The Bear
@bearlypolitics.co.uk
Politics, power, propaganda - explained without the spin.
Author of Bear Necessities of Politics and Power and editor of BearlyPolitics.co.uk 🐻
Soon to be ex-NHS.
Author of Bear Necessities of Politics and Power and editor of BearlyPolitics.co.uk 🐻
Soon to be ex-NHS.
Pinned
The Bear
@bearlypolitics.co.uk
· Sep 2
Bearly Politics | The Bear | Substack
Welcome to Bearly Politics! I'm The Bear, your slightly exasperated guide to the strange world of modern politics. Here, I attempt to tackle the absurdities of power, with claws sharpened by satire an...
bearlypolitics.co.uk
📌 Notice 📌
If you’re looking for my longer form posts, you can now find them on bearlypolitics.co.uk.
🐻
If you’re looking for my longer form posts, you can now find them on bearlypolitics.co.uk.
🐻
Farage’s past racist comments are revealing - but ultimately become secondary to the larger issue:
The party he's built from the ground up to incubate rotten apples.
The party he's built from the ground up to incubate rotten apples.
Reform UK Doesn’t Just Have a Racism Problem - It Has a Racism Infrastructure
Why focusing on Farage’s past misses how racism is incentivised, normalised and repeatedly rewarded in the present
www.bearlypolitics.co.uk
December 23, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Farage’s past racist comments are revealing - but ultimately become secondary to the larger issue:
The party he's built from the ground up to incubate rotten apples.
The party he's built from the ground up to incubate rotten apples.
“Ghost towns”
“Capital flight”
“End of London”
Actual number of houses involved: 41
I regret to inform you this is simply not a crisis.
“Capital flight”
“End of London”
Actual number of houses involved: 41
I regret to inform you this is simply not a crisis.
Won’t Somebody Please Think of Belgravia?
How a tiny corner of the housing market became a national melodrama. Again.
www.bearlypolitics.co.uk
December 22, 2025 at 11:43 AM
“Ghost towns”
“Capital flight”
“End of London”
Actual number of houses involved: 41
I regret to inform you this is simply not a crisis.
“Capital flight”
“End of London”
Actual number of houses involved: 41
I regret to inform you this is simply not a crisis.
Reposted by The Bear
“We have sacrificed our national success because of our fear of immigration. And now, if Farage has his way, we'll do it all over again”
Superb, important analysis of the profound harm Farage does to our country in his rabidly racist and egotistical bid for power
liveapp.inews.co.uk/category/407...
Superb, important analysis of the profound harm Farage does to our country in his rabidly racist and egotistical bid for power
liveapp.inews.co.uk/category/407...
December 22, 2025 at 7:18 AM
“We have sacrificed our national success because of our fear of immigration. And now, if Farage has his way, we'll do it all over again”
Superb, important analysis of the profound harm Farage does to our country in his rabidly racist and egotistical bid for power
liveapp.inews.co.uk/category/407...
Superb, important analysis of the profound harm Farage does to our country in his rabidly racist and egotistical bid for power
liveapp.inews.co.uk/category/407...
Indeed, who DOES give a fuck about an Oxford Comma?
December 22, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Indeed, who DOES give a fuck about an Oxford Comma?
Please forgive me if my heart does not break cleanly in two at the idea that uber-wealthy property owners having a fannywobble about their tax-break disappearing are being replaced by… checks notes… different uber-wealthy property owners.
Honestly, you can’t make this up.
Honestly, you can’t make this up.
December 22, 2025 at 7:05 AM
Please forgive me if my heart does not break cleanly in two at the idea that uber-wealthy property owners having a fannywobble about their tax-break disappearing are being replaced by… checks notes… different uber-wealthy property owners.
Honestly, you can’t make this up.
Honestly, you can’t make this up.
He’s not sacking the candidate because, say it with me, Farage and Reform UK are foundationally racist. Removing that scaffolding of bigotry would cause the party to collapse into incoherent press conferences and fantasy economics.
December 22, 2025 at 6:40 AM
He’s not sacking the candidate because, say it with me, Farage and Reform UK are foundationally racist. Removing that scaffolding of bigotry would cause the party to collapse into incoherent press conferences and fantasy economics.
Reposted by The Bear
@bearlypolitics.co.uk One of the other things that annoyed me about blue Labour cosplaying as Tory lite.
Labour admits 60% of parents wrongly targeted in HMRC child benefit fraud crackdown
Labour admits 60% of parents wrongly targeted in HMRC child benefit fraud crackdown
Exclusive: Scale of government’s anti-fraud fiasco is four times higher than previously admitted
More than 60% of parents who had their child benefit stopped by HMRC using incorrect Home Office travel data were not fraudulently claiming the support from abroad, it has emerged.
The scale of the government’s anti-fraud fiasco is four times higher than previously admitted, with 15,000 of the 23,500 parents targeted by HMRC now identified as legitimate beneficiaries living in the UK. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
December 21, 2025 at 12:11 PM
@bearlypolitics.co.uk One of the other things that annoyed me about blue Labour cosplaying as Tory lite.
Reposted by The Bear
Something for #TheArchers to muse upon. Perhaps @garyseconomics.bsky.social will make a guest appearance to distribute the F&P prizes more imaginatively next year. 🤞
After reading yet another piece about inheritance anxiety, I realised that I felt… none of it.
Not because I don’t care, but because when my estate is being taxed, I will be, by the very nature of my demise, be unavailable for comment.
There is a larger conversation though, and I have it below:
Not because I don’t care, but because when my estate is being taxed, I will be, by the very nature of my demise, be unavailable for comment.
There is a larger conversation though, and I have it below:
Why the UK Is So Weird About Inheritance Tax
A DINKWAC’s view of a national panic, imagined confiscations, and the uncomfortable truth about wealth, fear and being dead.
www.bearlypolitics.co.uk
December 21, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Something for #TheArchers to muse upon. Perhaps @garyseconomics.bsky.social will make a guest appearance to distribute the F&P prizes more imaginatively next year. 🤞
Reposted by The Bear
Also... it's Christmas.
One of the most dangerous times for anyone at risk from domestic violence.
Please, be especially vigilant over the next week or so.
Don't ignore anything that you "think" you heard or saw.
One of the most dangerous times for anyone at risk from domestic violence.
Please, be especially vigilant over the next week or so.
Don't ignore anything that you "think" you heard or saw.
The idea of “imported” violence against women and girls is a deeply comforting fiction - one that allows people to avoid looking at where it actually happens: within our homes and behind closed doors.
The Violence Isn’t Imported. It’s Domestic.
Kemi Badenoch’s attempt to blame violence against women on migrants doesn’t just collapse under scrutiny - it actively distracts us from where the harm really happens, and who is actually responsible.
www.bearlypolitics.co.uk
December 21, 2025 at 2:17 AM
Also... it's Christmas.
One of the most dangerous times for anyone at risk from domestic violence.
Please, be especially vigilant over the next week or so.
Don't ignore anything that you "think" you heard or saw.
One of the most dangerous times for anyone at risk from domestic violence.
Please, be especially vigilant over the next week or so.
Don't ignore anything that you "think" you heard or saw.
And when that bus tells migrants that there are different rules dependent on their income to determine whether or not they belong in this country, while at the same time vilifying them for all the country’s ills then I’d rather walk, thank you very much.
Political parties aren't taxis that you hire to take you to your individual destination.
They're buses.
You pick the one that's going closest to where you want to go.
They're buses.
You pick the one that's going closest to where you want to go.
December 20, 2025 at 10:14 PM
And when that bus tells migrants that there are different rules dependent on their income to determine whether or not they belong in this country, while at the same time vilifying them for all the country’s ills then I’d rather walk, thank you very much.
Reposted by The Bear
I'm none of those things - I'm that oppressed minority, the straight, white man, who has had all the power for the last few thousand years. Poor me.
But this shit isn't about me. I'll be fine. It's about people who need help - and Labour aren't helping. So I'm out. They lost me.
But this shit isn't about me. I'll be fine. It's about people who need help - and Labour aren't helping. So I'm out. They lost me.
December 20, 2025 at 5:54 PM
I'm none of those things - I'm that oppressed minority, the straight, white man, who has had all the power for the last few thousand years. Poor me.
But this shit isn't about me. I'll be fine. It's about people who need help - and Labour aren't helping. So I'm out. They lost me.
But this shit isn't about me. I'll be fine. It's about people who need help - and Labour aren't helping. So I'm out. They lost me.
As someone who has worked in strategic organisational transformation, this is an absolutely brilliant thread by @metaphorqu.bsky.social - thank you for this.
I think there are absolutely valid points here in terms of the rate and expectation of change and I do think some of the things we will see
I think there are absolutely valid points here in terms of the rate and expectation of change and I do think some of the things we will see
🧵🧵🧵 #Change #FuckItsDifficult
Once upon a time.. I supported organisations through fundamental change. More recently I worked as a coach doing the same for individuals, often in a change context. Since the 🌹🌹🌹 government came in on a promise of #Change
1/n
Once upon a time.. I supported organisations through fundamental change. More recently I worked as a coach doing the same for individuals, often in a change context. Since the 🌹🌹🌹 government came in on a promise of #Change
1/n
December 20, 2025 at 12:11 PM
As someone who has worked in strategic organisational transformation, this is an absolutely brilliant thread by @metaphorqu.bsky.social - thank you for this.
I think there are absolutely valid points here in terms of the rate and expectation of change and I do think some of the things we will see
I think there are absolutely valid points here in terms of the rate and expectation of change and I do think some of the things we will see
A 🧵
Things to acknowledge about Labour.
- I won’t be voting for them again. I also don’t know yet who I’ll be voting for in the next GE.
- I will happily acknowledge that the Worker’s Rights Bill, the Breakfast Club programme, the VAWG work and quite a few other points are good work.
However.
Things to acknowledge about Labour.
- I won’t be voting for them again. I also don’t know yet who I’ll be voting for in the next GE.
- I will happily acknowledge that the Worker’s Rights Bill, the Breakfast Club programme, the VAWG work and quite a few other points are good work.
However.
December 20, 2025 at 11:26 AM
A 🧵
Things to acknowledge about Labour.
- I won’t be voting for them again. I also don’t know yet who I’ll be voting for in the next GE.
- I will happily acknowledge that the Worker’s Rights Bill, the Breakfast Club programme, the VAWG work and quite a few other points are good work.
However.
Things to acknowledge about Labour.
- I won’t be voting for them again. I also don’t know yet who I’ll be voting for in the next GE.
- I will happily acknowledge that the Worker’s Rights Bill, the Breakfast Club programme, the VAWG work and quite a few other points are good work.
However.
The “Island of Strangers” speech by Keir Starmer and the two tier system currently being proposed by Shabana Mahmood would like to have a chat.
I get your intention is good, but when your party has spent most of the year using migrants as cudgels I would suggest some introspection is needed.
I get your intention is good, but when your party has spent most of the year using migrants as cudgels I would suggest some introspection is needed.
Farage and Polanski simply don’t understand this. That’s why they’re wrong about Britain.
See my Xmas piece for @LabourList here: labourlist.org/2025/12/fara...
See my Xmas piece for @LabourList here: labourlist.org/2025/12/fara...
‘Both Farage and Polanski are wrong about Britain – it is not what divides us that defines us’ – LabourList
Doomscroll your social media feed. Watch the news. Listen to our voters and constituents. The same emotions come pouring out – frustration, fear and fury.…
labourlist.org
December 20, 2025 at 10:45 AM
The “Island of Strangers” speech by Keir Starmer and the two tier system currently being proposed by Shabana Mahmood would like to have a chat.
I get your intention is good, but when your party has spent most of the year using migrants as cudgels I would suggest some introspection is needed.
I get your intention is good, but when your party has spent most of the year using migrants as cudgels I would suggest some introspection is needed.
I presume that this is not the culture that is “not equally valid” that Kemi Badenoch was referring to, no?
December 20, 2025 at 9:08 AM
I presume that this is not the culture that is “not equally valid” that Kemi Badenoch was referring to, no?
Reposted by The Bear
Our greatest pandemic is domestic violence.
The idea of “imported” violence against women and girls is a deeply comforting fiction - one that allows people to avoid looking at where it actually happens: within our homes and behind closed doors.
The Violence Isn’t Imported. It’s Domestic.
Kemi Badenoch’s attempt to blame violence against women on migrants doesn’t just collapse under scrutiny - it actively distracts us from where the harm really happens, and who is actually responsible.
www.bearlypolitics.co.uk
December 20, 2025 at 3:20 AM
Our greatest pandemic is domestic violence.
Reposted by The Bear
The first chapter of Jayne Eyre depicts the 14 year old boy John Reed physically assaulting the 10 year old eponymous character. This was Britain in the 19th century, hardly a culture that was imported.
The idea of “imported” violence against women and girls is a deeply comforting fiction - one that allows people to avoid looking at where it actually happens: within our homes and behind closed doors.
The Violence Isn’t Imported. It’s Domestic.
Kemi Badenoch’s attempt to blame violence against women on migrants doesn’t just collapse under scrutiny - it actively distracts us from where the harm really happens, and who is actually responsible.
www.bearlypolitics.co.uk
December 19, 2025 at 4:06 PM
The first chapter of Jayne Eyre depicts the 14 year old boy John Reed physically assaulting the 10 year old eponymous character. This was Britain in the 19th century, hardly a culture that was imported.
Reposted by The Bear
You probably need to read this.
And maybe we do need to talk about the Patriarchy and is problems in a British context. I know we’d all rather be criticising Islam or something, but the elephant in the room’s eye shows which is the mote and which is the beam
And maybe we do need to talk about the Patriarchy and is problems in a British context. I know we’d all rather be criticising Islam or something, but the elephant in the room’s eye shows which is the mote and which is the beam
The idea of “imported” violence against women and girls is a deeply comforting fiction - one that allows people to avoid looking at where it actually happens: within our homes and behind closed doors.
The Violence Isn’t Imported. It’s Domestic.
Kemi Badenoch’s attempt to blame violence against women on migrants doesn’t just collapse under scrutiny - it actively distracts us from where the harm really happens, and who is actually responsible.
www.bearlypolitics.co.uk
December 19, 2025 at 2:52 PM
You probably need to read this.
And maybe we do need to talk about the Patriarchy and is problems in a British context. I know we’d all rather be criticising Islam or something, but the elephant in the room’s eye shows which is the mote and which is the beam
And maybe we do need to talk about the Patriarchy and is problems in a British context. I know we’d all rather be criticising Islam or something, but the elephant in the room’s eye shows which is the mote and which is the beam
Reposted by The Bear
As BadEnoch shows her rascism yet again a great commentary from The Bear yet again... #Violenceagainstwomen is usually perpetrated by someone KNOWN to them... So it IS important to reach young boys before social media does...
Please follow @bearlypolitics.co.uk!
open.substack.com/pub/iratusur...
Please follow @bearlypolitics.co.uk!
open.substack.com/pub/iratusur...
The Violence Isn’t Imported. It’s Domestic.
Kemi Badenoch’s attempt to blame violence against women on migrants doesn’t just collapse under scrutiny - it actively distracts us from where the harm really happens, and who is actually responsible.
open.substack.com
December 19, 2025 at 12:08 PM
As BadEnoch shows her rascism yet again a great commentary from The Bear yet again... #Violenceagainstwomen is usually perpetrated by someone KNOWN to them... So it IS important to reach young boys before social media does...
Please follow @bearlypolitics.co.uk!
open.substack.com/pub/iratusur...
Please follow @bearlypolitics.co.uk!
open.substack.com/pub/iratusur...
Reposted by The Bear
"The narrative that Badenoch is trying to spin is nothing more than a comforting fiction that allows men in our own culture to avoid responsibility."
"It is overwhelmingly perpetrated by men who are known to the victim - partners, ex-partners, husbands, boyfriends, colleagues, classmates."
"It is overwhelmingly perpetrated by men who are known to the victim - partners, ex-partners, husbands, boyfriends, colleagues, classmates."
The idea of “imported” violence against women and girls is a deeply comforting fiction - one that allows people to avoid looking at where it actually happens: within our homes and behind closed doors.
The Violence Isn’t Imported. It’s Domestic.
Kemi Badenoch’s attempt to blame violence against women on migrants doesn’t just collapse under scrutiny - it actively distracts us from where the harm really happens, and who is actually responsible.
www.bearlypolitics.co.uk
December 19, 2025 at 12:27 PM
"The narrative that Badenoch is trying to spin is nothing more than a comforting fiction that allows men in our own culture to avoid responsibility."
"It is overwhelmingly perpetrated by men who are known to the victim - partners, ex-partners, husbands, boyfriends, colleagues, classmates."
"It is overwhelmingly perpetrated by men who are known to the victim - partners, ex-partners, husbands, boyfriends, colleagues, classmates."
The idea of “imported” violence against women and girls is a deeply comforting fiction - one that allows people to avoid looking at where it actually happens: within our homes and behind closed doors.
The Violence Isn’t Imported. It’s Domestic.
Kemi Badenoch’s attempt to blame violence against women on migrants doesn’t just collapse under scrutiny - it actively distracts us from where the harm really happens, and who is actually responsible.
www.bearlypolitics.co.uk
December 19, 2025 at 12:01 PM
The idea of “imported” violence against women and girls is a deeply comforting fiction - one that allows people to avoid looking at where it actually happens: within our homes and behind closed doors.
What Badenoch so egregiously misses is that these 11 year old boys, whether “native” or migrant, turn into men who are capable of perpetrating violence against women and girls.
This is a desperately poor show from her, not unexpected in that it happened, but worse than usual.
This is a desperately poor show from her, not unexpected in that it happened, but worse than usual.
December 18, 2025 at 4:23 PM
What Badenoch so egregiously misses is that these 11 year old boys, whether “native” or migrant, turn into men who are capable of perpetrating violence against women and girls.
This is a desperately poor show from her, not unexpected in that it happened, but worse than usual.
This is a desperately poor show from her, not unexpected in that it happened, but worse than usual.
I log into the Hellsite about once a week or so to check for messages and to distribute a few posts. This was waiting for me in my mentions.
I adore it.
If only I had some funding from a billionaire sugar-daddy!
Alas.
I adore it.
If only I had some funding from a billionaire sugar-daddy!
Alas.
December 18, 2025 at 1:17 PM
I log into the Hellsite about once a week or so to check for messages and to distribute a few posts. This was waiting for me in my mentions.
I adore it.
If only I had some funding from a billionaire sugar-daddy!
Alas.
I adore it.
If only I had some funding from a billionaire sugar-daddy!
Alas.