Arthur Wrightus

@MrTCHarris @RMTunion Well, they won't have to. Because his employer, TfL, will have sacked him. Just as they've sacked other racists from time to time. I mean, they will, won't they?

I'm sure the @RMTunion will move as quickly to remove him from membership. They wouldn't want a self-declared proud racist in their ranks, would they?

@Sean_A_Stratton @afneil Well said. Mandelson's list of alleged sins is a yard long. There were other excellent candidates, including the incumbent. Yet....Mandelson. Starmer's defence seems to be that he was incompetent. That incompetent? Hard to believe.

@afneil No one asked most obvious Q! Why appoint Mandelson as our US Ambassador to liaise with our biggest Ally, when they hated him! They had security concerns and nearly flat out turned him down. Only with promises of “a short leash” and keeping out meetings did they even allow him in!

Oh it’s gibberish alright. Cabinet secretary Simon Case advised Starmer in November 2024 to do the vetting then appoint Mandelson. Starmer can’t explain why he ignored that advice. If he had followed it he wouldn’t be in the mess he’s in now. Starmer can’t justify ignoring Case by pointing to what Wormald said many months later. Case stepped down December 2024, replaced by Wormald. Wormald went along with Starmer’s timetable. He could hardly reverse himself in a subsequent report. Also, he merely says it’s normal/usual to appoint then vet. Not that Starmer was right to do so. And I think we can all agree Mandelson’s appointment was anything but normal/usual.

@JohnRentoul Yes, but it's the depth of that mistake that is astonishing. Mandelson's alleged sins were numerous, and known to Starmer. There were many other candidates, including the incumbent. So why choose Mandelson? Starmer's defence seems to be that he's incompetent.

It was a mistake to appoint Peter Mandelson: on that pretty much everyone agrees, including the PM; all else is processology hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2026-0…

@RDH1156 @ajcdeane Trouble is, large swathes of the left think anyone who disagrees with them is both racist and fascist. Will it be camps, with striped pyjamas? Blue triangles for the Tories? And for the jews? No need to ask.

@ajcdeane He wants a society without Racists and Fascists, Alex. So, no surprise that you’re upset.

So what will you do with the people you want to build a society without, Zack? The electorate is entitled to know!

@SimonCalder Good. Tourism is big business in the EU. Why make it difficult for people to spend their money in your economies? But then, the Eurocrats in Brussels live in their own bubble. They don't give a stuff. Of course, this now blows a hole in the entire rationale for EES.

EU entry-exit system: Greece goes its own way. The EES – fingerprints/facial biometrics taken from all "third-country nationals" – is supposed to operate at all Schengen area frontiers. But Greece has decided to drop the biometrics for UK passport holders. independent.co.uk/travel/news-an…

@GlynisWinestein @bonnaud_dowell @ShippersUnbound Way more than £100k. He earns £235k, so paying up his notice will be most of that. They'll want him to sign an NDA, and definitely won't want him giving evidence at an ET. When Tom Scholar was sacked by Kwasi Kwarteng, he got £457k, total. That's more like it.

@bonnaud_dowell @ShippersUnbound After a £100,000 pay out? He'd get less at an ET

🚨NEW: * Vetting led to Mandelson agreeing ‘mitigations’ to deal with security concerns * He was not allowed unsupervised access to former clients * All this was agreed and known about by Downing Street = no need for Robbins to block security clearance spectator.com/article/mandel…

@PensionsMonkey This could only be applied to UK-based firms. The big Cos in the FTSE are international, and could move domicile fast. Bye, bye, Corporation tax. That is, £90bn+ in 2024/5.

How is it 65% of our population are so economically illiterate?

@alextomo Renewables are not cheap. Seen the electricity price? They are not clean. They need vast amounts of concrete and copper. They are not good for the environment. Wind turbines wipe out many migrating birds. Other than that, spot on.

FT - at last - reports that R Reeves will finally stop the system that allows (expensive and dirty) gas to set the price electricity - allowing renewables (cheap and clean) to influence price . Why has this taken so long?

@ronlondoncon @JasonGroves1 Yep. And the incumbent Ambassador was universally said to be doing a great job. She could easily have stopped on. Who wouldn't, in a job like that? So why was he chosen, with that rap sheet? Something stinks.

@JasonGroves1 It makes no sense. Why would Robbins/FCDO go out of their way to step on a massive land mine when it was the PM who wanted Mandy. Mandy wasn’t even an FCDO guy. FCDO would have preferred one of their own.

So the story seems to be that Olly Robbins - a career civil servant leading a dept that had warned against Mandelson's appointment - decided of his own volition to overrule the security services and to keep it a secret from ministers. Righto

@BethRigby The bigger question is why he was ever chosen in the first place. Mandelson's sins were many, and known long before being appointed. Something stinks.

NEW: Anger in No 10 tonight - am told by a source that neither the PM nor his advisors were told, over a series of months, that Mandelson had been granted security clearance against the recommendation of UK security vetting. That suggests this information was held in foreign office and not shared. Big Qs now about the PM misleading the House. I am told the PM had been asking Qs about vetting and not been told this information while giving statements to parliament. Told this week PM had been trying to get answers about what happened since Tues night - Guardian got ahead of story. The critical point is that the minister has to have ‘knowingly misled’ the House, and clearly No 10 saying tonight the PM was not aware. I understand the PM had been intending to update the HoC as soon as No 10 had established facts, which they have been doing since Tues. So expect to see the PM come to HoC on Monday to correct the record I asked PM on March 16 whether he has misled the House when he said due process was followed. This is what he told me BETH RIGBY: On the Mandelson files, your national security adviser said the process was quote, weirdly rushed, and Mandelson was appointed before developed vetting had been complete. You told MPs in the House of Commons that due process was followed. Is there a possibility that you have misled the House when you said that? KEIR STARMER: No, and the independent adviser looked at that very question. I think on Thursday or Friday of last week, and answered it very robustly, that the process had been followed. The process wasn't strong enough. And amongst the changes that I intend to put into place is the fact that you can't announce someone until the vetting is finished. It wasn't an individual decision in the Mandelson case, that was the process. Well, you only have to look at that. in the light of the appointment, to realise that that needs to change. But on due process, the process that was there was followed, the problem was the process wasn't strong enough, but ultimately, it was my mistake and I have apologised for that and quite right to.

@DPJHodges Why would anyone think he could pass DV? 1. Resigned twice 2. Close links to Russian oligarch 3. Done lots of business with China DV is detailed. The spooks can speak to your neighbours and friends. Expect them to scan your socials. So how was he ever chosen for this job?

Something instructive. No.10 claim Starmer is "furious" he wasn't told Mandelson failed vetting. But when he appointed PM he didn't even wait for the vetting. Starmer has never been concerned about the national security implications of all this. Only the political implications.

@alexmassie It will also feed SNP demands for independence. "cap'n, ye canna change the laws of economics". "That's why we need independence for Scotland".

Since this proposal is almost certainly unlawful (imho), it's the sort of thing to be taken seriously but not literally. Still, it will feed a column for Sunday's paper so it's not all bad.

@Dennynews @Scott_Wortley I think that's the point. We all know this is a stupid policy. But it will be stopped by the Scotland Act. Cue an SNP wail followed by "that's why we need independence".

@Scott_Wortley FM argued in his speech he can use existing devolved public health laws.

Waiting for John Swinney to launch the SNP manifesto in Glasgow. You’ll notice the placard top left: “Price cap on essential goods”. This was a previous call made by the party in 2023: dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/…

@DPJHodges @28virgo A massive pay increase without any quid pro quo says otherwise. It's appalling that only ~40% of medical staff have the flu jab, putting their patients at risk. That's an obvious ask.

@28virgo Yep.

Whisper it. But Wes Streeting is doing a good job as Health Secretary, and Labour MPs are starting to notice. Was a narrative that his proximity to Mandelson had killed his leadership chances. I'm not so sure.

@afneil And millions do have private health care. Business owners can't afford to go sick. Firms can't wait months for staff to be treated. So they pay twice. And being a "twicer" is a major feature of the UK. I lived in France. Nobody paid twice.

This is the reason why we can never reform healthcare in the UK — or even have a sensible debate about it. The moment anyone suggests alternative/additional ways of funding health Labour rushes out privatisation smears and claims US private health insurance is being proposed. Labour has been doing it for decades. It explains why the NHS is effectively beyond reform. The two worst health systems in the rich world are in America and the UK. It’s why nobody has ever copied them. It would be mad to go from ours to theirs (or vice versa). But Europe is awash with health systems that can call on several sources of funds, including many with compulsory public health insurance schemes. They have better health outcomes than the NHS. They are free at the point of use (like the NHS). Most of them are better funded. But Labour puts them out of bounds, refuses even to discuss or consider. So patient care suffers. NHS struggles on. Labour is always telling us we need to get closer to Europe. It’s where we belong. But not when it comes to health, where it insists no lessons can be learned. Pretty pathetic, really.

@justaphag6 Top footballers are routinely on £100k+ per week. So the cleaners at Premier League clubs would take home £10k+ per week. Where do I sign up? Man United - I'm in. Nowhere Town FC, 10th tier, top striker on £500 a week, no thanks.

rich people are losing their MIND at the concept of the 10:1 pay ratio 🤣🤣🤣 absolutely terrified that they’re gunna have to pay their employees well if they want to be paid well 🤣

@UKLabour Nonsense! If kids go to school for 40 weeks/200 days, you're saying £2.25pd saving? How much does a bowl of cornflakes cost?

Today, 500 more free breakfast clubs are opening for 140,000 primary school children across the country. We're determined to bear down on the cost of living. This support alone will save parents up to £450 while giving them more time to get to work. Labour is on your side.

@Coolcmsc @AsBrexit @afneil SMRs would be welcomed on former nuclear sites, such as Sellafield, Wylfa, etc. Well-paid, safe, industrial jobs or herding sheep. Not a hard choice.

@AsBrexit @afneil You don’t know a few things. There was a time when nuclear was the way forward and would have kept costs - of all kinds - down and fuelled lots of jobs, green or otherwise. That was when it was derided… SMR’s have their place…. but where? WHERE will they get planning?

I’ll let you into a secret: big nuclear power stations are hugely capital intensive. Our newest — Hinkley Point C — won’t come on stream until 2031 — six years late on original launch date. So can’t count to green jobs before 2030 (MIliband benchmark). When it is fully running it will employ circa 900 permanent positions. It’s also the most expensive power station of any kind in the world: twice over its original £18bn budget (2015 prices) at current £35bn (2015 prices). Around £50bn in today’s prices. For 900 jobs. My, my these ‘green jobs’ are expensive. And that’s if you count nuclear power as green. Here’s another secret. AI data processing is also hugely capital intensive. As well as energy gobbling. Not all the energy they use will be green because they require reliable dispatchable power — and renewables are not that. Also, just because you work somewhere powered by renewables does not necessarily make your job ‘green’.

@AsBrexit @afneil Eh? The Magnox station at Wylfa never employed more than a thousand. Maybe a few thousand in the construction phase, but temporary and not all at once.

@afneil Wylfa alone could create 8000 jobs. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

@mattyglesias Dinna fash yersel! This nonsense is generated for PR, not for policy. (cf Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren). Ed Davey is no more likely to win an election than he is to win Slimmer of the Year.

I am enjoying my visit here, but the UK is extremely cooked — what kind of liberal party is this? x.com/hoffman_noa/st…