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David Costa

@drc1649.bsky.social
121 followers 105 following 152 posts

Retired Labour Party political operative, now WEC member and Branch Secretary - all views here entirely my own.

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Seconded - by any of us who've had to deal with this stuff!
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Welsh Labour @welsh-labour.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Devolution has been backed by two referendums, and continues to have majority support in opinion polls. The message is clear: people want Wales to have a stronger voice while remaining part of the UK.
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Bridget Phillipson MP @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Reform UK has promised cuts of £100 billion, but provided no detail on where they'll be made. Now, Reform UK's favourite think tank has set out a blueprint – including getting rid of the state pension. Reform UK would take us in a dangerous direction. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Thinktank linked to Reform UK calls for abolition of state pension
‘Radical’ report likely to influence party’s platform also proposes abolishing inheritance and capital gains taxes
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Dr Chris Smith @spyhistorian.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
"The British historians wrote almost as if Britain had introduced Negro slavery solely for the satisfaction of abolishing it." Eric Williams, still on point all these decades on. All is changed while everything has stayed the same.
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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
That wouldn't happen to be tax paid on profits made, in no small part, from the delusions and often outright misery of thousands upon thousands of his fellow countrymen, would it?
ft.com
UK’s top taxpayer says he would ‘not wish to be reborn’ in Britain
Betfred founder Fred Done threatens 500 shop closures over tax rises that have left him fearful for the UK’s prospects
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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
A Brexit-supporting billionaire who fled abroad so he didn’t have to pay any tax to help the people of his country says he’s lost confidence in the UK.
bbc.co.uk
Billionaire Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe says he has lost confidence in UK
Ineos founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe tells the BBC he thinks the country is "on the slide" and calls for more investment in the North Sea.
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Dan Neidle @danneidle.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The hospitality industry are back lobbying for a VAT cut They don't mention the cost: £12bn They don't mention who gets the £: ❌ The smallest most vulnerable businesses? Get nothing ❌ Consumers? Prices won't fall ✅ McDonald's gets £400m. Big chains are big winners 🧵:
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The Empty City @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Party that wants to retrospectively change rules so as to remove migrants also says retrospective rules on party funding are "dictatorship tactics".
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Jo Stevens MP @jostevenslabour.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
The minority Plaid Government doesn't care about the priorities of the people of Wales, like the cost of living and decent jobs. Today’s “summit” shows they can never be trusted. All they’ve ever been interested in, is pursuing independence at all cost. End of.
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John Denham @jydenham.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I do find odd that we all apparently enjoy the right to enter a hotel uninvited, go to the guest floors, knock on the doors of complete strangers on the grounds that they are not white - and yet not commit any offence.
bbc.co.uk
Group entered hotel of Pakistan cricketers mistaken for migrants
Protesters congregated at a Portsmouth hotel after false rumours that a coach of migrants had arrived.
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John O’Farrell @johnofarrell.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
In response to Oswald Mosley's Blackshirts, the Public Safety Act 1936 made it an offence under to march in uniform. The Crime and Policing Bill 2026 gave the police the power to order the removal of face coverings at a protest. We cannot stand by and allow the normalisation of fascist intimidation.
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beaubodor.bsky.social @beaubodor.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Spontaneous departure of spontaneous protestors from Dover Priory Train Station, marching to catch a spontaneous train arrival. Kent Online www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news/l...
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John O’Farrell @johnofarrell.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
I don't think that Redwood realises that he's spent his entire political life representing the Norman governing class.
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Nathan Kalman-Lamb @nkalamb.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
this is so incredible I can’t stop laughing because he forgot to include Reagan
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James Hawes @jameshawes.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
No, Elon: it was because the conquest of Egypt (in particular) suddenly made a few Romans so unprecedentedly rich and powerful that they destroyed the Roman Republic.
Elon Musk gets it wrong.
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Dr Adrian McMenamin @adrianmcmenamin.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Women say society doesn’t take violence against women seriously and the BBC interview a man about this and allow him to turn it into a story about *his* agenda. Massive editorial failure in plain sight.
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David Costa @drc1649.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
I’ve voted for Ann Jones to continue as Welsh Labour rep on the NEC. She was a rank and file FBU rep and grassroots Labour activist when I first met her and she’s never stopped campaigning for Welsh Labour. Her values, commitment and experience make her a brilliant rep for Wales on the NEC.
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Quite impressive to completely undermine your own defence and insult most of your party's elected officials in the same sentence.
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Max B 💙 🔶 🇺🇦 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 @maxbrockbank.com · 01/08/2026
After being eliminated in the first round of the Manchester Mayoral Election, Green candidate Geraldine Coggins said she had “no preference” on a Labour or Reform mayor. How the hell can you call yourself a progressive candidate and say you have no preference between Labour and Reform?
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James Austin @jamesdaustin.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Just thinking back to this Green leaflet.
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David Costa @drc1649.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
www.bbc.com/news/uk-wale... When Plaid accuse Welsh Labour of being factional for standing up for proper ALN funding, some of us recall when they sank an important public health bill in a fit of pique to “teach Labour a lesson” over a foolish remark by a minister unconnected with that bill.
bbc.com
E-cigarette law fails after 'cheap date' jibe at Plaid Cymru
A public health bill which included a ban on e-cigarette use in some public places is rejected after a Labour minister called Plaid Cymru "a cheap date".
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Welsh Labour @welsh-labour.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Congratulations to James Caruana, Splott's new Welsh Labour Councillor 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🌹
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Russell England @russellengland.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
So, there is a precedent for vetoing an MP's resignation Viscount Chelsea (Henry Cadogan) applied for the Chiltern Hundreds in 1842 The Chancellor (Goulburn) refused because, get this, Cadogan wanted to resign to obstruct an investigation for bribery h/t @fascinatorfun.bsky.social and @gazhay.com
Screenshot from the linked article, with the following text highlighted

"The noble Lord had stated, that it was unusual to refuse the Chiltern Hundreds, except on account of mental incapacity, or where proceedings were pending for the expulsion of the applicants from their seats. In this case, however, the House had decided that compromises had been entered into, which had the effect of obstructing the investigation of bribery; "
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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
“After it ended, the Belgian team’s social media account had a message to the U.S. on Twitter: “Overturn this.” Perfect. #WellPlayed #Belgium
nbcsports.com
Belgium beats, then trolls, U.S. team on Monday night
Even though it was tied, 1-1, after Malik Tillman scored another goal on a free kick just outside the penalty area, it never felt close.
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Hattifattener @hattifattener.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
As in 1066 England will prevail against the Norwegians before tragically losing to the French a couple of weeks later.
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
So it turns out the massive scandal here is that Bridget Phillipson's mum bought a council house for £9k in 1990 and then sold it *33 years* later for £99k. That's the entire story
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David Costa @drc1649.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
“As the battle-scared republic reaches its milestone anniversary, however, the spirit of those ideals has rarely felt under graver threat”The Observer Weekend. While US republic is battle *scarred* it is *battle-scared* only when confronted by powerful dictators as opposed to weaker countries.
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Bridget Phillipson MP @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
The constant chatter about private schools reminds me exactly why I do this job. We’re raising more money than expected, school offer days passed smoothly, and we’re injecting money into state schools. My focus remains on the schools attended by the majority of kids in this country.
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Lizzi Collinge MP @lizzicollinge.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
And now every government dept should, belatedly, follow.
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James O’Brien @mrjamesob.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
He wouldn’t beat the 41 dead ones if they did the tests tomorrow.
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Torsten Bell @torstenbell.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Second month in a row with inflation coming in lower than expected - with the fall last month sustained. The war in the Middle East has pushed up some prices but overall inflation in the UK has fallen this year while it has risen in other advanced economies www.ons.gov.uk/economy/infl...
ons.gov.uk
Consumer price inflation, UK - Office for National Statistics
Price indices, percentage changes, and weights for the different measures of consumer price inflation.
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Bridget Phillipson MP @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
The Gestapo marched hundreds of thousands of innocent people to their deaths. I've ended private schools' tax breaks to invest in state schools. No responsible leader makes vile comparisons like this. Kemi Badenoch is not fit to be Prime Minister.
A quote from a Kemi Badenoch interview in the Spectator, comparing Bridget Phillipson to a Gestapo officer.
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Everyone on X and elsewhere who called for a violent response should be charged with incitement. Everyone involved in the pogrom should be locked up with exemplary sentences. Govt should make it clear that will be the response in future anywhere else. Enough.
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Colm Murphy @colmpm.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
I have to say, listening to the Today programme dedicate an entire (context free) section about whether migrants are more likely to be convicted criminals *the morning after* hundreds of non-migrants of my own ethnicity committed a pogrom is blood boiling.
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
So the police force accused by Nigel Farage of "anti-white racism" is over five times more likely to target black people for stop and searches than white people The figure is higher than the average for England and has got worse over recent years www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Nowak murder: police accused of ‘anti-white bias’ five times more likely to stop black people
Hampshire force whose officers responded to the murder of 18-year-old has a higher than average racial disparity
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Charles Fourier @charlesfourier.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Keir Starmer calling out Nigel Farage over his response to the Henry Nowak murder
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Odd This Day @oddthisday.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
This is rather good www.theringer.com/2026/05/28/t...
Because the truth is, tech doesn't have an image problem. It doesn't have a message problem. It has an intention problem. What's wrong with the axe murderer who broke into my house is not that he hasn't successfully persuaded me to buy into his narrative. What's wrong is that he's trying to kill me with an axe. Similarly, when you launch a product that's designed to put millions of people out of work, block access to sources of verifiable truth, replace human creativity with slop, and lower the barriers to every sort of atrocity, the problem isn't that you haven't told the public a good story about those things. The problem is that you are trying to do them.
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Sarah Owen MP @sarahowen.org.uk · 16/05/2026
Two in five arrested for the summer’s UK riots had been reported for domestic abuse. Police data shows overlap between public violent disorder + domestic abuse. I wonder what the stat will be today? Our country is so much better than Yaxely Lennon and his crew. The majority of us love, not hate🫶
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Warren Oates @warrenoates1.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
People will tie themselves in all sorts of knots to defend the indefensible, when it's their saviour doing wrong. Here we have Owen Jones basically saying 'people who have continually failed to pay their due tax should be allowed to continue not paying it'. The man is a fool.
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David Costa @drc1649.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Who would organise a Burnham by-election campaign? Could party staff run it if it was explicitly part of a leadership bid and focussed on his personal policies if he became PM? Could the NEC hand over up to £100,000 of members’ money to an outside organiser of Burnham’s own choosing?
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David Costa @drc1649.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Anyone remember the Leyton by-election in 1965? Engineered in a safe Labour seat to get Foreign Secretary Patrick Gordon Walker back in following the loss of his Smethwick seat to a racist Tory campaign at the 1964 General Election it led to a Labour loss. Voters don’t like feeling used.
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David Costa @drc1649.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
On 4 June 2009 everyone expected David Miliband to resign and challenge Gordon Brown next day following the resignation of James Purnell. To his credit he didn’t.
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Jeremy Pattison @jeremypattison.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Not an island.
Story from the Guardian about sewage dumping in which Gibraltar is described as an island.
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David Costa @drc1649.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Not the worst of the inaccuracies in today’s @theguardian.com article uncritically plugging the Welsh Greens is the description of Grangetown as being in the West of Cardiff. Simple errors like that show the decline in the paper’s journalistic and editorial standards.
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David Costa @drc1649.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
Would the sort of people who hate being told what to do by the state (cut speed or wear a face mask to save lives, eat healthier food, etc) really vote for progressive parties if forced to go to the polling station by a compulsory voting law? Huge boost for right wing populists.
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Torsten Bell @torstenbell.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
There’s no “accused” about it - a politician being handed £5m IS a conflict of interest. Accepting such a gift is an open and shut case of not being interested in, let alone fit for, public service www.ft.com/content/6a56...
ft.com
Farage accused of ‘conflict of interest’ over £5mn gift from crypto investor
Rival parties highlight how Reform UK has proposed cutting tax and regulation on the digital assets industry
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
This is really bad.
theguardian.com
Exclusive: Nigel Farage was given undisclosed £5m by crypto billionaire in 2024
Reform leader changed his mind about standing as MP after gift from Thai-based crypto tycoon Christopher Harborne
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Keeping seeing posts that the "Corbyn playbook" is being used on Polanski. But attacks - whatever the motivation - only work if there is some evidence of a problem. Telegraph et al tried it on Sadiq Khan + it never stuck because there's zero evidence of Khan or those around him being antisemitic.
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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Interesting reference just now to "the left-leaning Daily Mirror" on the Today Programme. I hope this practice is going to become routine, & that we'll be reminded of the political affiliations of The Daily Telegraph, The Mail, The Sun, The Express & The Times. It would actually be quite healthy.
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