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@LukeSmithF1 This is like going from a Lamborghini to a Hyundai Ioniq. Racing without feeling, emotion or soul. What on earth has the FIA done?

OK - thoughts on the first race of F1’s new era? #F1 #AusGP

@bbctms @ECB_cricket @BBCSport The ECB deemed County Cricket insufficiently inclusive as a rationale for this dismal competition, and now you've opened the door to geopolitics and sectarianism. Well played. Chickens coming home to roost.

The @ECB_cricket has written to the 8 Hundred franchises reminding them of their responsibilities around discrimination. Sources told @BBCSport Pakistan players are not being considered by the 4 Indian-owned sides for the Hundred auction. #BBCCricket bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/…

@chadmumm @Skratch Are you worried about Tony?

If you could ask Jim Nantz one question, what would it be?

@FUDdaily @patcondell I really wanted you to be wrong, but you're not. Sigh.

You all seem to forget that this isn't my first rodeo. I was critiquing Reform well before the return of Nigel Farage, and I was entirely correct about the lack of an intellectual foundation (which is why it's gone off the boil), and I was entirely correct about Farage not being able to nurture talent, and I predicted Lowe's early departure. Many of my criticisms were then echoed in by Lowe in a statement last April. I was very vocal about the amateurism of Reform and received similar levels of abuse, and yet here I stand completely vindicated. I said Reform was a dead end for the right, and it most certainly is. The signs were all there form the very beginning. Even before the return of Farage, you had Habib and Tice on different channels saying completely contradictory things about how the party would deal with the boats crisis - simply because the party had no actual policy on it. I knew that despite assurances that Reform would develop serious policies that it wouldn't. I knew all this because I understand Farage and I understand the populist mindset and I know what and how they all think. As such, nothing they do ever surprises me. I know much of this because I was a fly on the wall during the first years of Ukip, and I remember Farage giving speeches to half-empty church halls in the Derbyshire countryside. I know how he collects non-threatening disciples who are just smart enough to toe the line but not smart enough to outshine him. I also predicted Brexit would end up being a washout. I was saying back in 2014 that without a Brexit plan and without policies, it wouldn't make much of a difference (and received similar levels of abuse for saying so). I also had a very accurate hunch that the Tories would do nothing with Brexit because nobody ever thought about what we would do if we did leave. I hated Boris Johnson long before you all did. I also know when a party is retailing slop in place of policy - because I actually went to the trouble of writing policy - to discover it's actually quite hard work, and that the classic populist tropes do not have simplistic magic wand solutions. My current views on ECHR withdrawal are precisely because I thought about it and asked what could possibly go wrong (quite a lot as it happens). I also learned that quite a few things that the right thinks are broken beyond repair can actually be fixed with a few strategic interventions. As usual, parroting simplistic tropes are far easier than climbing in and doing the research. As such, I am speaking from a position of some experience. I've seen these messiahs come and go, leaving a trail of wreckage behind them. I know how to evaluate them and what to look for. There are always tell-tale early signs of that classic Ukippy amateurism, and I can see how it stalks Rupert Lowe. Everything's done on a whim with minimal preparation, with important considerations neglected, and when you point it out, the response is always exactly the same. It's either "trust us bro", or "we're a new party, cut us some slack". The same bullshit excuses time and time again. So I wait, and I wait, and quite predictably, nothing happens, and they're no different to what they set out to replace. But when I think on it, the whole reason I wrote such detailed critiques of Reform in the place is because I actually wanted a decent party to vote for in 2029 that wasn't a lazy populist shambles. Despite my best efforts, that advice was never heeded, and Reform underperformed in 2024 in all the ways I said it would. The same is true now. I am still in the market for a party to vote for in 2029. Restore is probably the closest I'll get to my basic worldview (that millions must go), and I would like nothing more that to unequivocally endorse it. Posting crowd-pleasing Restore branded AI slop would certainly be more profitable for me. But I can't do that. That goes against my conscience. If I see all the same basic mistakes unfolding then I am obliged to say so. On this I am accused of not being constructive and never offering solutions, which is an outright lie. I post critiques to Substack and I've built manifestoproject.org, and it's all free to read. That criticism of me is totally invalid. I'm just not a clapping seal and I do not unquestioningly follow every passing messiah. There's a standard that needs to be met, one that Reform was held to by Rupert Lowe himself, and it's only right that he is held to the same standard. That's precisely what I am going to do. That is a contribution in its own right, and if you don't like it, feel free to fuck off.

@TheSimpsonsNFL This is a perfect thread in every way

Houston Texans

Every NFL teams season in a Simpsons clip: a thread

@greggrosenthal Us Texans fans absolutely devastated, still. This was THE chance, will never break like this again. Fans know it, players know it. CJ needs to come back angry and play well quickly, or he is done.

struck me how crushed Dalton Schultz was still by the Texans' playoff loss when he joined the pod: "I'm still not over how it ended. I feel like we underachieved. We had such a good team. ... We had the roster for it. It's nobody's fault but ours."

@WilliamJHague Censorious blob creatures like you are the real threat to democracy

Social media is becoming incompatible with a healthy democratic system.

@mr_james_c Hong Kong back in the day was a 12.5% flat tax. Same rate for Filipina maids, British bankers and HK shipping tycoons. What did no one talk about, ever? Reforming the tax system. Everyone paid their share, and everything worked.

I've realised that I'm a Flat Tax Fundamentalist. Flat Taxes are a social good. If you earn more you'll still pay more in absolute terms but without the disincentives. Arguments against flat taxes are usually "poor people pay more tax" but they don't. Proportionally they pay the same, but importantly there's no disincentive for them to do extra work to earn more. Deciding to earn less is a choice. Another argument against flat taxes is "rich people should pay more to avoid social unrest because it's fairer" but this has been proven in recent studies to be bullshit handwaving based on motivated reasoning. There's nothing fair about paying a higher rate because you earn more, quite the opposite, but we've been propagandised into believing it. It would be interesting to see what changes would be needed in UK state spending to allow for a flat tax rate of, say 25%, in the UK.

@Adrian_Hilton @BenGoldsmith @reformparty_uk @Nigel_Farage As a potential Reform voter, there could be nothing more effective than stopping me voting for them than this. Which is presumably the intent. Well played!

It's encouraging that @BenGoldsmith has drawn up a potential @reformparty_uk environment strategy, and has discussed it with @Nigel_Farage. There are many thousands of disaffected green Tories. If it includes animal compassion, the appeal will be immense. telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/…

@FUDdaily @clim8resistance Absolutely staggering that anyone in Reform signed off on this. Every suspicion about Reform is confirmed -- they're either stupid, or phonies, or both.

CEN was probably THE most subversive force in the Tory party. Goldsmith has some very regressive ideas about agriculture, not least rewilding, and seems to have a worrying dislike of sheep farming. If Reform is bringing this trojan horse inside its walls then it completes the transformation into the Uniparty.

@KVanValkenburg He was known as "Thirsty" Will Lewis be Private Eye magazine for many years due to his penchant for a drink and general unpleasant demeanor

I need more coverage focusing on the fact that Will Lewis might just be a complete moron. (Or wanker, or knob, if you prefer.)

@CharlotteCGill Dunno about this -- always popular with the locals when the big US sports leagues come to town, and gives London a lot of great publicity when they're aired in US. Seems a fair trade all round and a rare pass for the beloved mayor...

I’ve got nothing against the NBA. I think it’s pretty cool tbh. BUT Khan is reflecting that he’s bossed about by Americans (Mike Bloomberg, the Clintons, Democrat heavyweights).

@BurnsideWasTosh But James Melville is still sharing content so it all evens out

@aDissentient @clim8resistance Surely Option 1? And save a bit of money by using the offshore turbines as target practice for the Royal Navy

There are three choices for the UK electricity grid: 1. Renege on renewables contracts. Face down resulting compensation claims. 2. Shut down the welfare state and use the money saved to subsidise bills directly. Deal with resulting civil unrest. 3. Accept super high electricity bills for several decades. Deal with resulting economic meltdown. Politicians prefer not to discuss this.

@SomersetCCC @VitalityBlast Such a smart signing, the perfect Greener replacement. Roll on some proper cricket!

📝 Welcome, Daniel Sams! We're delighted to announce the signing of Australia International Daniel Sams for the 2026 @VitalityBlast! 💬 “This is an exciting opportunity, and hopefully I can help the team retain the trophy. I’m looking forward to being part of the team!" Details 🔗 somer.st/VcU0 #YouAreSomerset

@AndrewOrlowski @spectator This was the final straw for me with the Speccie -- subscription cancelled. Give it Gove -- he keeps getting chances to undermine conservative institutions, and he approaches his task with creativity and flair. An effective fifth columnist.

As I long-time subscriber, I am very impressed with the Xmas Issue of The @spectator magazine - which has been guest-edited by the pornographic entertainer Bonnie Blue. Apparently this was part of her "1000 Virgins" world tour. Part of me does fear slightly about the long-term psychological consequences of exposing so many inexperienced and needy young men to this ruthless woman - but am confident that when the editor gets back in his seat (and no, let's not speculate what condition that may be in) everything will be in order. spectator.co.uk/magazine/13-12…

@jamierkennedy Unbelievable thread — thank you so much for posting. Biased, but there was something about that Rory draw over the trees and water at Augusta that took my breath away unlike any other shot i’ve seen. The audacity, in that moment.

Popped up into the attic yesterday to check the Christmas tree lights were still OK. Whilst I was up there I noticed a present that we forgot to give to the children last year. Such a shame, they would've loved that puppy 🎅🎄🎅🎄

@prestonjbyrne BigLaw loves Labour -- ever increasing number of rules and regulations that require ever increasing number of lawyers.

I have yet to see a single client note / market update from anyone in BigLaw in London confirming the obviously correct position that Ofcom’s censorship orders are unenforceable in America. Real “Emperor’s New Clothes” territory from the profession here

@resfoundation Go to hell -- your fraudulent economics will only lead to the ever growing impoverishment of this once great country.

Overall, the combination of tax rises and giveaways since last year’s Budget is progressive. Incomes for households in the bottom half of the distribution have increased by 1.0 per cent and incomes for households in the top half fell by 0.7 per cent.