Ruth Dawson
@ruthd.bsky.social
Ex DTI, COI, CBI, LSE & CCC. Current affairs addict also interested in history, theatre, art, reading & beer.
Tout passe, tout casse, tout lasse
Tout passe, tout casse, tout lasse
Reposted by Ruth Dawson
Napoleon absolutely loves his. To the point where it's one of his "safe spaces" when he's not well.
December 12, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Napoleon absolutely loves his. To the point where it's one of his "safe spaces" when he's not well.
Reposted by Ruth Dawson
Remarkable how brutal the ruling against Trump on Abrego Garcia truly is: It details flagrant and malicious abuses of power all throughout. Trump and Stephen Miller were testing their ability to spread lawless state terror. But the court held the line. 1/
(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2043...
(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2043...
Fiasco for Trump as Judge Issues Harsh Rebuke in Abrego Garcia Case
Judge Paula Xinis’s ruling temporarily freed Kilmar Abrego Garcia from custody. It also savagely indicted Trump’s lawless handling of this whole affair from start to finish.
newrepublic.com
December 12, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Remarkable how brutal the ruling against Trump on Abrego Garcia truly is: It details flagrant and malicious abuses of power all throughout. Trump and Stephen Miller were testing their ability to spread lawless state terror. But the court held the line. 1/
(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2043...
(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2043...
Reposted by Ruth Dawson
Bottom line - Heath had non-negotiable red lines and was far braver than Starmer has ever been.
Heath fired Enoch Powell. Starmer would have said he had legitimate concerns. Not because he actually thought so, but because he would have been afraid of the media.
Thought for the day. Starmer increasingly resembles Heath: technocratic; poor at communications; buffeted by events, some of which were outside his control (Nixon and OPEC) but many of which (industrial, prices and incomes and industrial relations policies)weren’t.
December 12, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Bottom line - Heath had non-negotiable red lines and was far braver than Starmer has ever been.
Reposted by Ruth Dawson
New pardon candidate incoming! www.wired.com/story/do-kwo...
Crypto Magnate Do Kwon Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison
The founder of Terraform Labs was sentenced today for lying about “experimental” coins that blew a $40 billion hole in the crypto economy.
www.wired.com
December 12, 2025 at 9:01 PM
New pardon candidate incoming! www.wired.com/story/do-kwo...
Reposted by Ruth Dawson
It's the golden rule, It's the golden rule, it has always been the golden rule, and it will always be the golden rule.
December 12, 2025 at 8:12 PM
It's the golden rule, It's the golden rule, it has always been the golden rule, and it will always be the golden rule.
Reposted by Ruth Dawson
Tired and run down so thought I’d take a paracetamol and go to bed early with a book
What do I not want? Paracetamol with caffeine, that’s what!
What do I not want? Paracetamol with caffeine, that’s what!
December 12, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Tired and run down so thought I’d take a paracetamol and go to bed early with a book
What do I not want? Paracetamol with caffeine, that’s what!
What do I not want? Paracetamol with caffeine, that’s what!
Reposted by Ruth Dawson
We have normalised damaging the public realm. Smashing up cameras and crossing equipment. Painting crosses on roundabouts and putting up tatty flag rags. Government should be putting a lid on this but they are not.
Christmas tree chopped down hours after lights switch on
Christmas tree chopped down hours after lights switch on
A Christmas tree that has brought festive cheer to a village for more than a decade has been cut down just hours after its lights were switched on.
news.sky.com
December 12, 2025 at 7:01 PM
We have normalised damaging the public realm. Smashing up cameras and crossing equipment. Painting crosses on roundabouts and putting up tatty flag rags. Government should be putting a lid on this but they are not.
Reposted by Ruth Dawson
kids these days would simply not believe that, once upon a time, you could see John Carey, Tom Paulin, and Germaine Greer seriously discussing books on BBC television. RIP 🖤🤘🏻
Very sad to hear of the death of John Carey. His book Pure Pleasure - a compendium of Sunday Times columns covering his favourite pleasurable books of the 20C - is a model of good, enthused, informed journalistic book criticism. I’ve read its essays so many times.
December 12, 2025 at 7:48 PM
kids these days would simply not believe that, once upon a time, you could see John Carey, Tom Paulin, and Germaine Greer seriously discussing books on BBC television. RIP 🖤🤘🏻
Reposted by Ruth Dawson
The immigration “judge” allegedly sua sponte — meaning without any request by a party, which is obviously a lie given the circumstances — “corrected” the 2019 order to fix a “scrivener’s error” and order Mr Abrego Garcia deported.
Not surprisingly, Judge Xinis blocked that. What a corrupt act.
Not surprisingly, Judge Xinis blocked that. What a corrupt act.
December 12, 2025 at 1:21 PM
The immigration “judge” allegedly sua sponte — meaning without any request by a party, which is obviously a lie given the circumstances — “corrected” the 2019 order to fix a “scrivener’s error” and order Mr Abrego Garcia deported.
Not surprisingly, Judge Xinis blocked that. What a corrupt act.
Not surprisingly, Judge Xinis blocked that. What a corrupt act.
Reposted by Ruth Dawson
President Trump claims that European countries want him to be our president as well
Is there anyone in the US who actually believes this garbage?
Is there anyone in the US who actually believes this garbage?
December 12, 2025 at 12:21 PM
President Trump claims that European countries want him to be our president as well
Is there anyone in the US who actually believes this garbage?
Is there anyone in the US who actually believes this garbage?
Reposted by Ruth Dawson
The big, big self-delusion at the heart of almost everything Labour is doing wrong is that through some old-time Labour economics you can avoid having an electoral coalition that looks a lot like 'Labour in 2024, Australian Labor in 2025, the Canadian Liberals in 2025' or indeed 'Harris in 2024'.
There’s more writing than wall at this point.
❗ Reform GAIN from Labour
Red Hall and Lingfield (Darlington) council by-election result:
REF: 38.4% (+38.4)
CON: 17.2% (-22.7)
LDEM: 17.2% (+17.2)
LAB: 16.6% (-37.2)
GRN: 9.7% (+3.5)
IND: 1.0% (+1.0)
+/- 2023
Estimated turnout: ~28% (-3)
andrewteale.me.uk/previews
Red Hall and Lingfield (Darlington) council by-election result:
REF: 38.4% (+38.4)
CON: 17.2% (-22.7)
LDEM: 17.2% (+17.2)
LAB: 16.6% (-37.2)
GRN: 9.7% (+3.5)
IND: 1.0% (+1.0)
+/- 2023
Estimated turnout: ~28% (-3)
andrewteale.me.uk/previews
December 12, 2025 at 12:35 PM
The big, big self-delusion at the heart of almost everything Labour is doing wrong is that through some old-time Labour economics you can avoid having an electoral coalition that looks a lot like 'Labour in 2024, Australian Labor in 2025, the Canadian Liberals in 2025' or indeed 'Harris in 2024'.
Reposted by Ruth Dawson
Reposted by Ruth Dawson
New #StrongMessageHere is up. This week, Civilisational Collapse with Stewart Lee. We talk Trump, Truss, Farage and the olden times.
December 12, 2025 at 1:18 PM
New #StrongMessageHere is up. This week, Civilisational Collapse with Stewart Lee. We talk Trump, Truss, Farage and the olden times.
Reposted by Ruth Dawson
*The truth is that a huge pessimistic bias in our national accounts has led us to be fed with contemporary reports of doom and gloom, which subsequently turn out to be nonsense"
. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @chrisgiles.ft.com
. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @chrisgiles.ft.com
The UK economy is not nearly as bad as you’ve been told
A huge pessimistic bias in our national accounts leads us to doom and gloom which turns out to be nonsense
giftarticle.ft.com
December 12, 2025 at 1:18 PM
*The truth is that a huge pessimistic bias in our national accounts has led us to be fed with contemporary reports of doom and gloom, which subsequently turn out to be nonsense"
. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @chrisgiles.ft.com
. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @chrisgiles.ft.com
Reposted by Ruth Dawson
If you have any paintings by Meredith Frampton you're willing to sell, please contact me. His mirror-like portrait of Sir Charles Grant Robertson is both fully present yet, at the same time, infinitely remote, deliberately emotionless, yet oddly compelling.
December 12, 2025 at 1:20 PM
If you have any paintings by Meredith Frampton you're willing to sell, please contact me. His mirror-like portrait of Sir Charles Grant Robertson is both fully present yet, at the same time, infinitely remote, deliberately emotionless, yet oddly compelling.
Reposted by Ruth Dawson
"Since 2007, the first version of official economic history — the version that gets reported as news every few months — showed that the average annual growth rate was 0.76%. By contrast, the current version of the same history says average annual growth was 1.34%, 76% better."
The UK economy is not nearly as bad as you’ve been told on.ft.com/48x09Vg
The UK economy is not nearly as bad as you’ve been told
A huge pessimistic bias in our national accounts leads us to doom and gloom which turns out to be nonsense
on.ft.com
December 12, 2025 at 1:07 PM
"Since 2007, the first version of official economic history — the version that gets reported as news every few months — showed that the average annual growth rate was 0.76%. By contrast, the current version of the same history says average annual growth was 1.34%, 76% better."
Reposted by Ruth Dawson
December 12, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Reposted by Ruth Dawson
'View from the Window of 11A North Hill towards Highgate School' (1950s) by Margaret Thomas
(Highgate Literary & Scientific Institution)
(Highgate Literary & Scientific Institution)
December 12, 2025 at 12:39 PM
'View from the Window of 11A North Hill towards Highgate School' (1950s) by Margaret Thomas
(Highgate Literary & Scientific Institution)
(Highgate Literary & Scientific Institution)
Reposted by Ruth Dawson
A good night for Channel 4 at the British Journalism awards - news provider and journalist of the year gongs secured pressgazette.co.uk/press-gazett...
British Journalism Awards winners 2025: Channel 4 News and Cathy Newman receive top prizes
Channel 4 News was named News Provider of the Year for the second year running at the British Journalism Awards 2025. See full list of winners
pressgazette.co.uk
December 12, 2025 at 12:40 PM
A good night for Channel 4 at the British Journalism awards - news provider and journalist of the year gongs secured pressgazette.co.uk/press-gazett...
Reposted by Ruth Dawson
Trump wants to destabilise European democracy. Where on earth is parliament? | John Crace
Trump wants to destabilise European democracy. Where on earth is parliament? | John Crace
You’d think MPs would be lining up to decry the US president’s support for far-right nationalists. Instead, only backbenchers and a few junior ministers bothered to turn up
www.theguardian.com
December 11, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Trump wants to destabilise European democracy. Where on earth is parliament? | John Crace
Reposted by Ruth Dawson
Striking BL staff, struggling to pay their rent, advised to consider not giving presents this year, and interim CEO, Jeremy Silver, has the nerve to tell them they ‘don’t live in a real world’. Only 17% of staff guaranteed the Living Wage (£14.80 ph) suggests acute familiarity with the ‘real world’.
British Library staff asked for a decent pay. Instead they got ‘a few money-saving present ideas’, such as ‘consider not giving presents this holiday season’. They are on strike this week. I wrote about it for @lrb.co.uk. www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/de...
Anna Aslanyan | On the Picket Line
On Monday morning, more than a hundred people formed a picket line outside one of the entrances to the British Library...
www.lrb.co.uk
December 12, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Striking BL staff, struggling to pay their rent, advised to consider not giving presents this year, and interim CEO, Jeremy Silver, has the nerve to tell them they ‘don’t live in a real world’. Only 17% of staff guaranteed the Living Wage (£14.80 ph) suggests acute familiarity with the ‘real world’.
Reposted by Ruth Dawson
This.
I tend to avoid my regular drinking spots in December as the Two-can Van Dammes are normally out in force.
Convinced they can still pack it away like they did at university. Which was 20 years and three children ago.
Mate, you had your 2 proseccos. Now you're wobbly. Head home. It's allowed
I tend to avoid my regular drinking spots in December as the Two-can Van Dammes are normally out in force.
Convinced they can still pack it away like they did at university. Which was 20 years and three children ago.
Mate, you had your 2 proseccos. Now you're wobbly. Head home. It's allowed
People complain about the January gym goers- well it’s December and I’d like to know what you’re all doing in our pubs.
December 12, 2025 at 8:50 AM
This.
I tend to avoid my regular drinking spots in December as the Two-can Van Dammes are normally out in force.
Convinced they can still pack it away like they did at university. Which was 20 years and three children ago.
Mate, you had your 2 proseccos. Now you're wobbly. Head home. It's allowed
I tend to avoid my regular drinking spots in December as the Two-can Van Dammes are normally out in force.
Convinced they can still pack it away like they did at university. Which was 20 years and three children ago.
Mate, you had your 2 proseccos. Now you're wobbly. Head home. It's allowed
Reposted by Ruth Dawson
Something a bit on-the-nose about this being an aesthetically horrifying fake photo. It's what they would have wanted.
December 12, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Something a bit on-the-nose about this being an aesthetically horrifying fake photo. It's what they would have wanted.
Reposted by Ruth Dawson
Met commissioner Mark Rowley says Trump talks 'complete nonsense' about crime in London - www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...
December 12, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Met commissioner Mark Rowley says Trump talks 'complete nonsense' about crime in London - www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...
Reposted by Ruth Dawson
A non insignificant number of people in the hotel i work serve themselves of black pudding at breakfast and put sugar on top presumably trying to make it taste more like pudding....sad state of affairs
December 12, 2025 at 12:13 PM
A non insignificant number of people in the hotel i work serve themselves of black pudding at breakfast and put sugar on top presumably trying to make it taste more like pudding....sad state of affairs