Richard Barfield

Perplexity Perplexity is a free AI-powered answer engine that provides accurate, trusted, and real-time answers to any question.

Asked Perplexity - it shows bigger numbers in the UK than I expected

www.perplexity.ai/search/488f2...

"Even more worrying, Labour’s proposed Elections Bill will do little to close the loopholes. As Democracy for Sale revealed earlier this year, foreign donors will still be able to use UK-registered companies to pour millions into British politics."
@petergeoghegan.bsky.social

When we talk about freedom of movement, we should never forget that it’s not just about immigration - one small part of the whole.
It’s about free movement to the EU, from the EU, and within the EU of:
- people
- goods
- services
- capital (investment).
No surprise that Brexit is a horror story.

On Europe, Labour should reconsider its 'red chains' Labour’s reset with the EU will fail to deliver a significant boost to economic growth. A fundamental refashioning of the EU-UK relationship would require Labour to think again about freedom of moveme...

"Labour’s reset with the EU will fail to deliver a significant boost to economic growth. A fundamental refashioning of the EU-UK relationship would require Labour to think again about freedom of movement."

www.cer.eu/insights/eur...

….. of people, goods, services and capital

In one crisp para — & the 2 charts he highlights — @chrisgiles.ft.com bursts a huge number of “welfare” myths www.ft.com/content/ee67...

BREAKING: Equinor has admitted that the massive Rosebank oil and gas field in the UK would cause vast climate damage.

*Pretends to be shocked* 😲

The UK government must STOP Rosebank, and instead focus on creating jobs in North Sea renewables!

I liked your point about the switch from first to third person - a good general rule.

The more one knows about this case, the more confusing it becomes. The CPS insists on further evidence it does not require, and the government insists it could not give that evidence, even though it could. Neither side makes sense, and together they make no sense absolutely.

NEW

Trying to make sense of the nonsensical decision to drop the Chinese spying prosecutions

How the positions of neither the CPS nor the government stand up to scrutiny

By me

emptycity.substack.com/p/trying-to-...

MPs will discuss the new digital ID proposal for the first time on Tuesday whatson.parliament.uk/event/cal53213

In the Lords there have been several successful business people who have made a meaningful contribution to politics
There are also successful politicians who started out in business and switched to politics relatively early eg Michael Heseltine.
However it’s hard to find Labour politicians w biz exp

Just noticed I hit 60k followers here 😱

Thanks to all who find the posts helpful 🙏

Congratulations!

#r4today

⚠️ Lord Turner: "We are in an environment where we are more exposed than most other countries"

"To be in a world of protectionist activity, when you've not got a continental scale economy in yourself or not part of a continental scale economy is a disadvantage."

Hard truth, simply put.

Good idea!

FT headline: Scott Bessent (US Treasury Secretary) accuses China of trying to damage global economy

Case studies in projection #2:

Scott Bessent (US Treasury Secretary) accuses China of trying to damage global economy.

Morning all xx

As so often, @laylamoran.bsky.social finds gracious, unifying words.

"I choose to believe that peace is possible. Everyone who went on a protest, wrote to their MP, cares about it, shouted at their TV - from whatever point of view - what were those deaths for, if not for a sustainable peace?" ~AA

FT headline: Scott Bessent (US Treasury Secretary) accuses China of trying to damage global economy

Case studies in projection #2:

Scott Bessent (US Treasury Secretary) accuses China of trying to damage global economy.

That New York Times story lots of people are sharing today about Farage's ties to US anti-abortion groups was first reported by @mc00.bsky.social on Byline Times a year ago bylinetimes.com/2024/11/29/n...

Michael Gove admits that post-Brexit trade deals were bad for farmers Michael Gove has admitted for the first time that the Australia and New Zealand trade deals negotiated by the former Tory government did not protect Britain’s farmers.

This deserves more attention than it has received.

Gove: "we were too anxious as a government to secure those deals in order to show that Brexit was working".

Exactly as so many of us warned at the time, and as the government denied at the time.
www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/country-and-...

A day of joy and hope. But unless the international community moves very fast in getting a security presence on the ground in Gaza, the situation could descend into gangland violence: the last thing the people of Gaza need. Welcome that the summit in Egypt happens today as well x.com/skynews/stat...

If you would like more of a Palestinian perspective on the ceasefire agreement, I recommend watching AlJazeera News.

CBS reporter Edward R. Murrow embodied what a journalist should be: someone who holds power to account instead of capitulating to it.

Over 70 years later, his segment denouncing Joe McCarthy’s congressional witch hunts rings truer than ever.

I does me best.

🇵🇱 My @thetimes column: Poland’s economic miracle

12 out of 17 Polish regions are now richer than West Wales. It has faster internet, cheaper electricity and more high speed rail than Britain

When it comes to regional development it’s the UK, not Poland, that needs to catch up

1/3

… for some, the attack could lead to an anti-islam reaction or be used by others to foment Islamophobia.

Poor wording in my part - I was referring to her failure to mention the rise in Islamophobia.