There has been a total collapse of trust in anything that comes out of this Pentagon. They have lied freely, frequently and without shame. It means that on serious matters - like civilian casualty disputes or US casualty figures - no-one can trust what they say.
The basic issue is obvious:
Starmer decided to appoint for reasons unknown a man as ambassador to the US who was utterly unfit for the job
Everyone knew that at the time
There was no mystery that Mandelson was unappointable.
Mandelson self-destructed.
Starmer is responsible
The rest is noise
Incidentally from what I've heard of Robbins at the FCDO there will be a lot of folk very happy about his departure. Shrinkage and reorganisation were a considerable upheaval.
The most over-rated and over-promoted official of his generation.
Politicians make a category error when it comes to car crime. They are far too light on it for fear of the "war on the motorist" when motorists hateeeeeeeeeeeeeee dodgy drivers
by no means the main take to be had here (indeed takes 1 to 25 should be along the lines of "fucking hell Keir"), but worth noting just how quickly moral rot can spread - all of this obviously happened because Trump won and the government needed someone morally rotten to step in to help them
We're now into the Chris Pincher era of the government where:
A) You are sending out allies to do a media round, knowing it will be grisly.
B) You know there is more to come, and aren't telling them, leaving them to feel ever more betrayed.
C) No actual governing gets done.
The nub of so many of this government’s problems is that there is a Keir Starmer where the prime minister should be.
In addition to having one of the all time great soundtracks, Grosse Pointe Blank is one of the driest dark comedies you'll ever watch. Truly one of the great movies of the 90s.bsky.app/profile/jasondashbailey....
The Telegraph just gave a convicted criminal a two-page spread to explain why he's pumping £4 million into Reform UK. They tucked his criminal record away in the small print. So as a former financial crime specialist I’ll do their job for them👇
Cliftonville (Kent County Council) result:
🌹 Joanne Bright (Lab) - 557
⚪ Lucy Gray (Ind) - 68
🌳 Charlie Leys (Con) - 811
➡️ Marc Rattigan (Ref) - 1767
🔶 Mo Shafaei (LDem) - 63
🟢 Rob Yates (Green) - 2068
Turnout - 37.7%
Green GAIN from Reform.
Some reflections on our first year.
The Kent Current is still a small operation, but year one has confirmed that there is an appetite for journalism in Kent that goes deeper, joins the dots, and treats what happens here as worth understanding properly.
The real headline: crypto crook (who pleaded guilty to breaking US money laundering rules) plans to try and buy UK politics www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...
I talk to my children about the news every day, even when it’s hard.
I am not telling them what the US president just said.
When you throw in the sudden urge to try new grifts like crypto, lurching to extreme religiosity, weird ideological spasms, abrupt abandonment of lifelong tribal affiliations, the whole thing resembles nothing more than a coordinated male midlife crisis, for which we must all suffer
Farage. Three wallets of cryptocurrency in a trench coat.
Feeling very March 2020 today. Beautiful day outside. Sounds of kids playing happily. Looking at terrifying projections on my computer...
💰 🗓️ Campaign spending limits for political parties should apply all year to avoid parties gaming the system and risks of foreign interference.
Our director, @suehawley.bsky.social gave evidence to MPs on why transparency and fairness matter in an age of permanent political campaigning. 🧵 ⬇️
Good to see this but the scandal to my mind is that the government let this uncertainty and anxiety about World Service funding drag on right up to the wire. Stupid austerity posturing over what's effectively a pittance. Be serious! www.theguardian.com/media/2026/m...
It's not even him any more. It's the legion of minions. Those snivelling, squirming, faceless, loose-shoed head nodders in back of shot. Every ounce of self-respect squeezed out of them by the school bully till they can't even take a dump unless he gives his blessing.
🎥 Here's @kamilakingstone.bsky.social to explain why the Representation of the People Bill should be amended to make 3️⃣ major changes to spending limits on general election campaigning.
This was a car crash waiting to happen.
Start a war without consulting allies.
Demand they join.
If they hesitate, remind them that they are under another immense threat in Europe and need your help in an emergency. Which you won’t necessarily provide unless they do what you want.
Staggering that many on the right (eg Andrew Mitchell) still think the UK isn't supportive enough of the US. They are the equivalent of tankies, so wedded to their pro American world view, that the fact the US is led by a malevolent toddler who is directly harming the UK economy, is irrelevant.
Trump to the UK, 6 March: "We don't need them any longer... We don't need people to join wars after we've already won!"
Trump six days later: Publicly begs for the UK to send warships.
👏 Great blog post by @uncaccoalition.bsky.social rounding up the key takeaways from the last European network meeting, including insights on the UK's new Anti-Corruption Strategy and upcoming Illicit Finance Summit from @spotlightcorruption.org's own Helen Taylor.
There are so many reasons I feel deeply disappointed by this Government and its betrayal of what Labour should be.
This is one of the most pointlessly cruel.
The second of two deep dives from Josiah and Byline on crypto donations in UK politics.
In this piece, I flag the regulatory lacuna created by the fact that political parties do not have to declare their crypto wallet addresses - meaning any real time monitoring of donations is impossible ⬇️
🎥 Here's @jamesbj.bsky.social with a quick update on today's launch of our Clean and Green manifesto at @ukparliament.parliament.uk.
See the quoted post for links to download the manifesto and read its recommendations. #clean&green
❇️Today, Spotlight on Corruption is launching the #clean&green manifesto on how the UK’s anti-corruption efforts can help tackle environmental harm. Its recommendations are backed by 30 leading civil society organisations.
Read the manifesto here👇
www.spotlightcorruption.org/report/clean...
📺 Here’s our advocacy adviser @timpicton.bsky.social explaining why we think a 🚫 ban on crypto political donations is necessary:
