Kirsty Hughes
@kirstyshughes.bsky.social
European, Scottish and UK politics - and sometimes photography/nature/landscapes. Blogs on Europe & Scotland https://open.substack.com/pub/kirstyhughes?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=8ztbl
Reposted by Kirsty Hughes
Well done BBC News’s Wyre Davies and Ben Summer for “doorstepping” ex UKIP MEP David Coburn outside his Normandy chateau.
Coburn has been named in connection with the pro-Russian influence campaign involving Nathan Gill but denies accepting payments in exchange for making pro-Russian statements.
Coburn has been named in connection with the pro-Russian influence campaign involving Nathan Gill but denies accepting payments in exchange for making pro-Russian statements.
Former Brexit Party MEP denies taking payment from pro-Russian campaign - BBC News
A prominent former MEP for Nigel Farage's old party denies taking bribes in a pro-Russian campaign.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 28, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Well done BBC News’s Wyre Davies and Ben Summer for “doorstepping” ex UKIP MEP David Coburn outside his Normandy chateau.
Coburn has been named in connection with the pro-Russian influence campaign involving Nathan Gill but denies accepting payments in exchange for making pro-Russian statements.
Coburn has been named in connection with the pro-Russian influence campaign involving Nathan Gill but denies accepting payments in exchange for making pro-Russian statements.
Reposted by Kirsty Hughes
Gavdos, a small island the size of the Isle of Eigg, is the southernmost point of Europe - a place of history, myth, beauty and of contemporary politics, not least as one of the migrant and asylum-seeker routes from Libya. My new travel/photo blog (part 1).
open.substack.com/pub/kirstyhu...
open.substack.com/pub/kirstyhu...
From Europe’s Southernmost Point to Scotland - part one: Gavdos & Crete
Gavdos, a small island the size of the Isle of Eigg, lies in the middle of the Mediterranean - a place of history, myth, beauty and of contemporary politics, not least as one of the migrant and asylum...
open.substack.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Gavdos, a small island the size of the Isle of Eigg, is the southernmost point of Europe - a place of history, myth, beauty and of contemporary politics, not least as one of the migrant and asylum-seeker routes from Libya. My new travel/photo blog (part 1).
open.substack.com/pub/kirstyhu...
open.substack.com/pub/kirstyhu...
Reposted by Kirsty Hughes
🔥🔥🔥 While everyone is distracted by other budget news, Labour have just announced that they will allow more drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea 🔥🔥🔥
Genuinely catastrophic for our climate and further proof that Labour care more about corporate profits than people or planet.
Genuinely catastrophic for our climate and further proof that Labour care more about corporate profits than people or planet.
November 26, 2025 at 2:15 PM
🔥🔥🔥 While everyone is distracted by other budget news, Labour have just announced that they will allow more drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea 🔥🔥🔥
Genuinely catastrophic for our climate and further proof that Labour care more about corporate profits than people or planet.
Genuinely catastrophic for our climate and further proof that Labour care more about corporate profits than people or planet.
Gavdos, a small island the size of the Isle of Eigg, is the southernmost point of Europe - a place of history, myth, beauty and of contemporary politics, not least as one of the migrant and asylum-seeker routes from Libya. My new travel/photo blog (part 1).
open.substack.com/pub/kirstyhu...
open.substack.com/pub/kirstyhu...
From Europe’s Southernmost Point to Scotland - part one: Gavdos & Crete
Gavdos, a small island the size of the Isle of Eigg, lies in the middle of the Mediterranean - a place of history, myth, beauty and of contemporary politics, not least as one of the migrant and asylum...
open.substack.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Gavdos, a small island the size of the Isle of Eigg, is the southernmost point of Europe - a place of history, myth, beauty and of contemporary politics, not least as one of the migrant and asylum-seeker routes from Libya. My new travel/photo blog (part 1).
open.substack.com/pub/kirstyhu...
open.substack.com/pub/kirstyhu...
Reposted by Kirsty Hughes
Shabana Mahmood is an avatar of open Britain – that’s what makes her fable about immigration so seductive | Nesrine Malik
Shabana Mahmood is an avatar of open Britain – that’s what makes her fable about immigration so seductive | Nesrine Malik
‘She is the daughter of immigrants,’ supporters of her cruel asylum policies say. ‘How can she be wrong?’ Let me put them straight, says Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2025 at 6:52 AM
Shabana Mahmood is an avatar of open Britain – that’s what makes her fable about immigration so seductive | Nesrine Malik
Reposted by Kirsty Hughes
Gaza hospitals are running out of essential supplies, medical workers say
Gaza hospitals are running out of essential supplies, medical workers say
‘Severe lack’ in territory where Israeli strikes have killed more than 50 people and injured over 100 in recent days
Hospitals in Gaza are running out of essential supplies, with new waves of Israeli airstrikes killing more than 50 people and injuring more than 100 in recent days, medical and aid workers in the devastated Palestinian territory have said.
Medics told the Guardian on Sunday that stocks of gauze, antiseptics, thermometers and antibiotics were running low. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 23, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Gaza hospitals are running out of essential supplies, medical workers say
Reposted by Kirsty Hughes
Hugely disappointing, with world now on track to yet more heating & chaos, & poorest hit first & hardest. This process needs radically rethinking - meantime it’s vital that the Brazil-led coalition of the willing urgently delivers on plans to leave fossil fuels in the ground #COP30
November 22, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Hugely disappointing, with world now on track to yet more heating & chaos, & poorest hit first & hardest. This process needs radically rethinking - meantime it’s vital that the Brazil-led coalition of the willing urgently delivers on plans to leave fossil fuels in the ground #COP30
50k nurses could quit over tough indefinite leave to remain. How many in the care sector? Immoral and incompetent government
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Up to 50,000 nurses could quit UK over immigration plans, survey suggests
Exclusive: union leaders say proposed changes are immoral and could threaten patient safety if there is staff exodus
www.theguardian.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:12 AM
50k nurses could quit over tough indefinite leave to remain. How many in the care sector? Immoral and incompetent government
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Reposted by Kirsty Hughes
Westminster Voting Intention:
RFM: 30% (-1)
LAB: 20% (=)
CON: 20% (+1)
LDM: 14% (=)
GRN: 11% (-1)
SNP: 3% (+1)
Via @moreincommonuk.bsky.social, 14-17 Nov.
Changes w/ 7-10 Nov.
RFM: 30% (-1)
LAB: 20% (=)
CON: 20% (+1)
LDM: 14% (=)
GRN: 11% (-1)
SNP: 3% (+1)
Via @moreincommonuk.bsky.social, 14-17 Nov.
Changes w/ 7-10 Nov.
November 19, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Westminster Voting Intention:
RFM: 30% (-1)
LAB: 20% (=)
CON: 20% (+1)
LDM: 14% (=)
GRN: 11% (-1)
SNP: 3% (+1)
Via @moreincommonuk.bsky.social, 14-17 Nov.
Changes w/ 7-10 Nov.
RFM: 30% (-1)
LAB: 20% (=)
CON: 20% (+1)
LDM: 14% (=)
GRN: 11% (-1)
SNP: 3% (+1)
Via @moreincommonuk.bsky.social, 14-17 Nov.
Changes w/ 7-10 Nov.
Spot on from Albania's PM who asks why Mahmood is using rhetoric of populist far right?
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Shabana Mahmood accused of ‘ethnic stereotyping’ by Albania’s PM
Edi Rama says home secretary using ‘rhetoric of populist far-right’ after 700 Albanian families singled out for deportation
www.theguardian.com
November 19, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Spot on from Albania's PM who asks why Mahmood is using rhetoric of populist far right?
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Starmer’s government heads further right, in a vain hope of impressing a few Reform voter with its ugly migration stance. Starmer’s shambolic, unstable government continues for now, but he is unlikely to still be prime minister this time next year
My latest blog.
open.substack.com/pub/kirstyhu...
My latest blog.
open.substack.com/pub/kirstyhu...
November 19, 2025 at 9:41 AM
Starmer’s government heads further right, in a vain hope of impressing a few Reform voter with its ugly migration stance. Starmer’s shambolic, unstable government continues for now, but he is unlikely to still be prime minister this time next year
My latest blog.
open.substack.com/pub/kirstyhu...
My latest blog.
open.substack.com/pub/kirstyhu...
Starmer’s shambolic government continues but he may not be prime minister this time next year. In these unstable times, the fundamental question is can serious, strategic, genuinely progressive alliances be built at home & internationally. My latest blog.
open.substack.com/pub/kirstyhu...
open.substack.com/pub/kirstyhu...
Labour Tumbling Rightwards
Starmer’s shambolic, unstable government continues for now, but he is unlikely to still be prime minister this time next year. In these unstable times, the fundamental question is can serious, strateg...
open.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Starmer’s shambolic government continues but he may not be prime minister this time next year. In these unstable times, the fundamental question is can serious, strategic, genuinely progressive alliances be built at home & internationally. My latest blog.
open.substack.com/pub/kirstyhu...
open.substack.com/pub/kirstyhu...
Reposted by Kirsty Hughes
The public think people arriving by small boats make up not only the largest share of asylum seekers, but the largest share of *all* immigrants. In fact, it's just 4% of the total number, write @bobbyduffy.bsky.social & @elielcohen.bsky.social
➡️ blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsand...
➡️ blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsand...
November 16, 2025 at 5:06 PM
The public think people arriving by small boats make up not only the largest share of asylum seekers, but the largest share of *all* immigrants. In fact, it's just 4% of the total number, write @bobbyduffy.bsky.social & @elielcohen.bsky.social
➡️ blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsand...
➡️ blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsand...
Reposted by Kirsty Hughes
Thinking about my own father, who arrived in 1946 with the Free Polish Army - when would Labour have sent him back to communist Poland? How could he have done anything to build a life and have children in the UK if he had had to beg to stay every two years? Disgusting. www.bbc.com/news/article...
UK set to limit refugees to temporary stays
Shabana Mahmood is expected to say the era of permanent protection for refugees is over, in major changes to the UK's asylum and immigration system.
www.bbc.com
November 15, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Thinking about my own father, who arrived in 1946 with the Free Polish Army - when would Labour have sent him back to communist Poland? How could he have done anything to build a life and have children in the UK if he had had to beg to stay every two years? Disgusting. www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by Kirsty Hughes
If the government really intends to seize jewellery and other valuables from refugees,
either
- it is staggeringly ignorant of the historical precedents
or
- it's aware of the precedents, and thinks, yeah, we'll have some of that.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
either
- it is staggeringly ignorant of the historical precedents
or
- it's aware of the precedents, and thinks, yeah, we'll have some of that.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
No 10 tells Labour MPs it expects support for tough new asylum policies
Some backbenchers already opposing planned immigration crackdown seen as ‘economically and culturally illiterate’
www.theguardian.com
November 15, 2025 at 11:41 AM
If the government really intends to seize jewellery and other valuables from refugees,
either
- it is staggeringly ignorant of the historical precedents
or
- it's aware of the precedents, and thinks, yeah, we'll have some of that.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
either
- it is staggeringly ignorant of the historical precedents
or
- it's aware of the precedents, and thinks, yeah, we'll have some of that.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
When your MPs think you're a joke and only the succession matters that looks set to rapidly become a self-fulfilling prophecy
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
‘They all think Keir is done’: how push to protect Starmer’s job backfired spectacularly
Botched briefing operation was proof to many that PM is leading an ineffectual No 10. How did it go so wrong?
www.theguardian.com
November 14, 2025 at 8:40 PM
When your MPs think you're a joke and only the succession matters that looks set to rapidly become a self-fulfilling prophecy
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Forced Labour - one more great government idea (in a week of many)
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
UK charities condemn ‘immoral’ plans to force asylum seekers to volunteer
Making volunteering compulsory for refugees slammed as exploitative, bureaucratic and un-British
www.theguardian.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Forced Labour - one more great government idea (in a week of many)
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Reposted by Kirsty Hughes
NEW: Tesco has suspended its deal with a Scottish salmon farm after allegations of 'unlawful and cruel' treatment of fish
Tesco suspends Scottish salmon farm after video of 'unlawful and cruel' treatment
www.thenational.scot
November 13, 2025 at 7:18 PM
NEW: Tesco has suspended its deal with a Scottish salmon farm after allegations of 'unlawful and cruel' treatment of fish
Reposted by Kirsty Hughes
Over the summer, @beckermax.bsky.social, @johannaflach.bsky.social and I wrote about the 'creeping integration of the far-right' into EU decision-making.
Now it looks increasingly likely that this week a major part of the Omnibus package will be passed by an EPP-far-right majority.
Now it looks increasingly likely that this week a major part of the Omnibus package will be passed by an EPP-far-right majority.
The Creeping Integration of Far-right Parties in Europe
Where Far-right Parties Are Integrated into the EU System and Where They Are Not
www.swp-berlin.org
November 12, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Over the summer, @beckermax.bsky.social, @johannaflach.bsky.social and I wrote about the 'creeping integration of the far-right' into EU decision-making.
Now it looks increasingly likely that this week a major part of the Omnibus package will be passed by an EPP-far-right majority.
Now it looks increasingly likely that this week a major part of the Omnibus package will be passed by an EPP-far-right majority.
Ullapool dawn (2)
November 11, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Ullapool dawn (2)
Coigach after the rain
November 10, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Coigach after the rain
Ullapool before dawn
November 10, 2025 at 10:41 AM
Ullapool before dawn