FrancesCrook@bsky.social

The front page of The National. The headline reads: THIS IS THE HUMAN COST. The photo stretches across the front and back pages of the paper and is the aerial view of 100 freshly dug graves for the murdered schoolgirls of Minab, Iran

NEW: US & Israeli have bombed a 4th school.

Shahid Hamedane School in Tehran was hit today, following schools hit in Minab and Parand, Iran.

And The National in Scotland seems to be the only newspaper in the Western world giving these war crimes appropriate coverage.

Tomorrow’s front page👇

Israeli attacks on UNIFIL peace keepers tonight. Irish service men were not directly hit, but they aided their counterparts from Ghana. This will further deteriorate Irish Israel relations.

Labour urged to listen to progressive voters or face ‘political earthquake’ in London Exclusive: Senior party figures share data suggesting Green surge could put Labour in fourth place in capital in May

Labour urged to listen to progressive voters or face ‘political earthquake’ in London

Senior party figures share data suggesting Green surge could put Labour in fourth place in capital in May

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

The strange thing is when I spoke to people who worked with her at DIT, they said the opposite: that she listened to advice and could be persuaded when presented with new evidence.

One theory is that on topics which bore her, she'll just go with what she's told. Laziness masked as consideration

The Most Chilling Detail in the U.S. Attack on an Iranian Naval Ship The Iranian warship was taking part in an international exercise with many other countries—including the United States.

This is a chilling crime. A shame on our country. The Iranian ship was unarmed. The US knew this. The sailors were murdered by our navy, and the survivors were left to die at sea.
newrepublic.com/post/207429/...

We paid an ex-Tory MP to lobby for our fake Chinese firm - and authorities did nothing Investigation finds no rules were broken. It just goes to show how few rules there are.

Last week, UK lobbying regulator closed investigation into ex Tory MP Ben Howlett

We offered Howlett money to work for a fake Chinese investor. He introduced us to a dozen Labour MPs

Regulator didn't even speak to us. Our system is broken

New, by me: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/we-paid-an...

This article was amended on 5 March 2026. An earlier version said low-skilled workers would “receive immediate access to welfare and social housing” if Labour did not make them wait longer to apply for settlement. In fact, settlement status only gives people the eligibility to apply for welfare and social housing, it does not give them instant or automatic access to such benefits. This has been clarified. From breaking news to huge investigative proje

Guardian has now [after my complaint] corrected Mahmood's deliberate & incendiary false claim settlement gives immigrants "immediate access to welfare and social housing".

Good for Gdn but embarrassing/shameful that Home Secretary deliberately misled the public for political gain like this.

Home Office may forcibly remove child asylum seekers from UK in handcuffs Move is part of scheme to target families for expedited voluntary removals before enforced removal proceedings Children may be forcibly removed from the UK in handcuffs to “overcome noncompliance” as part of new proposals Home Office is considering to send more asylum seeker families back to their home countries. Since coming into office, the government has pledged to deport more migrants and has increased both voluntary and enforced returns, although some of those who have left the UK voluntarily did so without informing the Home Office. Continue reading...

Home Office may forcibly remove child asylum seekers from UK in handcuffs

Those proud bastions of free speech Reform UK banned @willhaycardiff.bsky.social from their manifesto launch because they are scared of the scrutiny he would provide. Imagine what these cowards will do in power.

If you're no longer on Twitter, you are likely missing all the vile Reform-adjacent stuff the Home Office are pumping out on their official account...

Again, Farage, Badenoch and their fellow travellers on X are wildly out of touch with the public on Iran.

Even the majority of Reform supporters oppose their position.

New research out from 38 Degrees: "Despite much public discussion on the threat of Reform UK, for every 10 voters Labour is losing to Reform or the Conservatives nationally, they are losing 16 to the Greens, Liberal Democrats, Plaid or SNP; a group of voters labelled ‘progressive defectors’"

Deluded. Labour lost about ten points during the course of the 2024 campaign. A strategic triumph it was not.

Reform fury as someone else wins by Our By-election Editor Tim Shipsink The losing candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election, Matt Goodwhinge, has demanded an immediate re-run of the election on the grounds that he lost comprehensively to someone else. "It's totally unfair and rigged," said Goodwhinge. "I shouldn't be required to sit there and suck it up, just because I lost." Mr Goodwhine continued, *I can't believe that all those voters I demonised failed to back me. Especially after I was endorsed by Tommy Robinson and ten million Russian bots on X. "We have clear evidence of family voting, where people voted in order for me to stop deporting their families." Mr Badloser concluded. "I'm the victim of colour prejudice. They didn't vote for me simply because I'm not green." Reform leader Mr Farage, speaking from a sun lounger on a rock near the Chagos Islands said, "It's a tragedy that the people of Manchester won't see Matt in Westminster, but my constituents don't see me in Clacton either." PLUMBER DEFEATS MATT GOODWIN Photo of Hannah Spencer with speech bubble saying… I've stopped the cock

Beautiful from Private Eye on the massive toddler-tantrum that Matt Goodwin and Reform are having, because they got whooped in Gorton and Denton.

Petition: Act to ensure Bills backed by MPs & public can complete all stages in Parliament We want the Government to do everything in its power to ensure that when bills are supported by MPs & the public, they have the time to complete all their stages in Parliament. We believe this is impo...

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/75...

U.S. sub sinks Iranian warship off Sri Lanka, killing 87 and expanding war zone A U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship off the southern coast of Sri Lanka, killing dozens of sailors and dramatically widening Washington's pursuit of the Iranian navy.

A US submarine sinking a lonely, dinky Iranian surface ship an ocean away from the theater of the main conflict—and 9000
miles from North America—makes it pretty clear the US is fighting a general war, without the declaration required by the Constitution. www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

Once you start torpedoing ships in international waters, that are not involved in conflict, you cease to have a limited theater of war.

You have taken a war global.

Every single US asset and citizen, worldwide, just became a target.

Catastrophically reckless.

(🎥 Department of War)

It does seem that too many of the men who get made a Sir are sleazebags. (Dyson, Ratcliffe etc)

I have absolutely no idea what Trump is trying to accomplish in Iran, or how he plans to accomplish it, and the fun thing is that neither does he!

That's why the constitution does not give the President the authority to launch wars without Congressional approval.

This IPSO adjudication against the Telegraph is quite something

Confirms their story titled: ‘We earn £345k, but soaring private school fees mean we can’t go on five holidays’ was completely fabricated, with the family involved non-existent and stock pictures used

www.ipso.co.uk/rulings/0210...

The lies. The lies.

I have complained to the BBC about Lyse Doucet who keeps repeating the US government phrase of ‘taking out’ rather than assassinating people. Killing people is still killing people, no matter who they are. They are not ‘taken out”.

Sweden is driving down the punitive abyss (update) Sweden is lowering the age of criminal responsibility and growing its use of prisons

Update on Sweden lowering age of criminal responsibility and creating child jails

francescrook.substack.com/p/sweden-is-...

My Guardian is delivered to my door every day early in the morning!

Lib Dem Lisa Smart MP in last night's democracy bill debate: "Unlimited donations mean unlimited influence. They corrode public trust and distort political priorities. Until we cap donations, we will continue to have a democracy that is for sale." (there's still no plan for a cap on donations)

China’s high-rise hog farms go international Livestock producers tout benefits of rearing pigs in multistorey buildings

In China, there are 26-storey towers - filled with hundreds of thousands of pigs. Now other countries are adopting the same type of "farming" 🤮 giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

The Representation of the People Bill: contours of the debates to come The government’s long-awaited proposals for electoral reforms, published last month, will receive their first scrutiny in the House of Commons next Monday. Ahead of that debate, Alan Renwick analys…

*Representation of the People Bill update*

Steve Reed has just announced: 'We will repeal in full the power for government to impose a strategy and policy statement on the Electoral Commission'.

A very welcome change. I set out last week why it was needed.

constitution-unit.com/2026/02/26/t...

It is often a good idea to check whether an action you might take is criminal or not. This is particularly true in the case of military action.

Former West unitary cabinet member and colleague quit Reform UK to go independent West unitary councillors Kathryn Shaw and Joanne Blythe announce today they are going independent referencing ‘toxic and poisonous culture’

Latest from Reform-run West Northamptonshire Council...

"West unitary councillors Kathryn Shaw and Joanne Blythe announce today they are going independent referencing ‘toxic and poisonous culture" in Reform administration
www.nnjournal.co.uk/p/former-wes...

BBC reporters should never use the term ‘take out’ when talking about people being killed