ER 🇪🇺

And this is why the EU, sovereign Brits. NOW do you understand?

Frankly, I won't expect any movement on FoM out of this government. They took the by-election loss to the Greens as an opportunity to double down on pulling up the ladder. The Home Secretary even published a vile op-ed in The Guardian, just to make it clear for anyone who still wasn't sure.

EU scrambles to defend Spain from Trump’s embargo menace President Donald Trump’s threat to cut all ties with Spain after it opposed his war on Iran again puts the bloc’s unity to the test.

🚨🚨Symbolically important that EU countries and EU institutions shore up support for #spain in the context of fear of trade retaliation from the #Trump regime. This should be self-evident but unity of EU here is under pressure. 🧵
www.politico.eu/article/eu-s...

Huffpost headline: Rachel Reeves Launches Her Strongest Attack On Brexit Amid Gloomy Economic Numbers The chancellor vowed to "break down trade barriers" between the UK and EU. By Kevin Schofield

In the light of recent UKG prnouncements on getting close to Europe, useful to remind ourselves of what the *real* UK redlines are:

a) Maintain "nostalgic" trade deals with Oz & NZ
b) Keep the City of London outside of European law
c) No free movement of people (at least nothing called FoM)

1

We note that Dr. Smith is referring to "young Britons and Europeans",i.e. she correctly uses "Europeans" to refer to EU cits,unlike the "🇬🇧 is in Europe" crowd🙂
But why does she describe this programme as "generous"? Presumably,it's reciprocal.44k in,44k out.That's not "generosity",it's reciprocity.

Many of us have been there: in the driver’s seat on a tricky hill start, when the engine cuts out and the car judders to a halt. Since the EU-UK summit last May – the event that was supposed to map a new and dynamic way forward – stalling is fast becoming a real risk for Keir Starmer’s most crucial long-term policy area: improving Britain’s relationship with the EU. Today’s report by MPs on parliament’s foreign affairs committee rightly warns that despite the hugely welcome – and essential – progress in relations with our closest allies and neighbours, Starmer’s project is “suffering from a lack of direction, definition and drive”. If Labour is to deliver a growing economy, improve living standards for every UK resident and tackle the very real threat of Reform UK, getting the EU reset back into gear is a matter of urgency.

Naomi Smith in the Guardian. She has diagnosed the problem very well: Starmer's reset is losing blood fast and looks to be in trouble.

However, I don't agree with the prescription.

A 🧵

h/t @markpurch.bsky.social

The TRUTH about this week’s asylum changes YouTube video by Zoe Gardner

The Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood sure has put on a show…

But how much is really serious & how much is just a theatre of cruelty?

Here’s the TRUTH about this week’s asylum changes

youtu.be/w6Nr4ccjMlM?...

Question Time - 2026: 05/03/2026 Fiona Bruce presents an hour of topical debate from Kettering. On the panel are Stephen Doughty, James Cleverly, Shashank Joshi, George Monbiot and Annabel Denham.

I don't know how to clip a segment (sorry), but the bit I really want you to watch starts at 29'10". It's about the deep roots of the attack on Iran and why it's just as well Starmer is "no Winston Churchill". I'm surprised this aspect isn't more widely discussed. 🧵
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

Westminster Meeting House raided by Metropolitan Police again. Statement: “For Quakers, faith and action are inseparable. Peaceful protest, prayer and nonviolent action are integral parts of many Quakers' religious life. Whilst we take the planning of criminal acts very seriously, we believe that this incident is a deliberate targeting of committed young people who want to make our country a more equitable place. This raid is part of a systematic stifling of dissent. That this is the second time in a year that the police have raided our meeting house dramatically illuminates the broader trend in the UK of cracking down on those who disagree with the government. The right to protest is fundamental to our democracy. It's a key part of how people make their voices heard between elections.” – Oliver Robertson, Head of Witness and Worship Quakers in Britain, 5 March 2026

Yesterday evening, for the second time in a year, the Met Police raided Westminster Quaker Meeting House and arrested a number of young nonviolent activists.

STATEMENT: www.quaker.org.uk/news-and-eve...

Dear Shabana, I notice today that you referred to me in your speech on immigration at the IPPR think tank. You said: “A party leader should not be on the beaches of France encouraging people to make a perilous crossing on small boats.” I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised especially after the hateful Labour campaign in Gorton and Denton, but this is just the latest in a string of lies peddled by a discredited Government who intentionally fan the flames of racism and division. When I went to Calais, I was not there to encourage people to travel to the UK. I was there to see at first hand the suffering your Government and successive Governments have done in demonising migrants in a pathetic bid to pander to the base instincts of Reform and the flawed strategy of Morgan McSweeney. As you will know, if you even bothered to research my visit instead of taking Reform talking points, I was there to witness the brutality of families living in tents in freezing temperatures. I filled water tanks and picked up litter. What that visit did do is confirm my belief that if we are to smash the boat gangs and stop the boats, we need to offer safer and managed routes for migrants to come to this country. Showing compassion as a politician is not a crime. In fact, we need to see much more of it. It reminded me of a young MP who in October 2015 spent three days in Lesbos helping migrants fleeing war-torn Syria. She posted videos on X, talked about handing out water and croissants to refugees and food parcels. When she returned to the UK, she wrote a very moving piece in the New Statesman. She said “we have to work with our European partners and create new, safe, and legal routes for refugees to get to Europe. We cannot abandon them to their fate, left as prey for smugglers whilst risking death on the seas.” She said “maybe we can make ourselves feel better by saying no-one is making them get on the boats. And again, the Home Secretary is not entirely wrong when …

Dear Shabana,

Let's clear some things up around migration and remember we're talking about people's lives.

A brilliant letter from a Party leader who genuinely cares about the plight of humans struggling to make their lives even remotely palatable, to a Home Secretary who once shared the same sentiments.
@zackpolanski.bsky.social… I salute you!
Shabana Mahmood… what happened to you? 😱

Migration is part of what makes this country great.

We're not an island of strangers - we're an island of neighbours.

The Green Party will always support fair & managed migration.

Brighton! I am doing a work in progress of my new show on friday if you like that sort of thing at Caroline of Brunswick. Tickets are here: carolineofbrunswick.co.uk/events/tbc-8...

BBC One - Question Time, 2026, 05/03/2026 Fiona Bruce presents an hour of topical debate from Kettering.

I'm on Question Time tomorrow. Hold onto your seats! www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

UK puts emergency brake on study visas for four countries’ nationals Shabana Mahmood says UK’s generosity abused as study visas halted for nationals from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan

In November this government announced plans to use more work and study routes instead of asylum ones. Now they're blocking people in need of asylum from using work and study visas. This is a move guaranteed to increase number of people forced onto irregular routes
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Neguse demolishes Noem (2/2)

🤯UNBELIEVABLE radio debate - Is Trump’s America a friend to the UK?! YouTube video by Zoe Gardner

A longer version of this debate - that I found pretty unbelievable overall - is up here 😊

My YouTube numbers game is pretty dismal 🫠 so any views & shares gratefully received!

youtu.be/Oo4eJy_gSmU?...

A "Madman"? Trump is now going to raise tariffs against *you*, Zoe. That'll teach you 😂🤣

I’m really happy for ex-Tory aid James Price that he has such a nice relationship with his American mother-in-law…

but frankly I don’t think that’s enough for us to be unquestioningly following Donald Trump’s America into another illegal war🤷‍♀️

Some additional points, technically speaking the UK cannot join the EU Customs Union (it is only for EU members) but it could enter into an agreement that would de facto entail a customs union with the EU. I do not think legally or politically this would require a referendum./4

🚨🚨 This is a symbolically good recognition by Labour of the damage #brexit has done to the UK economy and society. Nonetheless, these statements need to be backed up by more ambitious plans on how to restore the relationship with the EU. /1

a man in a red suit stands in front of a group of zombies ALT: a man in a red suit stands in front of a group of zombies

Erm ... if we are all extinct, including Marie presumably and you and everybody else, how can she do any explaining and to whom? Or is it explaining from beyond the grave? 😉

A chilly evening, under a full moon, on Clapham Common remembering Sarah Everard five years after her murder.

Absolute clarity about the urgent need for us all, and especially the police, to root out gender based harm affecting women, girls, non binary and trans people.

Rest in peace Sarah.

Isn't 🇬🇧 r/n a rule-taker,to the extent they want to export to🇪🇺? That was 🇬🇧's choice,🇬🇧asked for it (although arguably,this legend⬇️couldn't believe the Brexit she wanted would "give us no voice,no votes,no MEPs,no Commissioner"😂🤣🤡🤦‍♂️)
It would at least be an improvement.
www.facebook.com/watch/?v=256...

It's not Roosevelt we're dealing with. Hell, it's not even Nixon.

'Shabana Mahmood’s Asylum Plans Will Put Lives at Risk for No Purpose' The Government talks about wanting to reduce division and increase integration and then implements policies which will do the complete opposite, argues Daniel Sohege

Me for @bylinetimes.bsky.social on how Labour's hostile policies towards people seeking aren't only inhumane, but also counterproductive practically and politically, leading to more exploitation, trafficking, undocumented individuals and electoral losses for Labour.

bylinetimes.com/2026/03/03/s...

Sharia Courts in London - allegedly. Or maybe it's in Bahrain, who knows. And maybe it's not even a photo I took ;-)

Absolutely.London here.There are Sharia Courts everywhere here - here is a 📷 I took.And there are no-go zones here,ruled by Mahometans,and that's where you'll find most Sharia Courts,but they are even outside the no-go zones, you know. it's all because of Sadiq Khan (sorry Mr. Mayor, it's </sarc>)

Thank you very much Zoe 🙏

My much requested deep-dive into the latest immigration statistics begins!!

Part 1: What is the gender & age breakdown of asylum seekers?

This outfit...
Reminds of somebody, but whom 🤔