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Dec 9, 2022 14 tweets 6 min read Read on X
#THREAD

Are dangerously irresponsible free-market extremists deliberately colluding to manufacture ANOTHER global economic crash?

The 2008 crash was caused by reckless deregulation of the financial sector, & resulted in a decade of brutal #austerity.

theguardian.com/business/2022/…
The 2008 global economic crash was catastrophic, sparking another Great Recession which resulted in increases in unemployment, suicide, far-right extremism & dangerous levels of societal polarisation, & decreases in institutional trust & fertility. Image
In Britain, it led to a decade of catastrophic #austerity which cost 330,000 lives & meant cuts to essential public services & various benefits, wage stagnation,
massive bail-outs of financial institutions, & new policies designed to prevent collapse of Global financial system. Image
Free-market extremists are the greatest threat to peace & humanity, & to nature & the planet. Failed neoliberal deregulatory policies have led to unsustainable use of finite natural resources, catastrophic climate change & other environmental problems, which have all accelerated. Image
Unbridled market forces leads to selfish competitive individualism & the breakdown of local, national. & global communities, & social cohesion.

Income from privatised public services which used to benefit everyone, now goes to already rich shareholders. Image
Neoliberal policies have led to dangerous concentration of ownership of media channels in the hands of grotesquely wealthy elites, & have demonstrably increased insecurity, mistrust, polarisation, & inequality in personal & national wealth, widening the gap between rich & poor. Image
The richest 1% now own 45% of global wealth. The richest 10% own 76%. Since beginning of pandemic the world’s 10 richest men doubled their fortunes, from $700bn to $1.5 TRILLION (a rate of $15,000/SECOND) & have accumulated more wealth than the bottom 3.1 billion people combined. Image
The new ideologically extreme & reckless changes UK Government Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is introducing will redraw the financial services rule book, including casting aside some of the safeguards explicitly designed to avoid a repeat of the 2008 crash! Image
Hunt argues some of the changes are only possible because of “freedoms” gained from #Brexit, but there will also be a relaxation of rules Britain introduced unilaterally after 2008 - changes that often went FURTHER than the EU - making the UK a riskier place to do business. Image
Regulators have privately expressed doubts about the government’s efforts to loosen the reins on banks, especially given the recession, & the Bank of England has unveiling plans to introduce a tighter version of new global banking capital rules than those being pursued in the EU. Image
And as if they aren't already sufficiently grotesquely wealthy, Jeremy Hunt is removing the cap on bankers’ bonuses during the #CostOfLivingCrisis, while rules intended to separate risky investment banking from retail operations will be 'relaxed' to help “retail-focused banks”. Image
The regime introduced to hold bankers responsible for infractions that happened on their watch will be reviewed, & City regulators will be given a new “secondary objective” of 'delivering growth & competitiveness', alongside ensuring financial stability & consumer protection. Image
Sir John Vickers, who chaired an independent commission on banking, says the secondary objective was either “pointless or dangerous”. Lord Adair Turner, FSA Chair after 2008, agreed: “It is a mistake to give the regulators of the finance sector a competitiveness objective.” Image
"But some of the reforms you are scrapping came after the financial crisis, & were considered for years before being implemented. Are there risks to removing them?"

Hunt insists there are not. He talks about the need to be careful not to unlearn the lessons of the 2008 crisis.🤪 Image

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More from @docrussjackson

Aug 27
Farage's illiberal, immoral, & unworkable authoritarian plan involves ripping up human rights laws forged after WWII, which protect British people, & wasting £billions of UK taxpayers' money, giving some of it to corrupt misogynistic totalitarian regimes.
theguardian.com/politics/2025/…Image
Image
Leaving the #ECHR, repealing the Human Rights Act and disapplying international conventions

The UK would be an outlier among European democracies, in the company of only Russia and Belarus, if it were to leave the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

Opting out of treaties such as the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, the UN Convention against torture and the Council of Europe Anti-Trafficking Convention would also be likely to do serious harm to the UK’s international reputation.

It could also undermine current return deals, including with France, and other cooperation agreements on people-smuggling with European nations such as Germany.

The Society of Labour Lawyers said the plan would “in all likelihood preclude further cooperation and law enforcement in dealing with small boats coming from the continent and so increase, rather than reduce, the numbers reaching our shores”. 

Farage said he would legislate to remove the “Hardial Singh” safeguards – a reference to a legal precedent that sets limits on the Home Office’s immigration detention powers – to allow indefinite detention for immigration purposes. This would be highly vulnerable to legal challenge.

Many of the rights protected by the ECHR and the Human Rights Act are rooted in British case law, so judges would still be able to prevent deportations, even without international conventions.

x.com/docrussjackson…
Reform UK’s grotesque far-right mass deportation plan is not just economically and socially illiterate (Britain an ageing population and low birth rate) rely on striking “returns agreements” with countries including Afghanistan, Iran, Eritrea and Sudan, offering financial incentives to secure these deals, alongside visa restrictions and potential sanctions on countries that refuse.

These are countries where the Home Office’s risk reports warn of widespread torture and persecution.

It would risk the scenario of making payments to countries such as Iran, whose regime the UK government has accused of plotting terror attacks on British soil.

The Liberal Democrats called the payments “a Taliban tax”, saying the plan would entail sending billions “to an oppressive regime that British soldiers fought and died to defeat”. They said: “Not a penny of taxpayers’ money should go to a group so closely linked to terrorist organisations proscribed by the UK.”
Read 13 tweets
Aug 25
🧵

The internet never forgets.

A thread of tweets posted by Lucy Connolly.

A reminder of the one, viewed 310,000 times, for which she was jailed, which urged people to burn down asylum seeker hotels after the #Southport attack - which had nothing to do with asylum seekers. Image
While all these tweets of Connolly's were made before her incendiary post, they don't say which year they were posted.

They can be accessed here, via The Wayback Machine, which has archived more than 916 billion web pages.

Draw your own conclusions.

web.archive.org/web/2024080616…
Connolly's tweet (top right) was in response to the tweet on the left, which criticised Laurence Fox for posting an upskirt photograph of Narinder Kaur.

The next one (right centre) was Connolly asking Kaur if she had 'flashed her gash'.

The third discusses a teenage experience. Image
Read 16 tweets
Aug 22
🧵

Trump’s Fake Washington DC Emergency: Power Grab Exposed (in 2 Minutes).

Excellent explainer of an age-old strategy.

It's being deployed in Britain NOW, and would become a feature of UK life if Reform ever won a general election.

Watch and share.

It involves Trump, JD Vance, Robert Jenrick, Nigel Farage, and Farage's "friend", billionaire Peter Thiel.

The asylum backlog is coming down, and the number of hotels housing asylum seekers has been halved since Labour came to power.

Aided by the billionaire-owned UK news media (Mail, Sun, Times, Metro, TalkTV and GB "News"), populist politicians push a cynical, divisive, and dangerously irresponsible false narrative that Britain is 'lawless'.

Here's why it's a shameless lie.

Image
Read 6 tweets
Aug 21
🧵

A little-known US-based conservative organisation, the #RockbridgeNetwork, has quietly entered the global political stage.

What's this got to do with Jenrick and Farage, and is Rockbridge laying the groundwork for foreign influence in UK politics?

Founded in 2021 and srongly linked to Nigel Farage's "friend", billionaire Palantir CEO Peter Thiel, US VP JD Vance, and a constellation of conservative media and political figures, Rockbridge presents itself as a vehicle for advancing conservative causes.
The NYT reported in 2022 that Thiel is one of the major donors to the Rockbridge Network, alongside Rebekah Mercer. It planned to spend over $30M on conservative media, legal, policy, and voter registration projects. Thiel’s financial support is a clue.

Read 30 tweets
Aug 20
🧵

'Flag Force UK': The “Grassroots” Group With Hidden Think Tank Ties.

Flag Force UK presents itself as a patriotic, grassroots movement “built by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts.” But closer inspection suggests it may be a coordinated #astroturf operation... Image
Supposedly based in York, 'Flag Force UK' self-identifies as a "grass roots" campaign set up by three men who 'just wanted to put England and Union flags up', and which already brands itself as "the UK's premier community network tracking flag raisings across the nation." Image
Rapid Growth, Opaque Origins

Flag Force UK appeared suddenly in August 2025, yet within weeks, its account on @X had amassed a suspicious 12,000 followers — unusually rapid growth for a new, 'volunteer-led' group with little media coverage or on-the-ground activity.
Read 29 tweets
Aug 19
🧵

Robert Jenrick’s attendance at the Epping anti-refugee protest on August 18, 2025, represents a grave error of judgment, dangerously irresponsible behaviour, and a morally indefensible decision, particularly given his role as Shadow Justice Secretary. Image
Jenrick posted photos showing himself at the protest outside the Bell hotel in Epping, where police have been attacked.

A Stand Up to Racism spokesman said “Jenrick is fanning the flames of the far-right by chasing Reform UK votes, and he’s giving confidence to known fascists.” Image
The rally, organised by the neo-Nazi Homeland Party provided a platform for extremists. Jenrick shared a photo of himslef next to Eddy Butler, former Combat 18 founder and ex-BNP organiser.

hopenothate.org.uk/case-files-hom…
Read 16 tweets

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