Jozef Castor

Whatever you make of this, um, punchy approach, one thing is true: high immigration was undeniably the result of decisions taken by the Tories (on foreign students, work visas, Ukraine/HongKong/Afghan routes) to meet specific ends: keeping HE afloat, plugging skills gaps, humanitarian concerns

Glad to see Richard Tice taking such care over UK fishing. It is just a shame that neither he nor any of his Reform colleagues could be bothered to show up this afternoon to my debate... on UK fishing.

Can Europe defend itself with less American help? The continent will have to spend more as Trump refocuses policy elsewhere. But replacing US military heft will not be easy

"Fully replacing the US military contribution is equivalent to about 0.3 per cent of EU GDP" - or, by my count, something like €113 per EU citizen www.ft.com/content/6bea...

Oh I agree! I'm not saying it helped to sustainably solve Tory infighting. But it was v much a response to, or perhaps more accurately a product of, that infighting - eg Johnson backing Brexit as a power play against Cameron, the constant hardening of positions in response to Faragist right, etc

“The reaction of the banana vendor moves me deeply, underscoring how art can resonate in unexpected and profound ways,” [the artist] wrote. “However, art, by its nature, does not solve problems — if it did, it would be politics.”

No, but it was a *response* to perceived UK problems (and, perhaps more pertinently, Tory party problems).

Brexit was, fundamentally, an exercise in washing laundry labelled "domestic" on the "international" spin cycle. Whence the solipsism of much UK analysis and the befuddlement of those looking in from outside wondering what the hell happened.

I don't think "second world" means what you think it means.

Here’s a short story about who wins and loses from the status quo of our inheritance tax rules - and about, what you might politely call ‘sub-optimal’ journalism🧵

Good example of what Musk's government efficiency commission will actually be: Elon saw the word "diversity" and his eyes turned red, thus he picks on a highly-trained worker who has nothing to do with DEI, could earn a ton more in the private sector, but has dedicated themselves to public service

Reportedly, the moment of the ATACMS strike on an airfield in the Kursk region.

Georgescu has 250k followers on TikTok tbf, so you could say he's also embraced C21st forms of self-promotion (Lasconi has 91k)

The second round of the Romanian elections come down to a battle between a winner of Celebrity Masterchef and a fan of 1930s Fascism

"Frequency bias of negative stories" - so well put.

To be fair the Telegraph would know what "indoctrination" looks like

Never mind Shengen (which Ireland has good reason not to be part of). What's going to isolate Ireland more over the next decade is their neutrality, extremely low defence spending and race-to-the-bottom approach to corporation tax.

The resolution to boycott Haaretz which passed in today's gov meeting without legal review is another step in Netanyahu's journey to dismantle democracy. Like his friends Putin, Erdoğan & Orbán, Netanyahu is trying to silence critical, independent media. Haaretz will not balk

bread time let's have a bread

Optimist. The cup is half full.

Pessimist: The cup is half empty.

Tabloid journalist: Our assessment of the cup depends entirely on which political party it belongs to.

Just wondering if there could be a link between slow growth in UK, France, and Germany? I suppose it could Rachel Reeves tax plans affecting all three, or could it be something like an interlinked global economy in which geography is particularly important...

📌

"It's a massive struggle" oh f*** off

Lebanon youth international Céline Haidar in induced coma after airstrike The Lebanon youth international Céline Haidar is still in an induced coma, four days after being struck by shrapnel in an Israeli airstrike on Saturday

"The Lebanon youth international Céline Haidar is still in an induced coma, four days after being struck by shrapnel in an Israeli airstrike on Saturday."

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

It was Colonel Mustard in the Library with [checks notes] the reduced rate of inheritance tax at 20% for combined agricultural and business properties above the first £1 million

With farm owners protesting today over the prospect of paying a highly discounted inheritence tax, I'm sure you've seen quotes about how they "feed the nation".

But nobody is talking about the migrant workers who actually pick the crops on horticulture farms, so here's a short thread about them.

Thread live-posting European Court of Justice hearing on the Commission's infringement proceeding against Hungary for its anti-LGBTQI law - it's so great to be able to follow this on Bluesky. This is Europe.

Ta da: The Economist starter pack is here 👐

What are the farmers planning?!?!!