Lady of Letters

@ScotNational @JaneBB Got to love the Welsh singing & the dragon flag. Wonderful. Moved even though I v much hope they choose to stay within GB

🎶Absolutely amazing scenes in Wales as Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth - set to be Wales's first pro-independence first minister - is interrupted by an impromptu rendition of the Welsh national anthem

@twittl3s And from @bbclaurak just a nod so far to @LibDems who might be now the main party of English local government - I can't find the stats easily. The 2026 election results are everywhere but not a new full map of local councils now #bbclaurak

#bbclaurak 2 minutes before the end of the hour finally a question about local issues - but stopped after 30secs for 3 word predictions. Good grief

#bbclaurak will there be a proper impartial media presence at the next big pro-Palestinian march & other large protests? For years & years journalists have ignored protest marches. That must change. Pls cover peaceful protests as well as recording any hate or violence @bbclaurak

#wato #bbcwato oh my goodness - almost two-thirds of the way through @BBCWorldatOne & they're still on Mandleson vetting Is there nothing else happening in the country or world? @BBCR4Feedback this is plainly ludicrous. Can you pls investigate?

Actually @bphillipsonMP did fine against much @bbcnickrobinson over-excited interruption Times like this Nick's Tory past comes to the fore - after years I still don't understand how someone who was a prominent party activist can be seen as an unbiased BBC commentator #r4today

#r4today just listened to @bphillipsonMP's interview on @BBCr4today to learn about the Govt's education plans - progress with White Paper & schools Bill? But no, all about Mandleson vetting Where was @bbcnickrobinson when the prince of darkness was appointed - clearly wrong then

@schards True the Mandelson appointment was terrible & I was worried about the lack of judgement on that as well as the lack of honesty. Anyone who paid attention to Starmer's pledges on being elected Labour leader knows he's got a dishonest streak. So sad that's already established

@LoLetters The establishing as fact this week that the PM is either utterly incompetent or a bare faced liar(or both) and is likely to be forced out of the job shortly, is quite a big story to be fair

#bbclaurak ethics & integrity is important but over 25 mins in, we're still on Mandleson's vetting. Come on BBC stop being obsessed. So many crucial issues at home & abroad being ignored

@HWarlow So sorry Helen

Sorry every one. I’ve been stopped now on all my machines. The end. Devastated

To be fair, she did but not in the same never-ending way #bbclaurauk & much of BBC did with Angela Rayner. Does seem one rule for a working class Northern women compared with all the Reform wealthy men. In the end Rayner had to resign, but will Tice? V much doubt it @bbclaurak

This is scandalous. Will @bbclaurak ask @reformparty_uk about this today? If not, why not? #bbclaurak

Whoops #bbcaq

Actually I appreciate Jenny's #bbcqt question .... I didn't have tears in my eyes as space mission rocketed off. 70 billion dollars is a lot of money

#bbcaq this question conflates 2 problems - increased shop-lifting (this is very much a thing - happens even in a charity shop I volunteer at. More worrying is threats & violence on shop workers) & link-ups advertised on social media: don't think they're all criminal, are they?

Rotherham, England replaced 8 miles of mowed grass with wildflowers. They saved £25,000 in mowing costs a year and bees, butterflies, and birds showed up almost immediately. You don’t need to wait for your city to act. Start small in your own patch: 🏡 Let your front verge or sidewalk strip go wild this spring 🌻 Toss a few native wildflower seed balls into neglected spots 🌱 Stop mowing one strip and see what shows up 📧 Contact your city government. One email from one person has started initiatives like this before One person. One small patch. Real habitat. Your street could be next.

#bbcaq thanks @ProfBillMcGuire. So much nonsense is spoken on this topic & rarely corrected or even tested by interviewers

@carolecadwalla I think those being interviewed by @BBCr4today & equivalent journalists on pay should be able to point that out. Why is there some sort of etiquette rule that prevents BBC crazy high salaries being mentioned? #r4today

*BBC pay is absurd. Robinson is a journalist on a celeb’s salary. Meanwhile he’ll have producers he work s with who probably struggle to pay their rent

‘Is there anyone else you know who has had a 28.9% pay rose in the last 3 years,’ asks Nick Robinson disbelievingly of an NHS doctor. Last year, Robinson’s BBC pay rose by at least £135k

@Dr_W_E_Bulmer Yes but ditching his manifesto promises when he stood for party leader was wretched & of his own doing. Lost him the loyalty of many activists, some defecting to Green. Suggests little integrity He's without passion & vision. He can't tell a story but doesn't seem to have one

The intense, irrational hatred of Starmer is fascinating. He is by no means the 'worst PM ever'. He merely has the misfortune to be PM when the legitimacy of the state is at a low ebb, society is more divided than ever, people angrier, and the far-right bolder and better funded.

@lewis_goodall @AngMurphy8 @Helenus_ @Channel4 I'm not disputing the polls or the qualitative data - but instead arguing the role of MSM can't be disregarded as well as socal media. It's impossible to get this topic covered objectively as journalists have such a conflict of interest

@AngMurphy8 @Helenus_ @Channel4 Every single pollster shows him with terrible approval ratings. I’m sorry that’s an objective fact. The qual data is often even worse than the quant would suggest. The point of the programme wasn’t to slam Starmer. It was to try and understand why that is the case.

There's a programme starting on @Channel4 right now called 'Keir Starmer: Where did it Go Wrong?' Saying he's the most unpopular Prime Minister ever, and asking if Britain has become 'ungovernable' @lewis_goodall Sorry, WHAT?? What about Boris, Truss? This is a nasty hit job.