Andy Williamson

@oybat Eccentric is one thing, and need not be abusive. Handsy almost certainly is. I feel a public inquiry coming on about Brexit and all the incompetence, lies and several kinds of corruption/illegality that happened there.

I think this is profoundly true. I’ve often had direct experience of being left feeling I was inconveniencing the greater truth (i.e. what the other person likes & reveres about someone/somewhere/something) by insisting on referencing that person/institution’s abusive behaviour.

@TheGreenParty @carla_denyer @Emmabarnett @BBCWomansHour Correction, interviewer was @itsanitarani and she changed the subject rather quickly!

A vote for the Green Party is never wasted, in fact each one has £££ value as Short Money to @TheGreenParty – I'm a bit amazed that @carla_denyer didn't mention it just now to @Emmabarnett on @BBCWomansHour – it's potentially worth hundreds of thousands per year.

@BBCWomansHour @itsanitarani @carla_denyer A vote for the Green Party is never “wasted”, in fact each one has £££ value as Short Money to @TheGreenParty – @itsanitarani changed the subject b4 @carla_denyer could mention it just now on @BBCWomansHour see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Mon…

In the next of our interviews with the leaders of the main GB political parties in the run-up to the general election, @itsanitarani speaks to the Green Party co-leader @carla_denyer and asks why women should vote for her party. Listen now ⬇️

A vote for the Green Party is never wasted, in fact each one has £££ value as Short Money to @TheGreenParty– I'm a bit amazed that @carla_denyer didn't mention it just now to @itsanitarani on @BBCWomansHour en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Mon…

@oybat It should also be possible for any politician, or anyone, to hear someone say this, and understand its importance and act accordingly – it shouldn't need personal direct experience to cause the right policies.

At last, a man in politics shares something of his heart.

@oybat …which is what BRE employees were when it was the Building Research Establishment, before it was privatised by John Major's Conservative government in 1997.

@oybat Indeed. I'm astounded that after the testimony to the #grenfell inquiry from employees of the company that provided the cladding and BRE, nobody afaik has pointed out that the 'selling' of retests to celotex after its products failed would never've been done by civil servants.

Every word.

@nazirafzal Not just 'cos it was cheap (though that too) but also because the BRE actively 'sold' it's test for the cladding to the manufacturer, after it had already failed. This would never have happened when it was run by civil servants. But after it was privatised by the Tories, it did.

Let us now consider all other miscarriages of justice starting with #Grenfell I had privilege of meeting families of 72 souls that lost their lives inc 18 children I saw how flammable cladding was put on cos it was cheap Nobody has been held to account Do I need to make a film?

Great programme. When I looked into the UK gov definitions, ‘Free Range’ was allowed to be used to describe chickens in huge barns, ~15 per sq metre, with a tiny door to the outside that many would never reach. So it’s organic for me whenever possible. @DoctorChrisVT

@DoctorChrisVT @fashiondvt @BBCRadio4 Great programme. When I looked into the UK gov definitions, ‘Free Range’ was allowed to be used to describe chickens in huge barns, ~15 per sq metre, with a tiny door to the outside that many would never reach. So it’s organic for me whenever possible.

“The chickens will be no trouble, argued Chris. They'll be free range…once they're big enough to leave the warmth of our house.” My wife @fashiondvt‘s diary about our chicken experiment for my new series “Fed: Planet Chicken” on @BBCRadio4 dailymail.co.uk/femail/article…

I'm writing a piece on UK jazz venues. There are so many. Everyone I've connected with on this has been enthusiastic and says their venue is often packed. Is it a hidden secret of the UK's music life? Many musicians started in jazz & I reckon most people have been to a jazz gig.

Kicking off with @markdavyd after an award to @ENTERSHIKARI for supporting small music venues.

I’m at #venuesday for @ashburtonarts in #woolwich run by @musicvenuetrust for #grassrootsmusicvenues #gmv - anyone else?

@FryRsquared @d_spiegel lovely programme just now, #uncharted on @BBCRadio4 - in 1973 iirc (I was 5/6) there were loads of power cuts, so candles, no telly, what shall we do…?

@BBCNewsPR @BBCRadio4 #wato Why are conflating ‘green measures’ with the ULEZ policy in London which is predominantly for health reasons - as was very clear on @BBCr4today this morning?

@jon_stubbington @kortizart . Fascinating - thanks for spelling that out.

Many thanks to parliamentary colleagues for re-electing me today as Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Music - many issues old and new to keep campaigning on including touring, education, remuneration, venues and AI @UK_Music @WeAreTheMU @IvorsAcademy @ukMPG

Quite the admission from former minister Jacob Rees-Mogg on the Government's motivations for voter ID.