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David Sheppard

@oilsheppard.bsky.social
4.6K followers 567 following 98 posts

Financial Times Acting Whitehall Editor. Former FT Energy Editor, but still dabbles in what makes the world go round. Ex-Reuters.

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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Arguably some truth in that, heaven forfend. But if he had won - or pushed Labour close - he would have obviously been in a stronger position to deal with the pitfalls ahead. As it stands the result basically confirms the narrative that was emerging even before ZIR… that it risks looking a bit peaky
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Fair enough, just the coverage I saw (and that’s mainly broadsheet) wasn’t looking at the by-election in isolation.
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Quite possibly, though I didn’t see much actual coverage saying he was explicitly toast (Twitter/Bluesky aside). And while new members undoubtedly like him how will the ones motivated to join by stance on Palestine feel about him after a possible ugly scrap over amending the Zionism motion?
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
At same time the party has lost momentum, his own personal ratings have plummeted, he’s been accused by senior Green figures of failing to lead etc etc The surge earlier this year and the vastly increased membership is a shield he may yet wield effectively. But he’s got a tough few months ahead
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
And he needs to win an argument that, whatever its heartfelt sophistication and anti-imperial credentials, will put him on the side of softening (ever so slightly) the party’s stance on Israel, even if he claims otherwise. Not at all clear the new members will follow him. They might! Might not.
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
So at a minimum he faces a challenging few months tackling an issue that’s littered with landmines, ahead of a leadership election next year.
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
The by-election loss doesn’t help, but hardly fatal on its own But it comes after he failed to stop members from making an alleged ‘purity test’ on Israel party policy And one of his deputies not only backed it but already voted against an amendment Polanski now wants to make to try detoxify it
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Liberal Democrats daring to be interesting klaxon without a bungee chord or a wetsuit in sight.
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
First time it’s felt cold since April. Feels a bit disconcerting if I’m being entirely honest, even if I’m aware that’s ludicrous.
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I remember being driven once from Riyadh airport and it was utter chaos, with our driver mounting the pavement and leaning almost constantly on the horn to get through traffic. And my colleague just calmly remarked: “This is what happens when you don’t have an Esther Rantzen in society”. RIP
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Going to be hugely disappointed if the answer isn’t “don’t announce it until it’s a bit icy outside”.
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Pensions minister Torsten Bell not letting his beef with Jim Ratcliffe go, telling a fringe event at Labour’s conference: “I'll tell you what if I was if I was running Manchester United, I wouldn't be talking about anybody else being on the slide.”
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Reform UK’s Robert Jenrick, who is close to members of Trump’s inner circle, has now written to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent asking him to exempt the UK from any ban, while highlighting his party’s closer alignment with the Trump administration on energy issues
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The US supplies about a third of the UK’s diesel exports. Despite this, the PM did not raise the issue of a potential diesel export ban with Trump when they had their first meeting in NYC on Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter. ft.com/content/68173e… via @ft
ft.com
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Reform UK says it would halve size of civil service in radical overhaul www.ft.com/content/199d... via @ft
ft.com
Reform UK says it would halve size of civil service in radical overhaul
Rightwing anti-immigration party is warning mandarins that they are prepared to counter any ‘sabotage or resistance’
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
It’s also less of a thing for the US as they got back to something approaching trend growth in a way we just haven’t… which maybe isn’t something we want the PM to highlight by still banging on about 18 years ago
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I’ve just finished reading a No 10 press release ahead of UNGA and winced when Burnham mentioned the UK’s role at the height of the GFC, as if it somehow proved our credentials and importance for the current moment. Maybe I’m finally over it
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Reform UK’s mega-donor backed a friend’s libel claim. Now he controls her home www.ft.com/content/21aa... via @ft Me with @bondhack.ft.com
ft.com
Reform UK’s mega-donor backed a friend’s libel claim. Now he controls her home
Crypto billionaire Ben Delo loaned more than £300,000 to former academic Nina Power
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
And the Russian miners.
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Will be about 2mn for full year. And that will affect 3-4mn adults. So just under 10% of 25-65 year olds. And probably a higher % of voters given homeowner vote substantially more than renters.
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 05/09/2026
Plus, @georgewparker.bsky.social and Sam Fleming joined the pod fresh from their interview with Chx John Healey
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 05/09/2026
This ‘back to school week’ in Westminster has been so busy we’ve had to record *two* episodes of Political Fix! In the latest, we discuss Reform battling scandal - again - with @oilsheppard.bsky.social, who brought us the latest from their conference in B’ham open.spotify.com/episode/7M0Z...
open.spotify.com
Reform in hot water … again
Political Fix · Episode
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
The Restore Britain backer who once gave money to the Lib Dems, and who never wants to be viewed as a "psycopath or a bully" ft.com/content/3d25... via @alphaville.ft.com Me with @rachel-rees.bsky.social
ft.com
The Restore Britain backer who once gave money to the Lib Dems
Entrepreneur Simon Galbraith’s gift to the far-right party has startled the tech start-up scene, with some saying it risks a ‘reverse Midas touch’
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
If you like arguing about Oxbridge, class, regionalism and alleged politically convenient truthiness - and your presence on this website suggests you probably do - then read on. as.ft.com/r/58f0f3fa-f... @rachel-rees.bsky.social
as.ft.com
UK education secretary accused of misleading claim about Oxford entry
Former Xaverian College pupils say Lucy Powell was not the ‘only one’ in her year to attend elite university
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Just googled it and realised it’s now a wealthy suburb of tech-bro world, not the weird hippy Hicksville crossover I visited 25 years ago as my Dad liked Twin Peaks. Carry on.
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Snoqualmie could be ahead on your criteria as its politics seemed quite granola-belt liberal with a hippy/libertarian bent. Kinda meeting place for east-of-the-mountains Washington staters with Seattle dropouts, so quite a unique mix, both politically and culturally
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Snoqualmie, WA not far behind
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Deadwood, South Dakota tops my list of weird places I’ve been in the states, while also not seeming that representative of how most people live.
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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Jeremy Clarkson now has the chance to do the funniest thing...
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
But is not culturally or geographically distinct enough to make the cut. It’s not a pure numbers game.
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
Nope. Scotland has four: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen Midlands one: Birmingham. North three: Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds North East one: Newcastle Everything else is spillover and jumped up towns
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
There are only two cities in the South. London and Bristol.
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Patrick Osgood @patrickosgood.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
He signed it in Versailles?
Garth Merenghi: I know writers who use subtext, and they're all cowards
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
The Wapo algo has created the most Bluesky of stories
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
“You know, Hearts, playing Crystal Palace’s under-18s on the last day of the season is actually a pretty tough away fixture, let me tell you. “Also, VAR has its uses, I think we can both agree.”
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
The press will definitely sit quietly for a few weeks if the PLP convince Starmer to agree to a timetable. Then we can have a nice wait until an MP stands down and a by-election can be arranged. That by-election will in no way be aggressively targeted by the Greens and Reform. Totally credible
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Is there really a credible route for Andy Burnham? I can see a farcical route back - which I wouldn't rule out Labour embracing. But a credible one? Not so much.
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
He compared his approach to leadership to Mourinho once, so must have at least a passing interest in the game. Despite the evidence of this wonderfully bizarre answer
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
One of the saddest post-pandemic/inflation surge/general malaise trends we’re still living through is the number of London restaurants no longer doing the free bread thing
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
His lawyers say he’s a golf “enthusiast” who wanted to save the course.
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
FORE! A Russian businessman looked at buying a Lake District golf course that sits next to the rail line serving the UK's shipyard where the nuclear-power Aukus attacks submarines will be built. Then the FT started asking questions... www.ft.com/content/19a3...
ft.com
Russian oilman tried to buy land on railway to British nuclear site
Purchase of Lake District golf course collapsed this week after government officials and the FT raised questions over strategic location
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Won 21, drawn 7, lost 5 Hearts, Man City and Arsenal all with near identical results in their respective leagues this season, but only two sets of fans feeling kinda cursed right now
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Henry Foy @henryjfoy.ft.com · 01/04/2026
💥 Trump threatened to stop supplying weapons to Ukraine in order to pressure European Nato allies to join a “coalition of the willing” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Nato’s Rutte warned capitals Trump was “rather hysterical” about their refusal w @lauramdubois.ft.com as.ft.com/r/d508debe-f...
as.ft.com
Trump threatened to stop weapons for Ukraine unless Europe joined Hormuz coalition
[FREE TO READ] Nato’s top official urged key alliance members to offer help to US to reopen key waterway
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth’s broker looked to buy a BlackRock defence fund before Iran attack The inquiry on behalf of the high-profile potential client was flagged internally at BlackRock, according to three people familiar with the matter www.ft.com/content/744e...
ft.com
Pete Hegseth’s broker looked to buy defence fund before Iran attack
Morgan Stanley wealth manager approached BlackRock about multimillion-dollar investment on behalf of US defence secretary
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
Dear Lord. That’s very clever. I seem to be incapable of reprogramming my thumb from years of gaming where press and hold for long jump = still a set distance. Topping out at a rather pathetic 25
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
Trump tells @edwardluce.bsky.social Nato faces a ‘very bad future’ if they don’t assist the US in Iran www.ft.com/content/1ca6...
ft.com
Donald Trump warns Nato faces ‘very bad future’ if allies fail to help US in Iran
US president tells the FT in an interview that China summit could be delayed
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Jamie Smyth @jamiesmythft.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
US intervention in oil futures would be a ‘biblical disaster’, CME chief Terry Duffy warns, amid speculation the Trump administration was considering the option as.ft.com/r/8cde746a-4... @financialtimes.com
as.ft.com
US intervention in oil futures would be ‘biblical disaster’, CME warns
[FREE TO READ] Terry Duffy says any attempt by the government to lower prices using derivatives market would erode confidence
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
I have no view on this beyond finding grown men saying they’re “excited” strangely nauseating.
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Oil just hit Mum and Dad seen dancing together in the kitchen. She’s glowing. He’s smiling for the first time in years. Kids confused.
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David Sheppard @oilsheppard.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
The oil market thinks Trump just TACO’d (I’m less convinced, but let’s see) A $30 price swing in a day, helped by expectations of a big strategic oil stock release. Such larks. Oil tumbles to $90 as Trump says Iran war is ‘very complete’ www.ft.com/content/56dd... via @ft
ft.com
Middle East war live: Oil tumbles to $90 as Trump says Iran war is ‘very complete’
Brent benchmark had exceeded $119 in early action
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