FrancesCrook@bsky.social

If you're no longer on Twitter, you are likely missing all the vile Reform-adjacent stuff the Home Office are pumping out on their official account...

Again, Farage, Badenoch and their fellow travellers on X are wildly out of touch with the public on Iran.

Even the majority of Reform supporters oppose their position.

New research out from 38 Degrees: "Despite much public discussion on the threat of Reform UK, for every 10 voters Labour is losing to Reform or the Conservatives nationally, they are losing 16 to the Greens, Liberal Democrats, Plaid or SNP; a group of voters labelled ‘progressive defectors’"

Deluded. Labour lost about ten points during the course of the 2024 campaign. A strategic triumph it was not.

Reform fury as someone else wins by Our By-election Editor Tim Shipsink The losing candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election, Matt Goodwhinge, has demanded an immediate re-run of the election on the grounds that he lost comprehensively to someone else. "It's totally unfair and rigged," said Goodwhinge. "I shouldn't be required to sit there and suck it up, just because I lost." Mr Goodwhine continued, *I can't believe that all those voters I demonised failed to back me. Especially after I was endorsed by Tommy Robinson and ten million Russian bots on X. "We have clear evidence of family voting, where people voted in order for me to stop deporting their families." Mr Badloser concluded. "I'm the victim of colour prejudice. They didn't vote for me simply because I'm not green." Reform leader Mr Farage, speaking from a sun lounger on a rock near the Chagos Islands said, "It's a tragedy that the people of Manchester won't see Matt in Westminster, but my constituents don't see me in Clacton either." PLUMBER DEFEATS MATT GOODWIN Photo of Hannah Spencer with speech bubble saying… I've stopped the cock

Beautiful from Private Eye on the massive toddler-tantrum that Matt Goodwin and Reform are having, because they got whooped in Gorton and Denton.

Petition: Act to ensure Bills backed by MPs & public can complete all stages in Parliament We want the Government to do everything in its power to ensure that when bills are supported by MPs & the public, they have the time to complete all their stages in Parliament. We believe this is impo...

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/75...

U.S. sub sinks Iranian warship off Sri Lanka, killing 87 and expanding war zone A U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship off the southern coast of Sri Lanka, killing dozens of sailors and dramatically widening Washington's pursuit of the Iranian navy.

A US submarine sinking a lonely, dinky Iranian surface ship an ocean away from the theater of the main conflict—and 9000
miles from North America—makes it pretty clear the US is fighting a general war, without the declaration required by the Constitution. www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

Once you start torpedoing ships in international waters, that are not involved in conflict, you cease to have a limited theater of war.

You have taken a war global.

Every single US asset and citizen, worldwide, just became a target.

Catastrophically reckless.

(🎥 Department of War)

It does seem that too many of the men who get made a Sir are sleazebags. (Dyson, Ratcliffe etc)

I have absolutely no idea what Trump is trying to accomplish in Iran, or how he plans to accomplish it, and the fun thing is that neither does he!

That's why the constitution does not give the President the authority to launch wars without Congressional approval.

This IPSO adjudication against the Telegraph is quite something

Confirms their story titled: ‘We earn £345k, but soaring private school fees mean we can’t go on five holidays’ was completely fabricated, with the family involved non-existent and stock pictures used

www.ipso.co.uk/rulings/0210...

The lies. The lies.

I have complained to the BBC about Lyse Doucet who keeps repeating the US government phrase of ‘taking out’ rather than assassinating people. Killing people is still killing people, no matter who they are. They are not ‘taken out”.

Sweden is driving down the punitive abyss (update) Sweden is lowering the age of criminal responsibility and growing its use of prisons

Update on Sweden lowering age of criminal responsibility and creating child jails

francescrook.substack.com/p/sweden-is-...

My Guardian is delivered to my door every day early in the morning!

Lib Dem Lisa Smart MP in last night's democracy bill debate: "Unlimited donations mean unlimited influence. They corrode public trust and distort political priorities. Until we cap donations, we will continue to have a democracy that is for sale." (there's still no plan for a cap on donations)

China’s high-rise hog farms go international Livestock producers tout benefits of rearing pigs in multistorey buildings

In China, there are 26-storey towers - filled with hundreds of thousands of pigs. Now other countries are adopting the same type of "farming" 🤮 giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

The Representation of the People Bill: contours of the debates to come The government’s long-awaited proposals for electoral reforms, published last month, will receive their first scrutiny in the House of Commons next Monday. Ahead of that debate, Alan Renwick analys…

*Representation of the People Bill update*

Steve Reed has just announced: 'We will repeal in full the power for government to impose a strategy and policy statement on the Electoral Commission'.

A very welcome change. I set out last week why it was needed.

constitution-unit.com/2026/02/26/t...

It is often a good idea to check whether an action you might take is criminal or not. This is particularly true in the case of military action.

Former West unitary cabinet member and colleague quit Reform UK to go independent West unitary councillors Kathryn Shaw and Joanne Blythe announce today they are going independent referencing ‘toxic and poisonous culture’

Latest from Reform-run West Northamptonshire Council...

"West unitary councillors Kathryn Shaw and Joanne Blythe announce today they are going independent referencing ‘toxic and poisonous culture" in Reform administration
www.nnjournal.co.uk/p/former-wes...

BBC reporters should never use the term ‘take out’ when talking about people being killed

Starmer needs to get on the phone to Trump and ask him to set out a plan to protect civilians and support a democratic transition in Iran.

We've seen before that bombs don't bring about democracy and regime change without a plan just leads to more chaos and suffering.

Six years ago, his principles were entirely different.

BBC reporters should never use the term ‘take out’ when talking about people being killed

Here we go. Didn't take long for Starmer to throw the UK into Trump's illegal war.

Considering that only a quarter of Americans believe that the USA was right to attack Iran when they did, how do you think that news will go down with the good people of Britain?

Shame on our government

Starmer's ability to find the exact sweetspot which pisses off everyone is extraordinary. He's a savant.

While we're all distracted by Iran, Shabana Mahmood is continuing Labour's sprint Right...

In my over half a century on this Earth, I have never seen a British political party more determined to lose the next election.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

But they said he was “The peace president.” 🥴

“We cannot say that the United States’ actions are against international law, but we condemn Iran’s retaliatory actions as against international law,” is neither a coherent nor a compelling position.