Stephen Connolly

@defencewithac Regardless of the law or highway code, if you’re on a bike you have to be stupid to pass a left turning car like that. Common sense tells you to pass it on the right if there’s no oncoming traffic. Safety before trusting any rules. It’s often very hard for drivers to see you.

This is the driver's fault, but I think we have reached the point where the law needs to be amended. The idea that a cyclist can just ride up the inside of a turning car and expect it to give way is stupid and inconsistent with how other road users work.

@WallStreetMav If you fly first, does the same happen re business class?

If you ever fly business class on an international transatlantic flight, you will never be able to do it again in economy. That one time upgrade with points will be extremely expensive for the rest of your life.

@readswithravi Of course

Is there anyone else who still favors reading physical books over e-books in 2026?

@TheSnoozeDoctor That’s starting to get too high. Unless he/she is extremely good and more of a housemaid, sitting out clothes and going to dry cleaners, etc, changing beds and sorting sheets, I think you could get better. 15-17.

I’ve been thinking about getting a cleaner. I’m a single guy, but never seem to have time for more than a quick dust and hoover. I’ve been quoted £150 for two cleans a month: 3.5 hours each visit, including ironing and inside windows. Spacious two-bed in Fulham. Reasonable? 🧐

@Kulambq Frankenstein is in top 10

Works which have no business being on this list: 'Beloved' 'Wolf Hall' 'The End of the Affair' (it's one of Greene's weakest novels) 'The Remains of the Day' 'My Brilliant Friend' 'White Teeth' I can't comment on those I haven't read, for instance, 'Nervous Condition,' 'Kindred,' 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,' 'The Golden Notebook.' theguardian.com/books/ng-inter…

@Thesecretinves2 And possibly re-entry tax breaks to encourage wealthy go-getters to come back.

The UK doesn't need a new economic model. It needs to do the boring things properly. Here's what would actually get this country growing again. In My Opinion. Cheap energy. Everything else follows from this. Nuclear at scale, Stop paying wind farms to switch off. No country gets rich on expensive power. Build things. Houses, labs, reactors, roads. Planning is the binding constraint on every serious investor in the UK. Default to yes. Build. Simpler taxes. The tax code is over 10 million words. Halve it. Lower rates, fewer reliefs, more predictability. Stop punishing the people who stayed. Hard money. Sterling has lost a third of its value since 2008. Workers and savers paid for that quietly. Anchor the currency, hold real reserves, stop inflating away the problem. Pension capital onshore. UK pensions barely invest in the UK. Fix the rules. Let savers access a wider asset mix, including digital assets. Stop forcing everyone into the same narrow basket. Welfare into work. Five and a half million working-age adults out of work isn't their failure, it's the system's. Make the first hour of work pay. Stop the talent leaving. Founders and capital are going to Dubai, Milan and Lisbon. Every one is a permanent tax loss. Reverse the signal. None of this is clever. It's just serious. Cheap energy, real building, simple taxes, hard money, productive capital. Do four of these and the UK is the fastest-growing economy in the G7.

@GuvsCryptoTips @TheJerzWay Guess probably fees about £267k or whatever the tax bill was…..

@TheJerzWay How much does that structure cost to run though? With a US LLC don’t board meetings have to take place in the US?

British consultant billing £650K/year. HMRC took £287K. His plan: "I'll become a non-dom." Non-dom rules got gutted in 2025. We moved him to Dubai. No personal income tax. He invoices through a US LLC. Banks in Singapore. Assets in a Nevis trust. From £287K in tax to £0. His old accountant said "you'll get caught." Caught doing what? Being legal?

@proptechpioneer @TheJerzWay I did not understand this either. If he is UAE resident and not a frequent holiday maker I don’t see why you would not use a UAE company with zero local VAT as all clients outside UAE. Trust, etc., all seems bureaucratic. Can be simple.

@TheJerzWay If he actually moved to Dubai, why the need for this structure?

@AndyBurnhamGM @JamesMelville The man who brought in the £2 bus fare cap has got yo be the man with the vision to rebuild Britain.

I can confirm that I will be requesting the permission of the NEC to stand in the Makerfield by-election. I grew up in this area and have lived here for 25 years. I care deeply about it and its people. I know they have been let down by national politics. Ten years ago, I decided to leave Westminster. Why? Because, after 16 years, I came to the conclusion that our national political system does not work for areas like ours. I learnt this fighting its failure to invest in the Wigan borough, for justice for the Hillsborough families and against its treatment of Greater Manchester during the pandemic. Over the last decade, I have been challenging this failure from the outside and building a new and better way of doing politics. We have built Greater Manchester into the fastest-growing city-region in the UK and put buses back under public control, introducing a £2 fare cap to help people with cost-of-living pressures. However, there is only so much that can be done from Greater Manchester. Much bigger change is needed at a national level if everyday life is to be made more affordable again. This is why I now seek people’s support to return to Parliament: to bring the change we have brought to Greater Manchester to the whole of the UK and make politics work properly for people. Millions are struggling and they need the Labour Government to succeed. It has already made changes to make life better for them in its first two years. After this week, we owe it to people to come back together as a Labour movement, giving the Prime Minister and the Government the space and stability they need as the by-election takes place. I want to recognise the difficult decision taken by Josh Simons and the sacrifice he and his family are making. I have worked closely with him as Mayor on issues like flooding and illegal waste dumping and have seen first-hand how effective he has been. He has put the communities of Makerfield first, made a real difference for them and should take great pride in that. Finally, I truly do not take a single vote for granted and will work hard to regain the trust of people in the Makerfield constituency, many of whom have long supported our party but lost faith in recent times. We will change Labour for the better and make it a party you can believe in again. ENDS

@LindseyGrahamSC @POTUS The world is laughing at you.

Just spoke to @POTUS about our European allies’ unwillingness to provide assets to keep the Strait of Hormuz functioning, which benefits Europe far more than America. I have never heard him so angry in my life. I share that anger given what’s at stake. The arrogance of our allies to suggest that Iran with a nuclear weapon is of little concern and that military action to stop the ayatollah from acquiring a nuclear bomb is our problem not theirs is beyond offensive. The European approach to containing the ayatollah’s nuclear ambitions have proven to be a miserable failure. The repercussions of providing little assistance to keep the Strait of Hormuz functioning are going to be wide and deep for Europe and America. I consider myself very forward-leaning on supporting alliances, however at a time of real testing like this, it makes me second guess the value of these alliances. I am certain I am not the only senator who feels this way.

@steve_hanke Well you could pay that or you could just book a scheduled flight out of Dubai over coming days.

In Dubai, evacuation costs can rise to as high as $250,000 for families with 2 children. Just a little collateral cost of war.

@AirlinePilotmax What is the evidence for this ?

Emirates inbound flights to Dubai on the Airbus A380 are currently operating with extremely low passenger loads—typically only 10 to 12 passengers on board, excluding the crew This is a stark contrast to the aircraft's massive capacity, which can accommodate anywhere from around 470.

@DanNeidle And if shengen is a problem just head to Dublin or cork. Not ideal but quick and clean.

I don't really understand this. Most expats won't be within just a few days of falling UK tax resident. Even if they are, the obvious solution is: spend a few weeks in France, Italy, the US... anywhere at all except the UK. ft.com/content/80bfb2…

@EmiratesSupport @emirates No one ever answers ?????

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@IsabelOakeshott @GBNEWS Nor me. I’m sat Downtown on the Boulevard outside a cafe and there’s nothing to see. Nice weather. Everywhere open, business as usual, Burj Khalifa putting on the usual light show

@GBNEWS I have not seen anyone “running around in a panic”

'People are running around in panic.' GB News producer Qundeel Sadiq, stranded in Dubai, describes the chaos in the region after the cancellation of all flights.

@Rainmaker1973 I thought he’d had it extensively modified. The house now is a multiple of the size of the house he first bought. Buffet likes to play this role but the same guy posing with the ordinary car is the same guy who goes to business meetings on a private jet.

Warren Buffett still lives in the same house he bought in 1958 for $31,500

@lionelbarber Did you really say that to him?

From the archive (my published diaries as FT editor, this excerpt dated Monday Dec 13 2010

@thatginamiller Andrew needs to be finished off fastest as his fall is thought the expedient to restoring more most around the inner royal family. Mandelson is routine. Andrew is being done in fast.

Can anyone explain? If Andrew Mountbatten Windsor is being investigated by the police for misconduct in public office, why is Peter Mandelson not being arrested/investigated for what appears to be identical offences?

@piersmorgan I don’t see how constitutional monarchy can be taken seriously any longer. It’s a scam and we are mugs for going along with it. Get rid of them all.

BREAKING NEWS: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested on the Sandringham royal estate by police investigating misconduct in public office. Stunning news.

@williamnhutton I don’t see how constitutional monarchy can be taken seriously any longer. It’s a scam and we are mugs for going along with it. Get rid of them all.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, and carrying out searches at ‘ addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk’. A tipping point moment for him obviously- but also the Royal Family. observer.co.uk/news/columnist…