stephenph.bsky.social

Not just on here - hasn’t really been absorbed by most in government either.

We'll be needing that back soon.

Day 1275 of my 3 day war. Ukraine seems to carrying out its own sanctions on my shadow fleet.

“Speaking outside his chateau in France…” I kid you not. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.

A quick reminder of who Nigel Farage was most concerned about when Putin's tanks first rolled into Ukraine

"Over the past 100 years, Russia has attacked 19 different countries — some of them 3-4 times — and none of these countries, including Ukraine, has ever attacked Russia." - EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

Britain: American taxes and Scandinavian public services for the old. Scandinavian taxes and American public services for the young.

it is hard to avoid the conclusion that Labour is managing the macroeconomy via individual policy polling

<labour post election meeting> -ok guys we won and the economy is a basket case but we promised not to raise taxes and that puts us in a real bind with a low growth medium inflation economy -what if we just keep coming up with stupider and stupider ideas until we're not in charge anymore

🔥 Rachel Reeves says there’s a “hole” in the public finances. A new decade-long Brexit study quantifies it: A 6–8% hit to GDP That's £180bn-£240bn a year It means less tax revenue and so less money for everything. Brexit made Britain MUCH poorer.

Ukraine won’t be defeated. Ukrainian culture, Ukrainian identity, Ukrainian dignity have only increased since I last visited Kyiv just after the Euromaidan 11 years ago. The Poles were subjugated for 200 years, and yet military might and the betrayal of allies, could not crush them either

Think of steel as flour for the manufacturing economy. A tariff is like a flour tax: the mill might add 1,000 jobs, but factories using flour cut around 75,000. That’s what happens when you tax an input instead of solving the real problem.

Get serious, Europeans. You are your only hope.

“Did Nathan Gill ever say anything you disagree with in return for his bribes from a Kremlin stooge?” “Did you, in your roles as his boss, friend, mentor & party leader, ever question his full-throated support for an enemy of the UK and if not, why not?” You can have those for nothing, lads.

Here's a seven-point peace plan:

I agree with much of what @jonathanfreedland.bsky.social says, but I’m a little befuddled by the persistence in the UK of the perception that a customs union is somehow an easier, smaller step than joining the single market for goods. Quite the opposite I’d say,

Can anyone explain why Farage gets wall-to-wall news coverage for announcing policies that he may or may not do in four years time, but when his long-term colleague & Brexit partner is jailed for spouting EXACTLY the same pro-Kremlin propaganda as him....

This is not a peace plan. It is a proposal that weakens Ukraine and divides America from Europe, preparing the way for a larger war in the future. In the meantime, it benefits unnamed Russian and American investors, at the expense of everyone else. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

Hi All, just released my free weekend update. Its fascinating who backed the Trump-Putin 28 point plan, and what it means about the US government being a mouthpiece for Russia. Plus, you cannot back Trump and Ukraine--if you back Trump, you can only have one master open.substack.com/pub/phillips...

X has changed their policy and now you can see where the accounts are based. Here’s an “influencer from Texas”

All those people, including current government, who falsely claim migrants are to blame for failings with the NHS, along with infrastructure in general, are in for one hell of a shock with how much worse things will get with Labour's anti-immigration policies. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

There is no parallel between the UK and Turkey in terms of what a Customs Union may look like, or the requirements. And this also means, if you really wanted single market but were afraid of freedom of movement... well tough.

Oh, Customs Union again? Based on recent conversations I am pretty sure that any form of greater UK market access to the single market including this will require substantial financial contribution, alignment, and close to freedom of movement. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

"At the beginning of November, I came to Edinburgh to give a speech at the annual dinner of the European Movement in Scotland. I felt at home. Edinburgh is a European city." 👏👏👏 Guy Verhofstadt writes for @bylines.scot

The full film & piece is here. Do the voters of Clacton think it’s okay for politicians to accept bribes from Russian spies? www.thenerve.news/p/john-sween...

OTD in 2004 German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said of Prez that he was "thoroughly convinced that the Russian president wants to transform Russia into a democracy & that he is doing so out of a deeply held conviction". Aged well.

VERY funny that Labour are being pointlessly cruel and haemorrhaging support from their base and yet none of what they're offering is ever going to be enough for the people whose approval they're seeking, WHO could have predicted it

I think you can get the measure of the deadness of someone's soul from the fact they kick up a stink about [checks notes] autistic kids wearing ear defenders

I get endlessly sick of middle class southerners posing as “the voice of the working man” speaking as if everyone north of the Watford Gap (or doing a job outside the professions) is an unreconstructed racist homophobe.

You are not going to be able to pull together the anti-Reform coalition if voters don't see you are meaningfully different to Reform. Mad reaction from the government given an increasing threat on the left.

BBC Bias is often in the eye of the beholder So let’s stick to measurable facts During 10 yrs of debate about Brexit, BBC QuestionTime had Britain’s Members of the European Parliament on the show 50 times Every single one was from the pro Brexit minority 47 were from UKIP/BP 23 times Farage

A levy on foreign students is one of the closest things you're going to see to tariffs on services - except the UK will be putting it on its own exports... www.theguardian.com/education/20...

Even when Scotland is praised on the world stage the SNP gets no credit Financial agencies applaud Scotland’s economy, but all we get is sneering. Govts need held to account but credit where credit is due It shows how meaningless the quality of our debate has become In @heraldscotland.bsky.social

They are paying more heed to McSweeney's polling, Glasman's prejudices and Musk's X rather than actual, you know, cold, hard data that says immigrants enrich this country. They are stuck selling a false, negative narrative, rather than a positive one of hope. They are so lost.

"The main UK BBC analysis of the Caerphilly result read: 'Extraordinary by-election humbles Westminster’s big beasts' with a narrative centred on the decline of Labour & the Tories. "Plaid Cymru, who won by 11%, was the fourth party mentioned." Its leader was not. Farage had a photo AND quotes.

These are not the same: 1) Ukraine bombs Russian energy…. Meant to finance the attack on their country 2) Russia bombs Ukrainian energy… meant to provide heat and light for civilians over the winter. Evil

In significant part because of the moral obscenity of Brexit which Streeting’s party resolutely supports.

I thought this was a very unserious reply from a chancellor who significantly raised the cost of businesses employing people last year