
CEO at Black Book Finance @BlackBookFin
London UK
Joined March 2010
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Michael Clapper retweeted
Watching all the posts fly about Patrick Stewart, I have noticed something incredibly interesting that reaches deeper into the core of humanity: everyone, across the political spectrum, loved Picard.
The original Picard, from the 1990s. It seems people from all walks of life feel a heartfelt loss, and I think there is more to it than just nostalgia or a celebrity passing.
The TNG stories spoke true to everyone, no matter their politics. It was an era where we were able to agree on fundamental things, where our shared humanity and its complexities were spoken through timeless storytelling. It makes you wonder if that balance is why the 1990s feels like such a golden age in hindsight.
I often see the argument that when the original Star Trek came out, traditionalists were offended by it, and that heavy-handed ideology and corporate pandering in the recent Star Trek series are the same thing. But I would ask: what about The Next Generation? It, too, asked deep, challenging societal questions about the human condition - yet everyone, left and right, loved it.
I realize it was just a show, just a fictional character. But I think there is more to it. It represents something we are all sorely missing today: depth and a sense of shared humanity, delivered without constant virtue signaling, and without corporations trying to monetize every last ounce of our attention.
Perhaps the true magic of Picard - and the era he represents - was that he challenged us to be better without ever making us feel talked down to. He invited us to reflect on our flaws rather than policing them. In losing Patrick Stewart, we aren't just mourning an icon; we are mourning the standard of grace, curiosity, and mutual respect he embodied so brilliantly - and which is becoming harder and harder to find.
elov8.com/t/bb8c
Michael Clapper retweeted
Patrick Stewart. Turned up so early and so unobtrusively to be a star in the reasonably priced car, we mistook him for a delivery driver and asked him to go round the back. Took his hat off and said, โBut Iโm the captain of the Enterpriseโ. Fucking nice guy.
Michael Clapper retweeted
Restore once again taking just enough to come 4th, and in doing so letting Labour in by TWO VOTES!
If it's not obvious already what their main goal is, it should be (hint: it's not to win these seats for themselves).
Michael Clapper retweeted
Itโs pretty clear now Restore exist solely to undermine Reform. I originally supported Rupert because he said heโd do whatโs best for the country. He isnโt. Heโs handing election after election to Labour to spite Farage.
Michael Clapper retweeted
Restore have no interest in winning power, they arenโt standing in seats to win them they are standing to stop Reform winning them.
Rupertโs fan will soon realise they are being used.
Michael Clapper retweeted
Strong Reform wins overnight!
In Worksop East (Bassetlaw), we went from nothing to 46%, with Labour sinking from 74% to 37%.
We also smashed the Lib Dems in a ward in Halton, Cheshire, which they won in May this year.
The Westminster bubble is as out of touch as ever.
Sadly, we did lose one ward in Dudley. We won 872 votes, Labour won 874 - and Restore took 159.
The next election will be existential for Britain. Iโll deport everyone who is here illegally. Vote Restore, get Labour.
Michael Clapper retweeted
Congratulations to those 159 people that voted Restore. You now have a Labour Councillor. Maybe a nice migrant camp next.
You can lead a horse to water but you can't give it brains to understand tactical voting for your own greater good. ๐ฌ๐ง๐
Michael Clapper retweeted
Replying to @SirPatStew
Oh captain, my captain. ๐ญ
Other that my own dad. Patrick Stewart as Jean Luc Picard mightโve been the best male role model anyone could hope for. He exudes strength, logic, respect, responsibility, integrity and intelligence but also humor and adventure. Patrick made that character real for so many of us and made us better people. Iโm so sad heโs gone but so glad he was a part of all of our lives. Godspeed Captain
Michael Clapper retweeted
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to:
Johns Hopkins Alzheimerโs Disease Research Center Fund ย ย
alzresearch.org/giving/
Alzheimerโs Foundation of America Caregiver Resources ย ย
alzfdn.org/donate/
Photo Credit: Tommy Garcia
Michael Clapper retweeted
Britain is broke. And to fix it, we need to start growing again.
Thatโs why Reformโs Economic Rescue Plan includes these 64 pro-growth measures Iโd take if I were Chancellor:
๐จ๐ป๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ก๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ต ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฎ
1. Approve Rosebank
2. Restart oil and gas licensing
3. Legalise onshore exploration
4. Abolish the Energy Profits Levy
5. Restore maximum economic extraction as the North Sea regulator's objective
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป
6. Abolish the Emissions Trading Scheme
7. Halt the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
8. Repudiate AR7 contracts for difference and scrap AR8
9. Implement the Fingleton Review on nuclear in full
10. Automatically approve French and South Korean nuclear designs
๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐๐ถ๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ข๐๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐
11. Cut affordable housing requirements on brownfield sites
12. Permitted Development Right for brownfield housing
13. Repeal Biodiversity Net Gain
14. Exit the Aarhus Convention
15. Repeal and reform the Habitats Regulations, including Nutrient Neutrality
16. End the boiler ban
17. Legalise air conditioning to meet overheating rules
18. Remove mandatory EPC improvements
19. Revoke the Future Homes Standard
20. Repeal the Renters' Rights Act
๐๐๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ป๐ณ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐๐ฐ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ
21. Legislate approval for new runways at Heathrow and Gatwick
22. Auction airport landing slots
23. End 'target-consistent' carbon pricing in project evaluation
24. Ban carbon emissions considerations in planning applications
25. Fast-track all water reservoirs as nationally significant projects
26. Make Development Consent Orders a true one-stop shop
27. Restrict judicial review of ministerial planning decisions
28. Scrap Net Zero construction rules
29. Scrap the social value test in procurement
30. Lift launch limits at SaxaVord Spaceport
31. Open completed sections of East-West Rail
๐๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
32. Review regulatory barriers to AI adoption
33. Permit on-site gas generation for data centres and industry
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐
34. Cut Employer NI back to 13.8%
35. Introduce a migrant worker levy
36. Repeal the Employment Rights Act
37. Clarify that workplace rights don't require mandatory training courses
38. Let experienced tradesmen work on government contracts without CSCS qualifications
๐จ๐ป๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐
39. Review bank capital requirements to boost lending
40. Rule out Net Zero in financial regulators' remits
41. Repeal climate-related financial disclosure rules
๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด
42. Scrap airport 'surface access strategies'
43. Abolish the electric vehicle mandates
44. Apply domestic GB hours to all UK HGV trips
45. Ban Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods
46. Back the M4 Relief Road
47. Move a new car's first MOT to four years
48. Abolish the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation
๐จ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐
๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ผ๐บ๐
49. Replace GDPR with a New Zealand-style Privacy Act
50. Fully re-legalise Imperial units
51. Review all unchanged EU law
52. Automatically repeal remaining EU law in 5 years unless retained
๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ด๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐
53. Make quarterly Making Tax Digital reporting voluntary
54. Reduce legal obligations on SME Non-Executive Directors
55. Double permission-free event days from 28 to 56
56. Make pavement dining licences automatic and permanent
57. Let shops open until 10pm, except Sundays
58. Repeal board diversity and inclusion rules
59. Remove the Sustainable Aviation Fuel mandate
60. Abolish the packaging tax
61. Scrap BBC and Channel 4 priority on streaming platforms
62. Remove the Public Sector Equality Duty
63. Five-year sunset on all QUANGOs
64. Five-year sunset clause on all new regulations
And there are more to come!
Britainโs full potential is waiting to be unleashed ๐
Michael Clapper retweeted
Check out our CEO, @MichaelClapper's latest article: "The Build is Finished. The Finance Clock is Still Running." linkedin.com/pulse/build-finโฆ via @LinkedIn
Michael Clapper retweeted
Rupert Lowe should not be celebrating what happened in Peterlee.
Restore Britain took more than 14% of the vote, while Labour held the seat by just 18 votes. Whatever your view of Nigel Farage or Reform, the reality is obvious: splitting the anti-Labour vote helped Labour survive.
That is not a victory for the right. It is not a victory for change. It is a gift to Labour.
Lowe appears so determined to damage Farage and Reform that he is willing to ignore the political consequences. Every vote diverted from Reform in tightly contested seats makes it easier for Labour to remain in power.
For those who oppose Labour's approach to immigration, border security and deportations, that should be a serious concern. Many voters believe the country cannot afford another full term of the same policies, yet vote-splitting risks delivering exactly that outcome.
To Reform supporters: hold the line. Do not be distracted. Do not lose sight of the bigger picture. The objective is defeating Labour, not fighting each other while Labour benefits from the division.
To Restore Britain supporters, ask yourselves a simple question: if your priority is changing the country's direction, how does helping Labour win seats achieve that goal?
Politics is ultimately about outcomes, not egos. If the result of Restore Britain's campaign is to take votes from Reform and leave Labour in power, then history will judge that accordingly.
The harsh truth is this: every percentage point taken from Reform in seats like Peterlee makes a Labour victory more likely. If that continues, Rupert Lowe's political legacy may not be that he challenged Farage. It may be that he helped keep Labour in power when many voters were desperate for change.
That's the reality, whether people like hearing it or not.
Michael Clapper retweeted
This is superb from @SuellaBraverman. She tears SHREDS out of the govts dangerous decision to ignore safety concerns and house illegal migrants in Piddington.
She rightly calls out the fact there are NO female Labour MPs taking part in this debate.
She does NOT hold back! ๐ฅ
Michael Clapper retweeted
If All the Restore voters voted Restore at the GE they will possibly win 1 seat and nothing they want will be achieved. ๐คฆโโ๏ธ
If they all vote Reform and Reform win then Restore will have nearly all their policies delivered. ๐
Let that sink in Restore supporters when itโs time.
Michael Clapper retweeted
October 7th revealed a darkness in Britain. We must fight it at every turn.
๐ nigelfarage.substack.com/p/oโฆ
Michael Clapper retweeted
I will cut foreign aid, migrant welfare, welfare fraud, and mad net zero spending.
Andy Burnham will cut your pension.
Michael Clapper retweeted
Reform up FOUR POINTS with YouGov.
BACK to first place!
Keep going Reformers! ๐ช๐ฌ๐ง
Michael Clapper retweeted
Farage EXPOSES Labour's Hypocrisy. youtu.be/hqoITppTidw?si=zgDFโฆ via @YouTube
Michael Clapper retweeted
Replying to @UKLabour


























