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Dr Catherine Preston

@docp67.bsky.social
1.1K followers 3.4K following 161 posts

Welsh historian

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Reposted by Dr Catherine Preston
Mini Motley Sanctuary @minisanctuary.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Please can you help our animal sanctuary? We’re a not-for-profit safe haven for rescue animals We need to reach 30% of our target this week- £9317- for hay deliveries, vets bills, blood tests & vital supplies Please SHARE: gofund.me/b49d86bfd Thank you so much 💚 #rescueanimals #animalsanctuary
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Dave Vetter @davidrvetter.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Content warning: Multiple men violently assault a female protester at Reform's conference at the Birmingham NEC, to the visible delight of Nigel Farage.
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Dmitry Grozoubinski @explaintrade.com · 04/09/2026
So, if I understand Nigel Farage's argument correctly it is: "Everyone I trusted and elevated into a position of responsibility is constantly doing crimes that benefit me but of which I somehow have no knowledge. I am a man with the character, judgement, and intelligence to run the country." Ok.
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Sally Luxmoore @sallyl.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Saw this - and thought of you!
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Emma Monk @monkemma.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
This is not misinformation. That's what I normally cover - something out of context, an opinion quoted as fact, or a deliberate misinterpretation... This is none of those. This is full-on disinformation. Because that is NOT from the Express. It is entirely fake😱 🧵 1/10
Lembit Opik tweet:

Burnham's big migration plan: take 4,000 stranded migrants from Ceuta, bring them to the UK and put them up in luxury hotels. Americans look at Europe in despair. 

Express Headline: Burnham's migrant, Campbell, 1,000 stranded in Ceuta to be brought to UK. The Prime Minister proposes flying thousands of stranded migrants from Spanish enclave to Britain and housing them in London hotels. 

Monk Debunked stamp on top of both
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Reposted by Dr Catherine Preston
Dr Eleanor Janega @goingmedieval.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
If you haven't already, can you please take a minute to sign this demand for a public inquiry into the role of the media in Prof. Arday's death? Thanks so much. Jason Arday: Demand a public inquiry now | Good Law Project share.google/yglZz4Gw42RJ...
share.google
Jason Arday: Demand a public inquiry now | Good Law Project
Commission an immediate public inquiry into how to ensure a responsible press given its contribution to Dr Arday’s tragic death.
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Reposted by Dr Catherine Preston
Ben Phillips @benphillips76.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Compare *this* 2007 Telegraph piece that declares: “Too many journalists & scientists built careers on the global-warming alarm. Certain newspapers staked their reputation on it. The death of this theory will be painful & ugly. But it will die. Because it is wrong, wrong, wrong.”
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Matt Green @mattgreencomedy.com · 05/08/2026
- We believe in second chances! - So you think refugees deserve a second chance at making a life? - Not like that - Young people who’ve made mistakes shouldn’t be punished? - Nope - Benefits to help people get back on their feet? - Ha! - So who do you believe in second chances for? - Nazis!
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Nettlecake @nettlecake.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Brilliant letter from Stuart Thompson to Jeremy Clarkson about his comments that benefit claimants should write weekly thank you letters to tax payers detailing how they spend their benefits each week.
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South-East London for Europe (Selfe) @selfe.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Poll on Reform's illegal plan to use the Navy... You know what to do! www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/uk-worl...
bristolpost.co.uk
Reform UK would launch military operation in the Channel to stop small boats
Party says it would be 'the largest military operation in the English Channel since World War Two'
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Reposted by Dr Catherine Preston
Cat Neilan @catneilan.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
New: A business that made a six-figure donation to Reform UK received interest-free loans of £67m from unnamed “related companies” in the months before, raising questions about the possible origin of the funds. observer.co.uk/news/politic...
observer.co.uk
Reform given six-figure donation by firm that received £6...
Nigel Farage’s party is facing questions about the lack of transparency over £100,000 in funds donated by a management consultancy
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Laura Phillips @lauraphillips.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
@gabrielpogrund.bsky.social: ‘EXCLUSIVE Nigel Farage struck secret deal for return as Reform leader months before election — challenging claim he wasn't involved in politics so didn't need to report gifts. In May 24 he showed deal to treasurer, who tonight acknowledged its existence’
thetimes.com
Nigel Farage struck Reform comeback deal long before election
Supervised by the convicted fraudster George Cottrell, the agreement undermines Farage’s claim about when he decided to return to politics
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Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
This is doing the rounds of Facebook again. Pages getting 100s of shares & using it to boost their following with their own watermark and no acknowledge of the source. Fuck all you can really do about it. It's not by "Unknown". It's from my book Ring The Hill: blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/pro...
"I admire those with hairstyles. I have hair. Most days, it has zero caterpillars in it. That's as good as it gets."
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The Times and Sunday Times @thetimes.com · 18/07/2026
The convicted criminal who funded Nigel Farage opened an account with an obscure overseas payments company days before it was used to channel an “unexplained” £500,000 donation to Reform UK
thetimes.com
George Cottrell opened account days before mystery Reform donation
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fife4europe #FBPE #RejoinEU @fife4europe.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
​Dan Neidle’s analysis reveals how third-party political funding can collide with HMRC’s fearsome "disguised remuneration" rules. If Farage's £5m gift was linked to compensating lost earnings as Reform director, it could trigger a massive £3m PAYE bill. A masterclass in regulatory risk.
independent.co.uk
Reform could be hit with £3m tax bill because of £5m donation, tax expert claims
Dan Neidle says he ‘would now be surprised if HMRC do not open an enquiry’
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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
'I have a real concern that when you are only measuring employability at a very early stage in someone’s life you are missing the growth and the success that take place after that.' - Evelyn Welch (Vice Chancellor at Bristol University) www.theguardian.com/education/20...
theguardian.com
Florence Welch’s mother says cuts to arts and humanities ‘absolutely tragic’
Exclusive: Prof Evelyn Welch, vice-chancellor of Bristol University, believes her daughter’s success shows value of arts education
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Jan Machielsen @janmachielsen.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
SOO good to see a paperback copy of the Basque Witch-Hunt out there in the wild! Really hope it will help find the book new and interested readers. 😊 #earlymodern #skystorians #hextag 🗃️
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Good Law Project @goodlawproject.org · 09/07/2026
To stop wealthy donors from influencing politics, Stella Creasy MP has proposed a vital amendment to the Representation of the People Bill to place a strict £100k cap on all individual donations. Use our quick tool to email your MP 👇 goodlaw.social/o0eb
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Digital Scholarship @ British Library @bldigischol.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
EThOS platform restored! 'Following restoration work, all metadata records previously available on EThOS have now been restored, along with an additional 14,000 records added since the service was taken offline' - more to come www.bl.uk/stories/news/ethos-record…
bl.uk
EThOS records restored
We are pleased to share that EThOS (E-Theses Online Service) is now available again following restoration work after the cyber-attack.
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Reposted by Dr Catherine Preston
Ben Bradshaw @benbradshaw.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Much more interesting than Farage’s diversionary stunt was Tim Mongomerie telling #wato earlier that Reform is a dictatorship & Farage has been incapable of transitioning from running a fiefdom to prospective PM leading a party of Government.
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Stella Creasy MP @stellacreasy.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
No by election can hide the mess sorting out millionaires making of our politics their playground is causing - help close this loophole and ask your MP to co sign NC71 of the representation of the people bill to cap donations. Please share to spread the word!
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Darren Jones MP @darrenpjones.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
A £5 million donation may suit Nigel Farage, but transparency isn't optional - whether you force a by-election or not. The Government is introducing tougher checks on those trying to buy and sell our democracy.
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Liz Saville Roberts AS / MP @lsrplaid.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
I’ve called on the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards to conduct a formal investigation into whether Nigel Farage breached the MP Code of Conduct, specifically regarding the gifts and benefits he received from George Cottrell in the 12 months leading up to the 2024 General Election.
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Steve Peers @stevepeers.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
Note that the BBC a) leads with Farage's denial, and b) leaves the ally's criminal conviction out of the headline
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Mark Sewards MP @markjsewards.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
It’s time to stop dodgy donors. If your bank accepted a large payment for you, without checking whether it came from a high-risk country, a prominent politician, or the proceeds of crime… it would have broken the law. Political parties? Now there’s an exception.
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Reposted by Dr Catherine Preston
Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
I've decided to compile a definitive thread of photos of the best sheep I've photographed during my walks in the countryside, together with supporting biographical information. I will put the vital story associated with each sheep in the alt text, since some of it is a little long to fit in a post.
A nihilistic sheep, who, like so many other sheep, just wants to watch the world burn, staring at me insouciantly, moments after it has set fire to a large portion of the United Kingdom.
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
No it is not an "unwritten rule". It is a possible choice that is not made 66-75% of the time Yes: 1955 (snap, success, then failure) 2017 (11 months, failed) 2019 (6 months: success, then failure) No: 2022, 2022, 2007, 1990, 1976, 1963, 1956, 1937.
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Plaid Cymru @plaidcymru.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Reform can try and deny the reality of climate change all they want - but our communities are experiencing its impact as we speak. 🌡️ Plaid Cymru is focused on delivering on our net zero commitments, for the sake of our planet and our wellbeing. 💚
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Sam Bright @writesbright.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
🔴 NEW 🔴 Farage, Badenoch and a bunch of MAGA leaders have been preaching to the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship this week. Among the major themes has been the apparent need to drill more fossil fuels. It turns out the conference is funded by oil companies, as well as Trump and Reform donors.
desmog.com
Revealed: The Trump Donors, Reform-Backing Billionaires and Oil Companies Funding the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship
A high-profile conference for right-wing activists gathering in London this week has been funded by a host of American fossil fuel interests, major Trump donors, and billionaires who have bankrolled U...
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Reposted by Dr Catherine Preston
Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
It tells you everything you need to know about Kemi Badneoch and Nigel Farage that as London schools, hospitals and transport networks all buckle under extreme record-breaking temperatures, they gather with fossil fuel lobbyists, climate deniers and the far-right to demand an end to Net Zero
bylinetimes.com
As Extreme Heat Hits London, Fossil Fuel Interests and Global Far-Right Politicians Gather for a 'Glastonbury of Climate Science Deniers'
Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch are both scheduled to address the event, reports Max Colbert
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Ed Davey @eddavey.libdems.org.uk · 23/06/2026
Nigel Farage pocketed a £5 million Brexit reward. When he promised we would be better off, he clearly only meant himself. 10 years on, it's time to end the chaos and fix our broken relationship with Europe, starting by joining the single market.
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Stephen Farrow @stephenfarrow.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Two senior BBC journalists posting a selfie as they wait in Downing Street for the prime minister to resign. This picture, and particularly the inane grins plastered across both their faces, illustrates a great deal about how broken political journalism in this country has become.
Threads post from BBC journalist/presenter Jon Kay:
 @jonkay01

Feeling the political heat. Live in an unusually sunny Downing Street this
morning. Chris Mason is well prepared in his baseball cap. 


[picture: BBC journalists Jon Kay and Chris Mason standing in Downing Street, both grinning inanely. Mr. Mason is wearing a baseball cap, and it matches his tie.]
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Sarah Owen MP @sarahowen.org.uk · 22/06/2026
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. We should stop lending X any legitimacy and Elon Musk more power by being on that cesspit of a platform.
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David Henig @davidheniguk.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Just in time to mark the 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum with a seventh Prime Minister in that time. Whoever took back control, it wasn't the occupant of 10 Downing Street.
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Some vg on the ground reporting of Makerfield, which tended to find Burnham outpolling Labour significantly, and especially with women (as polls, before inaccurate reweighted, showed). Overall, national media had skewed perceptions/expectations. Not realising X is a distorting mirror key to that
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Pippa Crerar @pippacrerar.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
EXCL: Nigel Farage has been trying to block Bank of England cryptocurrency plan that could be costly for billionaire bankrolling his party. Cracking tale from @tomburgis.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Farage trying to block ‘Britcoin’ plans that could be costly for billionaire donor
Reform UK leader used private meeting at Bank of England to urge governor to drop plans for state-run cryptocurrency
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James O’Brien @mrjamesob.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
And here it is. For all the whining about condescension & belittling the poorly educated, nobody - and I mean nobody - holds Nigel Farage’s base in more profound contempt than Nigel Farage.
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Spooky Snigdha @snig.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Does Nigel Farage's party have a woman problem?
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Really not beating those 'gone into hiding' rumours
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Randy Rainbow @randyrainbow.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
If Donald Jessica gets a sequel, so do I. Happy 250th, America. 🇺🇸🙄🧠 #VeryStableGenius #PartTwo
youtu.be
A Very Stable Genius Part Two! - A Randy Rainbow Song Parody
YouTube video by Randy Rainbow
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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
At moments of crisis, leaders have a responsibility to speak to, and for, their country. The PM should be on the airwaves, telling the stories of the children, teenagers and families who have been burned out of their homes; naming those responsible; and leading a national fightback against them.
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Ben Goldsborough MP @bengoldsborough.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
To all my colleagues still using X: is this not enough evidence that you must stop using it?
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
We need leaders who can spell out what's happening clearly and with force.
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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Absolutely crucial piece of research on misinformation in local news on Facebook, X and Nextdoor by @smfthinktank.bsky.social Full report is here (www.smf.co.uk/publications...) but these are some key findings:
2 in 5 local Facebook groups and over four-fifths of X searches featured at least one piece of misinformation in their last 1,000 posts. Of 19 Nextdoor locations studied, 3 were found to contain misinformation.
Nearly 1 in 26 (4%) of news related posts on Facebook were misinformation; on X the ratio is over 1 in 4 (28%)
Places in local authorities with no or limited local news outlets (e.g. ‘news deserts’) had nearly 3 times as much fake news as a share of all posts as average on Facebook groups, albeit based upon 12 groups worth of data.
Conversely, places with a relatively high number of local news outlets (‘news oases’) have half as much misinformation as average, again based upon a limited sample (13 groups).
Places with local elections, on average, saw more misinformation in the run up to polling day than they did earlier in the year. Misinformation as a share of all posts increased from 0.12% to 0.15% (26% increase) and as a share of news grew from 8.2% to 12.9% (56%).
The rate of misinformation seen across four Gorton and Denton local Facebook groups was 26 times higher than in the wider Facebook analysis – 3% of 1,000 posts were identified as fake news, compared to 0.1% nationally. This is driven by far more news related posts on these groups, and a near doubling of the share of them being classified as misinformation.
Three in five misinformation posts (61%) in places with local elections in the week of the vote related to national politics or council issues, compared to 28% in the wider national analysis earlier in the year.
1 in 5 ‘fake news’ (19%) posts analysed on Facebook groups related to local issues, including planning, transport, local services and council politics. Our case studies revealed how planning applications could be misinterpreted into the “council selling off the beach”, or how local authority communications can be faked.
A third (32%) of misinformation found on X was anti-immigration or Islamophobic, far ahead of the next most common, h…
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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
This is probably true but ignores the elephant in the room - the role of big money from politics. The foreign donation cap is a start but there is no reason why the richest people here should be able to donate unlimited millions to parties to shift debates and buy influence.
theguardian.com
Labour deputy says Farage is a threat to democracy and calls for misinformation clampdown
Lucy Powell calls for tougher laws to tackle misinformation and says Reform UK has benefited from bots and troll farms
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Emma Monk @monkemma.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Yes, there is a Thames Water refugee event today. No, there was no "fury" about it until Zia Yusuf got an unfettered, uncritical media platform to shout about how furious HE was and to tell a load of lies about what it meant. Context matters. Don't fall for this divisive BS 22/
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Dear BBC journalists, you really do not have to 'debate' every far-right talking point that pops up on your X feed. It is not "deeply contentious" to suggest non-white people can't be English. It's racist. The word you're looking for is racist
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Dan Neidle @danneidle.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
The UK has twice as many taxes as it had in 1993. Not twice as much tax. Twice as many taxes. Yes, we pay a bit more tax, but tax has got a whole lot more complicated. Time to reverse that.
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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
61% of all political donations in the last quarter came from just 14 people Reform took in £9.3m from a handful of super rich donors British democracy is being bought. We urgently need action to take the money out of our politics
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