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Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 31m

This from Gidron and Hall summarised things beautifully.

The false prophets are Blue Labour and "abundance". Both seek to undermine the vital mechanism for progressive change: the case for government.

There are better ways.

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Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 35m

Lost social status, elite radicalisation, and a new infozone have created a toxic cloud of political disorder.

In this new Substack I consider what brought us here, false prophets, and what might begin to address the malaise: good work and stronger community.

open.substack.com/pub/anthonyp...

Political Anguish

In this second The Economy of Anguish post, I consider how status loss, technology, and the radical politics of the right threaten futures.

open.substack.com

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Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 1h

Going around a bland yet dystopian hot city in a taxi to sit in one religiously managed fridge room after another does sound kinda great but maybe I'll just go with London....

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Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 1h

Quite. So get over to Brussels and sit in until we have a comprehensive deal, certainly including membership of the customs union. And do it now rather than deciding it's necessary in 2028 when growth hasn't delivered. You have agency here

Be right at the beginning not the end.....

Starmer and Reeves are expected to argue that, if it hadn't been for Brexit, this type of downgrade would not have been needed, and to cite official figures suggesting that if Britain had not left the European Union the economy would be about £120 billion bigger by 2035 than current forecasts suggest it will be.

The message is simple: Farage is ultimately to blame as the man who delivered Brexit with "easy sloganeering" then walked away from the aftermath rather than putting in the hard yards.

Or, to put it another way: Farage, not us, is responsible for putting up your taxes.

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Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 17h

This doesn't feel that "peace-y".....

María Corina Machado

@MariaCorinaYA

Follow

This recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans is a boost to conclude our task: to conquer Freedom.

We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal allies to achieve Freedom and democracy.

I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!

8:34 AM

10/10/25

30K Views

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Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 21h

Yes, I agree. And that is something we should encourage.

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Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 1d

Yes, and that creates mistrust. Which is why you need a proper discussion at the beginning. A pre-sale survey would also seem to be obvious. Especially as it would annoy the Mail.

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Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 1d

My second reform: the price is the price. Unless something very significant is found in the survey. If it is part of the house, ie part of its fabric (which includes carpets!), it's in the price. And minor decay is just a fact of life when you buy a house.

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Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 1d

Yes, simple human communication would make a huge difference to both the stress and the pace. Yeah, some people are a pain- but they will be even more a pain through their conveyancers/estate agents.

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Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 1d

Most definitely. A simple reform that will make a huge difference: the buyer and seller should actually have a face to face meeting at the beginning of the process. They both want the same outcome so stop the lawyers/estate agents creating mistrust and grit in the system.

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Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 1d

Sorry, fatalism is not for me. It's just a posh word for surrender.

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Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 1d

And at some point in the next four years Labour will realise it has to go full force on Brexit against Farage. If it's got any sense it will be sooner rather than later to give itself more manoeuvre to reverse the actual cost of Brexit.

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Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 1d

And I'm afraid all these global trade deals are all well and good but our trading position with the US is severely worse than a year ago (just that most others are even worse) and it looks like the same will be true of the EU. We've signed lots of deals and gone backwards.

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Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 1d

It's national broken clock being right day.

Totally right.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

We all know Brexit’s to blame for the crisis facing UK steel - it’s time for politicians to be honest and reverse it | Simon Jenkins

With British industry faltering, the excuse that the public wants this is risible. Parliament must force Starmer to act, says Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins

www.theguardian.com

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Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 1d

Shows how confident he is that he is now teflon and his own behaviour at school is beyond accountability.

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Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 1d

I mean, there were some teachers in the 70s/early 80s who thought that kids going around spewing out racist bile and writing "NF" on blackboards had extreme right prejudices.

Yep, about time someone got them in line.

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Nigel Farage accuses teachers of ‘poisoning our kids’ on race issues

Exclusive: Reform UK leader’s remarks at event for private US college criticised as ‘grossly irresponsible’ by NEU leader

www.theguardian.com

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Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 1d

This conversation with Dan Wang is more interesting than the book (Chinese engineers v US lawyers pretty quickly falls apart with historical analysis, ideology etc).

Pretty clear that the US faces the worst of both worlds: authoritarian and short termist.

open.spotify.com/episode/4tLs...

Why China builds while America debates, with Dan Wang

Spotify video

open.spotify.com

Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 2d

And twiglets. The triple play.

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Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 2d

As a culture we can't even communicate at a basic level without some booze. So let's be honest, there's definitely a pro-productivity mechanism at play here.

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Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 2d

Enforced minimum age requirements are necessary- the platforms have shown themselves to be completely disinterested in properly managing this (they can't because it's their business model/culture).

My worry though is that schools/parents just think "that's it then" when it's a far bigger challenge.

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Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 2d

You can ban smartphones from schools and kids from social media.

But we are still going to have to contend with a mental health crisis and the fact that our kids are growing up in a connected technology society with increasing genAI features.

www.politico.eu/article/denm...

Denmark aims to ban social media for children under 15, PM says

“We have unleashed a monster,” Mette Frederiksen tells Danish lawmakers.

www.politico.eu

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Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 2d

9.36pm nowadays.....

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Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 2d

The Dutch prison system is one of the most humane in the world. He'll be well treated.

Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 2d

Frankly, if sacrificing the credibility of the Nobel peace prize is what it takes to stop the bloodshed in Gaza I'm in.

I hope today marks the beginning of the end of the living hell that Gazans and Israelis have been living through.

Hamas and Netanyahu are not peacemakers and deserve no credit.

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Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 2d

Tbh the challenge pubs have is demand so not sure how "increase supply between 11pm to midnight" really puts a dent in that other than for some city centre venues on one or two nights a week

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