It's time to take the fight to Palantir. YouTube video by Bold Politics with Zack Polanski

It's time to take the fight to Palantir.

youtube.com/shorts/IPF5b...

A Veterinary Agreement? Here we go again

And there was some chatter in 2024 when Labour first came to power that they were trying the same thing as part of the 'reset' but (if true) that came to nothing as well. For more on that, see @samuelmarclowe.bsky.social's: mostfavourednation.substack.com/p/a-veterina.... 3/3

NI Protocol: Lord Frost calls for EU agrifood rules move The UK's Brexit minister says checks on goods entering NI were a political position by the EU.

Johnson and Frost pushed for it again in 2021, in the context of attempts to change the Northern Ireland Protocol, and again it was rejected by the EU: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-nort.... And for the same basic reason: volume/ complexity of UK-EU trade > NZ-EU trade (+ trust issues). 2/3

It's astonishing that Singham is still peddling this nonsense. The UK *did* pursue this under Johnson-Frost and, for good reasons, it was rejected in 2020 - as Singham knows because when that happened he still refused to accept it (& evidently still does): www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1384... 1/3

Chart showing trends for top five issues for UK voters

If you’re looking for a possible explanation for the steady decline in Reform polling, it’s here:

The economy has replaced immigration as the top issue for Brits in the latest Ipsos poll.

Nov
Immigration top issue 50%
Reform share 33%

April
Immigration 32%
Reform share 25%

Clean energy generation exceeded rise in global electricity demand in 2025 Output from solar farms rose by a third while electricity from fossil fuels fell, research from thinktank reveals

Solar energy soared by 1000% over the last decade, reports the excellent @fionaharvey.bsky.social. And last year clean energy overtook the growth in electricity demand for the first time.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

EXPOSED: How Viktor Orbán Bankrolled the Network Around Reform UK As Hungary’s Prime Minister suffers a historic electoral defeat, Byline Times maps out how his government’s funding arm channelled hundreds of thousands of pounds into organisations at the heart of Br...

EXPOSED: How Viktor Orbán Bankrolled the Network Around Reform UK – Byline Times bylinetimes.com/2026/04/14/e...

The Criminal Past of the Far-Right Anti-Migrant ‘Auditors’ Going Viral on YouTube Streamers who generate millions of views on Youtube, while posing as 'citizen journalists', have a record of abusive behaviour towards women and sexual offences, a Byline Times investigation reveals

The Criminal Past of the Far-Right Anti-Migrant ‘Auditors’ Going Viral on YouTube – Byline Times

bylinetimes.com/2026/04/17/t...

Really, this Brexitism and not recognising the true position of the UK is an absolute virus. Shankar Singham and his ilk are vectors. They should have no part in a debate about the UK's future.

Ends

@philsbodydouble.bsky.social
@chrisgrey.bsky.social

UK consumers haven't switched away from European products, despite Brexit.

And if you think the UK is planning to put up more checks or make it harder for our exporters, do you imagine unhappy shoppers will put up with even emptier shelves?

Brexit delusion.

3

He said the UK had significant commercial heft in talks, with about 23% of the EU’s global exports of agrifood going to the UK – with “much less” going the other way. Singham said the trade imbalance gave Keir Starmer a huge buyer’s advantage in talks. “The interesting thing here is that the UK government hasn’t really used the leverage it has,” he said.

They're close together and trade has thousands of product lines, including processed and fresh food, cold meats, etc.

NZ exports mainly a limited number of simple products. And it's far away.

As for this, what leverage? This is back to the absolutely discredited German carmakers argument.

2

Guaridan: On Tuesday, peers were told that the UK could have pursued an alternative path such as the “mutual recognition” of food standards that supports trade between New Zealand and the UK. That would have removed the need for dynamic alignment with the EU, said Shanker Singham, chair of the Growth Commission and a past adviser to some MPs on alternative arrangements for Brexit in Northern Ireland.

This enrages me. That this "expert" is invited to speak at parliamentary committees and lies about Europe.

The UK did ask, Shankar Singham. It was told, clearly, that mutual recognition was not appropriate for the trading relationship between UK and Europe.

1

Burning wood for power worse for climate than gas equivalent, report finds Research casts doubt on plans by UK government to offer subsidies for carbon capture attached to the power source

The biomass — mostly Drax — continues to be a heavily subsidised scandal www.theguardian.com/environment/...

So - quick calculation - via interconnectors, you can add a further 0.009% of fossil fuel use to the UK's overall electricity consumption, right at this sunny moment. Nothing shifts that 2.4% fossil fuel use stat.

Finally, 3% of UK demand is being met by the Netherlands. Electricity generation there is currently 81% renewable and 81% carbon free. Here's the really useful data site: app.electricitymaps.com/map/zone/NL/...

2% UK demand met by Norway. Norway is entirely powered by hydro and wind.

2% UK demand met by Denmark. Denmark generation is currently 93% carbon free. www.elia.be/en/grid-data...

2% of UK electricity is from Belgium. Belgium generation at present: overwhelmingly solar, some wind, a tiny amount of gas. www.elia.be/en/grid-data...

Fair point. Let's take a look.

Interconnectors meeting 15% of UK grid demand. Nearly half is coming from France, which currently generates only 1% of its electricity from fossil fuels. www.rte-france.com/en/data-publ...

Sunlight travels through too wide a strait for any nation to blockade it.

Boris Johnson on his way back from a party

Kemi Badenoch can't believe Keir Starmer would allow anyone with links to the Kremlin anywhere near government

What's happened? 👇

- The WRU have backed down: the Cardiff deal is off.
- Ospreys will sign a new deal with the WRU, seeing the club into the 2030s with a BIG funding boost.
- The St Helens development will go ahead. Professional rugby is coming back to the centre of Swansea.

🚨 This is a huge moment 🚨

The attempt to force the Ospreys out of professional rugby with no proper process been defeated.

Fans, and those of us who campaigned relentlessly alongside them against WRU’s chaotic reforms to Welsh rugby, have won a massive victory.

I don't think it's unreasonable to say no MP should get gifts from overseas firms or donors. Feels like a pretty basic anti-interference measure.

£675,000 for Farage from overseas donors.

"Of Farage’s 28 personal patrons, 20 are based abroad."

I imagine that's the highest of any MP.

Farage’s foreign income Mapping his millions...

"Farage has clocked up nearly £2 million in income and gifts since he was elected as the member for Clacton in July 2024." open.substack.com/pub/writesbr...

With Orban gone the EU has now approved the 90 billion Euro loan to Ukraine and another package of sanctions on Russia. V good news.

Time for Wales to step up. It’s ok to be disenchanted with Labour, it ok to be sceptical about Plaid.
But right now *actual fascism* is knocking on our door, and when that happens you don’t mess about.
Usually I vote Green, but this time I’ll be voting Plaid, without hesitation, to defeat Reform.

Please can our useless Ff/FG do this ⬇️

On 7 May Wales faces a choice of two futures

Ambition or division.

Plaid Cymru or Reform.

Help us elect a government that will always stand up for Wales and stop Reform by voting Plaid Cymru on 7 May.

Beavers have been successfully reintroduced to East Sussex for the first time in 400 years as part of a new wildlife project. Top work by EcoTalk and the Beaver Trust!