Andy Hemsted

@JohnRushforth1 @KayBurley I was angry. And still angry. I said that. You ignored it. And because I know people involved with the process. That’s how I know

@AndyHemsted @KayBurley My numbers removed the COVID years. Could you explain how you know this is down to incompetence? Interesting you are not answering why you were not angry when the Tories postponed elections?

… to be postponed. Headline character count can be a challenge

"Perhaps the worst moment for South East Water was when it opened a bottled water station in the wrong town." Oh yes they did. 24,000 properties in TunBridge Wells are without water, what do South East Water do? Set up a bottled water station in Tonbridge 5 miles away. thetimes.com/uk/environment….

New research on mortuary chests in Winchester Cathedral, which contain the commingled skeletal remains of early medieval individuals, primarily Anglo-Saxon and early Norman royals and bishops. These chests, originally ten in number but now six (with replacements), were disrupted during the English Civil War in 1642, when Parliamentarian forces scattered the bones; the remains were later recollected without sorting by individual. The bones have now been analysed and a study of them will be published by Francis Crick institute. The 23 individuals are alleged to include: • Cynegils (King of Wessex, d. 643) • Cynewulf (King of Wessex, d. 786). • Ecgberht (or Egbert, King of Wessex, d. 839). • Æthelwulf (King of Wessex, d. 858). • Eadred (King of England, d. 955). • Edmund (likely Edmund I, King of England, d. 946). • Edmund Ironside (King of England, d. 1016). • Cnut (King of England, Denmark, and Norway, d. 1035). • Harthacnut (or Hardecanute, King of England and Denmark, d. 1042).

@JohnRushforth1 @KayBurley Yes. It’s wrong. I accept at times of war or the pandemic. But not for the incompetence of officials and elected politicians who are unable to get things sorted in time.

@AndyHemsted @KayBurley So, when an authority under the Tories asked the goverment under the Local Goverment Act to postpone an election, how angry were you?

@JohnRushforth1 @KayBurley I am not happy wasting money. But I am even more unhappy with people being denied their right to choose their elected representatives.

@AndyHemsted @KayBurley Yeah, right, if you say so. I know the figures, and this is not an unusual situation. The part that is new is the large reorganisation currently underway. But I guess you're happy wasting money.

@JohnRushforth1 @KayBurley You live in Scotland. It took 608 days from a referendum to the opening of the Scottish Parliament. It took just two years to reorganise all of London from the referendum. This is taking a long time to do something a lot easier

@Madz_Grant @edwest Also enjoyed Human last year on BBC with @Ella_AlShamahi

@edwest Echoes of Henry Ford. You can have any documentary as long as it’s by David Olusoga or Lucy Worsley

Why are there so few old BBC documentaries on iPlayer? Is it a cost or rights thing?

@Madz_Grant @edwest Shame we can’t get the great ones by people like @nfergus on a streaming service. Although rewatched @thecoastguy and ones about ancient Britain. They are great

BREAKING: Tonight Maccabi Tel Aviv has beaten Hapoel Tel Aviv on penalties in the Israel State Cup. No casualties reported. West Midlands Police still assessing the threat.

@Bricktop_NAFO Thing is, perhaps this was always the intention? Like when he threatened to leave NATO unless other members increased spending. So they did

More forces and equipment arrive in Greenland as Europe start to reinforce the island from the Trumps Third Reich.

@Artemisfornow He is a zealot. He doesn’t care about this

Well done Ed! Your giant Berwick Bank 300 turbine wind farm could kill 2,808 guillemots, 814 kittiwakes, 260 gannets, 154 razorbills, and 65 puffins PER YEAR. Doesn’t sound very sustainable to me 🤡

@JohnRushforth1 @KayBurley Approx half that number was due to the election being uncontested (only one candidate), and most of the rest was because the authority had been abolished so nothing to get elected to.

@KayBurley Were you aware that during the last 14 years of the Tories they postponed over 500 elections (not including the Covid years). How many people were angry?

Britain is surrendering the Chagos Islands to ‘look good’ in the decolonisation debate, swapping a strategic asset for applause that won’t last a week. Why are we letting a passing intellectual fashion steer decisions with real strategic and human consequences? I’ve set out the full picture at The Biggar Picture: nigelbiggar.co.uk/p/chagos

A “butt load” is a real unit of measurement, equivalent to 128 gallons.

@FraserMyers @Fox_Claire Still hoping for the Peerage I suspect

How in the honest to god fuck in the year of the lord 2026 can anyone still be demanding *examples* of cancel culture?

EXC: Reform Blasts Chagos Bedlam in Parliament In Tough Intervention order-order.com/2026/01/14/exc…

The House of Lords has serious explaining to do. You cannot edit Hansard to remove uncomfortable facts. You cannot ask the same question 4 times until you get the answer you want. You cannot block a division, then allow a political speech mid-vote to confuse peers. This is not procedure. It’s democratic erosion. Democracy, and public trust, matter.

Come on, House of Lords. We need you to address this. It is unacceptable. Peers said “Not Content” three times. A division should have been called. Instead, Labour reran the question until they got the answer they wanted, confused the House, and told peers they were voting against their own motion. This is not how a democracy works. #Chagos

You need to U Turn on your Chagos surrender @Keir_Starmer. In your manifesto you clearly said you would protect British Overseas Territories and defend the right to self-determination. Why are you doing the complete opposite? Are you working for us or China?

Congratulations, the Multipolar World You Ordered Is Here