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Norrie MacQueen

@norriemacqueen.bsky.social
176 followers 152 following 294 posts

(More or less) retired IR academic and author: UN, peace operations, Lusophone Africa. Old left (in all senses). Citizens Advice volunteer employment adviser.

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Reposted by Norrie MacQueen
Nick Lloyd @spaincivilwartours.bsky.social · 7h
My book "Travels through the Spanish Civil War" published by @hurstpublishers.bsky.social 7 years to write. Starts in Barcelona's Plaça Catalunya, ends Austria. Takes the reader to Aragón with Orwell's son. War traveling through today's landscapes, scars of violence still there, how war remembered
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
He’ll still repost, though.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Weird - and quite disturbing. More Sun than Times (but that might be a distinction without a difference now).
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Set to be the HS2 of national security. (In the unlikely event of them getting anywhere near government.)
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
The contrast with the Barnett car crash was indeed striking. Apart from the interviewer, it seemed like Badenoch herself has now had some long-overdue media training. One complaint, though: Foster gave her too much time and encouragement for her saccharine eulogy to the criminal Archer.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
In fairness, the BBC TV 10.00 news last night was quite sharply negative. But by the Today programme this morning, everything was on the predictable ‘loveable rascal’ track - and Badenoch was given far too much time in her interview to present a fawning eulogy.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
If Farage has summoned up the courage to do interviews again post-bunggate, he should be asked if he supports his MP on this: yes or no?
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The fundamenal problem here is that we're in a political ecosystem where off-the-top-of-her-head, self-evidently daft, pronouncements become the subject of serious analysis.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Still can’t help ‘getting something in my eye’ in the programme when the audience stood up and turned out to be kinder transport.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
They can present Craig Murray as a “distinguished retired UK ambassador, deeply knowledgable about the post-Soviet space”. And hope no one’s noticed what he’s been saying and doing since he left the diplomatic service. Galloway is obviously more problematic.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
If Burnham is serious about a return to ‘Labour values’ he needs to snuff this nonsense out before it’s seen as a serious policy discussion.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I thought we’d escaped from Musk’s X to be spared this sort of unhinged abuse.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Great photo. But as I recall, it’s one of those mountains that’s a lot easier to climb than it looks.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Shouldn't an inn keeper be sitting back with a clay pipe and a tankard of ale watching his skivvies do that?
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Reposted by Norrie MacQueen
Nick Lloyd @spaincivilwartours.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
The flag of the British Batallion with the names of the places they fought in Spain against Franco: Madrid, Brunete, Quinto, Belchite, Gandesa, Pàndols... It was embroidered by women in Barcelona in 1938. Now held by the Marx Memorial Library in London.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Same with the exaggerated regard for Dyson - who was at least quite a clever electrical engineer. Not sure what Ratcliffe’s unique talents consist of - beyond take-no-prisoners acquisitiveness.
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Reposted by Norrie MacQueen
Nick Lloyd @spaincivilwartours.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Beer brewed in 2019 to mark the unveiling of the "Blockade-Runners to Spain" monument, Glasgow to honour the British seafarers who died breaking the naval blockades to supply the Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. (spanishsky.dk/unveiling-bl...) Image kindly sent to me by Tom N.
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Reposted by Norrie MacQueen
Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Britain is just looking on as a handful of tax hating billionaires buy our political future.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
You would think HMRC might be interested.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Ah yes, Wodehouse! You now wonder if the whole thing is elaborate performance art and Tommo has his eyes on this year’s Turner Prize.
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Reposted by Norrie MacQueen
Citizens Advice Scotland @citizensadvicescot.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
A big milestone for our Help to Claim project. It recently saw its 100,000th case of supporting people to get the financial help they need. Kieran, who works on the project, explained in this article in The Herald and Third Force News.👇 tfn.scot/opinion/here...
tfn.scot
Here’s 100,000 reasons why charities like ours need to exist - TFN
Kieran Bruce on an essential service
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
The more bizarre, aggressive and irrational the Israeli reaction the better. If it wants to start a fight with one of its most compliant ‘friends’, fair enough. Time the gloves finally came off.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Excellent piece.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Don’tknow why this isn’t getting lot more mainstream coverage. Maybe a slow burner.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Almost feeling sorry for Cambridge after the last few months. Almost.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Pure coincidence that he announced it a couple of hours before Burnham’s first Commons appearance as PM. Nothing to do with hijacking the news agenda.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Okay on bus provision and urban development. Totally out of his depth on anything less parochial. Constitutional arrangements and foreign policy are beyond his reach. He can’t busk it for much longer.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Signed. Great initiatve
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
I think the given reason for his suspension was that the project he was appointed to work on had nothing to do with his race theories but he ignored the mandate. In other words, nothing to do with his supposedly 'courageous whistle-blowing'.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
A Few Weeks of Solitude
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
The Farage law of unintended consequences.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Nigel defeats the Establishment. Meet the Establishment:
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
It's the image of a "winsome" Farage that does it. Provokes a uniquely umpleasant physical reaction.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Rapidly and comprehensively denied by Essex police, of course.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
The end of days, I tell you!! Why will no one listen??
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
It won't, obviously. But then he knows that.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Any of them with a shred of self-respect will already have fired *him*.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Problem is archaic, complacent British academic culture. - Doctorates being examined over half-a-hour’s chat by a mate of the candidate’s supervisor. - CVs being taken on ‘gentlemanly’ trust. Degrees claimed and never checked. Publications never read. Ethnicity really isn’t the issue.
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Reposted by Norrie MacQueen
Billy Kay @billykayscot.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
If you also follow me on X please ignore anything published there. I was hacked 24 hours ago and so far X has done nothing about it.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Serious answer (I know, uncalled for) is that it was probably to ensure as unrestricted a viewing certificate as possible. Follow the money.
money.as
Money.as – finance, business and markets
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Her vaunted popularity is mainly inhouse. Elsewhere, the character 'attrubutes' that make her attractive to her party translate into active dislike rather than just indifference (contrast Sunak). A net vote loser.
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Reposted by Norrie MacQueen
Jonathan Freedland @jonathanfreedland.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
On the Keminaissance that isn't: the bad strategy and poor judgement of the Conservative leader. Latest column www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
A ‘Keminaissance’ for the Tories is wishful thinking – Badenoch’s Reform-lite summer will only end one way | Jonathan Freedland
Hiring a convicted antisemite as an adviser; rabble rousing at a time of violent unrest. She is still in a race to the bottom and making too many mistakes, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Plain to everyone of course except their leader - who couldn’t read an empty boxroom and who regards self-reflection as a character flaw.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Her take on Charlize Theron's anodyne Calypso was good. A wasted oportunity to highlight a 'contemporary' dimension of Homer.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Had to think about that one.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Silly-billy. Lewis!
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Not all mutually exclusive. But the fact that she just being left where she is might point to 3.
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Wonder if there were strings attached (otherwise why pull her into No.10?). Maybe a backtrack on the disgraceful immigration stuff?
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Norrie MacQueen @norriemacqueen.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Agree. Maybe over-optimistic, but he at least brings the possibility of that ethically informed foreign policy that disappeared with Robin Cook.
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