The British ships attempted to force the straits. They were frustrated by Turkish resilience and use of new weapon systems like mines.
Importantly - having made a massive demonstration, Churchill found that he couldn’t call it off. The British Empire could not back down.
Winston Churchill, cited by Trump recently, leant on his officials for evidence that the navy could “force the Straits by ships alone”
Many intelligence officers pointed out that the narrows were well protected. They were ignored. Their political masters had the bit between their teeth.
In 1915 Britain was at war in the Middle East. It was utterly dominant in one particular domain- the naval.
Britain smelt a quick & easy victory- using their naval mastery to batter their way up the Dardanelles Straits & threaten Istanbul
Instead it would be an epic of imperial hubris
US President Donald Trump's White House prayer session has gone viral in China, with companies posting their own re-enactments on social media.
Reform (Nige?) Will Fix It ?
That’s a wild choice of slogan
Going by the bodge they made of Doge in Kent, it seems unlikely. Reheated Tory policies and resuscitated Tory politicians are not going to fix the mess they created
But the resonance of that slogan for people of a certain age. Not good
It's a real shit show when China is calling out USA over human rights atrocities.
bazarro world
A new report shows hitting our climate targets by 2050 costs less than one oil shock costs the UK.
We need a rapid transition to clean energy to shield people & the economy from price spikes every time oil prices jump.
Some commentators still can’t connect those dots…
Analysis: Clean energy will cut UK gas imports by [much] more than North Sea drilling
#energy
By @daisydunne.carbonbrief.org et al
www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-why...
I don't remember this level of investigation when Johnson met Lebedev off grid and then promoted him to The Lords.
For every pound spent on net zero, the benefits would outweigh the cost by between 2.2 and 4.1 times says @thecccuk.bsky.social
www.ft.com/content/d163...
To every poltician pushing back on electrification and decarbonisation we should say: Why do you want to make Europe dependent on others? Why do you want Europeans to pay higher bills?
Today we have published new analysis building on the Committee's advice on the UK’s Seventh Carbon Budget.
Our conclusions about the cost of decarbonising the UK and impacts on energy security were tested against different scenarios ⬇️
Read the full report here: www.theccc.org.uk/publication/...
Can we spread this single piece of information around a bit, not just on Bluesky. Send a paper printout to your grumpy old 'net zero will make us all poor' Uncle, or Auntie.
The Tories oversaw the degradation of UK gas storage capacity - 2010 to 2017.
Thatcher privatised the gas and oil industry - 1982 to 1986.
Thatcher closed the collieries - 1986 to 1991.
This woman is an idiot - 1960 to 2026
Carol Vorderman criticises Labour for wasting their tactical vote victory, slams Nigel Farage, and praises the Greens's Hannah Spencer
Part 1/2
BREAKING: @andyburnham.bsky.social says the Duchy of Lancaster is treating people in the north as “second-class citizens” after failing to support the clean-up of a huge illegal waste dump near Wigan
An investigation by Ch 4 News uncovered that the estate of King Charles is connected to the site
Crude oil prices, showing a very sharp increase in the last day, from around 65 to 101 dollars per barrel..
Oil prices wouldn't be all over the news today if more of our economy was powered by local, secure renewable energy.
This isn't an "energy crisis". It's a fossil fuel crisis.
44% of UK electricity came from renewables in 2025. More of that plus an electrified economy => no more oil shocks.
Cor, sure would feel great right now if we were self-sufficient in renewable energy, and laughing at all the rubes reliant on global oil supplies. We'd have a bit of a swagger in our step today.
A voluntary scheme designed to breed healthier dogs somehow became a story about banning your pets.
And then immediately morphed into a conspiracy about Muslims...
And yes, John Cleese fell for it 🙄
And that says far more about the Right and Far-Right media ecosystem than it does about dogs
Turns out all the Brexiters shilling for Trump really hate British sovereignty.
Somebody, please ask all these Trump-fluffing British politicians exactly what their policy will be regarding the Iranian refugee crisis they are so desperate to create.
Starmer’s position is entirely consistent with what he wrote about Iraq in 2003, a fact of enormous inconvenience to just about everybody currently criticising it. Happily for them, just like the entire bloody Chilcot Inquiry it is apparently very easy to ignore.
Geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East once again shows that reliance on volatile oil and gas exposes economies to price shocks.
Renewables, electrification and storage offer more stable long term energy costs and stronger energy security.
I have been told even in the Foreign Office some are asking: why should British tax payers’ money be spent on those who have refused to pay British tax?
I know some of these nationals will be tourists, but the wider issue stands.
I'm sure it's just a massive coincidence that they used all the same words, ideas and punctuation.
Genuine questions: could these people be in the pay of the regime? And would that, to use language some of them favour, make them both ‘economic migrants’ *and* ‘welfare scroungers’?
£40,000 in Russian bribes.
Reform’s former leader in Wales is now serving ten and a half years in prison.
Foreign interference in UK politics is not theory. It is fact. We must defend our democracy.
youtube.com/shorts/3hd17...
The United Kingdom, our once Great Ally, maybe the Greatest of them all, is finally giving serious thought to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East. That's OK, Prime Minister Starmer, we don't need them any longer -- But we will remember. We don't need people that join Wars after we've already won! President DONALD J. TRUMP
History lesson.
Our once great ally didn't come to our aid until 1917.
Our once great ally didn't come to our aid again until 1941.
This infographic was produced in order of MP’s money earned from other jobs.
Ooh look who’s front and centre, it’s “man of the people” Nigel Mirage.
Not often seen in his constituency but topping the charts of additional earnings.
