blogwyatt.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j... My gut reaction to the thought of Canada joining the EU is to punch the air Just about the only political earthquake that could make the UK a serious applicant to join the EU would be an application by Canada Think the unthinkable Mark Have a word with Mark, Keir

submitted 5 hours ago • 1 comment

81% of Times readers think there should be a specific tax increase to fund a bigger defence budget

submitted 21 hours ago • 1 comment

www.politico.eu/article/brit... UK faces a hard choice, says @michaelpettis.bsky.social Either continue to favour financial services Or rebalance towards production and demand Reindustrialization may need restrictions on capital mobility and promoting investment and productivity across regions 👍👍

submitted 1 day ago • 2 comments

news.sky.com/story/diplom... Sky News understands that the Trump administration approached the UK government to ask if it would host round two of the US-China trade talks. This is a useful 'diplo-win' for the UK. Keep treading the tightrope, Sir Keir!

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

Neither Koran-burning nor Union-Flag-burning is an offence under English law But the burning of either in public could be part of a public order offence depending on the accompanying words and behaviour of the person concerned and the composition/behaviour of any audience

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

NB: “This way of thinking appears in the defence review…which says “the UK’s longstanding assumptions about global power balances and structures are no longer certain” – a rare acknowledgment in a British government document of how far and how fast Trumpism is affecting foreign policy certainties.”

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www.theguardian.com/technology/2... High court tells UK lawyers to stop misuse of AI after dozens of fake case-law citations were put before the courts that were either completely fictitious or contained made-up passages

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www.theguardian.com/politics/202... Russia is at war with Britain and US is no longer a reliable ally, says UK adviser( and former Trump adviser)Fiona Hill. She says the UK “is having to manage its number one ally”, though the challenge is not to overreact because “you don’t want to have a rupture”.

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www.theguardian.com/politics/202... Tice said he was “pretty concerned” about the burqa as a “repressive item of clothing”, adding: “Let’s ask women who wear the burqa, is that genuinely their choice?” Phew. That's a relief. At first hearing it sounds like an excuse to have a go at Muslims.

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Kemi Badenoch correctly identifies the paradox of protecting human rights in a democracy - the idea is to put limits on what elected governments can do, yet the system only works if elected governments back having their hands tied in this way Solution? See it as creative tension and make it work

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

www.thetimes.com/world/europe... The ECHR must adapt to meet the political backlash against migration, with “no taboo” on rewriting its rules, says the head of the Council of Europe. Bravo Protecting human rights is not negotiable The scope of those rights and the role of judicial innovation are

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blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp... Why the fuss over the ECHR? It tells judges to balance human rights against the public interest This involves policy choice as well as legal analysis It can lead to cries of “foul” from those who think the government is getting the balance right and the courts are not

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derrickwyatt.substack.com/p/the-rwanda... Some politicians argue that the UK will never stop the small boats unless it leaves the ECHR The failure of the Rwanda scheme is said to be proof of this It is no such thing.

submitted 20 days ago • 6 comments

www.politico.eu/article/dona... Here's the 64billion dollar question⬇️ Is Trump forcing Europeans into building a NATO that deserves the US nuclear umbrella? Or a NATO that the US can walk away from with a clear conscience?

submitted 3 days ago • 1 comment

news.sky.com/story/kemi-b... Telegraph poll shows that 90% of readers have already decided the UK should leave the ECHR @blogwyatt.bsky.social has made his mind up too A strong government can do what it needs to do within the checks and balances of the British Constitution, including the ECHR

submitted 3 days ago • 0 comments

derrickwyatt.substack.com/p/the-rwanda... Tory politicians are wrong to blame human rights for the failure of the Rwanda plan it failed because the UK govt tabled a defective plan in the first place if the government had followed UNHCR guidance a human-rights compliant scheme could have gone ahead

submitted 3 days ago • 0 comments

If Trump is serious about a 5% GDP spend for NATO allies starting now, then he is looking for a pretext for a major step back from NATO. That would be a strategic error for the US, and most of the lawmakers on Capitol Hill know it.

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

For all those of us who want Ukraine to survive Putin's aggression, for our own sakes as well as Ukraine's, this could be brilliant light at the end of a fairly short tunnel.

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

derrickwyatt.substack.com/p/a-safe-rou... A record 11,074 people have arrived in small boats this year, 50% up on the same period last year A UK/France deal linking a safe route across the Channel to a returns agreement could be the only way to stop the small boats Here's how it could work⬇️

submitted 5 days ago • 2 comments

Starmer and Healey have vigorously defended their "ambition" to raise UK defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2034 but look set to commit to NATO to spend 3.5% by 2035 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

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bfpg.co.uk/2025/06/10-k... Review's key points flagged by @evieaspinall.bsky.social Such as ‘NATO-first’ is not ‘NATO-only’, but limited attention given to regions beyond NATO area highlights how NATO concentrated the UK’s defence efforts will be The Indo-Pacific tilt is all but phased out

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One reason for saying the big picture point is more important than the detail is that some of it (money apart) is pretty shaky Like the proposition that UK can count on the US special relationship in future There has to be a "Plan B" In which the UK can function militarily without the US

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news.sky.com/story/starmer-wants-uk-to-be-a-warfare-ready-state-but-how-does-that-balance-with-the-welfare-state-13378208 Maybe more important than all the nuts and bolts is the clear message from Starmer - we are not at war, but we are not at peace either, and we need to be prepared for war

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You have to look at this a bit like the "King and Country" debate in the Oxford Union in 1933 - either that or just give up!

submitted 6 days ago • 4 comments

If the UK acquires a capability to use tactical nuclear weapons - which are typically lower yield nuclear weapons used against military and infrastructure targets - its combined strategic/tactical nuclear role would increase NATO's ability to deter Russian aggression.

submitted 6 days ago • 0 comments

Readers of the Times are more ambitious - in theory at any rate - than the UK government

submitted 6 days ago • 1 comment

express.co.uk/news/world/2062831/putin-biggest-fear-jon-healey Why did Healey repeat the old UK formula that it alone commits its nuclear deterrent to the defence of NATO allies? Nobody thinks the UK would launch a strategic attack on Russia if Russia nuked the Baltics or Berlin. Nor would France.

submitted 6 days ago • 0 comments

telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/05/29/china-backs-starmer-chagos-deal-mauritius/ Telegraph reports Beijing's "congratulations" without reporting US Secretary of State Rubio's description of Starmer deal as a "monumental achievement" the deal is all about securing the US base there so Rubio should know

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AG Hermer has an important point He wants to back the ECHR yet criticise some judicial rulings Spot on The ECHR requires judges to balance individual rights against the public interest This involves policy choice as well as legal analysis and judges have no special expertise in policy choice

submitted 6 days ago • 1 comment

www.thetimes.com/uk/education... The definition has been criticised by some lawyers. Geoffrey Robertson KC has argued that the “looseness of the definition is liable to chill legitimate criticisms of the State of Israel and coverage of human rights abuses against Palestinians”.

submitted 6 days ago • 0 comments

politico.eu/article/european-union-corruption-pfizergate-ursula-von-der-leyen-impunity/ It's not anti-EU to point out that the EU has got serious problems with transparency, accountability and corruption, writes @marieccles.bsky.social in a astonishing exposé of, well, all of the above Worth a read

submitted 6 days ago • 1 comment

"Europe is keen to provide Ukraine with replacements for missing US supplies, but it’s struggling to procure the weapons Kyiv needs fast enough and at a reasonable cost. Many of the commitments made will take years to appear on a battlefield" on.ft.com/4kiUK7z via @FT

submitted 7 days ago • 1 comment

news.sky.com/story/ukrain... Ukraine proves yet again it can strike deep inside Russia, reminding Putin of the price of the war of aggression he has inflicted on Ukraine Ukraine is doing its bit. Are we?

submitted 7 days ago • 0 comments

~ A safe route tied to a returns agreement could stop the small boats, save lives and reduce the number of new arrivals ~ https://derrickwyatt.substack.com/p/a-safe-route-linked-to-a-returns

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www.state.gov/u-s-support-... The Chagos deal the Telegraph, Times and others continue to portray as the UK's gift to China is welcomed here by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as a "monumental achievement" It has also been welcomed by UK/US allies around the world

submitted 7 days ago • 0 comments