iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

David Beech @davidbeech.bsky.social · 5h

That's Life! was a remarkable/weird show to watch with my family as a youngster. Honestly you couldn't imagine it now. From weird shaped veg straight into some profoundly serious journalism and campaigning. Was an amazing show really. Esther Rantzen changed many life's for the better, undoubtedly.

060

Reposted by David Beech

Alf Dubs @alfdubs.bsky.social · 6h

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.

21899139

Reposted by David Beech

Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 10h

Clicking through to the quoted tweet opened up a whole new world of social media madness: the Starmer dead-enders who are *still* furious with Andy Burnham.

181436

Reposted by David Beech

James Austin @jamesdaustin.bsky.social · 12h

This is good - and I think what I liked the most about Burnham's speech. Its not the policy (and much as lot of that is targeted at me) it was the empathy, compassion and belief politics can make things better. Feels a long time coming.

2283

David Beech @davidbeech.bsky.social · 12h

The thing about this is it would very likely be hugely damaging, extremely unpopular and a gift to the tories if...Starmer had proposed it. So yeah it matters that we have a PM who knows politics and how to make an argument.

1102

Reposted by David Beech

Tyron @tyron.bsky.social · 14h

it was good but god get a grip please

171007

Reposted by David Beech

Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 15h

You can just do things

211014

Reposted by David Beech

Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 15h

“Does he agree that the triple lock is simply not affordable?” - Tom Tugendhat, shadow foreign secretary, in the commons last year. H/T Tali Fraser on X The extent to which Burnham’s triple lock position will unsettle the Conservatives is underappreciated 1/...

Tom Tugendhat
I am interested to hear the hon. Gentleman using the figure of £70 billion, and I agree with him. He knows that £30 billion of that results from the rise in the triple lock, so does he agree that the triple lock is simply not affordable?

43119

Reposted by David Beech

Twlldun @twlldun.bsky.social · 16h

Keminaissance continues apace

1223

Reposted by David Beech

Daniel Sugarman @danielsugarman.bsky.social · 16h

As part of the "Zionism is Racism" motion which the Green party will be voting on at conference, there is a specific section which says that members of the Green Party who are members of 'Zionist Synagogues' should be kicked out. Efforts to amend this language were rejected at a "party workshop".

25912

Reposted by David Beech

Torsten Bell @torstenbell.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

The Conservative Party debated for a couple of hours and decided that no, they are not a serious party. Inevitably.

1318741

David Beech @davidbeech.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

God what a waste, total f**k up those first two years of the Labour government were. You don't even have to be a Burnham fan to see the difference when you have professionals in charge.

2190

Reposted by David Beech

Mark O’Neill 🐻 @radiobeartime.com · 29/09/2026

This People don’t seem to realise that there is effectively a 100% inheritance tax in place. Home care for my mother when she developed dementia cost six figures. Half the beds in the ward I was on after my bowel cancer surgery were occupied by dementia patients Change is urgently needed

1199

David Beech @davidbeech.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

There's a lot to be said for just the simple stuff - kindness, respect for others, love of family and friends and country. Whether it wins us an election, well, but I think that's what has been missing in attacking Farage. Genuinly think that.

150

David Beech @davidbeech.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

My nan had dementia before she died, was cared for by wonderful carers in home then a care home. Some of them came to funeral. She lost her mind, her money and we as family were hit financially too. Welled up at that part of Andy's speech. We are one of many. I think he can win this argument.

1130

Reposted by David Beech

Duncan Weldon @duncanweldon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

The actually refreshing bit about the Burnham speech is that he seems up for an argument, making a case and trying to convince people of something. Even acknowledged that trade-offs are a thing.

320920

Reposted by David Beech

Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

the most important story in the world keeps getting a bit important-er

29317

Reposted by David Beech

Michael @michaeljsc.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Polanski’s “tax the rich” is the same as Badenoch’s “cut benefits”, a one-size-fits-all funding source that appeals to their prejudice but would never generate anything like the money they claim, and prevents them ever having to engage with serious politics

1319836

Reposted by David Beech

Ellie Mae O'Hagan @elliemaeohagan.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I think it is very good that the PM is being so publicly vulnerable about grieving his father. That is also a form of leadership

1863366

Reposted by David Beech

Mark Wallace @wallaceme.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Most striking of all is that this is explicitly a very *pro-politics* speech, a direct rebuttal to the anti-politics that is so widespread. And rightly so: politics can change things, it is an admirable thing to choose to engage in and a duty for us all to step forward and pursue.

1237339

David Beech @davidbeech.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Anyway all my misgivings about Andy haven't suddenly disappeared but he can make an argument for what he believes in (whether I agree with it or not). If Starmer had stood there for an hour he would have spent an hour pissing off party and country.

3160

David Beech @davidbeech.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Bloody hell yeah this is powerful on care.

1100

David Beech @davidbeech.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Lol guys he didn't say he was renationslising water companies

010

Reposted by David Beech

Gaby Hinsliff @gabyhinsliff.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

If Andy Burnham is planning to talk about his late father in this speech (re social care) so soon after his father died, as some are suggesting, then frankly that's as tough as doing a eulogy at your parent's funeral & I wish him all the luck. (tho the vibe at liverpool was v supportive)

1887

David Beech @davidbeech.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Sharon Graham is that kind of union leader who gets me to 'actually what about a bit of Thatcher style union bashing laws' but just for her.

4130

Reposted by David Beech

Jonn Elledge @jonnelledge.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

potentially landslide-winning compromise position: reverse Brexit, jail Steve Bray

1822020

David Beech @davidbeech.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Getting incredibly irritated at the people saying it's insane for a politician to actually speak honestly to voters about the triple lock but that it's also insane that Labour promised not to increase NI or Income Tax at the last election. What do *you* a really want then?

4153

Reposted by David Beech

Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Every private conversation in Westminster: "Well the triple lock obviously has to go at some point". Every commentator on Burnham: "completely mad to propose getting rid of triple lock - political suicide".

39623127

David Beech @davidbeech.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

And I get why some younger people are irritated around this issue but was having a discussion with a guy on here recently who just wouldn't deal with the fact pensioner poverty is a thing (and will get worse). If you're just living on the state pension in rented accommodation life ain't all that.

130

Reposted by David Beech

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.

441426256

Reposted by David Beech

Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 29/09/2026

Either this is true, in which case *what are we doing here*? Shut it down. Or it's bullshit, in which case these are truly silly people unworthy of our money

31500136

David Beech @davidbeech.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

If Andy would be mad to go into an election saying he'll end the triple lock surely he's mad to go in to an election saying he'll put up taxes on your average worker? You either think it's possible to make an argument on stuff or you don't?

3100

David Beech @davidbeech.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Did post a sarcastic version of this but Bluesky, so all I'll say is filling your car up from empty as I did this morning or going for your weekly shop is gonna be an interesting study in how resilient Andy's good vibes are.

441

Reposted by David Beech

Robert Hutton @roberthutton.co.uk · 28/09/2026

Labour is a party disappointed by the people who vote for it and by the economy of the country it's running. thecritic.co.uk/the-...

And how will it do that? Healey, it turns out, has the kind of idea of work you’d expect from a man who has been active in politics since 1986. There were a lot of references to the coalmining heritage of his constituency, and even the more modern work he talked about was hard, manly toil like pipe-fitting, the sort of thing that involves bulging forearms and mucky overalls. Aside from his wife, the one woman he mentioned was Reeves, and she’s just lost her job.

It’s far from clear that the Chancellor has a handle on what the more modern bits of the economy look like. There are a million young people out of work, he said, and the solution he pointed to was shipbuilding apprenticeships. Do this year’s unemployed graduates actually want to go into shipbuilding? Are there enough ships for them to build? His first job, he said, was washing glasses at a pub, exactly the kind of work that has disappeared in the face of minimum wage and tax rises. On artificial intelligence, which has destro

87832

Reposted by David Beech

John Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 28/09/2026

Remember, Jenrick is not stupid. He's a trained lawyer, he knows the difference between police and court bail. He's just a turd.

29459104

Reposted by David Beech

John Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 28/09/2026

"Once, I went out on the rob for diesel, and sparked a major international security incident"

17844155

Reposted by David Beech

Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The basic problem is everyone is terrified of voters and convinced nothing difficult or complicated can ever work politically. But the list of policy recommendations that are cheap, popular and useful is extremely small.

5345

Reposted by David Beech

Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I'm increasingly disillusioned with the (policy) ideas ecosystem in the UK - it seems like underlying (social) scientific research is less and less influential and there's increasing dominance of PR and pseudo-research.

2422834

David Beech @davidbeech.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

A minor dispute with a neighbour escalated this morning to a torrent of homohobic abuse and threats. All the old 'classics' - perverts, 'your sort', your voice is even more gay when you are angry, watch your back and on and on. Not experienced anything like this in must be 30 years.

560

Reposted by David Beech

Mariadele Boccardi @mariadele.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I teach Eng Lit at a post-92 university and in the last 20+ years I've seen so many w/c people from e.g. Easton or St. Paul's flourish and get v good jobs afterwards. This kind of talk really upsets me, because the assumption is that these students should not be here or should not study Eng Lit.

042

David Beech @davidbeech.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Gosh so moving to read about how sentimental middle class professionals are for working class people's advancement in society. Maybe we could set up some kind of 'sponsor a working class lad/lass' scheme where they get pictures and life updates on their progress every year.

270

Reposted by David Beech

Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Curtice identifies a key red flashing light in the MRPs - Labour are falling furthest in seats where Labour are first and con, ref or Nat are second. Labour therefore do a lot *worse* than uniform swing would predict (having done much better than uniform swing in 2024)

42811

David Beech @davidbeech.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Why though? My god can we not start being weird it's really screwing with my head on all things Labour 🤪

160

David Beech @davidbeech.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

It is weirdly fascinating watching a cohort of elites, politicians, journalists and the rest rot their brains in real time in front of us from their addiction to X.

060

David Beech @davidbeech.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Tbf don't really have a problem with Laura K asking the question and he answered it - yes everyone is gonna pay. What i want to see at the tory conference is the Q 'how do you run public servives people want while promising to actually *cut* taxes.

1130

Reposted by David Beech

Alex Hern @hern.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

hahahahahahhaahha Christ we’re screwed

46211

Reposted by David Beech

Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · 27/09/2026

oh we've got a classic one today

2837140

Reposted by David Beech

Peter Walker @peterwalker99.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Two-tier British citizenship latest.

Conservatives to strip migrant criminals of British citizenship

Dual nationals serving sentences over five years could lose passports under the proposals

1412735

David Beech @davidbeech.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Anyway off on a night out in Manchester now taking advantage of the fact Andy's tourist tax hasn't kicked in yet 😊

100

David Beech @davidbeech.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Yeah I do seek out the negative it's what is expected of Labour members *come on* but this is basically my view. The vibes don't pay a 24% increase in energy bills...

5261