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Michael

@michaeljsc.bsky.social

480 followers 560 following 1.6K posts

tweeting about: politics, pop culture, general nonsense 🏳️‍🌈 (@michael__42 in the other place)

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Michael @michaeljsc.bsky.social · 17m

funny that Matthew Syed joined the Tories saying only they would get the debt down and Kemi Badenoch was like “thanks Matt, welcome! would you like to do a speech at conference? btw we’re going to announce a massive new deportation force and scrap stamp duty with no replacement.”

Michael @michaeljsc.bsky.social · 1h

new case for Scottish independence just dropped

1) be independent
2) ???
3) increase average income

Reposted by Michael

Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 5h

Spot on from @stephenkb.bsky.social. And the other aspect of this nasty turn is the eliding of British ‘culture’ with ‘white British’, which will shock anyone who has watched TV or football, or listened to music, or read a book, or indeed breathed since 1980.

Reposted by Michael

Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 5h

One of the Conservative party's contributions to our country has been keeping people who think you can measure integration through skin colour out of office - what next, are they only going to be lukewarm on the property-owning democracy?

Thank the Tories for keeping Robert Jenrick out of high office

Shadow justice secretary’s comment about not seeing a ‘white face’ shows he does not understand integration

Michael @michaeljsc.bsky.social · 5h

idk, I don’t think she had to have, like, a costed manifesto, but some sense of: ok, she thinks the government is going wrong, what’s her diagnosis of why other than just bad advisers

Michael @michaeljsc.bsky.social · 6h

Like obviously the deputy leader doesn’t get to set policy but I think the only policy issue she’s actually talked about is the two child cap, which was probably going to go anyway, and obviously I think that’s important but it’s not touching the sides of the bigger problem.

Michael @michaeljsc.bsky.social · 6h

Not that I don’t see the attraction of that obviously, but it feels like a missed opportunity to have any kind of substantive debate about where the government is actually going wrong.

Michael @michaeljsc.bsky.social · 6h

Yeah just seems like it has suited everyone involved not to have any real disagreement or debate. I’d be feeling pretty short-changed if I was a Labour member.

Michael @michaeljsc.bsky.social · 6h

Oh sure, I’m not saying there haven’t been mistakes, I’m saying it’s weird that she’s not saying what she thinks they have been.

Michael @michaeljsc.bsky.social · 6h

She says “When we rely on a narrower and narrower set of voices, groupthink sets in, and that’s when mistakes and wrong turns happen.”

Ok: what mistakes and wrong turns are those?

Michael @michaeljsc.bsky.social · 6h

I’m sure there are reasons for her having such a content-free campaign - what she thinks members want to hear, not burning bridges with the leadership, playing it safe as she’s the frontrunner - but I return to my earlier tweet:

Michael @michaeljsc.bsky.social · Sep 8

Oh yeah that’s clearly the reason, but there’s always going to be voters you don’t want to upset, at some point you have to have coherent politics and talk about them in public or you’ll end up like Starmer!

Michael @michaeljsc.bsky.social · 6h

It has to be said that this is an absolutely rubbish closing pitch. Ironically winning as the change candidate without any clear vision for change is very Starmer of her. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Lucy Powell tells Labour it can’t sugarcoat how badly things are going

Frontrunner for deputy leadership addresses rally as opponent Bridget Phillipson pledges ‘second Labour term our children deserve’

www.theguardian.com

Michael @michaeljsc.bsky.social · 17h

got my first clear on Hades II!

Reposted by Michael

Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 21h

The Bishop of Birmingham has written to the Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick about his comments about Handsworth

Michael @michaeljsc.bsky.social · 19h

not the bluesky moderation

Michael @michaeljsc.bsky.social · 19h

new episodes of Slow Horses, Drag Race UK and Celebrity Traitors x2 all coming out tomorrow and Thursday when I’m busy every night this week with choir

Reposted by Michael

Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 21h

The UAE is an authoritarian autocracy, a petro-state with no income tax for citizens, to bribe them for the lack of democratic voice or free speech

It is 85% migrant, a segregated society with a ban on integration in principle and practice, few rights, equal opportunities, nor voice for incomers

Reposted by Michael

Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 1d

I'll bite. What is the benefit we gain from politicians being able to 'thoughtfully' say in private 'blacks, British Bangladeshis, British Pakistanis, British Indians, mulattos....all the same, and clearly from the look of them not-integrated?'

Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 1d

Shadow DEFRA SoS, Victoria Atkins MP, bemoans those trying to score points off Jenrick's "private" remarks: "These are conversation we must have thoughtfully away from the clickbait of social media that, sadly, is so often the case."

And here is Victoria Thoughtful-Atkins at a farmers' protest. ~AA

Victoria Atkins with a thoughtfull bullhorn, wearing a non-clickbait union jack jacket.

Reposted by Michael

Felicity Hannah @felicityhannah.bsky.social · 1d

Rail travel - my odyssey:
1) Booked a train to London using split tickets to make it £170 return instead of £240.
2) Train delayed. Next train is the same company and gets in later than planned train but split ticket doesn’t count. Nice staff say it is up to the train manager if he will let me on.

Michael @michaeljsc.bsky.social · 1d

it’s sooooooo good

Michael @michaeljsc.bsky.social · 1d

sometimes a baroque choral music lunchtime walk is just the vibe

Reposted by Michael

Chaminda Jayanetti @cjayanetti.bsky.social · 1d

But at least Ofcom's going after the real troublemakers... right?

Right?? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Michael @michaeljsc.bsky.social · 1d

Genuinely very very bad place when a Conservative politician is laundering far right talking points like this, and attacking the black journalist politely asking him about it in this way.

Michael @michaeljsc.bsky.social · 1d

Absolutely insane that this guy is now running the Tory party despite not winning the leadership election among either MPs or members, because Cleverly’s supporters messed up their silly games and then Badenoch has just decided she can’t be arsed actually leading.

Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 1d

Wow. Robert Jenrick doubles down by branding a black journalist's questions "ridiculous" and saying that the problem is not his comments, but "journalists like you who pop up and try to knock me down", adding that "this is the reason why terrorist attacks happen". ~AA

Reposted by Michael

James Ball @jamesrball.com · 1d

“We’ve done loads of great stuff voters just need to hear it” followed by a list of stuff that mostly hasn’t actually been done yet *is not a comms problem*.