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.
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Robert Hutton
@roberthutton.co.uk
· Apr 26
The Illusionist is now out in paperback! It's the "enthralling", "superbly entertaining", "delightful", and "satisfying" true story of an eccentric genius who made magic into a weapon of war.
Reposted by Robert Hutton
Perfect Tom Stoppard story from DTel obituary:
His response to a letter from Harold Pinter canvassing support for a proposal to have the Comedy Theatre in London rechristened the Pinter Theatre, “Have you thought, instead, of changing your name to Harold Comedy?”
His response to a letter from Harold Pinter canvassing support for a proposal to have the Comedy Theatre in London rechristened the Pinter Theatre, “Have you thought, instead, of changing your name to Harold Comedy?”
November 29, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Perfect Tom Stoppard story from DTel obituary:
His response to a letter from Harold Pinter canvassing support for a proposal to have the Comedy Theatre in London rechristened the Pinter Theatre, “Have you thought, instead, of changing your name to Harold Comedy?”
His response to a letter from Harold Pinter canvassing support for a proposal to have the Comedy Theatre in London rechristened the Pinter Theatre, “Have you thought, instead, of changing your name to Harold Comedy?”
Reposted by Robert Hutton
Reposted by Robert Hutton
G'day! On a grim rainy day in London, our minds are far way in Western Australia, then Egypt, then Turkey, as we watch the magnificent Gallipoli. This episode was recorded last week in the brief Test Match window when the English felt charitable about Aussies... champ.ly/zTuwgmef
November 29, 2025 at 11:28 AM
G'day! On a grim rainy day in London, our minds are far way in Western Australia, then Egypt, then Turkey, as we watch the magnificent Gallipoli. This episode was recorded last week in the brief Test Match window when the English felt charitable about Aussies... champ.ly/zTuwgmef
Reposted by Robert Hutton
Did not expect Dom to be speaking at the Your Party conference but politics makes for strange bedfellows and all that
November 29, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Did not expect Dom to be speaking at the Your Party conference but politics makes for strange bedfellows and all that
Reposted by Robert Hutton
Every case study like this should be balanced by one such as a 15-year-old with suicidal ideation unable to receive any help because CAMHS has been cut to virtual non-existence.
Huge respect to the papers for finding both an 88 year old worried about the tax bill on her 6 bedroom Kensington house and a 20 year old fretting about only being able to save £12k a year tax free.
Top work all around. These are not easy case studies to find.
Top work all around. These are not easy case studies to find.
November 29, 2025 at 9:46 AM
Every case study like this should be balanced by one such as a 15-year-old with suicidal ideation unable to receive any help because CAMHS has been cut to virtual non-existence.
Reposted by Robert Hutton
Muscular Christianity.
“Wear some headphones, kid. And put your shoes back on”
“Wear some headphones, kid. And put your shoes back on”
November 29, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Muscular Christianity.
“Wear some headphones, kid. And put your shoes back on”
“Wear some headphones, kid. And put your shoes back on”
Reposted by Robert Hutton
Huge respect to the papers for finding both an 88 year old worried about the tax bill on her 6 bedroom Kensington house and a 20 year old fretting about only being able to save £12k a year tax free.
Top work all around. These are not easy case studies to find.
Top work all around. These are not easy case studies to find.
November 29, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Huge respect to the papers for finding both an 88 year old worried about the tax bill on her 6 bedroom Kensington house and a 20 year old fretting about only being able to save £12k a year tax free.
Top work all around. These are not easy case studies to find.
Top work all around. These are not easy case studies to find.
Reposted by Robert Hutton
This was a ton of fun* to record!
*Ashes related confidence may have been misplaced...
*Ashes related confidence may have been misplaced...
What are your legs? Steel springs! This week we're watching a young Mel Gibson in Peter Weir's unforgettable Gallipoli. With special guest, the amazing @chriskempshall.bsky.social. champ.ly/zTuwgmef
November 27, 2025 at 12:54 PM
This was a ton of fun* to record!
*Ashes related confidence may have been misplaced...
*Ashes related confidence may have been misplaced...
Reposted by Robert Hutton
Running! Mel Gibson! Pointless sacrifice! Leopards*! This week, we're watching the amazing Gallipoli, one of the best films about WW1 and trying to outrun a big cat.
*(no actual leopards)
champ.ly/zTuwgmef
*(no actual leopards)
champ.ly/zTuwgmef
November 27, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Running! Mel Gibson! Pointless sacrifice! Leopards*! This week, we're watching the amazing Gallipoli, one of the best films about WW1 and trying to outrun a big cat.
*(no actual leopards)
champ.ly/zTuwgmef
*(no actual leopards)
champ.ly/zTuwgmef
Reposted by Robert Hutton
I went to see the show! :)
November 28, 2025 at 8:09 AM
I went to see the show! :)
Reposted by Robert Hutton
November 27, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Reposted by Robert Hutton
Punch Drunk: my SKETCH of Rachel Reeves taking a post-Budget beating.
Punch drunk | Robert Hutton | The Critic Magazine
There was a time when the morning after the Budget would see the Chancellor of the Exchequer on a victory lap of TV studios, explaining all the wonderful things they’d done before disappearing back…
thecritic.co.uk
November 27, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Punch Drunk: my SKETCH of Rachel Reeves taking a post-Budget beating.
Reposted by Robert Hutton
The number of British citizens emigrating hasn’t increased, btw. Outward migration is up, but the increase is mostly non-EU migrants leaving the UK.
The methodology counting emigration of British citizens changed in 2021, which increased the number, and it’s been pretty much flat ever since…
The methodology counting emigration of British citizens changed in 2021, which increased the number, and it’s been pretty much flat ever since…
November 27, 2025 at 4:48 PM
The number of British citizens emigrating hasn’t increased, btw. Outward migration is up, but the increase is mostly non-EU migrants leaving the UK.
The methodology counting emigration of British citizens changed in 2021, which increased the number, and it’s been pretty much flat ever since…
The methodology counting emigration of British citizens changed in 2021, which increased the number, and it’s been pretty much flat ever since…
Punch Drunk: my SKETCH of Rachel Reeves taking a post-Budget beating.
Punch drunk | Robert Hutton | The Critic Magazine
There was a time when the morning after the Budget would see the Chancellor of the Exchequer on a victory lap of TV studios, explaining all the wonderful things they’d done before disappearing back…
thecritic.co.uk
November 27, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Punch Drunk: my SKETCH of Rachel Reeves taking a post-Budget beating.
Reposted by Robert Hutton
Spot on. The terms of the plan 2 loan are utterly usurious. Notably the budget has not frozen just the threshold for repayments at a marginal rate of 9%, dragging more and more graduates into it, but it also freezes the interest of those loans which is as much as 6.2%! Which is ridiculous!!
I'm constantly shocked (but not surprised) by how little we discuss the additional financial burden placed on young people by the Clegg-Cameron student loan regime.
@rmcunliffe.bsky.social is one of the few journalists who brings it up continuously - once again in the wake of the budget 👇
@rmcunliffe.bsky.social is one of the few journalists who brings it up continuously - once again in the wake of the budget 👇
Rachel Reeves hits young graduates with a double stealth tax
The Chancellor plans to raise as much money from freezing loan repayment thresholds as from the mansion tax
www.newstatesman.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Spot on. The terms of the plan 2 loan are utterly usurious. Notably the budget has not frozen just the threshold for repayments at a marginal rate of 9%, dragging more and more graduates into it, but it also freezes the interest of those loans which is as much as 6.2%! Which is ridiculous!!
YOU WANTED NET IMMIGRATION TO COME DOWN! THIS IS WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE!
November 27, 2025 at 1:13 PM
YOU WANTED NET IMMIGRATION TO COME DOWN! THIS IS WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE!
Reposted by Robert Hutton
Related: smorgasbords are always ‘veritable’, and nothing else is
Update: just heard on the guardian politics podcast that ‘smörgåsbord is probably the wrong word cause it’s not very Christmassy’ which begs the question WHAT DO BRITISH PEOPLE THINK THIS WORD MEANS???
Everyone in British political punditry has decided to use the word smörgåsbord a lot lately and, given that it’s a word that includes two vowels that don’t exist in the English language, I find it a poor choice.
November 27, 2025 at 10:21 AM
Related: smorgasbords are always ‘veritable’, and nothing else is
Reposted by Robert Hutton
What are your legs? Steel springs! This week we're watching a young Mel Gibson in Peter Weir's unforgettable Gallipoli. With special guest, the amazing @chriskempshall.bsky.social. champ.ly/zTuwgmef
November 27, 2025 at 12:49 PM
What are your legs? Steel springs! This week we're watching a young Mel Gibson in Peter Weir's unforgettable Gallipoli. With special guest, the amazing @chriskempshall.bsky.social. champ.ly/zTuwgmef
Reposted by Robert Hutton
Kemi Badenoch in snappy comeback shock. thecritic.co.uk/gall...
November 26, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Kemi Badenoch in snappy comeback shock. thecritic.co.uk/gall...
Reposted by Robert Hutton
Gallows Humour: my SKETCH of a Budget that went wrong before it even began.
Gallows humour | Robert Hutton | The Critic Magazine
The Office for Budget Responsibility, a very dull organisation that somehow manages to regularly place itself in the middle of vast controversies, was conceived by George Osborne as a poison pill to…
thecritic.co.uk
November 26, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Gallows Humour: my SKETCH of a Budget that went wrong before it even began.
"If you go on to read the next line, it talks about rates," Rachel Reeves tells Sky News, explaining why Labour isn't breaking the manifesto on tax. Genuinely fascinated to see whether "you should have read the small print" makes it to the end of this broadcast round.
November 27, 2025 at 7:22 AM
"If you go on to read the next line, it talks about rates," Rachel Reeves tells Sky News, explaining why Labour isn't breaking the manifesto on tax. Genuinely fascinated to see whether "you should have read the small print" makes it to the end of this broadcast round.
Reposted by Robert Hutton
Gallows Humour: my SKETCH of a Budget that went wrong before it even began.
Gallows humour | Robert Hutton | The Critic Magazine
The Office for Budget Responsibility, a very dull organisation that somehow manages to regularly place itself in the middle of vast controversies, was conceived by George Osborne as a poison pill to…
thecritic.co.uk
November 26, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Gallows Humour: my SKETCH of a Budget that went wrong before it even began.
Reposted by Robert Hutton
'bRiTaIn NeEdS An ImF bAiLoUt' latest
U.K 30 YEAR GILT YIELD DOWN 9.8 BPS TO 5.23%, IN BIGGEST ONE DAY FALL SINCE APRIL
November 26, 2025 at 4:17 PM
'bRiTaIn NeEdS An ImF bAiLoUt' latest
Reposted by Robert Hutton
new favourite New York Times term for a British thing just dropped
November 26, 2025 at 10:05 AM
new favourite New York Times term for a British thing just dropped