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

Sharp insights from @antonspisak.bsky.social - no doubt that the UK is woefully ill-prepared, and perhaps he, I, and others should be thinking of solutions to this. But not sure the EU has yet fully come to terms with the Swiss model either... antonspisak.substack.com/p/back-to-la...

submitted 12 days ago • 15 comments

A new chapter in our 🇪🇺🇬🇧 relations. Today, we agreed on a Strategic Partnership with the UK to strengthen our bilateral relationship and deliver tangible benefits for our citizens. The partnership covers key areas ↓

submitted 14 days ago • 13 comments

Linking the UK and EU emissions trading schemes is a positive step, sparing businesses from paying £800m in carbon tax to the EU. Though we must go further to reverse the Tory's botched deal. The government should see this as a stepping stone toward closer ties with the EU, not a finish line 🇪🇺

submitted 14 days ago • 1 comment

Congratulations to the British and EU negotiating teams. Seems like a fitting day to be remembering the dead of two world wars at the naval cemetery on Hoy. Those buried there include German sailors shot while escaping from their scuttled ships on Scapa Flow in June 1919.

submitted 14 days ago • 0 comments

Social media this morning is a zombie apocalypse of dinosaur Tory politicians and right wing hangers-on hankering after the nasty Brexit wars of the last decade. Our country has moved on!

submitted 14 days ago • 85 comments

The FPA is dismayed by Sir Keir Starmer's press accreditation policy for the EU-UK Summit of Monday 19th May. The vast majority of EU news outlets have been denied access. We have written to @10DowningStreet to urge him to reconsider. @EUdelegationUK, @EU_Commission, @RSF_inter

submitted 17 days ago • 29 comments

Because they're terrified of accusations they're betraying Brexit. It's the same in so many areas. They're hiding their successes and yelling about their weaknesses.

submitted 16 days ago • 77 comments

A smooth journey up to Orkney. Great service from everyone at @caledoniansleeper.bsky.social

submitted 16 days ago • 0 comments

“We will not be silent in front of the man-made humanitarian catastrophe that is taking place before our eyes in Gaza.” A joint statement from Ireland, Iceland, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain, Malta and Slovenia.

submitted 17 days ago • 14 comments

The critical point 👇🏻 is that (contrary to what the ideologues contend) service providers and employers can and should be continuing to offer inclusive same sex services including toilets. If they refuse they will expose themselves to real legal risk.

submitted 19 days ago • 2 comments

I’m one of those dodgy immigrants who came here on a spouse visa and got indefinite leave to remain after 12 months. The incalculable harm I have done to the UK includes dedicating my life to public service, educating thousands of British young people, and paying more tax than I’ll ever get back.

submitted 21 days ago • 345 comments

My grandmas were immigrants, my mum & sisters in law are immigrants; my sister & nephews are migrants. My kids study maths, Shakespeare, dance, act & score tries alongside the kids of immigrants. My dad’s life was saved by immigrants. Immigrants have made us richer, wiser, stronger Win the fight

submitted 20 days ago • 101 comments

I made a Downfall video

submitted 21 days ago • 48 comments

100% agree with this thread

submitted 21 days ago • 0 comments

Labour's immigration announcement today is a reflection of the paucity of honest debate by BOTH political parties over the last decade on this issue. Labour has never made a counter-argument, or been honest about economic cost of immigration curbs, so it's stuck making Tory/Reform arguments 1/n

submitted 21 days ago • 64 comments

One of the strangest ironies of the last ten years has been watching Britain immersing itself as deeply as ever in memories of WW2 while proudly turning its back on the project that emerged from it.

submitted 25 days ago • 25 comments

Franco-German friendship for them, not for us 🤷‍♂️ Yesterday: Merz meets Macron, all friendly and smiles Today: German coalition's extra controls bugger up the #CrossBorderRail train Strasbourg-Kehl-Offenburg

submitted 25 days ago • 4 comments

Trump is going to insist that the only way for any non-American film to escape tariffs is for him to have a cameo.

submitted 29 days ago • 2 comments

A symbolic day for UK-EU relations, as the European Parliament discusses the upcoming summit in plenary while the UK has the Bank Holiday that most of the rest of Europe had last Thursday.

submitted 28 days ago • 17 comments

Stopping international students from coming to UK universities will hit exports, growth & tax revenues. The quote below should be a statement of the obvious... observer.co.uk/news/politic...

submitted 29 days ago • 6 comments

An illustration of how FPP goes from sandbag to springboard - Reform votes and seats in different councils: Oxfordshire: 18% vote, 2% seats Cambridgeshire: 23% vote, 16% seats Devon: 27% vote, 30% seats Leicestershire: 33% vote, 46% seats Derbyshire: 37% vote, 66% seats

submitted 31 days ago • 19 comments

A useful reminder that Blue Labour can be very effective at increasing votes...for the LibDems

submitted 31 days ago • 10 comments

My warmest congratulations to Mark Carney. Voters in Canada have elected a Liberal government on a mandate to combat Trump's dangerous populism. Across the globe, it is liberals who are taking the lead in standing up for prosperity, security and democracy in the face of Trump, Putin and the rest.

submitted 34 days ago • 9 comments

there's something about the former banjoist of Mumford & Sons whose dad owns a propaganda channel asking about political asylum over non-existent laws at a White House press conference that feels like it really sums up our era

submitted 35 days ago • 17 comments

I never understood how Nazi ideology took hold amongst previously respectable Germans; now, I’m learning how vulnerable we are to US citizens doing unimaginable things to their fellow citizens - in this case ICE agents. Hitler had SS colluders. Trump has ICE, DOGE, MAGA. www.aclu.org/press-releas...

submitted 38 days ago • 44 comments

First Past the Post not fit for purpose. Discredit on the Tory government for introducing it in mayoral contests for the most selfish of reasons, and on the Labour government for bafflingly not scrapping it.

submitted 39 days ago • 5 comments

Happy St George' Day!

submitted 40 days ago • 42 comments

Our latest @yougov.co.uk polling revealed every constituency in GB supports a UK-EU youth mobility scheme. Just 18% of those polled would oppose it. We already have youth mobility schemes with a dozen other countries. This is a popular, common sense growth lever for the Chancellor. @thetimes.com

submitted 40 days ago • 14 comments

BBC muzzling one of its best presenters from making an excellent, wholly factual programme because heat pumps are “controversial”. An organisation badly in need of new leadership.

submitted 41 days ago • 26 comments

Back in London, 10 hours after leaving Berlin Hbf. Not bad really.

submitted 42 days ago • 1 comment