Nick P

This morning @StigAbell and @KateEMcCann had myself and the President of the PCS union on to clash swords. PCS said civil servants shouldn’t even have to work the current 3 days a week in the office because of the increase in petrol and energy costs caused by the Iran conflict. I said: - civil servants already have a very generous WFH arrangement; - those based in a London office are already paid extra to compensate for the commuting and living costs; - public sector productivity has flatlined and this would make it worse. We must stand up to these insane union demands

NHS care is now being rationed. GPs have been told (and will be paid) to refuse, at least, 1 out of 4 specialist referrals to hospitals in order to reduce waiting lists by 25% minimum. Wes Streeting is a dangerous menace. This is an inhumane way to reduce waiting lists.

RIGHT BEATS MIGHT! This is excellent news. The Govt’s apalling Treaty which rode rough shod over the rights of the Chagossians should now be thrown in the bin. conservativepost.co.uk/historic-victo… via @ConsPost They should tear it up and tell Mauritius it’s over, instead they will now make arrangements for Chagossians to return home. They can look after their own affairs and they want the UK to remain Sovereign. Also British taxpayers won’t have to pay £35bn to Mauritius either. A great result!

GPs refer when they need to refer. If they are rejected, it could cost lives. We could see cancers diagnosed at later stages, potentially when it becomes untreatable? And of course GPs will get the blame from terrified and rightly angry patients for something which is out of their control. This is the consequence of a politicised healthcare system.

Whichever clinician came up with this idea around Advice & guidance in @NHSEngland needs to step forward and own their decision And explain their thinking process Cos I ain't just rejecting GP referrals to hit a percentage. I will accept referrals as dictated by clinical need

This is absurd. If we need 4,000 training places we should have them. If we don’t, the Prime Minister shouldn’t be offering them as a bribe paid for by the taxpayer.

This week the NHS will undergo one of the most radical – and scandalous - changes in its history. From 1st April (the public are the fools in this), GPs will be contractually obliged to seek remote, electronic “advice and guidance” from hospital ‘clinicians’ (note, not necessarily doctors), making it even harder for patients to see a hospital specialist. Does this sound part of a plan to genuinely ‘fix’ the NHS, as Wes Streeting vowed he would do so effusively when taking up office - or more like a tactic to ration hospital care by overriding GPs in order to massage the waiting list figures? It is, of course, the latter, an extra layer of bureaucracy that at best will delay patients’ access to the specialist treatment they need, at worse sacrifice those patients on the altar of fake news about “falling” waiting lists. You don’t need me to point out the patient safety risks it potentially entails. We all know that time, in medicine, can be everything. The Royal College of GPs has been crystal clear: “The use of advice and guidance should not be mandated in any area… We have heard reports of risks of delays, with tests being required before any referral, lost messages and staff without appropriate senior clinical oversight handling requests.” The aim, says the Times, is to reduce the number of hospital outpatient appointments by 30 million annually. And the government, in a really quite breathtaking example of political spin, is presenting this as “good” for patients - as though all those people who’ve been waiting years months or even years for the first Rheumatology, Neurology or Orthopaedics appointment they so desperately need are just, you know, malingering. (I recently spoke to a patient with a new diagnosis of multiple sclerosis who’d been waiting over six months to see a neurologist for the first time – simply scandalous.) I believe this is a national health scandal from a government that apparently cares more about good spin than it does about good patient care. If you feel the same, please – please – write to your MP or the Secretary of State and tell them why. Please shout about this online, in the press, anywhere you can. Don’t let this slide. Thank you.

When the government takes £600 from a hard working citizen and gives £100 each to 6 welfare claimants, they lose one voter but gain six. Socialism: great for votes, terrible for productivity.

Energy security should come before ideology. Imported LNG is expensive, it has to be liquefied, shipped across the world, then converted back into gas. Every step adds cost. Domestic gas from the North Sea goes straight into our system through pipelines. That’s why Norway and the US enjoy cheaper energy and stronger economic growth. Meanwhile the UK has some of the highest energy costs in the world, driven by excessive taxation and an obsession with expensive Net Zero policies that currently provide only around 20% of our energy needs. If we want lower bills and a stronger economy, the answer is simple: use our own resources. Drill sensibly for oil and gas and reduce punitive energy taxes.

Dear Phoebe, I read your Observer piece this morning on the reported “exodus” from Girlguiding - and I was genuinely shocked. Not because you presented a different perspective to my recent Telegraph reporting on the problems within Girlguiding. That’s part of journalism. But because you chose to include the case of a six-year-old little boy who reportedly tried to cut off his own penis - after being told he couldn't be part of Rainbows (the section of Girlguiding for 5–7 year olds). Presenting it as evidence of a problem with Girlguiding’s admissions policy. It is not. It is a deeply distressing account involving a very young child - and, on any view, a serious welfare concern. Framing it otherwise is a profound failure of editorial judgement. You also refer to this male child throughout using female pronouns, including the phrase “her penis”. I appreciate this may reflect current editorial conventions. But it sits uneasily with the basic duty of a journalist to report clearly and accurately on material facts. I was already aware of this case through my own reporting for the Sunday Telegraph. I made a conscious decision not to include it at this stage - both because a minor is involved and because of the ethical considerations that arise when reporting on such sensitive situations. Those considerations are not optional. You will know, as I do, that journalism is not simply about presenting competing narratives. It is about establishing facts clearly, handling vulnerable subjects with care and exercising judgement about what should - and should not - be used to advance an argument. I trained as a journalist in the early 2000s - a good 20 years earlier than you did - but to my knowledge nothing has changed. Good journalism should bring clarity. It should not muddy the facts - in order to promote an ideological position. In this context, that means being clear about sex - a material fact that is both legally and practically relevant. I appreciate you may be under pressure from colleagues or editors to frame stories in a particular way - or to use she/her pronouns, or the phrase “her penis”. But that doesn’t make it right. Earlier this week, the Manchester Evening News reported a violent murder as being committed by a woman - one of many examples of inaccurate reporting around sex and gender. In this case, even the Crown Prosecution Service - the public body responsible for prosecuting criminal cases in England and Wales - also reported the crime inaccurately. So that’s two professions we should be able to trust to tell the truth - providing inaccurate information. Crime statistics matter. Without accurate data on who is committing serious violence, we cannot properly understand it - let alone prevent it. I considered raising this privately, or writing to your editor. But this issue is too important to be brushed aside with a “thank you for your feedback”. I’m happy to discuss it with you privately, or to support a conversation with your editor if that would be helpful. But I hope this gives you - and your colleagues - serious pause for thought. Because it is very much needed. Janet

At the Amite BioEnergy facility in Gloster, Mississippi, 450,000 metric tons of pellets are produced each year and shipped to the Drax Power Station in England to generate renewable electricity. Wood is chipped by electric power machines dried by heat from burning bark,pelleted using electricity then transported using fossil fuels - to be loaded onto bulk carriers powered by fossil fuels for transport across Atlantic - unloaded and transported to Drax by fossil fuels. It is a sham.

Slavery existed for over 5,000 years. Every major civilisation accepted it. For most of history, nobody seriously tried to stop it at scale. Then Britain did something different. It didn’t just pass a law. 👇 In 1807, Britain abolished the slave trade. Then it enforced it. For 60 years, the Royal Navy hunted slave ships. 1,600 ships captured. Around 150,000 people freed. And it cost lives. Around 2,000 British sailors died doing it. Then in 1833: Britain abolished slavery across its empire. 800,000 people set free. It paid £20 million to do it. Around 40 percent of government spending. This wasn’t quick. This wasn’t easy. And it didn’t start with politicians. It started with ordinary people. Women boycotted sugar. Hundreds of thousands of them. Thomas Clarkson rode 35,000 miles to gather evidence. A movement that took decades. This is part of British history. Not perfect. But not what most people are told either. Almost no one explains it like this. Proud Of Us is funded entirely by our community. No sponsors. No advertisers. If you believe this history deserves to be told properly:👇 Be part of us. 👉 proudofus.co.uk/support 🙏 Be proud of us 🇬🇧

Subway made their choice, and now we have to make ours.

ChatGPT made this graphic for me to illustrate the pump price of petrol... The fuel duty is higher than the crude oil component And then we pay VAT including on the fuel duty!! When @RachelReevesMP talks about fuel profiteering she needs to look in the mirror @griffitha @ClaireCoutinho

Because regulators are diversity zealots, major companies in Britain need 40% of their board members to be women. Businesses should be judged on their products and services. Instead, regulators are obsessed with DEI. It’s none of their business and it’s crushing the economy.

We are raising awareness and stand together for #MyelomaActionMonth. Multiple myeloma is the second most common blood cancer, affecting more than 176,000 people worldwide each year. However, this figure likely underrepresents the true impact, as the disease remains underdiagnosed and inconsistently reported in many regions. Despite its prevalence, awareness of myeloma is still limited. Increasing understanding is critical to improving earlier diagnosis, advancing care, and supporting those affected. #Myeloma Action Month is an opportunity to recognise the patients, families, care partners, #healthcare professionals, and communities who are impacted by this disease — and who continue to demonstrate resilience beyond it. Join us in spread awareness by engaging with our post and help make an impact. #POLB #MoreThanMyeloma #MyelomaAwareness

CQS mining fund managers Keith Watson and Robert Crayfourd are to join Tufton, manager of tanker fleet operator Tufton Assets $SHIP. Tufton bosses sound hopeful that Golden Prospect $GPM, Geiger Counter $GCL & CQS Natural Resources $CYN will follow them quoteddata.com/2026/03/star-c…

Why? Cancer doesn't discriminate why should they

For the majority of people in Britain, religion wasn't something you gave a moment's thought to until 25 years ago. It was a private matter and nobody cared. Anyone worshipping publicly was regarded as a nutter. Tony Blair couldn't even fess up to believing in God. Times change.

What's astonishing about this vile, antisemitic exhibition is that it's being promoted on a @ThanetCouncil website. We need an explanation from the council's leader, Rick Everitt (@airmanbrown). visitthanet.co.uk/events/matthew… x.com/realzoestrimpe…