With Khan re-elected, I dug into my 20mph research to see what's in store for London
@Telegraph
Implications of the impossible "Vision Zero" plan (for zero major road injuries) are alarming.
And Khan's claims about safety are lies & half-truths.
🧵1/10
I'm very, very uneasy about these prosecutions for social media posts.
There was no riot in Derby that night. His post was stupid but did not incite anything or anyone.
Who decides what is a joke, what is poor taste, and what is dangerous?
Why is
@metpoliceuk
allowing a massive speaker system this close to No. 10?
We all have a right to protest... but this is an aggressive, humiliating, anti-democratic stunt.
They're allowing the PM to be drowned out with a Labour anthem precisely when all of us need to hear him
Why are the BBC giving that asshole Liam Deacon of the so called
#DefundTheBBC
the oxygen of publicity ??
He says the
#licence
fee should be abandoned
Who the Fuck does he think he is??
Get your hands off our BBC you right wing asshole 😡
@BBCWorldatOne
"Just as immigration numbers hit a new record high, thank goodness we have
@Nigel_Farage
on our TVs, giving a masterclass on how to politely debate and disagree on this testy and pressing issue — while also having a laugh."
Mer in The
@Daily_Express
.
He's not King of The Jungle, but will he be the political kingmaker at the next general election?
My latest for The
@Daily_Express
.
"It will be nearly a decade on from the referendum at the next election and Nigel is still a thorn in the side of CCHQ."
Why is the BBC paying for ads on woke millennial website?
Yes, over-75s have more cash, but they shouldn't be funding this futile drive to steal Buzzfeed & VICE viewers.
Another £100mill on "diversity" & £25mill cut from news? Older viewers are right to be angry!
#DefundTheBBC
"More that 60,000 people have followed a ‘
@DefundBBC
’ campaign in just a few days, before it too was partially shadow banned by Twitter.
"There is a simmering rage against the media and a feeling the establishment is covering up..."
#DefundTheBBC
"A new original journalism team will also be created, incorporating several staff from the Victoria Derbyshire show, to pursue..."
Ahh. Of course they couldn't let such prolific 'social justice' campaigners go. Watch them on all channels!
#DefundTheBBC
On LBC,
@lewis_goodall
is getting called a Remainer again.
I feel obliged to remind Twitter that, when I was Nigel Farage's press officer, he was one of the fairest jurnos towards our movement.
He was genuinely interested in our supporters & wanted to understand, not insult them
I for one am happy to see the end of the blue tick regime.
Content moderators in California should not get to decide what voices across science, economics, politics—and everything else and in between—are “official”.
"Whatever happens on I'm A Celebrity, Nigel Farage has already won"
My latest for The
@Daily_Express
.
"Many of the newest Tory voters at the last election are now turning back to
@Nigel_Farage
, as the Tories turn back to 2015..."
Still don't quite get why people who don't like the Last Night of the Proms can't just not watch it?
It's easy. I also don't much like X Factor but I wouldn't want them to turn into Gardener's World because of my preferences.
There's a narcissistic element to all these demands
Full fat coke and dad jokes. The Right Honourable
@TomTugendhat
.
I’m so proud of the campaign, message, and legacy.
The ethos of service and unity was infectious (and timely) and it influenced all around him.
In that sense, he won.
(Spoiler alert: he’ll be back!)
I generally believe in cock up over conspiracy.
Journalists can be harsh, but instinctively, I struggle to believe they are so corrupt as to set up a sting with actors.
... but, in 2019, I dealt with some notably dishonest Channel 4 staff when working for The Brexit Party
🧵👇
Andrew Parker was the man that made the astonishing racist comments that have given us so much negative coverage.
We now learn that he is an actor by profession.
His own website says he is ‘well spoken’ but from the moment he arrived in Clacton he was doing what he calls
Exactly. Those saying this today rarely mean "accrue a diverse knowledge base and think for yourself."
They mean, "accept my ideology and learn how to follow it."
They mean re-educated, not educate; they want you to be conformist not enlightened.
I cringe every time I hear the phrase "educate yourself". The irony is palpable. It's usually the most narrow-minded, uninformed, ahistorical, self-righteous people who say it.
Such a great deal you have to threaten people with jail before they pay?
Plus much of that expansion is at the expense of historic and hard-working local media operations.
And, FYI, this is nearly what is spent on a child's school uniforms per year. It matters.
#DefundTheBBC
Number watching BBC TV for news is falling.
Magazines more trusted than TV & BBC considered least impartial broadcasts & least likely to "offer a range of opinions".
6 of the 10 most used sources among 12-15s now social media.
#DefundTheBBC
/
@DefundBBC
The
@Daily_Express
asked me to write a jolly assessment of what to expect from my old boss
@Nigel_Farage
in the
@imacelebrity
jungle.
"Give them a day or two, and they’ll be just like those shopkeepers, laughing and joking with him."
"
@Fox_Claire
and I on faux BBC impartiality, an unrepentant Emily Matlis, and the brilliant
@AlStewartOBE
.
Broadcaster can't have it all. They can't be superstar campaigners leading moral crusades as well as trusted conveyors of neutral info.
Full vid👉
The revolving door between The BBC and Buzzfeed keeps on spinning. Multiple transfers this year.
I wonder how many former Sun, Mail, Express, and Breitbart staffers are now high up at the Beeb?
The BBC has abandoned the elderly for listicles and identity politics.
#DefundBBC
@hansmeths
@etihad
Airlines do call your mobile when you’re late for a flight or it’s boarding early btw. I’ve had this before.
It was surprising but ultimately prevented me missing the flight.
Exhibit A of why Labour is losing the aspirational classes:
A privately educated Labour shadow minister with trendy red hair taking a swipe at the son of migrants who has, in fact, worked many shifts as a waiter, in a curry house in his home city during his university holidays.
Revealing from outgoing BBC DG Tony Hall.
Defended elderly tax as “right”, dodged class question with platitudes on diversity, blamed Proms debacle on coronavirus, & no regrets on failing to monetise UK content globally & losing to Netflix
#DefundTheBBC
One last point... why did Channel 4 never embed with the antisemites in Labour or radicals in the Greens?
Left-wing activists are literally attacking each other in Islington this week.
And is anyone blaming Sir Keir, Labour, or Jeremy Corbyn?
Understand a canvasser from Corbyn campaign today reported to Islington Police that she was assaulted by what appeared to be Labour activist.
Female canvasser says she was punched in the chest by a heavy-built male carrying a Vote Labour bag & a poster of the Labour candidate.
Finally—this potential "actor" said disgusting racist things, but he could also be a vulnerable person.
Since the story broke, his statements have been contradictory & he clearly uses different voices and even personas.
Has Channel 4 used him? Failed to protect him?
Their defenders say blue ticks helped to stop misinformation. True.
But often the opposite was true.
Huge power to sculpt public debate was placed in the hands of a tiny ideological niche. And the distorting effects could be seen across everything from Brexit to gender debates
Here is a former head of planning
@Channel4News
pretending to be from
@5_News
to get an interview.
She sent an email with the wrong signature after a long call.
After calling Channel 5, her lies were confirmed.
Typically, we were framed as uncooperative in the broadcast.
The ticks were dished out in an arbitrary and often ideological manner.
Entire publications were ignored. Some hugely important academics with unpopular views went unticked.
But every member of obscure-but-fashionable campaigns got their blue tick. It was madness.
Local news is on its knees. Some regions have 1/4 of the newspaper staff they had in 2005.
The BBC is compounding problems caused by Google & Facebook by competing unfairly & taxing the elderly.
Cancel your licence fee & buy a local paper!
#DefundTheBBC
This rippled out into the papers (a paper I worked at would only quote blue tick tweets for a short period) and many times into policy.
Yes, I really believe Twitter moderators California had a disproportionate influence on policy in Scotland, because of blue ticks.
Nus Ghani is a self made working class Tory & the first Muslim woman minister to speak at the despatch box, who stands up to oppressive regimes (currently banned from China), & rides tanks for fun.
The insinuation she is so supine as to be forced to make tea for men is idiotic.
Ofcom will regulate Twitch/Vemo, and hand out punishments, from the autumn thanks to an EU directive snuck in before Brexit.
Amazing this censorious measure, based on delayed 'Online Harms' agenda, to be introduced with no debate.
Me for
@spikedonline
.
But there is, potentially, a pattern, right?
The level of hostility and dishonesty from Channel 4 directed at
@reformparty_uk
's predecessor, The Brexit Party, was unjustified and unfair.
I hope the allegations flying today are untrue. But I share my experience for context.
Great to be quoted in the Telegraph today.
20 mph limits cause havoc where I live and I wanted to know how much they are costing London’s economy.
I submitted a series Freedom of Information request and was shocked to learn councils have no idea what economic impact they have
"The pound recovered all of its losses since Kwasi Kwarteng's mini-Budget this morning as Britain's official forecaster admitted it was mistaken about the country entering a recession in the second quarter."
I felt really misled by this because I had talked her through the schedule, where to position the camera, and access/transport issues.
Press Officers & journalists can have hostile relationships... and this doesn't help.
Plus, this was the Brexit Night Celebrations...
Interesting
@BBC_Future
has rebranded as "slow news", imitating
@tortoise
,
@unherd
, & other magazine-style sites experiencing growth.
What about core, local news? Constantly pushing to unfairly crush independent media with your license fee.
#DefundTheBBC
Later, a Channel 4 (maybe freelance, I can't be sure) producer tried to (seemingly) pay us off, offering "extra cost".
At this point, I'd wasted a lot of time and this was insulting. But I was polite.
Note, she also said, "we're not there to make trouble..."
The public isn't interested, either, tbh. We've had enough of "slam dunk the Tory" on the BBC.
We want them to ask something illuminating, not obsess over Boris' old articles or other missteps.
This is what
@timesradio
has figured out. And it's working.
After the 3rd (or 4th) question on
#r4today
about Michael Gove not wearing a mask in a coffee shop, Matt Hancock replies: "I'm not, frankly, interested."
There was no reason to think this party would turn ugly (& it didn't!)
The editor's code is clear: Subterfuge & misrepresentation are only allowed when there is a clear public interest "and then only when the material cannot be obtained by other means."
This is an unhinged threat from a bureaucrat.
Crippling fines and prosecution (“full use of our toolbox”) if “debates and interviews” have a “detrimental effect on civic discourse”.
Incitement/violence are mentioned. But his primary concern is the former US President speaking!
With great audience comes greater responsibility
#DSA
As there is a risk of amplification of potentially harmful content in 🇪🇺 in connection with events with major audience around the world, I sent this letter to
@elonmusk
📧⤵️
@hansmeths
@etihad
I didn’t mean to diminish your experience or anger the people now messaging me.
I thought they were prank calls at the time. That was my experience. That’s all.
According to a security guard I spoke to later (I cannot confirm this myself), reporters were later stopped from crashing the stage and identified as being from... Channel 4.
To emphasise, I did not deal with this element directly, and others will have to confirm it.
My latest for
@spikedonline
.
"Some of the best journalism nowadays is done by ‘normal people’... Hopefully broadcasting the daily briefings will encourage the further democratisation of political news, which has hitherto been held hostage by the lobby."
Nightclub smoking areas used to be these vivid, chaotic, galvanising, incredible places.
I met a very good mate in one and know a married couple who met in one.
We are becoming a profoundly anxious, anti-social society. The relentless attack on pubs & clubs is a key factor
Pleased
@WestmonsterUK
is back!
When just 4 publishers & 3 broadcasters control UK 'mainstream' news, every upstart is valuable.
If u don't like the BBC, stop complaining, start getting news elsewhere, & watch them become irrelevant.
@Michael_Heaver
None of this surprises me.
Having fielded most of the press questions for a political party during an election, the constant bullying & deception never failed to amaze.
Their destain for the public who supported The Brexit Party was equally apparent.
New polling for
@SkyNews
shows really low levels of trust in journalists among the public.
- 72% don't trust newspapers on the issue of Coronavirus, just 17% do
- 64% don't trust TV journalists on the issue of Coronavirus, just 24% do
Most depressingly, the Met’s double standard helps turn many against decent environmentalism & towards authoritarian tendencies.
Failure to use existing powers led to new misguided laws being proposed, as highlighted by
@Fox_Claire
&
@BigBrotherWatch
.
That time of year again.
But remember, journalists giving each other endless awards for publishing the 'right' type of stories is a huge driver of the crippling groupthink in our media.
Many great reporters who break stories that really matter boycott these love-ins altogether.
I find this "Harper's Law" idea worrying.
The length of sentences (and implied value of life) should not be determined by the profession of the deceased.
And mandatory life sentences–regardless of intent & the details of the case–is simply Machiavellian
As night follows day. Every lamentable cockup is quickly twisted into an evil conspiracy on this website.
There’s a whole genre of alarmist ‘social justice’ journalism which relies on such tales.
Ironically, these journos are the ones who call everyone else conspiracy theorists
First the Spectator's reply to the Co-Op and now this. 👏👏👏 Publications coming out fighting!
Subscribe and make sure the journalist you trust get paid.
The BBC will take your cash by threatening you with jail and the censorious left want you to be ignorant. They will fail.
All the journalism published by
@telegraph
is going to be free to view this weekend. We believe in a free press. We believe in your right to read whichever newspaper you choose. We believe in your right to agree or disagree. We believe in democracy. Thank you
“Starmer has a lower vote share than any UK prime minister in the democratic era.
“He has won a landslide majority with a significantly smaller vote share than that with which Theresa May lost her majority in 2017.”
How the EU used Coronavirus fear to push for more online censorship.
They met with all the big social media firms and a crackdown followed.
We must fight for free speech online.
Me for
@WestmonsterUK
@Michael_Heaver
The stupidity of doing this just as the birth rate collapses is stark.
Who do they think will pay for the rapidly growing number of triple lock inflated pensions of the future?
The Conservative Party is digging it’s own grave.
In Delhi for Indian Independence Day! 🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳 Absolutely class.
Flags everywhere. Just like the Platinum Jubilee.
A celebration of national community and of confidence. Pride in the past and hope for the future. Nationalism at its best.
How German cops deal with green extremists.
Police have to make subjective & often political judgments everyday. They interpret the law.
The
@metpoliceuk
have made the political choice to prioritize activists over workers, drivers, & the London economy.
Nice
@Daily_Express
write up of my 20mph research.
“Eight of the 11 London boroughs to introduce blanket 20mph limits told Deacon have no record of carrying out a formal cost-benefit analysis and the others could provide little details of their analysis.”
Whatever your view on Trump Jr, face masks & Hydroxychloroquine, Big Tech shouldn't mediate scientific debate.
What was once scientific fact can surprisingly –and quite suddenly in times of paradigm shift – become scientific rubbish.
Me for
@spikedonline
I strongly disagree with the economic points he's making today.
But my professional experience of him
@lewis_goodall
(and he contacted us a lot) was irreproachable impartiality.
I believe The Brexit Party benefited a great deal from his coverage in 2019.
What an odd, megalomaniac ideology. Just who will she save next?
As a proud Englishman of Irish heritage, can I say, the UK did terrible things to Ireland. But great things too.
History is a mess & your trust fund cash isn’t the answer to todays problems
Channel 4 has made a film in which three well-dressed residents of North London "campaign" & "fight" to "solve climate change".
They named it "The Truth..." and in it, shout at Tory MPs & do things that aren't "strictly legal".
Channel 4 is a "public service broadcaster"
This succinctly captures the defining political shift/contradiction of our time.
I share not to celebrate Labour's structural weakness but to highlight how woke cultural warriors deprive traditional working classes of an economic champion
It's a tragedy
If Khan won't tell the truth, central govt must step in & do a cost-benefit analysis of 20 mph & "Vision Zero"
London is now the world's slowest city for drivers.
Khan's claim this has no economic impact is absurd!
@ranil
@GregHands
@Mark_J_Harper
9/10
So, if there is little evidence 20mph is safer, why are blanket zones appearing across London?
This is one reason I asked boroughs and TfL for the cost-benefit analysis (that they are required to do)
Shockingly, most hadn't bothered to do one👇
5/10
Tom Tugendhat MBE MP
@TomTugendhat
has been appointed Minister of State (Minister for Security) in the Home Department
@UKHomeOffice
.
He will attend Cabinet.
#Reshuffle
@Fox_Claire
Comes back to points here. Unrealistic "impartiality" codes are the problem not her per se.
She is a passionate & engaging reporter, which is probably not unrelated to her views.
She should be honest about those view, but she can't do that at the BBC.
I wrote for
@spikedonline
about how Facebook & Google kill news.
A new report says Big Tech monopolies should share data so ad revenue can be fairly distributed with papers & new platforms.
It's worth considering the day after 700 UK jurnos lost jobs.
After discussing the development of his Warhammer 40,000 army in some detail, I can confirm the UK's foreign policy is in safe hands with
@JamesCleverly
.
I always knew a fellow nerd from Games Workshop would lead the UK to glory one day.
@baggins_dil
@HarryScoffin
Lol. Fair.
But yeah, I agree this is a huge concern. There are downsides wherever we turn, but hopefully a happy middle way can be found. What we had was in my view utterly broken.
@Fox_Claire
Like, fact they think "a ceremony without an audience is the perfect moment to bring change" says lots.
Very crowds who love it/keep it goin will be absent. So someone who hates most recognisable bits turns it into a different show. Just start a new show?
This absolutely correct. A huge and tangible change which would improve lives... unlike iconoclasm.
"The United States’ failed drug war is so absent from protestor demands that the words ‘War on Drugs’..."
This legend, my wonderful wife, was granted five years leave to remain last week.
After more than 3 months of uncertainty, blocked from working or claiming for an undefined period, the Home Office finally gave us an answer.
We've had a few drinks in the park since we found out.
Two years ago, when producing a TV show, I put this pub on screen.
It had just closed and some plastic development was planned. I found a local campaigner on Facebook and invited him on.
Well, he won. Nice. I hope I helped in some small way. Cheers 🍻
Really enjoyed interviewing
@Iromg
.
This is a key point. Brexit gave people power & took it from the establishment media, who campaigned on the losing side.
The government & Cummings know this. Mike and
@talkRADIO
know this. It wasn't just about the EU.
Mike Graham (
@Iromg
) on Dominic Cummings, Brexit and voter empowerment:
"The ordinary people of this country have realised that if they turn out and they vote for what they want and they vote with their feet, they can actually change things"
Watch here👉
Opposing such tyranny and censorship should not be partisan.
Just because you don't like Trump, who is has been vocal about China, doesn't mean you can't be too.
Left and right should be actively opposing China's increasing authoritarianism.
My response to
@AlStewartOBE
&
@Fox_Claire
& why I say it's time to give up on broadcast impartiality.
Firstly, there is no longer a clear line between TV & papers, which run video online whilst broadcasters are on YouTube.
Let's treat them equally.
We all know the BBC is biased. Pretending it is impartial is breeding distrust in journalism. It sends the message that the BBC’s opinions are the correct opinions. It’s time to drop the pretence, and let presenters preach if they must, says
@LiamDeacon
Child care reform was the one financial scrap being offered to millennials and working families.
The injustice of dropping this whist boosting pensions and benefits again will be noticed.
Higher tax, mortgage, & childcare. Why would working families vote Tory now?
Sunak has shelved Truss’s plans to reform child care. Treasury claims they would cost billions. Truss’s allies say they would have been a vital weapon against the Lib Dems at the next election. Ah well, austerity wins. Hunt wins again.
@DBanksy
@becalmfollowon
@MarkDiStef
Except, is a more appropriate metaphor not illegally breaking into the private office of a rival company, to spy on a highly sensitive meeting attended by a former Chancellor? This was hardly a town hall meeting...
👏👏👏
"The future of the plinth and what is installed on it must be decided by the people of Bristol...
"The sculpture that has been installed today was the work and decision of London based artist. It was not requested and permission was not given for it to be installed."
Brilliant from
@AlStewartOBE
.
"I am more than happy to eschew the faux secrecy of ‘sources’ and the nonsense of ‘we understand’ for the honesty of ‘as you’ve just seen and heard, we’ve been told…"
When worded like this, its so obvious change is needed
I learned a lot heading up some of
@brexitparty_uk
's press work.
More on BBC bias & changing media here:"Huge sections of the electorate don’t consume or trust the 'mainstream media' and we, the parties, must utilise technology to speak to them directly"
The final stages of an election campaign get nasty.
Slanderous & exaggerated claims are made, underhand tactics deployed, & individuals often caught in the middle.
It might win votes in the short term but will live with u long term. Only say what u can defend in a week's time.
The Online Safty Bill could transform our freedoms & future economy like no other. And it never makes headlines anymore.
Losing track of iterations since Theresa May’s bungled, digitally illiterate first attempt, when I was writing about it.
Thank god Claire is still following.
A thread on some of my speeches and questions on the
#OnlineSafetyBill
today - discussing who defines harm, what Big Tech can censor and the prospect of ending encrypted messaging🪡...
'The council said any reservoir would come "at the expense of significant carbon emissions", which would "impact the district’s ability to become carbon neutral by 2045".'
Looking forward to this. Gloria has resuscitated what many once dismissed as a dying form of journalism—long-form TV interviews.
The show consistently breaks newslines & asks difficult questions but without 'gotcha' moments.
Credit to the indomitable
@rebecanqm
for the bookings
I love seeing the human side of politics and politicians. You can watch the full interview with
@SimonClarkeMP
on Sunday at 6pm on Gloria Meets on
@GBNEWS
"When I was Nigel's press officer, I often wished the BBC and Channel 4 would show more of this side of him, before cutting him off and shouting him down.
"But now the nation will get to see it unfettered for themselves — albeit with him in shorts instead of a suit."
It's also not the first time Khan has been caught misleading voters and even pressuring scientists.
Why do all the "misinformation" reporters and "fact checkers" give him a free pass?
Khan's lies on 20mph safety and air quality must be called out!
10/10
You may not have beautiful, productive, efficient, livable cities of the future millennials.
Flat shares in poorly insulated Victoria town houses for you. As my house booms in value.
How convenient. I’ll call this plan “green” or something.
There is a reason why our cities don't look like Phoenix, Arizona, and why we still have something we call the countryside.
Planning laws.
Liz Truss, who has no electoral mandate, wants to sweep them away.
I'm thrilled to have started as a consultant at Pagefield—A fascinating group of people who are diverse in political and professional backgrounds.
The job will allow me to use all of my experience in journalism, broadcasting, business, and political campaigns.
We've announced the largest injection of talent into Pagefield in its 12-year history, with experts from Government, industry and agency joining us.
Read more about our new hires in
@prweekuknews
I wrote about ESG for
@TheCriticMag
. I want buissness to be good and do good.
But doing good, I fear, has too often been confused with being hyper partisan and politically under the ESG banner.
And with political power, rightly, often comes accountability.