Fyi, the Netherlands' "astonishing trade to GDP ratio of 170%" reflects the "Rotterdam Effect"*, which makes this number almost meaningless here. * just google it!

Anonymous briefings against your own leader are not clever politics – they are a sign of insecurity. It is time to stay united and deliver.

🚨BREAKING: REFORM UK CANDIDATE FOR SWANSEA STEPS DOWN WITH SCATHING RESIGNATION LETTER - "The 'professionalisation' of the party has led it to take its members and candidates for granted - Communications that once began "thank you" now start with "you are required to" - Party HQ forgets we are unpaid volunteers - Reform is no longr open or honest. - "Politics is a dirty game, but Reform has sunk deep into the sewer" - Selection has been given to ex-Tories over people who worked hard - The Reform party has BETRAYED its early members' vision

The current state of the Royal Navy: 2 aircraft carriers — neither operational. 6 Type 45 destroyers (our most powerful warships) — one operational (in Cyprus). 7 Type 23 frigates (less powerful, much older) — three operational 5 Astute class nuke-powered subs — one operational (in Arabian Sea?). Surely those responsible for this appalling state of unreadiness (a national embarrassment if ever there was one)— political, civilian and military — should be fired/charged. Their incompetence has effectively left us without a navy. Quite an achievement for an ancient island nation.

Yesterday morning K Starmer was asked if there would no more U-turns. Absolutely, he replied. Of course (to nobody’s surprise) only a few hours later came another U-turn — this one on May local elections. Ministers claim the legal advice they’d been given to stop the elections was superseded by new legal advice saying they were on weak ground. Which is convenient since it is UK government convention not to publish legal advice. So we’ll never know if they’re telling the truth. Indeed we’re not even allowed to know what changed to result in the change in legal advice — other than the fact it was going to be tested in court thanks to Reform UK (whose legal costs the taxpayer will now pick up!). So much for all these promises to be the most transparent government ever. Red Ed Miliband won’t even publish his dodgy agreement with China to buy all sorts of renewable stuff. So we can’t even check if slave labour will be involved (it almost certainly will).

DIRE GDP FIGS below forecasts Just 0.1% growth in 3 mths Just 0.1% growth in 6 mths GDP just 0.7% higher in 12 mths While borrowing soaring Labour are ruining our economy ons.gov.uk/economy/grossdome…

This is insane. British taxpayers have been forced to spend £347 MILLION over the last 5 years teaching migrants to speak English. 168,000 migrants were enrolled on taxpayer funded English courses last year, up 35% in 5 years. A staggering 1 in 5 migrants from China and Pakistan arrive in Britain unable to speak English. Why is anyone who cannot speak English being allowed in? British people voted to stop this madness time and again, only for the Tories to betray them repeatedly. Britain needs Reform. Credit: @migrationCtrl