George Simkin

Lib Dems join the cross-party war on prices, big time Ed Davey calls for: - Cutting fuel duty by 10p, bringing down prices at the pump by 12p per litre - Slashing bus fares to £1, from the current £3 cap - Cutting rail fares by 10% - Cutting VAT on public EV charging

New from @Ipsos_in_the_UK When offered a binary choice the public prefer a Starmer led Labour government to Farage led Reform one by 40-32. Of course getting the public to vote in that way is a different question

@adamboultonTABB @Keir_Starmer @trussliz @realDonaldTrump I also never realised Sunak was still PM and had a twin brother who's a general.

The AI on this is up the spout. @Keir_Starmer doesn’t feature but @trussliz does and she’s giving @realDonaldTrump the tongue not finger

This isn't old school 1970's style racism. It's old school 1930's style racism. I just can't get my head round how this is tolerated from a US President in 2026.

No U.S. President should be able to withdraw from NATO without Senate approval. Thankful my colleagues in Congress passed this bipartisan measure.

@tomhfh @beverleyturner @benleo444 @GBNEWS Clearly they should have stayed at home and concentrated on England's own problems. There's no way exploring North America could benefit anyone.

@beverleyturner @benleo444 @GBNEWS I'm pleased courageous Englishmen took to the wide unknown Atlantic to settle North America. And I'm pleased courageous Americans are going to take us on to the stars!💫

When on leave, I often crave being back on-air for big stories. Tonight, however, I'm frankly DELIGHTED to leave the moon-rocket-phallic-fest-lift-off-ego-boost-thingy to @benleo444 and @tomhfh for @GBNEWS I simply would not be able fake my enthusiasm for such pointless endeavours whilst our own planet is so desperately in need of attention. They will do a great job of keeping you informed! Good luck fellas! 🚀 🧑‍🚀

@misterrpink1 @peterrhague Right where the Earth is. At this scale it's almost the same as the Earth's outline.

@peterrhague green circle?

Properly scaled diagram of the journey of Artemis II. Inertial frame of reference. No, the mission won’t land, but it will be going a tremendous distance from Earth. The green circle is the ISS orbit… Made it for this article: planetocracy.org/p/artemis-ii-i…

@Microinteracti1 @GavinCurnow Not most unpopular ever, but most unpopular at this point in their presidency.

Donald Trump's net approval rating has collapsed to a historic negative 17 points. He is the most unpopular president in US history.

Are we for real dude

@Jim_Cornelius @michaelshermer True. But there a difference between saying there's no evidence something happened and saying it definitely didn't happen.

@George_Simkin @michaelshermer There is no evidence.

Aliens have not and are not coming to Earth. Not ever. Not now. I've been hearing talk like this since the 1970s. It never ends. Just talk. No aliens. But, please, by all means, produce the aliens & I will believe. But my money is on the bet that it will never happen.

Rubio and Kallas clashed at the G7 over Russia. Kallas confronted Rubio, asking when the U.S. would get tougher on Moscow. Rubio snapped back, saying the U.S. is already doing everything it can and telling her to “go ahead” if Europe thinks it can do better - Axios. 1/

@timothy_stanley @roddreher I remember during the 2016 debates Trump and I think Cruz got into a "who has the bigger dick" argument. Amazing these people ae willing to say these things knowing millions can hear them.

@roddreher Whatever this dialogue is, it long ago ceased being "conservatism".

"Meanwhile, on the Very Online Right..."

Greater Manchester Police say they have no evidence of family voting after an extensive investigation, including speaking to Democracy Volunteers and seizing CCTV: We’ve concluded our investigation into alleged ‘family voting’ at last month’s Gorton and Denton by-election, finding no evidence of any intent to influence or refrain any person from voting. Our investigation into alleged influencing of voters at a polling booth (under Section 62C Representation of the People Act 1983 (Ballot Secrecy Act 2023)) began after a criminal report from the Reform UK party following a public statement made by independent electoral observers at Democracy Volunteers. We have spoken to the four Democracy Volunteers observers present at polling stations on the day of the by-election (26 February) who have shared with us their eyewitness account. This includes some instances of more than one voter going into a booth at the same time, and instances of people looking over the shoulder of voters. The information they have provided to us estimates this may have happened on 32 occasions across 15 polling stations. The observers do not allege any verbal instruction or physical conduct that indicated one person was directing or coercing another regarding how to vote. This is a crucial part of the legislation to prove such an offence was committed. Our investigation team, led by an experienced senior investigating officer, spoke to all four volunteers from Democracy Volunteers as part of our enquiries – obtaining a copy of their observations. We also spoke to the Presiding Officers at 15 stations as well as the Acting Returning Officer, none of whom received any reports other than from Democracy Volunteers. We have received no further criminal reports. For us to investigate allegations, we require an understanding of who the potential suspects may be, and evidence that may corroborate eyewitness accounts. For an investigation to meet the criminal threshold for prosecution, we require admissible evidence of intent or action aimed at influencing the vote. We have asked Democracy Volunteers for descriptions of those alleged to be involved, and timings on when these are believed to have occurred. These details were not documented by observers or the complainant, and we have not been provided with any identities or descriptions to pursue. The absence of this information means there is no remaining reasonable line of enquiry. This also includes limitations with CCTV as an absence of descriptions, and votes not being time-stamped, meaning we are not able to identify individuals from footage. We have approached all 45 polling stations in the Gorton and Denton constituency to ask for CCTV from the day. Forty-one of those polling stations told us they did not have CCTV activated in the building as it would have compromised the secrecy of the vote during polling day, in line with advice given. We have seized and viewed CCTV from three of the remaining four polling stations. These are three polling station that Democracy Volunteers visited. We have spoken to the Presiding Officer from each one. However, these stations do not show any evidence of anyone directing or coercing another regarding how to vote – the crucial part of the legislation to prove such an offence was committed. There is no evidence to suggest any intent to influence or refrain a person from voting as stated in the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023. We have been liaising with the Electoral Commission, who we have shared our findings with. We have also shared our findings with the Returning Officer. We have updated the complainant about the work of our investigation and the conclusion we have reached.

EXCLUSIVE from @oliver_wright Diesel supply shortages will begin to hit Britain from mid-April as stock bought before the Iran war runs out, ministers have been warned Senior industry figures have alerted the government to a looming fall in imports of the fuel and urged them to start considering contingency plans in place to reduce demand One source said that while the UK would not “run out” of diesel, supplies could drop by more than 10 per cent by the middle of next month The UK consumes roughly 23 million tonnes of diesel per year, of which about 5 million tonnes is imported from refineries in the Netherlands and Belgium Some of this fuel originates from the Middle East, which has been affected by the Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The UK also imports about 7% of its diesel directly from the Middle East Four separate industry sources told The Times that there were concerns over the medium-term supply of the fuel, warning that motorists could see some disruption at the pumps Some smaller forecourts are already finding it harder to access diesel suppliers as terminals — which store and handle the fuel — are prioritising clients with set contracts thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar….

@blueridge1992 @IAPonomarenko The US has very advanced weapons but in drone technology Ukraine is ahead. Not because it's more advanced, but because their drones are suited to the task. A patriot missile is very advanced but it's a waste to fire one off to take down drones. Ukraine can help the US with that.

@IAPonomarenko Really America would just be fine without your drones,think a little why does USA have the most powerful advanced weapons in the world? Without Ukraine.

Well, would you look at that. Turns out one didn’t have to throw tantrums, hurl arrogant insults, or engage in dick-measuring contests in front of TV cameras. One could just have a thought: Ukraine has something we need, and Ukraine says we have something they need. Maybe let Zelensky and his drone warfare experts come over. We might have something to offer each other, so let’s talk about a deal. And look — nobody’s crown fell off their head just because they spoke to Ukraine as a partner instead of wiping their feet on it and caressing their endless wounded ego at its expense.

A lot of people are staggered by this, but consider that in May 2022 Reform was on about 2% in Westminster polls, now they're on 23-28%. Local and general elections are different, but not *that* different... @StephenDFisher's full blog is worth reading: electionsetc.com/2026/03/25/loc…

@tomhfh @ninefootsix Unfortunately the actor has been receiving death threats because of it.

@ninefootsix Notably different from the books.

Snape in the new Harry Potter series.

Such a big surge did sound a bit high.

* Britain faces the biggest hit to growth from the Middle East war of all the G20 economies, the OECD has warned * The economy will grow by just 0.7% this year, compared to last forecast of 1.2% for 2026 * Inflation forecast to rise to 4% this year because of higher energy prices. It's up from 3.4% last year and the second highest level in the G7 * Report warns more broadly that 'prolonged disruption' will increase the cost of food because of issues with supply of fertiliser