Paul Wake

Sam Freedman@samfr.bsky.social

DfE pupil data is out today and shows that the number of private school pupils has dropped 5.6% since VAT was introduced. Not 25% like the independent schools council predicted. Or the 50% we saw in some right-wing papers. 5.6%.

James O’Brien@mrjamesob.bsky.social

Farage can now be easily boxed in to a corner where his only ‘defence’ becomes: “Yes I spouted Kremlin propaganda & Putin worship but, unlike Nathan Gill, I didn’t need bribes to do it.” It is, once again, a question of whether interviewers have the temerity to shut down his whining obfuscations.

Jonathan Portes@jdportes.bsky.social

Putting all this together, @lgilbert.co find the following. It's not that Farage is (just) exaggerating/overstating - he is simply lying about migrants, jobs, wages and benefits. Media should be very clear about this. www.laurenpolicy.com/p/are-recent...

Best for Britain@bestforbritain.org

This is not at all helpful to Reform's "Britain is Lawless" campaign. ~AA

Sam Freedman@samfr.bsky.social

The headline here should say: "Number of private schools increases by 35 - showing fears of an exodus to be unfounded". (The increase is mentioned way down the article.) www.thetimes.com/article/19ef...

thetimes.comMore than fifty private schools shut since Labour put VAT on feesDepartment for Education defends ending tax breaks for independent institutions, after parents lost a legal battle at the High Court this year — view map

Mehdi Hasan@mehdirhasan.bsky.social

Think of all those pro-Israel pundits you saw on your television screens this past year trying to sociopathically justify the mass starvation of Gaza by robotically claiming Hamas steals the aid. They were all lying. Shamelessly. Even the Israeli military confirms it now.

nytimes.comNo Proof Hamas Routinely Stole U.N. Aid, Israeli Military Officials Say

Best for Britain@bestforbritain.org

"Based on more than a decade of road casualty statistics [Low Traffic Neighbourhoods] were associated with a 35% reduction in all injuries, rising to 37% for deaths and serious injuries." Yet another thing opposed as "wokery" turns out to be good. ~AA www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

theguardian.comLondon’s low-traffic zones ‘cut deaths and injuries by more than a third’Exclusive: Study also finds no change in number of casualties on roads just outside low-traffic neighbourhoods

François Heisbourg@fheisbourg.bsky.social

That didn't age well

Emma Monk@monkemma.bsky.social

What do we think?🤔 Hmm…. A Daily Mail headline so clearly designed to make you furious. Being shared by salivating Tory MPs who love a good rage farming story! So, what’s going on here? Let’s take a look!👀 🧵 1/13

Kevin Schofield@kevinschofied.bsky.social

How On Earth Did Vladimir Putin Avoid Donald Trump's Tariffs – But Ukraine Didn't? Essential explainer from @katenicholson.bsky.social www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/how-on...

huffingtonpost.co.ukHow On Earth Did Vladimir Putin Avoid Donald Trump's Tariffs – But Ukraine Didn't?Russia's investment envoy visited the White House on Wednesday.

Jonathan Portes@jdportes.bsky.social

Update. The Telegraph has now corrected its entirely fabricated claim that 1 in 12 Londoners is an "illegal migrant" and has accepted that this claim was false in *four" separate respects. However, this has not resolved my complaint to IPSO - I will continue to request a front-page correction.

Jonathan Portes@jdportes.bsky.social

The Daily Mail has now corrected the fabricated claim that 1 in 12 Londoners being "illegal migrants." The original source for this scaremongering nonsense - @telegraphnews.bsky.social - has yet to correct. But they will.

Anthony Lambert@busyelk.bsky.social

This is an excellent and informative debunking of the ludicrous claim that 1 in 12 Londoners is undocumented.

Jonathan Portes@jdportes.bsky.social

I've now complained to @ipso.co.uk & expect in due course Telegraph will be forced to correct this BS. They couldn’t even get London’s overall population right, let alone migration stats. But what are the "right" numbers? [1/n]