John Holborow
@johnholborow.bsky.social
Husband. Father. Fly fisherman. Golden Retrievers. French when it comes to Rugby. Rejoiner.
Salmon farming is a dirty, inhumane industry with a dreadful environmental impact.
And farmed salmon is not the healthy product it’s marketed to be.
Stop eating it.
act.wildfish.org/page/182033/...
And farmed salmon is not the healthy product it’s marketed to be.
Stop eating it.
act.wildfish.org/page/182033/...
Farmed salmon. Not even for Christmas
Join the movement of people not eating farmed salmon.
act.wildfish.org
November 27, 2025 at 10:58 AM
Salmon farming is a dirty, inhumane industry with a dreadful environmental impact.
And farmed salmon is not the healthy product it’s marketed to be.
Stop eating it.
act.wildfish.org/page/182033/...
And farmed salmon is not the healthy product it’s marketed to be.
Stop eating it.
act.wildfish.org/page/182033/...
Self harm to avoid inflaming the ‘legitimate concerns’ (aka vile prejudices) of bigots.
Today we’ll get latest net immigration figures - They’ll show immigration for work is plummeting.
Why is this not part of the discussion on Rachel Reeves balancing her books & stalled growth?
For every 100,000 drop in net immigration, the OBR adds £7bn to the deficit. #r4today
Why is this not part of the discussion on Rachel Reeves balancing her books & stalled growth?
For every 100,000 drop in net immigration, the OBR adds £7bn to the deficit. #r4today
November 27, 2025 at 9:56 AM
Self harm to avoid inflaming the ‘legitimate concerns’ (aka vile prejudices) of bigots.
Reposted by John Holborow
She’s just asking questions.
‘Is Nigel Farage a Russian asset?’
‘Are you seriously asking me that?’
@shelaghfogarty.bsky.social refuses to back down while questioning Reform’s Zia Yusuf.
‘Are you seriously asking me that?’
@shelaghfogarty.bsky.social refuses to back down while questioning Reform’s Zia Yusuf.
November 26, 2025 at 9:24 PM
She’s just asking questions.
Reposted by John Holborow
Just to review, in the last week the President of the United States:
- Refused to condemn the rise of Neo-Nazis in his party
- Tried to block the release of further evidence he sexually abused children
- Encouraged the execution of Congressional Democrats
Those are just factual statements.
- Refused to condemn the rise of Neo-Nazis in his party
- Tried to block the release of further evidence he sexually abused children
- Encouraged the execution of Congressional Democrats
Those are just factual statements.
November 20, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Just to review, in the last week the President of the United States:
- Refused to condemn the rise of Neo-Nazis in his party
- Tried to block the release of further evidence he sexually abused children
- Encouraged the execution of Congressional Democrats
Those are just factual statements.
- Refused to condemn the rise of Neo-Nazis in his party
- Tried to block the release of further evidence he sexually abused children
- Encouraged the execution of Congressional Democrats
Those are just factual statements.
Why would any football fan even consider for a moment going to the next World Cup?
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Extortionate tickets and matches moved at Trump’s whim: are you ready for the ‘greatest World Cup ever’? | Marina Hyde
You may have thought Qatar and Russia were tournament lows. You didn’t account for the US president and his Fifa soulmate, Gianni Infantino, says Guardian columnist Marina Hyde
www.theguardian.com
November 19, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Why would any football fan even consider for a moment going to the next World Cup?
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by John Holborow
The real BBC bias story, narrated by Anna Ford
November 19, 2025 at 12:12 PM
The real BBC bias story, narrated by Anna Ford
If we pretend it’s not happening hard enough ….
November 18, 2025 at 7:39 PM
If we pretend it’s not happening hard enough ….
Reposted by John Holborow
I do not think that anger is a helpful emotion. It does not really do anything that is positive.
But I must admit that I am angry at a very fundamental level these days because everything that is currently happening in the UK was predictable and predicted. Not in every detail, but in the ... 🧵
But I must admit that I am angry at a very fundamental level these days because everything that is currently happening in the UK was predictable and predicted. Not in every detail, but in the ... 🧵
November 18, 2025 at 12:15 PM
I do not think that anger is a helpful emotion. It does not really do anything that is positive.
But I must admit that I am angry at a very fundamental level these days because everything that is currently happening in the UK was predictable and predicted. Not in every detail, but in the ... 🧵
But I must admit that I am angry at a very fundamental level these days because everything that is currently happening in the UK was predictable and predicted. Not in every detail, but in the ... 🧵
Reposted by John Holborow
Our Twitter account has been locked because we posted an expose of a Councillor in Lancashire.
Because we copied in Lancashire Council and said ‘are they going to act’ this has been deemed as ‘incitement’.
Incitement of a council doing this job.
Let’s look at what Councillor Tom Pickup did…
Because we copied in Lancashire Council and said ‘are they going to act’ this has been deemed as ‘incitement’.
Incitement of a council doing this job.
Let’s look at what Councillor Tom Pickup did…
November 18, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Our Twitter account has been locked because we posted an expose of a Councillor in Lancashire.
Because we copied in Lancashire Council and said ‘are they going to act’ this has been deemed as ‘incitement’.
Incitement of a council doing this job.
Let’s look at what Councillor Tom Pickup did…
Because we copied in Lancashire Council and said ‘are they going to act’ this has been deemed as ‘incitement’.
Incitement of a council doing this job.
Let’s look at what Councillor Tom Pickup did…
Reposted by John Holborow
"... it goes after those of us who look like we could be immigrants. We have talked a lot about illegal immigration sitting at the heart of this debate, but what we are not talking about so much is race"
Shabana Mahmood condemning the hostile environment back in 2018
Shabana Mahmood condemning the hostile environment back in 2018
November 17, 2025 at 8:01 AM
"... it goes after those of us who look like we could be immigrants. We have talked a lot about illegal immigration sitting at the heart of this debate, but what we are not talking about so much is race"
Shabana Mahmood condemning the hostile environment back in 2018
Shabana Mahmood condemning the hostile environment back in 2018
Reposted by John Holborow
A Government of cowards.
Rather than tackle inequality - they've gone for pensioners, disabled people and now it's people fleeing war and persecution.
They can't get away with this.
Join.greenparty.org.uk
Rather than tackle inequality - they've gone for pensioners, disabled people and now it's people fleeing war and persecution.
They can't get away with this.
Join.greenparty.org.uk
November 17, 2025 at 11:16 PM
A Government of cowards.
Rather than tackle inequality - they've gone for pensioners, disabled people and now it's people fleeing war and persecution.
They can't get away with this.
Join.greenparty.org.uk
Rather than tackle inequality - they've gone for pensioners, disabled people and now it's people fleeing war and persecution.
They can't get away with this.
Join.greenparty.org.uk
Reposted by John Holborow
🌍 42.5m refugees
Over 70% of them are hosted by low- and middle-income countries.
🇬🇧 548k refugees
= 0.78% of the UK population.
It is not refugees who tear our country apart, it is the mainstreaming of far right policies. And that’s a risk to all of us.
My letter to my MP.
#asylum #Mahmood
🧵
Over 70% of them are hosted by low- and middle-income countries.
🇬🇧 548k refugees
= 0.78% of the UK population.
It is not refugees who tear our country apart, it is the mainstreaming of far right policies. And that’s a risk to all of us.
My letter to my MP.
#asylum #Mahmood
🧵
![Dear [my MP’s name],
As the Home Secretary prepares to announce sweeping changes to the UK’s asylum system, I see it as both my duty as a citizen and responsibility as a migration expert to do all I can to urge policymakers to oppose the proposals—not only for what they will do to refugees, though that is the first concern, but also for what they will mean for all of us and the future society we live in.
That is why I am writing to you as my MP. This letter explains why I consider the need to oppose the Home Secretary’s proposals urgent and, at the most fundamental level, in the national and your constituents’ interest.
I was born in Germany, a country whose history taught me how quickly societies can go down dark paths; how quickly our leaders can fail in the choices they make. But the history of the displacement of people that the Nazi regime was responsible for also shaped my understanding of why refugee movements occur—and why our response to any of them can never compromise what are, and must always be, universal human rights.
Which is why what is happening in the UK now is so deeply alarming.
A manufactured crisis
As of June 2025, there were 42.5 million refugees globally. Over 70% of them are hosted by low- and middle-income countries; most of them immediate neighbours. Overall, five countries—Colombia, Germany, Türkiye, Iran and Uganda—host a third of the total number of refugees; Germany is the main host in the EU, hosting 2.7 million.
The UK hosts 548,000 refugees; that is 0.78% of the UK population. About 110,000 people are in receipt of asylum support; that is 0.15% of the UK population.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:bru4h6s37w4hfmwhetu7veye/bafkreidmewc5timbx7nh57qyq7lm7gmhvclzidmloqhwgckpnegnddoicq@jpeg)
November 16, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Reposted by John Holborow
Cruel. Callous. Cowardly.
The public are seeing this Labour government for exactly who they are.
We all have a responsibility to make them pay at the ballot box.
Reject the hate. Reject them.
This is not who we are. Let's make hope normal again.
Join.greenparty.org.uk
The public are seeing this Labour government for exactly who they are.
We all have a responsibility to make them pay at the ballot box.
Reject the hate. Reject them.
This is not who we are. Let's make hope normal again.
Join.greenparty.org.uk
November 17, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Cruel. Callous. Cowardly.
The public are seeing this Labour government for exactly who they are.
We all have a responsibility to make them pay at the ballot box.
Reject the hate. Reject them.
This is not who we are. Let's make hope normal again.
Join.greenparty.org.uk
The public are seeing this Labour government for exactly who they are.
We all have a responsibility to make them pay at the ballot box.
Reject the hate. Reject them.
This is not who we are. Let's make hope normal again.
Join.greenparty.org.uk
Reposted by John Holborow
The Home Secretary says "we have become the destination of choice in Europe, clearly visible to every people smuggler and would-be illegal migrant across the world"
That is a factually untrue claim: the Home Office shows that the UK is fifth, getting 1/10 claims, while Germany gets 1/5 claims
That is a factually untrue claim: the Home Office shows that the UK is fifth, getting 1/10 claims, while Germany gets 1/5 claims
November 17, 2025 at 3:51 PM
The Home Secretary says "we have become the destination of choice in Europe, clearly visible to every people smuggler and would-be illegal migrant across the world"
That is a factually untrue claim: the Home Office shows that the UK is fifth, getting 1/10 claims, while Germany gets 1/5 claims
That is a factually untrue claim: the Home Office shows that the UK is fifth, getting 1/10 claims, while Germany gets 1/5 claims
Reposted by John Holborow
The Prime Minister said in September that we are at a fork in the road. These asylum proposals suggest we have taken the wrong turning.
The idea that recognised refugees need to be deported is wrong.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
The idea that recognised refugees need to be deported is wrong.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
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 5:45 PM
The Prime Minister said in September that we are at a fork in the road. These asylum proposals suggest we have taken the wrong turning.
The idea that recognised refugees need to be deported is wrong.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
The idea that recognised refugees need to be deported is wrong.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Reposted by John Holborow
Completely beyond why people try to defend Labour record on treatment of asylum seekers. They are awful.
They have done terrible things the Tories never even thought of, like denying any refugee who came here through irregular means from EVER becoming a citizen & ENDING FAMILY REUNIFICATION. demons.
They have done terrible things the Tories never even thought of, like denying any refugee who came here through irregular means from EVER becoming a citizen & ENDING FAMILY REUNIFICATION. demons.
November 7, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Completely beyond why people try to defend Labour record on treatment of asylum seekers. They are awful.
They have done terrible things the Tories never even thought of, like denying any refugee who came here through irregular means from EVER becoming a citizen & ENDING FAMILY REUNIFICATION. demons.
They have done terrible things the Tories never even thought of, like denying any refugee who came here through irregular means from EVER becoming a citizen & ENDING FAMILY REUNIFICATION. demons.
Reposted by John Holborow
As soon as a UK government of any party appoints a brown female politician as a Home Secretary my heart sinks because I know the only way she has reached that position is a willingness to cheerlead the most racist , cruel inhumane policies that no senior white male MP would dare to announce.
November 17, 2025 at 8:52 AM
As soon as a UK government of any party appoints a brown female politician as a Home Secretary my heart sinks because I know the only way she has reached that position is a willingness to cheerlead the most racist , cruel inhumane policies that no senior white male MP would dare to announce.
Reposted by John Holborow
When you go to Auschwitz they have piles of jewellery and watches which were confiscated from those arriving.
The Sun has been told Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will on Monday propose confiscating jewellery, watches, necklaces from asylum seekers to meet asylum costs
This reflects the most controversial aspect of the Danish scheme - the Jewellery Law. The toughest Labour MPs thought this was OTT
This reflects the most controversial aspect of the Danish scheme - the Jewellery Law. The toughest Labour MPs thought this was OTT
November 17, 2025 at 8:34 AM
When you go to Auschwitz they have piles of jewellery and watches which were confiscated from those arriving.
Reposted by John Holborow
The reaction to the Panorama edit has been nothing short of hysterical. Yes the BBC has some impartiality problems. But its biggest isn't the one you think.
New piece from me.
open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...
New piece from me.
open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...
The truth about impartiality at the BBC
And the hysteria of the current "crisis"
open.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:22 PM
The reaction to the Panorama edit has been nothing short of hysterical. Yes the BBC has some impartiality problems. But its biggest isn't the one you think.
New piece from me.
open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...
New piece from me.
open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...
Reposted by John Holborow
I for one am shocked to hear Pearson and GB News are deliberately spreading racist disinformation. Okay, sorry, that should have read "not in the least bit surprised".
It doesn't even take that much critical thinking to recognise this is bullshit, an ability clearly lacking among GB News presenters.
It doesn't even take that much critical thinking to recognise this is bullshit, an ability clearly lacking among GB News presenters.
A national newspaper journalist went on a British TV channel to claim police stats showed asylum-seekers committed 44% of sex crimes in Dorset.
This shocking claim was treated as fact by the channel which promoted the clip on social media where it was amplified by AI.
Except... it's bollocks.
This shocking claim was treated as fact by the channel which promoted the clip on social media where it was amplified by AI.
Except... it's bollocks.
November 9, 2025 at 4:28 PM
I for one am shocked to hear Pearson and GB News are deliberately spreading racist disinformation. Okay, sorry, that should have read "not in the least bit surprised".
It doesn't even take that much critical thinking to recognise this is bullshit, an ability clearly lacking among GB News presenters.
It doesn't even take that much critical thinking to recognise this is bullshit, an ability clearly lacking among GB News presenters.
Reposted by John Holborow
It's a sad state of affairs that this is the first year where my wife, a military brat whose father was a Colonel, and myself, former foreign correspondent, have felt emotionally uncomfortable attending a Remembrance Day service. All because of extreme nationalism of those who've weaponised the flag
November 9, 2025 at 11:33 AM
It's a sad state of affairs that this is the first year where my wife, a military brat whose father was a Colonel, and myself, former foreign correspondent, have felt emotionally uncomfortable attending a Remembrance Day service. All because of extreme nationalism of those who've weaponised the flag
A defeat for the fossil fuel lobbyist/climate change deniers and the right wing ‘anti woke’ bigotry which with their funding of Restore Trust they are trying to harness.
National Trust council elections saw a defeat for the Restore Trust campaign.
35k members voted to re-elect a slate of council candidates endorsed by the nominations committee
12k - 13.5k voted for candidates on Restore Trust slate
Non-slate candidated
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/who-we-are/a...
35k members voted to re-elect a slate of council candidates endorsed by the nominations committee
12k - 13.5k voted for candidates on Restore Trust slate
Non-slate candidated
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/who-we-are/a...
Voting results from the AGM
Read about the National Trust's 2025 Annual General Meeting and the results from the day.
www.nationaltrust.org.uk
November 9, 2025 at 12:27 AM
A defeat for the fossil fuel lobbyist/climate change deniers and the right wing ‘anti woke’ bigotry which with their funding of Restore Trust they are trying to harness.