Robert Hutton
@roberthutton.co.uk
RobDotHutton from the broken site. Parliamentary sketches and film columnist for The Critic, co-host of classic cinema love-in War Movie Theatre. New spy book "The Illusionist" is out now.
Not in precisely those terms, but "his moves" are a strong contender against tough competition for the Dam Busters Dog Prize For Most Problematic Moment.
January 10, 2026 at 1:30 PM
Not in precisely those terms, but "his moves" are a strong contender against tough competition for the Dam Busters Dog Prize For Most Problematic Moment.
This sounds like a healthier fry-up than I usually make.
January 10, 2026 at 10:45 AM
This sounds like a healthier fry-up than I usually make.
Getting government press officers to use a social media app is my postcode address file.
January 9, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Getting government press officers to use a social media app is my postcode address file.
I'm a power user there.
January 9, 2026 at 12:11 PM
I'm a power user there.
I don't. I use Fedica to post my pieces in the big platforms. I do generally reply to people, but checking, I see I've sent two replies on X this week (I might have missed one), which is rather less than the number I've sent here in the past 10 minutes.
January 9, 2026 at 12:11 PM
I don't. I use Fedica to post my pieces in the big platforms. I do generally reply to people, but checking, I see I've sent two replies on X this week (I might have missed one), which is rather less than the number I've sent here in the past 10 minutes.
I and others have been saying this for ages. Leaving is a big step, but cross-posting (as I do for all my pieces, to five different places) is easy.
January 9, 2026 at 11:56 AM
I and others have been saying this for ages. Leaving is a big step, but cross-posting (as I do for all my pieces, to five different places) is easy.
A point that I have made to spokespeople for both leaders this week.
January 9, 2026 at 11:52 AM
A point that I have made to spokespeople for both leaders this week.
Am I supposed to just guess what Kemi Badenoch and the prime minister are saying about things?
January 9, 2026 at 11:46 AM
Am I supposed to just guess what Kemi Badenoch and the prime minister are saying about things?
I would characterise myself as barely active there, certainly compared to here. I use Fedica to post my pieces in most of the main platforms, and I reply to people who have got in touch. But you do also have to go there to see what politicians are saying.
January 9, 2026 at 11:43 AM
I would characterise myself as barely active there, certainly compared to here. I use Fedica to post my pieces in most of the main platforms, and I reply to people who have got in touch. But you do also have to go there to see what politicians are saying.
Yeah, but government announcements have a heft of their own. Cross-post the reshuffle, and it'll do well in most places. More importantly, you won't be pushing people to one place.
January 9, 2026 at 8:54 AM
Yeah, but government announcements have a heft of their own. Cross-post the reshuffle, and it'll do well in most places. More importantly, you won't be pushing people to one place.
(The point is, as some of us have been saying for months, Labour doesn't even have to take the big scary step of quitting X. It could choose to be platform-neutral, and post everywhere.)
January 9, 2026 at 8:00 AM
(The point is, as some of us have been saying for months, Labour doesn't even have to take the big scary step of quitting X. It could choose to be platform-neutral, and post everywhere.)
If you would like to post the same thing in more than one place, I've had success with Buffer, Fedica and SocialChamp. The first two at least offer pretty wide free services.
January 9, 2026 at 7:51 AM
If you would like to post the same thing in more than one place, I've had success with Buffer, Fedica and SocialChamp. The first two at least offer pretty wide free services.
There are free apps to do this!
January 9, 2026 at 7:49 AM
There are free apps to do this!
Part of the problem is that a lot of people in Number 10/Labour think *all* social media is a waste of time, and feel they deserve a medal for setting up a Twitter account and posting there once a week. Their big focus is getting an opinion piece placed in the Telegraph.
January 9, 2026 at 7:45 AM
Part of the problem is that a lot of people in Number 10/Labour think *all* social media is a waste of time, and feel they deserve a medal for setting up a Twitter account and posting there once a week. Their big focus is getting an opinion piece placed in the Telegraph.
For a simple one-off fee of £1million, I will go into any government department and show them how to Google "social media apps to post on more than one platform".
January 9, 2026 at 7:42 AM
For a simple one-off fee of £1million, I will go into any government department and show them how to Google "social media apps to post on more than one platform".