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Mark Johnson

@braunton-mark

Retired tech founder who wants a more equal world and for Bristol Bears to win the Premiership Rugby final. Not too much to ask is it ?

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Latest posts by Mark Johnson @braunton-mark

yes and all those figures pre date the afghan schemes I refer to. Sorry I have better things to do than carry this on.

04.01.2026 14:50 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

lets agree to disagree

04.01.2026 14:46 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

just read the rest of the thread , its obviously anecdotal, but unlike others on here its based on involvement and trying to help,.

04.01.2026 14:31 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 0

as I said, when you actually get some facts, it may be worth continuing this dicussiuon. Until then bye bye

04.01.2026 14:30 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

brought here, mostly from other European countries, where they had settled after being brought out from Afghanistan. If you don't think there are societal tiers of asylum seekers then you need to get involved and see for yourself.

04.01.2026 14:27 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

So down here in my small village. 12 families houses in MoD accommodation under the 2nd wave of the Afghan scheme. These families were from the Afghan elite, except for one family, the husband of which worked in the Afghan security services. These people didnt arrive by boat, they were

04.01.2026 14:27 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 0

but the current system doesn't address that, it actually prohibits "dealing with it". if you want to have a discussion on this, then best to appraise yourself of the reality, not what you believe is the case.

04.01.2026 14:21 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

given MoD homes which had lain empty for years and were refused when requested for local families, sticks in my claw, and I am someone who will defend the asylum system to my last breath. If you want to defuse anger, you have to address perceived unfairness.

04.01.2026 14:19 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

its not to pander to the far right, it's to m kale it clear to those that know little, but are whipped up by propaganda, that this is being addressed. As someone who has volunteered with asylum seekers myself, but who also works with local families in a housing crisis, seeing very wealthy families

04.01.2026 14:19 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

This is clearly not the norm, but many arriving under the Afghan scheme did. If we are to defuse the anti asylum seeker feeling, we do have to address these unfair anomalies as they are used by the far right and media to stoke anger

04.01.2026 13:53 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

That’s not actually the case. Many asylum seekers don’t arrive by boat and many have significant assets and income. I had one to stay immediately post asylum grant in the gap between him getting housing. He had an ongoing income and significant assets but wasn’t assessed. He thought it was crazy

04.01.2026 13:53 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 0

How is that panel politically balanced . Disgraced Tory , disgraced Tory now promoting Reform and LD. It’s not even an attempt at representation. It’s the exact opposite. The sooner BBC management has a new broom, the better

04.01.2026 09:54 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I voted Lib Dem down here in Devon to get rid of an awful Tory and, to be fair, the new MP seems a decent chap who cares about the local community, however Davey’s bandwagon jumping makes me cringe. If populism is to be defeated we need leaders who make and support properly considered judgement.

03.01.2026 21:36 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Grow up

03.01.2026 16:57 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

πŸ€¦β€β™‚οΈ

03.01.2026 16:55 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

πŸ€¦β€β™‚οΈ

03.01.2026 16:55 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

And that is why Zack should never be anywhere near power.

03.01.2026 16:16 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 1

She’s correct. Having a country with an average adult reading age of between 9 and 11 is a major cause of our current problems. The vast majority of people have no ability to absorb any complex information so immediately grasp at someone peddling simple solutions.

02.01.2026 17:31 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

The desire to label mild versions of these conditions isn’t in my view helpful. It implies there is something wrong, when the reality is that we are just different and that’s something to celebrate. It also belittles the serious and complex versions of these conditions.

25.12.2025 13:13 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Yes, the lack of self awareness is breathtaking. I often wonder if these people actually have any idea of that fact that they are demeaning the history of some of the great journalists who filled their roles in the past. The gulf in ability, intellect and, most of all, integrity, is a chasm.

20.12.2025 11:39 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

or initiatives that the media doesn’t wish to cover and, even when it does, only via the filter of opinion pieces. I have been around a long time and it didn’t used to be like this. We had reporting of policy in detail and then, clearly separated opinion pieces. We need to get back there.

20.12.2025 08:53 πŸ‘ 15 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

and concentrating on gotcha, gossip and operating to open political agendas. Now we will hear policy outlined in full and questions of that policy or any other issue they wish to raise. Isn’t that more transparent than the current system which means the public simply don’t hear about any policy

20.12.2025 08:53 πŸ‘ 14 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

The article is fascinating in that it reveals a mindset that the lobby holds when it says the Government didn’t consult on this. The media want to be the filter of all government announcements, even those involving the media. They have forfeited any claim to that in recent years by ignoring policy

20.12.2025 08:53 πŸ‘ 26 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

Ah I see what you mean. An obvious mistake when one sees so called political correspondents behaving like influencers on a daily basis.

20.12.2025 08:39 πŸ‘ 21 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Naomi Smith on Quiet Riot was putting forward the idea that this change has been driven by Darren Jones moving to No 10. The change of comms has been marked in recent weeks. If it’s Darren then he impresses more and more.

20.12.2025 08:34 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

If that’s the case then it doesn’t seem to ever happen.
Day after day we see Ministers on TV trying to talk about an announcement and the interviewer talks about gossip and gotcha until the last 40 seconds then allows them to speak before saying β€œwe’ve run out of time”.

20.12.2025 08:23 πŸ‘ 38 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

It’s weird, all the guys who wear red rosettes have heads that look like black squares when photographed. Who knew ? πŸ€·β€β™‚οΈ

19.12.2025 22:59 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Seems a sensible move to me.

19.12.2025 07:57 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Have to say I don’t really blame them. With the current media bias from mainstream outlets they need to start talking directly via press conferences or they will never get awareness of what they are doing and why. Take the last week with so many good things announced almost totally ignored by media

18.12.2025 21:16 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Perhaps we also should be questioning the pointless waste of police time by the individuals concerned. By all means protest for the people of Gaza but, supporting people who throw pyrotechnics at staff being evacuated from a building because they had attacked it, doesn’t do anything for them.

18.12.2025 15:41 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0