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Simon Shepherd 🇪🇺

@simonshep.bsky.social
241 followers 155 following 554 posts

Cruciverbalist, veggie, passionate European, enjoy words, language, cooking, wine, music: part-time genius & amateur human being (possibly vice versa)

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Reposted by Simon Shepherd 🇪🇺
Ella Baron @ellabaron.bsky.social · 34m
Monday's @theguardian.com cartoon #KemiBadenoch #Toryconference
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Reposted by Simon Shepherd 🇪🇺
Supertanskiii @supertanskiiii.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
A second Brexit referendum is a truly stupid idea. Straight to rejoin. No fucking about. There’s no logical argument, economic or otherwise, for not rejoining. The British electorate has proven that they don’t have a clue and are easily duped by disinformation campaigns and foreign interference.
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Reposted by Simon Shepherd 🇪🇺
Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The Conservative party Shadow Culture Secretary to speak at conference tomorrow about how to "defend press freedom", whilst her own party bans journalists whose coverage they don't like
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Simon Shepherd 🇪🇺 @simonshep.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Excellent piece
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Reposted by Simon Shepherd 🇪🇺
Chris Grey @chrisgrey.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
This illustrates not just the hypocrisy but the self-defeating nature of Trump's policies. Under MAGA doctrine, he enacts protectionism, trashes the alliance with Europe, and demands Europe take more responsibility for its own defence, and then finds it has consequences the US dislikes.
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Reposted by Simon Shepherd 🇪🇺
Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
“The question is not whether we can afford to remain within the Convention [ECHR]. It is whether, in an increasingly dangerous world, we can afford not to” Political liars and lightweights, like Badenoch and Farage, must never be allowed to take that risk. www.lawgazette.co.uk/commentary-a...
The Law Society
Gazette

In short, if Britain were to leave the ECHR, it would not be
'taking back control. It would be surrendering influence over the rules and institutions that help keep us safe.
The debate about the ECHR is too often conducted as though it were a choice between national sovereignty and international law. That is a false choice.
The Convention advances British interests because it reflects British values: liberty under law, democratic government and the accountability of power.
Walking away would not make Britain freer. It would make Britain weaker.
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Simon Shepherd 🇪🇺 @simonshep.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Running or ruining?
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Reposted by Simon Shepherd 🇪🇺
Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
If people don't want to pay tax to make this country function and help out the rest of society and particularly those who need help most... then maybe they should move to Dubai and stop bleating about it. Really sick to death of it.
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Reposted by Simon Shepherd 🇪🇺
Tom Gauld @tomgauld.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
My latest cartoon for @newscientist.com
A figure stands in a barren landscape; reaches for the lever on a large, eccentric contraption covered in wires, pipes, dials and buttons; looks over towards two figures inside a bunker and says:

"'Trust me, it's safe' would sound a lot more reassuring if you weren't saying it from inside a concrete bunker."
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Mark Hamill @markhamillofficial.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Original Statement: In Summary:
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Reposted by Simon Shepherd 🇪🇺
Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Farage honks his mouth off about ongoing police investigations, when told not to. His Welsh leader is in prison for taking bribes from Russia. He whips up riots. He’s in bed with Trump, foreign money, crooks and crypto billionaires…. A massive problem with national security is Farage himself.
sky news

'We have a massive problem with national security': Farage challenged on Fairford speculation
Reform UK leader told his social media followers the five men arrested after an RAF Fairford situation were "Iranian nationals". Sky's Rob Powell spoke to him after it was confirmed the men arrested are British nationals.
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Simon Shepherd 🇪🇺 @simonshep.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The recipe doesn’t say what temperature the tomatoes should be baked at. Also, the ingredients list salt & pepper, but the recipe doesn’t mention pepper. Please could you advise. Many thanks
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Reposted by Simon Shepherd 🇪🇺
Henry Morris @mrhenrymorris.substack.com · 28/09/2026
One for the equivocators.
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Tom Gauld @tomgauld.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Author Simulator. My latest books cartoon for @theguardian.com
Title: Author Simulator 

Level 1: Get to desk and begin! (Platform video game-style image of an author jumping from a block onto  a cloud with desk and computer) Result: success!

Level 2: Press on despite distractions! (Author typing as the desk/clod moves past a ghost and a spider) ) Result: success!

Level 3: Deliver manuscript to editor! (Author jumping over fire pit onto platform where editor waits) Result: success!

Level 4: Accept minor criticism! (Author lying ded in fronto of editors desk) Result: better luck next time!

Along the bottom are controls for:
 Left right jump crouch read write nap coffee
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Reposted by Simon Shepherd 🇪🇺
Paul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Personally, I’d rather have healthy kids than mollycoddled millionaires
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Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Even the GB News presenter is thrown by his guest's suggestion that all asylum seekers be castrated. This is what happens when the narrative marches ever rightwards. It drifts out of everyone's control and requires individuals involved to suddenly realise 'no wait, f***, that's mad'.
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Liam Connolly @connolly-lg.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
I want my country back. By that, I mean a country where I would be confident that a thug who livestreamed himself stabbing an RNLI dingy on an active operation would a) Be universally condemned b) Be swiftly arrested, put on trial and if found guilty, face many years in jail. I miss that country.
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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Art of the Deal is buying fertilizer from a Putin-aligned repressive dictator and paying to ship it 6,000 miles from his landlocked and sanctioned country so you can teach Canada a lesson.
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John Henderson @enigmatistelgar.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
The future of the Independent #Cryptic #Crossword: fifteensquared.net/2026/09/21/i...
fifteensquared.net
Independent Cryptic Crossword – the future – Fifteensquared
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Morten Morland @mortenmorland.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Tuesday’s @thetimes.com cartoon times.newsprints.co.uk/morten-morla...
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
The RNLI rescued Luftwaffe pilots in WW2 because the organisation is there to 'save life at sea' - it's something to be immensely proud of. But as I've said many times before Farage and Co don't seem to have pride in Britain and its institutions beyond flags and crap Enoch Powell said 60 years ago.
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Jenny Rhodes @jennyrhodes42.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Interesting unintended consequences…
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John Crace @mrjohncrace.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
With Kemi’s new shadow chancellor, the Tories must hope for a bout of public amnesia
Andrew Griffith is keen on clearing red tape. Good job he wasn’t part of a Treasury team that abolished the Office for Tax Simplification
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Reform UK should realy have to declare this as a donation in kind from GB News bylinetimes.com/2026/09/17/n...
bylinetimes.com
Nigel Farage Handed Platform by GB News to Defend Reform UK's £72m Donations From Crypto Billionaires
"These donations are completely legal," insisted the Reform UK leader as he used his first appearance as a GB News host for six months to dismiss all questions about where his party is getting its rec...
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Gaby Hinsliff @gabyhinsliff.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
(as in genuinely curious, this is not my area of expertise, it will be someone's on here, for once man/womansplain to me). Is tying lending to responsible AI risk management not possible? Are we saying bond market vigilantes can control govts but companies are just beyond their remit?
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Henry Morris @mrhenrymorris.substack.com · 13/03/2026
EXCLUSIVE - I've just been passed the latest copy from the Papua New Guinea Courier's USA correspondent. Subscribe to my Substack for more! mrhenrymorris.substack.com/p/the-latest...
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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
And guess who follows me.... a man from the Institute of Economic Affairs who, of course, don't declare their donors Wild
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John Crace @mrjohncrace.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
No matter how deranged and delusional your podcast is, Liz Truss can go further | John Crace
In the Trusster’s latest appearance, she says Blair and Brown had a plot to dismantle civilisation and the Tories were part of the woke establishment
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Rafael Behr @rafaelbehr.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
On Russia’s pastiche of democracy and lessons for countries that want to preserve the real thing www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
To understand the threat to our real democracy, watch Putin's fake one | Rafael Behr
As Russians vote this weekend, remember that Britain is not immune to the cynical tactics and corrosion of trust that keep him in power, says Guardian columnist Rafael Behr
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Simon Shepherd 🇪🇺 @simonshep.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Don’t forget Adolf Hitler on vibes (and Eric Clapton on ukulele).
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Simon Shepherd 🇪🇺 @simonshep.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I think that insults Syd Barrett. Certainly he was an early acid casualty, but to describe as “actually insane” one of the most innovative songwriters and guitarists of English rock is way off the mark. I’m sad that it was published like that (and, yes, I am unapologetically a huge Barrett fan).
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Simon Shepherd 🇪🇺 @simonshep.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The eyes have it.
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James O’Brien @mrjamesob.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
It would be more helpful for him to acknowledge and explain the role that his austerity policies played in encouraging people to vote for what he correctly critiques here.
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John Crace @mrjohncrace.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Who better to defend Reform’s latest millions than Honest Bob Jenrick? | John Crace
The man who once helped Richard ‘Dirty’ Desmond save a load of tax was wheeled out to face Laura Kuenssberg
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Tanita Tikaram @tanitatikaram.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
What 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 🙄.
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James Ball @jamesrball.com · 12/09/2026
It does give Reform's "enemies" a frame, too: Reform is on the side of the crypto criminals – both Delo and "posh George" – who are paying its bills. Accepting major contributions from one convicted criminal looks unfortunate. Two looks like carelessness.
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Martin Rowson @martinrowson.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Latest faux ad collage for the excellent @thenewworldmag.bsky.social out now!
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Elena Adaal @elenaadaal.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The strange case of a UK where professing support for a quite peaceful organization - Palestine Action - is an Act of Terrorism, while masked thugs can freely block ports. Part of the underlying cause is the highly performative nature of UK politics.
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Truly disgusting social media post from one of Brexit's most influential backers.
Arron Banks 

Going through Heathrow today, there wasn't one
white face in security or airport services. The
Home office is staffed by the type of people we
are trying to keep out! What hope?
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John Crace @mrjohncrace.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Forgetful Farage shares rose-tinted memories of Reform’s party conference | John Crace
Oops, Nige skipped over the most embarrassing and dark details – let’s set the record straight
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James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Peanuts cartoon in which Lucy gives Charlie Brown an imaginary hundred million dollars for trying to kick the football
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Simon Shepherd 🇪🇺 @simonshep.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Read this and the subsequent posts. All on point. Thank you.
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Ella Baron @ellabaron.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Thursday's @theguardian.com cartoon on the abuse of #RNLI volunteers in Portsmouth. #PatrioticPlatform #refugees #immigration #smallboats #channelcrossings
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Simon Pegg @simonpegg.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
The UK land speed record of 403.1 mph (648.7 km/h) set by Donald Campbell on July 17 1964 has just been broken by a paper shredder at Reform UK HQ.
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Tom Gauld @tomgauld.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
My latest for @newscientist.com
Two scientists walk past numerous enormous shelves, each divided into sections containing a huge array of weird items. One says:
“We still don't know what any of this is, where it came from, or what it does, but you have to admit we've shelved it all beautifully.”
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Robert Hutton @roberthutton.co.uk · 08/09/2026
On Andy Burnham's sudden bout of shyness. thecritic.co.uk/sanc...
The close of his statement was an appeal to our better natures. If we were going to ask Israelis and Palestinians to live side-by-side, he said, Britain also had to be a place where “people of all faiths and none have a right to live without prejudice or fear.” Listening to him was Andy Burnham, who has been strangely absent from our public debate for the last few days. In August, we couldn’t move for social media clips from the prime minister, standing on a ladder to discuss his first job, or sitting in a pub to rate bar snacks. But faced with masked thugs trying to shut down British ports over the weekend, Burnham seems to have lost the password for his phone. For a decade now, Britain has had a series of leaders apparently paralysed by the fear that if they say that racism is bad, they’ll be voted out. It would be nice to get one who had a slightly higher opinion of us.
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 08/09/2026
Spot on 🎯
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Daniel Sugarman @danielsugarman.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
This Neo-Nazi is attempting to target RNLI volunteers. The police have to act, and the Prime Minister should be making a public statement.
Neo Nazi attempts to target RNLI volunteers
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Dr Anke Marsh @ankemarsh.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Just so we are clear: The 83yo priest on the left is a terrorist. The balaclava-clad men on the right are protestors with legitimate concerns
A photo from the BBC of an older woman, with grey hair, being led away by police. A photograph of a line of men in black clothes and balaclavas blocking the port at Dover.
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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
A suggested statement for Andy Burnham.
‘The British public decided in the 1930s that they would not tolerate black-shirted militias marching through their streets. They would cherish robust political argument; they would not accept thuggery and intimidation. When Oswald Mosley led his Blackshirts to Cable Street, local people turned them back. A new law – introduced by a Liberal, backed by Labour and carried by a Conservative majority – banned private militias, political uniforms and ‘the use or display of physical force in promoting any political object’. The British people are as determined today as in the 1930s that they will not accept the methods of Mussolini and the Munich Beer Hall. This government will uphold the law and defend the traditions of British democracy’.
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