No. And no one thought they would. The vote was a marker - a stance. And we hoped there would be additional pressure to come thereafter when Labour was elected including an end to arms sales.
Journalist. Scottish. European. Harvard & U of Glasgow alumnus. Harkness Fellow. Kennedy scholarship. Ex US Senate speechwriter, BBC & ITV news anchor and Member of Parliament. He/him. http://www.youtube.com/@JohnNicolsonChannel
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No. And no one thought they would. The vote was a marker - a stance. And we hoped there would be additional pressure to come thereafter when Labour was elected including an end to arms sales.
Thank you.
Keir Starmer sacked the 56 Labour MPs who voted for an “immediate #Gaza ceasefire”. Now he’s calling for “an immediate Gaza ceasefire.” How does this make any sense?
Poll of polls for August. Labour facing General Election meltdown. Graphics: @LeftieStats
Nine years ago today I introduced my Commons #TuringBill Its aim: to ‘pardon’ gay men found guilty of ‘crimes’ no longer on the statute book. The Tory Government promised support but then filibustered the bill to kill it off. Have a watch. m.youtube.com/watch?v=06Wi...
I’ve a new YouTube channel! I’d appreciate a follow on YouTube. Latest post here. www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFHI...
The “decorative medallions that festoon the walls of the ( #Trump Oval Office) bear more than a passing resemblance to “Foam Veneer Accessories” available from Chinese e-commerce site Ali Baba for just $1 a piece.”
Facebook reminds me: my lovely mother-in-law Silvana Zini met the First Minister (who could not have been more charming to her) three years ago today. Sweet picture.
Analysis by @BBCNews of footage shows the Israelis struck Nasser Hospital in #Gaza 4 times including their ‘double tap’ murdering at least 20 people including journalist Hussam Al-Masri who was operating a live feed for @Reuters My take on this atrocity. youtu.be/GFHIC-C8vWI?...
An important announcement by #Trump "Take a look at bacon. Some people don’t eat bacon anymore. We’re going to get energy prices down. When we get energy down you know this was caused by their horrible energy. Wind."
Karl on #Caturday He turns 6 months old this weekend - his default facial expression is either sleep, excitement or shock! Many thanks again to the wonderful @CatsProtection for the work they do.
11 years ago today this went off in the post…. #IndyRef #Yes 🏴
Facebook reminds me - an anniversary of sorts for the Better Together #PatronisingBTLady indyref campaign ad. Remember her? Politics made her brain hurt. Independence was too complicated to contemplate. Breakfast cereal was her soothing balm.
Well you shouldn’t! That’s the whole point of Trumpist post truth politics - to encourage citizens to treat trusted news sources as suspicious. Polls should be treated with caution. But when they’re all saying the same thing they’re to be believed.
Two different questions : who believes Farage? And who believes the polls? Farage - no-one with an IQ in double figures. Polls - unless they’re outliers they’re pretty reliable these days.
Labour heading for a crushing defeat with these figures. Reform set to dominate in England & @theSNP in Scotland. Graphics: @LeftieStats Polling: Lord Ashcroft polls.
It’s Marsha P. Johnson Day! She was a central figure in the Stonewall uprising of 1969, which ignited the LGBTQ rights movement.
Today is Ukraine’s Independence Day. What a heroic people. 11 years of Russian occupation, bombing & Putin war crimes. Ukrainians are on the front line defending freedom & democracy for all of Europe. Slava Ukraini. #Ukraine 🇺🇦 🏴
Of course it goes without saying that J O’B plays no role in choosing guest or any other presenters. That’s a management decision.
Grace in reflective mood for #caturday
Imagine if, instead, they’d dug an extension to the subway system, relaid the trams, and reopened the redundant overground links? We’d have a 21st century transport system & tens of thousands of homes would have been spared.
I am :)
Thanks. They do this guest business every year. But they don’t include Scottish voices. And some of the politicians they do include are excruciatingly dull…
Thank you Bob!
Yes that was the absurd judge summing up and talking about her in the witness stand. It was later found that her husband had perjured himself.
It’s #WorldPhotographyDay My Dad was a photographer in the RAF & loved taking photos when we were growing up - using his trusty ‘Box Brownie’. Here are a few.
Just finished the Nicola autobiography. Fascinating insight into the life of one of Europe’s best known politicians. Repeated focus on the almost crippling shyness & imposter syndrome insecurities which make her ascent all the more remarkable.
Trump’s enthusiasm for dictators is well known. But Russia’s aggression must never be rewarded in #Ukraine Here’s my take on my new You Tube channel. Please watch and subscribe. And let me know your thoughts. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SD5...
Facebook reminds me… My beau ten years ago tonight in Spitalfields. He doesn’t seem to have aged a day. ❤️
Extraordinary collapse for Starmer’s Labour Government after only a year. Minus 56 is dire. Only 13% approval rating. Polling: @YouGov Graphics: @LeftieStats
I know he does. And it’s mutual. ❤
Thank you!
What sad news about #TerenceStamp Possibly the most handsome film star in history - he was a wonderful actor too, mesmerising in movies from Billy Budd to Priscilla. Searingly honest in interviews too.
Ah I’m sure his troll community support him.But of course that’s not the real world.
Ah I was given it as a birthday gift by my beau so no idea about its price! I’ll splash even less going forward!
Yes a salutary lesson to us all… don’t become old & bitter. It also puts potential partners off as I suspect he’s discovered over the years.
We were university contemporaries though never close friends. He was brave as a student. But his career never took off. He seems to have become a bitter and angry old man. Haven’t seen him for years. No idea why he’s so obsessed with me tbh.
Thank you!
Thank you for all the supportive comments & DMs re my trolls. In answer to the question you’ve been asking… It’s this (a present from my beau.)
My beau is arachnophobic. This little guy has strolled in from the garden. Juliano wants to get out the Hoover. I’ve said we’re all God’s creatures. Live and let live. Views?
I suspect he’s sad & lonely. No relationship. No career. Just ranting away on line day and night. The Alliance seems to be a home for the dysfunctional.
Yes it’s a very 1950s insult. Nancy boys smell nice. Real men smell of sweat. Or carbolic soap on a night out.
Yes I was a witness in the case. The Alliance denied the relationship even though he was sitting with the rest of them in court. Ultimately it didn’t matter. The court ruled that no matter how sinister and abusive the Alliance are, no charity has the legal right to challenge them.
Indeed. Are we surprised? Nahhh.
Thank you! That’s very kind of you Catriona. My current smell is Tom Ford (courtesy of my beau.) :)
Ach. They’re cartoon monsters.
I get homophobic abuse on a regular basis. The insults tend to be archaic: “perfumed” & “Liberace.” Here’s today’s. In any Venn diagram of extremism there’s a huge Alba / angry unionist / transphobic / homophobic / vaccine sceptic / Sturgeon obsessive overlap. They’re a sad lot. #LGBT
Grace on #caturday
As @MhairiBlack has noted @NicolaSturgeon always created a stir when she visited Westminster. Here she is on her first visit after the triumphant 2015 elections. The newly elected SNP MPs - 56 of us - gather outside to welcome her. Curious Commons doorkeepers look on.
I’m so sorry Eva.
Of all the abuse Nicola Sturgeon receives from trolls this is possibly the most vile. Unsurprisingly it comes from one of the founders of the so called ‘LGB Alliance.’ I can’t imagine how foul anyone must be to questions a woman’s experience of miscarriage & the pain it caused.
I’m very sad to hear George Reid has died. What an extraordinary life he led. Award winning journalist. Accomplished broadcaster. Westminster MP. Red Cross worker. MSP & then Holyrood Speaker. Passionate nationalist. Loving husband. Wise friend. Trailblazer. He’ll be missed.
No independent country has ever asked to rejoin the state from which it seceded.
Nicola Sturgeon says she made mistakes. Of course she did. She’s human. But under her premiership support for independence steadily climbed. By the next election there will be 1 million new voters who couldn’t vote in 2014. They’re the Yes generation. Here’s my take…. www.youtube.com/shorts/HOaFC...
Much looking forward to the Nicola Sturgeon interview tonight on @WeAreSTV My old pal Julie Etchingham is an outstanding interviewer. I expect it will be revealing…. And by pure coincidence this picture just popped up on my Facebook memories feed.
Peaceful Sunday in the garden watching the young birds explore. And listening to this - Lon-dubh (blackbird) by the wonderful @juliefowlis Seems appropriate. youtu.be/0MzetQfKwbE #Gàidhealtachd #Gaidhlig
A close friend in London has endured three break ins. His van has just been stolen from outside his house. He’s identified the culprit - a local drug dealer. There is a witness. There is CCTV. The Metropolitan Police have told him the crime’s too time consuming to solve. @mayoroflondon.bsky.social
Utterly absurd. Unenforceable long term due to lack of public support. Puts the police in an impossible position. And to think this legislation was introduced by a former human rights lawyer…
Thinking today of my beau Juliano & his Purí Nation ancestors. Their names aren’t recorded. The last was was simply called Purí by her Swiss husband. But the annihilation of their ancient culture is one of countless colonialist crimes in the Americas. #IndigenousPeoplesDay
He’s so handsome!
I notice a Scottish Tory MSP called Tess White has tabled an absurd motion to Parliament. She’s “welcoming” some jaw dropping news. The sinister ‘LGB Alliance’ has conducted a survey of its members. Shock poll result? 91% of transphobes are transphobic. Haud the front pages…
It’s #InternationalCatDay and here are the much adored rescue cats who’ve adopted us over the years. First came glamorous magazine cover cat Honky & Rory who loved flowers and disco dancing. Then our beloved, much missed Rojo, followed by wee Grace, and now our new kitten Karl.
A tawdry story & a greedy, hypocritical Labour minister: “unscrupulous landlords cannot be allowed to continue the practice of ‘fire-and-rehire’ evictions, where they evict renters only to relet the property at a higher price.” #RushanaraAli
Just hung this 1970s Maison Charles ‘ostrich egg’ chandelier. Picked it up for nothing - dirty and cobweb covered - at auction. Amazing what a wee dust and shine can do!
As Keir Starmer belatedly suggests he may recognise #Palestine how will history judge Starmer and his government over #Gaza ? They’ll see a Labour Government which stood back as mass murder was committed by #Netanyahu & his thugs. Here’s my take. youtu.be/ULGmcFBSm2U?...
Karl has suddenly realised his grumpy big sister doesn’t want to play, never wants to play, and may never be persuaded to play. She may, in fact, just want to be left alone. Poor wee Karl.
Yes but Starmer was especially fawning in his initial support - infamously supporting the cutting off of water and power to Gaza. And refusing to label the mass murder as war crimes.
It’s a flashback to Grace as a baby for today’s #Caturday
“When Starmer’s various demands on Netanyahu are blithely ignored, it will only advertise the British PM’s weakness.” #Gaza
As countries round the world announce recognition of #Palestine the UK holds back, offering maybes and conditions. There should be no conditions. We must recognise Palestine. And do all we can to get #Netanyahu sent to The Hague. Here’s my take. #Gaza www.youtube.com/shorts/7kRtP...
I love classic cars & over the years have had an MG, an old Fiat & an antique Alfa Spyder. For the last 20 years I’ve driven this vintage Daimler. Beautiful craftsmanship. Picked it up for a song on E Bay. Delighted to have found Jem at Kar Klinik to lavish it with tlc.
As a new generation demand a say in Scotland’s constitutional future, this from a journalist I much admire on Scotland’s last attempt to break free: “To see people suddenly full of hope and excited and wanting to participate in their future – it was probably the most moving thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Trump cannot stand criticism. He’s vindictive as hell. He’s willing to use every agency of the federal government to punish corporations or universities that allow criticism of him. Shame on any media outlet or university that allows Trump to silence it.”
Twitter is mostly pretty poisonous these days. But there are still plenty of nice people around. Like “Chris from England.”
Twitter is mostly pretty poisonous these days. But there are still plenty of nice people around. Like “Chris from England.”
I’ve got a new YouTube channel. Please do give me a follow. It doesn’t cost a penny! I’d love to hear from you. Link here. www.youtube.com/@JohnNicolso...
How can the UK exploit its relationship with #Trump post #Brexit ? Here’s my take. www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXli...
Starmer “fawns over authoritarian demagogues & seeks to diminish protections the UK offers to vulnerable minorities. He conflates peaceful protest with deadly terrorism & calls for musicians whose views & language he dislikes to be dropped from festival bills.”
“Starmer spoke of “a sense of revulsion in the British public over Gaza.” Now he notices? The public were revolted when he was supporting cutting off water & power to #Gaza And when he was punishing Labour MPs who demanded an immediate ceasefire. Shameless. www.ft.com/content/a707...
Mum’s boxes: amongst the piles of Stant, Kerr & Turpie family photos a range of photos from my back catalogue & my 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s! I’d no idea she’d kept so many!
Mystifyingly they were keen to replace progressive, hard working SNP MPs who were on their side with lobby fodder Labour MPs who were on Keir Starmer’s side. We are so often our own worst enemy.
Darkly funny: signs appearing across central London, protesting Starmer’s use of anti-terror laws against peaceful pro-Palestine protesters.
Will the ever ghastly Nigel Farage & his Reform ‘party’ make a breakthrough at the next Holyrood Scottish elections? Or will they get the blame for Brexit? What do you think? Here’s my take. (And please give my YouTube channel a follow!) www.youtube.com/shorts/LCPkh...
Just finished this highly engaging Mitt Romney biography by McKay Coppins previewed in The Atlantic. Romney, a stiff & earnest candidate, comes across (at least in later life) as a decent & honourable man with a mordant wit. Senate Republicans seem as sleekit as one would imagine.
I don’t believe we will ever lose her from the movement. But I think she wants to step back from party politics.
FB reminds: I was on #NaHearadh 14 years ago & visited my lovely Aunt Isa. After countless generations she was the last of my close family there. Deeply devout, she told me on meeting Juliano “you’ve always had lovely boyfriends.” Not entirely true 🙂 But a loving thing to say.
Thank you Bob. That’s so kind of you to say. John
Winning over Bute House isn’t the issue. It’s persuading soft no voters and undecided voters which should be preoccupying us all, now.
Wee flashback for #caturday & our lovely much missed Rory. He loved to dance round the kitchen. The Scissor Sisters were his favourite.
I’m sad to hear that my friend Mhairi Black has left the SNP Mhairi is clever, sincere, funny and kind. She endured relentless attacks from some pretty appalling people whilst she was in front line politics. She’ll remain, I hope, a huge asset in our national life.
We’re at London Trans Pride! Today and every day we stand with trans people 🏳️⚧️
Wasn’t so long ago that Keir Starmer said Israel had the right to cut off water to #Gaza I remember too how he punished Labour MPs who voted in favour of an immediate ceasefire motion in Parliament. All while he sold arms to Israel….
Facebook reminds me I was on the cover of The Times ‘Bricks and Mortar’ supplement 18 years ago today! The story - how I’d rescued a derelict house which then kickstarted the restoration of a whole block of Whitechapel houses facing demolition.
Should MPs be allowed to have second jobs? Don’t they get paid enough as MPs? Here’s my take on my new YouTube channel…. www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBz0...
Drinks in the garden. Ten years ago tonight Mum & Juliano laughing as they so often did.
Wasn’t she just? I loved my all too short time with her. And thank you so much for what you both did.
I’ve been asked by quite a number of people what I think about Keir Starmer’s decision to suspend the whip from Diane Abbott and other Labour MPs. Here’s my take on my new YouTube channel. Have a watch & tell me if you agree. youtu.be/4i8e0h7MdyQ?...
My lovely friend & staffer Irene Hamilton - who died two years ago - loved taking photos of her beloved #Clackmannanshire Nae sma task wi ane airm. Here are some of my favourites posted in her memory.
