Good morning, opening with the Eurofighter, Fursan Al Emarat and a Chinook at #FIA2026 We fly into the show with Blade, meet Joby's test pilot Buddy, chat to a Black Hawk pilot encouraging girls into STEM, and test Soundcore's ANC earbuds with the very loud air display ✈️🚁

Brexit voter in Makerfield tells Beth Rigby, "Everything seemed better when we were in the European Union. Boris Johnson just convinced everyone that we would be so much better off, didn't he" Another says he didn't make the right choice to vote for Brexit because Brexit ended, "The freedom of movement, the freedom of travel" My view: Johnson helped sell Brexit as a painless route to prosperity, then chose a version that put new barriers between British firms and their biggest nearby market. When the trade-offs became unavoidable, he blamed others rather than own the consequences. Farage helped turn grievance into a political movement, but campaigning for a rupture is easier than taking responsibility for its aftermath. He could claim victory, leave others to manage the fallout and return whenever there was another grievance to exploit. That is the populist trick: make a complicated choice sound effortless, dismiss anyone describing the costs as an enemy, then blame someone else when those costs arrive. The people who believed the promises deserve honesty now. The politicians who made them owe the country an accounting. And if Brexit voters in Makerfield have changed their minds, they are far from alone. YouGov’s latest polling found 59% support for rejoining the EU, against 32% opposed. With Britain needing stronger growth and more opportunities, the case for restoring closer ties—and the freedom to live, work and study across Europe—is stronger than ever. #RejoinEU

2026: David Frost criticises Labour for believing the 'propaganda' that Brexit has shrunk GDP 4-8% 2015: David Frost says being in the EU has raised GDP 5-8% My view: David Frost is a striking example of ideology being put ahead of reality—and of how that can pay off in politics. His hard-Brexit stance helped propel him into the role of chief Brexit negotiator and, ultimately, a seat in the House of Lords. In 2015, Frost argued that EU membership had lifted UK GDP by “five, six, seven, eight per cent” through the single market. Now he dismisses as “propaganda” the claim that Brexit has cost the UK 4–8% of GDP. The estimates aren’t identical: one concerns the benefit of single-market membership, the other the cost of leaving. But the contradiction is hard to miss. Frost once used a large GDP estimate to make the case for the EU; now, when estimates point to Brexit’s economic damage, he waves them away as propaganda. That isn’t a serious engagement with the evidence. It’s an ideological position being defended at any cost. And Frost is hardly alone. Too many politicians and public figures have chosen the career advantage of repeating a convenient line over the harder duty of telling the truth about what is best for the country. When people are rewarded for helping to damage the nation they serve, that is a profound failure of democratic accountability.

Good morning, a throwback to when the moon sorted of covered the sun ☺️ Have a good Friday 🙏