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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 39m

Argh she has announced something I agree with! "Stamp duty is a bad tax" - she is right!

"The next Conservative government would abolish stamp duty"

(Pity it definitely won't)

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Reposted by Rachel Cunliffe

Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 46m

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.

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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 48m

I know I shouldn't be surprised, but accusing Labour of "stealing from our children and grandchildren" because of the deficit and then a second later committing to the winter fuel allowance - a universal benefit that went to some of the wealthiest people in society - is a little grating

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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 53m

"If you're name's Rachel, you can be an economist instead of working in customer complaints"

Feeling unfairly victimised

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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 1h

Ooooh interesting! Badenoch is listing things the Tories did which were bold.

"We were courageous enough to introduce same-sex marriage," she says. There's a puzzled pause in the hall, then a smattering of lukewarm applause.

Then she mentions Brexit and the relieved audience goes wild

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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 1h

Ohhh that's very good

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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 1h

"While Britain was redefining what a woman is, China was building five nuclear reactors," says Kemi Badenoch.

I cannot be the only person curious about how these two things are related

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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 1h

Anyway, in case you missed it, some wondering from me about whether Kemi Badenoch has ever actually read Terry Pratchett

www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

Has Kemi Badenoch actually read Terry Pratchett?

She claims he’s her favourite author, but his books have a few lessons for her

www.newstatesman.com

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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 1h

Pre-Kemi speech, the Conservative Party Conference livestream just played a video which said Angela Rayner had "evaded tax". Think they might want to be a bit careful throwing that term (with it's very specific criminal meaning) around...

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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 19h

What’s happening in Gaza is horrific - as I write in the piece.

But it’s interesting that that’s the immediate response when a Jewish person discusses what it’s like to be Jewish.

It’s interesting which minority groups are encouraged to discuss their lived experiences, and which are not…

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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 19h

I wrote a personal piece last week about anti-semitism in Britain in the last two years and how it felt to be Jewish. It was repromoted today, on the anniversary of October 7, five days after an attack on a British synagogue in which two Jews were killed.

This is the immediate reply.

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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 19h

I wrote a personal piece last week about anti-semitism in Britain in the last two years and how it felt to be Jewish. It was repromoted today, on the anniversary of October 7, five days after an attack on a British subogohir where two Jews were killed.

This is the immediate reply.

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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 19h

Kemi Badenoch says her favourite author is Terry Pratchett. One wonders what draws her to the Discworld. The Vimes Boots theory of inequality? The celebration of diversity in Ankh Morpork? The lesson that those who claim to have the answers are not to be trusted?
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 1d

Also, shout-out to the man next to me in the auditorium getting maximum efficiency out of the Jenrick speech by eating a quinoa salad throughout. Top marks, no notes

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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 1d

Robert Jenrick is now doing his own version of the Hugh Grant Love Actually monologue if everything that’s great about Britain. To add to those performed earlier this conference season by Ed Davey and Keir Starmer.

Richard Curtis has a lot to answer for

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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 1d

Dispatch from Manchester: cargo cults and effigies of Margaret Thatcher

www.newstatesman.com/uncategorize...

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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 1d

Spotted: Robert Jenrick being trailed by a herd of paparazzi-like camera crews out his event, down a flight of stairs, through a corridor and across a courtyard while deflecting questions on whether he wants to be the next Tory leader

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Reposted by Rachel Cunliffe

Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 5d

I wrote a short piece for the Observer on the attacks in Manchester.

observer.co.uk/news/opinion...

My son recently found a swastika drawn on the pavement at...

The Manchester attack didn't come as a shock. The only surprise is it hasn’t happened sooner

observer.co.uk

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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 5d

Finding today harder than yesterday. As so many British Jews have said, the attack wasn't a surprise.

But the instant protests, plus the stream of "takes" explaining why Israel is actually to blame and it's fine to target a Synagogue if it has "Zionist" ties... That's harder.

Maybe time to log off

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Reposted by Rachel Cunliffe

Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 5d

"I hear again and again that the Israelis – the Jews – had it coming. Knowing allusions to Jewish influence, Jewish power. Stereotypes of Jewish cruelty."

Written before today's attack on a Manchester synagogue. It's the kind of piece I never thought I'd write.

www.newstatesman.com/internationa...

The 7 October attacks changed what it means to be Jewish in Britain

The war in Gaza has exposed a level of anti-Semitism I didn’t realise was there

www.newstatesman.com

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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 5d

I read this sci-fi short story once about a kid who accidentally ended up in a parallel universe, where everything was exactly the same except 1+1=3. The twist at the end was their three grandchildren asking how they got back, only to realise they never did… Feels apt

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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 5d

I don't think most non-Jews know that security at synagogues is commonplace. My sister went to a Jewish primary school. She entered through a metal gate staffed by guards. The risk has ramped out in recent years, but it's always been a consideration. Do church-goers ever worry about stuff like that?

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Reposted by Rachel Cunliffe

Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 5d

One reflection talking to other Jews today is how unshocking this is.

Numbing, upsetting, scary but not shocking. We all knew it was coming. Given the enormous rise in antisemitic incidents in recent years, it's a surprise it hasn't happened more often.

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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 5d

Thank you. I don't expect - or want - all Jews to agree. This is immensely personal, and one of the things I've been grappling with is just how differently my Jewish friends and family have responded over the past two years. No two experiences are the same. But I hoped some of it would resonate

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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 5d

"I hear again and again that the Israelis – the Jews – had it coming. Knowing allusions to Jewish influence, Jewish power. Stereotypes of Jewish cruelty."

Written before today's attack on a Manchester synagogue. It's the kind of piece I never thought I'd write.

www.newstatesman.com/internationa...

The 7 October attacks changed what it means to be Jewish in Britain

The war in Gaza has exposed a level of anti-Semitism I didn’t realise was there

www.newstatesman.com

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