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Neil Forsyth

@oakowl.bsky.social
441 followers 177 following 319 posts

Here to receive and pass on information. I like evidence and sources.

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Reposted by Neil Forsyth
Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Lots of talk of growth ahead of the Budget, as if it were a baroque puzzle. Our problem is basic. It's that we no longer support the things which facilitate growth: Europe, immigration, higher education, tax simplification, policy stability. These are all choices and could stop making them anytime.
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Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
How is this news? billionaire oil person says uk needs to drill more and tax less, though, of course, he‘s actually in Monaco. And he would do more in the uk if the state subsidised him more. Dear BBC, that‘s like me saying the uk‘s problem is underpaid law profs. www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Billionaire Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe says he has lost confidence in UK
Ineos founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe tells the BBC he thinks the country is "on the slide" and calls for more investment in the North Sea.
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Chris Dillow @chrisdillow.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
The only thing we learn from this is that Adam Smith anticipated the BBC: the "disposition to admire, and almost to worship, the rich and the powerful...is...the great and most universal cause of the corruption of our moral sentiments." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Billionaire Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe says he has lost confidence in UK
Ineos founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe tells the BBC he thinks the country is "on the slide" and calls for more investment in the North Sea.
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Neil Forsyth @oakowl.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Block.
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Neil Forsyth @oakowl.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Well done! A brilliant achievement. I hope you soon make a good recovery.
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Neil Forsyth @oakowl.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
I'm still having a Covid-19 booster twice a year.
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Reposted by Neil Forsyth
Dmitry Grozoubinski @explaintrade.com · 04/09/2026
Farage champions the wrong values, lies about them, and fails every test of competence delivering on them would require. This scandal gives us an opportunity and the evidence to say so, and we should. dmitryopines.substack.com/p/on-farage-...
dmitryopines.substack.com
On Farage, Values, Authenticity, and Judgement
Surprised my computer let me type his name and those nouns in the same line.
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Neil Forsyth @oakowl.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
I'm sure part of the reason for their success must be that they feel less pressure than the more prestigious teams, just as some of the best bridge players I know are the ones who just play for fun.
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Neil Forsyth @oakowl.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Signed. It's certainly possible to regulate to prevent harassment by individuals or organisations, though more difficult to prevent the terrible harm caused by the cumulative effect of attacks from separate sources.
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Reposted by Neil Forsyth
Good Law Project @goodlawproject.org · 21/08/2026
There’s a rich and rather horrible irony in the fact of a newspaper, suggesting that being dishonest is inherent in Blackness, itself being caught out in dishonesty, says Jo Maugham goodlaw.social/96dx
goodlaw.social
The Sunday Times is rewriting history | Good Law Project
There's a rich and rather horrible irony in the fact of a newspaper, suggesting that being dishonest is inherent in Blackness, itself being caught out in dishonesty, says Jo Maugham
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Neil Forsyth @oakowl.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
I feel a trip to Tresaith coming on.
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Neil Forsyth @oakowl.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
What a wonderful beach. I feel another trip to Ceredigion coming on.
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Reposted by Neil Forsyth
Philipp Markolin @philippmarkolin.eurosky.social · 18/08/2026
In 2026, there is no longer any lab leak hypothesis you can state consistently with the available evidence. Despite this, it has been the dominant media narrative for six years. Read my new data-driven investigation: www.protagonist-science.com/p/biased-med...
protagonist-science.com
Biased media coverage and the lab leak theory
Gain-of-function fearmongering and blame gets the glitzy NYT visual treatment as Republicans weaponize the lab leak theory again in attacks on Dr. Anthony Fauci
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East Anglia Bylines @eastangliabylines.co.uk · 18/08/2026
A Cambridge professor is dead after facing extraordinary scrutiny over alleged PhD errors. The Times, Telegraph and Mail published 111 articles about Jason Arday. Edward Higgs asks what lay behind this campaign when other plagiarism cases attracted far less attention.
eastangliabylines.co.uk
Jason Arday and the ‘new’ old racism
The tragic death of Jason Arday has sent shock waves worldwide, but there are grim and dark reasons why it is not surprising
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Good Law Project @goodlawproject.org · 15/08/2026
Dr Arday’s tragic death was the direct, foreseeable result of press harrassment, with racism playing a key role We're asking the prime minister to commission an immediate public inquiry ito ensure we never see a tragic death like Dr Arday's again goodlaw.social/n1ck
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Dmitry Grozoubinski @explaintrade.com · 15/08/2026
Broke the thread somehow. Sorry. Longer form thoughts here: dmitryopines.substack.com/p/listening-...
dmitryopines.substack.com
Listening to the Monsters
A scream into the void about Professor Arday and flawed institutions in a bad faith ecosystem.
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Neil Forsyth @oakowl.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
An English friend in Cardiff panicked when he received the alarm, as he had no idea what it meant. Good job it was sent in English as well.
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Neil Forsyth @oakowl.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
A kindly neighbour lent me her special glasses briefly. Another let me view the eclipse with her colander. And we experienced the eerie light together.
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Reposted by Neil Forsyth
Crunchy Wotsit @crunchywotsit.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
I think this is brilliant on the issues around the fall of Jason Arday. Thank you, Jason Okundaye.
theguardian.com
The takedown of Jason Arday has overjoyed the right, and must be a wake-up call for the left | Jason Okundaye
The Cambridge academic has rightly now resigned. But that won’t end the targeting of senior black figures or the lazy way institutions promote faux equality, says Guardian columnist Jason Okundaye
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Peter Hutchinson @catus14.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Two years ago I was treated for prostate cancer. Probably 90% of the staff had non-British ethnic origins. They were all brilliant, hard working, supportive, skilled. I have no idea how long they or their families have lived here. I don't care. I am just grateful
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Neil Forsyth @oakowl.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
I hope you are right.
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Reposted by Neil Forsyth
Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · 28/06/2026
feels bad that the guy who was chief of staff to the Prime Minister not a decade ago is now associating himself with an extreme right party! feels very bad!
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Neil Forsyth @oakowl.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
Reality has sharp teeth.
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Anthony Zacharzewski @anthonyzach.be · 22/06/2026
How are things in Belfast? Are the people with Legitimate Concerns about paedophilia attacking unionist politicians’ homes in response to the Donaldson verdict? They aren’t? How strange. Their Concerns seemed so Legitimate when they were burning foreigners out of their homes a few weeks back.
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James Ball @jamesrball.com · 22/06/2026
Hot podium guy is, tbf to him, ageing well. Here he is in 2019 (first major appearance), July 2022, October 2022 and today.
Hot podium guy in 2019Hot podium guy in July 2022Hot podium guy in October 2022Hot podium guy in 2026
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Edwin Hayward @edwinhayward.com · 21/06/2026
Brexit alone certainly didn't do for Starmer, but it's a major aggravating factor. If his position on the EU had been very different these last two years, he would not now be Googling removals firms. When it comes to prime ministers, Brexit's the closest thing to a guaranteed job-killer.
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
God I love this country. We're just so ridiculous.
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
The Farage effect. A losers’ charter. Everything gets worse and costs more when prejudice is turned into policy. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Brexit cost 6% of UK economy, Bank of England company data suggests
Analysis showed how much the UK could have grown if it had not exited the EU.
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
The EHRC trans code explained: What it does, how it works and what happens next iandunt.substack.com/p/the-ehrc-t...
iandunt.substack.com
The EHRC trans code explained
What does it say, how will it work, and what happens next?
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
New post out: "How to beat Reform" Using exclusive polling I look at what attack lines work best on Reform, which of their voters are most likely to defect, and the potential for tactical voting. (£/free trial) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/h...
open.substack.com
How to beat Reform
Including exclusive polling on the most effective attack lines
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Carole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
A) This a properly brilliant piece of investigative journalism by BBC & @hopenot.bsky.social Huge kudos to all involved for doing the job the UK police & CPS failed to do: naming the alleged spymaster & clearly showing Kremlin’s role. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Russia was behind arson attacks targeting PM, BBC reveals
Evidence shows Russians directing the plot and stoking tensions with fake far-right and Muslim groups.
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Neil Forsyth @oakowl.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
The most disturbing aspect is the PM's statement that "it is our intelligence assessment, and the assessment of other countries in NATO, that there could be an attack by Russia on NATO as soon as 2030". I don't think most people have even begun to appreciate that.
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Reposted by Neil Forsyth
Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
After the events in Belfast over the last two nights, the BBC’s recent behaviour looks even more reckless www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/the-bbcs-t...
adambienkov.co.uk
The BBC’s ‘Two Tier’ Journalism Boosting Reform and the Far-Right
Why is our national broadcaster giving so much oxygen to the racist fantasies of the far-right?
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Adam Squires @adsquires.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Good article. Two murders - of a brown person by a white person, and vice versa - with striking similarities. The law treated them equally, as it should. The media - and the politicians stoking anger at "two tier policing" - did not. 1/
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Condemning riots isn't enough. We need policy action, including an immediate appraisal of X as a vehicle for coordinating far-right disorder. And we need political leadership, to challenge white nationalism as an idea, not to validate it daily and then complain when it turns violent.
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
This has nothing to do with stopping crime. It is to do with a global far-right movement, coordinated on X, organised by some of the most powerful men in the world from Silicon Valley to the White House inews.co.uk/opinion/fara...
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Tom Crowley @atomcrowley.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
I think we all know what the new direction for Doctor Who should be.
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
The way the entire British media is suddenly discussing 'two tier policing' as if it is a real thing worth seriously debating, rather than the obvious far-right white supremacist fantasy it has always been, is very alarming
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Neil Forsyth @oakowl.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Clearly it was the right decision to move Rocky into the retirement village. Glad to see he is so much better. Well done!
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Reposted by Neil Forsyth
Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
I can excuse @iaindale.bsky.social's ignorance here. Just because anyone with a very basic economics education should recognise the lump of labour fallacy doesn't mean he should. But the arrogance combined with the absolutely deliberate refusal to think is quite remarkable.
 Iain Dale responds to a bog-standard textbook (6th form level) explanation of the "lump of labour fallacy" by describing it as "utter gibberish".
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Neil Forsyth @oakowl.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
You say that the Guidance permits associations for multiple protected characteristics (e.g. biological and trans women) but that it also states that it is very likely to be discriminatory to offer a service for biological and trans women. There seems to be a conflict here. Could you please clarify.
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Reposted by Neil Forsyth
Esther @elhopkins.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
www.london.gov.uk/mayor-invest...
london.gov.uk
Mayor invests £2.7m in air quality filters for schools to clean up air in classrooms
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today launched a new £2.7 million programme to deliver indoor air quality filters to hundreds of schools across the capital, bringing cleaner air to tens of thousa...
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Dinah Rose KC @dinahrose.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
Interesting piece. The points about human rights/EU law have force. But for me, the central problem with the FWS judgment is more fundamental. It strikes me as implausible that this is what Parliament intended, without spelling it out, only 6 years after the GRA, and in an Act dealing with equality.
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
There's some welcome bits and pieces in that EHRC guidance, particularly on clubs and associations being able to remain trans-inclusive, but in general it's a mess. Imagine having to make a major financial decision on the basis of the endless, hyper-anxious impenetrable drivel in that document.
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Neil Forsyth @oakowl.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
I fear you will need to get to the European Court of Human Rights in order to overturn the FWS decision. I appreciate that this is likely to take years. I hope you get there before the next general election.
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David Henig @davidheniguk.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
So, you won't find much sympathy here for Sunak's last budget recklessly reducing national insurance or Starmer failing to take the opportunity of a huge majority. But are these really failings equal to reducing the country to a political nervous breakdown as per 2016 - 2022? No.
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