Matt
@matthewblott.com
Bluesky conservative, liberal leaning social democrat everywhere else.
Why am I a sucker for these sorts of accounts? It says something about me I'm sure.
Good morning everyone, even Steve, who has just stumbled back from the pub and is pretending it’s “very early” rather than “very late.” He's currently talking to the toaster. I'm keeping out of it.
November 26, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Why am I a sucker for these sorts of accounts? It says something about me I'm sure.
See what I mean👇
Yes, you're deeply wrong.
I invite you to make a little experiment. Try to name those trans women dominating some women's sports. You will quickly discover you can't, because they just don't exist.
I invite you to make a little experiment. Try to name those trans women dominating some women's sports. You will quickly discover you can't, because they just don't exist.
November 26, 2025 at 9:09 AM
See what I mean👇
I meet an alarming number of idiots on here that still defend this. Why do you want to persecute a tiny minority of people nobody cares it's a fringe issue it's all to distract us from the cost of living environment global inequality blah de fucking blah.
Jammie Booker, a transsexual, wins the title of 'World’s Strongest WOMAN' in Arlington, Texas
Andrea Thompson, female runner-up: 'This is bullsh*t... Can we go?'
Andrea Thompson, female runner-up: 'This is bullsh*t... Can we go?'
November 26, 2025 at 9:06 AM
I meet an alarming number of idiots on here that still defend this. Why do you want to persecute a tiny minority of people nobody cares it's a fringe issue it's all to distract us from the cost of living environment global inequality blah de fucking blah.
Reposted by Matt
Good to hear that the male has since been disqualified and Andrea Thompson has been awarded her rightful title.
www.bbc.com/sport/weight...
www.bbc.com/sport/weight...
November 26, 2025 at 3:52 AM
Good to hear that the male has since been disqualified and Andrea Thompson has been awarded her rightful title.
www.bbc.com/sport/weight...
www.bbc.com/sport/weight...
Reposted by Matt
A small but significant step: Dutch national broadcaster NOS is leaving X.
“The volume of hateful comments and disinformation on X is enormous and flows freely. This also applies under our own posts, meaning we unintentionally contribute to their spread”
over.nos.nl/nieuws/nos-p...
“The volume of hateful comments and disinformation on X is enormous and flows freely. This also applies under our own posts, meaning we unintentionally contribute to their spread”
over.nos.nl/nieuws/nos-p...
NOS plaatst vanaf vandaag geen nieuwsberichten meer op X - Over NOS
De NOS en Nieuwsuur (NOS/NTR) zijn gestopt met posten op X. Het platform past niet meer bij onze visie op...
over.nos.nl
November 25, 2025 at 11:13 AM
A small but significant step: Dutch national broadcaster NOS is leaving X.
“The volume of hateful comments and disinformation on X is enormous and flows freely. This also applies under our own posts, meaning we unintentionally contribute to their spread”
over.nos.nl/nieuws/nos-p...
“The volume of hateful comments and disinformation on X is enormous and flows freely. This also applies under our own posts, meaning we unintentionally contribute to their spread”
over.nos.nl/nieuws/nos-p...
Right, time for a bit of Iain Banks before bed ✌️
November 25, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Right, time for a bit of Iain Banks before bed ✌️
Did Matthew d'Ancona used to be a conservative? Sign of the times that we've actually seen a few more from Right to Left, it's usually the other way. Bill Kristol wouldn't look out of place in the LibDems today for example.
November 25, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Did Matthew d'Ancona used to be a conservative? Sign of the times that we've actually seen a few more from Right to Left, it's usually the other way. Bill Kristol wouldn't look out of place in the LibDems today for example.
I used to drive a Mondeo
November 25, 2025 at 9:04 PM
I used to drive a Mondeo
Reposted by Matt
To be fair how much did Bush's wars cost? While the US spent trillions funding its War on Terror China spent on infrastructure.
November 25, 2025 at 7:47 PM
To be fair how much did Bush's wars cost? While the US spent trillions funding its War on Terror China spent on infrastructure.
Reposted by Matt
the price of populism
"By 2025, Brexit had reduced UK GDP by 6% to 8%, with the impact accumulating gradually over time. We estimate that investment was reduced by between 12% and 18%, employment by 3% to 4% and productivity by 3% to 4%"
Read the Stanford report:
siepr.stanford.edu/publications...
Read the Stanford report:
siepr.stanford.edu/publications...
The Economic Impact of Brexit
Other
siepr.stanford.edu
November 25, 2025 at 7:43 PM
the price of populism
Reposted by Matt
No, the courts apply the law, which says that offensive language must reach a certain level to be considered harassment. For example, the language could cause alarm or distress.
In this case, the judge did not believe the complainant when they said they were alarmed and distressed.
In this case, the judge did not believe the complainant when they said they were alarmed and distressed.
November 25, 2025 at 1:43 PM
No, the courts apply the law, which says that offensive language must reach a certain level to be considered harassment. For example, the language could cause alarm or distress.
In this case, the judge did not believe the complainant when they said they were alarmed and distressed.
In this case, the judge did not believe the complainant when they said they were alarmed and distressed.
Reposted by Matt
Only 16% of Trump voters support Ukraine making territorial concessions to Russia and 72% are in favor of selling Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, according to a new poll by The Vandenberg Coalition.
72% of Trump voters also believe the US should help Ukraine and hold Russia accountable.
72% of Trump voters also believe the US should help Ukraine and hold Russia accountable.
November 25, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Only 16% of Trump voters support Ukraine making territorial concessions to Russia and 72% are in favor of selling Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, according to a new poll by The Vandenberg Coalition.
72% of Trump voters also believe the US should help Ukraine and hold Russia accountable.
72% of Trump voters also believe the US should help Ukraine and hold Russia accountable.
Reposted by Matt
It didn’t take long for Pavel Durov to go from a mysterious, semi-exiled Russian ’tech genius’ to a Russian anti-West disinformation and conspiracy-theory spreader
November 25, 2025 at 6:18 PM
It didn’t take long for Pavel Durov to go from a mysterious, semi-exiled Russian ’tech genius’ to a Russian anti-West disinformation and conspiracy-theory spreader
Reposted by Matt
My main takeaway from two weeks on a Coroners’ Court jury 18 months ago was that Coroners’ Courts should not have juries.
November 25, 2025 at 7:03 PM
My main takeaway from two weeks on a Coroners’ Court jury 18 months ago was that Coroners’ Courts should not have juries.
Reposted by Matt
A Russian man who yelled at an 11-year-old for wearing a hat with a 'Z' on it just got 4.5 years in a maximum-security prison.
🧵 He was already serving time when he said the wrong thing to 8 inmates.
[1/9]
🧵 He was already serving time when he said the wrong thing to 8 inmates.
[1/9]
November 25, 2025 at 4:34 PM
A Russian man who yelled at an 11-year-old for wearing a hat with a 'Z' on it just got 4.5 years in a maximum-security prison.
🧵 He was already serving time when he said the wrong thing to 8 inmates.
[1/9]
🧵 He was already serving time when he said the wrong thing to 8 inmates.
[1/9]
What's interesting about AI is it's the higher level jobs that it should replace. Consultants and CEOs are expensive and their decisions are based on data and who they have access to, they don't do anything that special. It's plumbers, electricians etc that are harder to replace.
November 25, 2025 at 5:01 PM
What's interesting about AI is it's the higher level jobs that it should replace. Consultants and CEOs are expensive and their decisions are based on data and who they have access to, they don't do anything that special. It's plumbers, electricians etc that are harder to replace.
It's understandably controversial and we need to get it right but it will come and will be much better than what we have. AI that's studied every recorded case will simply make better decisions and deliver better sentencing (a wholly inconsistent area currently that damages public confidence).
At least they haven't talked about introducing AI judges/juries, yet
November 25, 2025 at 4:54 PM
It's understandably controversial and we need to get it right but it will come and will be much better than what we have. AI that's studied every recorded case will simply make better decisions and deliver better sentencing (a wholly inconsistent area currently that damages public confidence).
Long overdue imo
Imagine coming up with a proposal so stupid, so unworkable, so thoughtless, that it makes Robert Jenrick look sane by comparison.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Jury trials could be scrapped except in most serious cases
Only cases of alleged murder, rape or manslaughter will be decided by a jury under new proposals to cut court backlogs.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Long overdue imo
Reposted by Matt
Easy way to clean this up: require publications devote equal space and prominence to the correction.
Here’s The S*n’s pathetic, microscopic apology for one of the biggest lies in modern British politics - the “benefits tourism” fairy tale that conned millions and helped drag us into Brexit. They poison democracy with front-page lies, then whisper “sorry” in tiny print.
November 25, 2025 at 9:41 AM
Easy way to clean this up: require publications devote equal space and prominence to the correction.
🤔
I argue that the West should pay Africans to fight in Ukraine. That way you
1) Solve Ukraine's manpower problems
2) Give Africans a chance at a better life
3) Create PR problems for Putin
4) Reinvigorate the struggle for freedom
It makes a lot of sense. www.richardhanania.com/p/i-dream-of...
1) Solve Ukraine's manpower problems
2) Give Africans a chance at a better life
3) Create PR problems for Putin
4) Reinvigorate the struggle for freedom
It makes a lot of sense. www.richardhanania.com/p/i-dream-of...
I Dream of Heroic Africans Fighting for Ukraine
Western money plus third world manpower can defeat Putin
www.richardhanania.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:18 PM
🤔
Reposted by Matt
Peak Starmer would be to commission a report on nuclear energy, have it produce a set of visionary recommendations for reform, and then not do the reforms.
November 25, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Peak Starmer would be to commission a report on nuclear energy, have it produce a set of visionary recommendations for reform, and then not do the reforms.
Things to do today: purchase prepaid SIM for my old phone so I no longer have to use my phone number when forced to create an account online just to look at something.
November 25, 2025 at 10:17 AM
Things to do today: purchase prepaid SIM for my old phone so I no longer have to use my phone number when forced to create an account online just to look at something.
Reposted by Matt
People are consistently ruder, and attempt to instigate pile-ons more often, far more on this site than on the modern incarnation of Twitter.
Not sure whether people "defending" Phillips in my mentions are deluded or simply incapable of understanding English, to the point of claiming "endorsing Trump just means more effective enforcement of existing rules."
bsky.app/profile/layo...
bsky.app/profile/layo...
Is this calling for "random" deportations, or rather is it calling for more immigration raids (as we already do) but doing them at a larger scale so they become a spectacle that shifts behaviour and incentives?
November 25, 2025 at 9:16 AM
People are consistently ruder, and attempt to instigate pile-ons more often, far more on this site than on the modern incarnation of Twitter.
Easy way to clean this up: require publications devote equal space and prominence to the correction.
Here’s The S*n’s pathetic, microscopic apology for one of the biggest lies in modern British politics - the “benefits tourism” fairy tale that conned millions and helped drag us into Brexit. They poison democracy with front-page lies, then whisper “sorry” in tiny print.
November 25, 2025 at 9:41 AM
Easy way to clean this up: require publications devote equal space and prominence to the correction.
Reposted by Matt
According to a new study from a respected US think tank, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), Britain’s decision to leave the EU has meant that its GDP is between 6 per cent and 8 per cent smaller than it would have been.
November 25, 2025 at 9:16 AM
According to a new study from a respected US think tank, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), Britain’s decision to leave the EU has meant that its GDP is between 6 per cent and 8 per cent smaller than it would have been.