Former & current housing & trade wonk. Views own, diary not. RT≠agree. Director of Policy, Business West

Joined January 2018
Guys, why are you still on this platform???
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Hi @ForestryEngland, I paid for two hours of parking at Leigh Woods - you are now chasing me for £50 and threatening baliffs because our stay ran over by 6 mins... (Inc the 3 mins driving time in and out of the parking space time). Isn't this a bit excessive??? 😬
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📢In a few days, the West of England will have a new mayor. "The next West of England mayor must deliver for the place rather than for their party." Read the full article by @AndrewCities on @bristol247 👇 buff.ly/tMlvRhD
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Putin indiscriminately butchers more Ukrainian civilians, killing and injuring 100 in Kyiv including children. And what is his reward under the latest peace proposals? 1. The right to keep sovereign Ukrainian territory he has taken by violence and in breach of international law. 2. The right to control Ukraine’s destiny by forbidding Nato membership 3. The lifting of sanctions against Russia 4. An economic partnership with America. 5. The chance to rebuild his armed forces for the next attack in a few short years’ time. As for Ukraine - what do they get after three years of heroic resistance against a brutal and unprovoked invasion? What is their reward for the appalling sacrifices they have made - for the sake, as they have endlessly been told, of freedom and democracy around the world? Apart from the right to share their natural resources with the United States they get nothing. What is there in this deal that can realistically stop a third Russian invasion? Nothing. If we are to prevent more atrocities by Putin then we must have a long term, credible and above all properly funded security guarantee for Ukraine - a guarantee issued by the UK, the US and all western allies.
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Bigger than Smoot-Hawley
The overall weighted-average tariff is 29%. The highest in over 100 years. Bigger than Smoot-Hawley.
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Preach! 👇💯
Would this be mad? HS4: Plymouth-Exeter-Bristol-Oxford-London. Bristol to Oxford in half an hour would be insanely pro-growth. Plymouth to Bristol in 45 minutes would be transformational for the South West. And plugging it all in to London is just turbo charging the lot.
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4. What Ukraine gives up All resource revenues, public and private, across all territory—even occupied. Private firms like DTEK are not exempt. Funds are to be converted into hard currency and wired abroad to an account controlled by the U.S. 4/
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We know this because they cannot be sated. They cannot be convinced that their conspiracy theorizing is unwarranted. It does not matter how many documents are declassified. They want to believe they have been lied to. That is central to their identity. It is a sad identity.
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The facts of the case have not changed. We have changed. The conspiracy theorists and their many adherents believe they're just asking questions. Really, they are betraying a profound alienation and ignorance, a malleability, a desire to believe that they lack agency.
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Matt Griffith retweeted
Since the call many Russian military observers have actually talked of the advantages of an infrastructure ceasefire specifically, which could end up benefiting them more than the Ukrainians. (8/10)
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🚄🧠BRAIN TRAIN BOOST ALERT🧠🚉 The Ox-Cam growth corridor looks like it is going to get a western extension - via Swindon, Bath and Bristol 🤞🤞 Would be excellent news for spreading jobs, research, growth, investment and homes. 🎉🧪🥼🏗🏢🏠👷‍♂️ bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cedl…
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Matt Griffith retweeted
Great to see this progress, such a quick win for maximising the agglomeration benefits of the Ox Cam Corridor further afield. Great places to visit too!
A proposal for hourly rail services between Oxford, Swindon and Bristol is being backed by Swindon Borough Council, MPs and regional transport bodies. Subject to approval from Government, the new service could start as early as next year, building on @GWRHelp's successful weekend trial that started in September 2024. Before that point, a direct service last ran in 2003. A new report setting out the case for the service says it would cut journey times between Swindon and Oxford to around half an hour. Better linking Oxford to Swindon and Bristol would fuel economic growth by better connecting high performing, knowledge-intensive sectors and universities. Read more: englandseconomicheartland.co… #BetterSwindon
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Matt Griffith retweeted
Europeans should make more of the success of Airbus. Advanced manufacturing spread across France, Germany, Spain and the UK, and it's genuinely world-beating. Would you rather get on board an Airbus these days, or a Boeing made in the US-of-A?
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'Bristol's special character'
Yet another tower block threatening Bristol’s special character. We need a strong skyline policy if we are not to leave city planning to the developers ⁦@BristolCouncil⁩ adam_ldr⁩ bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g0…
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My strong skyline policy: cities change, get over it.
Yet another tower block threatening Bristol’s special character. We need a strong skyline policy if we are not to leave city planning to the developers ⁦@BristolCouncil⁩ adam_ldr⁩ bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g0…
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For context, this proposal is on a very large industrial estate, 2.5 miles drive from Bristol's historic centre, in a city with a chronic shortage of student accommodation. Bristol was England's 2nd largest city: but some people seem keen on a new status of its largest village
Yet another tower block threatening Bristol’s special character. We need a strong skyline policy if we are not to leave city planning to the developers ⁦@BristolCouncil⁩ adam_ldr⁩ bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g0…
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Elon Musk responded to Polish Foreign Minister Sikorski regarding Starlink: "Be quiet, small man. You pay a tiny fraction of the cost. And there is no substitute for Starlink." Meanwhile, the U.S. Secretary of State stated that no one had threatened to disconnect Ukraine from Starlink and advised Sikorski to "say thank you, because without Starlink, Ukraine would have lost the war, and the Russians would be on the border with Poland."
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Matt Griffith retweeted
The fact I spent last night bombing Ukraine just shows they don't want peace.
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We have all had to deal with people like this!
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Matt Griffith retweeted
My cartoon from the current edition of Private Eye Magazine.
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Matt Griffith retweeted
I’m not sure I can think of a single person in public life I’ve ever found less appealing than JD Vance.
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