Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Secret Calendar @secretcalendar.bsky.social · 8h

One priest has one pepper ball fired at his head and suddenly you’re disqualified. What a joke. www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c1...

Nobel Peace Prize 2025 live updates: Venezuelan politician Maria Corina Machado wins

Nominations closed in January but US President Donald Trump had led a public campaign to win the award.

www.bbc.co.uk

Secret Calendar @secretcalendar.bsky.social · 1d

bsky.app/profile/secr...

Secret Calendar @secretcalendar.bsky.social · Apr 17

Reposted by Secret Calendar

Robert Hutton @roberthutton.co.uk · 1d

Please join my campaign for the British government to set up a department that would deal with issues around culture, media (and sport - why not?). And also to set up a specific regulator for broadcast media.

Ben Fenton @benfenton.bsky.social · 1d

If a news organisation is making -200% margin after five years, it is not a commercial operation and should be assumed to have a different purpose.

Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 1d

The channel lost £33 million to communicate its content to a large audience
www.business-live.co.uk/enterprise/g...

15 47 230

Secret Calendar @secretcalendar.bsky.social · 1d

The median length of a successful EU accession application is just under 8.5 years; the fastest so far is just under 3 (although you do have to bother to apply first).

Will Pollock 🏳️‍🌈🌻🐶🫘 ➡️ turn 🔔 on @willpollock.com · 2d

UK will rejoin EU sometime in the next decade. bookmark it.

🎩 @norby36.bsky.social

Catalyst Catalyst @catalystcatalyst.bsky.social · 11d

Reform UK = Brexit Party = UKIP

#FACTS

1 1

Secret Calendar @secretcalendar.bsky.social · 1d

Congratulations to this guy, I guess, but we all know it’s really Jilly Cooper’s.

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 1d

Nobel prize in literature 2025 live: Hungarian novelist László Krasznahorkai wins

Nobel prize in literature 2025 live: László Krasznahorkai wins

Follow along as the next winner of the world’s most prestigious literature prize is announced in Stockholm

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Secret Calendar

Lee Hurley @hleehurley.com · 2d

She then took a round of applause for Brexit about 3 minutes later.

Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 2d

"15 years ago, Polish workers came here to find opportunity. Now Poland is growing twice as fast as we are," says Kemi Badenoch.

Any ideas what may have happened in the interim?

5 13 95

Reposted by Secret Calendar

Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 2d

All these people really want is to pay no taxes and be treated with floor scraping deference. Everything else is just bullshit in pursuit of that goal.

Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 2d

Party donor Nick Candy says "I cherish the values we grew up with here in the West. But today you are more likely to find the values we grew up with in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.’

Via Sam Leith in the Spectator
www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-...

33 310 1.2K

Secret Calendar @secretcalendar.bsky.social · 2d

This is very Starmerist (like the breakfast clubs which still only cover 5% of schools): a nice announcement for their outriders on social media, but there’s no money (& they refuse to do anything to get any) so it’s tiny.

FatGayFriend @fatgayfriend.bsky.social · 2d

Just 75 communities will get the equivalent of one not so big shop per person. Woop.

And a new local quango of course

@bobhudson.bsky.social @bobhudson.bsky.social · 2d

‘Disappointing in its scale and scope’ - sobering analysis of Labour’s ‘Pride in Place’ policy. Via @uk.theconversation.com…
theconversation.com/can-labours-...

1

Secret Calendar @secretcalendar.bsky.social · 3d

If the Russians aren’t flooding social media with bots telling us that we won’t be able to rejoin the EU until Prince George is collecting his pension (and asking in the meantime will only annoy them, I guess?) then they’re missing a trick. Luckily for them there are lots of people doing it anyway.

1 2

Secret Calendar @secretcalendar.bsky.social · 3d

Türkiye negotiated a Customs Union with the EU 15 years after they’d had a military coup and two years before they ended up having another (their fourth since the war) but the EU won’t talk to us about a CU. Sorry.

1

Secret Calendar @secretcalendar.bsky.social · 4d

Thanks, Michael.

Secret Calendar @secretcalendar.bsky.social · 4d

Would be handy if someone had a quote from eg Ursula von der Leyen about this refusal to engage, or maybe an example where the EU wouldn’t negotiate because the opposition was anti-EU (clue: don’t use Malta 2003)?

1 1

Secret Calendar @secretcalendar.bsky.social · 4d

2045, says Andy’s #secretcalendar.

Secret Calendar @secretcalendar.bsky.social · 4d

There are clearly those for whom Starmer’s defeat is paramount, but at some point Labour *is* going to lose. At the same time they tell us they aren’t going to rejoin before they die. Is the plan to vote for them in the next 10 general elections and hope during this they all get run over by a bus?

JWexTheSpa @jwsidders.bsky.social · 7d

It seems bizarre to me that if you are someone who really wants to see the UK rejoin the EU, your priority would not be to do all you can to prevent the election of a government that would kill all possibility of any closer alignment, let alone rejoining, for many decades to come.

1 1

Secret Calendar @secretcalendar.bsky.social · 4d

Time from EU accession to Euro adoption (excl EU-12 other than UK😬 & Denmark, who have an exception):

2y8m Slovn
3y8m Mal, Cyp
4y Aut, Fin
4y8m Slovk
6y8m Est
9y6m Cro
9y8m Lat
10y8m Lith

18y9m (& counting) Rom
19y* (ie 1/1/26) Bul
21y5m (& counting) Pol, Cze, Hun
30y9m (& counting) Swe

Secret Calendar @secretcalendar.bsky.social · 5d

Maybe others could learn something from the Tories’ new policy-making process?

1 2

Reposted by Secret Calendar

Robert Hutton @roberthutton.co.uk · 5d

"Our credible plan is also an acrostic."

(This is, genuinely, the actual Conservative press release.)

56 85 310

Secret Calendar @secretcalendar.bsky.social · 6d

Who knows whether he’s the guy to take advantage, but Polanski knows where the big electoral opportunity is. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Zack Polanski says East of England needs 'pylons and solar farms'

Zack Polanski says he will pick fights, challenge Labour and take the fight to Reform UK.

www.bbc.co.uk

Secret Calendar @secretcalendar.bsky.social · 7d

The Fridays come round fast, don’t they? bsky.app/profile/secr...

Secret Calendar @secretcalendar.bsky.social · Apr 17

1

Secret Calendar @secretcalendar.bsky.social · 8d

All those dweebs kicking-off about the actual policy- have you forgotten the nice speech?

Secret Calendar @secretcalendar.bsky.social · 8d

They won’t “even accept our application while Farage is knocking around,” says Andy’s #secretcalendar.

Reposted by Secret Calendar

Alan Beattie @alanbeattie.bsky.social · 8d

It’s almost as if - HEAR ME OUT PEOPLE - British politics continues to prioritise eloquence over reality.

One of my favourite observations is that a lot of Lobby journalists - the FT’s being honourable exceptions - are like dogs. They respond to tone but not to content.

Alan Beattie @alanbeattie.bsky.social · 8d

But I was told that Keir Starmer’s conference speech marked a pivot away from imitating Reform and towards a bold new liberal something! I WAS PROMISED!

on.ft.com/4mGqFPF

UK to scrap right of refugees to seek permanent residency after 5 years

Policy comes as Keir Starmer seeks to toughen stance on immigration and fend off Reform UK

on.ft.com

9 26 120

Secret Calendar @secretcalendar.bsky.social · 8d

Absolutely begging people to google ‘Swedish EU referendum 1994’, or maybe ‘EU policy of the Maltese opposition in 2003’.

Secret Calendar @secretcalendar.bsky.social · 8d

It took Spain 10 years and six weeks to go from Franco to the EU. Unfortunately, as per Stop The Tories’ #secretcalendar for us it’s going to be eleven and a bit years to go from our own Caudillo (err, Rishi Sunak?) to the same destination, so we’re just going to have to #makebrexitwork until 2035.

1

Reposted by Secret Calendar

Dr Stylite @columnist.bsky.social · 8d

Ah yes but there would be some (albeit discounted) benefit. And as for uncertainty there’s a rather big difference between positive uncertainty (oh look things might get better) and negative uncertainty (the last fifteen years or so).

1 1 8