Leigh Jones
@leighsus.bsky.social
Freelance journalist. Investigations, writing, broadcast, newsreading, BBC Radio Newcastle etc
Editor, The Teesside Lead.
🔗 https://theteessidelead.substack.com
Used to work in music. Ex-Yorkshire Post Teesworks expert. Oh, and once I saw a blimp.
Editor, The Teesside Lead.
🔗 https://theteessidelead.substack.com
Used to work in music. Ex-Yorkshire Post Teesworks expert. Oh, and once I saw a blimp.
Pinned
Leigh Jones
@leighsus.bsky.social
· Nov 19
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teesside.thelead.uk
Forgive me for indulging myself with some self-promotion.
I edit The Teesside Lead, a twice-weekly newsletter providing original news, investigations and features from the area.
Sign up on Substack to get it for free.
Teesside is a bit of bellwether for the UK. Maybe useful if you live elsewhere!
I edit The Teesside Lead, a twice-weekly newsletter providing original news, investigations and features from the area.
Sign up on Substack to get it for free.
Teesside is a bit of bellwether for the UK. Maybe useful if you live elsewhere!
Reposted by Leigh Jones
It's weird to not only have lived through an information revolution but also now living through its undoing, all within less than a generation.
Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea
November 25, 2025 at 12:19 PM
It's weird to not only have lived through an information revolution but also now living through its undoing, all within less than a generation.
Got my Mexico photos developed.
November 25, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Got my Mexico photos developed.
Reposted by Leigh Jones
The really cool thing about 'Spreadie Van Halen' is that "halen" is the Welsh word for salt.
Just saw the list of gritter names for this year and they have outdone themselves
These always make me smile
These always make me smile
November 23, 2025 at 8:35 PM
The really cool thing about 'Spreadie Van Halen' is that "halen" is the Welsh word for salt.
This is the sort of thinking people use to decry socialism when they say the Nazis were Socialists, except somehow even more insane.
There are some truly unhinged bits in the piece about Glasman, as to be expected when dealing with Glasman, but seriously what the actual? That's...one hell of a conflation of terminology.
November 23, 2025 at 5:04 PM
This is the sort of thinking people use to decry socialism when they say the Nazis were Socialists, except somehow even more insane.
Reposted by Leigh Jones
“You want your fries to be ’large’, child? My uncle died after being hit by a ‘large’ truck. The scales fell from my eyes that day! Yes, the toy is included with the meal.”
There are some truly unhinged bits in the piece about Glasman, as to be expected when dealing with Glasman, but seriously what the actual? That's...one hell of a conflation of terminology.
November 23, 2025 at 3:37 PM
“You want your fries to be ’large’, child? My uncle died after being hit by a ‘large’ truck. The scales fell from my eyes that day! Yes, the toy is included with the meal.”
After a certain point in life drinking is like rolling the dice when it comes to hangovers.
However, counterpoint:
However, counterpoint:
November 23, 2025 at 10:39 AM
After a certain point in life drinking is like rolling the dice when it comes to hangovers.
However, counterpoint:
However, counterpoint:
Was burned out after a decade working in music.
Was writing opinion pieces on the side and got offered a full time job, then within six months accidentally ended up as an expert in one of the biggest political scandals in the UK.
Was writing opinion pieces on the side and got offered a full time job, then within six months accidentally ended up as an expert in one of the biggest political scandals in the UK.
November 23, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Was burned out after a decade working in music.
Was writing opinion pieces on the side and got offered a full time job, then within six months accidentally ended up as an expert in one of the biggest political scandals in the UK.
Was writing opinion pieces on the side and got offered a full time job, then within six months accidentally ended up as an expert in one of the biggest political scandals in the UK.
Reposted by Leigh Jones
There’s a word we used to say. They don’t let you say it anymore, but I think it’s a beautiful word. We call it: dialectic. You have the thesis, and then the antithesis, and if you put them together it’s a synthesis. Very powerful. We’ll be looking into that. Very materialist, the theory of history
TRUMP [after spending 5 minutes with Zohran]: surplus value, it’s a very wonderful thing, very wonderful, and they’re stealing it. Can you believe that?
We’re going to be looking very strongly at the bourgeoisie, what they’re up to
We’re going to be looking very strongly at the bourgeoisie, what they’re up to
November 21, 2025 at 10:13 PM
There’s a word we used to say. They don’t let you say it anymore, but I think it’s a beautiful word. We call it: dialectic. You have the thesis, and then the antithesis, and if you put them together it’s a synthesis. Very powerful. We’ll be looking into that. Very materialist, the theory of history
This is quite the result for Labour.
They won this by just over 20 votes. The ward covers the Teesworks site.
They won this by just over 20 votes. The ward covers the Teesworks site.
South Bank (Redcar & Cleveland) Council By-Election Result:
🌹 LAB: 47.4% (-17.8)
➡️ RFM: 44.3% (New)
🌳 CON: 8.2% (-4.3)
No Ind (-22.2) as previous.
Labour HOLD.
Changes w/ 2023.
🌹 LAB: 47.4% (-17.8)
➡️ RFM: 44.3% (New)
🌳 CON: 8.2% (-4.3)
No Ind (-22.2) as previous.
Labour HOLD.
Changes w/ 2023.
November 21, 2025 at 7:56 AM
This is quite the result for Labour.
They won this by just over 20 votes. The ward covers the Teesworks site.
They won this by just over 20 votes. The ward covers the Teesworks site.
Reposted by Leigh Jones
Just realised this is referring to a church in North Carolina and not the Welsh singer
November 20, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Just realised this is referring to a church in North Carolina and not the Welsh singer
Reposted by Leigh Jones
tomorrow's newsletter is literally called "aren't you tired of feeling insane all the time?" and boy isn't this a darling example, a phrase popularised by full-on racists on Elon Musk's Twitter now being bandied around in the mainstream press and sold as a Labour term
November 20, 2025 at 2:38 PM
tomorrow's newsletter is literally called "aren't you tired of feeling insane all the time?" and boy isn't this a darling example, a phrase popularised by full-on racists on Elon Musk's Twitter now being bandied around in the mainstream press and sold as a Labour term
Reposted by Leigh Jones
For Welsh politicos, or those with a newfound interest in Senedd elections, this is an interesting read on the dynamics, and pressures building, within Welsh Labour after the Caerphilly by-election and ahead of next Spring's Senedd election #devolution #senedd
Caerphilly by-election: Why Wales fell out of love with Labour
Now Labour faces its toughest task yet in Wales - convincing voters to keep believing, ahead of the 2026 Senedd election
www.bbc.co.uk
November 20, 2025 at 8:02 AM
For Welsh politicos, or those with a newfound interest in Senedd elections, this is an interesting read on the dynamics, and pressures building, within Welsh Labour after the Caerphilly by-election and ahead of next Spring's Senedd election #devolution #senedd
Reposted by Leigh Jones
"A senior Reform UK figure in Lancashire has been suspended by the party after posting in a far-right Whatsapp group calling for expelled hardline anti-immigrant MP Rupert Lowe to lead the party and saying Reform is deliberately downplaying its immigration policy to be palatable to the public."
Exclusive: Calls for anti-extremism investigation of suspended Reform councillor after "hardline" posts in far-right WhatsApp group revealed
Lancashire councillor Tom Pickup claims the party is showing a different face to the public
open.substack.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:11 PM
"A senior Reform UK figure in Lancashire has been suspended by the party after posting in a far-right Whatsapp group calling for expelled hardline anti-immigrant MP Rupert Lowe to lead the party and saying Reform is deliberately downplaying its immigration policy to be palatable to the public."
This story about a Reform councillor in Northumberland has about three different massive stories in it.
He's accused of ripping off his constituents to the tune of £140k.
He owes his own council nearly £40k in unpaid tax.
His own council is suing him.
He's accused of ripping off his constituents to the tune of £140k.
He owes his own council nearly £40k in unpaid tax.
His own council is suing him.
Blyth Reform councillor Barry Elliott's property firms owe customers £140,000
Property companies owned or run by Barry Elliott owe tens of thousands of pounds to customers.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 19, 2025 at 8:45 AM
This story about a Reform councillor in Northumberland has about three different massive stories in it.
He's accused of ripping off his constituents to the tune of £140k.
He owes his own council nearly £40k in unpaid tax.
His own council is suing him.
He's accused of ripping off his constituents to the tune of £140k.
He owes his own council nearly £40k in unpaid tax.
His own council is suing him.
Reposted by Leigh Jones
Fresh from advising Morgan McSweeney last week, Labour peer Maurice Glasman addressed the annual conference of a pro-Reform group that has spread myths about the Covid vaccine and has claimed Starmer is "destroying Britain".
📝 New @desmog.com story 👇
📝 New @desmog.com story 👇
Influential Labour Peer Maurice Glasman Addressed Pro-Reform Conspiracy Group’s Conference
High-profile Labour peer Lord Maurice Glasman was one of the keynote speakers at the annual conference of the Together Declaration, a conspiracy theory group with ties to Reform UK. Together held its ...
www.desmog.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Fresh from advising Morgan McSweeney last week, Labour peer Maurice Glasman addressed the annual conference of a pro-Reform group that has spread myths about the Covid vaccine and has claimed Starmer is "destroying Britain".
📝 New @desmog.com story 👇
📝 New @desmog.com story 👇
Reposted by Leigh Jones
Thrilled to announce I'm teaming up with Nvidia to create a basket big enough to fit all of humanity's eggs in it
November 18, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Thrilled to announce I'm teaming up with Nvidia to create a basket big enough to fit all of humanity's eggs in it
Reposted by Leigh Jones
Wildest @politicshome.bsky.social headline I’ve seen for a long time www.politicshome.com/news/article...
The Home Office Secretly Funded A Boyband To Sing Songs About 7/7 In Muslim Areas
Exclusive: A secretive Home Office department funded a little-known boyband to travel around Muslim areas of the UK and sing songs with anti-radica...
www.politicshome.com
November 17, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Wildest @politicshome.bsky.social headline I’ve seen for a long time www.politicshome.com/news/article...
Great timing for this story given other headlines.
"The teenager spent 10 months living in a hotel room with her mother and grandmother when she first came to Wales in 2022... Kateryna's project will be studied further by third year undergraduates at least four years older than her..."
"The teenager spent 10 months living in a hotel room with her mother and grandmother when she first came to Wales in 2022... Kateryna's project will be studied further by third year undergraduates at least four years older than her..."
Swansea: Teenager who fled Ukraine war now studying space technology
Kateryna has been described as an
www.bbc.co.uk
November 17, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Great timing for this story given other headlines.
"The teenager spent 10 months living in a hotel room with her mother and grandmother when she first came to Wales in 2022... Kateryna's project will be studied further by third year undergraduates at least four years older than her..."
"The teenager spent 10 months living in a hotel room with her mother and grandmother when she first came to Wales in 2022... Kateryna's project will be studied further by third year undergraduates at least four years older than her..."
Reposted by Leigh Jones
Excl: the Electoral Commission is examining whether the Labour Party failed to declare sponsorship donations from drinks receptions with business
on.ft.com/47JtHyv
on.ft.com/47JtHyv
Elections watchdog examining Labour drinks receptions with businesses
[FREE TO READ] The party classifies such events as ‘commercial partnerships’
on.ft.com
November 17, 2025 at 6:11 AM
Excl: the Electoral Commission is examining whether the Labour Party failed to declare sponsorship donations from drinks receptions with business
on.ft.com/47JtHyv
on.ft.com/47JtHyv
Reposted by Leigh Jones
Not everyone is unhappy about the Government's descent into anti-refugee politics
November 16, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Not everyone is unhappy about the Government's descent into anti-refugee politics
I have to say the absolute worst thing in my life right now is when I take my six year old daughter to play football and her opponents are coached by two men.
Always, without fail, overly competitive, and speak to their teams in ways which they don't realise undermine their teams' enjoyment.
Always, without fail, overly competitive, and speak to their teams in ways which they don't realise undermine their teams' enjoyment.
November 15, 2025 at 12:50 PM
I have to say the absolute worst thing in my life right now is when I take my six year old daughter to play football and her opponents are coached by two men.
Always, without fail, overly competitive, and speak to their teams in ways which they don't realise undermine their teams' enjoyment.
Always, without fail, overly competitive, and speak to their teams in ways which they don't realise undermine their teams' enjoyment.
Reposted by Leigh Jones
Prime example of why the contract between the public and the police is breaking down, regardless of long term crime trends. Thames Valley Police don’t even think it’s their job to investigate this. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Kidlington fly-tipping: Criminals dump mountain of waste in field
The enormous pile of rubbish is called an
www.bbc.co.uk
November 14, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Prime example of why the contract between the public and the police is breaking down, regardless of long term crime trends. Thames Valley Police don’t even think it’s their job to investigate this. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Leigh Jones
trying to switch off the AI bloatware that has been pinned to the top of every single menu in every single app
April 26, 2025 at 9:30 PM
trying to switch off the AI bloatware that has been pinned to the top of every single menu in every single app
Reposted by Leigh Jones
The difference in time between now and I can has cheezburger
Is the same between I can has Cheezburger and the Berlin Wall falling
Is the same between I can has Cheezburger and the Berlin Wall falling
November 10, 2025 at 5:46 PM
The difference in time between now and I can has cheezburger
Is the same between I can has Cheezburger and the Berlin Wall falling
Is the same between I can has Cheezburger and the Berlin Wall falling