Andy Gavin
@andygav.bsky.social
History, politics, football and EU enthusiast - 🏴
Reposted by Andy Gavin
The only time Article 5 of the NATO Treaty was invoked was to defend us, not for us to defend Europe. European soldiers and civilians died fighting with us and working next to us in Afghanistan. Europe was not attacked on September 11, 2001.
December 6, 2025 at 9:00 PM
The only time Article 5 of the NATO Treaty was invoked was to defend us, not for us to defend Europe. European soldiers and civilians died fighting with us and working next to us in Afghanistan. Europe was not attacked on September 11, 2001.
Reposted by Andy Gavin
Donald Trump hasn't yet been able to coax Nobel into giving him a peace prize.
7 unhinged Donald Trump moments as FIFA gives him a made-up 'peace prize'
www.mirror.co.uk
December 6, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Donald Trump hasn't yet been able to coax Nobel into giving him a peace prize.
Reposted by Andy Gavin
"Does this feel like or look like a well-run competent administration? It took them 10 months to discover that the United States doesn't grow bananas and that therefore if we tariff bananas that that's not going to bring banana factories on shore."
December 4, 2025 at 12:52 PM
"Does this feel like or look like a well-run competent administration? It took them 10 months to discover that the United States doesn't grow bananas and that therefore if we tariff bananas that that's not going to bring banana factories on shore."
Reposted by Andy Gavin
The aftermath of the Russian drone attack on Kyiv region last night.
In Vyshhorod, a residential building was hit by a Russian drone. Apartments on six floors burned down completely.
One person was killed, 19 more injured, including four children.
Horrible.
In Vyshhorod, a residential building was hit by a Russian drone. Apartments on six floors burned down completely.
One person was killed, 19 more injured, including four children.
Horrible.
November 30, 2025 at 8:29 AM
The aftermath of the Russian drone attack on Kyiv region last night.
In Vyshhorod, a residential building was hit by a Russian drone. Apartments on six floors burned down completely.
One person was killed, 19 more injured, including four children.
Horrible.
In Vyshhorod, a residential building was hit by a Russian drone. Apartments on six floors burned down completely.
One person was killed, 19 more injured, including four children.
Horrible.
Reposted by Andy Gavin
“A petition demanding a full inquiry into Russian influence in UK politics has surged past 100,000 signatures after being shared at remarkable speed across social media.”
Russian influence petition surges past 100,000 signatures
A petition demanding a full inquiry into Russian influence in UK politics has passed 100,000 signatures
eastangliabylines.co.uk
November 29, 2025 at 10:46 PM
“A petition demanding a full inquiry into Russian influence in UK politics has surged past 100,000 signatures after being shared at remarkable speed across social media.”
Reposted by Andy Gavin
Reposted by Andy Gavin
Around 26,000 of the neediest people in County Durham will have to start paying council tax next year as the county council scraps 100% rebates for people of working age.
About 2,400 others who already pay some council tax will lose part of their rebate.
About 2,400 others who already pay some council tax will lose part of their rebate.
Council tax shock for thousands of Durham’s poorest – thanks to Reform UK
Durham will scrap full council-tax rebates, forcing 26,000 low-income working-age residents to start paying for the first time
northeastbylines.co.uk
November 28, 2025 at 6:56 AM
Around 26,000 of the neediest people in County Durham will have to start paying council tax next year as the county council scraps 100% rebates for people of working age.
About 2,400 others who already pay some council tax will lose part of their rebate.
About 2,400 others who already pay some council tax will lose part of their rebate.
Reposted by Andy Gavin
A destroyed school in Pokrovske,Dnipropetrovsk region,not far from the front line
The 📹was filmed 6 months apart.The video author writes that at first it wasn’t clear to them which school entrance it was or from which side.But it turned out that almost the entire school has been destroyed
📹sixwinxi
The 📹was filmed 6 months apart.The video author writes that at first it wasn’t clear to them which school entrance it was or from which side.But it turned out that almost the entire school has been destroyed
📹sixwinxi
November 28, 2025 at 7:07 AM
A destroyed school in Pokrovske,Dnipropetrovsk region,not far from the front line
The 📹was filmed 6 months apart.The video author writes that at first it wasn’t clear to them which school entrance it was or from which side.But it turned out that almost the entire school has been destroyed
📹sixwinxi
The 📹was filmed 6 months apart.The video author writes that at first it wasn’t clear to them which school entrance it was or from which side.But it turned out that almost the entire school has been destroyed
📹sixwinxi
Reposted by Andy Gavin
Reposted by Andy Gavin
- A 100,000 drop in net migration costs us £7bn
- Scrapping the two-child benefit cap costs us £3bn
What gets more attention?
James O’Brien says 'we have become a ludicrous country'.
- Scrapping the two-child benefit cap costs us £3bn
What gets more attention?
James O’Brien says 'we have become a ludicrous country'.
November 27, 2025 at 11:11 AM
- A 100,000 drop in net migration costs us £7bn
- Scrapping the two-child benefit cap costs us £3bn
What gets more attention?
James O’Brien says 'we have become a ludicrous country'.
- Scrapping the two-child benefit cap costs us £3bn
What gets more attention?
James O’Brien says 'we have become a ludicrous country'.
Reposted by Andy Gavin
🚨The Petition calling for a public inquiry into Russian influence on UK politics & democracy has now rocketed past 55,000 signatures! Let’s get it to 100,000. If a petition is what it’s going to take let’s get this done!
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...
November 26, 2025 at 8:41 AM
🚨The Petition calling for a public inquiry into Russian influence on UK politics & democracy has now rocketed past 55,000 signatures! Let’s get it to 100,000. If a petition is what it’s going to take let’s get this done!
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...
Reposted by Andy Gavin
Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.
The Economic Impact of Brexit
Other
siepr.stanford.edu
November 24, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.
Reposted by Andy Gavin
⚡️ Explosions heard in Kyiv as Russia launches ballistic missiles, drones toward Ukraine.
Kyiv Independent journalists reported explosions in Ukraine's capital as Russia launched Shahed drones & Kinzhal missiles toward Kyiv & other cities on Nov. 25.
Kyiv Independent journalists reported explosions in Ukraine's capital as Russia launched Shahed drones & Kinzhal missiles toward Kyiv & other cities on Nov. 25.
Explosions heard in Kyiv as Russia launches ballistic missiles, drones toward Ukraine
Kyiv Independent journalists reported explosions in Ukraine's capital, as Russia launched Shahed drones and Kinzhal missiles toward Kyiv and other cities overnight on Nov. 25.
kyivindependent.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:27 PM
⚡️ Explosions heard in Kyiv as Russia launches ballistic missiles, drones toward Ukraine.
Kyiv Independent journalists reported explosions in Ukraine's capital as Russia launched Shahed drones & Kinzhal missiles toward Kyiv & other cities on Nov. 25.
Kyiv Independent journalists reported explosions in Ukraine's capital as Russia launched Shahed drones & Kinzhal missiles toward Kyiv & other cities on Nov. 25.
Reposted by Andy Gavin
Newmarket MP Matt Hancock gave a £37bn Covid testing contract to Jockey Club director Dido Harding, who subcontracted it to Grand National sponsor Randox, employer of Tory MP Owen Paterson, whose late wife chaired Aintree racecourse. That's how the Tories handled the pandemic.
November 22, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Newmarket MP Matt Hancock gave a £37bn Covid testing contract to Jockey Club director Dido Harding, who subcontracted it to Grand National sponsor Randox, employer of Tory MP Owen Paterson, whose late wife chaired Aintree racecourse. That's how the Tories handled the pandemic.
Reposted by Andy Gavin
Russia unleashed heavy artillery fire on Zaporizhzhia, striking a supermarket and an apartment building,Regional Military Administration reports.
Preliminary reports indicate high number of casualties.
Preliminary reports indicate high number of casualties.
November 22, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Russia unleashed heavy artillery fire on Zaporizhzhia, striking a supermarket and an apartment building,Regional Military Administration reports.
Preliminary reports indicate high number of casualties.
Preliminary reports indicate high number of casualties.
Reposted by Andy Gavin
This is not a peace plan. It is a proposal that weakens Ukraine and divides America from Europe, preparing the way for a larger war in the future. In the meantime, it benefits unnamed Russian and American investors, at the expense of everyone else.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Trump Has a Recipe for War and Corruption, Not Peace
Who would benefit from the White House’s 28-point proposal for Ukraine?
www.theatlantic.com
November 22, 2025 at 11:11 AM
This is not a peace plan. It is a proposal that weakens Ukraine and divides America from Europe, preparing the way for a larger war in the future. In the meantime, it benefits unnamed Russian and American investors, at the expense of everyone else.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Reposted by Andy Gavin
'Iran’s capital must be moved because the country “no longer has a choice,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday in remarks carried by state media, warning that severe ecological strain has made Tehran impossible to sustain'
#Iran 🇮🇷
#Iran 🇮🇷
Iran president says capital move now a necessity as water crisis deepens
Iran’s capital must be moved because the country “no longer has a choice,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday in remarks carried by state media, warning that severe ecological strain has mad...
www.iranintl.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:52 AM
'Iran’s capital must be moved because the country “no longer has a choice,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday in remarks carried by state media, warning that severe ecological strain has made Tehran impossible to sustain'
#Iran 🇮🇷
#Iran 🇮🇷
Reposted by Andy Gavin
Russia's ambassador to the UK, Yakovenko, boasted about Brexit to another diplomat:
“We have crushed the British to the ground. They are on their knees and will not rise for a very long time”
Today, Farage’s close ally, leader of Reform in Wales, was sentenced to 10yrs for taking bribes from Russia.
“We have crushed the British to the ground. They are on their knees and will not rise for a very long time”
Today, Farage’s close ally, leader of Reform in Wales, was sentenced to 10yrs for taking bribes from Russia.
Brexit has caused almost twice as much damage to the UK economy than estimated by official forecasts, according to new paper from a group of experts including a senior Bank of England economist
Brexit Hit to UK Economy Double Official Estimate, Study Finds
Brexit has caused almost twice as much damage to the UK economy than estimated by official forecasts, according to new paper from a group of experts including a senior Bank of England economist.
bloom.bg
November 21, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Russia's ambassador to the UK, Yakovenko, boasted about Brexit to another diplomat:
“We have crushed the British to the ground. They are on their knees and will not rise for a very long time”
Today, Farage’s close ally, leader of Reform in Wales, was sentenced to 10yrs for taking bribes from Russia.
“We have crushed the British to the ground. They are on their knees and will not rise for a very long time”
Today, Farage’s close ally, leader of Reform in Wales, was sentenced to 10yrs for taking bribes from Russia.
Reposted by Andy Gavin
No shock here: The Guardian notes several phrases in the U.S. peace proposal to Ukraine appear to be directly translated from Russian.
One standout is the line “It is expected that Russia will not invade neighboring countries,” a clunky English phrasing mirroring the Russian “ожидается.”
One standout is the line “It is expected that Russia will not invade neighboring countries,” a clunky English phrasing mirroring the Russian “ожидается.”
November 21, 2025 at 3:30 PM
No shock here: The Guardian notes several phrases in the U.S. peace proposal to Ukraine appear to be directly translated from Russian.
One standout is the line “It is expected that Russia will not invade neighboring countries,” a clunky English phrasing mirroring the Russian “ожидается.”
One standout is the line “It is expected that Russia will not invade neighboring countries,” a clunky English phrasing mirroring the Russian “ожидается.”
Reposted by Andy Gavin
Where are all the "revoke Shamima Begum's citizenship she's a traitor people" today, I wonder.
Nathan Gill; A traitor who was at the very top of Reform UK, aiding and abetting Russian adversaries, has been sentenced today.
Reform UK should be ashamed. Britain deserves better.
Reform UK should be ashamed. Britain deserves better.
November 21, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Where are all the "revoke Shamima Begum's citizenship she's a traitor people" today, I wonder.
Reposted by Andy Gavin
Mette Frederiksen’s gamble on tough asylum policy backfires as socially liberal urbanites and rural voters abandon her centrist party in local elections
Danish PM’s dismal polling shows limits of right-turn on migration
www.thetimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Mette Frederiksen’s gamble on tough asylum policy backfires as socially liberal urbanites and rural voters abandon her centrist party in local elections
Reposted by Andy Gavin
Elham is 9. Israel bombed her home and killed her mum and dad & Elham was very badly burnt. Here she describes waking up in hospital and discovering that her parents were dead.
November 20, 2025 at 7:27 AM
Elham is 9. Israel bombed her home and killed her mum and dad & Elham was very badly burnt. Here she describes waking up in hospital and discovering that her parents were dead.
Reposted by Andy Gavin
Russians killed 25 people, including 3 children, in Ternopil today with a missile attack. Another 73 people, including 15 children, were injured.
Russians target civilians almost exclusively – a war crime. All Western countries except Ukraine refuse to fight to stop this horror.
Russians target civilians almost exclusively – a war crime. All Western countries except Ukraine refuse to fight to stop this horror.
November 19, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Russians killed 25 people, including 3 children, in Ternopil today with a missile attack. Another 73 people, including 15 children, were injured.
Russians target civilians almost exclusively – a war crime. All Western countries except Ukraine refuse to fight to stop this horror.
Russians target civilians almost exclusively – a war crime. All Western countries except Ukraine refuse to fight to stop this horror.
Reposted by Andy Gavin
The death and injury toll in Ternopil continues growing:
Russia killed 10 people and injured 37 more. 12 of the injured are kids.
Russia killed 10 people and injured 37 more. 12 of the injured are kids.
November 19, 2025 at 8:55 AM
The death and injury toll in Ternopil continues growing:
Russia killed 10 people and injured 37 more. 12 of the injured are kids.
Russia killed 10 people and injured 37 more. 12 of the injured are kids.
Reposted by Andy Gavin
🌍 42.5m refugees
Over 70% of them are hosted by low- and middle-income countries.
🇬🇧 548k refugees
= 0.78% of the UK population.
It is not refugees who tear our country apart, it is the mainstreaming of far right policies. And that’s a risk to all of us.
My letter to my MP.
#asylum #Mahmood
🧵
Over 70% of them are hosted by low- and middle-income countries.
🇬🇧 548k refugees
= 0.78% of the UK population.
It is not refugees who tear our country apart, it is the mainstreaming of far right policies. And that’s a risk to all of us.
My letter to my MP.
#asylum #Mahmood
🧵
![Dear [my MP’s name],
As the Home Secretary prepares to announce sweeping changes to the UK’s asylum system, I see it as both my duty as a citizen and responsibility as a migration expert to do all I can to urge policymakers to oppose the proposals—not only for what they will do to refugees, though that is the first concern, but also for what they will mean for all of us and the future society we live in.
That is why I am writing to you as my MP. This letter explains why I consider the need to oppose the Home Secretary’s proposals urgent and, at the most fundamental level, in the national and your constituents’ interest.
I was born in Germany, a country whose history taught me how quickly societies can go down dark paths; how quickly our leaders can fail in the choices they make. But the history of the displacement of people that the Nazi regime was responsible for also shaped my understanding of why refugee movements occur—and why our response to any of them can never compromise what are, and must always be, universal human rights.
Which is why what is happening in the UK now is so deeply alarming.
A manufactured crisis
As of June 2025, there were 42.5 million refugees globally. Over 70% of them are hosted by low- and middle-income countries; most of them immediate neighbours. Overall, five countries—Colombia, Germany, Türkiye, Iran and Uganda—host a third of the total number of refugees; Germany is the main host in the EU, hosting 2.7 million.
The UK hosts 548,000 refugees; that is 0.78% of the UK population. About 110,000 people are in receipt of asylum support; that is 0.15% of the UK population.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:bru4h6s37w4hfmwhetu7veye/bafkreidmewc5timbx7nh57qyq7lm7gmhvclzidmloqhwgckpnegnddoicq@jpeg)
November 16, 2025 at 9:25 PM