Matilda

'I do have to level with you, this will not be easy' Starmer, 'it is now clear the impact of this war will affect the future of our country', as he sets out measures the government is taking to cushion the impact Thank God it’s him, not the Trumpetts

I spoke with UK Prime Minister @Keir_Starmer about our coordination with partners to end the war, including communication with the American team. We have suggested a ceasefire for the Easter holidays, and we expect the United States to support us. Ukraine is making every effort to make diplomacy work. However, on the Russian side, we see no willingness whatsoever. The only thing that can change their approach is pressure and determination from partners, as well as the resilience of our warriors. I briefed Keir on the frontline situation—our positions are already significantly stronger. Thank you to everyone who is helping us in this! I also spoke about our meetings in the Middle East and the Gulf, as well as the agreements we reached to strengthen the protection of lives. Ukraine’s experience and expertise must be expanded throughout Europe—this is our shared security guarantee. And we are ready to work with our European partners to protect our people together.

Ex army general on @lbc, asked if UK is ready for war. 'We haven't been since Cameron cut the defence budget by a 1/3 in 2010, people still don't understand what austerity actually mean't'.

Not much on the news about Starmer and the French successfully stopping the boats, is there? The first PM to stop the boats!

Hello my fellow American. Allow me to educate you. This is fantasy politics, not how alliances or militaries work. NATO isn’t a protection racket where Europe “pays the U.S.” it’s a mutual defense alliance the U.S. designed because having forward bases in Europe massively benefits us. Germany alone gives the U.S. the command, logistics, and staging backbone for operations in the Middle East and Africa. You don’t pull that out and come out stronger you cripple your own reach. And “operational control of their military”? That’s not an alliance, that’s occupation. No sovereign country is agreeing to that, and the second you demand it, the alliance collapses. Also, the 5% number isn’t even real policy. NATO’s benchmark is 2%, and even that isn’t a payment to the U.S. it is countries funding their own defense, which reduces the burden on the U.S. Pull everything out of Europe and you don’t get leverage you lose: – your fastest access to the Middle East – your logistics backbone – your command infrastructure – and your influence over allies You’d be trading a strategic advantage for a political talking point. If anything, this just proves how dependent the U.S. actually is on European infrastructure especially Germany whether people want to admit it or not.

The right to worship is a fundamental freedom. Israeli Police should not have blocked the Latin Patriarch from the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday. Israel must work with religious communities to facilitate worship in line with the status quo.

Police have found no evidence of criminality in Gorton & Denton byelection after claims by Nigel Farage it was “a victory for cheating”. Reform UK had asked Greater Manchester police to investigate allegations of corrupt voting after Green Party won. theguardian.com/politics/2026/…

I think this is fair enough

Three weeks ahead of the Hungarian elections, the president of the United States is now recording messages of support for the pro-Russian Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orbán, the man who has managed to turn Hungary into the EU’s most corrupt and second poorest country.

No, Ukraine isn’t “defying” Trump or anyone else by not holding elections in 2026 in the middle of a full-scale frontal war. It’s abiding by its constitution and plain common sense, both of which Trump is blatantly defying.

Jenni Murray: “I have no regrets. I stand by everything I’ve written and said. After the Supreme Court ruled in April that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex, it’s finally being acknowledged that we’ve been right all along” archive.is/2025.09.11-153…

So just to be clear, Russia is supplying Iran with military intel on the US and the US is doing what … supporting the Russian economy by enabling them to sell more oil. Have I got that right 🤯

@OldGassy1984 They ate two different people, surely

The remake of The Picture of Dorian Gray looks awful.

Someone called ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine and told them to leave or face violence. The calls came from Ukrainian-looking numbers. The voices claimed to be Ukrainian police. Ukraine's SBU ran technical analysis and traced every call to Russia. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the operation feeds directly into Viktor Orbán's re-election campaign — which is built on the claim that Ukraine threatens Hungarians — and that coordination with the Orbán campaign cannot be ruled out. 🔗 euromaidanpress.com/2026/03/19/rus…

Seems like a men’s problem

Many Chelsea supporters think the decision to sell Chelsea FC to the US consortium BlueCo in 2022 was unwise and has worked out badly. Just to remind you, the culture secretary responsible for approving the deal was Nadine Dorries, and the prime minister was Boris Johnson.

The proper approach for someone being declared a vexatious litigant is not a CRO but a Civil Proceedings Order (CPO). This requires a referral to the Attorney General’s Office. The AG can then apply to the High Court pursuant to 42 of the Senior Courts Act 1981 /2

"I said it's really good of Reform to give people the chance to get their energy bills paid for a year. What did I say Roy?" "You said it's a cynical bribe to harvest personal data"

I feel more pride in Keir Starmer on this 1 day than in the entire 14 years under 5 Tory PMs His support for Zelenskyy, the respect from world leaders, his refusal to be drawn into Trump’s jibes For me, this is what a PM should look like — calm, principled, and focused.

Who would make the most capable Prime Minister? Keir Starmer (LAB): 22% (+3) Nigel Farage (REF): 19% (-6) Kemi Badenoch (CON): 11% (+2) via @Ipsos_in_the_UK, 5-11 Mar (Changes with 17 Sep)