Owen Michael
@owenwmichael.bsky.social
Welsh and European. Biromantic Asexual. @UKLabour, @unisontheunion, and @thefabians. Data person and all round geek. He/him/o
Reposted by Owen Michael
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
Reposted by Owen Michael
the timeline for this extreme shifting of views has basically been the same, the ways in which the Overton window has been yanked have been similar, it's often coming from the very same people - it's all vv blatantly part of the same phenomenon!
November 25, 2025 at 12:57 PM
the timeline for this extreme shifting of views has basically been the same, the ways in which the Overton window has been yanked have been similar, it's often coming from the very same people - it's all vv blatantly part of the same phenomenon!
Reposted by Owen Michael
yes I don't really see how you can go "oh yikes these people have changed their political views incredibly quickly, mostly because of what Very Online people talk about on social media" and also think that people who went from never talking about gender to calling trans women predators are....normal
I don’t like subtweeting people I consider online friends, but there is a subset of people who are very worried about the ongoing radicalisation of our political elite but won’t ever acknowledge the echoes with the radicalisation of their colleagues on trans rights
And few who are sympathetic to us, some who are friendly with me on here, will ever stick their head above the parapet
November 25, 2025 at 12:55 PM
yes I don't really see how you can go "oh yikes these people have changed their political views incredibly quickly, mostly because of what Very Online people talk about on social media" and also think that people who went from never talking about gender to calling trans women predators are....normal
Reposted by Owen Michael
Sometimes wonder if what the UK needs is a thinktank that doesn't do any new research, it just repeats obviously true statements that people try to ignore because they're inconvenient.
International students cross-subsidise home students. Your pension is paid for out of general taxation.
International students cross-subsidise home students. Your pension is paid for out of general taxation.
November 25, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Sometimes wonder if what the UK needs is a thinktank that doesn't do any new research, it just repeats obviously true statements that people try to ignore because they're inconvenient.
International students cross-subsidise home students. Your pension is paid for out of general taxation.
International students cross-subsidise home students. Your pension is paid for out of general taxation.
Reposted by Owen Michael
It is genuinely insane to see a judge describe Graham Linehan as a “generally credible witness” in a trial where he claimed Sophia Brooks has been engaged in “trans activism” since 2013 (when she would’ve been 6 years old), then, when challenged, claimed her drivers license lied about her age.
November 25, 2025 at 12:34 PM
It is genuinely insane to see a judge describe Graham Linehan as a “generally credible witness” in a trial where he claimed Sophia Brooks has been engaged in “trans activism” since 2013 (when she would’ve been 6 years old), then, when challenged, claimed her drivers license lied about her age.
Reposted by Owen Michael
I don’t know enough about the situation with Lineham to opine on whether the judgement is valid or not, but everything about this paragraph in the BBC article makes me despair at how many institutions have been captured by the GC movement
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
November 25, 2025 at 12:29 PM
I don’t know enough about the situation with Lineham to opine on whether the judgement is valid or not, but everything about this paragraph in the BBC article makes me despair at how many institutions have been captured by the GC movement
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by Owen Michael
Today I learned that stalking a 17 year old girl, writing up a 400 page 'dossier' about her, falsely reporting her to the police and smashing her phone does not constitute 'harassment'.
One wonders what *would*.
One wonders what *would*.
Graham Linehan cleared of harassment but guilty of criminal damage to trans activist's phone
Graham Linehan cleared of harassment but guilty of criminal damage to trans activist's phone
Father Ted creator Graham Linehan has been found guilty of criminal damage to the phone of a trans activist but not guilty of harassment.
news.sky.com
November 25, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Today I learned that stalking a 17 year old girl, writing up a 400 page 'dossier' about her, falsely reporting her to the police and smashing her phone does not constitute 'harassment'.
One wonders what *would*.
One wonders what *would*.
Reposted by Owen Michael
‘I have no reason to identify Mr. Philby with the so-called third man or to conclude that he had betrayed his country.‘
That Nigel Farage investigation into claims of Russia links to Reform, in full: "I’ve asked everybody: 'have you ever taken money you shouldn’t have taken from anybody', and no one said yes.”
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/farage...
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/farage...
Farage Mocked After Giving Bizarre Reason For Not Investigating Reform Russia Claims
"I haven't got a police force".
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 9:40 AM
‘I have no reason to identify Mr. Philby with the so-called third man or to conclude that he had betrayed his country.‘
Reposted by Owen Michael
"My beloved working class" - i.e. the one that exists in his head, but in real life has always rejected this particularly ugly strain of 'you don't deserve commercial television, nice holidays or little luxuries' whenever Labour have taken it to the public.
November 24, 2025 at 11:44 PM
"My beloved working class" - i.e. the one that exists in his head, but in real life has always rejected this particularly ugly strain of 'you don't deserve commercial television, nice holidays or little luxuries' whenever Labour have taken it to the public.
Reposted by Owen Michael
Archetypal example is “capitalism ground me down so I quit my job and set up a small business so that I’m my own boss”. You didn’t dislike capitalism! You disliked authority!
November 24, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Archetypal example is “capitalism ground me down so I quit my job and set up a small business so that I’m my own boss”. You didn’t dislike capitalism! You disliked authority!
Reposted by Owen Michael
You get the reverse of this on the right, where someone dislikes capitalism, but believes that what they object to is 'modernity'.
November 24, 2025 at 12:51 PM
You get the reverse of this on the right, where someone dislikes capitalism, but believes that what they object to is 'modernity'.
Reposted by Owen Michael
I fucking love those moments. It's so good when people reveal they have no idea what a capitalism is
Archetypal example is “capitalism ground me down so I quit my job and set up a small business so that I’m my own boss”. You didn’t dislike capitalism! You disliked authority!
November 24, 2025 at 12:30 PM
I fucking love those moments. It's so good when people reveal they have no idea what a capitalism is
Reposted by Owen Michael
I don't think this was actually deliberately published as ragebait, but the entitlement contained within is remarkable and a classic example of the sort of sentiment governments sometimes just have to face down inews.co.uk/inews-lifest...?
We were hit with a £148k inheritance tax bill when mum died at 97 - it's disgusting
Jill Lemon has labelled inheritance tax as 'cruel', 'horrible' and 'unfair'
inews.co.uk
November 24, 2025 at 8:18 AM
I don't think this was actually deliberately published as ragebait, but the entitlement contained within is remarkable and a classic example of the sort of sentiment governments sometimes just have to face down inews.co.uk/inews-lifest...?
Reposted by Owen Michael
My hot take is that IHT makes absolutely no sense. "Inheritance" is one word.
November 24, 2025 at 11:30 AM
My hot take is that IHT makes absolutely no sense. "Inheritance" is one word.
Reposted by Owen Michael
“The anti-bedtime left”
November 24, 2025 at 12:20 PM
“The anti-bedtime left”
Reposted by Owen Michael
The thing with these guys is they fundimentally object to having any mutual obligations and responsibilties...
... But haven't grasped that replacing capitalism with a more equable system would almost certainly involve them gaining even more obligation and responsibilities (and less choice)
... But haven't grasped that replacing capitalism with a more equable system would almost certainly involve them gaining even more obligation and responsibilities (and less choice)
November 24, 2025 at 12:02 PM
The thing with these guys is they fundimentally object to having any mutual obligations and responsibilties...
... But haven't grasped that replacing capitalism with a more equable system would almost certainly involve them gaining even more obligation and responsibilities (and less choice)
... But haven't grasped that replacing capitalism with a more equable system would almost certainly involve them gaining even more obligation and responsibilities (and less choice)
Reposted by Owen Michael
This is the thing for me too. Examples of trans people supposedly "going too far", when they are actually provided, typically cite things that aren't particularly recent. Trans-inclusive sporting rules were often decades old!
I'm sorry, but I don't understand the "they went too far" line. At all. Who specifically went where? Why was this "too far"? It's seemingly a throw away line to try and make anything else sound "reasonable", including wholesale second class citizenship.
Sarah McBride talks to the Advocate, blames trans advocates for absolutism, and going directly to Trans 301 when people are just at Trans 101. Doesn't specify whose rights we should throw under the bus but presumably unpopular things like child sports, blockers, etc. @rikiwilchins.bsky.social
November 24, 2025 at 9:07 AM
This is the thing for me too. Examples of trans people supposedly "going too far", when they are actually provided, typically cite things that aren't particularly recent. Trans-inclusive sporting rules were often decades old!
Reposted by Owen Michael
I have had family members who died of cancer, which is why I can't vote for anyone born between June 22 and July 22.
November 23, 2025 at 4:17 PM
I have had family members who died of cancer, which is why I can't vote for anyone born between June 22 and July 22.
Reposted by Owen Michael
I think this sums up Blue Labour to a tee: someone experiences, or shares a human tragedy, and you feel sad for them, but equally it doesn’t give them license to tear up 600 years of information about what drives prosperity and replace it with saying the word “relational” a lot.
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 4:11 PM
I think this sums up Blue Labour to a tee: someone experiences, or shares a human tragedy, and you feel sad for them, but equally it doesn’t give them license to tear up 600 years of information about what drives prosperity and replace it with saying the word “relational” a lot.
Reposted by Owen Michael
It remains insane to me that DOGE was treated at the time as an impressive shock and awe accomplishment - “you can’t deny he’s getting stuff done!” - and then instantly memory holed by the press once if became clear it was a total failure by every possible standard including Musk’s own
Difficult to overstate how profound a failure DOGE was. Spending in FY2025 was not only than in FY2024 – but higher than it was projected to be when Trump first took office.*
The little bit of spending DOGE cut has already killed hundreds of thousands and will eventually lead to millions of deaths.
The little bit of spending DOGE cut has already killed hundreds of thousands and will eventually lead to millions of deaths.
Bye bye, “DOGE”.
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
November 23, 2025 at 3:52 PM
It remains insane to me that DOGE was treated at the time as an impressive shock and awe accomplishment - “you can’t deny he’s getting stuff done!” - and then instantly memory holed by the press once if became clear it was a total failure by every possible standard including Musk’s own
Reposted by Owen Michael
Doctor Who was never as good once they ditched Lola and Cliff (an absolute dish) but happy birthday all the same.
November 23, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Doctor Who was never as good once they ditched Lola and Cliff (an absolute dish) but happy birthday all the same.
Reposted by Owen Michael
That US resolution to condemn socialism is a fascinating concept because I wonder if it crosses the minds of the Dems that voted for it that the average person they voted to "condemn" is not Mamdani, or AOC, or the DSA, but a bunch of boring mid level bureaucrats in random European countries
November 23, 2025 at 5:12 AM
That US resolution to condemn socialism is a fascinating concept because I wonder if it crosses the minds of the Dems that voted for it that the average person they voted to "condemn" is not Mamdani, or AOC, or the DSA, but a bunch of boring mid level bureaucrats in random European countries
Reposted by Owen Michael
To add to this - it's not like the public is being well served by broadcast news moving at the pace of 24 hour scrolling and the politically obsessed - it just means every election large numbers of people end up googling 'what is austerity?' 'What is brownfield?' etc. etc.
This is bizarre. Like the editor of the guardian or mail or any other paper complaining repeatedly about the front page lead they decided to run with.
Very good example of what's wrong with broadcast news - they've given up deciding for themselves what is or isn't news and what the priorities are
Very good example of what's wrong with broadcast news - they've given up deciding for themselves what is or isn't news and what the priorities are
It’s a sign of how insane the news cycle is these days that this historic failure of government policy got just one day of news coverage this week.
Not saying that’s right or wrong, but it’s astonishing how quickly the agenda moves on these days.
Not saying that’s right or wrong, but it’s astonishing how quickly the agenda moves on these days.
November 23, 2025 at 12:33 PM
To add to this - it's not like the public is being well served by broadcast news moving at the pace of 24 hour scrolling and the politically obsessed - it just means every election large numbers of people end up googling 'what is austerity?' 'What is brownfield?' etc. etc.
Reposted by Owen Michael
Surprised that not many people are remembering that tweets used to have their location, until Musk decided to make everything say “posted from Earth” or whatever
X has introduced a new function where you can see where accounts are posting their disinformation from... sorry their "tweets"
November 23, 2025 at 9:43 AM
Surprised that not many people are remembering that tweets used to have their location, until Musk decided to make everything say “posted from Earth” or whatever