Andrew Smith
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smiggs.bsky.social
Andrew Smith
@smiggs.bsky.social
270 followers 170 following 120 posts
Sometimes Photography, Technology, and Culture but mostly Liberalism. he/him Sheffield, England
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It's not just X, UK Reddit was often a beacon for bizarre takes and borderline racism a decade ago. While normally pretty liberal the activity level of the weirdos on there is a good indicator of how agitated the Far Right are.
The discourse on the mainstream UK political subreddits has been toxic to the bone on this incident. Trust in Police is through the floor and people just increasingly believe by default they are covering something up.
Reposted by Andrew Smith
Nigel Farage is wrong about the European Convention on Human Rights.

He thinks we should leave the ECHR to reduce migration.

But not only do just a tiny number of immigration cases rely on human rights, leaving the ECHR would be an unmitigated disaster ⬇️
https://goodlaw.social/ngjm
Nigel Farage is wrong about the European Convention on Human Rights | Good Law Project
The Reform leader is unveiling legislation to leave the ECHR. His arguments are wrong – and that move would be a disaster.
goodlaw.social
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No one quite deserves to be made to look such a fool as Matt Goodwin. This is truly heartening.
My goodness Matt Goodwin comes across as an obnoxious hateful one-trick pony. Glad much of the #bbcqt audience saw through his schtick and agree.
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Man with stubble, "Small boats arrivals are 37,000. There are over 4 million kids in child poverty. And 4.5 million who can't get a dentist appointment" #BBCQT

"We spend 90% of the media discourse on the 37,000. How much more could we achieve if we put that effort into the 4.5 million?"
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LibDems defeated Farage’s 10 minute rule bill to take us out of the European Convention on Human Rights earlier. Frontbench Labour abstained. Tories voted with Reform. This was the make up of the house for the debate. Only really the LD benches bothered! Will this get any coverage I wonder ?
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Lib Dem bench full to oppose Farage's attempts to leave the ECHR.

Yet, almost no Labour or Green Party MPs have bothered to show up.
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BBC, Sky, all UK media - you NEED to do better.

This isn’t “balance”.

Iterations of this meme keeps doing the rounds for a reason - it’s because the press keep doing this!

Stop it!

9/9
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Fellow #LibDems, this account appears to be some kind of bot - promoting crypto-currencies and the unofficial "Liberal Voice for Women" group of entryist bigots. 👇🏻
Per Lowe's Law, Kruger or Pochin are required to become independent to make way for the next Tory defection as Reform are only allowed 5 MPs at any one time.
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Literally one of the greatest soft power brands on planet earth driven into the ground by successive British governments that embrace failure, decline and irrelevance.

on.ft.com/3Wq1XIT
British Council ‘selling everything it can’ to survive
Cultural body plans more job cuts, sale of assets and closure in 35 countries to stave off ‘financial peril’
on.ft.com
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All the parties should schedule press conferences on Mondays, it doesn't matter what subject. Then the news channels have no excuses, either they give equal coverage to all parties or they are shown to be biased charlatans. Flood the zone.
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Oh look. Grooming gang victim who resigned from inquiry is doing a joint press conference with Farage.
The best chance for a generation of a codified constitution in the UK was the last election. No one saw the Brexit debacle and the Johnson government, and thought more of that please.

Labour instead saw a big poll lead and thought better not lose that. Well it's gone now.
There is a serious, principled case for a codified constitution, for some of the reasons George sets out.

But botching together a constitution to stop Farage - a constitution that could not command widespread support and that was widely seen as rigged - would deepen our problems, not resolve them.🧵
We're facing a political emergency: a high likelihood of an shamelessly authoritarian government in 2029. So we urgently need this basic safeguard: a codified constitution.
This week's column explains what we're missing and why it's so important.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
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At no point should discussions around Conservative or Reform mass deportation policies be about the "workability" or "practicality" of such policies. They should be about the inhumanity and immortality of them. They should be about the racism of them. Anything less is normalisation of xenophobia.
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Reform MP Sarah Pochin: “It drives me mad when I see adverts full of black people, full of Asian people, full of people who are anything other than white.”

Today on the BBC, Tory spokesperson Chris Philp: “I’m not going to call her that word. I'm not calling her racist.”

The real Uni-Party.
Channel 4 News did this as well, perhaps journalists have simply become sick of the sight of Philp, I know I am.
Trying to work out whether the Shadow Home Secretary has beaten a far right racist in the race to the bottom, the state of British politics.
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How Caerphilly best Farage Reform
Affiliates get a vote, as a member of a Union I received a ballot. I didn't vote, it doesn't seem sporting as a member of a competing party.

The interest here is they didn't report affiliate turnout and member turnout separately to hide falling membership numbers.
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He knew this question was coming and had plenty of room to devise an answer that avoided criticizing Trump but signaled the UK's approach under a Farage government would be saner, more legal and in line with basic human decency.

It's telling he did none of that.
Farage on Trump and immigration: 'what he has done is amazing'. He dismisses ICE-style raids as 'your media narrative'.
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Almost nobody in the Cons Party or beyond it had noticed that the Shadow Home Secretary with two other frontbenchers and 5 backbenchers tabled a bill in May to deport 3 million people - stripping almost every pensioner, parent or nurse who did not take out citizenship of their right to live here
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remove her from her job, let nobody ever forget the horrendous nonsense she came out swinging for, and take all of her printed music scores and bury them under the north sea. this person should never be put in front of the public ever again
Several Tory MPs are unhappy at language of Katie Lam, a junior whip, saying mass deportations of 2-3m+ needed to make Britain "more culturally coherent" (ie, fewer nonwhite migrants) but "not entirely" (ie,some of those she can't deport won't integrate: Muslims)
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Conservatives complain to whips about fellow MP’s comments on legally settled people
Exclusive: Criticism of Katie Lam comes amid widespread confusion in the party over its policy on indefinite leave to remain
www.theguardian.com