Vicky

@MelAndStuff_ 😬 hope it's not too awful, Mel xxx

En route to my first root canal rodeo. I'm taking a big clue from the saying "It's about as much fun as root canal..." to mean it's not actually much fun at all.

There are more great new books in my bookshop window today xxx

Burnham may or may not be a good leader (I have no idea). But where some people see profligacy, I see someone who either spent their own money or was given free products, which in turn resulted in a bit of publicity for a UK factory doing good work.

Completely agree. The British media mostly destructive before Burnham even started. It’s our task to hold power to account, not to chase and hound it no matter what.

If he means it - I’ll work with him to get it done.

NEW: A convicted money launderer has operated at the highest level of UK politics for a decade. Why? Because Farage has enjoyed almost total impunity from the UK press. In my new piece for @thenerve_news, I expose the decade of denial that’s enabled him to act with impunity 1/

It's maybe time for a long story on @carolecadwalla who had warned and done the work on potential corruption around Farage et al years ago but was instead hounded and insulted and later sued. Even worse, she wasn't listened to at the time. Why not?

“At one stage I even flew to Australia to get him to answer my questions” Nerve co-founder @carolecadwalla on her loooooong decade investigating Nigel Farage *including first raising questions about George Cottrell in 2018 🤔

‘Ask me about my life long lack of fashion sense Ask me about my favourite bus stop and my favourite bench’ ASK available from @JEBooksHull @HoldernessNews and tinyurl.com/3rhajmz2

Hard Nope

We have had a very quiet two weeks. Please come in and support us. If we don’t get the custom, we don’t sell the beer and it goes down the drain - a complete waste. Hopefully we will see you this week! Today we are cash only, but do bring a loyalty card! 👍

Free Family Forest School 10am - 12 noon Wednesdays in Southwark Park Wildlife Area Email info@naturevibezzz.org 4 info schedule visit website naturevibezzz.org #naturevibezzz #forestschool #family #toddler #kids #free #homeeducation #southwark #southwarkpark #se16

The story of social media’s problem with news, in two posts

@Conservatives @UKStatsAuth As our updated blog says, we’ve seen similar claims from several Conservative MPs, including @KemiBadenoch at #PMQs, plus Reform MP @RobertJenrick and in the media. We’d urge others who’ve made the claim to correct the record as soon as possible. (2/2)

Sally Nugent just did something almost nobody in British broadcast media has managed. She actually pressed Farage on the £5m from Christopher Harborne, and didn't let him wriggle off it. His answers shifted as they went. It was for security. Then it was for cars. Then it was nobody's business. Then he questioned why it mattered at all. When Nugent kept pushing on how much he'd actually spent, he accused the BBC of putting him in danger by asking. At one point he tried turning it back on her, asking what she does with her own salary. She didn't blink. "My salary is on the public record." His isn't, not the £5m anyway. Then the line that mattered. He let slip that the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards "may disagree" with him on the donation rules. That's not a denial. That's a man who knows which way this is going. Farage has prior form here. The Commissioner already found he breached the rules once, failing to register 17 payments worth around £384,000 within the required 28 days. No action was taken that time, it was called an error. A second breach, on a £5m personal gift, is a different category of problem. Three minutes and forty five seconds of someone actually doing the job. Worth the watch.

If it's for security, and he just wants to get on with his job, why hasn't he spent a penny of it to ensure he can carry out surgeries in Clacton? Because apparently, security concerns have been preventing that for the last 2 years.

@labour_history 2016 surely?

if i'd reported my constituent to the police for having the temerity to email me i'd probably keep quiet on the topic of authoritarianism...

Gallingly on leave so no column today on Starmer. But in summary - this from 3 years ago.