simon gallant

@StandardLifeUK Is there a problem with your online platform? I've not been able to log in for two days now

@Paris2024 I purchased some defective merchandise at the Games. I have tried to complain via your shop but they say they only deal with online purchases. Can you please assist? I’m not best pleased

@stephensackur @BBCHARDtalk Apart from the personal loss to you and the whole Hardtalk family, it’s painful to see the BBC destroying yet another world leading British asset. @lisanandy and @DavidLammy must surely intervene to save this cheap to produce show.

THREAD: 1. PERSONAL NEWS: Today BBC News has announced plans to close @BBCHARDtalk after 3 decades holding the world’s politicians and powerbrokers to account. This is sad news for me personally, but much more important, I think it’s depressing news for the BBC🧵

Today’s shocking Grenfell report calls to mind the hell of Robert Tressell’s 1912 masterpiece ‘The ragged trousered philanthropists’. Corruption, exploitation, the Great Money Trick. How little has changed in the lives of the most vulnerable in society.

@JamesCleverly Evidence?

Over 700 people on 11 boats. Two tragic deaths in the Channel. Yesterday was a clear signal that Labour must reverse their bad decisions and get a grip of the situation or we will continue to see the dire consequences.

Despite the horrific events in Southport this week, the local community have come together with brave acts of resistance. Including this very brave woman who faced down the rioters.

🫶 We have seen people in Southport come together to condemn Tuesday night’s violence and stand in solidarity with their neighbours. However, they must not be left to deal with this alone.

Just been on @BBCr4today discussing far right involvement and the role of racist mis/disinformation in last nights riot in Southport that came after Mondays horrifying knife attack. More details from @hopenothate later today.

@RupertLowe10 your moment to stand up for @issydhan and others looking to enjoy your town

Home Secretary @YvetteCooperMP's full statement on the violence and disorder in Southport.

@faizashaheen Ludicrous methodology and claims.

This graph shows the Faiza Shaheen campaign's latest figures. There are lots of numbers and bar charts in circulation in Chingford & Woodford Green, which makes life difficult because many of you are trying to work out the best way to defeat IDS. Having dedicated a big chunk of my life to beating Iain Duncan Smith since 2018, there’re probably very few who understand that desire more than me! To clear up any doubts, I thought I’d write this post to explain what our figures show. Key points about our data: 1) This is based on thousands of doorstep conversations across the constituency. The graph makes it clear that it is based on canvassing data, not an opinion poll. Yes this is imperfect, but in the absence of detailed local opinion polling, it's all there is to go on. We knock on every door with registered voters. 2) Labour and the Conservatives also have canvassing data and, in all likelihood, it’s showing the same sort of voting intention as ours (if their figures were different, they probably would have made their way onto social media by now...) 3) Undecideds are being assigned using the Redfield-Wilton method, which is used by all the opinion poll companies to temper their results. This involves reallocating undecided voters in line with national polling trends. If we did not do this, the picture painted by the data would look even better for our independent campaign. 4) The point of sharing the graph is to emphasise that the tactical vote to beat the Conservatives is now less likely to be a Labour one. The graphs being pushed by the Labour Party are based on what is called a MRP (multi-level regression and post-stratification), a way of modelling voter preferences based on a combination of national trends and previous behaviour. This method makes them seriously flawed for a situation like ours. Their graphs are mainly based on 2019 data and don’t factor in the additional candidates standing in 2024. They also fail to reflect that when I stood as a Labour candidate my team pulled off a swing to Labour that was completely at odds with the collapse in Labour's national vote share. That's less helpful than publishing canvassing returns. Furthermore, this polling weights for different demographics - but interestingly not religion, which is important for this election because a large share of Muslim voters will no longer be voting Labour because of their position on Palestine. The decision of which way to vote has been difficult for so many of you – and I get that. After all, I was the Labour candidate until a matter of weeks ago and have knocked doors every weekend since I was reselected in 2022 to build up Labour’s reputation here. But I am now your independent, local candidate. I am running a positive campaign that talks about what our community needs and what it could be. Labour split the vote here when they deselected me. I ran the marathon, winning the biggest vote for Labour here in the worst election defeat for a generation, only for an unknown, unsupported candidate to be imposed 200 yards before the finish line. In the midst of flawed and outdated data being touted as truth, I ask you to make your decision with your heart and your head by voting for me, the local candidate who will be standing up for this community first and foremost. This is our chance for a new type of politics, even the data agrees. Read more about methods: redfieldandwiltonstrategies.com/a-look-at.../ pollingreport.uk/.../edge-cases…...

@daveatherton ‘Mass praying’ must have been distressing. We need more of those nice white folk with guns blasting our wildlife to smithereens.

I'm sure you saw the hand wringing about BAME people not feeling welcome in the countryside. A new follower of mine tells us their presence is becoming like the inner cities. "We've been staying a cottage in Cumbria visiting my daughter this week, whilst speaking to the owner, who explains he is a trail mountain biker & regularly uses the tracks around the Lake District. "He told us that he has to regularly face groups of Muslims intimidating everyone by mass praying everywhere, including around the Lakes & the bike tracks on the mountains. "He say's they just block the paths & tracks & won't move for anyone, he say's alot of locals & regular users are fed up with them. "They feel intimidated because they act as though the locals are in the wrong & should not want them to move & clear a path."

Disturbing story. Shall look forward to hearing what efforts @BrewDog made to protect its former member of staff.

EXCLUSIVE Tories instruct lawyers to fight release of Universal Credit documents ahead of election The Information Commisioners' Office ordered release of analysis showing impact of cutting the £20-per-week Covid uplift - by June 21 Gov now appealling mirror.co.uk/news/politics/…

@AndyRejoinEU I think you’ll find there is a whopping public interest that trumps her right to keep an alleged bet secret.

Let's remember that Laura Saunders is the real victim here as her privacy has been infringed by the BBC. 🤯

@hannahweisfeld @hamzeAwawde @antisemitism After a good film with John Ware on Rogers Waters last year, they’ve reverted to the usual foaming at the mouth. First the baseless call to get rid of the Head of the Met, now this. CAA are bad news for Jews.

I am honoured to call @hamzeAwawde a partner & friend. Just two weeks ago he sat on stage with me speaking to 200 members of the UK Jewish community about the need to reconcile difference. @antisemitism is undermining the serious work of fighting antisemitism. Shame on them

Spain has long struggled to come to terms with the pain of its civil war. Efforts to do so have now taken a disturbing, backward step in Mallorca.

@Conservatives Can you give me the odds on that?

Don't wake up to this on 5th July.

Excl: Here's what happens if you scrape Betfair data for bets on a July election. This graph cuts off at the end of 21 May, the day before Sunak announced the election. There's a flood of bets that day - before Rishi formally told the cabinet and stood in Downing Street.

@antisemitism @glastonbury This is a serious misjudgement by CAA. @hamzeAwawde is an inspirational, empathetic human being who seeks a two state solution. If only there were more like him.

We have written to @glastonbury over its decision to book two performers with a history of inflammatory rhetoric.