Paul Murphy
@paulmurphy.bsky.social
200 followers 210 following 1.6K posts
Ex-editorial photographer. More Animal Behaviour & training these days
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Reposted by Paul Murphy
redpeter99.bsky.social
"Hello, is that Bletchley Park? I've a message I need decoding..."
paulmurphy.bsky.social
The answer of course is that they needed the money.

& What’s missing is the numbers, the details of how team Badenoch would pay for their tax break (details #r4today & the BBC wouldn’t be able to ignore if it were a Labour or LibDem proposal)
paulmurphy.bsky.social
“Badenoch identifies the problem with our housing market” You have to be kidding Nick!!!

For starters the problem with housing is demand vastly exceeds supply (planning & investment)

But if stamp duty is the problem why did Tories keep it for 14years? #r4today
paulmurphy.bsky.social
Coming round to the growing neuroscience evidence that kids shouldn’t have smartphones

It would require treating smartphones & tablets like smoking or alcohol - total age ban

But given smartphones are vital to modern life, still believe the best approach is stricter soc media regulation #r4today
paulmurphy.bsky.social
He always lifts the mood here
paulmurphy.bsky.social
Oh the zealots ‘won’t vote for this peace deal’ shocker #r4today

Why bother demanding the end of Hamas when Hamas won’t exist if Palestinians secure a meaningful peace (i.e. independence from Israel)?
paulmurphy.bsky.social
Yes, of course #bbcpm scrapping stamp duty will benefit wealthier homeowners mostly; the Tory demographic in a nutshell

This is to give defectors to ReformUK something to reconsider
paulmurphy.bsky.social
‘Get growth going thru savings’

Another word for that is austerity & the Tories have flogged that poor dying horse … for 14years

IT DIDN’T WORK!!

It ‘s the reason both the economy & public services are in such a state now #bbcpm
paulmurphy.bsky.social
Debt was 95% GDP when Tories skipped town #bbcpm
paulmurphy.bsky.social
Increasing the ‘wealth’ of council tax ratio will just increase the cash raised in already more affluent SE England compared to NE say.

All for greater share paid, but needs spreading around.

That would require a change to nature of council tax #bbcpm
paulmurphy.bsky.social
He goes from “It’s all about the economy, stupid” to abolishing stamp duty?

Well I suppose it helps, yes !! #bbcpm
paulmurphy.bsky.social
Helen What?ley is a real treat, as ever #wato

But dare I say you could have pushed-back at the farcical suggestion it’s morally wrong to give people money when they’ve spent the week offering people money to buy their 1st home, & a tax break for anyone buying a property
paulmurphy.bsky.social
Abolishing stamp duty is a tax break that’ll presumably be paid for by people who can’t afford to buy property

That AND cutting benefits … Levelling-up Tory style #wato
paulmurphy.bsky.social
… Oh I forgot about Truss & Kwarteng!
Thanks for the reminder #wato
paulmurphy.bsky.social
‘Fiscal responsibility’?
‘Living within our means’?

Hard to believe these are the same Tories who more than doubled the national debt with austerity, took debt to near 100% of gd, & introduced the highest peacetime tax burden on British taxpayers #wato
paulmurphy.bsky.social
Yep! Odd criteria for espionage charge that it has to be with a foreign power that ALSO represents a threat

With that, I’m off to sell state secrets to the French; Americans; Israelis; even Rwanda (there’s an act of parliament declaring it a ‘safe’ country) #wato
Reposted by Paul Murphy
henrymance.ft.com
I know this is uncomfortable to admit, but there is a small area in England's second city where people are just not integrated with the rest of society. Many of them hold views that arguably go against British values.

Yes, we need to talk about the Tory conference in Manchester.
paulmurphy.bsky.social
DPP Parkinson claims it was “considered that further evidence should be obtained” but despite further witness statements provided, “none of these stated at the time of the offence that China represented a threat to national security”

So why charge em? #r4today

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
China ‘spies’ case was dropped after government failed to provide evidence of Beijing threat
Ministers and officials did not provide statements that China was threat despite ‘many months’ of effort to obtain them
www.theguardian.com
paulmurphy.bsky.social
Good point, if government official statements were needed for prosecution, why weren’t they made when the spies were charged? #r4today
paulmurphy.bsky.social
As odd as it is hearing the Tories present themselves as the ‘responsible’ party that will ‘do the right thing’ (they grew the national debt from 70% to 95% gdp)

This ‘ReformUK is more popular than you’ line of enquiry is just boring #r4today
paulmurphy.bsky.social
Where is the water ‘regulator’ in stopping runoff & sewage discharges into our rivers? #r4today
paulmurphy.bsky.social
That ‘JLR fast track payment service’ for suppliers is UK taxpayer funded, is it not #r4today
Reposted by Paul Murphy
simon.posts.dog
This is 14 days old, it only made it onto the #BBC 6pm news today. Disgusting
paulmurphy.bsky.social
… Surprised this isn’t more of a story

Given the media hysteria over Starmer getting a season ticket & some suits from a major party donor #r4today
paulmurphy.bsky.social
Ironic as Starmer & the Badenochs ambulance-chase ReformUK voters

(cheered on by the increasingly, insanely RW media)

they forget the message that one nation Tory remind us of on #wato - that elections are always won in the moderate centre ground