In Their Own Tweets

KATYA ADLER
20/10/2019 (tweet): Still can’t get my head around the whole “colluding with foreign powers” accusation from No10 at MPs accused of being anti-Brexit. When Boris Johnson asks EU leaders to hold back on granting/talking up idea of new extension, is that colluding with foreign powers too? 

MOBEEN AZHAR
8 May 2015 (blog): Great result unless you're poor / old / vulnerable / a single parent / not obsessed with money. Well done #selfishBritain #GE15. (Deleted)

PAUL DANAHAR
7 Apr 2017 (tweet): It should have been done by Obama. Those opposed to Trump should not oppose this just because he did it.

MARK EASTON
13 Dec 2019 (blog): Mark Easton retweets the Electoral Reform Society in the wake of the general election.

HUW EDWARDS
5 Dec 2019 (tweet/blog): Yeah I liked a tweet which seemed to be a celebration of our wonderful @nhs —apologies for not watching right to the end. But apologise for supporting the NHS? Never. EXCLUSIVE — my family owes it a huge debt.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/10492437/bbc-huw-edwards-bias-labour-tories/ … 

IMOGEN FOULKES
2 Jul 2017 (tweet): Seriously? THIS is a president? (Donald Trump posts video clip of him 'beating' CNN in wrestling.)

LEWIS GOODALL
2 Feb 2020 (blog): Still, great to see Brexit means we've stopped blaming the EU for everything.  (Deleted)

23 Jan 2020 (tweet):It’s really fascinating how one 16 year old, powerless girl gets so many powerful people rattled.

20 Jan 2020 (tweets): £106bn is a lot of money. But it is worth saying that successful infrastructure lasts decades if not centuries and people in 2050 are unlikely to be using HS2 and saying “god, I wonder how much this cost? Might have been a waste of money.” For example, one of the most successful tube upgrades in recent years was on the Victoria Line. It cost a fortune- £900m. It now carries 36 trains an hour and is widely considered fantastic. I can’t imagine anyone who uses it or benefits from it gives the cost a second thought. Andrew Sentance who sat on the HS2 review panel tells Evan Davis that the govt is using their report selectively, implies they’re trying to prepare the way for cancellation, something and the panel doesn’t think is a good idea. Also makes the point (which is surely right) that the idea we often hear, that HS2 should be cancelled and the £80bn or so would spent on other infrastructure projects in the midlands in north, is very far fetched.

18 Jan 2020 (tweets/blog): -final acceptance that referendum promise that we’d have exactly the same benefits of the single market was false. -pledging to double economic growth at the same time as leaving world‘s biggest trade bloc seems, erm, ambitious. Alternative trade deals won’t come online for years (if earlier it’s probably a sign they’re v basic) and as studies show, benefits of FTAs are pretty modest. Civil service estimates suggest that the biggest one, a US deal, will boost UK GDP by only 0.2% *after 15 years*. Mr Javid was once rather more alive to these concerns: Sajid Javid: The only thing leaving the EU guarantees is a lost decade for British business. Mr Javid was right then. It is difficult to imagine how an economy can undertake runaway growth whilst erecting significant trade barriers with its closest and most significant trading partner. Unless of course, they have some drastic plans on labour laws, regulation...And even that prob wouldn’t be enough. After all, cuts to domestic regulation in some areas will be matched by increases in the regulatory burden on business that divergence will inevitably bring.

MISHAL HUSAIN
3 Jun 2018 (tweet): Here’s what the Muslim Council of Britain has asked the Conservatives to look into. Rather than engage, Sajid Javid says they don’t represent Muslims in this country (although they are an umbrella body for 500 orgs).

NOMIA IQBAL 
13 Jan 2019 (tweet): Stephen Lawrence was from a strong two parent family unit. Didn’t stop him getting stabbed. Rod Liddle’s weird obsession with Black people continues. 

JASMINE LAWRENCE/JASMINE WILLIAMS
21 May 2014 (blog): #WhyImVotingUkip – to stand up for white, middle class, middle aged men w sexist/racist views, totally under represented in politics today. (Deleted)

JOHN McMANUS

22 Jan 2019 (tweet, replying to Chloe Westley of the TPA): You know where poverty is lowest? Social democratic nations like Sweden, Norway and Finland - high taxes, greater sharing of national wealth. 

CLIVE MYRIE
16 Feb 2020 (tweet): It is painfully clear a very serious education drive needs to be made about WHAT the BBC does, WHY it’s important and HOW it’s paid for. That there’s a level of ignorance out there is probably our fault, with the service taken for granted for far too long.

ANDREW NEIL 

20 Feb 2020 (tweet): I do wish British journalists — esp Brussels-based — would stop repeating the false mantra that the EU holds all the cards in upcoming negotiations. It holds many, perhaps more than UK. But if UK left on WTO rules it would have total regulatory freedom. EU’s worst nightmare.

NICK ROBINSON
3 Nov 2020 (tweet): No-one in the UK will be able to vote for Nigel Farage & no-one voted for him to lead his party but he is, undoubtedly, one of the big players in this election. Funny old world.

DANIEL SANDFORD
13 Dec 2019 (tweet/blog): Two thoughts on Labour’s devastating defeat. 1) Labour voters need to join the party in large numbers in order to get the leader and policies they want, otherwise the party will keep on offering only what the current membership advocate. 2) It is not enough to tell voters what they want. You have to listen to them. If they don’t agree with you, you have to win the argument or possible alter your policy. Do not shout at them and call life-long Labour voters Tories.

DANNY SHAW
1 May 2019 (tweet): Whether you agreed with his policies or not Rory Stewart was the most engaged and engaging prisons minister for years.  Many people in the justice sector will I expect be very sad that he has moved on - though not surprised.

JOHN SIMPSON
23 Jan 2020 (tweet): Advice to US treasury secretary Stephen Mnuchin: don’t patronise clever kids - you’ll come off worse.
3 Jan 2020 (tweet): Killing Soleimani isn’t like killing bin Laden, who had masterminded the worst terrorist attack against America. Soleimani was a competitor, who was highly effective in fighting ISIS as well as American interests. Assassinating him seems like a step back to a more savage past.
13 Dec 2019 (tweet): In 1979, as she entered No 10, Mrs Thatcher prayed that she would bring harmony. In 2019 Johnson says he wants to be PM of all the people. The difference between them? Mrs T had a burning ideology; BJ has a burning ambition.
6 Dec 2019 (tweet): Not surprised that Boris Johnson has ducked out of the Andrew Neil interview. It’d probably have done him a lot of damage, & he dared not risk it. But to suggest it’s in some way akin to facing Lord Buckethead is pretty insulting. Not just to Andrew, but also to our democracy.
21 Oct 2019 (tweet): Our problem with Brexit isn’t that a group of sullen Remainers are blocking the will of the people; it’s that we are divided almost exactly 50-50 over it. Organisations tend to require a 2/3rds majority to change their rules. Surely our nation should have done the same?
6 Oct 2019 (tweet): Britain is entering the most important and possibly dangerous period in its national life since 1940. Our constitution, our economic well-being, the entire future of our children, are all at stake. Our politicians need to think very carefully what they do and say.
27 July 2019 (tweet, omitting Iran): The US Justice Department says it will resume the execution of federal death row inmates and has already scheduled 5. Other countries which execute people include China, Saudi Arabia & Pakistan. No member of the European Union practices capital punishment.
3 June 2019 (blog): Donald Trump is an embarrassment who lacks any kind of dignity and has interfered outrageously in our national affairs. BUT he is the (temporary) leader of our close friend and ally, and we owe it to the US to put with him as best we can. (Deleted)
1 May 2019 (tweet): The new int. development secretary, Rory Stewart, is unusual among British politicians in that he understands the world outside the UK. He governed an entire Iraqi province with skill & compassion, ran an excellent charity in Afghanistan & writes annoyingly good travel books.
3 April 2019 (blog): How utterly depressing when a column by a not-very-impressive journalist on the dull, self-regarding New York Times in a country which elected Donald Trump is entitled The United Kingdom Has Gone Mad - and is entirely accurate. (Deleted)

31 Mar 2019 (tweet): Zuzana Čaputová has been elected President of Slovakia despite avoiding personal attacks on her opponents and supporting humanism, solidarity and truth. “Let's look for what connects us,' she said. 'Let's promote cooperation above personal interests.' Wouldn't that be nice here?

17 Feb 2019 (tweet): Presumably this was sparked off because you came across some criticism of yourself, Mr Trump.  I know you're not good at dealing with criticism, but this tweet is way below the moral level of any of your recent predecessors.
7 Feb 2019 (tweet): There's a lot to be upset about in Britain today, but for me the existence of laws forbidding people like Geoff Whaley, who has motor neurone disease, to end their lives decently and peacefully among their friends in their own surroundings is a particular cause for anger.
30 Jan 2019 (tweets): When I was the BBC political editor, in the early 1980s, I was shocked by the ignorance of most MPs about the way the outside world worked. Judging from today's proceedings in Parliament, things don't seem to have changed much. Some people replying to me think the problem lies with MPs having no experience outside politics. I disagree. I think it springs from a lack of knowledge and lack of interest in the way the countries close to us think and operate. The world has changed;  too many of us haven't. I think MPs can get too bound up with the business and pantomime of Parliament, and believe it's all that matters.  Far too many are depressingly ignorant of the world beyond Dover. That drove me crazy in the 80s. Today it's utterly unforgivable. 3 Feb 2019 (tweet, in reply to Daniel Kawczynski MP): This is a good example of what I mean about the utter ignorance of so many MPs about the outside world and our part in it.  And all the time the truth is as far away as a click or two on Wikipedia.
26 Dec 2018 (tweet): Depressing & deeply wrong that Japan is to start commercial hunting of whales again. But would it have left the International Whaling Commission if Pres Trump hadn’t withdrawn from various international orgs on nationalistic grounds?
21 Dec 2018 (tweet): I'm wary of direct action like Extinction Rebellion's lockdown of the BBC because I've so often seen such things turn nasty. But if ever there was a cause that matters to every single one of us, it's the horrifying threat to the life of our planet.
28 Nov 2018 (tweet): Donald Trump tells Washington Post about his high level of intelligence, then says 'if you go back and if you look at articles, they talked about global freezing, they talked about at some point the planets could freeze to death, then it’s going to die of heat exhaustion.' Hmm.
24 Oct 2017 (tweet): MP wants details of anti-Brexit univ teachers. Decent folk deported on technicalities. Daily hate in press. Doesn't feel like my country now. 25 Oct 2017 (tweet): Don't assume you know my views on Brexit or politics because you don't. What upsets me is the current viciousness in British public life.

29 Aug 2017 (tweet): So farewell Fox News, which famously told its viewers that non-Muslims in UK simply don't go to Birmingham. Sky is taking it down here. Can't happen soon enough - so much anger, ignorance & prejudice won't be missed here.

8 Jul 2017 (tweet): My answer to anti-BBC bores from http://newsthump.com: The BBC is accused of having a lefty, right-wing, pro-Remain Brexit agenda that brainwashes viewers into questioning opposing points of view.  I'm sending this to tedious anti-bbc tweeters from now on w/o comment.

24 Jun 2017 (tweet): Depressing to hear Andrea Leadsom echoing the Soviet view of broadcasting - that its duty is to be 'patriotic' - i.e. to back views of govt.

16 Jun 2017 (tweet): It's a year since Jo Cox was murdered: the worst year for Britain in my lifetime.  We badly need a return to Jo's concept of moderation now.

JOAN SOLEY
31 Jan 2019 (tweet): Has anyone invented a Trump translation app yet? Asking for THE ENTIRE WORLD.
15 Jun 2018: You know that kid who never read the book assigned in school? Would watch the movie, or borrow someone’s notes? This one’s for you, Trump administration officials; a quick watch, if you want to use the Bible to justify behaviour towards immigrants and refugees.
24 Jun 2016 (tweet): The pound is plummeting against the dollar; biggest losers of #Brexit I think? UK economy, David Cameron and George Osbourne, #mytwocents.
1 Mar 2012 (tweet, on Newt Gingrich): Perhaps I'm just surrounded by it and yet so underwhelmed by it...also, I despise Newt. Sound of his voice = red mist o rage.

QUENTIN SOMERVILLE

13 Oct 2019 (blog): Advocacy over UK government's treatment of children in Syrian camps. Leaving aside nationality for a moment -  this is a disgrace. There are kids in the camp who’ve been through the worst trauma imaginable and we aren’t giving them sanctuary?

JON SOPEL
24 Jul 2019 (tweet): A lot of Americans say to me ‘you must think our politics is so messed up.’ I say ‘not so much...’ #BorisJohnsonPM
18 Jul 2019 (tweet): Not only is tanker heading in wrong direction, but Iran policy generally - and just as Britain is about to change PM.
16 Jun 2019 (tweet): 2nd tweet today in which the American president attacks Sadiq Khan. There’s clearly something about London’s Muslim mayor that he really dislikes.
25 Nov 2018 (tweet): It seems that Donald Trump is even rewriting what thanksgiving is. Thanksgiving weekend is when you give thanks for yourself, to yourself, by yourself

HUGH SYKES
20 Jun 2019 (tweet): #CatholicChurch #childabuse @CardinalNichols. A 'cardinal' who accused BBC News journalists of anti-#Catholic bias for doing their job is now accused of bias in favour of the reputation of his grubby organisation at the expense of children abused by priests. "#Jesus Wept."
27 Mar 2019 (tweet): #Brexit. I'd vote for a national government with these MPs in charge: Nicky Morgan, Jess Phillips and Anna Soubry. I felt quite emotional when I saw Soubry touch Phillips admiringly on the shoulder. You may say that I'm a dreamer....
1 Mar 2019 (tweets & blog): Lest We Forget. A memorial in Calais to five young members of the Resistance, "shot here at dawn on September 3rd 1944." Now, Germany and France are at peace with prosperity - and the UK, which helped to achieve both, is in danger of forgetting....Enduring peace since 1945 between nations which fought each other with vicious destruction and startling loss of life in two wars in the last century has been an astonishing achievement which it is criminal to jeopardise....The UK is part of a union of mutual trust & cooperation that has helped to anchor priceless peace in Europe for 75 years. There is an ignorant & dangerous undercurrent to Brexit - of xenophobia stoked by people too young (or unimaginative) to know what they are putting at risk.
29 Oct 2016 (tweet): #Brexit. 52% majority votes to jump over a cliff. With the 48% strapped to them. Respect the vote? Or save them from drowning? #Regrexit
27 Nov 2014: I know, & enjoy the enrichment of, many migrants. I hope David Cameron highlights their contribution, not irrational 'concern' about them.
25 Jan 2013 (tweet): Yes, Big If. But I am scrupulously objective when reporting - unlike some of my Tweets! I obey: "Hang up your opinions with your coat".
24 Jan 2013: EU faulty but only rats leave ships, & interesting that Churchill had European vision. 'It's peace, stupid' as Clinton might have said.

ANTHONY ZURCHER
11 Aug 2019 (tweet): Roughly half of Trump’s tweets these days fall in the category of “grumpy man yells at TV”.