Best Of

French aerospace manufacturing is on a roll.

Portugal picks French Rafale over America’s F-35 for NATO fleet modernization.
https://x.com/AlexandruC4/status/1966933040934121841

India considering a huge Rafale purchase. ‘The defence ministry has begun examining a proposal from the Indian Air Force to procure 114 "Made in India" Rafale fighter jets
https://x.com/shashj/status/1966953610111021100

The reasons are likely part political (no one trusts Trump) and partly practical - see our dismal experience with getting any F35 upgrades.

Ben Wallace’s comments yesterday were interesting

What were his comments?

The issue is the integration with the underwing missiles we ordered has been pushed back until the mid 2030s.

He said that when he was defence secretary he threatened to cancel the contract and the timetable was brought forward. It’s now slipped back again .

A cynic might wonder whether any of the underlying material facts (amount of effort/work being put into the project, our position in order queue, etc) actually changed when they brought forward the timetable...

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/sep/14/nigel-farage-tommy-robinson-london-rally-government-voters-civil-war

A really excellent piece by John Harris.

“We see wild parties, holidays, weddings, family outings and close-knit friendship groups,” wrote one Guardian journalist in 2015. She went on: “Apart from commemorating a deceased person’s life, you’ll be hard pushed to find a really bad moment in your feed.”

Hmmm....In general I don't think that was true at all. Remember, Trump got elected in 2016, on the back of lots of people being very angry and again claims it was social media that radicalised them.

I notice even John Harris is doing "real name". There has to be some editorial guidance across all media that you must put this, even in the context you are writing about is irrelevant.

I like a lot of John Harris stuff, but I think he misses the mark here. There wasn't a golden age 10 years ago of lovely social media. Twitter and Facebook were the platforms at the time that was held up as radicalizing people over Trump and Brexit, all that has changed is the platform has changed to TikTok, Twitch and X. Tommy Ten Names was doing the same back then that he is doing now.

And you can have a nice experience on social media, you just have to stick to only feeds of people you follow and be careful about who you follow. My main X account doesn't contain any of this stuff of extreme violence, racism, etc. Its dead boring world of people talking Machine Learning.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/sep/14/nigel-farage-tommy-robinson-london-rally-government-voters-civil-war

A really excellent piece by John Harris.

“We see wild parties, holidays, weddings, family outings and close-knit friendship groups,” wrote one Guardian journalist in 2015. She went on: “Apart from commemorating a deceased person’s life, you’ll be hard pushed to find a really bad moment in your feed.”

Hmmm....In general I don't think that was true at all. Remember, Trump got elected in 2016, on the back of lots of people being very angry and again claims it was social media that radicalised them.

I notice even John Harris is doing "real name". There has to be some editorial guidance across all media that you must put this, even in the context you are writing about is irrelevant.

I like a lot of John Harris stuff, but I think he misses the mark here. There wasn't a golden age 10 years ago of lovely social media. Twitter and Facebook were the platforms at the time that was held up as radicalizing people over Trump and Brexit, all that has changed is the platform has changed to TikTok, Twitch and X. Tommy Ten Names was doing the same back then that he is doing now.

And you can have a nice experience on social media, you just have to stick to only feeds of people you follow and be careful about who you follow. My main X account doesn't contain any of this stuff of extreme violence, racism, etc. Its dead boring world of people talking Machine Learning.

Yes, this is one of his most feeble articles. “Social media is quite inflammatory”. Wow

Harris's article boils down to the wrong people are saying that Britain is broken.

It was quite alright though for the right people at the right time to bewail:

The decade that broke Britain: the disastrous decisions that left millions in a cost of living crisis

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jun/01/the-decade-that-broke-britain-the-disastrous-decisions-that-left-millions-in-a-cost-of-living-crisis

Quite so

As you say: Harris himself has built an impressive career out of visiting “broken” “left behind” Britain, and talking to Britons in these places. It’s his entire narrative

So for him to now turn around and say “actually, everything’s OK, this is all far right propaganda” is seriously disappointing. He can do better

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/sep/14/nigel-farage-tommy-robinson-london-rally-government-voters-civil-war

A really excellent piece by John Harris.

“We see wild parties, holidays, weddings, family outings and close-knit friendship groups,” wrote one Guardian journalist in 2015. She went on: “Apart from commemorating a deceased person’s life, you’ll be hard pushed to find a really bad moment in your feed.”

Hmmm....In general I don't think that was true at all. Remember, Trump got elected in 2016, on the back of lots of people being very angry and again claims it was social media that radicalised them.

I notice even John Harris is doing "real name". There has to be some editorial guidance across all media that you must put this, even in the context you are writing about is irrelevant.

I like a lot of John Harris stuff, but I think he misses the mark here. There wasn't a golden age 10 years ago of lovely social media. Twitter and Facebook were the platforms at the time that was held up as radicalizing people over Trump and Brexit, all that has changed is the platform has changed to TikTok, Twitch and X. Tommy Ten Names was doing the same back then that he is doing now.

And you can have a nice experience on social media, you just have to stick to only feeds of people you follow and be careful about who you follow. My main X account doesn't contain any of this stuff of extreme violence, racism, etc. Its dead boring world of people talking Machine Learning.

Yes, this is one of his most feeble articles. “Social media is quite inflammatory”. Wow

Harris's article boils down to the wrong people are saying that Britain is broken.

It was quite alright though for the right people at the right time to bewail:

The decade that broke Britain: the disastrous decisions that left millions in a cost of living crisis

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jun/01/the-decade-that-broke-britain-the-disastrous-decisions-that-left-millions-in-a-cost-of-living-crisis

Oops

@Gabriel_Pogrund

NEW🚨Keir Starmer received official two-page document detailing Peter Mandelson's friendship with Jeffrey Epstein before making him US ambassador

Cab Office propriety & ethics team report said contact postdated conviction

PM did not change stance

https://x.com/Gabriel_Pogrund/status/1966912404601938100

He is indeed a muppet of the first water. Is this really the best we can do?

Didn't you opt to sit on your hands in the election? Now you're complaining that Labour aren't up to the job. Sorry David this next 4 years of failure is on you and the other million Tory voters who sat on their hands and watched while Labour got handed a gigantic majority for a tiny number of votes. People like Leon bear some of the responsibility too for getting caught up in that idiotic attitude of "oh the Tories must be punished" without thinking about the consequences of that and voting for Labour knowing how much damage they would inflict on the nation.

I went out and campaigned, had doors shut in my face, got shouted at, sworn at and tried to make sure it wasn't a complete disaster because we all knew what Labour would do with untrammeled power and so it has happened.

I gave Starmer the benefit of the doubt. I honestly and sincerely had absolutely no idea he would be THIS terrible. Who did? Maybe @Casino_Royale

Do I regret my vote? Not really. Inasmuch as I voted with the info available to me. I couldn’t vote Tory because of the last 14 years. Obvs. I was tempted to go reform but then Farage made those weird pro Putin noises at exactly the wrong moment. I despise the Lib Dems

So I thought Why not. He might be surprisingly competent. If anyone can reform the NHS it’s Labour - Tories too scared etc

Oh well

I think it was me, CR and HYFUD warning the rest of you on the centre right not to listen to the mob baying for Tory blood because of Liz Truss and Boris Johnson. If Rishi had taken over two years earlier between him and Hunt the country would have been in a much better place today and I don't think the party would have been wiped out. It was Rishi that turned off the immigration tap, it was Rishi that pushed for the Rwanda scheme and faced off against the liberal wanky judges, it was Rishi that put a halt to the chagos islands surrender. You judged the Tories on the basis of what Boris and Liz Truss did, which is fair, but ultimately they were gone and there's no doubt that Rishi was a better PM than Starmer and Hunt a better Chancellor than Reeves.

I think you and a couple of million soft centre right voters got caught up in the media nonsense about "punishing" the Tories and forgot that the resulting Labour government would be worse in all aspects, especially on immigration and stopping the boats.