Alex Andreou

"She turned to me and replied and said..." 😡 I don't know why this made me so angry. I found it musically offensive.

Why do just any metaphor when I can do a scientifically scintillating metaphor?

Anti-racism and racial equity Our commitment to anti-racism means Taking a stand against racism in all its forms Proactively identifying, understanding and tackling racial inequalities in policing Reforming policies and practices that lead to people from different ethnic groups being over-policed, under-protected or marginalised Working with partners to tackle the racial inequalities that exist in wider society and which are reproduced and sometimes exacerbated by policing Our commitment to racial equity means Producing equality of policing outcomes for people from different ethnic groups by responding to individuals and communities according to their specific needs, circumstances and experiences, with understanding that these will be racialised and with the aim of reducing harm. It does not mean treating everyone ‘the same’ or being ‘colour blind’ (racial equality).

Chris Philp: "Now, what I've got to tell you now will shock you. There is a so-called Anti Racism Commitment Plan that literally says: policing should not be colour-blind."

Only, it literally does not. It just explains the difference between equality and equity. ~AA

PLEASE HELP ME

If I cringe any harder at the Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp's stand-up comedy routine, I may fold in on myself, collapsing into a PSR-J0952–0607-style neutron star of vicarious embarrassment. ~AA

Trump will be disappointed. Physics was his backup plan.

If you liked Brexit, you’re going to love what the Conservatives want next | Polly Toynbee Leaving the ECHR could mean higher food prices and an even bigger blow to trade. The Tories’ new proposals will end the party for good, says Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee

"Instead of recanting, rethinking, questioning their recent history, they double down, with Badenoch now following Jenrick deeper into the Farage darkness with a pledge to leave the ECHR. That double dose of Brexit will sink not save them." ~AA

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Today we remember the victims of the 7/10 atrocities, deadly ripples of which continue to engulf far too many innocents. As @laylamoran.bsky.social said last year, we must hold ALL the people suffering in our hearts. If Layla can do it, with loved ones in peril, can we ask any less of ourselves? ~AA

"Time’s up for our voting system but who will be brave enough to change it?" - writes Emma Harrison, Chief Executive of @makevotesmatter.bsky.social.

🗞️ Read on Substack with a free trial. (It is free for existing B4B supporters).

https://bit.ly/4o6eHzR

Sweatshop Muslims make 'patriotic' British shirts for Tommy Robinson EXCLUSIVE: Tommy Robinson paid foreign Muslim sweatshop workers to make 'patriotic' T-shirts for anti-Muslim Unite The Kingdom march, the Daily Mail can reveal.

"More than using Muslims to make these 'patriotic' shirts for his anti-Muslim supporters, Robinson has chosen to use an incredibly controversial manufacturer, [who] according to the FairWear Foundation, pays its Bangladeshi workers 36p per hour." ~AA

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...

Did you think No Deal Brexit was gone for good?

I have bad news.

Faisal Islam @faisalislam Anna asks Badenoch: “How will you deal with the potential failure of the UK-EU TCA?”… should the UK leave the ECHR “The Trade and Cooperation Agreement is one that can be terminated at any time with a 12 month notice period… it could happen irrespective of leaving the ECHR, we do not need to be in the ECHR for that agreement to continue” #r4today 8:38 AM · Oct 7, 2025 · 13.8K Views

For months, Badenoch has said that she wouldn't jump the gun on leaving the ECHR, because she wanted to fully assess the implications, and within 24 hours of announcing the policy, completely on the hoof, she has also committed her party to a no-deal Brexit by default. 😂 🤡 😂 ~AA

He doesn't want areas where there is a 'preponderance' of one race over another. My kids school in rural Suffolk had one black family in a school of 1200 pupils. But that's not what he means, is it?

"We can't have particular communities where there's a heavy preponderance of one group or another. That's the kind of country I want my kids to be growing up in," says Jenrick, who lives in Herefordshire where 96.9% of the population identified as white in 2021

So to summarise, this is a white politician blaming a black journalist for the racism he is now actively helping to promote, after receiving the full endorsement of his own party leader

He'll be off to Bourton-on-the Water next to complain about the lack of integration there.

Huge congratulations to @kamalimelbourne.bsky.social on holding a firm line in such a calm and professional way, faced with such utterly offensive nonsense. ~AA

Apparently, this was "nothing to do with skin colour". Robert Jenrick just likes "mixed communities". Which is why he has also criticised very white neighbourhoods or towns and villages up and down the UK, umm... <checks notes> never.

Wow. Robert Jenrick doubles down by branding a black journalist's questions "ridiculous" and saying that the problem is not his comments, but "journalists like you who pop up and try to knock me down", adding that "this is the reason why terrorist attacks happen". ~AA

Reform UK set to raise Kent council tax — despite promising savings Nigel Farage had pledged cost-cutting, but officials now admit services are already ‘down to bare bones’ and a rise by the maximum rate of 5% may be needed

Reform UK promised to slash “wasteful spending” - now they’re raising taxes.

Looks like Reform UK are learning council budgets aren't as wasteful as they thought...

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/reform-uk-council-tax-kent-news-rf05q0bqm

Good morning, lovely fellow travellers. This is @sturdyalex.bsky.social with your weekly news roundup.

Stay tuned for breaking political stories, analysis, gossip, and video - including this year's Conservative Party Conference. ~AA

Coverage of Jenrick today basically amounts to sane-washing. He didn't criticise judges. He claimed there was a conspiracy by certain judges, who he had discovered and could number, to undermine British law and create open borders.

If you haven't discovered this podcast.. go listen to season one, it's fantastic.

And if you can afford it, do consider supporting it with a contribution.

Really looking forward to hearing season 2!

Not in that report, but maybe there will be pushback in the longer version on Newsnight*.

*there will not

We had this rule in fringe, where if the total number of punters in that night was smaller than the combined cast and crew, you offered a refund or a ticket for a busier night.

cc. @peterfitz1.bsky.social

Ah, yes. Tories' popularity is flagging, so why not ask one of Australia's most hilariously unpopular PMs for advice?

Tony Abbott's plan for undocumented migrants? "Hold them in some kind of a mothership" and invade a neighbouring country "on a quiet and moonless night". Clown.

Tory Conference debate on free speech. You see? Sometimes being "cancelled" is a mercy.

Got worse.

Is that Mel Stride speaking? One of the bigger speeches if so...