Paul Swann (he/him)
@pauldjswann.bsky.social
Christian, early retired, priest living with ME/CFS. Author of Sustaining Leadership (BRF). Spirituality. Inclusivity. Vulerability and Grace. Photography. Nature. Politics. Husband and father.
Reposted by Paul Swann (he/him)
On the eve of the budget, I am reminded by an old friend on Facebook of the wise saying:
"Taxation is the subscription we pay for living in a civilised society"
A sentiment lost since the age of Thatcher but sorely needed if we are to keep whatever level of a decent society we currently enjoy.
"Taxation is the subscription we pay for living in a civilised society"
A sentiment lost since the age of Thatcher but sorely needed if we are to keep whatever level of a decent society we currently enjoy.
November 25, 2025 at 9:53 PM
On the eve of the budget, I am reminded by an old friend on Facebook of the wise saying:
"Taxation is the subscription we pay for living in a civilised society"
A sentiment lost since the age of Thatcher but sorely needed if we are to keep whatever level of a decent society we currently enjoy.
"Taxation is the subscription we pay for living in a civilised society"
A sentiment lost since the age of Thatcher but sorely needed if we are to keep whatever level of a decent society we currently enjoy.
Reposted by Paul Swann (he/him)
Were it my responsibility, I would be thinking along the lines of requiring the ultimate owner of a national paper of record to at least be a domiciled resident in the country it serves. Mad idea I know, never catch on etc. etc.
November 22, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Were it my responsibility, I would be thinking along the lines of requiring the ultimate owner of a national paper of record to at least be a domiciled resident in the country it serves. Mad idea I know, never catch on etc. etc.
Reposted by Paul Swann (he/him)
While it feels like I'm repeatedly slamming my head against a brick wall repeating this massively simple concept. Saying "Reform would be worse" doesn't make what Labour is doing better. Labour is now the most anti-immigration, anti-any marginalised group, government we have seen in decades. 1/
Very long thread: As with many of Labour's anti-immigration policies, this isn't new. British police have been stationed in other countries for this purpose for a long time
It does however show how Labour is pushing more on anti-immigration than previous governments. 1/
www.lbc.co.uk/article/shab...
It does however show how Labour is pushing more on anti-immigration than previous governments. 1/
www.lbc.co.uk/article/shab...
Home Secretary orders police and border 'hit squads' to Albania to stamp out people smugglers | LBC
Shabana Mahmood will send hit squads of police and border force teams to Albania in a fresh drive to stamp out people-smuggling gangs upstream.
www.lbc.co.uk
November 20, 2025 at 5:36 PM
While it feels like I'm repeatedly slamming my head against a brick wall repeating this massively simple concept. Saying "Reform would be worse" doesn't make what Labour is doing better. Labour is now the most anti-immigration, anti-any marginalised group, government we have seen in decades. 1/
Reposted by Paul Swann (he/him)
Farage’s Pal and traitor, Reform UK’s Nathan Gill, took Kremlin bribes and the press handled it like a Reform Councillor seeing a fanny in real life - panicked, confused and completely unable to comment.
He’s sentenced tomorrow and I bet you’ve barely heard about it 👇🏼
youtu.be/kDUmlc8Ksrg?...
He’s sentenced tomorrow and I bet you’ve barely heard about it 👇🏼
youtu.be/kDUmlc8Ksrg?...
Farage’s Pal Took Kremlin Cash: Reform UK’s Nathan Gill Faces Jail (As The Media Covers It Up)
YouTube video by Supertanskiii
youtu.be
November 20, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Farage’s Pal and traitor, Reform UK’s Nathan Gill, took Kremlin bribes and the press handled it like a Reform Councillor seeing a fanny in real life - panicked, confused and completely unable to comment.
He’s sentenced tomorrow and I bet you’ve barely heard about it 👇🏼
youtu.be/kDUmlc8Ksrg?...
He’s sentenced tomorrow and I bet you’ve barely heard about it 👇🏼
youtu.be/kDUmlc8Ksrg?...
Reposted by Paul Swann (he/him)
Shabana Mahmood's Indefinite Leave To Remain Culture War
3 years - if you're earning £125k+
15 years - if you're e.g. a nurse, or a teacher
Labour's two tier system which rewards high earners and insults those who work just as hard but don't earn as much - really sad to see Labour fall
3 years - if you're earning £125k+
15 years - if you're e.g. a nurse, or a teacher
Labour's two tier system which rewards high earners and insults those who work just as hard but don't earn as much - really sad to see Labour fall
November 20, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Shabana Mahmood's Indefinite Leave To Remain Culture War
3 years - if you're earning £125k+
15 years - if you're e.g. a nurse, or a teacher
Labour's two tier system which rewards high earners and insults those who work just as hard but don't earn as much - really sad to see Labour fall
3 years - if you're earning £125k+
15 years - if you're e.g. a nurse, or a teacher
Labour's two tier system which rewards high earners and insults those who work just as hard but don't earn as much - really sad to see Labour fall
Reposted by Paul Swann (he/him)
Reposted by Paul Swann (he/him)
Shabana Mahmood is every shallow person you’ve ever met whose true colours emerge once you immerse them in money or power.
'Labour's asylum plans are racist - shameful Shabana has betrayed her parents'
www.mirror.co.uk
November 18, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Shabana Mahmood is every shallow person you’ve ever met whose true colours emerge once you immerse them in money or power.
Reposted by Paul Swann (he/him)
I know that some blue Labour advisors will be saying — “Great, the remainers are remoaning. The Metrosexual metropolitan elites are squirming. We‘re owning the libs”.
But guys. You ARE the libs. You won’t ever replace Farage. You’ve just sabotaging yourselves by blowing up your base
But guys. You ARE the libs. You won’t ever replace Farage. You’ve just sabotaging yourselves by blowing up your base
What is it about the Home Office which inculcates in Home Secretaries (going back to Blunkett and May) this performative cruelty?
And where is any evidence it works?
Other than amping up xenophobia does borrowing Trump’s ICE rhetoric actually it have any deterrence effect?
And where is any evidence it works?
Other than amping up xenophobia does borrowing Trump’s ICE rhetoric actually it have any deterrence effect?
November 17, 2025 at 7:09 PM
I know that some blue Labour advisors will be saying — “Great, the remainers are remoaning. The Metrosexual metropolitan elites are squirming. We‘re owning the libs”.
But guys. You ARE the libs. You won’t ever replace Farage. You’ve just sabotaging yourselves by blowing up your base
But guys. You ARE the libs. You won’t ever replace Farage. You’ve just sabotaging yourselves by blowing up your base
Reposted by Paul Swann (he/him)
What is the point of these politicians? Apart from trying to thrill Morgan McSweeney, I mean?
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 6:28 PM
What is the point of these politicians? Apart from trying to thrill Morgan McSweeney, I mean?
Reposted by Paul Swann (he/him)
The bigots will always want more bigotry
It won't win Labour any votes
It will lose them a lot
I will never vote Labour again
It won't win Labour any votes
It will lose them a lot
I will never vote Labour again
November 17, 2025 at 9:29 AM
Absolutely this 100%
1) No, it isn’t.
2) This is performative cruelty and nothing else.
3) The people you’re pitching this for will never, ever, ever vote for you.
2) This is performative cruelty and nothing else.
3) The people you’re pitching this for will never, ever, ever vote for you.
November 16, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Absolutely this 100%
Reposted by Paul Swann (he/him)
🌍 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 Paul Swann (he/him)
This immigration stuff from Labour is very brexity. The wrong choices for the wrong reasons which will have a negative impact on people and the economy to please morons who are in a state of permanent grievance.
It's unbearable watching Labour being so vile and stupid.
Starmer must go.
#BBCLauraK
It's unbearable watching Labour being so vile and stupid.
Starmer must go.
#BBCLauraK
November 16, 2025 at 10:06 AM
This immigration stuff from Labour is very brexity. The wrong choices for the wrong reasons which will have a negative impact on people and the economy to please morons who are in a state of permanent grievance.
It's unbearable watching Labour being so vile and stupid.
Starmer must go.
#BBCLauraK
It's unbearable watching Labour being so vile and stupid.
Starmer must go.
#BBCLauraK
Reposted by Paul Swann (he/him)
No, I'd say it's racists and those pandering to them.
November 15, 2025 at 9:58 PM
No, I'd say it's racists and those pandering to them.
Reposted by Paul Swann (he/him)
Why! Sorry, but why? Labour's anti-asylum, anti-immigration, policies are the antithesis of anything anyone who genuinely supports human rights should be defending. They're absolutely inhumane and condemnable. Anyone supporting them can't claim to be "progressive"
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
No 10 tells Labour MPs it expects support for tough new asylum policies
Some backbenchers already opposing planned immigration crackdown seen as ‘economically and culturally illiterate’
www.theguardian.com
November 14, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Why! Sorry, but why? Labour's anti-asylum, anti-immigration, policies are the antithesis of anything anyone who genuinely supports human rights should be defending. They're absolutely inhumane and condemnable. Anyone supporting them can't claim to be "progressive"
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Reposted by Paul Swann (he/him)
There has now been 9 episodes of #BBCQT since it returned from its summer break
A Reform representative/mouthpiece has appeared on 5 of them:
Kruger - Nov 13
Goodwin - Oct 30
Dorries - Oct 23
Yusuf - Oct 9
Tice - Sept 25
But please tell me more about the BBC’s left wing bias
A Reform representative/mouthpiece has appeared on 5 of them:
Kruger - Nov 13
Goodwin - Oct 30
Dorries - Oct 23
Yusuf - Oct 9
Tice - Sept 25
But please tell me more about the BBC’s left wing bias
November 13, 2025 at 10:11 PM
There has now been 9 episodes of #BBCQT since it returned from its summer break
A Reform representative/mouthpiece has appeared on 5 of them:
Kruger - Nov 13
Goodwin - Oct 30
Dorries - Oct 23
Yusuf - Oct 9
Tice - Sept 25
But please tell me more about the BBC’s left wing bias
A Reform representative/mouthpiece has appeared on 5 of them:
Kruger - Nov 13
Goodwin - Oct 30
Dorries - Oct 23
Yusuf - Oct 9
Tice - Sept 25
But please tell me more about the BBC’s left wing bias
The disobedient kingfisher
November 10, 2025 at 10:16 PM
The disobedient kingfisher
Reposted by Paul Swann (he/him)
Musk gets his $1 trillion compensation package approved by Tesla shareholders.
Shareholders in the room chant "Elon, Elon, Elon!"
Shareholders in the room chant "Elon, Elon, Elon!"
November 6, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Reposted by Paul Swann (he/him)
It's all leading to this isn't?
And all of this crap on the end of programmes from the BBC about being grateful that they're publicly funded is meant to paint over their drift to political right.
And all of this crap on the end of programmes from the BBC about being grateful that they're publicly funded is meant to paint over their drift to political right.
November 6, 2025 at 10:02 AM
It's all leading to this isn't?
And all of this crap on the end of programmes from the BBC about being grateful that they're publicly funded is meant to paint over their drift to political right.
And all of this crap on the end of programmes from the BBC about being grateful that they're publicly funded is meant to paint over their drift to political right.
Worth reading!
Thread. A reminder of some of my alltime favourite facts. Starting with...there are no bridges over the river Amazon.
November 1, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Worth reading!
Reposted by Paul Swann (he/him)
A little Halloween humor.
October 31, 2025 at 10:43 PM
A little Halloween humor.
Reposted by Paul Swann (he/him)
A woman is killed by a man every 3 days in the UK...
78% are murdered by a partner/ex
Yet not once have I heard Reform talk about this
Not once have I heard them back measures to protect women’s safety
In fact, they voted against them...
78% are murdered by a partner/ex
Yet not once have I heard Reform talk about this
Not once have I heard them back measures to protect women’s safety
In fact, they voted against them...
October 31, 2025 at 10:22 AM
A woman is killed by a man every 3 days in the UK...
78% are murdered by a partner/ex
Yet not once have I heard Reform talk about this
Not once have I heard them back measures to protect women’s safety
In fact, they voted against them...
78% are murdered by a partner/ex
Yet not once have I heard Reform talk about this
Not once have I heard them back measures to protect women’s safety
In fact, they voted against them...
Reposted by Paul Swann (he/him)
.
Who else apart from Prince Andrew should be stripped of their title and publically funded housing because they were close friends with Jeffrey Epstein? 🤔
Oh!
#Newsnight #bbcqt #ReleaseTheTrumpEpsteinFiles
.
Who else apart from Prince Andrew should be stripped of their title and publically funded housing because they were close friends with Jeffrey Epstein? 🤔
Oh!
#Newsnight #bbcqt #ReleaseTheTrumpEpsteinFiles
.
October 30, 2025 at 10:33 PM
.
Who else apart from Prince Andrew should be stripped of their title and publically funded housing because they were close friends with Jeffrey Epstein? 🤔
Oh!
#Newsnight #bbcqt #ReleaseTheTrumpEpsteinFiles
.
Who else apart from Prince Andrew should be stripped of their title and publically funded housing because they were close friends with Jeffrey Epstein? 🤔
Oh!
#Newsnight #bbcqt #ReleaseTheTrumpEpsteinFiles
.