Sign in

Paul

@thefripod.bsky.social
198 followers 83 following 178 posts

I was happy in the haze of a drunken hour. Writer Reader Struggler

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Paul
Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
For 14yrs, the Tories cratered our economy, added thousands to our cost of living, melted down public services and brexited us into decades of eye-watering expense and lost opportunity. That’s still their plan. With tax breaks for the super rich paid for by welfare cuts. So what TF is this headline?
THE TIMES

Thursday October 8 2026 | thetimes.com | No 75158

Tories will make you better off
Badenoch vows to scrap inheritance tax on family homes and abolish Labour's levy on properties worth more than £2m
1621426542 1.4K
Reposted by Paul
Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
I'm sorry if this is obvious but the Tory proposal to exempt family homes completely from IHT will lead to 1] pensioners buying the biggest houses they possibly can 2] pensioners refusing to downsize which can only be bad news for younger families trying to buy family homes
871038242 1K
Paul @thefripod.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
For years, Stephen Lennon has asked supporters to trust him and fund him. A Channel 4 Dispatches investigation, made with HOPE not hate, has raised serious questions about his finances. I’ve added my name calling for a full investigation. Will you? secure.hopenothate.org.uk/page/199860/...
secure.hopenothate.org.uk
CALL FOR AN HMRC INVESTIGATION INTO STEPHEN LENNON
A year-long Channel 4 Dispatches investigation has raised serious questions about Stephen Lennon’s finances. Add your name and call on the Government to refer them to HMRC for investigation.
000 0
Reposted by Paul
Ray Casey's Truth on Teesside account @raycasey.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
For years, Stephen Lennon has asked supporters to trust him and fund him. A Channel 4 Dispatches investigation, made with HOPE not hate, has raised serious questions about his finances. I’ve added my name calling for a full investigation. Will you? secure.hopenothate.org.uk/page/199860/...
secure.hopenothate.org.uk
CALL FOR AN HMRC INVESTIGATION INTO STEPHEN LENNON
A year-long Channel 4 Dispatches investigation has raised serious questions about Stephen Lennon’s finances. Add your name and call on the Government to refer them to HMRC for investigation.
1107 10
Reposted by Paul
Andy Burge 🇬🇧🇪🇺 @andygjburge.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Enough of tolerating these violent fascist fuckwits.
1308 30
Reposted by Paul
Andy Burge 🇬🇧🇪🇺 @andygjburge.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
who should have utterly condemned the violence rather spinelessly said "she understood". This man Thomas is causing damage and police operations costing us £tens of millions". He should be investigated, charged with violent riot and incitement, tried and if guilty, jailed, for a very long time.
12910 29
Reposted by Paul
Andy Burge 🇬🇧🇪🇺 @andygjburge.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
BBC News, 1) this was not a protest, it was a riot. 2) no police persission was sought for a "protest". 3) Most of the rioters were bused in fascists from other parts of the UK. 4) disgracefully many Tory MPs led by Chris Philp approved of Thomas's actions in the Commons and the minister
12910 29
Reposted by Paul
Andy Burge 🇬🇧🇪🇺 @andygjburge.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
The most biased, almost gleeful reporting by Gibb's BBC News about the Dover and Portsmouth violence. Every interview was with people supporting or appoving the riot. Only once was the organiser Thomas, a violent and criminally convicted racist thug described as "convicted". Well you creeps at
44316 43
Reposted by Paul
Peter Stefanovic @peterstefanovic.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Nigel Farage should face ‘full force’ of law if found guilty of election rules breach – Sir Ed Davey www.channel4.com/news/nigel-f...
channel4.com
Nigel Farage should face ‘full force’ of law if found guilty of election rules breach – Sir Ed Davey
We shared the findings of our investigation with the Electoral Commission, who told us that “information about any potential attempt to evade the controls on donations is for the police to consider.”
33867210 867
Reposted by Paul
Justin Baragona @justinbaragona.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
What gets me is how Trump and MAGA world are acting like 162,000 jobs is a blockbuster number. During Biden's term, he averaged a monthly job growth of 321,000. Since Trump took office, there's only been 663,000 jobs created for a monthly average of 34,900. data.bls.gov/timeseries/C...
78742285 742
Reposted by Paul
Steve Peers @stevepeers.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Andrew Tate indicted in Romania for 'trafficking minors, money laundering, sex with a minor and witness tampering' edition.cnn.com/2026/09/04/e...
edition.cnn.com
Romanian prosecutors indict Andrew Tate for trafficking minors, money laundering | CNN
Romanian prosecutors officially indicted social media influencer Andrew Tate on Friday for trafficking minors, money laundering, sex with a minor and witness tampering and his brother Tristan for comp...
67918 79
Paul @thefripod.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Plus nobody ever uses the term “loose pub talk” in Britain. It sounds like something a public schoolboy might say to sound like he hangs around with the ‘rough boys’.
000 0
Paul @thefripod.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Breaking: Laura Kuenssberg to have Nigel Farage on as special guest on Sunday to answer questions about the Channel 4 expose once she’s thought of them and emailed him them beforehand.
000 0
Reposted by Paul
Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
The full report is utterly damning. Farage's policy chief James Orr boasts that they can "easily get away with it" because the Electoral Commission are so "dumb and ineffective" youtu.be/aXut3s90rUI?...
youtu.be
Undercover: Exposing Reform's secret donations plot
YouTube video by Channel 4 News
20327124 327
Reposted by Paul
Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
What really struck me watching Channel 4 investigation into Reform is that the wilful breaking of electoral law isn’t an accident - it’s by design At every turn it’s Reform - Orr, Dan Jukes - saying how to break the law Exactly why I’ve been banging on about weak election law for so long
521493413 1.5K
Reposted by Paul
Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
It's explosive. It's also completely predictable. To see Reform say on camera that Electoral Commission is useless and toothless wasn't shocking... it's plain to see.
781304360 1.3K
Reposted by Paul
Steve Peers @stevepeers.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
The Telegraph's righteousness about people allegedly passing off other people's work as their own doesn't apply when the Telegraph does it itself
111537 115
Reposted by Paul
Carole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
And as with Jason Arday, you can see the problem here. Because a handful of gatekeepers decide what is ‘news’ & what isn’t. This is a stunning investigation but if & how it catches fire depends on the follow-up…& Times & Telegraph are embarrassed & implicated. So much now depends on the BBC…
25879209 879
Reposted by Paul
Carole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
The Times & Telegraph laundered illicitly funded Reform polls onto their front pages as ‘exclusives’ yet not a single word on their sites. UK political journalism is so very broken
16806218 806
Paul @thefripod.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Reform are corrupt scum.
000 0
Reposted by Paul
Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
I can't remember a clearer smoking gun than that Channel 4 News footage. Nigel Farage and his senior aides all filmed discussing apparent plans to break the law by funnelling foreign money into British politics, plans which at least partly went ahead. A criminal investigation surely must follow
1283184848 3.2K
Reposted by Paul
Fionna O’Leary @fascinatorfun.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Burnham should incentivise electricity by shifting the ratio of gas:electricity. Aurora Energy Research notes that between now and 2030 the UK is projected to add 117 TWh of renewable supply, compared to 31 TWh of demand. www.ft.com/content/33c0...
ft.com
Burnham’s energy challenge: getting more UK households off gas
The prime minister could make electricity more attractive to incentivise switching
57023 70
Reposted by Paul
Phillips OBrien @phillipspobrien.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
So the USA is stealing Venezuelan oil and entrenching a new dictator in power to oppress the Venezuelan people. There needs to be a reckoning for all this.
1302104603319 10.5K
Reposted by Paul
Fionna O’Leary @fascinatorfun.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Weird how these Britain First CRIMINALS are trying to sell the idea that it’s the ASYLUM SEEKERS that are the threat to our health and well being.
25827 58
Reposted by Paul
Oxford Clarion @oxfordclarion.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Leaders of flag-raising group Raise the Colours Oxfordshire placed trackers on highway workers’ cars to find out their home addresses, the High Court has heard. RTC then attempted to intimidate the highway staff into no longer removing flags by repeating their addresses to them.
Flags on the Abingdon Road
791030731 1K
Reposted by Paul
Fionna O’Leary @fascinatorfun.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
As Zelensky says “The world must see this," ... "It must see every piece of evidence that Russia has gone mad, and every fact that Russian soldiers are enjoying killings and tormenting people."
0214 21
Paul @thefripod.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Nick Timothy, a man that wears his head the wrong way around and his principles lower than the souls of his shoes.
010 1
Reposted by Paul
Sort of Damocles @sortofdamocles.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
RFK Jr and wife had a soiree at their Hollywood mansion during COVID and required proof of COVID vaccination with RSVP. Watch what they do, not what they say. –Rachel Maddow
322220637341 22.1K
Reposted by Paul
Miffythegamer @miffythegamer.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Amazing to see the usual TERFs wailing & pearl clutching over Rod Liddle’s demise. The same TERFs who claim they’re protecting women & girls from evil trans people are the same TERFs sobbing over the death of a man who beat his pregnant girlfriend & who wanted to shag children.
79120 91
Reposted by Paul
Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
I was struck by a piece on Radio 4 the other day, asking whether Burnham would be more "pragmatic" - meaning "positive" - about drilling in the North Sea. It was simply taken for granted that drilling was the "pragmatic" option, while opposing it was dogmatic or ideological.
1923353 233
Paul @thefripod.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
No, I know her background isn’t one of privilege Andy but her life now is.
110 1
Paul @thefripod.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
How odd to decide to spend your life of privilege going down this route of being an evil, terrible person?! Rowling really could do good but decides to go in opposite direction.
120 2
Reposted by Paul
Andy Burge 🇬🇧🇪🇺 @andygjburge.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
JK Rowling is a transphobic bigot - demonising this small group of people is evil.
2458 45
Reposted by Paul
Fionna O’Leary @fascinatorfun.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Christ! Imagine that headline about 🇬🇧 Universities. We’d think they’d completely lost their minds. 🇺🇸!!!! GET A GRIP.
33424 34
Paul @thefripod.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Kay Burley is a nasty, genuinely awful piece of work.
020 2
Reposted by Paul
Cold War Steve @coldwarsteve.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
401336442 1.3K
Reposted by Paul
Peter Smith @redpeter99.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Dreadful analysis. Dreadful prose. Mason is true to form.
6254 25
Reposted by Paul
Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
“Farage Whinges About a 'Media Pile-On'. The Truth Is, the Media Made Farage” At every stage of his political career, the Reform UK leader has been helped on his way by the media machine he now affects to despise. And he is still manipulating them with ease.
zeteo.uk
Farage Whinges About a 'Media Pile-On'. The Truth Is, the Media Made Farage
At every stage of his political career, the Reform UK leader has been helped on his way by the media machine he now affects to despise. And he is still manipulating them with ease.
1001744491 1.7K
Paul @thefripod.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Great thread on how foil Farage by Fionna.
000 0
Reposted by Paul
Arthur Snell @snellarthur.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Big day today when Le Pen’s future is decided after she used EU funds to pay for her domestic campaigns. Funny how Farage did exactly this but no UK authorities have done anything about it.
7670287 670
Reposted by Paul
Dan Hon @danhon.com · 07/07/2026
Potential kinetic energy batteries are nuts
215841 158
Reposted by Paul
Fionna O’Leary @fascinatorfun.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
A very pithy Palantir summary from @mikegalsworthy.bsky.social about the European pushback against Palantir. France, Spain and Switzerland coming OUT or refusing to allow it in. Several other European countries now seeking alternatives. But
411856 118
Reposted by Paul
Byline Times @bylinetimes.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
🔴 NEW: Six in 10 Russian Billionaires Are Still Not Being Sanctioned by the UK Government A series of billionaires with ties to Britain remain untouched by the UK's supposedly tough sanctions regime, reports Molly Gordon and Iain Overton Read the full story below.
bylinetimes.com
Six in 10 Russian Billionaires Are Still Not Being Sanctioned by the UK Government
A series of billionaires with ties to Britain remain untouched by the UK's supposedly tough sanctions regime, reports Molly Gordon and Iain Overton
413474 134
Reposted by Paul
Gavin Draper @buzzardinnit.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
You are not alone. I think the same. Lewis Goodall left the BBC for, amongst other things, whispers of “Robbie is watching you” in his ear as quoted here. www.theguardian.com/media/articl...
theguardian.com
BBC failed to defend me during Tory witch-hunt, says Lewis Goodall
Former Newsnight journalist says editors instead told him to ‘be careful’ when he was attacked by ex-No 10 aide on BBC board
053 5
Reposted by Paul
The Bear @bearlypolitics.co.uk · 02/07/2026
Yesterday, for the first time in 50 years, we reached the point where deaths in this country overtook births. As of last year, we also reduced net migration to its lowest level since the last decade, and it looks to be even lower. We are very rapidly heading to a massive demographic crisis.
26327154 327
Reposted by Paul
Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
And there’s more… More lies, more dodgy deals and denials.. Farage has bought 4 houses for cash since 2020 - the year we left the EU. And declared only 2 of them. Come on people. The man’s a hot mess of corruption, racism, national security threat and greed. Let’s bin him off.
From 'skint' in 2017, the Reform UK leader now owns five mortgage-free homes with his partner Laure Ferrari.
Only two have been declared to parliament

(Photo of Farage superimposed in front of two houses) 
Andrew Ellson
Wednesday July 1 2026, 3:52pm, The Times


Nigel Farage and his partner have managed to build a mortgage-free property portfolio worth more than £4 million over the past decade.
11521541086 2.2K
Reposted by Paul
Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
At some point this is going to become a source of embarrassment for Reform. And with everyone in Restore seemingly hating him already (he constantly attacks them on Twitter they return in kind) he will be running short of options. Maybe he can run the EDL newsletter.
1523939 239
Paul @thefripod.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
But the BBC acts completely differently and in an opposite manner.
010 1
Reposted by Paul
Reform Party UK Exposed @reformexposed.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Reform MSP says she has 'no choice' but to send children to private school in England
scotsman.com
Reform MSP says she has 'no choice' but to send children to private school in England
Reform MSP removed her younger son and daughter from their state school in Scotland to send them over the border to a fee-paying secondary.
63317 33