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bedfordtwo.bsky.social

@bedfordtwo.bsky.social
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bedfordtwo.bsky.social @bedfordtwo.bsky.social · 3h
George, do you think that the Greens should consider going into coalition with a party that armed and supported a country carrying out war crimes/potential genocide (& that will not subsequently expel their leaders for doing so)? And should Greens decide policy via what's acceptable to Labour?
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 6h
I can’t stress enough: everyone in British politics and media is fully aware that Tony is a deeply corrupt and depraved figure - a relentless suck up to tyrants, mass murderers, criminals and fraudsters, because he craves the money and kudos that gets him from rich people, whom he loves.
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 8h
Tories are happy because they can see the country is in a horrible state (largely thanks to them) and the current government has few or no answers to that, so they may only need to hang on until it’s their turn in the big seats again. And what, are they wrong? Probably not, no.
Robert Peston • @Peston • 1h
Conservative members and MPs are happier than I have seen them for a very long time.
Because they have stopped sinking, as they had been doing both before the general election and for a couple of years since.
The risk that they would drown, that Reform would replace them as the only serious party of the right, is now low.
There are two reasons. First, the perennial chaos in Reform - the constant controversies around funding and money, the endless gaffes by councillors, aides and members - means it is a long way from showing the kind of competence that a party pretending to government must demonstrate.
Second, the Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has found a voice, a set of simple ideas and poise.
The question is whether she can turn "we're still here" into "ignore Reform, we are again the main party of opposition."
The point, which I assume Badenoch grasps though not many of her slightly euphoric members here at the Tory conference in Birmingham appear to do, is that the polls show voters are prepared to listen to the Tories again, but they still see Reform as their main vehicle to challenge both Labour and a Westminster status quo which many of them hate.
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bedfordtwo.bsky.social @bedfordtwo.bsky.social · 9h
George has written some great books, and it's too easy to call him a melt - but goodness me, he can offer ill-thought-out takes with a good ole dose of condescension like no one else. Here, he does appear to say that the Greens should decide on policy with a view to pleasing Labour. It's wild.
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 10h
There is no version of Britain that invites a left wing Green Party into government then pushes for arrest warrants for senior Israeli war criminals. Any step in that direction is one step closer to e.g. David Lammy getting arrested at Malaga airport in 2032, before we even consider the US response.
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 10h
I’m sorry, but this is a fantasy. The *entire point of all this* for ten years has been 1) Absolutely fuck you, the left does not get any kind of power, ever, 2) We will do and say literally anything, whatever it takes, to ensure this never happens and 3) Britain does what America wants, full stop.
George Monbiot
@georgemonbiot.bsky.social
Let me try this once more.
It was a choice.
EITHER the Greens adopted a slogan.
OR they could have joined the next govt, where they could push for an end to arms sales, sanctions, support for the arrest warrants etc.
It was never going to be both.
Which one makes a material difference?
#GazaGenocide 1/2 07:20 • 7 Oct 2026
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bs... • 2h
Some people here don't seem to have understood the purpose of a political party.
It's not the same as a protest movement.
It is a vehicle designed to get into
government, to change legislation and make a material difference to the lives of people at home and abroad. 2/2
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bedfordtwo.bsky.social @bedfordtwo.bsky.social · 9h
That was the historic case, but I'm not sure it's true anymore - a combination of property and economic issues have, I think, shifted that demographic change.
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Andy Hockley @adhoc.bsky.social · 11h
There are a lot of articles about what Zionism is. Zionism as defined by different Jews. Zionism as defined by left wing British people. Zionism as defined by right wing British people. But nothing I have seen so far about how Zionism's victims, the Palestinians, define it. Spoiler: Its not positive
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bedfordtwo.bsky.social @bedfordtwo.bsky.social · 10h
I was just wondering why it's only the Left that get called 'student politicians*' when other losers - eg Miliband, Davey, Sunak, Hague, IDS - aren't. * Ofc, what is at 1 time called 'student politics' - eg green agenda, nationalisation, wealth tax, LGBTQ equality - then isn't. That's how it works.
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 11h
I get responses with weird theories for why this happens but, for real: relentless massacre and destruction is not a factor because it is only incidental to the core point Rafa and others have always been making, and that key, non-negotiable point is: Fuck you, we are in charge, shut up, fuck off.
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bedfordtwo.bsky.social @bedfordtwo.bsky.social · 11h
So, what position should he have dropped or changed in order to win that 5%? Should he have dialled up the racism? Pivoted to Remain, or Leave? Was Miliband a 'student' politician? Brown? Or were they Sensible and Serious?
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Gill Tavner @gilltav.bsky.social · 11h
I so hope @zackpolanski.bsky.social is elected tomorrow. Another green on the opposition benches will help pull Labour in the right direction. If @andyburnham.bsky.social faces a sea of shades of blue he’ll bend like Starmer bowed. Zack will give Andy courage.
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Annie Gottfried Cohen @annsplaining.bsky.social · 11h
The Green Party - membership, leadership, etc - do have a responsibility to deal with the fall out of this motion. That's why I'm going to continue to be active in Jewish Greens! I myself am not concerned that this motion will affect me as a practicing Jew, but others are, so let's deal with that
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bedfordtwo.bsky.social @bedfordtwo.bsky.social · 11h
I'm very well aware that you have to win seats, thanks. But what I asked was, if he couldn't bring people along, why more of them voted for him than any other recent Labour leader.
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bedfordtwo.bsky.social @bedfordtwo.bsky.social · 11h
Just out of interest, if he was unable to bring other views along with him, why do you think he got more votes than Brown, Miliband, Starmer?
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bedfordtwo.bsky.social @bedfordtwo.bsky.social · 12h
You can 'try' all you like, George, but as political analysis I'm afraid that that is bollocks. For a start, it assumes a whole bunch of outcomes that may not come to pass; and then it places the decision-making process of one party in the hands of another. (And I didn't even support the motion)
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bedfordtwo.bsky.social @bedfordtwo.bsky.social · 12h
Are you suggesting that the Greens should only pass motions at Conference that will be acceptable to the Labour Party? Less with the condescension, George.
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 13h
I note that all of this analysis has been *completely unaffected and unchanged* by Israel embarking on a programme of genocide and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and Lebanon that the white people world has non-negotiably supported. That simply is not a factor, at all.
theguardian.com
Zack Polanski had the chance to show real leadership. He blew it | Rafael Behr
A toxic debate over anti-Zionism leaves the Green leader looking like a passenger in the movement that carried him to the top, says Guardian columnist Rafael Behr
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bedfordtwo.bsky.social @bedfordtwo.bsky.social · 23h
I'm not sure about that tbh, I haven't heard/read anything.
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bedfordtwo.bsky.social @bedfordtwo.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
www.declassifieduk.org/declassified...
declassifieduk.org
Declassified journalists banned from Labour conference - again
Labour MPs have condemned the ‘Trump-like’ decision, saying party is ‘bang out of order’
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bedfordtwo.bsky.social @bedfordtwo.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Does James mention the Declassified journos who were banned from Labour Party conference too?
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bedfordtwo.bsky.social @bedfordtwo.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
You can't conclude 'they believe' that at all. Cos you've no idea. Nor have I. Ofc I wasn't saying that they're members - but lack of membership hasn't stopped others from being platformed. Not really sure why ur arguing with 'we haven't heard from Palestinians' cos afaics, we haven't. Have u?
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Yes, I think that would be helpfully clarifying for everybody
Melanie Phillips • @MelanieLatest
X.com
The Greens should now be proscribed as a terrorist support group. Jews are now demonstrably in danger from them.
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bedfordtwo.bsky.social @bedfordtwo.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Not a 'different continent' at all - I was talking about Palestinians that live in the UK. Some estimates say that there are about 20-30,000, and the 2021 Census says that 4600+ were born in the OPT. They might care.
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
It seems unlikely that a BBC editor who e.g. made a film that “accidentally” accused Tory staff of screaming “Hitler was right” at colleagues and later quietly clarified this wasn’t correct, in an election year, would ever work in current affairs again.
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David Timoney @fromarsetoelbow.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
None of the claims made here are true, but that's beside the point. What matters is the suggestion that certain people should not be subject to purity tests, while others should. For example, raise Palestine and you will be asked if you think Israel has the right to exist.
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Three years of horrifying massacre, destruction, imposed starvation, torture and horror has not moved the dial one inch. It is still the same idiotic clownshow that it was a decade ago, these comedians unicycling into the big top and juggling while seals honk horns and clap their flippers.
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bedfordtwo.bsky.social @bedfordtwo.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Tapping the sign... bsky.app/profile/bedf...
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Sonia is a reactionary crackpot who is paid to write hit pieces on progressives for a very, very right wing Murdoch newspaper. What is she talking about, here? You openly despise most of the left, you don’t get a vote here!
Sonia Sodha ® @soniasodha
x.com
Hope the Green conference today is proving a bit of a wakeup call to those who dream of a progressive coalition. No such thing as a progressive coalition with these cranks.
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
If there’s something weird, it’s that public figures face no negative career consequences for speaking in favour of an actual genocide. That’s crazy stuff! Imagine if most of parliament and the press had been right behind Slobodan Milosevic, because they think Bosnians are more like orcs than humans
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bedfordtwo.bsky.social @bedfordtwo.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Yep, they sure did this deliberately - 'We must time this vote exactly on the Cable Street anniversary, just to ensure everyone thinks we're doubly antisemitic' was at the very forefront of their minds. 👍
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bedfordtwo.bsky.social @bedfordtwo.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
It is very instructive to see the entirety of the UK commentariat in shock-horror 'this cannot stand!' mode, all as one - it's also instructive that I haven't seen one of them ask a Palestinian what they thought of the motion, and about how they experience Zionism. Just one of them things, I guess.
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Yes, please do this. Crank the terror all the way back up to eleven and show everybody how it works.
Jessica Elgot
@jessicaelgot
x.com
It's hard to see how the Green party's motion today will avoid an investigation by the EHRC, given Labour was previously found in breach.
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bedfordtwo.bsky.social @bedfordtwo.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
That must be it - when they planned the timetable, they were definitely thinking 'we must tie that in with the Cable Street anniversary'. Definitely.
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bedfordtwo.bsky.social @bedfordtwo.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Can't see why, it's just a date - were they supposed to reschedule the Conference?
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bedfordtwo.bsky.social @bedfordtwo.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
It is very instructive to see the entirety of the UK commentariat in shock-horror 'this cannot stand!' mode, all as one - it's also instructive that I haven't seen one of them ask a Palestinian what they thought of the motion, and about how they experience Zionism. Just one of them things, I guess.
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bedfordtwo.bsky.social @bedfordtwo.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
It is very instructive to see the entirety of the UK commentariat in shock-horror 'this cannot stand!' mode, all as one - it's also instructive that I haven't seen one of them ask a Palestinian what they thought of the motion, and about how they experience Zionism. Just one of them things, I guess.
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David Stubbs @davidstubbs.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
I'm dismayed about the Green Zionism/racism vote as I think it will be a hindrance - and Zionism, a contested term is one I'd personally avoid. But I'm not going to listen to bad faith centrists who have remained silent as the genocide has unfolded, only to erupt indignantly over issues like his.
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Amazing skills here, disproving that whole “is racist” thing
Noa Hoffman • @hoffman_noa
X.com
Stage one of the Islamist assault on the Green Party is now complete. Let's see how long Polanski lasts before they come for the leadership. As has been warned a million times, these Islamic extremists were never going to stop until a policy of dismantling the Jewish state (the ultimate force against Islamism)
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bedfordtwo.bsky.social @bedfordtwo.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Every single political commentator I've seen on here and the other place is absolutely appalled and shock-horrored by the motion passing. A little bit of proportion - and a bit of explanation - wouldn't go amiss, but I guess we're onto the next stage of shoring up the centre...
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bedfordtwo.bsky.social @bedfordtwo.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
That's wrong, and you should correct it. There are online and proxy votes too. Btw, do you always call out people that go to party conferences as 'The ones that can afford to'?
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
It’s worth underlining here that Adam was one of the central figures in a ruthless, flagrantly dishonest hate campaign that culminated in him and his mates hounding out all of the Jewish antizionists in the Labour Party. No benefit of the doubt, for people who have provenly acted in pure bad faith.
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Gary Crumdumble @enfend.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I really love your writing, George, but this article is abysmal. Freedland defines Zionism as the fantasy of an ethnostate and then equates all Jews and Judaism with it. This is a dangerously ahistorical and antisemitic idea. You can't have an ethnostate and a fair and democratic society.
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bedfordtwo.bsky.social @bedfordtwo.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I'm not particularly a supporter of the motion, but that really isn't a good explanation, George. It's dogshit. Freedland has been running cover for war crimes and potential genocide for many years. The article is the latest in a long line and, as such, is shameful.
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simulacrasky.bsky.social @simulacrasky.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
bsky.app/profile/flyi...
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
*Jonathan himself* is glaring proof his argument is bunk. He’s been noisily doing “Last chance to save Israel from itself” the entire 25 years I’ve known who he was; nothing that happened in that time altered his opinion one inch, he is a relentless opponent of any attempt to mitigate the horrors.
theguardian.com
The Green party’s anti-Zionism motion is yet another attempt to tell Jews how we should think | Jonathan Freedland
The resolution shows little understanding of what Zionism is, who Jews are or how antisemitism works, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland
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Angie Nixon @angieforfl.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I don’t go high when they go low. I get LOUD. Because the soul and humanity of this country are at stake. /end
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Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
This is a dreadful argument from Burnham. Empirically false - almost 6m people were granted settled status; about 4m are currently resident. More importantly panders to racism/xenophobia, and directly contradicts argument made in his speech about migrant contributions.
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
'Actually existing Manchesterism' meet 'Manchesterism as a device for making Labour feel good about itself'
bbc.co.uk
Andy Burnham 'really concerned' if Man City owners sell up after rule breaches
The prime minister compares the allegations against Man City to the plight of his own club Everton.
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Chris @chrs00.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
dril meme template:
115 financial violations may be massive fraud, but it also happened around my home constituency, so it;s impossible to say if its bad or not,
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