Stuart Finan

I’ve never seen this clip, from a few years ago. The best articulation of simple geopolitical reality I’ve seen in a long time. Even a simpleton could understand it, if only they’d listen. God I miss grown up, well-read, pragmatic and convincing leaders.

Appalling behaviour for an MP. @NeilDotObrien using racial slurs to try to stir controversies over a Christian festival with the local community. This government has been so divisive in playing communities against each other and this is another example!

So so proud of #teamharborough Winners of two awards at @EMCouncils tri sector challenge today! What a team of stars!

@Conservatives Isn’t that what you have done? History will show that since the last election your party has caused the greatest real time surge to mortgage costs, inflation and the highest tax burden of any government in the past 40 years!

Keir Starmer's economic policies would be a disaster for Britain. He would send inflation up, mortgages up, taxes up - and working people would pay the price.

It is concerning that some of the most senior MPs in our country in the last 5 years were linked to this event. When did being far-right be a political disposition of the those in power?

National Conservatism Conference: Police told to shut down right-wing Brussels event - BBC News Maybe they should take up the matter by referring to the ECHR! If only they believed in such things!!! bbc.co.uk/news/world-eur…

The situation in Israel is deeply concerning. I appreciate supporting allies but sometimes that support needs to call out conduct that has killed thousands of civilians and now appears to have broken international law by bombing a sovereign consulate.

It’s almost as if he didn’t understand what he was voting for …..

⚠️ New Brexit UK border controls will cost British biz £2bn and fuel higher inflation, new report warns UK-EU trade will be damaged as a result. ⚠️ The insurer Allianz Trade said the controls agreed under Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal could add 10% to import costs over the first year. ⚠️ The Allianz report said that the checks would affect £21bn of agricultural product imports, including eggs, live trees and plants, meat and fish, covering about 3% of all UK imports. ⚠️These new costs were the equivalent to adding a 10% tariff on these imports, EU companies would be likely to pass on these costs to UK customers. ⚠️ It said these items accounted for about 6% of the overall basket of goods used to calculate the UK’s headline inflation rate, and that the additional costs could add 0.2% points to inflation, with dairy, meat and fish most affected. ⚠️Inflation has fallen back from over 10% last year to 3.4%, helped by cooling food prices after the sharpest annual increase since the late 1970s. However, food prices are still 30% higher than three years ago. ‼️ British firms also face the prospect of tougher barriers to exporting to the EU as the UK steadily falls behind the introduction of new rules set by Brussels. ‼️ A separate study by UK in a Changing Europe said UK companies would have “little choice” but to follow new EU standards currently being pushed through the Strasbourg parliament before elections in June. ‼️ Joël Reland, research associate at UK in a Changing Europe, said: “The UK is living next door to a regulatory behemoth, which it cannot afford to ignore. Even after Brexit, the EU remains the UK’s chief export market, so British businesses have little choice but to conform with new EU regulations. ‼️ “The main difference is that now the UK government has no means of influencing EU policy decisions from the inside.” theguardian.com/politics/2024/…

@TheIFS @nridpathecon @Sarah_Cattan @carneiro_econ @NuffieldFound Wow, Harborough District has seen the benefits of Surestart. As a result the area as a whole benefitted.

NEW: Sure Start, England’s first large programme to provide holistic support to families with children under five, greatly improved disadvantaged children’s GCSE results. Read @nridpathecon @Sarah_Cattan @carneiro_econ’s report, funded by @NuffieldFound: ifs.org.uk/publications/s…

This is interesting because the basic arguement matches a recent Telegraph opinion piece - and it’s both correct and naive. It’s correct because the only way Brexit could have worked economically speaking was to use it to deregulate, lower business taxes, shrink the state etc. It’s naive because the majority of U.K. voters - especially those who voted for Brexit - don’t want that. They actually want a European social model - high spending on health, education, defence, etc. And the only way you can have that in today’s difficult geopolitical world (given our geographical position on the European continent) is to be part of the vast, pan-continental single market and customs union that exists to deliver the European social model as far as is possible. This is why the Labour Party, in government, will eventually begin the process of joining the European single market and customs union. The only other option is to follow the Brexiteer vision of a much smaller state - and a large majority do not want that. As the recent Telegraph piece pointed out, these are the only two choices that do not lead to inevitable economic decline.

@BestForBritain If we are second then who is first?

@Conservatives Haha! Citizens are swimming in excrement, pulling out teeth with pliers, children living in poverty, 12hr NHS waiting lists at all time high, government trying to withdraw access to ECHR. The only way we are stronger is that there are more laws to prevent peaceful demonstrations!

How has England’s NHS fared under Conservative governments? @C4Ciaran and @FactCheck have been crunching the numbers.

@GBNEWS @Jacob_Rees_Mogg Once again, someone who individually benefitted in millions, spouting off about how this is not the Brexit we wanted. This was the only Brexit you were ever going to get. Believe it or not those that voted remain actually predicted this. It’s not great for our economy!

'There is no doubt that leaving the EU was the best decision we could have made for our economy. However, the government decided upon an act of self-sabotage, essentially trying to make the United Kingdom a mini European Union.' @Jacob_Rees_Mogg

Jack Straw, "Things have gone far too far in Israel and Gaza, and there isn't, in my view, any doubt at all that Israel is breaching international law" "You can just see it on the ground in Gaza, and it's a tragedy for Israel as well, because they've lost the moral high ground that was there after October 7 when there was this terrible atrocity committed by Hamas" "But they've gone in for killing thousands and thousands of completely innocent Palestinian men, women and children and excusing that on the basis that they're trying to find Hamas operatives" "And they keep coming up with this stuff about how Israel takes greater care than any other country in this kind of situation ever does. And that's just frankly nonsense" "And people can see that it's nonsense"

I’m old enough to remember politicians categorically stating food would be cheaper after #brexit How could this 🦄 be true when more than 50% of our food comes from overseas… either they were lying or they did not know what they were talking about. Which one is it? 🤡

Let’s face it, Brexit is not working for Britain. So many people say “this isn’t the Brexit I voted for” or “I didn’t vote for Brexit for _______”. Then what did you vote for because at this rate no-one is happy and everyone is losing out!

Food inflation and food shortages ahead.

NEW post Brexit “common user charge” for inspection of food/ plant imports from the EU from later this month… £10 or £29 for every different type, even for small consignments … charge capped at £145 for a mixed consignment with fish, salami, cheese, sausage and yoghurt”