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Cornucopist

@cornucopist.bsky.social
1.3K followers 1.8K following 3.1K posts

Writer and humanitarian. Optimistic realist. When you sleep you wake up eventually. Politics, philosophy, humanism, books, photography, history, football, post-punk. And cats and birds of course.

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Reposted by Cornucopist
Neil Mackay @neilmackay.bsky.social · 58m
Why can’t we be more like the French? In France, young people are punching up at those in power demanding better education not decline and more cuts In Britain, middle-aged masked men with criminal records for domestic abuse punch down an at anyone who isn’t white In @heraldscotland.bsky.social
heraldscotland.com
What French student protests reveal about Britain's broken political system
In France, even children can see that the political system needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. In Britain, we seem incapable of understanding that truth, Neil Mackay says.
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Cornucopist @cornucopist.bsky.social · 57m
#birdoftheday #eating
Moorhen Peahen and little peaGeeseDuck foraging
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Cornucopist @cornucopist.bsky.social · 1h
Morning!
Chimneys, colourful banners, trees on hills in Hebden Bridge
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 21h
"People are looking through the shop window and they like what they see..." says Kemi Badenoch, of the Conservative party, which is currently polling at its lowest level in its entire history
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Caroline Lucas @carolinelucas.bsky.social · 23h
“The only sensible solution at this point is a moratorium on datacentres until very basic questions about how many we need, what for, where, and how pollution will be avoided are answered satisfactorily by the government” - @olliehayes.bsky.social 👏
theguardian.com
Drax datacentre could create nearly twice the yearly emissions of all Gatwick flights
Exclusive: Campaign group’s analysis of North Yorkshire plans finds datacentre would have to burn 4.9m tonnes of wood a year
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Rob Baron @rob-baron.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
So, the Tories are planning to cut inheritance tax. Something the vast majority of people don't pay (4.7% of deaths in 2023/26). It raised £8.5bn in 25/26. So what services will they cut to give the wealthy 4.7% a tax break? More kids in poverty, more champagne and second homes for the rich.
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Cornucopist @cornucopist.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
#birdoftheday #bluewater
Ducks in a row through the tree branches Swans braving the dark blue icy water
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Cornucopist @cornucopist.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Morning! 🎵
Old brass musical instruments hanging from a ceiling as decorations
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Niall Ó Conghaile @nialloconghaile.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
For all the chinwagging that followed PM Burnhma's speech to the Labour conference, he has not changed policy on or actions towards Europe. This needs to happen, even for the current shallow reset to work. Article 👇 by me in @eastangliabylines.co.uk eastangliabylines.co.uk/news/brexit/...
eastangliabylines.co.uk
Britain still hasn’t learnt what being outside the EU means
Closer ties with Europe require Britain to abandon exceptionalism and understand what being outside the EU means
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The Fig Economy @figgityfigs.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Sometimes my wife and I like to send each other text messages as though they’re democratic fundraising messages, and I believe she has produced the jewel of the form.
, it's
and I
have some personal news to share with you.
Being a mom is one of the greatest joys of my life, and I feel deeply that we should have salad tonight
This year has been challenging in many ways, and I have immense gratitude for the kindness and support of family, community, and people like you who have continued to stand by me through everything. It means the world, and I wanted you to be among the first to know that squash is in the oven and kale is in the fridge.As many of you are aware, ve been navigating one of the most challenging periods of my day while waiting for dinner.
Facing baseless federal hunger brought on by not eating since lunch, fighting for the working kids of this country, and now caring for a mean toddler and helping him grow up in a world that isn't always easy. But it has also reminded me exactly why I do this work and who I do it for.
I will never stop working to eat dinner. I will never stop fighting for what is right, even when there is also some feta in the fridge. And I will never stop being so very thankful that you are by my side in this important work and that there is tahini in the pantry for dressing
With love and gratitude,
stop to end
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Voters loathed the Tory party when they booted them out in 2024.They really needed to shake off their disgrace with humility and better ideas. They haven’t. They’ve doubled down. More Brexit, more austerity, more anti-immigration ugliness, more tedious arrogance… and no good reason to vote for them.
Party seems to have learnt nothing from 2024 defeat
John Oxley

The Conservative Party is keen to show it is now ready to return to government, two and a half years after a
historic defeat.Their self-soothing explanation posits that defeat came from not being able to do what they wanted 

No such pivot is happening at the current conference. The Tories have come to Birmingham calling for a return to orthodoxy, with similar lines about cutting benefits and regulation. Even so, they seem trapped by the same contradictions
- pledging to cut benefits, but not the winter fuel payments and triple lock on pensions that go to their voters.
There is no "hug-a-hoodie" moment in Birmingham. The Conservative Party is not indicating that it has changed or seeking to broaden its appeal. It is doing the opposite: it is a party returning to its core, restating all the old ideas voters have rejected but louder.
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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
🔴 Andy Burnham Urged to Put Compulsory Voting at Heart of His Electoral Reform Plans Democracy campaigners say changing how Britain votes will not be enough unless the Prime Minister also changes who votes as well bylinetimes.com/2026/10/06/a...
bylinetimes.com
Andy Burnham Urged to Put Compulsory Voting at Heart of His Electoral Reform Plans
Democracy campaigners say changing how Britain votes will not be enough unless the Prime Minister also changes who votes as well
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Badenoch would do a deal with Reform in a heartbeat, no matters what she says.
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Mister E @daveevanschange.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
#Tories seem to be trying to outdo the out-and-out REFUK and Restore fascists; but in a slightly more underhand way. The rush to the bottom of the sewer is well underway.
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Cornucopist @cornucopist.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
#birdoftheday #BirdSuperModel
Swan elegantly raising a legPeacock elegantly crossing legsMandarin Duck standing elegantly Rooster in all its finery
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Cornucopist @cornucopist.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Morning!
Grand piano on lawn in front of old mill house in Yorkshire Grand piano with flowers instead of keys on lawn
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Ruth Watson @ruthwatson.eurosky.social · 06/10/2026
100% this man has made the right choice. We have to fight fascism this way now. We have seen what happens when we let the thugs take control. If you have ever worn a poppy, this is what remembrance means #NeverAgain
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Byline Times @bylinetimes.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
🔴 NEW Conservative Plan to Scrap Solar Rules for New Homes Would Lock Millions Into Gas Use By @josiahmortimer.bsky.social Read below. ↓
bylinetimes.com
Conservative Plan to Scrap Solar Rules for New Homes Would Lock Millions Into Gas Use
Pledge to abolish the Future Homes Standard is branded 'a plan for poor housing and high bills' by fuel poverty campaigners, as the solar sector urges the party to think again
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European Greens @europeangreens.eu · 05/10/2026
Our statement on the recent Green Party of England and Wales motion 'Zionism is Racism'. europeangreens.eu/news/egp-pos...
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Charlotte Lydia Riley @lottelydia.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
"Zionism" arose to mean something very specific, politically and historically. Academically, we can obviously argue about the meaning and the scope of Zionism. But politically, it's possible that right now it obscures more than it illuminates: it's good to ask what the term is doing in any sentence.
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Agathe Demarais @agathedemarais.com · 05/10/2026
Most Europeans would support a UK return to the EU • French and Italian voters are least enthusiastic, but they still broadly approve of potential UK return • Potential UK referendum could complicate talks; EU officials would be wary of investing time in talks for nothing www.ft.com/content/3d43...
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Dan Sohege @danielsohege.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Herein lies one of the biggest recurring, and escalating, issues with hostile anti-asylum policies, they don't tackle gangs. Instead they penalise the victims of gangs. It isn't the gangs piloting boats, it is normally people seeking asylum who are forced to by the gangs. inews.co.uk/news/represe...
inews.co.uk
I represented the pilot of a mega dinghy. Why Channel migrants are still arriving
Defence barrister Audrey Mogan has seen firsthand why new legislation is bound to fail
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Joe Noonan @joenoonan.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
“The estimate of the total amount of rubble in Gaza is 61 million tonnes. It is approximately 20 times the amount of rubble generated in all wars across the world over the last 18 years,” says Jaco Cilliers, the UNDP’s special representative in Palestine. www.irishtimes.com/world/middle...
Photo of Gaza
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UnicornsRockUK @unicornsrockuk.northsky.social · 04/10/2026
My GP recommends swimming for my back. I want to go. There are 2 communal changing rooms. Labour say I should use the mens. I am a visibly female woman with a GRC. If I use the mens there's a serious risk of me being confronted and worse. So where do I go? I don't. I'm segregated from society.
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Michael Warburton @michaelwarburton.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Gary
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David Nice @davidnice.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Decided to repost this daily to underline what people - in that case a kid - mean when they say 'let them drown'.
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Cornucopist @cornucopist.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
#birdoftheday #blueskies
Canada GeeseGannetHouse Martins House Martin
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Cornucopist @cornucopist.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Morning!
Autumn colours of leaves on old stone wall under tree
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Spooky Snigdha @snig.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
New Mogwai & Iggy Pop collaboration: "Underground". #music #TrackOfTheDay #SongOfTheDay youtu.be/agOOQ2wTS8I?...
youtu.be
MOGWAI feat. IGGY POP - UNDERGROUND (official video)
YouTube video by mogwaiTV
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SarahAndCo @sarahandco.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
People who cannot distinguish between etymology and entomology bug me in ways that I cannot put into words
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Peter Walker @peterwalker99.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Adam Wagner KC, barrister who led the case which concluded Corbyn’s Labour broke equalities law, said there is "a strong risk that the motion as passed contravenes the Equality Act 2010... as it will discriminate against and harass people who hold Zionist beliefs and Jewish people more generally."
Adam Wagner KC, the barrister who led a case which concluded that Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour broke equalities laws over antisemitism, said that such a case would have a good chance of success.

“I think there is a strong risk that the motion as passed contravenes the Equality Act 2010, which applies to political parties, as it will discriminate against and harass people who hold Zionist beliefs and Jewish people more generally.,” he said.

“Zionism, defined in the broad sense of supporting the establishment, development, and protection of a Jewish nation state in its ancestral homeland, the land of Israel, is likely to be a protected belief under the Equality Act 2010.”

He said there was a strong risk that the policy, especially if it resulted in disciplinary action, “will create an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment for both Zionists and Jewish people, therefore harassing them”.
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Cornucopist @cornucopist.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
The ZIR policy is a blunt instrument with no caveats. I fear it will be weaponised by a minority of GP insiders & the usual suspects externally. It’s a political & strategic own goal likely to have unintended consequences. More polarisation is the last thing we need. And I’m a Green supporter 🙄
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THE NERVE @thenerve.news · 04/10/2026
Good morning. Just how much have successive UK governments spent - or is the current one due to spend - with Peter Thiel’s Palantir? 🧵⤵️
Graphic showing Palantir founder Peter Thiel and totals of money spent since 2014 – or due to be spent – by UK government departments and agencies. Design: Lynsey Irvine
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Glennyrodge @glennyrodge.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Congratulations to England on their 0-0 draw with Croatia last night (if you only count goalscorers who are English according to the delightful Sue Ellen Braverman’s definition).
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Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Labour just don't get it. They don't get how scared people are with extreme weather becoming our new normal. We need voices in parliament that will force them to take wildfires seriously, not quietly shirk responsibility.
Revealed: government quietly dropped plan to orepare England for wildfires
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Alison Brackenbury @abrackenbury.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Not the work of an Elizabethan seamstress, but of an unseen spider and Gloucestershire's suburban mist! Glittering Sunday wishes!
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Le Monde in English @english.lemonde.fr · 04/10/2026
Pro-Europe Latvian PM wins poll dominated by Russia, social worries
lemonde.fr
Pro-Europe Latvian PM wins poll dominated by Russia, social worries
Andris Kulbergs' United List party won 42 seats in the 100-seat parliament, but Latvia's parliamentary election also saw gains for populist parties, boosted by support from Latvia's Russian-speaking minority.
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Prof Frank McDonough @fxmc1957.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
4 October 1936. Battle of Cable Street took place in Cable Street, Whitechapel, London. It was a clash between the Metropolitan Police, protecting a march by the British Union of Fascists (BUF) led by Sir Oswald Mosley and various anti-fascist and Jewish demonstrators.
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Cornucopist @cornucopist.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
#birdoftheday #wingsopennotflying
Canada GooseGull PuffinCormorant
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Cornucopist @cornucopist.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Morning!
Lilac wild flowers
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Burnham scraps Starmer-era plans to curb jury trials. A victory for common sense. The Bill would have been defeated in the Lords. Due to Tory cuts, there is a backlog of over 81,000 Crown Court cases in England & Wales. Govt must invest in public services.
bbc.co.uk
Burnham scraps controversial plans to curb jury trials
The key policy idea announced by David Lammy when he was justice secretary will no longer go ahead.
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Pól Micheál O'Slatraigh @pmoslatraigh.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Suella Braverman, consider Walter Tull. Born in Folkestone to an English mother and a Barbadian father. A footballer for Tottenham Hotspur and Northampton Town. A British Army officer who led soldiers into battle and was killed serving his country in 1918.
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Farrukh @implausibleblog.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Millward says billionaires hoard power, divide us and sell a bleak future—but collective action can reclaim our world, communities and democracy.
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Sylvia @sylvia-suffragette.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I think I’m experiencing a real fangirl moment 🥰
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ScotlandYardCSI @scotlandyardcsi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Some #readers understandably choose not to buy books from certain retailers. However, #authors don’t get to choose where our books are sold, but we feel the impact when readers stop buying. Here are some ways to make sure that your choice doesn’t end up hurting the author too. 👍🧡 #Books #BookSky
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Ian Slater @iansslater.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
When you thought you couldn’t love Kloppo more…
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Nick Engineer @nickengineer.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
If nothing else, every Green vote shifts the Overton Window a little further away from bigotry and hate. And that, in and of itself, is a good thing
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Louise, Prof/Dr @louiselocock.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Cat hammock outside a Venetian restaurant for #Caturday. (This was two years ago - sadly this year the hammock is still there, but the cat is no longer keen to use it. Maybe one beer too many )
A tabby cat lying sleepily in a little hammock on a table. Next to the hammock is an empty pint glass
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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
One aspect of Manchester City story massively underplayed is that England now has an independent football regulator Premier League lobbied against it - even hired Peter Mandelson's lobbying firm Global Counsel Tufton Street think tanks lobbied against it But now the regulator exists - and can act
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Henry Mance @henrymance.ft.com · 03/10/2026
More than 20 NHS trusts in England have stopped using Palantir’s waiting list tools, according to FT analysis that casts doubt on widely cited claims about the success of the controversial data project led by the US software giant. as.ft.com/r/6c8844ae-e...
as.ft.com
Over 20 NHS trusts have ditched Palantir waiting-list tools, analysis shows
FT findings prompt fresh probe by statistics regulator into health service claims over controversial data project
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