Ann Martin F

@MagdaSzubanski I hope you have the happiest of birthdays.

What would I like for my 65th birthday tomorrow? To see Viktor Orban thrown into the trash can of history #65StillAlive #HungaryElection2026 #prodemocracy

The decision to dismantle the US Forest Service will go down as one of the many massive blunders of this presidency. They are set to close all 10 regions offices and over 50 research labs. This agency manages 193 million acres of national forests, protects ecosystems, manages wildfires, conducts research, and more. This represents yet another step toward the destruction of our environment and shows a complete disregard for our future wellbeing.

@g_gosden Or use "myself" as the subject of the sentence. Aaargh!

Priti Patel: “When Afghanistan happened in 2021, myself and a team that August were literally glued into our offices because we were dealing with very fragile and sensitive situation.” Literally, I can’t stand it when ignorant people abuse that word.

@HQNewsNow Utter disgrace.

The Trump administration has announced it plans to dismantle the US Forest Service. All 10 regional offices are set to close in addition to over 50 research labs.

@susanpow @donmcgowan @jo_regular Many august bodies in the UK make extra money from hiring out their space. westminster-abbey.org/corporate-hosp…

@donmcgowan @jo_regular How is it possible to have a summer party in Westminster Abbey? It’s a working church!

Yesterday, Reform UK dropped a billionaire bombshell via their pet [paid] media channels. Ben Delo — one of the UK's youngest self-made billionaires, declared that he would re-migrate to the UK in order to donate to Nigel Farage's pension fund. I had questions — I went looking. A mathematician and tech entrepreneur, he made his fortune in cryptocurrency as co-founder of BitMEX alongside two others in 2014. By 2018, he was reportedly the UK's first Bitcoin billionaire. So far, so standard for this type of guy. But when you start reading about those he has donated money to, and the circles in which he moves, things become a bit murkier. There are few firm details about Delo's philanthropy, but among other things, he helped fund Toby Young's Free Speech Union. He maintains a suite of offices called The Sanctuary, close to Westminster Abbey, in which he allows 'guests' to use his facilities for free. Podcasts, office space, networking events. The notorious Triggernometry podcast, hosted by Konstantin Kisin, records from the Sanctuary. From which he told the world that Rishi Sunak could not be British because he is a brown Hindu. Other notable purveyors of Ben Delo's generous office complex are: Rupert Lowe, Ben Habib, Kemi Badenoch [multiple times], Claire Fox [and her Academy of Ideas] and his close friend, Jordan Peterson. A genuine smörgåsbord of right-wing, free speech warriors. Another feature of Delo's philanthropy is his summer party in Westminster Abbey. Attended last year by such notables as Matt Goodwin, Maurice Glassman and Paul Coleman — director of ADF International, the Christian law firm that opposes abortion. When Nigel Farage gave testimony to the US Congress last year, he was flanked by Lorcán Price from ADF. The ADF helped topple Roe V Wade in the US and have cosied up to Farage in recent years. Watch this space for Reform UK's forthcoming anti-abortion stance, I'd suggest. Of course, it's widely reported that Delo pleaded guilty to financial crimes by failing to implement anti-money laundering controls within his company and received a 30-month probation sentence alongside a $10 million fine. In 2025, the crypto president pardoned him. According to the Guardian, Delo has been biding his time, burnishing his reputation since receiving the seal of Trump approval [and by extension, of course, Farage's]. He is now launching himself into the UK political sphere as the latest white knight to attach his steed to Nigel Farage's rickety bandwagon. The timing yesterday was not coincidental, nor was its method of delivery. It's no secret that Reform UK have been fighting to keep the spotlight in recent weeks. Dropping poll numbers testify to that. Farage and Delo coordinated their announcement yesterday to coincide with a lull in the war [supposedly] in order that they maximise the headlines. And it worked. But, as you can see from the examples above, Delo runs in the same right/far-right circles as all the others. Propping up some of the most hardline anti-immigration and Christian Nationalist figures. This isn't a story about money — these people run together. It's an assault on our British freedoms. We need to be VERY wary of them.

@atrupar Vying for the creepiest clown on the planet.

Rutte on Trump: “This was a meeting between friends. Because we like each other. I really admire his leadership.”

@ToryCS @IAmSophiaNelson Check out too Gladden Pappin and Matthias Corvinus Collegium.

@IAmSophiaNelson The Heritage Foundation and MAGA are closely linked to Orban and his 'illiberal democracy', via think tanks and money funnelled from Russia. John Roberts President of the Heritage Foundation has said 'Modern Hungary is not just a model for conservative statecraft, but the model.'

Serious question--what is Trump's fixation with Victor Orban and Hungary? What am I missing? Seriously??

@Sabra_Security @RossKneeDeep He even claimed credit for the elimination of Bin-Laden!!

@RossKneeDeep Did you hear him today trying to take credit for rescuing the downed airmen? What a pos

Seriously, is there anything harder on the ear than listening to Trump speaking?

I have not seen a single mainstream media outlet give this the attention it deserves. Israel blew up an entire Lebanese town, an ancient place. It should be headline news. There’s footage of it happening. Imagine this was your town, and you saw every building blown up by a terrorist army to prevent you from ever returning. You would at the very least expect wall to wall coverage. Instead it passes without a word. It’s not the only town Israel has blown up. And sadly it probably won’t be the last.

@mariaminpeace Yes. I believe they should do away with this allowance. It was brought in as a kind of consolation for Thatcher when they ousted her. But it is not a flat pension and they need to show receipts. Imo, she is abusing it.

Even so: "Former prime ministers are entitled to claim the Public Duty Cost Allowance (PDCA)—an allowance of up to £115,000 per year for expenses incurred through any public duties they undertake due to their role as a former prime minister." 2024/25: Truss claimed £97,152

@sturgios Got some for free at Highbury Fields.

This pricing is insane. It’s like applying truffle prices to stinging nettles. I could pick £1000 worth in half an hour.

@RickSacrop Elderly people sometimes need a sense of security. Many, especially those with no close family nearby to help, cannot face all the disruption a stressful house move can bring.

One of the reasons you often find elderly people, on their own, in a large house is stamp duty. If they downsize they get clobbered for tax so it isn't economically viable. Abolish stamp duty on downsizers and we will see a huge shift in the market. And HMRC get Tax on the resale

@Elizabe13014545 @WeanFi Worth saying, though, as many younger critics are not aware.

@WeanFi As was the case with the old pension.

I think a lot of people do not realise that there are now 2 types of state pension. Those who reach state pension age on or after 6th April 2016 will now get £241.30 per week those who retired before that date will get £184.90.

@Bluebird19273 @David__Osland Liz Truss is not entitled to a ‘£125k per year ex PM pension for life’ – Full Fact share.google/wbd2bpmHaqb3vK…

@David__Osland Maybe she should lead by example and hand back the pension she gets for being the PM for about 5 mins

Liz Truss wants to raise the state pension age to 80. Life expectancy for British men is 79.

@lunaperla @havingagiraf People get these net worth stats from unreliable sites.

@havingagiraf Starmer became an MP in 2015. Before that, he had a successful career as a lawyer, so hardly surprising he has amassed a fortune. The kind of unfounded gossip & innuendo you're peddling, casting aspersions on people for no good reason other than hate, is a cancer in our society.

Odd that right wing politicians become wealthy before entering politics, whilst the leftwing ones seem to make millions from a job that only pays 90k a year 🤔

@rsjrfanworld @Shauna_Tweets Thanks! I love that. I had forgotten who else was in it. It was such a long time ago.

@AnnMartinF @Shauna_Tweets Lesley Manville was also in that 1985 production. She played Cecile.

Well that was jolly good. Les Liaisons Dangereuses. National Theatre. Lesley Manville was wonderful. They all were. But to get up on stage clad in lingerie in front of just shy of 1,000 strangers at 70 years old is nothing short of magnificent. 🙌

BREAKING: 🇺🇸 Former U.S. President, Barack Obama: “We cannot launch military operations to get out of an ideological or technological problem. History has taught us that conflicts in the Middle East are easy to start, but almost impossible to end in an orderly way. We must recognize that peace is not built on rubble, but on a regional architecture that provides stability. We must choose between difficult and persistent diplomacy, or a perpetual regional war that has no winners, only victims.”

@MrSammyJames Hate the way sports events on TV are set up with a pre-planned narrative that takes away from the moment. 'The cox and his mum' story took up too much time and led to Jamie screaming his name inanely for about 5 minutes to get that i/v they craved.

The slightly annoying thing is that the C4 TV execs that booked Jamie will be delighted this happened and will feel it validates their decision to give the role to a reality star. This moment got more social media and press coverage than the rest of their broadcast combined.

@WelsbyElton It's all the pointless stats and references to the past that do it for me. OK for a few to set the scene, but they repeat them again and again.

You wouldn't know it,whilst the commentators are chatting between themselves,but there's a game of football going on.....