Simon Pease
@simonpease.bsky.social
Former UK diplomat. Neglectful gardener, baker, and maker. There is one planet. We pass through and are supposed to take care of it. Politics, as well as random observations on other stuff. No unsolicited DMs.
Pinned
Simon Pease
@simonpease.bsky.social
· Dec 2
Human beings are capable of believing two things which are mutually contradictory at the same time, without realising it.
Reposted by Simon Pease
The Times published this fantasy monologue from Milburn on the front page without bothering to do the most basic factchecking, and follows up with the mealy-mouthed and borderline incomprehensible correction above. Pathetic excuse for journalism.
February 1, 2026 at 8:46 PM
The Times published this fantasy monologue from Milburn on the front page without bothering to do the most basic factchecking, and follows up with the mealy-mouthed and borderline incomprehensible correction above. Pathetic excuse for journalism.
This is excellent. A clear analysis, simply expressed and based on clear evidence. The kind of thing, dare one say, that should be in a mainstream newspaper.
The world looks a darker place than it did 30 years ago, and Britain is a much less happy country.
People are angry, and Reform UK says Britain is broken.
So how did we get here, and should we believe they can fix it?
People are angry, and Reform UK says Britain is broken.
So how did we get here, and should we believe they can fix it?
Who broke Britain?
Reform says Britain is broken, and they offer radical change to put it right. But who broke it? We name the guilty parties.
eastangliabylines.co.uk
February 1, 2026 at 9:06 AM
This is excellent. A clear analysis, simply expressed and based on clear evidence. The kind of thing, dare one say, that should be in a mainstream newspaper.
Reposted by Simon Pease
Objectively hilarious.
February 1, 2026 at 8:17 AM
Objectively hilarious.
Reposted by Simon Pease
Awkward for Farage because a good number of Clarkson's many hardcore fans are natural Reform voters and will listen to him.
✅ Clarkson is right, people aren’t voting Reform for policies 👉there aren’t any.
It’s a protest vote powered by nostalgia not a plan for future.
Reform use farming as a prop. Their real plan is USA trade deal, hormone-treated imports and they’ve appointed Ben Goldsmith
🔗 archive.ph/2026.01.31-0...
It’s a protest vote powered by nostalgia not a plan for future.
Reform use farming as a prop. Their real plan is USA trade deal, hormone-treated imports and they’ve appointed Ben Goldsmith
🔗 archive.ph/2026.01.31-0...
February 1, 2026 at 8:21 AM
Awkward for Farage because a good number of Clarkson's many hardcore fans are natural Reform voters and will listen to him.
Reposted by Simon Pease
In a word *Exclusivity*. The exclusivity the UK class system affords to the Upper Class cannot be protected within the EU.
Six years after Brexit, the UK is still navigating a delicate balancing act on ties with Brussels and Washington.
Why is it so difficult to choose between an American dictator and membership of the world's largest trading bloc?
Join the www.europeanmovement.co.uk!
#FBPE supports them.
Why is it so difficult to choose between an American dictator and membership of the world's largest trading bloc?
Join the www.europeanmovement.co.uk!
#FBPE supports them.
January 31, 2026 at 8:51 PM
In a word *Exclusivity*. The exclusivity the UK class system affords to the Upper Class cannot be protected within the EU.
Reposted by Simon Pease
Zelenskyy at Davos: And Europe must be strong. And Ukraine is ready to help – with anything needed to guarantee peace and prevent destruction. We are ready to help others become stronger than they are now. We are ready to be part of a Europe that truly matters – a Europe of real power – great power.
February 1, 2026 at 8:34 AM
Zelenskyy at Davos: And Europe must be strong. And Ukraine is ready to help – with anything needed to guarantee peace and prevent destruction. We are ready to help others become stronger than they are now. We are ready to be part of a Europe that truly matters – a Europe of real power – great power.
Reposted by Simon Pease
“She already pulled herself by the G-String”
February 1, 2026 at 1:08 AM
“She already pulled herself by the G-String”
Reposted by Simon Pease
Mmm. I wonder where that Russian girl “Irina” that Epstein is said to have procured for Andrew Mountbatten Windsor came from?
“…“The Dossier Center has documents indicating that 🇷🇺 Belyakov had been in contact with Epstein since at least 2014.“
Any earlier?
“…“The Dossier Center has documents indicating that 🇷🇺 Belyakov had been in contact with Epstein since at least 2014.“
Any earlier?
“The Dossier Center has uncovered Jeffrey Epstein’s close contacts with 🇷🇺 Sergei Belyakov, then Deputy Minister of Economic Development and later head of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum Foundation.
Belyakov is a graduate of the FSB Academy which prepares Russian intelligence officers.“
Belyakov is a graduate of the FSB Academy which prepares Russian intelligence officers.“
Jeffrey Epstein’s Russian Connection:
Billionaire's ties with FSB Academy graduate revealed
dossier.center
February 1, 2026 at 1:21 AM
Mmm. I wonder where that Russian girl “Irina” that Epstein is said to have procured for Andrew Mountbatten Windsor came from?
“…“The Dossier Center has documents indicating that 🇷🇺 Belyakov had been in contact with Epstein since at least 2014.“
Any earlier?
“…“The Dossier Center has documents indicating that 🇷🇺 Belyakov had been in contact with Epstein since at least 2014.“
Any earlier?
Reposted by Simon Pease
At last, the issue of student loans is properly hitting national politics.
Momentum is building among backbench Labour MPs to force action on student loans
Options include 0% interest rates, raising repayment thresholds and monthly payments so students aren't forced into overdrafts
MPs said to be "spooked" by possible Reform policy offer
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Options include 0% interest rates, raising repayment thresholds and monthly payments so students aren't forced into overdrafts
MPs said to be "spooked" by possible Reform policy offer
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Young Labour MPs team up to force chancellor’s hand on st...
Backbenchers hope to overturn chancellor’s change to scheme that could burden graduates with above-inflation interest rate increases
observer.co.uk
February 1, 2026 at 7:51 AM
At last, the issue of student loans is properly hitting national politics.
Reposted by Simon Pease
Europe’s outstanding statesman.
❗️Zelensky: We should not accept the idea that Europe is merely a salad of small and medium-sized powers, seasoned with enemies of Europe.When we are united, we are truly invincible. Europe can — and must — be a global force.
February 1, 2026 at 7:58 AM
Europe’s outstanding statesman.
Reposted by Simon Pease
European Movement UK now has over 27,000 members. 🚀
It was 26,000 last month.
We need to build fast, because this will become the national campaign to rejoin the EU.
Join us!
👉👉 www.europeanmovement.co.uk/membership-ab
It was 26,000 last month.
We need to build fast, because this will become the national campaign to rejoin the EU.
Join us!
👉👉 www.europeanmovement.co.uk/membership-ab
January 31, 2026 at 8:36 PM
European Movement UK now has over 27,000 members. 🚀
It was 26,000 last month.
We need to build fast, because this will become the national campaign to rejoin the EU.
Join us!
👉👉 www.europeanmovement.co.uk/membership-ab
It was 26,000 last month.
We need to build fast, because this will become the national campaign to rejoin the EU.
Join us!
👉👉 www.europeanmovement.co.uk/membership-ab
Reposted by Simon Pease
They still insist this is “the will of the people” and that it is unassailable. Forever.
How deeply pathetic - but also so fitting - that this was how we fired the starting gun on our own diminishment.
How deeply pathetic - but also so fitting - that this was how we fired the starting gun on our own diminishment.
January 31, 2026 at 8:02 PM
They still insist this is “the will of the people” and that it is unassailable. Forever.
How deeply pathetic - but also so fitting - that this was how we fired the starting gun on our own diminishment.
How deeply pathetic - but also so fitting - that this was how we fired the starting gun on our own diminishment.
Reposted by Simon Pease
No fireworks. No parties. No flags. No celebrations.
No comments from the Brexit leaders. No "wasn't that a great idea."
Six years after we left the EU - everyone knows it was a disaster.
But....
No comments from the Brexit leaders. No "wasn't that a great idea."
Six years after we left the EU - everyone knows it was a disaster.
But....
a dirt road with a blue sky in the background and a gif from gifbin.com
ALT: a dirt road with a blue sky in the background and a gif from gifbin.com
media.tenor.com
January 31, 2026 at 7:56 PM
No fireworks. No parties. No flags. No celebrations.
No comments from the Brexit leaders. No "wasn't that a great idea."
Six years after we left the EU - everyone knows it was a disaster.
But....
No comments from the Brexit leaders. No "wasn't that a great idea."
Six years after we left the EU - everyone knows it was a disaster.
But....
Reposted by Simon Pease
Very good and persuasive analysis of the wrongful and illiberal arrests of two journalists by the US federal government.
Don Lemon and Georgia Fort have been released.
But the procedural history now emerging is unusual. Before the arrests, a federal magistrate judge found no probable cause to arrest them. The government appealed anyway.
Here’s why that matters—and what it signals more broadly.
But the procedural history now emerging is unusual. Before the arrests, a federal magistrate judge found no probable cause to arrest them. The government appealed anyway.
Here’s why that matters—and what it signals more broadly.
January 31, 2026 at 7:38 AM
Very good and persuasive analysis of the wrongful and illiberal arrests of two journalists by the US federal government.
A torrent of unsubstantiated claims does not, of course, confirm guilt. But the sheer volume might make you wonder why so many people think the accusations could be credible.
January 31, 2026 at 7:38 AM
A torrent of unsubstantiated claims does not, of course, confirm guilt. But the sheer volume might make you wonder why so many people think the accusations could be credible.
Reposted by Simon Pease
Pecksniff’s Diary :
* No.10 briefed the media that the NEC would block Andy Burnham before telling him. Catastrophic handling
* Reform UK boasted of canvassing Gorton and Denton, using a photo from the wrong seat
* Even now, it’s unclear whether Reform has a Clacton office at all.
* No.10 briefed the media that the NEC would block Andy Burnham before telling him. Catastrophic handling
* Reform UK boasted of canvassing Gorton and Denton, using a photo from the wrong seat
* Even now, it’s unclear whether Reform has a Clacton office at all.
Pecksniff: Rock star Burnham becomes stalking horse for what comes next
In which Mr Pecksniff lays before his readers for their approval certain observations and speculations reflecting on the political life
eastangliabylines.co.uk
January 31, 2026 at 7:18 AM
Pecksniff’s Diary :
* No.10 briefed the media that the NEC would block Andy Burnham before telling him. Catastrophic handling
* Reform UK boasted of canvassing Gorton and Denton, using a photo from the wrong seat
* Even now, it’s unclear whether Reform has a Clacton office at all.
* No.10 briefed the media that the NEC would block Andy Burnham before telling him. Catastrophic handling
* Reform UK boasted of canvassing Gorton and Denton, using a photo from the wrong seat
* Even now, it’s unclear whether Reform has a Clacton office at all.
Reposted by Simon Pease
“A proper Brexit”
What does that even mean?
The Express certainly can’t explain it. They haven’t got the first fucking clue. And the Brexiters who could explain it, won’t. Because people don’t want the ruinous, insecure, unsafe race to the bottom that it entails.
It’s a shitshow. Time to admit it.
What does that even mean?
The Express certainly can’t explain it. They haven’t got the first fucking clue. And the Brexiters who could explain it, won’t. Because people don’t want the ruinous, insecure, unsafe race to the bottom that it entails.
It’s a shitshow. Time to admit it.
January 30, 2026 at 10:54 PM
“A proper Brexit”
What does that even mean?
The Express certainly can’t explain it. They haven’t got the first fucking clue. And the Brexiters who could explain it, won’t. Because people don’t want the ruinous, insecure, unsafe race to the bottom that it entails.
It’s a shitshow. Time to admit it.
What does that even mean?
The Express certainly can’t explain it. They haven’t got the first fucking clue. And the Brexiters who could explain it, won’t. Because people don’t want the ruinous, insecure, unsafe race to the bottom that it entails.
It’s a shitshow. Time to admit it.
Reposted by Simon Pease
Tragic really. 10 years on. Rocking back and forth in its pungent prejudice-and-nostalgia-soaked corner, begging the architects of their precious Brexit to make - whatever their impossible fantasy was - come true.
It’s truly pathetic.
It’s truly pathetic.
Daily Express: NOW YOU MUST GIVE BRITAIN A PROPER BREXIT #TomorrowsPapersToday
January 30, 2026 at 10:35 PM
Tragic really. 10 years on. Rocking back and forth in its pungent prejudice-and-nostalgia-soaked corner, begging the architects of their precious Brexit to make - whatever their impossible fantasy was - come true.
It’s truly pathetic.
It’s truly pathetic.
Reposted by Simon Pease
Those emails don't prove anything.
I'm sure that once he arrived on Epstein's party island Elon Musk was exactly as discerning about the adulthood of those he sexualised as his AI image generator is.
I'm sure that once he arrived on Epstein's party island Elon Musk was exactly as discerning about the adulthood of those he sexualised as his AI image generator is.
January 31, 2026 at 12:51 AM
Those emails don't prove anything.
I'm sure that once he arrived on Epstein's party island Elon Musk was exactly as discerning about the adulthood of those he sexualised as his AI image generator is.
I'm sure that once he arrived on Epstein's party island Elon Musk was exactly as discerning about the adulthood of those he sexualised as his AI image generator is.
Reposted by Simon Pease
The BBC need to do better than letting panelists simply lie about what they said
bsky.app/profile/impl...
bsky.app/profile/impl...
Left: Konstantin Kisin denies calling Rishi Sunak a 'brown Hindu' on #BBCQT
Right: Konstantin Kisin, "He's a brown Hindu"
Right: Konstantin Kisin, "He's a brown Hindu"
January 30, 2026 at 4:22 PM
The BBC need to do better than letting panelists simply lie about what they said
bsky.app/profile/impl...
bsky.app/profile/impl...
Reposted by Simon Pease
Reposted by Simon Pease
I'm still slightly surprised the young haven't taken to the streets about this.
I left university in 2019 with £49,600 of debt. A few months later, I became an MP and have since received a salary that puts me in the top 5% in the country. 6 years on, the repayments from my salary have brought this total to down to £48,600 - just £1,000 less.
January 17, 2026 at 12:37 PM
I'm still slightly surprised the young haven't taken to the streets about this.
Reposted by Simon Pease
Well
Tommy Robinson posted "vote for Matt" - endorsing Matthew Goodwin, the Reform candidate in Denton and Gorton.
In 2018, Farage left UKIP due to the party's association with Tommy Robinson, also saying that this might work for an 'online figure' but could not work in party politics at all.
In 2018, Farage left UKIP due to the party's association with Tommy Robinson, also saying that this might work for an 'online figure' but could not work in party politics at all.
January 30, 2026 at 5:16 PM
Well
Reposted by Simon Pease
I know it is a total waste of time to even ask but what does a "proper Brexit“ look like?
Genuine question.
Genuine question.
January 30, 2026 at 9:50 PM
I know it is a total waste of time to even ask but what does a "proper Brexit“ look like?
Genuine question.
Genuine question.
Reposted by Simon Pease
Matt Goodwin and the end of England: How one man's career explains our public life iandunt.substack.com/p/matt-goodw...
Matt Goodwin and the end of England
How one man's career explains our public life.
iandunt.substack.com
January 30, 2026 at 12:10 PM
Matt Goodwin and the end of England: How one man's career explains our public life iandunt.substack.com/p/matt-goodw...