“We’re helping too many people with disabilities” is a hell of a line from a Labor government

Free plug-in solar panels to be rolled out to some households The technology is designed to be a simpler and more affordable way of benefiting from renewable energy

To shield people from spiralling energy costs in the wake of the Iran war, UK government pledges:

- Free plug-in solar + up to £12,000 worth of rooftop solar + battery for lower-income households
- breaking the link between gas prices + energy bills

share.google/GPhzrUeMcM2E...

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Robbins concludes:

“As a human being, I’m desperately, desperately sad about it . . . I love that job, I love that institution, I was proud to serve this government and any government that might follow it.”

Cabinet Office believed there was no need to vet Mandelson, Robbins says Evidence comes after PM blamed civil servant for keeping him in the dark over vetting failure

Cabinet Office believed there was no need to vet Lord Mandelson, Sir Olly Robbins said:

“A position taken from the Cabinet Office was that there was no need to vet Mandelson, he was a member of the House of Lords, he was a privy councillor, the risks...were well known"

www.ft.com/content/0699...

Sir Olly Robbins says there was an "atmosphere of pressure" to push through the Mandelson appointment:

"as I arrived at post..I felt a generally dismissive attitude to his vetting clearance, the focus was on getting Manadelson out to Washington quickly"

Sir Olly Robbins says that when he became FCDO permanent secretary he wasn't "walking into a vacuum":

- due diligence already done on Mandelson
- PM had taken advice on his fitness for office
- name had been given to King
- PM announced the job
- he had access to building and sensitive briefings

NEW ITV Wales YouGov MRP has Plaid and Reform neck and neck in Senedd vote intention

Impossible to say who would be largest party in terms of seats but neither would be close to majority

Would almost certainly result in Plaid led government as they have more potential allies in the Senedd 🧵👇

can’t stop thinking how renaming the defence department as the war department has such 10-year-old boy energy

Rising Fuel Costs And Falling Demand Spur Canada’s Airlines To Cut US Routes Amid rising jet fuel prices and lower demand from Canadians to travel to the U.S., airlines are cutting back on flights between the two countries.

Amid rising jet fuel prices and lower demand from Canadians to travel to the U.S., airlines are cutting back on flights between the two countries.

The White House Intervened on Behalf of Accused Sex Trafficker Andrew Tate During a Federal Investigation Federal authorities were chided for seizing electronic devices from Tate and his brother, and told to return them, records and interviews show. Experts said the intervention was highly inappropriate.

Experts say it’s highly unusual for the White House to tell agents to give up custody of potential evidence in an investigation, as it did with the Tates.

“I’ve never heard of anything like that in my 30 years working,” an ex-DHS official said.

(Published Nov. 2025)

It has taken over five years of murderous chaos for Republican voters to start to see what was obvious all along: that Donald Trump should not be trusted with a box of matches, let alone the most powerful office on Earth. That's the power of propaganda for you.

There’s a hole in my Iran policy, dear Liza
- Then fix it

How..?
- By engagement

How..?
- With the Iranian regime

How…?
- By identifying leaders

How…?
- By not fragmenting the leadership by purported regime change

There’s a hole in my Iran policy, dear Liza

Trump still cannot agree the conditions of this unconditional surrender.

Process for people like Mandelson

Vs

Process for people like Louise Haigh

www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/730...

Map from UKMTO

An Iranian gunboat has attacked a container ship 15 nautical miles off Oman.

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump THE WALL STREET JOURNAL HAS LOST ITS WAY! An IDIOT on The Wall Street Journal's Editorial Board, named Elliot Kaufman, just wrote an Op Ed entitled, "The Iranians Take Trump for a Sucker." Really? For 47 years, they have killed our people, and many others, and taken advantage of every President, except me - And what did I give to them, a Country in tatters! Their entire Navy is at the bottom of the Sea, their Air Force is gone, their Anti Aircraft and Radar is wiped out, their Nuclear Labs and Storage Areas were OBLITERATED late one dark June evening by our Great B-2 Bombers, their leaders are DEAD, including General Soleimani, their evil genius who destroyed the lives of so many with his favored roadside bombs, the Strait of Hormuz is BLOCKADED and totally controlled by the U.S., with no Ships allowed to go to Iranian Ports - It is said that they are losing 500 Million Dollars a day because of this - Their Country is an Economic Catastrophe, that is hanging by a thread. Barack Hussein Obama gave them 1.7 Billion Dollars in "Green" Cash, flown in by a Boeing 757 to their leaders, and Hundreds of Billions of Dollars in order to help them on their way to a Nuclear Bomb. Other Presidents did nothing to stop them, a BLIGHT on the Office of the Presidency! But despite all of this, I have a MORON on the Editorial Board of The Wall Street Journal writing about me being taken for a "sucker." Iran certainly doesn't think so! Neither does anyone else. I guess Rupert Murdoch told him to write it this way, because The Wall Street Journal has lost its way, no longer required reading, just another failing political "RAG!" President DONALD J. TRUMP

The criticism is starting to get to him.

He’s not psychologically capable of dealing with it.

This image shows a person sitting on a bench seat inside a train or subway car, holding a large, fluffy dog on their lap. The dog has a thick, light gray to tan coat with a darker face, and its tongue is hanging out as it appears happily panting. The person is wearing a red jacket and blue jeans. The dog's leash is visible, and the person's hand is gently holding it. The window by their side lets in natural light, and blurred passengers can be seen seated further along the train.

Has science gone too far?

#GoneTooFar

Wicked

21/04/26

The study also highlights that EU membership would generate a more ambitious growth agenda than the status quo, and would restore the UK’s status as a decision maker, rather than a rule-taker, in Europe. /8

The analysis also highlights that advocating a membership approach - as opposed to a CU or SM - would be the only proposal to increase support among @labouruk.bsky.social @libdems.org.uk and @greenparty.org.uk backers (+7%, +11% and +14% respectively). /7

And even two fifths (39%) of Conservative supporters and 1 in 5 (18%) of Reform UK supporters back this policy position, further shoring it up - in conjunction with the resounding support from left-leaning voters - as the most sustainable policy path forward overall. /6

or diverging even further from the EU, with a majority of voters (53%) in favour and just a third (32%) opposed.

Support for rejoining the EU is also highest among Labour (83%), Liberal Democrat (84%) and Green Party (82%) supporters with more than 3 in 5 (63-69%) of each strongly supporting this.

Over twice that number (42%) say they only “somewhat support” Labour’s strategy suggesting the bulk of backers are ‘holding their nose’. Moreover, beyond the government’s current stance, the UK becoming an EU member is the most popular option, compared to joining the EU’s SM, negotiating a UK-EU CU.

Based on polling by @yougov.co.uk the new analysis finds that although 61% support the government’s current approach to EU relations, which aims to reset the relationship, build closer ties and establish deeper alignment, but just a 19% express “strong” support. /3

A comprehensive assessment of the economic benefits and political trade offs has determined that, if progress on the government’s UK-EU reset stalls, backing the UK’s membership is the only sustainable policy position to offer a political dividend to its proponents. /2

Push for EU membership to galvanise progressive support, report argues A new report by Best for Britain shows that a push for UK membership of the European Union would galvanise support among progressive voters. The report highlights that a pro-membership position offers...

🚨🚨New @bestforbritain.org report argues I think convincingly that a push for UK membership of the EU would galvanise support among progressive voters, recognising that other halfway options such as customs union or EEA are would offer to limited benefits. 🧵 www.bestforbritain.org/push_for_eu_...

EU top court strikes down Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ+ rules Viktor Orbán had banned mentions of homosexuality in media accessible to children and outlawed Pride marches.

🚨🚨It is not often #EUlaw make the headlines but today's significant seminal ruling by the @eucourtofjustice.bsky.social where the Court ruled that #hungarian laws breached the fundamental values of the EU in Art 2 TEU is a major political victory for #LGBTI+ rights. 🧵 www.politico.eu/article/eu-t...

🇺🇦🇬🇧🇫🇷 Four Ukrainian minesweepers currently based in Portsmouth could become part of a joint British-French mission to restore shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, - Militarnyi