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Dame Joan Ruddock

@damejoanruddock.bsky.social
169 followers 69 following 95 posts

Former Labour MP & Minister for Women, Minister for Environment & Minister for Energy and Climate Change. Memoir ‘Going Nowhere’ Armchair politician.Keen gardener, traveller and opera fan. Former Chair of CND.

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Reposted by Dame Joan Ruddock
Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 04/10/2026
Germany’s ambassador to the UK, speaking to The Telegraph: "It is, of course, for the British people to decide how close they want that relationship to be. But let me be clear: in Germany you will always find a partner for setting the ambition as high as we can."
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Graham Simpson @grahambs.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Wouldn’t it be great if it happens?! 🇪🇺 😊
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Anti-Reform @antireform.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
'2 year suspended sentence and 200 hours community service/unpaid work' "Imagine the carnage if this guy was brown!......" via We Demand UK
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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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Admirable Women @admirablewomen.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Geologist & astronaut Dr. Kathryn Sullivan: the "most vertical human" in history. + From space: 1st American woman to walk in space, 11 Oct 1984 + To the deepest point of Earth's seabed: 1st woman to dive to the Challenger Deep (🔽 35,853 ft), 7 June 2020 She was born #OTD in 1951. #WomenInSTEM
An official NASA studio portrait of Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan (born 1951) during her early career as a space shuttle astronaut. Taken ahead of her groundbreaking October 1984 mission where she became the first American woman to perform a spacewalk, this image carries deep historical significance for women in STEM fields. The composition is a classic, vertically oriented portrait focusing on Sullivan from the waist up. She stands positioned at a three-quarter angle while turning her face back toward the viewer. Sullivan looks just to the right of the camera lens with a warm, confident smile and a gentle, approachable expression. Her brown hair is styled in a voluminous, feathered 1980s shoulder-length cut with soft curls framing her forehead. She wears a professional navy blue short-sleeved polo shirt featuring a prominent, authentic red and white NASA "worm" logo patch on the left breast pocket. In the background on her right stands a large, vibrant United States flag with its stars and stripes prominently displayed. To her left, softly out of focus on a table, sits a scale desktop model of a NASA Space Shuttle attached to its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters. The mood is formal, patriotic, and inspiring.A candid photograph of pioneering American astronaut and oceanographer Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan (born 1951) celebrating her historic June 2020 return from the Challenger Deep—the deepest known point in Earth’s oceans. This moment solidified her legacy as the first person to both walk in space and reach the ocean floor. The outdoor shot frames Sullivan off-center against a deep blue, slightly undulating ocean that stretches out to a hazy, light-clouded horizon line under bright sunlight. Sullivan stands leaning slightly out from a white oceanic vessel hatch or submersible entry point. She smiles broadly with triumphant energy, looking off-camera to the left. Her left arm is fully extended outward, flashing an enthusiastic thumbs-up sign. On the far left edge of the frame, another crew member's hand wearing a black textured glove mirrors her thumbs-up gesture. She wears a cobalt blue utility flight suit featuring a golden rectangular patch over her right chest. Her light brown hair is short and windblown, and she wears rectangular tortoiseshell sunglasses. Thick, bright yellow heavy-duty rigging straps slice vertically through the left foreground, framing her body, while a curved metallic silver handrail sits to her left. The overall mood is joyful, victorious, and adventurous.
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Dame Joan Ruddock @damejoanruddock.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Democracy Under Attack www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/democracy-...
crowdfunder.co.uk
Democracy Under Attack
Aim: Our democracy is under attack. To save it, we must act now. Please support us by backing our Crowdfunder today.
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Reposted by Dame Joan Ruddock
Labour4PR 🌹🗳️ @labour4pr.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
"We've had a decade of turbulence in our politics and I think that has stopped Britain moving forward. If we look to the next decade I think we need to show that we can have a better politics, more about problem solving than point scoring" 🎙️ @andyburnham.bsky.social 🌹 #Labour4PR #R4Today
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Reposted by Dame Joan Ruddock
Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 30/09/2026
🚨 We’re calling on Ofcom to open a formal investigation into Nigel Farage presenting GB News shows and whether his programme on 15 September 2026 was within the rules on impartiality ⚠️ Broadcasters are required to present news in an impartial manner, without political bias.
bestforbritain.org
Farage on GB News: Demand that Ofcom takes immediate action - Best for Britain
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Adam Schwarz @adamjschwarz.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Andy Burnham has broken the taboo on prime ministers being open to the UK rejoining the EU. It's a really important moment for our country. The inescapable truth is that the UK cannot achieve decent growth and fund the public services the public demands without EU alignment.
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Alf Dubs @alfdubs.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I'm so very sad to hear of the death of Esther Ranzen who played an important role in reuniting me with Nicky Winton - the man who saved my life. It's so desperately sad that she couldn't choose assisted dying as was her wish.
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Make Votes Matter @makevotesmatter.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
"Speaking on a panel for Make Votes Matter in May, Sir John also highlighted the unfairness of the current system where a party can win many votes but still come away with very few seats."
independent.co.uk
Polling guru John Curtice favourite to lead PM’s first-past-the-post voting review
The polling guru is Britain’s best known an most trusted polling expert
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Dignity in Dying @dignityindying.org.uk · 30/09/2026
We are deeply saddened by the death of Dame Esther Rantzen. A true force of nature, Dame Esther fought throughout her life for people’s rights, and latterly for dying people who needed more choice and compassion. Our heartfelt condolences are with her family and loved ones.
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Electoral Reform Society @electoralreform.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
The National Commission could draw on the wealth of experience we have in the UK, which has had proportional systems for decades in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and London. buff.ly/mBZRACS
buff.ly
Andy Burnham to fight next election on pledge to change voting system
The prime minister says he wants other parties to take part in a national commission on electoral reform.
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Inside Ukraine 🇺🇦 @insideukraine.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
A photographer in Australia captured a poignant moment: a male koala embracing and squeezing his deceased companion. This heartbreaking scene demonstrates that animals experience and suffer emotions in a way similar to humans. 🐨💔 National Geographic
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Dame Joan Ruddock @damejoanruddock.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Big news from Labour Conference: the PM has announced the government's plan to scrap first past the post. Seats that match votes would change British politics for good, but only if it happens. I've added my name. Join me? action.electoral-reform.org.uk/page/201578/...
action.electoral-reform.org.uk
The PM used his big speech to promise to fix Westminster's broken voting system.
We've heard promises before. I've signed to make sure this one is kept. It takes 30 seconds
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 23/09/2026
⚠️ Brexit has left us poorer and more isolated on the world stage. 💪 Burnham must go for EU membership. Not only will it deliver £92bn to our economy but will restore our standing in the world.
independent.co.uk
Brexit has left Britain ‘impotent – a bobbing cork in the sea,’ says David Miliband
Exclusive: Former foreign secretary adds to mounting pressure for a new UK deal with EU to repair Brexit damage
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Make Votes Matter @makevotesmatter.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
💥 BREAKING: The government has responded to @damejoanruddock.bsky.social's petition for a National Commission on Electoral Reform, signed by 26,000+ people: Read the reply 👇 petition.parliament.uk/petitions/76...
petition.parliament.uk
Petition: Set up a National Commission on Electoral Reform to review the electoral system
I ask the Government to set up a National Commission on Electoral Reform, as advocated by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Fair Elections. It should be an independent, time limited, expert led re...
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Dame Joan Ruddock @damejoanruddock.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Politics isn't working. It's time to call time on the broken culture in Westminster and have a fresh start with a fair voting system. Add your name to @electoralreform.bsky.social‬'s call to #MakeSeatsMatchVotes action.electoral-reform.org.uk/page/3782/pe...
action.electoral-reform.org.uk
First Past the Post means millions of our votes make no difference to parliament. Add your name now to demand a fairer voting system
It only takes 30 seconds
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TheFirstGirlySwotsToJoinBlueSky @thelastgirlyswots.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
. Andy Burnham is right to prioritise the introduction of specialist courts dealing with rape and sexual offences, as part of the Labour government's pledge to reduce violence against women. #r4today #bbcbreakfast #GMB #PoliticsLive #C4News #Newsnight #toriesgone808 . news.sky.com/story/specia...
news.sky.com
Specialist rape courts to be rolled out in England and Wales
Andy Burnham says rape prosecution rates "remain shamefully low" and many victims have to wait years for their case to be heard.
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 19/09/2026
"All but four UK constituencies would support reversing Brexit and rejoining the EU, new polling has shown, as Andy Burnham seeks a 'deeper relationship' with the bloc and to win over voters." Read here: www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/polit…
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Codfather #FBPE 🇫🇷🇪🇺 @codfather.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Deep in Scotland's Pentland Firth, a grid scale tidal turbine at the MeyGen site just set a massive milestone: over 6.5 years of continuous operation without a single unplanned maintenance stop. ​Operating 40 meters underwater in one of the fastest tidal currents on Earth.
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
How the BBC’s latest platforming of the bigoted views of the anti-migrant billionaire tax exile Jim Ratcliffe is the sign of a national broadcaster that is increasingly losing its way www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/how-the-bb...
adambienkov.co.uk
How the BBC Mainstreams the Right’s Anti-Migrant, Anti-British Agenda
The BBC’s platforming of the bigoted views of billionaire tax exile Jim Ratcliffe is just the latest sign of a national broadcaster that has lost its way
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Robb Edwards 🌱 @robedwards1.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
More than 2 million Indigenous people lived in Australia in 1788: new research theconversation.com/more-than-2-...
theconversation.com
More than 2 million Indigenous people lived in Australia in 1788: new research
Genetic, archaeological and environmental evidence suggest the Indigenous population fell by more than 90% in the 70 years after the British invaded.
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Peter Smith @redpeter99.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
A lifeboat crew responds to a call and finds a dingy in distress full of migrant men, women and children. Do they leave or rescue them? No-one with a shred of humanity would turn round and head back.
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 19/09/2026
🤔 Nigel Farage leads a political party. He’s a sitting MP. And he now hosts his own weekly primetime show on GB News. 🚨Broadcasters are required to present news in an impartial manner, without political bias. 👇 Add your name to demand that Ofcom takes immediate action.
bestforbritain.org
Farage on GB News: Demand that Ofcom takes immediate action - Best for Britain
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Alan Rusbridger @arusbridger.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
If you add in £130m losses on “Reform TV” (aka GB News) the effective subsidy of Farage’s party from just four men tops £200m. You just have to join the dots app.prospectmagazine.co.uk/story/75017/...
app.prospectmagazine.co.uk
Farage and the £130m even his detractors have missed
GB news has provided relentless positive PR for Nigel Farage while racking up tens of millions in financial losses. And now there is a new channel in the offing
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Dame Joan Ruddock @damejoanruddock.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
It's time for a new Charter. Help write it and choose your 6 demands for a better politics. Take the survey here:https://actionnetwork.org/surveys/a-new-charter?source=bluesky&
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Patrick - Here for the craic❗️🤷🏼‍♂️😉 @paddyopatrick.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Rupert Lowe-Life is spitting teeth.. ohh he’s mad.. incandescent with rage about the state marking “its own homework” on Covid.. Fun fact — During Covid Lowe’s company took £100,000 in taxpayer funded furlough despite making a massive £7.9 million profit. He wasn’t so angry about that eh❗️
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Christoph Fischer Photography @beautysurroundsyou.com · 18/09/2026
Another beautiful day in the Canadian Rockies! 😊😎 Cl
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Massimo (mirror) @rainmaker1973-m.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Orcas have been heard mimicking human speech. A study found that when prompted, the marine mammal could replicate the sounds. Original post
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JointheDots @joiningupthedots.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
This is a blatant threat to the RNLI, who are currently out of action in Portsmouth - ergo not saving lives, because staff are being terrorised. When will Mahmood take domestic terrorism of this nature seriously.
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Time to deport all these fighting age men terrorising our patriotic lifeboat volunteers www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Lifeboat station in Portsmouth forced to temporarily shut after far-right action
RNLI facility had been targeted by activists trying to stop asylum seekers landing in boats from the Channel
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Harborne: “My £36M is a philanthropic gift to the nation” Delo: “My £36M creates a level playing field for Reform” Farage: “I’ll slash CGT to save you £100M/yr” Reform: bought by millionaires to enrich millionaires. Reform voters… They. Are. Laughing. At. You. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...
independent.co.uk
Reform to hand crypto investors hundreds of millions in tax breaks
Exclusive: Analysis seen by The Independent reveals the wealthiest crypto investors would get £100m a year in tax relief from Nigel Farage’s party
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Admirable Women @admirablewomen.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Lauren Bacall was born #OTD in 1924. Named the 20th greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute & honored by AMPAS in 2009, "in recognition of her central place in the Golden Age of motion pictures." #FilmSky #MovieSky #FilmNoir
A dramatic, black-and-white studio portrait of legendary American actress Lauren Bacall (1924–2014), captured in her iconic signature pose known as "The Look." Photographed from a three-quarter profile angle facing right, she tilts her head down toward her chest while casting a piercing, magnetic gaze up at the viewer. Her thick, voluminous blonde hair is styled in flawless, brushed-out Old Hollywood finger waves that frame her sharp jawline. She wears a thick, ribbed-knit turtleneck sweater underneath a soft, draped wool jacket or wrap. Her expression is cool, smoldering, and intensely confident, defined by perfectly sculpted eyebrows, striking light-colored eyes, and elegant, dark-lipsticked lips held closed. The background is softly blurred with abstract, painterly studio shadows, concentrating all focus on her luminous skin and classic features. The composition epitomizes the seductive, sophisticated, and powerful mood of 1940s film noir cinema.
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The Women In Science Archive @wisarchive.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Birth control pioneer Margaret Sanger was born 147 years ago today. She was the driving force behind the creation of the birth control pill, which gave half the population control of its reproductive destiny, and fought for women's access to their own medical information. tinyurl.com/tbm2vesk
tinyurl.com
Breaking the Shackles Procreative: Margaret Sanger and the Creation of the Pill
In 1912, it was against the law in the United States to publish a book that contained descriptions of birth control methods. It was against the law to even expound the theoretical benefits of birth co...
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Make Votes Matter @makevotesmatter.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
🗳️ Today is the UN's International Day of Democracy. If you asked people what they associate with democracy, many would probably respond: elections. Voting is a fundamental democratic right. But being able to cast a ballot every few years is not enough. 🧵👇
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Dame Joan Ruddock @damejoanruddock.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
If you agree why not sign my parliamentary petition seeking a National Commission to find a more proportional voting system for parliament to replace first past the post. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/76...
petition.parliament
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Graham Simpson @grahambs.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Professor Sir John Curtice says 61 per cent of Britons now say they would vote to rejoin the EU, compared to 39 per cent who say they would stay out. www.aol.com/articles/sup...
aol.com
Support for rejoining EU at all-time high – but future vote still ‘on knife edge’ - AOL
Exclusive: But another referendum could still be on a knife edge, Sir John Curtice suggests
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 14/09/2026
Your regular reminder: If the Russians stop fighting, the war ends. If the Ukrainians stop fighting, their land will be occupied, their leaders will be killed, their history and language will be erased, their children will be kidnapped to serve Russia.
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
80% of Reform’s funding comes from two crypto billionaires. Reform has received £123.6m since 2019. £61m from Christopher Harborne living in Thailand, mentioned several times in Panama Papers. £44m from Ben Delo, recent returnee from Hong Kong, criminal conviction in the US.
democracyforsale.substack.com
BREAKING: 80% of Reform’s funding comes from two crypto billionaires
“If that isn't a massive corruption risk I don't know what is.”
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Sue @hulatt47.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
substack.com/@aisha402525...
substack.com
Aisha (@aisha402525)
A massive demonstration takes place in Scotland in solidarity with Gaza and denouncing Israel’s ongoing genocide.
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Graham Simpson @grahambs.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
‘If the results hold, it is likely to lead to a brand new left-leaning Swedish government led by the Social Democrats, supported by the Left party, the Centre party and the Green party’ - I love to see a progressive alliance defeating the right. 😊 www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s...
theguardian.com
Swedish election: centre-left bloc looks set to take power, exit polls show
Result would deliver a new left-leaning government and be a strong rejection of current centre-right coalition
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Journalists attacked with rocks for reporting on racist rioters waging a pogrom whilst calling for refugees to "have their f**king heads chopped off". These are the "protesters" with "legitimate concerns" we keep on hearing so much about www.edp24.co.uk/news/2644352...
edp24.co.uk
I've been attacked as a journalist twice in a year... I'm just trying to do my job
I was attacked for a second time in a year while covering the Thetford riots, here's what happened and why I'm going back.
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 13/09/2026
NEW POLLING Tom Brufatto: With a new Prime Minister, determined to prioritise redistributive growth and to restore a sense of hope to the country, this research sets out the roadmap to the party’s recovery, and provides the political piece to complete the economic jigsaw smashed to bits by Brexit.
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Unlock Democracy @unlockdemocracy.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
£72m in 48 hours is obviously seismic. But it shouldn’t be surprising. The warning signs have been there for years, as all parties have become more & more dependant on super-rich donors. No wonder so many voters feel like their voices go unheard by those in power. youtu.be/uLMuirAe--I?...
youtu.be
'This is the Americanisation of British politics' | Lewis Goodall
YouTube video by LBC
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Neoliberals have neutered direct state investment in infrastructure. Everything is privatised, state guarantees profits. UK languishes at or near the bottom of the OECD league for investment in productive assets. China invests over 41% of its GDP in productive assets, India 34.3%, UK 17.9%.
leftfootforward.org
Here’s how the chancellor can raise the billions needed to improve the quality of life of millions
Prem Sikka is an Emeritus Professor of Accounting at the University of Essex and the University of Sheffield, a Labour member of the House of Lords, and Contributing Editor at Left Foot Forward. Mi...
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
The British press has been extremely hostile towards Amnesty International, Medicins Sans Frontiers, Oxfam and others for decades because *they offer rival narratives that the public might listen to*, and that is not acceptable, to them.
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Labour4PR 🌹🗳️ @labour4pr.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
🌹"Its those people who are losing faith with politics who feel disenfranchised the most. We owe it to them to have a national conversation about how we can reform our voting system" @joemorrismp.bsky.social
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TheFirstGirlySwotsToJoinBlueSky @thelastgirlyswots.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
. It should be illegal for crypto billionaires to buy Britain! #bbcbreakfast #bbclaurak #bbcbh #toriesgone800 .
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Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
nothing says “party of the ordinary workers” than taking a £36m donation from a crypto tycoon convicted in the US in 2022 for failings in an anti-money laundering programme before being pardoned by Donald Trump
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