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billingtonian.bsky.social

@billingtonian.bsky.social
281 followers 544 following 177 posts

CAMRA member. Retired librarian. Londoner living in rural Lancashire. Hablo español. Park run volunteer.

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Reposted by @billingtonian.bsky.social
Parody Nigel Farage @parodypm.bsky.social · 3h
I'm furious about the two Iranians who came across as part of the surge in small boats created by my Brexit and under a Home Office run by my MPs Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick.
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Anti-Reform @antireform.bsky.social · 2h
The more blatantly full of hate racist Reform UK become the greater the backlash of generosity from the majority of decent Brits meme via The Unheard Majority
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James Austin @jamesdaustin.bsky.social · 21h
Not just Jude Bellingham - but many of the most iconic English sporting figures of the past few decades; Moeen Ali Maro Itoje Maggie Alphonsi Lewis Hamilton Ian Wright Paul Ince Martin Offiah Ugo Monye Kelly Holmes Katarina Johnson-Thompson Harry Kane Lennox Lewis Mo Farah Good luck chaps.
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Angry @angrystaffer.bsky.social · 14h
Don’t get complacent. They’re still going to try to cheat. Check your registration. Vote early if at all possible.
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Henry Dyer @direthoughts.com · 15h
Intrigued to see the Conservative conference will feature a speech on "press freedom" next week while they ban lobby journalists such as @josiahmortimer.bsky.social from attending their conference.
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 22h
BREAKING: The U.S. added just 29,000 jobs in September, missing expectations. The unemployment rate grew to 4.2%, up slightly from the previous month. Economists had expected 4.1%.
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Adrian Tierney-Jones @atjbeer.bsky.social · 23h
English literature began in the pub so I was very pleased to be asked to write about pubs and their literary connections in @camraofficial.bsky.social Good Beer Guide 2027
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adrian @crawf34.bsky.social · 22h
bullseye. this is very clearly obama’s doing
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David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
History is written by the victors. Thatcher broke the power of trade unions by mass unemployment, industrial restructuring, frittered away N Sea Oil, laid the foundations for the current housing crisis, decimated local bus services, hollowed out local government and introduced the poll tax.
Simon Clarke 

Andy Burnham seems to remember a different 1970s to the rest of us. Britain in 1979 was utterly broken - ravaged by unaccountable trade union power, economically stagnant, the sick man of Europe.
The 1980s saw a remarkable national recovery based on free enterprise, the rule of law and championing Western values. And it is this that our Prime Minister rails against...
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Peter Stefanovic @peterstefanovic.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Your weekend reminder that Nigel Farage wants to - leave the ECHR - repeal the Equality Act - Strip back workers rights - Lift restrictions on exploitative zero-hours contracts - repeal the Renters’ Rights Act which abolishes no fault evictions He is not on your side youtu.be/KxOQRt8PQys?...
youtu.be
If UK media actually explained Nigel Farage’s policies to the public no one would be supporting him
YouTube video by Peter Stefanovic
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Buck Frexit @beany.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
That 1980s boom he’s talking about is because we sold off the family silver, which lead to decades of the highest energy & rail fares in Europe plus sewage in rivers.. oh and being held to ransom by fat cats warning that if we want anything to improve we need to pay all over again. Fuck off Simon.
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Parody Nigel Farage @parodypm.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
"I should just point out that we don't have any Lib Dems on the panel as they only have 71 MPs, but Suella Braverman is here because Reform have 8 MPs"
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East Lancs CAMRA @camraeastlancs.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
October 2026 events in and around East Lancs, Cheers! 📆🍺👀
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R1ch1e5 @r1ch1e5.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Contrary to Bollocks oft spouted by Conservatives, the 80s were plagued by Tory misrule benefiting only those at the top. The UKs recovery was only helped by membership of the EU whereby a great deal of our membership money was then spent on deprived areas, Labour then finnished the job. #ToryScum
usuall tory Bollocks about the 70s and 80s
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TeeDixie ✊🏼 @teedixie.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Chris Dixon posted this on LI and I had to share it here. It’s just too good, the @jonronson.bsky.social twist is superb…
The image shows a film poster “The men who stare at Boats” featuring, Nigel Farage, Tommy Robinson, Danny Tommo, Ruper Lowe and Angry Balaclava man.
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Ricky Davila @therickydavila.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Never stop talking about the Epstein Files. Never stop talking about the Epstein Files. Never stop talking about the Epstein Files. No matter what.
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Daily Herald #FBPE #NAFO 🇬🇧🇺🇦🇬🇱 @dailyherald.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Oh. Haven’t seen Reform tweet this one…
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Roger Protz @rogerprotz.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
#GoodBeerGuide2027 54th edition, amazing achievement on the part of @camraofficial.bsky.social volunteers. Comprehensive choice of #pubs serving tip-top #CaskAle & 1,500 breweries. Fine cover, foreword by Ian Rankin & editing by Emma Haines.
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Reform Party UK Exposed @reformexposed.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
We’ve noticed that Robert Jenrick has been silent on Grenfell. Is that because from 2019 to 2021, he was responsible for dealing with the building-safety disaster it exposed? His record isn’t good. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Grenfell fire police investigators hand files on 20 firms and 54 people to CPS
Met calls move ‘milestone’ moment that paves way for ‘very best possible evidence for charging decisions’
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DamonTheDemon @damonthedemon.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Few Highlights from 1980s Miners strike Mass unemployment and deindustrialisation 1981 inner city riots HIV Section 28 Poll Tax riots Housing crisis and right to buy Hillsborough Mad Cow disease Decimation of the welfare state NHS outsourcing / chronic underfunding
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Peter Smith @redpeter99.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Unlike Simon Clarke, I was alive during the 1970s. A combination of low inequality, low crime and aspects of culture made 1976 one of the happiest years on record in the UK. The IMF bailout had zero impact. Lesson for Simon, happiness is not just a function of wealth.
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Mr RobertBob @mrrobertbob.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Yesterday, French president Emmanuel Macron said it would ⁠be “excellent ​news’ ⁠and “a good decision” ⁠if Britain decided to rejoin. Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez said Britain would be welcome back to the EU "with ⁠open arms". Let’s go! #RejoinEU 🙂
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georgiosmasman.bsky.social @georgiosmasman.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
The Pogues’ debut album “encapsulated the old Ireland of The Dubliners and the anarchy of the Sex Pistols”. #ThePogues #Irish #Ireland #punk #postpunk #musicsky
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mimij9.bsky.social @mimij9.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
70’s 🇬🇧
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ScotchMist @scotchymisty.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
My mother has been living in a care home for 12 years due to Alzheimer's, costing over £200,000 so far. Paying a social care tax sounds like a very good idea to me!
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
A country that will not fix its mistakes is a country that has given up on the future. And Brexit was, it’s now clear, a terrible, terrible mistake inews.co.uk/opinion/brex...
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Kemi Badenoch condemned Reform's ban on critical journalists covering their conference as "authoritarian", saying her own party would never do the same as "we believe in free speech. We believe in a free press." Now the Conservatives have banned Byline Times from their conference
bylinetimes.com
Kemi Badenoch's Conservatives Ban Byline Times From Conference After Condemning Reform for Journalist Ban
The ban comes just weeks after the Conservative leader called Reform's barring of critical journalists from their conference an "authoritarian" attack on the free press
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The Green Party of England & Wales @greenparty.org.uk · 30/09/2026
"Privatised water has failed and must be taken into public ownership now."
PRIVATISED WATER HAS FAILED. WE NEED PUBLIC OWNERSHIP NOW.

ADRIAN RAMSAY
MP FOR WAVENEY VALLEY

"The Prime Minister is right that water must be run for public good and not profit and that the public is very clear that water should be taken back into public control and end the scandal of sewage in our rivers and seas. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister’s words in his speech today gave no commitment to this, just that at some point in the future there will be more regulation. This isn’t good enough. 

Privatised water has failed and must be taken into public ownership now so we can start to fix the crumbling infrastructure."

Green Party
Promoted by Chris Williams on behalf of the Green Party of England and Wales c/o PO Box Green Party, London, SE1P 6YL
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Anti-Reform @antireform.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Cutting the civil service sounds a great idea until you consider it means ... "Longer waits for your pension Fewer officers at the border Prisons with even fewer staff ... [Fewer] specialists who keep rivers clean, stop cyber attacks and contain animal disease" meme via Reform Are Not Your Friends
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Steve Peers @stevepeers.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Thatcher ended the link between the state pension and earnings in 1980
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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Macron: “Brexit is the biggest lie of the last 30 years. “Those who said, "We will be richer" - eight points of GDP less ten years later. "”We will solve the problem of immigration" - it is more complicated than before. "”We are going to crush it in international trade" - it is worse.”
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
How is it possible? Because he told a personal, emotive story, sure. But also he told a moral story: using the funds to help establish a care service. It feels fair. And the decision to opt for a branded institutional structure with strong echoes of the NHS makes it tangible.
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Burnham made Farage seem “angry, thin-skinned… absurd. What we witnessed today was a masterclass in political communication which makes Farage look like an amateur” Finally. The confidence that comes with emotional intelligence. It could make all the difference. iandunt.substack.com/p/burnham-sp...
iandunt.substack.com
Burnham speech: An astonishing moment of radicalism and commitment
It’s easy to be cynical, but it would be false. Something extraordinary is happening here.
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Dementia and Alzheimer's are absolutely devastating not only to the sufferer but for their friends and loves ones as well. Currently if it happens to your parent or partner you're effectively on your own navigating this terrible and often very expensive landscape of care.
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
A Prime Minister seeking to fix this country's pressing problems and the broken politics and stagnant consensus that underpins so much of it... A PM promising real improvements rather than unicorns sunlit uplands and an agenda of hate... Who knows? This could be catching.
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Alice Roberts @profaliceroberts.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Reform want to indoctrinate our children. Freedom of (and from) belief is a human right. humanists.uk/2026/09/10/s...
humanists.uk
Reform UK Braverman promises 'consequences' if pupils don't sing hymns
Reform UK has said schools will face ‘consequences’ if they fail to make pupils regularly sing hymns and the national anthem under a Reform government. The party’s education spokesperson, Suella Brave...
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Make Votes Matter @makevotesmatter.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
💥BREAKING: Andy Burnham announces a National Commission on Electoral Reform. This is a historic moment. The era of First Past the Post is coming to an end. It's time to transform politics and make all votes count. It's time for Proportional Representation.
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Caroline Lucas @carolinelucas.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
So pleased to hear this confirmed in the PM’s speech. Big congrats to @makevotesmatter.bsky.social and all who’ve campaigned for it! At last we have a chance to restore trust in our politics with a system where “everyone’s views count and everyone’s vote matters” 👏👏👏
theguardian.com
Andy Burnham expected to say he will push ahead with electoral reform plans
Exclusive: Labour conference speech will kick off process that could replace current system with proportional representation
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 29/09/2026
🚨 BREAKING 🚨 Burnham: "I cannot say to you truthfully that where we are is good enough. Brexit has done more harm than good. We need to restore a higher level of growth and prosperity for Britain." Britain needs EU membership - only then will we have the growth that our country needs.
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Anti-Reform @antireform.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The rise in small boat crossings was entirely due to Brexit, promoted by Nigel Farage, and the deal done by Boris Johnson Their attempts to shift blame to anyone else is utterly despicable hypocrisy
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Gillian Martin @gillmartin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
94 year old Jewish human rights barrister, Margaret Owen arrested under the Terrorism Act outside andy burnham's Labour Party conference. UK taxpayers are funding these arrests while masked men terrorise the streets in coastal towns. Lift The Ban on Palestine Action.
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Parody Nigel Farage @parodypm.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This two tier policing is disgraceful. It's as if there is one approach for people who helpfully film themselves committing crimes and another approach when there is insufficient evidence.
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Jonn Elledge @jonnelledge.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The BBC news summary this morning went seamlessly from "critics warn PM scrapping triple lock would be electoral suicide" to "critics ask if PM has nerve to make tough decisions" and I don't think it's a particularly pro Burnham stance to suggest he might not be the entire problem here.
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Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I will be part of this panel along with Darren Treadwell of the People’s History Museum @racheltaylormp.bsky.social @paulmason.bsky.social @nansloane.bsky.social & @harrytgtaylor.bsky.social
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Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I must be mad. I’m actually taking pens *to* the Labour conference.
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Parody Nigel Farage @parodypm.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I must say I’m very disappointed in the police over their dealing with the RAF Fairford incident. By announcing that the suspects are British nationals, they have completely undermined the stream of made up bollocks from myself and every other right wing gobshite on Twitter.
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
It's not just that we had two wasted years under Keir Starmer - years in which, with a vast majority and quite a lot of goodwill - he could have turned this country around. On crucial issues, we had two years of spiralling backwards, towards a very dark place. 🧵 www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Ed Miliband to acknowledge Labour’s former stance on Palestine fell short
Foreign secretary will tell party’s conference ‘we are not here to accept the status quo but to change it’
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Sunderland Lollipops @sunderlandlolly.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Did you know that a Farage Reform govt intends to scrap the NHS? The private health care system he wants to introduce would cost you £10,000s, like the US, where getting ill can bankrupt you. #ReformUK #Labour #GreenParty #Newcastle #SAFC� #NUFC
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We Own It @weownit.org.uk · 28/09/2026
🚨BREAKING Heidi Alexander has just announced that, for the first time since rail privatisation, the government will consider public ownership of rolling stock for all new trains This is wonderful news. They shouldn't only consider it; they should deliver it
We OWn It statement on rolling stock announcement: “Other countries own their own trains, and we should do the same. This is a super smart decision for the long term future of the railway.  “Ownership of the trains is the most profitable part of the railway. We need to own these assets directly so that passengers can benefit with money going in instead of leaking out.  “Rolling stock ownership is key to making public ownership of our railway successful. ”
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