.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Just a reminder, Professor James Orr, Reform UK head of policy, teaches 'ethics' to undergraduates at Cambridge University youtu.be/aXut3s90rUI 20736011429
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialRachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 03/09/2026It’s a crowded field, but the jaw-dropping moment for me is when Orr reels off all the other illicit donors who have illicitly donated one to Reform via illicit means, like this is helpful 601589298
Reposted by @mwesten.bsky.socialPeter Smith @redpeter99.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Chris Mason watching Channel 4 News. 491086208
