Feargal Cochrane

“I can’t remember the time before Vučić, I was eight when he came to power, but I hope I won’t remember him either in a few years,” said Marko Radojevic, a student from Novi Sad.

The achievement of Serbian students overthrowing Aleksandar Vučić can't be overstated. In 2024, they began protesting. In 2025, they transformed a protest movement into civil dissidence. In 2026, they became a political party — and two months later, crushed a corrupt state-entrenched authoritarian.

Hopefully that’s not the full extent of their demands…. Leaving aside the dodgy covid contacts, he deliberately sent untested patients from hospitals into care homes resulting in Covid ripping through those facilities. Deserves more than removal from the Privy Council in my book.

Ah, Lunny. He really had the gift. He's probably better known (righly) for his playing but I always loved his Bean Pháidín. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasal. youtu.be/9f8CBoTpaZs?...

Really sad to hear that Dónal Lunny has died -a colossal figure in Irish music over the last 50 years. A true musical pioneer and the brains of many of the most important folk bands to come out of Ireland. A huge loss. #RIP 💔

Caution - genius at work! Love every one of these -though a ranked list is obviously impossible -no one wrote lyrics quite like him.

One lesson political unionism has learned since the days of Terence O’Neill, is that you never lose votes by being too hardline or politically negative, you only lose support by being deemed too moderate. What they don’t appear to have learned is that this always sends them backwards strategically.

It’s almost like a metaphor isn’t it?

Proud to sign this open letter in the @newstatesman1913.bsky.social. www.newstatesman.com/cover-story/...

Government support for drilling at #Jackdaw takes a wrecking ball to any pretence of UK climate leadership & pours fuel on an overheating world - and for what? It’s equivalent to just 2 months of UK gas demand, creates just 27 direct jobs & has *no* impact on energy bills🧵1/4

Agreed -but that begs the additional questions -some of which are already being asked -those answers go way beyond Donaldson or his own crimes.

Clearly there’s more here -both relating to his activities in London & abroad -but issues not aired much are: a) Did security agencies know about his criminal activity? b) if so did they use that politically over #Protocol #Assembly etc? c) If MI5 did not know - then what the hell were they doing?

It is terribly sad for those victims caught up in it -but this is #Brexit this is what people voted for, this is what control of borders for third party states beyond the EU means. This is the cold reality that British ‘Expats’ are immigrants & that will become increasingly clear in years ahead.

The slithering back to even vaguely positive or optimistic analyses of Trump’s second term after the abominations of January 6th cleared the way for today’s abject betrayal of the Ukrainian people. It’s astonishing how many public figures on both sides of the Atlantic are complicit in the crime.

Trump is telling us as loudly and clearly as he can: he’s not our friend and he won’t protect us. Time we got the message - and acted accordingly. Latest column www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

This is an outrageous slur by Adam Boulton on Sally Rooney and Irish people. Our support for Palestine is rooted in solidarity, anti-colonialism, anti-racism, and of course simply being against apartheid Israel's genocide. Let's hope Sally Rooney has called her lawyers.

Excellent 👏

Glad to see this awful case finally reach a conclusion -been a media feeding frenzy for over 2 years. Hopefully victims will get some peace now. Though his appealing it just shows the measure of the man -truely ghoulish.

This outcome was inevitable but whole episode still leaves PC, courts & PSNI with questions to answer. And potentially fatal damage now inflicted on devolved institutions. Most fundamentally it suggests that PC/PSNI and SoS will only observe rights if you pose a clear threat to public order.

A scoundrel, a fantasist, a perjurer, and a pathologically dishonest man, who also wrote some popular books. Genuinely amusing to listen to his political and showbiz friends eulogise about him. 🤮

Half of Nordie social media waiting for High Court judgement today on #Drumcree The other half waiting for Joel Keys next batch of posts on ‘commentator’ canoodling -bigger cliff hanger than #Traitors 🫣

Amid all the bigotry and repeated demonstrations that NI seems determined not to work -here is evidence that it can. This is the future -breathe it in 👏

Part of the problem here is that UK views EU from identity perspective rather than an economic one. There has always been an ambivalence, hence opt outs and special treatment. Would be surprised if any application to rejoin could be based on old terms -new ones (joining € etc) might curb enthusiasm.

Happy #NationalPoetryDay to all who celebrate. Here is an extract from one of my all time favs - Louis MacNeice Autumn Journal -seems to capture the mood just now 🤔

JBs ‘we are the adults in the room’ argument slightly challenged by fact that PSNI advised PC they saw no evidence of public disorder potential (logic is that PSNI require overt displays of disorder before they will weigh people’s rights in such advice to PC -duly noted I’m sure by all parties 🤦‍♂️

Attendance at the live streaming (youtube) of the Policing Board meeting this morning might be up there with midnight mass on Christmas Eve!

PSNI on a sticky wicket here -enforcement of the law is its job -but interpreting the law on basis of context has always played a role (see bonfires 🔥 flegs effigies) There’s also the fact that original PSNI assessment to PC kicked everything off in the first place! So PSNI is in the dock too.

Questionable whether knowing who lived here adds to, or radically damages the value of this property? Certainly will test the agent’s drafting skills in listing the further particulars (though everyone will no doubt go straight on PropertyPal for a nosy around the pedo pad)🫣

That was a proper speech, one of the most significant in living memory because Burnham basically laid the foundations for the next Labour manifesto & set up the terms of reference for everyone else. It was full of huge plans that will affect everyone in GB. (Tho less so NI). All about delivery now.

I wouldn’t put him in the Karen Bradley/Brandon Lewis category just yet -but it’s early days for him and telling everyone to ‘calm down’ is a bit triggering tbf 🫣

Excellent 👏

Difficult to see how dev gov survives this. If SF or DUP withdraws it can continue for 6 months but with 0 legitimacy. 0 leadership coming from SoS & all Burnham can say is calm down. Arguably Stormont’s been dead for a while but this is its coup de grace. Power sharing experiment could now be over.

Bryant’s responses this morning gives impression he’s a rabbit in headlights hiding being the Chief Constable, claiming that it’s all an operational matter, and giving JB a hospital pass -not a great look for the SoS as he is clearly not in control of events.

Seems appropriate 🤦‍♂️

Been following this since the 80s -has to be the greatest documentary series of all time, not just because of how it maps the lives of those involved (which is fantastic) But how it gets us to reflect on our own lives & how we are trying to navigate our own way through life. Remarkable television 👏

A salutary tale -and a serious problem in HE across all levels. I did laugh at fact editor used Claude (Anthropic’s AI weasel) to investigate AI fraud… thought it might be self parody, but seems not. Anthropic has arguably committed more academic IP theft than these fake submissions ever will.

About time US media demonstrated some solidarity. Nothing that narcissistic bully’s like Trump hate more than being ignored. And be assured the rest of the world doesn’t mind not seeing him on the telly for a few days!

Right this is just getting silly now! Jim Gamble better be on time and a half at this rate.

His attempt to ‘both sides’ what he calls the ‘Israel-Gaza conflict’ just isn’t going to wash. There are clear war crimes committed on regular basis by gov of Israel against innocent people. He didn’ take same approach to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He has chosen a side & I hope it haunts him.

FAI take note! 👏

An utterly shameless ghoul 🤮

Unionists consistently put their money on the wrong horse -in a one horse race… but bigger point is that they don’t matter to Trump -or Burnham for that matter.

👏👏👏

If he thinks this gets out in front of the story and provides a rebuttal… then he needs to fire his publicist rather than his support act. 🤮

🔴 NEW ‘Israel’s Shrill Attack on Ed Miliband Exposes Its Weakness’ By Alexandra Hall Hall Read below. ↓

Utter drivel from the Chief Rabbi Effectively, this means that there can never be any criticism of Israel's appalling actions because it will 'put British Jews at risk' Dangerous, Zionist, nonsense www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

I find TM fascinating- been wondering if it’s some deep seated psychological Freudian thing? It is quite disturbing though to watch him loving his abuser! I shout ‘Run Tim… Run’, every time he’s on the telly but he just seems oddly surprised and mildly disappointed at the turn of events?