Nick Stone
@europeannick.bsky.social
1K followers 350 following 1.1K posts
Lots of politics, plenty of travel, public transport geek & delving into the Eurovision Song Contest. My views are my own. Retweets not always endorsements.
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Reposted by Nick Stone
timbale.bsky.social
One reason Tories lost in 2024 was the awful state of the NHS. They badly need to fess up & say how they plan not to f*ck it up next time.

All we got yesterday:

"In the NHS, industrial action has kept waiting lists high for far too long. Enough is enough. We will ban doctors from going on strike."
Reposted by Nick Stone
stephenkb.bsky.social
I’m gonna defend Liz Truss, because I like to be blocked by two or so people every day, and say that her plans were 100 times more reasonable than these, in that she thought she would have enough time to bounce Tory MPs into backing spending cuts. Much less daft than anything Badenoch has said.
chairmanmoet.bsky.social
There's a touch of the Liz Truss about Kemi Badenoch. Both in the tax cut paid for by fantasy figures and also a belief there's This One Special Trick The British State Doesn't Want You To Know About! that will somehow solve everything.
Be rude to some civil servants and the UK's problems vanish!
Reposted by Nick Stone
timbale.bsky.social
Confess I was seriously beginning to wonder whether #ThePartyInTheMedia had 'done a Danny Kruger' and defected to Reform UK. But it appears, like some Tory MPs, they're prepared to give it a few months before making up their minds whether or not to jump.
Reposted by Nick Stone
rolandmcs.bsky.social
It doesn’t take much to renew one's faith.
Reposted by Nick Stone
rolandmcs.bsky.social
I wouldn't be completely surprised if Farage now matched Badenoch's stamp duty policy. Why wouldn't he? He doesn't give a shit if it's uncosted - for him, it's all about the pledge and the fanfare around it.

Then Starmer has c.4 years to match Farage....
Reposted by Nick Stone
goodclimate.bsky.social
This lurid headline is about British tourists no longer getting away with overstaying in Schengen. Or being 'illegals', as it's often called in the UK.
Reposted by Nick Stone
rolandmcs.bsky.social
I hear Kemi Badenoch is trying to re-establish Conservative Party credentials on the economy, debt, and immigration, as though their 14 years in government never happened.

bsky.app/profile/adam...
adambienkov.bsky.social
Labour have presided over a "doom loop of higher taxes, weaker borders and month after month of chaos" says Kemi Badenoch who was part of a government that raised taxes and immigration levels by record amounts, whilst changing leader no fewer than four times
Reposted by Nick Stone
govpritzker.illinois.gov
I will not back down.

Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power.

What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?
Donald Trump Truth Social Post: Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker also.
Reposted by Nick Stone
sturdyalex.bsky.social
Badenoch: "While Britain was redefining what a woman is, China built five nuclear reactors."

A perfect summary of conservative idiocy. Glorifying authoritarian post-communism for its efficiency while vilifying democracy for seeking nuance and respect.

It is the Right who hate their own countries.
Reposted by Nick Stone
realcaptainhaddock.bsky.social
“The UK government is proposing to pay up to 25 per cent more for drugs bought by the NHS as it tries to save the sector from President Trump’s tariffs and stop pharmaceutical companies from abandoning investments in the country.”

All this sovereignty is making me giddy…

www.ft.com/content/dd11...
UK government prepared to pay more for drugs bought by NHS
Officials have briefed Trump administration on proposal to pay up to 25% more for medicines
www.ft.com
Reposted by Nick Stone
davidheniguk.bsky.social
Takes some doing, but I think Kemi Badenoch has found the policies to tank the economy even quicker than Liz Truss if given the chance.

Fantasy tax and spending cuts plus trade chaos with neighbours from leaving the ECHR. Great stuff!
samfr.bsky.social
Good to see the Conservative Party committed to keeping the deficit down by *checks notes* spending £2 billion giving tax breaks for private education, creating a massive new deportation force and pledging to maintain pensioner benefits.
Reposted by Nick Stone
brendannyhan.bsky.social
Weaponizing the Justice Department. Happening right in front of us. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
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simonpegg.bsky.social
Kemi Badenoch: "Poland are experiencing more economic growth than the UK!"

also Kemi Badenoch: "We are the party that took us (the country) out of the European Union!"
a close up of a man 's face with his eyes closed
ALT: a close up of a man 's face with his eyes closed
media.tenor.com
Reposted by Nick Stone
samfr.bsky.social
Good to see the Conservative Party committed to keeping the deficit down by *checks notes* spending £2 billion giving tax breaks for private education, creating a massive new deportation force and pledging to maintain pensioner benefits.
Reposted by Nick Stone
benansell.bsky.social
If I were the leader of the opposition a year after an election, facing an unpopular government, I would simply focus my energy on criticising the current government's policy record rather than constantly bemoaning the last fifteen years of policymaking, in which I was intimately involved.
Reposted by Nick Stone
jackfifield.uk
If you are mugged on a train and you dare to forget which carriage number it happened in then British Transport Police will refuse to investigate.

Why do we accept this?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Bike thefts at stations 'decriminalised'
The British Transport Police will not investigate many categories of bicycle theft, the BBC learns.
www.bbc.co.uk
Reposted by Nick Stone
thewritertype.bsky.social
Breaking: Kemi Badenoch brings the Tory Conference to its feet by announcing lunch.
Reposted by Nick Stone
adambienkov.bsky.social
Abolishing stamp duty would put a £24.5 billion a year black hole in Government finances by 2030, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility
Reposted by Nick Stone
rolandmcs.bsky.social
'Hmm, will the abolition of stamp duty persuade me to vote for a Trump-lite Tory Party?'

I worry that more voters than we imagine would answer 'Yes'.
Reposted by Nick Stone
sturdyalex.bsky.social
Matthew Syed, who recently wrote a long read about why he just joined the Conservatives, objected to his BBC introduction including this fact: "Yes, I just joined the Conservatives, but I still see myself, first and foremost, as an objective journalist, if I may say so."

Phew! Glad that's settled.
Reposted by Nick Stone
drjennings.bsky.social
These days, if you study English, they arrest you and throw you in jail.