Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 7hI think we can respectfully disagree. I simply believe that when faced with the prospect of the far right getting a toe hold in government both Labour and Greens would have been able to put minor disagreements aside. 100
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 7hYeh I don't live online, I responded to the latest message when I got the chance, and then I apologised because I realised they were not UK based, frames of reference are different. 000
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 9hOh hang on, sorry, I just saw you said the "Labor" party, so you must be referring to a new world or Aussie party. In which case I can't comment, due to misunderstanding. I was referring to the UK Labour party, who are famously to the left of the two more right wing parties. 100
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 9h"to the left of those two parties"... ...is what I wrote. If you want to argue they aren't to the left of the Tories or Reform please proceed. 200
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 20hIt's not impossible, with talk of a Tory/Reform coalition, those to the left of those two parties may need to band together to oppose it. 9130
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 20hYeh okay, that does clarify it but "Trump’s remarks were admittedly confusing, in keeping with his characteristically roundabout style of speaking" Oh come on. That's doing some real heavy lifting to cover for dementia. 010
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 21hThere's a real possibility of a coup coming. I hope you and the others who oppose trump are prepared. 020
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 21hThey just are the same people literally. They're characters from the same troll farms. 020
Reposted by Steven ThomasJoe Walsh @walshfreedom.bsky.social · 06/10/2026She speaks the truth. 💯 👇 131128365
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Why didn't he go with "in the navy"? None of this makes any sense. 5640
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 06/10/2026This isn't my field, but this is an interesting read. 010
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 06/10/2026"God bless the United States Navy... Unless Iran hits San Diego, in which case that's just a small price to pay". 41628
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Damn right. I hope the rest of the US military realises he views them as expendable and responds accordingly. Just watch out, Hegseth is building a control network into the armed forces of Christian nationalists who don't view Americans as worth a damn unless they believe what he believes. 110
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 06/10/2026You sure he was joking? He probably doesn't even know there's a naval base in San Diego 100
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Amazing he can make up a quote from a dead man, just to say "this upset me because I thought I was the best person ever" 0200
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 06/10/2026I worry America is already there. The money in politics, the capture of the media, the army under Christian nationalist control. We in the UK have a very small window to attempt to regulate out billionaire influence, media control. Get closer to EU and Canada. Will we do it? I worry not. 010
Reposted by Steven ThomasDr. Bradley Onishi @bradleyonishi.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Dropping tomorrow . . . 0207
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 06/10/2026To get you started. www.politico.com/magazine/sto...politico.comThe Hidden History of Trump’s First Trip to MoscowIn 1987, a young real estate developer traveled to the Soviet Union. The KGB almost certainly made the trip happen. 065
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 06/10/2026When I see stuff like that I assume all the followers are bots too. 120
Reposted by Steven ThomasJohn O’Shea @politicalhackuk.bsky.social · 05/10/2026“Controlling a plague is a lot like making love to a beautiful woman” 1226367
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Do we stand a chance of getting a meaningful amount of electric passenger planes by 2050? 000
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Total coward. He sent one text with Dutch courage, then regretted it with "I still love you, don't be angry at me". Fuck off. Coward 020
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 02/10/2026To be fair I've heard human readers mispronounce that word, and "hyperbole". 110
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 02/10/2026This reads like it was written by chatGPT.bbc.co.ukChris Mason: Why Andy Burnham's about-turn on Manchester City mattersThe prime minister's comments on Man City were revealing on several levels - and leapt on by many in football, the BBC's political editor writes. 010
Reposted by Steven ThomasRachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 01/10/2026"The party has also said it would look closer at whether parents' earnings and savings should be factored into welfare payments for their children" So according to the Tories, it's wrong to means-test benefits for boomers... but totally fine to do so for their adult children children.bbc.co.ukConservatives pledge 'tough love' benefit rules for under-25sThe party says it would bring in new work requirements for young people claiming Universal Credit. 2123064
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 01/10/2026The expectation that media be biased at all, let alone biased to him, is the problem. How do we get a really impartial media? 020
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 01/10/2026I fear the parallels with the fall of Roman Republic are such that we're just past the age of the Grachii. Trump and hegseth are setting the stage for the Marius's, and the Sullas to come. 000
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 01/10/2026America has had every warning to put a stop to this. 000
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 28/09/2026This shit is getting out of hand. The population of the country need to stand up and put a stop to this 001
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 28/09/2026But who will insure them? Also every conveyancing solicitor in a purchase will flag exactly this. It's wrong, but the buyers should have enough info here to know that if they buy that property it's on a flood plain, high insurance risk or uninsurable, and they shouldn't buy it. 000
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 28/09/2026The thing that can put the "united" back in the "United States" 000
Reposted by Steven ThomasDave Keating @davekeating.substack.com · 28/09/2026The behaviour of the Trump administration in Europe has been summed up in one quote from a Wall Street Journal article. My take:davekeating.substack.com“We can do that to any country we want. We can do that here.”Explosive revelations about Trump’s ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle in the Wall Street Journal show the extent of the White House’s mafia-like extortion racket in Europe. 03430
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 27/09/2026He is what you get if you cross Stephen Merchant and Karl pilkington. 010
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 27/09/2026It's almost like they're designed to make the planet warmer, to increase the use of fossil fuels. 110
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 25/09/2026People need to go out and buy antiquarian books just to save them. 010
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 25/09/2026I think everyone should go out to their local charity/2nd hand bookshop, look at the antiquities section (Oxfam bookshop is great for them) and buy a couple of the very old books they sell. Stick them on your bookcase at home and look at them, because they're often beautiful. Protect them. Save them 010
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Yes but you can forsee the response can't you? "They're just more wrong than us. Just because they're spending more doesn't mean we need to. They need to spend less too". 001
Reposted by Steven ThomasGaia Vince @wanderinggaia.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Wow good calltheguardian.comUK shares findings of damning climate crisis national security report suppressed under StarmerEl Niño poses critical threat to nations’ defences, says Ed Miliband in presentation to global foreign ministers 520374
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 24/09/2026One would hope. But I wonder if our politicians are ever capable of being proactive rather than reactive. 100
Reposted by Steven ThomasTim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 24/09/2026"There are two possibilities here. The big rich countries suffered a drop in the quality of leaders at around the same time. Or voters became harder to please. Neither suggestion is absurd but it should be clear which is more plausible." Great column (oh, and great illustration, too)ft.comThe west does not have a leadership problemIf Friedrich Merz and almost everyone else is unpopular, perhaps governments aren’t the issue 5167
Reposted by Steven ThomasPeter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 23/09/2026‘What is emerging is not simply a relationship between [Reform and Farage] and a wealthy Gulf state, but a channel through which an authoritarian government can cultivate political influence here, and abroad.’ Would really recommend a read of this democracyforsale.substack.com/p/reform-and...democracyforsale.substack.comReform and the UAE – a threat to British politicsNigel Farage's embrace of the UAE is part of a wider effort by the Gulf petrostate to build alliances with the far right across the West, says Alex Carlen. 10351222
Reposted by Steven ThomasPrem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 23/09/2026There is a lot of misinformation about the UK social security spending. The chart below shows Total UK social security spending as a percentage of GDP, 2013/14 to 2030/31 (spending & forecast) 55% goes to pensioners, the remainder covers everything else. lordslibrary.parliament.uk/welfare-refo... 21316189
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Pisses me off that big stories have to be released close to an election otherwise everyone forgets. Just arrest people when you get evidence of crimes. 010
Steven Thomas @stryer.bsky.social · 22/09/2026"fields that *haven't* been mined to death like Great White Men Histories..." /Looks at draft manuscript on rebellion and monarchy in the medieval period. Damnit. Well, there are some white women too. 000