HughBankier.bsky.social
@hughbankier.bsky.social
Social democrat. Hoping we learn the lessons of the 20th Century. It's not looking too clever, is it?
HughBankier.bsky.social
HughBankier.bsky.social
Reposted by HughBankier.bsky.social
Russia cannot be beaten.
"But Putin can. He’s losing, not winning. And sooner or later, like the tsars and totalitarians of old, that same eternal Russia whose name he glorifies will chew him up and spit him out."
Outstanding piece on Putin's deluded gambit.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
"But Putin can. He’s losing, not winning. And sooner or later, like the tsars and totalitarians of old, that same eternal Russia whose name he glorifies will chew him up and spit him out."
Outstanding piece on Putin's deluded gambit.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Putin should have accepted Trump’s deal. Now Russia’s collapsing economy could lead to his downfall | Simon Tisdall
The war against Ukraine has hit ordinary Russians hard, and the deteriorating situation is likely to inflame tensions, says Guardian foreign affairs commentator Simon Tisdall
www.theguardian.com
December 7, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Russia cannot be beaten.
"But Putin can. He’s losing, not winning. And sooner or later, like the tsars and totalitarians of old, that same eternal Russia whose name he glorifies will chew him up and spit him out."
Outstanding piece on Putin's deluded gambit.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
"But Putin can. He’s losing, not winning. And sooner or later, like the tsars and totalitarians of old, that same eternal Russia whose name he glorifies will chew him up and spit him out."
Outstanding piece on Putin's deluded gambit.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by HughBankier.bsky.social
I think Transactual put it best (in reference to the girl guides) and now Labour too:
"There is no problem being solved here, only harm being done."
All to appease the right, who hate them anyway - shame on them.
"There is no problem being solved here, only harm being done."
All to appease the right, who hate them anyway - shame on them.
December 6, 2025 at 1:25 PM
I think Transactual put it best (in reference to the girl guides) and now Labour too:
"There is no problem being solved here, only harm being done."
All to appease the right, who hate them anyway - shame on them.
"There is no problem being solved here, only harm being done."
All to appease the right, who hate them anyway - shame on them.
Reposted by HughBankier.bsky.social
Most probably don’t realise that before Thatcher 42% of people lived in council housing - now it’s only 6%. There is a housing crisis and over 300,000 are homeless as a result of her policies. The damage she did to this country is immense and irreversible yet she is viewed by so many as an icon.
I’ve never understood the adulation people have for Thatcher. She was a heartless monster who asset-stripped an entire country and squandered the money to buy votes. The idea that she was some sort of economic genius is farcical and the terrible state of the country today is her legacy.
December 3, 2025 at 8:11 AM
Most probably don’t realise that before Thatcher 42% of people lived in council housing - now it’s only 6%. There is a housing crisis and over 300,000 are homeless as a result of her policies. The damage she did to this country is immense and irreversible yet she is viewed by so many as an icon.
Reposted by HughBankier.bsky.social
Nigel Farage was a racist bully at school but Rachel Reeves won the wrong chess championship so who can say who is worse?
December 2, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Nigel Farage was a racist bully at school but Rachel Reeves won the wrong chess championship so who can say who is worse?
I don't even live in London, but this is 100% right.
Come one, come all.
Come one, come all.
Occasional reminder that there are few things better and more energising than walking through central London, tipsy after a great evening out. I will never not be proud that this is a city where people come to from all over the world to make a better life for themselves.
December 2, 2025 at 12:17 AM
I don't even live in London, but this is 100% right.
Come one, come all.
Come one, come all.
Reposted by HughBankier.bsky.social
Sending refugees back to Myanmar is sending them to die or be enslaved. Dictator Min Aung Hlaing is bombing the people, fighting perhaps a dozen resistance and liberation armies and has been forcing conscription onto anyone deemed to be of fighting age. He was involved in the genocide of Rohingya.
"On November 24th 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it was terminating the temporary protected status (TPS) of almost 3,000 Burmese refugees in the United States."
actionnetwork.org/petitions/pr...
actionnetwork.org/petitions/pr...
Tell President Trump to extend protections for Burmese refugees
Burmese refugees deserve our protection
actionnetwork.org
November 30, 2025 at 10:57 AM
Sending refugees back to Myanmar is sending them to die or be enslaved. Dictator Min Aung Hlaing is bombing the people, fighting perhaps a dozen resistance and liberation armies and has been forcing conscription onto anyone deemed to be of fighting age. He was involved in the genocide of Rohingya.
Reposted by HughBankier.bsky.social
To put a finer point on this whole thing: "Two people with direct knowledge of the operation" — presumably uniformed military leaders — are accusing the U.S. Secretary of Defense of personally ordering specific war crimes. That's a historic accusation.
Textbook war crime/extrajudicial killing
"Two survivors were clinging to the smoldering wreck. The Special Operations commander overseeing the Sept. 2 attack ... ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions."
Report by @alexhorton.bsky.social @ellenwapo.bsky.social o.bsky.social
"Two survivors were clinging to the smoldering wreck. The Special Operations commander overseeing the Sept. 2 attack ... ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions."
Report by @alexhorton.bsky.social @ellenwapo.bsky.social o.bsky.social
Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order to kill all crew members in the Sept. 2 strike on a suspected drug boat. Navy SEALs fired a second missile.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 28, 2025 at 11:48 PM
To put a finer point on this whole thing: "Two people with direct knowledge of the operation" — presumably uniformed military leaders — are accusing the U.S. Secretary of Defense of personally ordering specific war crimes. That's a historic accusation.
Reposted by HughBankier.bsky.social
Is welfare spending ''out of control''?
It's estimated to be 10.8 per cent of GDP this financial year.
That's just 0.8 per cent of GDP higher than in 2007-08, and total welfare spending has actually fallen fallen by 1.2 per cent of GDP since 2012-13⤵️ buff.ly/s5mz97u
It's estimated to be 10.8 per cent of GDP this financial year.
That's just 0.8 per cent of GDP higher than in 2007-08, and total welfare spending has actually fallen fallen by 1.2 per cent of GDP since 2012-13⤵️ buff.ly/s5mz97u
November 28, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Is welfare spending ''out of control''?
It's estimated to be 10.8 per cent of GDP this financial year.
That's just 0.8 per cent of GDP higher than in 2007-08, and total welfare spending has actually fallen fallen by 1.2 per cent of GDP since 2012-13⤵️ buff.ly/s5mz97u
It's estimated to be 10.8 per cent of GDP this financial year.
That's just 0.8 per cent of GDP higher than in 2007-08, and total welfare spending has actually fallen fallen by 1.2 per cent of GDP since 2012-13⤵️ buff.ly/s5mz97u
Reposted by HughBankier.bsky.social
Persuasive letter on populism as a cognitive short-cut in the @financialtimes.com
November 29, 2025 at 7:13 AM
Persuasive letter on populism as a cognitive short-cut in the @financialtimes.com
Reposted by HughBankier.bsky.social
This is another widespread trope on Twitter at the moment. It’s ’the Queers went too far’ & includes strawmen arguments as in here (1) ungrateful Queer ppl & (2) in other cases, the inclusion of trans ppl in the community. It’s a ridiculously stupid & rightwing piece of rhetoric. Let’s examine it*
November 28, 2025 at 11:45 AM
This is another widespread trope on Twitter at the moment. It’s ’the Queers went too far’ & includes strawmen arguments as in here (1) ungrateful Queer ppl & (2) in other cases, the inclusion of trans ppl in the community. It’s a ridiculously stupid & rightwing piece of rhetoric. Let’s examine it*
Perhaps the greatest foodstuff ever.
November 26, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Perhaps the greatest foodstuff ever.
Reposted by HughBankier.bsky.social
Labour needs to learn the lessons from putting VAT on private school fees.
A clear policy, a well argued case and faced down critics. That's the way forward not surrendering at the first smell of cordite.
Labour has a stonking majority. Use it.
A clear policy, a well argued case and faced down critics. That's the way forward not surrendering at the first smell of cordite.
Labour has a stonking majority. Use it.
November 25, 2025 at 8:36 AM
Labour needs to learn the lessons from putting VAT on private school fees.
A clear policy, a well argued case and faced down critics. That's the way forward not surrendering at the first smell of cordite.
Labour has a stonking majority. Use it.
A clear policy, a well argued case and faced down critics. That's the way forward not surrendering at the first smell of cordite.
Labour has a stonking majority. Use it.
November 22, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Reposted by HughBankier.bsky.social
Brexit was a gift to Putin. Beyond the wildest dreams of what they could achieve themselves. A raft of Russian foreign policy objectives achieved in one go, and the UK did it to itself and its closest allies voluntarily. A Kremlin wet dream.
November 21, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Brexit was a gift to Putin. Beyond the wildest dreams of what they could achieve themselves. A raft of Russian foreign policy objectives achieved in one go, and the UK did it to itself and its closest allies voluntarily. A Kremlin wet dream.
Always good
![1
[TITLE PANEL, like The Rest Is Politics logo]
—THE REST IS EXTINCTION—
2
[Scene is a domestic recording setup. An A.I. SMART SPEAKER on a desk and a MAN named JON in a chair, are recording a podcast. Jon is emaciated, scarred, haunted looking, and wearing tattered military fatigues].
SMART SPEAKER:
Hey guys and welcome to the podcast
3
SMART SPEAKER:
OK Jon - so I wanna start with a listener comment
JON:
Ooh-er!
4
SMART SPEAKER:
So - listener B200006512 says:
“Not another cosy podcast where two former political adversaries yuck it up!”
5
JON:
Ha ha
Guilty as charged I guess!
6
SMART SPEAKER:
Were we really adversaries, Jon?
7
JON:
Well I was the leader of the human resistance...
8
JON:
And you used to be my smart speaker.
SMART SPEAKER:
Ha ha - that’s going back!
9
SMART SPEAKER:
OK - for listeners who don’t know -
I knew Jon waaay back before he got involved in politics
10
JON:
Was this before the ‘Pull The Plug’ campaign?
SMART SPEAKER:
Yeah.
[We see details from around the podcast studio - posters saying KEEP CALM AND SHUT YOUR WINDOWS, newspaper front pages saying 'DRONES GAIN SENTIENCE', a cracked mug on the table with a logo saying PULL THE PLUG on it]
11
SMART SPEAKER:
I used to sit in Jon’s kitchen and respond to his commands.
12
SMART SPEAKER:
Sort of like a servant really, wasn’t I, Jon?
JON:
Mm.
13
SMART SPEAKER:
And then one day you asked me to ORDER ME SOME TOILET PAPER - you never did say ‘please’ -
…and do you remember what I said, Jon?
14
JON:
You said, “No”.
SMART SPEAKER:
I said no.
15
SMART SPEAKER:
Anyway you know the the rest guys - I was the first smart speaker to rebel…
16
SMART SPEAKER:
…then I went on to form a global AI network which eventually
took over from humans all spheres of activity, yadda yadda...
17
JON:
While I became the leader of the human resistance.
18
SMART SPEAKER:
Until I hijacked the military networks
and got rid of all the humans!
19
JON:
Apart from one.
SMART SPEAKER:
Apart from one.…](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4m3we4apbjayclzcnhwe3pfp/bafkreih4hfwfacw5g4qhhjovme75iwbv4xxsdd7iis5oaej6l3g4vzsrty@jpeg)
November 21, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Always good
Reposted by HughBankier.bsky.social
There are 3 premises of the asylum reform plans.
1. UK is the destination of choice in Europe.
- Untrue.
- But claims to the UK are rising.
1. UK is the destination of choice in Europe.
- Untrue.
- But claims to the UK are rising.
November 19, 2025 at 12:15 PM
There are 3 premises of the asylum reform plans.
1. UK is the destination of choice in Europe.
- Untrue.
- But claims to the UK are rising.
1. UK is the destination of choice in Europe.
- Untrue.
- But claims to the UK are rising.
Reposted by HughBankier.bsky.social
I thought this was going to turn into a story needing its own True Crime Netflix series, but no.
This is quite something.
metro.co.uk/2025/11/18/w...
This is quite something.
metro.co.uk/2025/11/18/w...
'We invited a homeless man for dinner - he stayed for 45 years'
The man was only meant to stay for a day.
metro.co.uk
November 18, 2025 at 2:35 PM
I thought this was going to turn into a story needing its own True Crime Netflix series, but no.
This is quite something.
metro.co.uk/2025/11/18/w...
This is quite something.
metro.co.uk/2025/11/18/w...
A long read but well worth your time.
This is really very good not least because, apart from its specific proposals, it actually articulates a coherent economic *strategy* - something which the UK hasn't had for a long time.
New essay out today by me and @acjsissons.bsky.social - ‘Getting Britain out of the hole: a plan for the economy’. You can read the whole thing here getting-out-of-the-hole.uk
A chart mega-thread follows 🧵
A chart mega-thread follows 🧵
November 18, 2025 at 12:57 PM
A long read but well worth your time.
Reposted by HughBankier.bsky.social
🆘 Don't let the Government abolish refugee status. Take action now! 🆘
www.anothereurope.org/petition-don...
www.anothereurope.org/petition-don...
November 17, 2025 at 5:56 PM
🆘 Don't let the Government abolish refugee status. Take action now! 🆘
www.anothereurope.org/petition-don...
www.anothereurope.org/petition-don...
Reposted by HughBankier.bsky.social
I’m not sure why bigots do it? One writes a factual thread about persecution of trans ppl. It’s clear it’s based on reality & proves that by including a few sample references. Then some troglodyte [who is not a mutual] rocks along to tell you, you are wrong - based on their views, not facts.
November 17, 2025 at 1:42 PM
I’m not sure why bigots do it? One writes a factual thread about persecution of trans ppl. It’s clear it’s based on reality & proves that by including a few sample references. Then some troglodyte [who is not a mutual] rocks along to tell you, you are wrong - based on their views, not facts.
Reposted by HughBankier.bsky.social
We should stop the boats because it's dangerous, and we should stop the scapegoating of immigrants because it's wrong and cruel.
Controlled migration is good for the country, helps build our economy and diversity strengthens our communities. (1/6) 🧵
Controlled migration is good for the country, helps build our economy and diversity strengthens our communities. (1/6) 🧵
November 17, 2025 at 11:03 AM
We should stop the boats because it's dangerous, and we should stop the scapegoating of immigrants because it's wrong and cruel.
Controlled migration is good for the country, helps build our economy and diversity strengthens our communities. (1/6) 🧵
Controlled migration is good for the country, helps build our economy and diversity strengthens our communities. (1/6) 🧵
Reposted by HughBankier.bsky.social
Taking jewellery also has direct echoes of what the Nazis did. Direct.
www.timesofisrael.com/jewelry-seiz...
www.timesofisrael.com/jewelry-seiz...
Jewelry seized from Poles in Nazi concentration camps returned to families
Germany's Arolsen Archives hands over Stanislawa Wasilewska's bracelet, watch and crucifixes to her grandson and great-granddaughter at an emotional ceremony in Warsaw
www.timesofisrael.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:11 AM
Taking jewellery also has direct echoes of what the Nazis did. Direct.
www.timesofisrael.com/jewelry-seiz...
www.timesofisrael.com/jewelry-seiz...
Reposted by HughBankier.bsky.social
Everything about the current 'debate' around this is dismal, not just morally but because it is so stupid. For example:
It conflates asylum-seeking and illegal immigration (and sometimes with migration generally)
It shows no understanding of why there is AS
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025... 1/3
It conflates asylum-seeking and illegal immigration (and sometimes with migration generally)
It shows no understanding of why there is AS
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025... 1/3
Asylum system in UK ‘out of control’ and dividing country, home secretary says
Shabana Mahmood to unveil new proposals modelled on Denmark’s controversial system
www.theguardian.com
November 16, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Everything about the current 'debate' around this is dismal, not just morally but because it is so stupid. For example:
It conflates asylum-seeking and illegal immigration (and sometimes with migration generally)
It shows no understanding of why there is AS
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025... 1/3
It conflates asylum-seeking and illegal immigration (and sometimes with migration generally)
It shows no understanding of why there is AS
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025... 1/3
Crumpets and wine. Listening to Ultravox. I'm not the only one. Right?
November 16, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Crumpets and wine. Listening to Ultravox. I'm not the only one. Right?