Dave Robertson
@djbrobertson.bsky.social
Data, books, eating and drinking not necessarily in that order
Reposted by Dave Robertson
Russia condemning foreign aggression, and the Maduro regime calling for the condemnation of the international community, should provide enough irony for the whole of 2026.
January 3, 2026 at 12:36 PM
Russia condemning foreign aggression, and the Maduro regime calling for the condemnation of the international community, should provide enough irony for the whole of 2026.
Reposted by Dave Robertson
Farewell to the great Stanley Baxter, one of the true comedy greats of the postwar era.
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
Actor and comedian Stanley Baxter dies aged 99
Baxter enjoyed a decades-spanning career on radio, TV and film, and was famous for impersonating famous people including Queen Elizabeth II
www.theguardian.com
December 12, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Farewell to the great Stanley Baxter, one of the true comedy greats of the postwar era.
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
Reposted by Dave Robertson
What the fuck have i just watched
December 12, 2025 at 10:39 PM
What the fuck have i just watched
Reposted by Dave Robertson
Less than 3% of MPs’ shares are invested in UK companies, despite pressure from Rachel Reeves on funds to support British innovation and the London stock market
MPs’ pension scheme doesn’t back Britain
www.thetimes.com
December 13, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Less than 3% of MPs’ shares are invested in UK companies, despite pressure from Rachel Reeves on funds to support British innovation and the London stock market
Reposted by Dave Robertson
Word of the day, should you be feeling a little huffish, is ‘apanthropy’ (18th century): a love of solitude and the desire to be away from other people.
December 13, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Word of the day, should you be feeling a little huffish, is ‘apanthropy’ (18th century): a love of solitude and the desire to be away from other people.
Has to be said that Pret’s mince pies are in the lead so far
December 13, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Has to be said that Pret’s mince pies are in the lead so far
The Salvation Army band really shouldn’t be allowed to reduce people to tears in public
December 13, 2025 at 12:28 PM
The Salvation Army band really shouldn’t be allowed to reduce people to tears in public
Reposted by Dave Robertson
Honestly the most fun part of my job. If you can't lift others whats the fucking point.
December 12, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Honestly the most fun part of my job. If you can't lift others whats the fucking point.
Reposted by Dave Robertson
EUROSTAR GOES DOUBLE-DECK:
Eurostar confirms order for 30 new double-deck trains from Alstom, similar to TGV-M, with option for 20 more, in service from May 2031. The 200m sets can run to/from London as 2 x 200m with 1,080 seats.
(Another move in the Battle for Temple Mills...)
Eurostar confirms order for 30 new double-deck trains from Alstom, similar to TGV-M, with option for 20 more, in service from May 2031. The 200m sets can run to/from London as 2 x 200m with 1,080 seats.
(Another move in the Battle for Temple Mills...)
October 22, 2025 at 6:26 AM
EUROSTAR GOES DOUBLE-DECK:
Eurostar confirms order for 30 new double-deck trains from Alstom, similar to TGV-M, with option for 20 more, in service from May 2031. The 200m sets can run to/from London as 2 x 200m with 1,080 seats.
(Another move in the Battle for Temple Mills...)
Eurostar confirms order for 30 new double-deck trains from Alstom, similar to TGV-M, with option for 20 more, in service from May 2031. The 200m sets can run to/from London as 2 x 200m with 1,080 seats.
(Another move in the Battle for Temple Mills...)
Reposted by Dave Robertson
Here I am in 2020 in the flimsiest, most pitful PPE - like so many other NHS staff, some of whom died from the Covid they caught in their hospitals.
Tory peer Michelle Mone - who today lost her legal case & must repay the govt £122m - dares to claim she’s been ‘scapegoated’.
What, Michelle? 🧵
Tory peer Michelle Mone - who today lost her legal case & must repay the govt £122m - dares to claim she’s been ‘scapegoated’.
What, Michelle? 🧵
October 1, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Here I am in 2020 in the flimsiest, most pitful PPE - like so many other NHS staff, some of whom died from the Covid they caught in their hospitals.
Tory peer Michelle Mone - who today lost her legal case & must repay the govt £122m - dares to claim she’s been ‘scapegoated’.
What, Michelle? 🧵
Tory peer Michelle Mone - who today lost her legal case & must repay the govt £122m - dares to claim she’s been ‘scapegoated’.
What, Michelle? 🧵
Reposted by Dave Robertson
"All of his supporters have suddenly turned into 𝘴𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴."
Wes Streeting hits back at Farage's claim that Starmer calling his policy 'racist' incites violence against Reform MPs.
@jonsopel1.bsky.social | @lewisgoodall.com
www.thenewsagents.co.uk/article/wes-...
Wes Streeting hits back at Farage's claim that Starmer calling his policy 'racist' incites violence against Reform MPs.
@jonsopel1.bsky.social | @lewisgoodall.com
www.thenewsagents.co.uk/article/wes-...
Wes Streeting: ‘Farage’s supporters have suddenly turned into snowflakes’ | The News Agents
Wes Streeting tells The News Agents that Labour has
www.thenewsagents.co.uk
September 30, 2025 at 5:12 PM
"All of his supporters have suddenly turned into 𝘴𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴."
Wes Streeting hits back at Farage's claim that Starmer calling his policy 'racist' incites violence against Reform MPs.
@jonsopel1.bsky.social | @lewisgoodall.com
www.thenewsagents.co.uk/article/wes-...
Wes Streeting hits back at Farage's claim that Starmer calling his policy 'racist' incites violence against Reform MPs.
@jonsopel1.bsky.social | @lewisgoodall.com
www.thenewsagents.co.uk/article/wes-...
Reposted by Dave Robertson
Nothing says NOT GUILTY as much as preparing to invade Venezuela.
September 5, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Nothing says NOT GUILTY as much as preparing to invade Venezuela.
Reposted by Dave Robertson
"Talk of a doom loop is a poor diagnosis when UK growth rates have exceeded expectations this year. Even more absurd is excitement that London might need IMF support, despite there having been no significant stress in UK debt issuance."
Useful FT corrective. Link follows. ~AA
Useful FT corrective. Link follows. ~AA
September 2, 2025 at 4:26 PM
"Talk of a doom loop is a poor diagnosis when UK growth rates have exceeded expectations this year. Even more absurd is excitement that London might need IMF support, despite there having been no significant stress in UK debt issuance."
Useful FT corrective. Link follows. ~AA
Useful FT corrective. Link follows. ~AA
Reposted by Dave Robertson
‘My childhood was filled with memories of penurious exiled royals scrounging for meat & wine in the dining rooms of Grosvenor Square; stories of distant cousins stabbed in basements & shot in ditches. I think I will steer clear of radical utopian political experiments.’
August 30, 2025 at 10:23 AM
‘My childhood was filled with memories of penurious exiled royals scrounging for meat & wine in the dining rooms of Grosvenor Square; stories of distant cousins stabbed in basements & shot in ditches. I think I will steer clear of radical utopian political experiments.’
Reposted by Dave Robertson
The mainstream right wing press is desperate for a race riot.
If you see footage from some of these it's embarrassing how small they are. The one in Southampton looked like 20 people with flags. The Telegraph is trying to whip up division with this sort of reporting.
This is a bit of a atretch/hope: there were 5 protests, with the largest two being up to 300 people, a total of around a thousand or so people.
July 26, 2025 at 11:26 PM
The mainstream right wing press is desperate for a race riot.
Reposted by Dave Robertson
From April 2027 govt will take back the huge tax breaks on pension money that is not spent before death bit.ly/4o94kMu avoiding the tax is easy - leave to spouse or spend it! That’s what it’s for. NB the 90% tax only affects some with a £2m+ home left to kids/grandkids
The inheritance tax headache coming for the middle class
A rule change on pensions will cost bereaved families months of delays — and tax rates of 60-90 per cent, warns Imogen Tew
bit.ly
July 27, 2025 at 6:15 AM
From April 2027 govt will take back the huge tax breaks on pension money that is not spent before death bit.ly/4o94kMu avoiding the tax is easy - leave to spouse or spend it! That’s what it’s for. NB the 90% tax only affects some with a £2m+ home left to kids/grandkids
Reposted by Dave Robertson
This is true, but:
1) there has to be an existing market to take over (Uber)
2) there has to be suppressed demand for the service offered, which you can lock in to create an economy of scale and then profit (Amazon)
AI firms are trying to find one of those two things, so far with limited success.
1) there has to be an existing market to take over (Uber)
2) there has to be suppressed demand for the service offered, which you can lock in to create an economy of scale and then profit (Amazon)
AI firms are trying to find one of those two things, so far with limited success.
One claim I really don't understand about AI is the idea that it'll go away because they're all losing money. Losing money while building a product is just normal company behavior? You borrow and lose money to try to make a thing and/or control the market, and then you angle for sustainable profit.
July 20, 2025 at 7:20 AM
This is true, but:
1) there has to be an existing market to take over (Uber)
2) there has to be suppressed demand for the service offered, which you can lock in to create an economy of scale and then profit (Amazon)
AI firms are trying to find one of those two things, so far with limited success.
1) there has to be an existing market to take over (Uber)
2) there has to be suppressed demand for the service offered, which you can lock in to create an economy of scale and then profit (Amazon)
AI firms are trying to find one of those two things, so far with limited success.
Reposted by Dave Robertson
I criticise Kemi a lot, and rightly so, but what truly helps her stand apart is that she manages to find wrong answers that no one was even imagining she'd give.
fair to say Kemi Badenoch’s last interview on BBC wasn’t a storming success
June 6, 2025 at 2:28 PM
I criticise Kemi a lot, and rightly so, but what truly helps her stand apart is that she manages to find wrong answers that no one was even imagining she'd give.
Reposted by Dave Robertson
France urgently needs to stop fucking about on this. This is a time for European unity and European leadership, not petulant self-interested game-playing.
inews.co.uk/news/politic...
inews.co.uk/news/politic...
UK faces weapons fund shut out despite softer Brexit deal with EU
'Wounds of Brexit' are still hampering relations, EU foreign affairs chief says
inews.co.uk
May 21, 2025 at 7:16 AM
France urgently needs to stop fucking about on this. This is a time for European unity and European leadership, not petulant self-interested game-playing.
inews.co.uk/news/politic...
inews.co.uk/news/politic...
Reposted by Dave Robertson
One man is standing up for the rule of law in Britain. His reward is to be savagely attacked by right wing think tanks, newspapers & politicians. They understand where the battle against populism is taking place. And they've marshalled their forces accordingly.
iandunt.substack.com/p/a-good-man...
iandunt.substack.com/p/a-good-man...
April 11, 2025 at 9:33 AM
One man is standing up for the rule of law in Britain. His reward is to be savagely attacked by right wing think tanks, newspapers & politicians. They understand where the battle against populism is taking place. And they've marshalled their forces accordingly.
iandunt.substack.com/p/a-good-man...
iandunt.substack.com/p/a-good-man...
Reposted by Dave Robertson
Once again for the love of god just put taxes up, you'll have to anyway before this parliament is out so do it now, cite defence as the reason, lean into the fact the world has changed & govt must too. (Me and @johnharris1969.bsky.social discussed this on the Guardian Politics Weekly pod btw..
revealed: some of the cabinet ministers who spoke up during Tuesday’s cabinet meeting about spending restraint
Angela Rayner, Yvette Cooper, Shabana Mahmood, Lucy Powell & Ed Miliband
www.ft.com/content/befa...
Angela Rayner, Yvette Cooper, Shabana Mahmood, Lucy Powell & Ed Miliband
www.ft.com/content/befa...
Rayner and Cooper criticised cuts in ‘tense’ cabinet meeting
‘Large minority’ of ministers protested about planned spending reductions in their own departments
www.ft.com
March 14, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Once again for the love of god just put taxes up, you'll have to anyway before this parliament is out so do it now, cite defence as the reason, lean into the fact the world has changed & govt must too. (Me and @johnharris1969.bsky.social discussed this on the Guardian Politics Weekly pod btw..
Reposted by Dave Robertson
A mate's kid once told me he didn't want to be an adult as it was boring.
I replied that I could eat an entire Viennetta for dinner if i wanted, and nobody could tell me "no".
His eyes went wide with sudden awe at the dawning possibilities.
I replied that I could eat an entire Viennetta for dinner if i wanted, and nobody could tell me "no".
His eyes went wide with sudden awe at the dawning possibilities.
Filing this with ‘when you’re an adult if you fancy birthday cake you can just go buy one, doesn’t matter when you were born’.
March 7, 2025 at 2:51 PM
A mate's kid once told me he didn't want to be an adult as it was boring.
I replied that I could eat an entire Viennetta for dinner if i wanted, and nobody could tell me "no".
His eyes went wide with sudden awe at the dawning possibilities.
I replied that I could eat an entire Viennetta for dinner if i wanted, and nobody could tell me "no".
His eyes went wide with sudden awe at the dawning possibilities.