iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Paul Lashmar

Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 19h

New GB News accounts are out. Here are their losses to date. Or "spent political donations" if you prefer

Line chart titled 'GB News has lost £142m to date', showing cumulative losses in pounds rising steadily from around £3m in 2020/1 to £142m by 2025. The red line climbs most steeply between 2021/2 and 2023/4, reaching roughly £110m, then flattens as growth slows towards £142m. A note states the latest figures cover the seven-month period to 31 December 2025. Chart by Press Gazette, source: Companies House

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Paul Lashmar @paullashmar.bsky.social · 19h

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/10...

telegraph.co.uk

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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Small boat crossings account for ca 3% of total net migration to the UK. Watch GB NEWS or Talk or listen to Farage and Co and you'd think it was the majority.

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Paul Lashmar @paullashmar.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

PL's tune of the day. www.facebook.com/reel/8327927...

facebook.com

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Paul Lashmar @paullashmar.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

"He (Gladwell) explains how the “militia” mentioned in the second amendment were more about suppressing slave rebellions than defending themselves from state tyranny." www.theguardian.com/books/2026/s...

theguardian.com

The American Way of Killing by Malcolm Gladwell review – wide of the mark

Gladwell’s highly readable investigation into US gun culture fails to engage with the bigger questions

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General Boles @generalboles.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

*this is a sub-epistle*

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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

HMRC is an unsecured creditor for corporation and capital gains tax. It recovers little from bankrupt businesses. Phoenixing also robs the public purse. HMRC wrote-off £12.8bn in 2025-26. Changes to law and HMRC creditor status can raise billions for the public purse.

leftfootforward.org

Here’s how the chancellor can raise the billions needed to improve the quality of life of millions

Prem Sikka is an Emeritus Professor of Accounting at the University of Essex and the University of Sheffield, a Labour member of the House of Lords, and Contributing Editor at Left Foot Forward. Mi...

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James O’Brien @mrjamesob.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

This is so true.

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The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 19/09/2026

MS NOW said its journalists were denied access to the White House grounds Saturday, a day after President Trump said he would ban the outlet, as well as CNN and Politico, from the site. The president said Friday he disliked how they covered him.

washingtonpost.com

MS NOW says journalists blocked from White House after Trump announces ban

The network said it “intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights” after Trump said he would block MS NOW, CNN and Politico.

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Paul Lashmar @paullashmar.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

PL: I'm at the Showbar at the Mowlem in Swanage at 2.30 this Friday talking about my book. Tickets still available. themowlem.com/events/drax-...

themowlem.com

Drax of Drax Hall – author talk by Paul Lashmar – The Mowlem

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Reposted by Paul Lashmar

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

'This report is for the benefit of the DfE only and is not suitable to be relied on by any other party wishing to acquire rights against KPMG LLP for any purpose...Any party other than the DfE that obtains a copy of this report and chooses to rely on this report...does so at its own risk'. (KPMG)

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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

In 2024-25 HMRC failed to collect £59.2bn of tax; £500bn since 2010. £12.8bn lost through profit shifting by multinational corporations. Promoters of a business rates avoidance scheme boasted that they have deprived local councils of £500m. Billions can be raised by ending abuses.

leftfootforward.org

Here’s how the chancellor can raise the billions needed to improve the quality of life of millions

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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Wages taxed at rates of 20%-45%. Earners also pay national insurance. Capital gains taxed at rates of 18% to 24%. By taxing capital gains at the same rates as wages £12bn to £14bn could be raised. More, if NI charged. Why are workers taxed at higher rates than return on wealth Will the govt act?

leftfootforward.org

Here’s how the chancellor can raise the billions needed to improve the quality of life of millions

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

'Research by historians compiling the Register of British Slave Traders has found that the scale of the financial system’s involvement in enslavement is greater than previously known or acknowledged.'

theguardian.com

Slave-trade wealth was embedded in Britain’s financial system, research finds

Dozens of Bank of England directors and founding subscribers invested in trafficking of enslaved Africans

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Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 16/09/2026

Trump administration plans $2.8bn sale of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel aje.news/5o1suk

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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Bank of England created £895bn quantitative easing, bought gilts/bonds, speculators profited. Govt could keep them, save interest/redemption costs. NO. It is selling them at £120bn loss. Pushing up interest rates Adding £47bn to govt debt The City profits again. www.theguardian.com/business/202...

theguardian.com

Bank of England urged to slow or halt bond-selling to slash UK borrowing costs

Economists urge John Healey to press Bank to change policy that is costing the exchequer billions of pounds

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Paul Lashmar @paullashmar.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

"Jeremy Drax, a former inclusion on The Sunday Times Rich List and the founder of Parham Holdings, a property company with tens of millions of pounds in investments, was in attendance too. " www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

thetimes.com

Inside a Restore fundraiser: ‘Elon Musk offered as much as we want’

At an event in Mayfair, Rupert Lowe says he rejected the donation — but not before ‘deliberating’

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David Corn @davidcorn.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

NEW: Despite what Trump says, Putin has been running operations to subvert US elections (and help Trump) since 2016. Will he try to intervene in the midterms? See this piece based on my new book: "HOW RUSSIA WON." Check at the book at HowRussiaWon.com. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

Will Putin's decade-long war on US elections hit the midterms?

Trump's Russia denialism has left America vulnerable.

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Paul Lashmar @paullashmar.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Excellent piece by former BBC editor Mark Damazer in this month's Prospect 'How Israel Lost America'. Essentially, Netanyahu may have won the battle after 7 Oct (with Trump's help) but he will lose the war for Israel long term.

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antibot4navalny | bot blocker | блокировщик ботов @antibot4navalny.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Matryoshka, a Russian-state bot network, just started targeting the US midterms with [#]AllDemocratsAreCriminals hashtag. For the day one, they chose the laziest format known for 🪆: repurposed Cameo videos. As always with Matryoshka, assume reach averaging hundreds of views (not Ks!) per video.

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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

'Lauding Ukrainian resilience is not a strategy. Ukraine has bought the West four years with the blood of its soldiers and the ingenuity of its engineers. We cannot let it face another winter alone under Russian bombardment.' Spot-on by Eric Schmidt www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

washingtonpost.com

Opinion | Ukraine’s way of fighting war can’t match what’s coming

Russia is shifting its strategy to erase Kyiv’s battlefield advantages.

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Paul Lashmar @paullashmar.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Has any media outlet totalled the cost to the UK and the cost of living of Trump's ill-conceived and incompetent war against Iran? Diesel prices in US have reached $6+ a gallon for the first time. If there is one thing Americans will not wear if high fuel prices.

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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

The JL Partners polling on union support for Reform - which it now turns out was effectively (secretly) commissioned by Reform - had real methodological issues. "GMB has 9% of union members but 12% of the poll. The NEU has 9.4% of TUC membership but 4.9% of the sample." Unite stats were also out...

modernleft.substack.com

How far has Labour shed union members to Reform?

Trade union members are as likely to vote for Reform as they are for the Labour Party, according to the top lines of a new poll published this week.

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Peter Stefanovic @peterstefanovic.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Tory campaign chief and MP candidate wife admit cheating with election bets www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/new...

independent.co.uk

Tory campaign chief and MP candidate wife admit cheating with election bets

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Alex von Tunzelmann @alexvont.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

If you feel like donating to the RNLI, here’s a link. I just have. Their minimum donation is £2: I think it might be nice for them to receive a lot of donations this week, even if they’re mostly very modest. Just so they know a lot of people out here appreciate their work. rnli.org/support-us/g...

rnli.org

Donate to the RNLI and help save lives at sea

Your donations really make a difference. We depend on your generosity to educate people to stay safe and prevent tragedies on and offshore. Donate here.

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Paul Lashmar @paullashmar.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Just like the good old days in Britain when it was a few men who voted for their MPs and you took the chaps down the pub got them pissed and gave them a few quid for their vote. Then came suffrage and secret voting and it all went to hell.

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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

A Reform government would force schools to sing the National Anthem and if they don't oblige parents will be encouraged to report them to the authorities. Yeah that's not like really scary and authoritarian schoolsweek.co.uk/reform-there...

schoolsweek.co.uk

Reform: 'There will be consequences for not singing anthem'

Braverman believes parents will tip her off if heads don't follow her anthem and hymns rules

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Paul Lashmar @paullashmar.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

C4 News may have just destroyed Reform by filming party leaders apparently taking undisclosed donations from a non UK source. Outstanding investigation. Telegraph heads may also roll from running polls that were actually commissioned by Reform. Watch and be astonished.

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Paul Lashmar @paullashmar.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

This would be a good day for the Pentagon to publish investigation into why a missile hit Minab primary school, Iran during the opening salvos of the US-Israeli war on February 28, killing 168 people including at least 120 children. www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWJD...

youtube.com

Iran school bombing: Will the truth come out? | The Global Story

YouTube video by BBC News

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Daily Herald #FBPE #NAFO 🇬🇧🇺🇦🇬🇱 @dailyherald.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

If the people of Clacton thought Farage would spend a bit more time representing them in the House of Commons second time round, it seems they're going to be disappointed.

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James Ball @jamesrball.com · 01/09/2026

This is both a crappy way to treat apprentices and also shortsighted: surely these are among the very cheapest and keenest employees, and the future talent pipeline?

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James Ball @jamesrball.com · 25/08/2026

Cash deposited to post offices has increased by 50% over six years, which the post office has been celebrating as a triumph for its services to small businesses. Except: what's happened to cash use in the legitimate economy over that time? Anyone?

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