Dan Ward

@PeterFinchGolf Thanks for sharing, and it’s a really positive, strong thing from all of you to take this approach.

Sharing this wasn’t easy. We’re taking things one day at a time, and any words of encouragement for my family are truly appreciated. It’s so hard to carry on as though nothing has changed but that’s what my mum wants, so that’s what we’ll do ❤️

@Frencheconomics @KeighranTom Hmm, competitiveness, living standards (leaving aside the subjectivity therein), op margin and innovation. If only there was some way to deliver all of the above with our energy infrastructure. Shame there’s no UV light/wind/tidal/geothermal energy to tap into.

@KeighranTom I'm not sure the parallel holds. Energy is a factor of production, and a key part of an economy's competitiveness. It is embedded in almost all prices so impacts living standards, operating margins, & innovation. Tobacco is none of those things.

UK electricity generation has fallen 25% from its peak in 2004. Per capita electricity consumption is a third the level of the United States. The UK has the most costly electricity in the world. Half the gas we consume comes from the Norwegian side of the North Sea basin. The residual imported LNG has 4x the carbon footprint of supplying our own. And most depressingly of all the result is a deteriorating UK Balance of Payments, a weaker pound, and a bigger hit to the cost of living. And still the useful idiots want to further constrain UK energy production through high taxes, banning new licences, and gold-plating new energy infrastructure. Their luxury beliefs are behind the awful household disposable income growth of recent years. 🤡.

@KLFCofficial Go Zac but hope Chas is gonna be ok

*Charlie Crowley has had to withdraw with an injury. Zac Funnel comes in.

Your Kings XI

@GoodwinMJ They did.

The British people must reject sectarianism It is dangerous It is antidemocratic It is unBritish

The General Medical Council has just informed my lawyers that they intend to appeal to the High Court against the decision of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal to clear me of misconduct charges that it had brought. Under its current leadership, the GMC has been weaponised as a tool of political repression in the service of Israel’s genocidal project. This will be the third legal action the GMC has brought against me, and I’m quite certain it is the result of political pressure from this Labour Government. gofundme.com/f/ghassan-abu-…

@tactixology I’m just hoping he goes on loan at worst and comes back when we wake up next summer…

Wrote this almost 3 months ago. Last night after the game, Amorim laughed off suggestions that Mainoo should have played. He doesn’t use him, because Mainoo offers what Amorim doesn’t need, and doesn’t offer what Amorim does need. It was easy to predict that Amorim’s model isn’t for Mainoo, and vice-versa. Very sad, because it’s clear Mainoo’s quailities would improve United’s midfield, progression and final 3rd retention. And not just United’s.

Give this a little click and make Reform sweat…

🚨The Petition calling for a public inquiry into Russian influence on UK politics & democracy has now rocketed past 65,000 signatures! Let’s get it to 70,000 tonight. If a petition is what it’s going to take let’s get this done! petition.parliament.uk/petitions/7442…

Muhammad Ziauddin Yusuf's “global food bank” claim is typically hyperbolic rhetoric from a privately educated multimillionaire. It's also: profoundly misleading; morally repugnant; factually incorrect; economically illiterate, and politically indefensible. The amounts are small, much of the aid serves British interests, and abandoning it would save each household roughly the cost of one large pizza per month while doing significant diplomatic and moral damage. Even sane sensible and ratiibal fiscal conservatives (eg Sunak, Cameron) defend the aid budget. Here's why Yusuf is - as usual - talking out of his arse. 1. The scale is vastly exaggerated UK official development assistance (ODA) in 2024 was about £11–12 billion (roughly 0.4–0.5% of GNI), down from the 0.7% peak. Of this, humanitarian food aid (WFP contributions, nutrition programmes, etc.) is typically £400–600 million a year — less than 0.03% of total government spending and around £15–18 per household per year. By comparison, UK households spent £11.8 billion on alcohol and £8.5 billion on cosmetics in 2023. The “global food bank” framing makes £500 million sound like the entire national budget when it is a tiny fraction. Most aid is not “food parcels to foreigners”. Direct food aid is a small and declining part of the portfolio. Much larger items are: – Climate finance and economic development (which critics often support in principle); – Health programmes (vaccines, malaria, HIV) that prevent larger future refugee/health crises; – Contributions to multilateral banks (IFC, World Bank) that are mostly loans, not grants, and often generate financial returns. Even the humanitarian element is increasingly cash transfers or vouchers, not shipped British food. 2. It's National self-interest, not pure altruism Pandemic prevention (e.g. CEPI, COVAX) directly protected Britain from future lockdowns. Stabilising fragile states reduces migration pressure. UK-funded de-mining in Ukraine or counter-terrorism in the Sahel directly improves British security. Trade-related aid (Aid for Trade) opens markets for British exports; developing countries are the fastest-growing export destination for UK goods and services. 3. The fiscal argument is selective Debt interest (£110 billion), pensioner benefits (£120 billion), or defence (£55 billion) dwarf aid, yet are politically protected. Singling out 0.4% of spending as the cause of mortgage pain is economically incoherent. 4. Moral counterpoints The “Britain First, charity begins at home” argument has limits: almost no one applies it consistently (e.g. we still fund the #NHS for millionaires like Yusuf, Farage, Tice, and Reform UK donors, who also benefit from infrastructure, essential public services, arts subsidies, foreign wars etc). Extreme poverty abroad (£2.15/day) is objectively worse than UK cost-of-living stress; a small transfer from a rich country to prevent starvation or mass migration is defensible on almost any ethical framework (utilitarian, Rawlsian, Christian, etc.). 5. Historical, soft power, and reputational returns Post-Brexit, the “Global Britain” brand relies heavily on soft power. Cutting aid unilaterally damaged the UK’s reputation (see reactions from the UN, African Union, and even the US Biden administration). The 0.7% target was a Conservative manifesto pledge in 2015 and 2019; abandoning it for short-term populist reasons undermined political credibility. 6. Britain's aid actually works better than critics admit UK aid supported 50–60 million vaccinations per year pre-covid, helped eliminate river blindness in parts of Africa, and cash-transfer programmes in places like Kenya have rigorous RCT evidence of large positive effects. Waste and corruption exist (as in all large budgets — see UK domestic examples: PPE contracts, Test & Trace), but independent audits (ICAO) show UK aid is among the least corrupt and most transparent in the world.

I know that some blue Labour advisors will be saying — “Great, the remainers are remoaning. The Metrosexual metropolitan elites are squirming. We‘re owning the libs”. But guys. You ARE the libs. You won’t ever replace Farage. You just sabotage yourselves by blowing up your base

@bmay migration and asylum aren’t creating division, fact is they’re being used by the far right parties such as Reform, Conservatives and now Starmer’s Labour to do so.

Jack White just earned a new degree of respect from me. An exceptional response to Trump's little people! The White House melts down and attacks music legend Jack White after he insults Donald Trump's "disgusting" and "vulgar" redecoration of the White House “Jack White is a washed-up, has-been loser posting drivel on social media because he clearly has ample time on his hands due to his stalled career,” claimed White House spokesman Steven Cheung. “It’s apparent [White]’s been masquerading as a real artist, because he fails to appreciate, and quite frankly disrespects, the splendor and significance of the Oval Office inside of ‘The People’s House,'” Cheung added. this is Jack’s response… "Listen, I’m an artist and not a politician so I’m in no need to give my answer or opinion on anything if I’m not inspired or compelled, but how funny that it wasn’t me calling out trump’s blatant fascist manipulation of government, his gestapo ICE tactics, his racist remarks about Latinos, Native Americans, etc. his ridiculous 'wall' construction, his attacks on the disabled, his attempted coup and mob insurrection and destruction of the sacred halls of congress, his disparaging sexist and pedophilic remarks about women, his obvious attempts at distraction about being a close personal friend of Jeffrey Epstein and his inclusion in the Epstein files, his ignorance of the dying children in Sudan, Gaza, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, his lack of empathy for military veterans and those struggling with poverty, his attempts to dismantle healthcare, his obvious wimpy and pathetic kowtowing to the dictators Putin and Kim Jong Un, his nazi like rallies, his attempts to sell merchandise and products like Goya beans through the office of the President, his fake 'gunshot to the ear' that he showed no medical records or photographs of, his constant, constant, constant lying to the American people, etc. etc. etc." "No, it wasn’t me calling out any of that, it was the f*cking DECOR OF THE OVAL OFFICE remarks I made that got them to respond with insults," he continued. "How petty and pathetic and thin skinned could this administration get? 'Masquerading as a real artist'? Thank you for giving me my tombstone engraving! Well here’s my opinion, trump is masquerading as a human being." "He’s masquerading as a christian, as a leader, as a person with actual empathy," he wrote. "He’s been masquerading as a businessman for decades as nothing he’s involved in has prospered except by using other people’s money to find loophole after loophole and grift after grift." "His staff of professional liar toadies like Steven Cheung and Karoline Leavitt have been covering up and masking his fascism as patriotism and fomenting hatred and division in this country on a daily basis," White went on. "And I have 'ample time on (my) hands'? That orange grifter has spent more tax payer money cheating at golf than helping ANYONE in the country. Improve. Anything. There is no progress with him, only smoke and mirrors and tax breaks for the ultra wealthy." "So maga folk, enjoy your concrete paving over of the rose garden, your 200 million dollar ballroom in the White House, and your gaudy ass gold spray painted trinkets from Home Depot, cause he ain’t spending any money on helping YOU unless you fit into his white supremacist country club rich idiot agenda," "Wow, he hates who you hate....good for you, be proud of yourselves, how christian of you all," "The only way you can support this conman is because you are a victim of the 2 party system and you 'defend your guy no matter what he does.'" he wrote. "No intelligent person can defend this low life fascist. This bankruptor of casinos. This failed seller of trump steaks, trump vodka, trump water, etc." "This man and his goon squad have failed upwards for decades and have fleeced the American people over and over," wrote White. "This professional golf cheat, this grifter who has hundreds of thousands of deaths from his inaction of the pandemic on his hands, this man that the majority of the country somehow were fooled into supporting and voting into office (through the flawed electoral college) and their love of reality television stars." "Being insulted by the actual White House that this particular conman leads is a badge of honor to me, because anyone who trump supports and likes is a villain who gives nothing to their fellow man, only takes what can benefit themselves," "And no I’m not a Democrat either, I’m a human being raised in Detroit, I’m an artist who’s owned his own businesses like his own upholstery shop and recording label since he was 21 years old who has enough street sense to know when a 3 card monte dealer is a cheap grifter and a thief," "I was raised to believe that we defeated fascism in World War II and that we would never allow it again in the world. I don't always state publicly my political opinions, and like anyone I don't always know all of the facts, but when it comes to this man and this administration I'm not going to be like one of the silent minority of 1930's Germany. This man is a danger to not just America but the entire world and that's not an exaggeration, he's dismantling democracy and endangering the planet on a daily basis, and we. all. know. it. -JW III...

Tonight's The Carfella Man of the Match is Luca Ward. Another assured senior performance from the youngster.

Look at Casemiro at the end, waiting to congratulate like a proud dad after assisting Cunha’s first United goal. ❤️ 🎥: @ dn15sss/denis (TikTok)

Brighton

I fear for the life of Marwan Barghouti. Reports say 🇮🇱 guards beat him unconscious. ▶️@ICRC & parliamentary visits must urgently verify his condition. ▶️Anyone serious about "peace" should ensure his release, as the most popular - and unlawfully detained👇- Palestinian leader.

@Paulmcg8 @BeneSB_ It’s been great seeing my U18s really do this in recent weeks. I’ve taken a lot of ideas from both of you but one of the best is learning when to get out of the players’ way.

I think that @BBCNews, @SkyNews @ITVNewsPolitics and @Channel4News should all be reporting on Reform UK and Russian bribery. RT if you agree!! Why are the media ignoring such a blatant story?!

We have returned, like we’ll always do. 📍Gaza City