Simon Lewis 🇺🇦 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇪🇺🔶#FBPA/PR/PE

@Alexverycalm @jwahjwah The Tories will dismantle our democracy piece by piece in a manner that most of the electorate will not even notice. Gradually moving the UK to a one party centralised state with only token opposition. We need a #ProgressiveAlliance or #DemocraticAlliance to stop this.

Unbelievably. Imagine the rage and horror of Ukrainians every day as Russia attacks their people and their nation while the wealthy free world that surrounds them, that they desperately want to be a part of, that could stop it, refuses to act.

“Following Brexit – with the need to keep the British sweet having gone – the rules were relaxed further to allow all conserves to be marketed as marmalade, as they naturally would be in many European languages.” #Brexitbenefit 😩🙄😢 theguardian.com/world/2026/apr…

Trying to log in on @MuseeLouvre website driving me mad. Won’t recog my pw so I click ‘forgot’. Promised reset email fails to arrive so I try to create new account. It refuses - because I already have an ac. But then email arrives with verif code for ac it refuses to create….

100,000 American troops in Europe = a free ride for Europeans? Let's check the facts. 🔹 American military bases are not free Germany, Italy, Spain, and Romania pay for the infrastructure, land, utilities, and civilian personnel of US bases. Germany alone contributes over $1 billion annually to support the American military presence on its soil. 🔹 Europe is the largest customer of the American defense industry F-35s, Patriot missiles, HIMARS, Apaches — all purchased by Europeans with real money. Every security alarm in Europe translates into contracts for Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Boeing. 🔹 American bases in Europe don't only protect Europe Ramstein in Germany coordinates operations across Africa and the Middle East. Sigonella in Italy covers the Mediterranean and North Africa. Romania secures the eastern flank and the Black Sea. These are global American strategic assets — not neighborhood security for Europeans. 🔹 Command is American, not European NATO is always led by an American Supreme Commander (SACEUR). Europe contributes troops, bases, and money — but America holds the controls. Those who control the structure are not the ones getting a free ride. 🔹 The nuclear umbrella is not altruism American nuclear deterrence in Europe keeps the dollar as the world's reserve currency, keeps European markets open to US corporations, and legitimizes American hegemony against Russia and China. But what would actually happen if America withdrew its troops from Europe? 🔹 For America — immediate strategic losses Without bases in Europe, American response time to any crisis in Europe, Africa, or the Middle East grows from hours to days. Ramstein, Sigonella, and Incirlik cannot be replaced by aircraft carriers. Infrastructure built over decades disappears overnight. 🔹 The American defense industry loses its biggest customer A Europe without the US umbrella will build its own defense industry — and fast. Airbus Military, KNDS, Leonardo, and Rheinmetall will take the contracts that Lockheed and Raytheon currently win. Billions of dollars shift from America to Europe. 🔹 The dollar weakens Dollar hegemony is partly sustained by American global military credibility. A withdrawal from Europe signals to the world that America no longer guarantees the postwar order. Alternatives — the euro, the yuan — become more attractive as global reserve options. 🔹 Russia wins without firing a single shot Not necessarily through immediate invasion — but through political influence, energy pressure, and the gradual destabilization of countries on the eastern frontier. The Baltic states, Poland, and Romania enter a security grey zone that no one can guarantee quickly. 🔹 China watches and draws conclusions about Taiwan A precedent of withdrawal from Europe sends a direct signal to Beijing: American commitments are negotiable. The cost of deterrence in the Pacific rises exponentially. Withdrawal is not isolationism. It is strategic abdication. America would not be leaving Europe because it no longer has interests there. It would be leaving while ignoring that those very interests are what make it a superpower. The "free ride" narrative doesn't describe Europe. It describes exactly what America has in Europe.

Putin has likely instructed Witkoff and Kushner to go to Kyiv for gathering of drone tech.

Reminder of @LibDems plan to rebuild trade and other relations with EU, then rejoin Single Market, and eventually (can’t promise it will be quick) seek to #rejoinEU: libdems.org.uk/news/article/r…

@pritipatel Such silliness to fuss over a minor adjustment to the labelling of a preserve when war is raging in the Middle East and in Ukraine but I suppose that’s a top priority for a Tory Shadow Foreign Secretary!

@pritipatel Another made-up Brexit lie. Obviously Brexit cannot be defended honestly. When we have the referendum to rejoin, it will be fun to point them all out.

Have you talked to Pole, a Croatian, a Slovenian or an Estonian lately? Or by Eastern Europe do you mean Hungary? And btw Ari the country you refer to is not England. It’s called the UK. I thought you might have remembered that from when we worked together in Afghanistan and Iraq. Scots Welsh and N Irish fought alongside your people post 9/11 on the one time Article 5 was activated at 🇺🇸 request. Surprised you’re not calling out this Trumpian madness. I suspect your old boss is despite his long term public silence, which I really wish he would. This is not a normal presidency and your country’s reputation is being damaged globally in ways it will take a long time to recover

@AriFleischer England isn’t a member state. UK is 😂😂😂😂😂 And you were White House advisor ?? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 11% of Iranians cannot read and write…. More than twice as many, 23% of Americans cannot read and write. And they clearly don’t know their geography either…..

@AriFleischer England??? England is not a member of NATO. The UK is. The UK. Made up of England, Scotland, Wales (Great Britain) and Northern Ireland. You could at least do us the courtesy of naming our country correctly?

UK state pension age starts rising to 67. France - 62 Millions will struggle to work, may get derisory benefits. Poor have shorter life, receive pension for fewer yrs. Rich retire whenever they want, have longer lives, receive pension for longer period bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

It's clear that the @LibDems are the clear challengers to Reform in local Council by-elections! #LibDems

@LeightonSealeaf @ReformDaily_ Reform are the only option if you want disunity and disastrous negative change

Rory Stewart saying it like it is. Spot on.

'When disaster strikes and all hope is gone, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton' When Reform are a threat, send for the @LibDems, we're the only ones who can stop them

@BNHWalker I wonder what the lowest share ever recorded for a Labour council candidate is. This can't be far off

@LizWebsterSBF It makes no sense to me not to rejoin and even more so in the current climate of Donald Trump.

How can anyone continue to defend Brexit? There are zero benefits and so many considerable downsides. Brexit has proved itself to be the biggest con in history, but still brexiters trot out with their usual guff and always blame remainers! Travel is one of the most obviously abrasive ones. Brexit continues to add even more hours of pain to journeys.

Fabulous 🔶️🔶️🔶️