Neil Schofield-Hughes
@neilschofield.bsky.social
Retired Civil Servant, choral singer, opera lover. Left, green, liberal.
European, Cymro o ddewis, annibyniaeth 🏴🇪🇺
European, Cymro o ddewis, annibyniaeth 🏴🇪🇺
Few things could better illustrate the state of Welsh Labour than this, the Westminster constituency in which I live; Mark Drakeford and Rhodri Morgan’s seat, the place where “clear red water” was invented - and where Labour are now apparently in fourth place.
January 23, 2026 at 10:44 AM
Few things could better illustrate the state of Welsh Labour than this, the Westminster constituency in which I live; Mark Drakeford and Rhodri Morgan’s seat, the place where “clear red water” was invented - and where Labour are now apparently in fourth place.
I think it was Michael Foot who wrote that those with power have little time to read, but those who do not read aren’t fit for power.
Someone sent this to me earlier.
It's a genuine Farage quote from 2015 and boy does that not say it all about the defender of British culture.
It's a genuine Farage quote from 2015 and boy does that not say it all about the defender of British culture.
January 23, 2026 at 9:33 AM
I think it was Michael Foot who wrote that those with power have little time to read, but those who do not read aren’t fit for power.
One of the fascinating things about Starmer trying to do his “man of the people” act is that there’s always a Union Flag. Even the King has less. Does one of his staff carry around a wee Asda bag full of Butcher’s Apron bunting to blu-tack on the wall, just in case?
January 23, 2026 at 9:31 AM
One of the fascinating things about Starmer trying to do his “man of the people” act is that there’s always a Union Flag. Even the King has less. Does one of his staff carry around a wee Asda bag full of Butcher’s Apron bunting to blu-tack on the wall, just in case?
As Welsh Labour sinks below the level where its votes no longer elect Senedd members under d’Hondt, this is already happening. A Labour vote in Cymru is a wasted vote - only voting @plaidcymru.bsky.social or @walesgreenparty.bsky.social will keep Cymru progressive.
If the Greens keep climbing we're gonna see tactical switches away from Labour to keep Reform out.
Latest YouGov Westminster voting intention (18-19 January 2026)
Reform UK: 24% (no change from 11-12 Jan)
Labour: 19% (=)
Conservatives: 18% (-2)
Greens: 17% (+3)
Lib Dems: 14% (-2)
yougov.co.uk/topics/polit...
Reform UK: 24% (no change from 11-12 Jan)
Labour: 19% (=)
Conservatives: 18% (-2)
Greens: 17% (+3)
Lib Dems: 14% (-2)
yougov.co.uk/topics/polit...
January 21, 2026 at 10:33 AM
As Welsh Labour sinks below the level where its votes no longer elect Senedd members under d’Hondt, this is already happening. A Labour vote in Cymru is a wasted vote - only voting @plaidcymru.bsky.social or @walesgreenparty.bsky.social will keep Cymru progressive.
It’s difficult to be optimistic about politics just now. But the thought of pro-independence governments in 🏴and 🏴 working for a return to 🇪🇺 is something to raise the spirits.
Today’s poll proves the SNP vision of independence in Europe is appealing to more and more folks. A massive 73%, almost 3 in 4, of folks want back in the EU. We’ve been out in Callander speaking to locals about building up our communities.
#Callander #Stirling #Scotland #independence #EU
#Callander #Stirling #Scotland #independence #EU
January 18, 2026 at 12:03 PM
It’s difficult to be optimistic about politics just now. But the thought of pro-independence governments in 🏴and 🏴 working for a return to 🇪🇺 is something to raise the spirits.
When Farage the chlorinated chicken has spent all that time on effort on playing the patriot and he’s put in a place where he’s forced to show where his loyalties really lie…
It’s a real shame that Nigel Farage is too unwell to do interviews the morning after Donald Trump threatens us with sanctions.
Here he is with “the bravest man he ever met”. He campaigned to make Trump President, and has spent the last year enjoying all the chaos he has caused.
Here he is with “the bravest man he ever met”. He campaigned to make Trump President, and has spent the last year enjoying all the chaos he has caused.
January 18, 2026 at 11:57 AM
When Farage the chlorinated chicken has spent all that time on effort on playing the patriot and he’s put in a place where he’s forced to show where his loyalties really lie…
Does this make Farage a chlorinated chicken? Or has he just eaten one?
Farage has bottled it.
January 18, 2026 at 11:53 AM
Does this make Farage a chlorinated chicken? Or has he just eaten one?
Exactly so.
Proof, if any were needed, that Starmer’s Labour’s loyalties lie with capital, not country. With donors, not democracy.
A morbid symptom in a time of monsters.
Proof, if any were needed, that Starmer’s Labour’s loyalties lie with capital, not country. With donors, not democracy.
A morbid symptom in a time of monsters.
Palantir was a warning sign.
Keir Starmer choosing to hand our data and security to US tech companies is an outrageous failure of judgment.
All in the name of "investment." What about national security?
Keir Starmer choosing to hand our data and security to US tech companies is an outrageous failure of judgment.
All in the name of "investment." What about national security?
January 18, 2026 at 11:49 AM
Exactly so.
Proof, if any were needed, that Starmer’s Labour’s loyalties lie with capital, not country. With donors, not democracy.
A morbid symptom in a time of monsters.
Proof, if any were needed, that Starmer’s Labour’s loyalties lie with capital, not country. With donors, not democracy.
A morbid symptom in a time of monsters.
What made me laugh was the hyperbole about Badenoch “waking before dawn” to make the decision. It’s mid-January. The sun rises at 8am, when much of the country is on the way to work or school, or there already. Out of touch or what?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
'We'd been on high alert' - How Jenrick's dramatic defection unfolded
The secret discussions, bombshell leak and sacking which led to Robert Jenrick defecting to the Reform party.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 16, 2026 at 12:08 PM
What made me laugh was the hyperbole about Badenoch “waking before dawn” to make the decision. It’s mid-January. The sun rises at 8am, when much of the country is on the way to work or school, or there already. Out of touch or what?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
This makes a lot of sense.
January 15, 2026 at 9:25 PM
This makes a lot of sense.
Hang on, Starmer's line of attack for Jenrick the renouned racist joining the ant-migrant Reform party wasn't really that he delivered "open-borders" when in power with the Tories... was it?
Serious question: who is that line supposed to convince?🤯
Serious question: who is that line supposed to convince?🤯
January 15, 2026 at 6:57 PM
I think Labour politicians like Starmer and Reed who suggested that hanging flags was a legitimate expression of patriotism have so much to answer for. Normalising intimidation in dangerous times is extraordinarily stupid as well as wrong.
"The flag acts as a warning sign: a silent message. It makes you more vigilant…you go into a house with a flag, you have to prepare emotionally for the possibility of racism or rejection”
This is Farage’s ‘patriotism’ in action. It’s not pride. It’s intimidation.
liveapp.inews.co.uk/category/ful...
This is Farage’s ‘patriotism’ in action. It’s not pride. It’s intimidation.
liveapp.inews.co.uk/category/ful...
January 15, 2026 at 2:24 PM
I think Labour politicians like Starmer and Reed who suggested that hanging flags was a legitimate expression of patriotism have so much to answer for. Normalising intimidation in dangerous times is extraordinarily stupid as well as wrong.
Reposted by Neil Schofield-Hughes
the European mission to Greenland was fourth in the BBC news running order this morning, which feels a bit like doing a light "and finally..." item about the archduke's motorcade taking a wrong turn in Sarajevo
January 15, 2026 at 10:01 AM
the European mission to Greenland was fourth in the BBC news running order this morning, which feels a bit like doing a light "and finally..." item about the archduke's motorcade taking a wrong turn in Sarajevo
One of my ward councillors. And if Labour is falling apart in heartlands like Canton the tectonic plares really are shifting under Welsh politics.
nation.cymru/news/cardiff...
nation.cymru/news/cardiff...
Cardiff councillor quits Labour, accusing Starmer of moral cowardice in not standing up to Trump
Martin Shipton A Labour councillor representing the Canton district of Cardiff has resigned from the party over its lurch to the right and Keir Starmer’s failure to “stand up to tyrants” like Donald T...
nation.cymru
January 15, 2026 at 12:21 PM
One of my ward councillors. And if Labour is falling apart in heartlands like Canton the tectonic plares really are shifting under Welsh politics.
nation.cymru/news/cardiff...
nation.cymru/news/cardiff...
A really good read on shaping the post-neoliberal political economy - and how it matters in the battle against the authoritarian populism of the right.
This week's post: A Post Neoliberal Consensus mainlymacro.blogspot.com/2026/01/a-po...
As long as concentrations of extreme wealth exist, and its influence on politics is unchecked, then the battle between liberal democracy and right wing populism is in danger of being never ending.
As long as concentrations of extreme wealth exist, and its influence on politics is unchecked, then the battle between liberal democracy and right wing populism is in danger of being never ending.
A Post Neoliberal Consensus
. Dani Rodrik recently wrote an article entitled “The Post-Neoliberal Consensus is here”. He argues that it comprises th...
mainlymacro.blogspot.com
January 15, 2026 at 11:38 AM
A really good read on shaping the post-neoliberal political economy - and how it matters in the battle against the authoritarian populism of the right.
www.itv.com/news/wales/2...
The question that ITV Wales (and others) won’t ask. Will the wealth these wind farms generate stay in Cymru? Or is this just another project that extracts Welsh wealth and hoards it elsewhere?
The question that ITV Wales (and others) won’t ask. Will the wealth these wind farms generate stay in Cymru? Or is this just another project that extracts Welsh wealth and hoards it elsewhere?
www.itv.com
January 14, 2026 at 6:06 PM
www.itv.com/news/wales/2...
The question that ITV Wales (and others) won’t ask. Will the wealth these wind farms generate stay in Cymru? Or is this just another project that extracts Welsh wealth and hoards it elsewhere?
The question that ITV Wales (and others) won’t ask. Will the wealth these wind farms generate stay in Cymru? Or is this just another project that extracts Welsh wealth and hoards it elsewhere?
Meanwhile Cymru has been robbed of billions in Barnett funding by Westminster classifying English projects as “England and Wales”.
And this is why Labour barely scrapes 10% in the polls in a nation which it has dominated - and taken for granted - for a century.
We’ve had enough of this shit.
And this is why Labour barely scrapes 10% in the polls in a nation which it has dominated - and taken for granted - for a century.
We’ve had enough of this shit.
January 14, 2026 at 8:14 AM
Meanwhile Cymru has been robbed of billions in Barnett funding by Westminster classifying English projects as “England and Wales”.
And this is why Labour barely scrapes 10% in the polls in a nation which it has dominated - and taken for granted - for a century.
We’ve had enough of this shit.
And this is why Labour barely scrapes 10% in the polls in a nation which it has dominated - and taken for granted - for a century.
We’ve had enough of this shit.
Funnily enough, MPs did manage to communicate with their electors before social media came along.
Is anyone else finding Labour MPs’ excuses - indeed their whole attitude to X - distinctly Weimaresque?
Is anyone else finding Labour MPs’ excuses - indeed their whole attitude to X - distinctly Weimaresque?
Minister of State Alex Norris tells the BBC he won't personally come off X because it's important for communicating with voters.
None of his tweets for the last month has more than 1000 views.
None of his tweets for the last month has more than 1000 views.
January 13, 2026 at 2:48 PM
Funnily enough, MPs did manage to communicate with their electors before social media came along.
Is anyone else finding Labour MPs’ excuses - indeed their whole attitude to X - distinctly Weimaresque?
Is anyone else finding Labour MPs’ excuses - indeed their whole attitude to X - distinctly Weimaresque?
Is there absolutely nobody in this shambles of a Government who understands Popper’s paradox of tolerance - that to protect an open tolerant society you have to be intolerant of the things that threaten it? Which includes platforms that monetise sexual abuse and seek to undermine democratic norms?
'Even the gutter is too clean for Musk and his platform' || @neilmackay.bsky.social
www.heraldscotland.com/poli...
𝘐𝘔𝘈𝘎𝘌: 𝘠𝘶𝘪 𝘔𝘰𝘬/𝘗𝘈 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘷𝘦/𝘗𝘈 𝘐𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴
www.heraldscotland.com/poli...
𝘐𝘔𝘈𝘎𝘌: 𝘠𝘶𝘪 𝘔𝘰𝘬/𝘗𝘈 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘷𝘦/𝘗𝘈 𝘐𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴
January 13, 2026 at 1:16 PM
Is there absolutely nobody in this shambles of a Government who understands Popper’s paradox of tolerance - that to protect an open tolerant society you have to be intolerant of the things that threaten it? Which includes platforms that monetise sexual abuse and seek to undermine democratic norms?
Absolutely this.
I just realised that this useless criminalisation of customers is the Nordic Model, but for tech platforms.
Alex Norris explaining that the govt is passing legislation that means if someone asks Grok to produce an image of a woman in a bikini they will be committing a criminal offence. Whereas when it comes to taking action against X, we're told thats a matter for Ofcom not the govt.
January 13, 2026 at 10:33 AM
Absolutely this.
I wonder whether anyone in today’s Labour - least of all Kyle and Kendall - have any idea of what bureaucratising political decisions in the face of political threat actually means. This government’s position on X has been something of a case study in Arendt’s account of the banality of evil.
Alex Norris explaining that the govt is passing legislation that means if someone asks Grok to produce an image of a woman in a bikini they will be committing a criminal offence. Whereas when it comes to taking action against X, we're told thats a matter for Ofcom not the govt.
January 13, 2026 at 10:09 AM
I wonder whether anyone in today’s Labour - least of all Kyle and Kendall - have any idea of what bureaucratising political decisions in the face of political threat actually means. This government’s position on X has been something of a case study in Arendt’s account of the banality of evil.
Few things anger me more than people of my generation - the most fortunate in history - saying how easy young people today have it. We, with our free university education sitting in the homes we own outright with our final salary pensions, need to acknowledge we have utterly screwed them over.
Jeez. This is completely insane. How has this been allowed to happen?
January 13, 2026 at 9:42 AM
Few things anger me more than people of my generation - the most fortunate in history - saying how easy young people today have it. We, with our free university education sitting in the homes we own outright with our final salary pensions, need to acknowledge we have utterly screwed them over.
Only just caught up with this but it’s important. Politicians who talk about “growth” have simply misunderstood the politics of zero sum and the fact that entrenched inequalities and their perceived unfairness are now what drives debate on both left and right.
This by the excellent @jburnmurdoch.ft.com confirms my view that political trends are being driven by the halting of the upward economic conveyor belt - striking charts: www.ft.com/content/30a4... Welcome to the age of zero-sum politics
Welcome to the age of zero-sum politics
A stalled economic conveyor belt is behind the rise of anti-system, anti-growth parties on both the right and left
www.ft.com
January 13, 2026 at 7:43 AM
Only just caught up with this but it’s important. Politicians who talk about “growth” have simply misunderstood the politics of zero sum and the fact that entrenched inequalities and their perceived unfairness are now what drives debate on both left and right.
This. Absolutely. And that inability to understand the word “enough” is what is destroying the planet.
This story always come to mind when thinking about Trump, Musk, Thiel etc.
January 12, 2026 at 3:03 PM
This. Absolutely. And that inability to understand the word “enough” is what is destroying the planet.
Exactly this.
It won't, because delays aren't caused by juries and the proposals won't fix a crumbling criminal justice system.
But who are they speaking to?! What imaginary voter wants to give up a core civic right, held for centuries, for the promise of jam in a decade?
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
But who are they speaking to?! What imaginary voter wants to give up a core civic right, held for centuries, for the promise of jam in a decade?
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Slashing jury trials could clear courts backlog within a decade, says Lammy
Exclusive: Lord chancellor urges MPs to back judge-only trials in thousands of criminal cases in England and Wales
www.theguardian.com
January 12, 2026 at 2:33 PM
Exactly this.