Griboyedov

@APHClarkson The way to prevent the far Right coming to power in Britain is not to stop debating immigration and asylum here in order to talk about troops on the streets of American cities. 'All politics is local', as someone who understood the subject said.

It is remarkable bordering on shocking how UK political debate still obsesses over small boats and other issues that will not be all that significant in the broad arc of history even as the basic foundations of the global system unravel

Don't worry, an NHS where a man with Downs Syndrome is starved to death because of a mistaken 'nil by mouth' notice will have no problems at all implementing Assisted Dying. cc: @RajivShah90 @nmdacosta @Jebadoo2 @ddhitchens

A man with Down’s Syndrome was ‘starved to death’ in an NHS hospital, as an ITV News investigation uncovers a growing crisis in the care of learning disabled people. Adrian Poulton was mistakenly not fed for 9 days following a successful hip operation. itv.com/news/2025-10-0…

YIMBY Labour triumphalism over the new town announcement seems both out of proportion and premature. In short: they’re far away from being built, and the per-year increase in house building they promise is small. The first wave of ten 1946 new towns took around 4 years to designate, and then ~5 years to actually start construction. It was 1951 when the very first, Stevenage, started finishing its initial developments, growing by 36,343 residents by 1961, meaning a per year housing construction rate (assuming 2.4 people per home) of ~1,514 from 1951. So, if we model these 12 suggested new towns as Stevenage (a massively generous assumption as it was one of the most successful new towns, and built by a well oiled postwar British state) and ignore political constraints then we’re going to get an additional 18,168 houses built per year starting in 2030. That’s… pretty small. Hell, it’s even less than the recent approval drop off London has had from 2023-2025 (~30,000/year) due to mess ups with the building safety regulator. What this means is a Nick 30 ans Labour YIMBY boosters will not see the majority of the newly promised New Town homes until the mid 2030s (when Nick hits 40 😢), and the number of houses gained will probably be far less than those lost by not undoing the very recent (and self inflicted) London house building crisis.

@thomasforth Could you present a graph showing the data on population growth from 1974-2024 in a) Greater London b) Greater Manchester, thanks.

We've invested enormous amounts of national money in North London, in places like Kings Cross, in ARIA, and the British Library, and the Alan Turing Institute, and HS1, and HS2, and so much more. In a place that isn't accommodating the growth that creates. We must move the money.

We aren't "this country". Much of this country is hugely pro growth and is delivering growth. If Barnet doesn't want to expand its football stadium, or build enough homes, that's absolutely fine. National government should back Leeds, which does, with huge investment.

1. Charlie Falconer - Lords sponsor of the Bill. 2. Kamall, Con, Shadow Minister for Health 3. Alderdice, Lib Dem, advocate for AS/AD 4. Forsyth, Con, pro AS/AD says bill 'not fit for purpose', tabled motion calling for more time / more govt support 5. Carlile, Crossbench, sat on 2004-05 Cttee on AS/AD 6. Theresa May, Con, former Prime Minister 7. Bishop of London, 'grave fears' over Bill 8. Margaret Hodge, Lab, former Minister pro Bill

🚀We are in a new era of warfare: the age of the precision guided missile, where sea, land and air domains are defined by systems of every type: strategic missiles and tactical missiles, anti-ship missiles, air-to-air missiles, anti-tank missiles, air defence missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and missiles that protect against other missiles. 🚀We have long-range missiles, short-range missiles, and missiles that fill every gap in between. We have had missiles for several decades already, but until now these have mostly been exquisite and expensive systems used on a limited basis due to affordability constraints. 🚀But now low cost attack drones, loitering munitions, and a new generation of land attack missiles have entered the chat and they cost a fraction of previous systems. They have become more sophisticated, more accurate, more difficult to stop, and more lethal, transforming them into a utilitarian and ubiquitous weapon. 🚀Where a swarm of conventional missiles is used to attack a target, it can achieve what is called a “mass precision” effect, maximising damage at a lower cost, while minimising collateral damage. Missile swarms can do what tactical and strategic nuclear weapons used to do, but without the fallout and escalation. 🚀Used in the Land Domain, missiles add a new dimension to long-range artillery systems, allowing land forces to fight the deep battle beyond the enemy’s capacity to return fire. In the short-term, missiles are preventing manoeuvre warfare tactics from being used effectively. Armies will not gain freedom of movement until they acquire layered air defence systems on an unprecedented scale. 🚀During the initial stages of the Ukraine conflict, the use of missiles was almost exclusively on a tactical basis. Now they are being used strategically. By targeting Russian oil and gas infrastructure, missiles have been a great equaliser for Ukraine. The continued provision of missiles by Western nations and their use inside Russia could yet be a deciding factor in convincing Putin that the cost of conquering Ukraine is not worth the effort.

@munecatmusic @drphilhammond @ClarkeMicah By an extraordinary coincidence, Christopher Snowdon made exactly that claim- about the mother 'passing on' her condition to Baby A- in an article published in 'The Critic' on July 2. I wonder where Moritz got that idea from? thecritic.co.uk/issues/july-20…

Regarding Judith Moritz's claim that Lucy Letby's expert panel claimed Baby A *inherited* his mother's antiphospholipid syndrome. They never claimed that. They said antibodies from his mother's blood likely passed through the placenta causing the clot. @drphilhammond @ClarkeMicah

More important lessons from Ukraine seem (IMO) to be: industrial war is back, so we need lots of spare capacity; the UK has nowhere near enough trained regular personnel, and most reserves aren't ready; the 'rear battle' will be significant and we aren't prepared for it.

The point about civilians may have relevance in some conflicts. But I can't (eg) see how Ukraine's war effort is hampered by excessive concern about Russian civilians. The Ukies need to defeat the Russian armed forces, who aren't hiding behind the civ pop.

A little sneak glimpse of my forthcoming paper, “21st Century War”. The very final lines..: “Above all, the West must shed the post-1945 illusion that peace is the natural order. War cannot be fought halfway; it must be won. Protecting the enemy’s civilians cannot take priority over defeating the enemy, and a managed stalemate cannot replace victory. The UK and its allies must prepare not only to fight wars but to succeed in them.”

@Mr_Andrew_Fox More important lessons from Ukraine seem (IMO) to be: industrial war is back, so we need lots of spare capacity; the UK has nowhere near enough trained personnel, and the reserves aren't ready; the 'rear battle' will be significant and we aren't prepared for it.

@Mr_Andrew_Fox The point about civilians may have relevance in some conflicts. But I can't (eg) see how Ukraine's war effort is hampered by excessive concern about Russian civilians. The Ukies need to defeat the Russian armed forces, who aren't hiding behind the civ pop.

Yup: every single word of this.

@RajivShah90 AV only for content advocating suicide and self-harm, even though that would make it harder for young people to read social media posts by Kim Leadbeater.

When age verification for p*rn was first enacted in the Digital Economy Act 2017 the objection was that it stigmatised p*rn use So OSA implements it for content which goes beyond 'vices' but now that's also being objected to If you had to choose, what would it be?

Just published via RUSI... I suspect this one may generate some strong opinions but I think it's an important set of factors for military planners especially in the Land domain to engage with: NATO Should Not Replace Traditional Firepower with ‘Drones’ rusi.org/explore-our-re…

@triedbystats You're doing great work- many thanks. We simply cannot continue to allow English courts handle expert witness evidence in this way.

At the start of the trial, on Day 3, the defence made a motion to call three of their expert witnesses. The prosecution objected because they wanted Letby to personally testify first, in part because Dr Hall specifically identified problems in the prosecution narrative but Letby had accepted them during her 30 hour police interrogation.

I have worked with @RachaelMaskell and found her extraordinarily courteous and decent. Her offence is having stopped the Labour government from making poorly-considered welfare cuts condemned by such leftists as, er, the Financial Times. @stephenkb

@johnmcternan @RachaelMaskell 'I am not a weak man,' I scream as I stamp my foot on the ground. 'THIS IS WHAT STRENGTH LOOKS LIKE AND YOU JUST CAN'T RECOGNISE IT', I bellow at an even higher volume.

What did @RachaelMaskell do apart from win an argument with the government? So she is being suspended for being right about policy. Makes the Whips Office look like bad losers.

'How could we make this even worse?' 'Well, not a lot of Labour MPs share all Rachael Maskell's politics, but they agreed with a lot of what she said about PIP cuts, and they regard her as a very decent, courteous person. To really screw things up, you'd suspend her.' 'Genius!'