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David Shipley

@shipleywrites.bsky.social

Did corporate finance, produced a film, committed a fraud. Served my time. Horrified by the prison system. I write and talk and try to change it. Words in Inside Time, The Spectator, the i, amongst others. david@david-shipley.com

1,508 Followers  |  179 Following  |  176 Posts  |  Joined: 18.08.2023  |  1.8702

Latest posts by shipleywrites.bsky.social on Bluesky

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The public are right: citizenship is a privilege, not a right Keir Starmer is, in many ways, a remarkable prime minister. His is remarkably uncharismatic and remarkably unable to discern the mood of the nation he governs. He is remarkable in his unpopularity,…

By a margin of two to one, the British public think that citizenship is a privilege which should be revocable by politicians in certain circumstances.

✍️ David Shipley

spectator.com/article/the-...

14.01.2026 13:30 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 1
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Hey @sundersays I'm writing an article for the Spectator about how 'removing citizenship is the mainstream position' based on this polling / linking in to the discussions around El Fattah etc. Would you like to provide a comment?

13.01.2026 14:11 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
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Chair of King’s Foundation lied about having a PhD Dame Ann Limb, who is due to become a Labour peer and heads the board of trustees for King Charles’s charity, called herself a doctor

Dame Ann Limb, who is due to become a Labour peer and heads the board of trustees for King Charles’s charity, called herself a doctor ⬇️

20.12.2025 18:47 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 2

This happens to me a lot too

06.12.2025 09:48 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Is Robert Jenrick undermining democracy?

thecritic.co.uk/why-jenrick-...

09.10.2025 07:57 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Head of the prison officers’ union: we should halve the prison population The Prison Officers’ Association (POA) and its national chair Mark Fairhurst have a reputation for always wanting prisons to be more secure and more punitive. So it was a surprise when Fairhurst told ...

The POA chief is far more progressive than I expected

www.spectator.co.uk/article/head...

08.06.2025 10:04 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Starmer's plan to 'smash the gangs' isn't serious The government has deported 30,000 people since last July, but over 38,000 migrants have arrived just via small boats since then.

www.spectator.co.uk/article/star...

04.06.2025 05:58 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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England now has a blasphemy law Officially, blasphemy was abolished by New Labour in the 2008 Criminal Justice Act. But today, with the conviction of Hamit Coskun, blasphemy laws now exist in England.Β  This law has been created by t...

England now has a blasphemy law

www.spectator.co.uk/article/engl...

02.06.2025 15:52 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Tommy Robinson and the truth about jail beards Beards have long been associated with wisdom. Perhaps Robinson wanted to show the world a visible sign of all he had endured.

Beards are laden with meaning. What does Tommy Robinson’s tell us?

www.spectator.co.uk/article/tomm...

31.05.2025 07:05 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Decriminalising cannabis would be bad for black Londoners Sadiq Khan, London’s mayor, has called for the possession of cannabis to be decriminalised, because he believes that the police disproportionately target black Londoners when policing drug possession....

www.spectator.co.uk/article/decr...

28.05.2025 14:25 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Sentencing reforms will benefit domestic abusers, says victim A woman whose neck was fractured in an attack by her partner claims the prison overhaul means violent men will not fear serious punishment

What does the Sentencing Review mean for victims of domestic violence?

www.thetimes.com/uk/law/artic...

27.05.2025 19:04 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Key omissions risk undermining the government’s bold sentencing goals | Institute for Government Not all of David Gauke's recommendations have been taken on by the government.

So in all the noise and bluster, what’s the key takeaway from the sentencing review and gov’s reforms? There’s a lot to like in the proposals β€” but the gov risks shooting itself in the foot through key omissions to look β€˜tough on crime’ 🧡
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/sent...

23.05.2025 13:45 β€” πŸ‘ 31    πŸ” 14    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 1

James, surely?

23.05.2025 13:13 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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*Emergency Podcast* The Independent Sentencing Review | David Shipley Podcast Episode Β· The Secret Life of Prisons Β· 22/05/2025 Β· 55m

The Sentencing Review - more complex than the headlines.

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

22.05.2025 18:21 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
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🚨SPECIAL EPISODE🚨

Does equality before the law mean treating everyone the same?

Sonya Ruparel & @shipleywrites.bsky.social discuss the fiery debate between the Lord Chancellor & Sentencing Council over how judges should consider cases involving minoritized communities

🎧Listen now: pod.fo/e/2c65b4

11.04.2025 08:01 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I'm writing a piece about DBS / criminal records reform - I would love to speak with anyone who has missed out on a job because of an old / irrelevant conviction which showed up on a DBS.

17.03.2025 21:32 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

The British army used to use bagpipes as a terror weapon

15.03.2025 19:59 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Governor who moved gangster to open prison faced no investigation The treatment of Bobby Cunningham, nicknamed β€˜Nepotism Bob’ by staff at HMP Wandsworth, has fuelled fears of a cover-up

This weekend @thetimes.com is free to read, so why not check out mine and @mattdathan.bsky.social’s investigation into the suspension and subsequent sacking of the Deputy Governor of Wandsworth prison.

www.thetimes.com/uk/law/artic...

15.03.2025 15:50 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I was a prisoner at Wandsworth. At this point I was coping. I’d got a job in the library, had a reasonable amount of time out of my cell and was optimistic about moving to an open prison soon.

05.03.2025 07:58 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Guess that’s my trip to Mozambique cancelled

04.03.2025 22:08 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Sorry guys it’s over for me. I heard someone describe instagram as β€œold people TikTok today”

04.03.2025 19:16 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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UK asset manager Abrdn renames itself Aberdeen Company says move will end β€˜distractions’ after widely ridiculed rebranding in 2021

Nature is healing

www.ft.com/content/06b0...

04.03.2025 08:06 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image 03.03.2025 23:52 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Some kinds of crime (shoplifting, knife offences) absolutely are

03.03.2025 22:30 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Didn’t Boris β€œsee off” the Brexit party by doing a deal under which they stood down in a lot of seats?

02.03.2025 21:28 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Bold to assume that whoever seizes power after him would be a better option

02.03.2025 18:47 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Every time the satnav says β€œbear left” or β€œbear right” I say β€œoh! Look out for a bear” even if I’m the only one in the car

02.03.2025 16:48 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I’m not sure you’re steelmanning your opponents’ beliefs here

01.03.2025 21:24 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Isn’t the belief that private ownership is necessary for human thriving?

01.03.2025 20:13 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Moral rot The dark secret at the heart of the prison system

The prison system has a dark secret

shipleywrites.substack.com/p/moral-rot?...

01.03.2025 14:18 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1

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