Michael Cole

@robgarde @BoveFromAbove Covid was a temporary shock. Brexit is a permanent change to trade & investment. Economists separate the two and the data still shows the UK underperforming post-Brexit. So no, the forecasts weren’t ‘made up’, they’ve largely been borne out.

@Mike_Cole145 @BoveFromAbove it was all forecast before covid, so worthless as it all changed with covid, so it all made up,

@unionjackspirit @AllisonPearson Domestic gas doesn’t set UK prices, global markets do. North Sea gas sells at market rates so it doesn’t cut bills. The “£2.5bn saving” is just a modelled scenario vs pricey LNG, not a cash saving for consumers. More drilling doesn’t equal cheaper energy or true independence.

🇬🇧 Spot on, Allison. Ed Miliband insisting our own North Sea gas makes “no difference” to bills or security is pure Westminster spin, when Stifel’s figures show it saved us around £2.5 billion last year alone versus pricier LNG imports. Why on earth are we choosing to ship in foreign supplies and hand billions to Norway instead of backing British jobs, tax revenue and real energy sovereignty? Common sense has left the building. @RupertLowe @AllisonPearson #NorthSeaGas #RestoreBritain #EnergySecurity

Ed Miliband says drilling our own gas in the North Sea (as opposed to paying Norway billions for theirs) makes no difference. He’s lying 👇 North Sea gas ‘saves Britain billions a year’ telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/…

@robgarde @BoveFromAbove £850m/week “cost of Brexit” isn’t an official figure. It’s a rough estimate based on forecasts that UK GDP is 4% lower than it would’ve been. Plausible but depends heavily on assumptions, real estimates vary widely (£500m–£850m/week). obr.uk/forecasts-in-d…

@BoveFromAbove show us the maths for the so called loss,

@RichardTonry @Bob__Hudson

@Bob__Hudson Credit? For what? Lifting the cap so I can feed more kids? I can just about afford to feed my own kids thanks to this government!!

Any chance of a Labour government getting just a little bit of credit for doing Labour things?

@eRotation @ukreloaded

Voting Reform, doesn't make me a racist It simply means that I could never vote Labour, Greens or the LibDems The Tories had their chance, and regrettably, they did very little with it Time for someone else to have a go! #ImVotingReform #Reform #Farage

@LonsdaleKeith @meralhece The EU isn’t “making us rename marmalade”, that definition is already UK law we chose to keep. An SPS deal is about easier trade & fewer border checks, not controlling all UK food. Labour ruled out the Single Market, but has left room for closer food standards alignment.

Gaslighting. Nobody voted to join the EU SM or SPS scheme. In fact, Labour election messaging made clear this would not be happening. The fact is that it's not just marmalade, these EU regs (whose formulation we have no control over at all) will apply to ALL agri-food products, whether they are for our domestic or export markets to anywhere in the world.

Orange marmalade to be labelled Orange marmalade. A shadow foreign secretary highlighting the big issues facing the country.

@ETtanter @BoveFromAbove Stop talking nonsense. The UK economy isn’t “crippled” and no party, including Labour, is trying to stop people owning things. Economic outcomes depend on global factors (energy shocks, wars), past governments and the Bank of England, not just one party.

@BoveFromAbove Good for you Nick. Keep creating jobs to help an economy being crippled by the Labour government who don’t want any of us to have anything. Vote Reform.

Anybody ever wondered why Reform don’t support a wealth tax?

@ELNVdc @jamesdavidmagee @BorisJohnson There’s no evidence Iran told the US it had “11 nukes” or planned to use them. That claim isn’t in any verified record. The US & Iran actually reached a deal (JCPOA) to limit Iran’s nuclear program; the US later withdrew.

On the first day of negotiations the Iranians told the US that they had enough super-enriched uranium to make 11 bombs and they were going to use them on us the minute they had the means to. In response to that threat we offered to build civilian reactors for their energy AT OUR EXPENSE if they would stop super-enriching. They turned us down. We offered to get them all the lower-enriched uranium they wanted. They turned us down. Where do you go from there when you have a determined enemy who is telling you to your face that they intend to murder you? You eliminate the threat. If Trump had sat by and let the Iranians lob a nuke you'd be screaming for his impeachment. Instead he pre-empted the threat, which is his job as POTUS. Screech impotently some more.

We can’t pretend the Iran war is not our war too mol.im/a/15704687

@sainsburys discuss…

@prem4everLi @LBC It’s not really a U-turn, Miliband backing one North Sea gasfield is a limited exception, not a policy shift. Wider ban on new licences & focus on renewables still stands.

@LBC I'm glad there doing this but wow these U turns are making them look weaker and weaker by the day along with the lack of credibilty,I'm betting that they'll cut fuel duty as well

Ed Miliband to give green light to first major North Sea gasfield project in a decade lbc.co.uk/article/ed-mil…

@Andy2if @MelJStride @KEdge23 The UK doesn’t spend more on benefits than it raises in tax. Latest figures (2025–26): Welfare: £323bn Total tax/receipts: £1.23tn That’s 26% of revenue

@MelJStride @KEdge23 Economic catastrophe you were saying, Take a look at the fucking state of the country after 30 years of the Uniparty. We now pay more out in benefits per year than the entire tax take. Utter lunacy.

A Reform government would be an economic catastrophe. Just look at the manifesto they've launched in Scotland. It's not just fantasy economics - they can't even do the basic maths. They've promised huge tax cuts and seem to think they would just pay for themselves...🧵(1/7)

@SuellaBraverman UK law requires strict political impartiality and inspections (Ofsted) generally find no systemic bias. Issues can happen but there’s no strong evidence of widespread indoctrination. This is a political claim, not a proven fact.

Too many schools, supported by their local councils, are teaching a politicised curriculum. We need to end political indoctrination in schools. Vote Reform to restore common sense and patriotism to the classroom.

@Susan1034456 @LauraTrottMP Yes & Teachers pay is part of the education budget. Teachers pay was cut 20% in real terms from 2010-2024. Underfund schools & pay rises means fewer staff, bigger classes, less SEND. Kids fall behind, struggle & miss opportunities. The cost doesn’t vanish, it hits the children.

@Mike_Cole145 @LauraTrottMP Money for education comes from the education budget. Give people massive pay rises if you like but that comes out of the education pot. The taxpayer doesn't have bottomless pockets.

There is no new funding here. The OBR is clear there is no new money for SEND before 28/29 & a £2bn gap remains. This money is coming from existing DfE budgets, and we all know what that means, it’s coming from schools.

@ChisieWeirdo @Clownitics @RobertJenrick “When it makes little economic sense”… Teachers, nurses, police, transport workers keep society running. Underpay them for years & schools, hospital & services crumble. Paying them fairly is essential for communities and the ECONOMY.

@Mike_Cole145 @Clownitics @RobertJenrick When its makes little economic sense, us tax payers can wonder why the Labour funding unions were given such higher pay rises than the rest of the economy. What a coincidence.....

Britain has paid Norway over £100 billion for gas since 2021. For gas they’re drilling in the North Sea, the same sea Ed Miliband has banned new drilling in on the British side. Madness.

@ChisieWeirdo @Clownitics @RobertJenrick Between 2010 - 2024 total pay growth (approx): Private sector: +45% Public sector: +34% Public sector had a pay freeze (2010–2012) 1% cap. Private sector had bigger rises post 2015 and post COVID.

@Mike_Cole145 @Clownitics @RobertJenrick The point being public sector pay increases which are significantly above private sector pay increases or GDP growth are effectively unfunded and are just paid for by yet more borrowing. A v short sighted approach

@ChisieWeirdo @Clownitics @RobertJenrick After 15% real-terms pay cuts since 2010-2024 a 5–6% rise in 2025 isn’t “reward” it’s partial recovery. There’s still a long way to go, thanks for confirming 👍

@Mike_Cole145 @Clownitics @RobertJenrick 2024 ( post election) public sector pay increases: Public sector workers received a 4.75% to 6% rise for 2024–25. Teachers: A 5.5% pay rise in schools across England was accepted, effective September 2024. NHS: staff pay increases vary within the accepted 4.75%–6% range.

@Susan1034456 @LauraTrottMP It should be fully funded from central Government otherwise schools have to find the money themselves which means fewer staff, less SEND support, fewer resources, the cost doesn’t disappear, it’s pushed onto the children.

@Mike_Cole145 @LauraTrottMP Well where did you think that money should have come from?

@Steven_Swinford @oliver_wright Sir Keir Starmer has warned about possible profiteering and said the government would act but he has not clearly stated as a proven fact that petrol retailers are profiteering from the Middle East war.

Exclusive from @oliver_wright Sir Keir Starmer’s claim that Britain’s petrol retailers are “profiteering” from the war in the Middle East by price gouging is not supported by evidence, an investigation by The Times suggests An analysis of fuel price rises at more than 6,000 petrol stations since the conflict in Iran began found that retailers had, on average, increased the cost of petrol by 12.1 per cent. Of those, only nine forecourts increased their petrol prices more than double the national average (24 per cent or more) The pump price increase is less than the 18 per cent rise in the wholesale price since the US attacks on Iran began. The findings cast doubt on claims by Starmer and Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, that petrol retailers have been exploiting the crisis in the Middle East to make additional profits at the expense of customers. thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar…

@ArchRose90 A Cardiff thesis, Birmingham studies, computational analyses suggests roughly: Direct answers: Blair: 40% Cameron: 35% Johnson: 20% Sunak: 30% Starmer: 35% So only about a 1/3 of answers are direct. The rest: deflection, reframing or attack lines. All just as bad as each other.

After #PMQs Tory MP Sir Edward Leigh MP raised a Point of Order on Keir Starmer dodging EVERY question EVERY week. The Speaker says that he cannot do anything about it. It has become utterly points to watch. I don’t blame the Reform MPs for walking out. It’s so pointless now.