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Elaine Barber

@elaineb-vs7.bsky.social
508 followers 966 following 2 posts
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Reposted by Elaine Barber
Gary Gilligan @garygilligan.bsky.social · 16h
www.teesdurhampost.co.uk/post/reform-...
teesdurhampost.co.uk
Reform UK Prepares Hartlepool Residents for Council Tax Rises as £12m Budget Crisis Deepens...
Hartlepool Taxpayers Face More Pain as Reform UK Signals Council Tax Increases...13th October 2026 Hartlepool residents could be facing another eyewatering increase in their Council Tax bills in April...
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The Liberal BoJack @thelibbojack.bsky.social · 15h
Zelenskyy is literally doing the heavy lifting for the entire world right now. Thank you Zelenskyy Post Anything Here: InteractInk.com
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Andy Burge 🇬🇧🇪🇺 @andygjburge.bsky.social · 15h
www.theguardian.com/environment/... This is truly shocking. We human beings are environmental wreckers and vandals.
theguardian.com
‘Shocking and sobering’: UK bird populations fall to lowest level on record
Nearly half of species are in decline, with farmland birds and seabirds the worst hit, conservation bodies say
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 15h
People voted to leave the EU because they were fed up, often for reasons that had nothing to do with the EU. And there was no agreement on what Brexit would look like. The country has moved on since 2016. Politicians need to catch up. @pimlicat.bsky.social on LBC
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Cornish Skipper #FBPE #RejoinEU 🇪🇺🔶🌹💚💙 @cornishskipper.wsocial.eu · 15h
“Putin was cheering them on…even those who were unaware that their cause was boosted by Kremlin troll farms have incentives to deny it. No one wants their heroic victory recast as useful idiocy in service of a hostile power.” #RejoinEU www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...?
theguardian.com
Brexiters can’t cope with the fact that Putin was cheering them on | Rafael Behr
Russian meddling probably didn’t affect the referendum result – but the Kremlin’s motives for wanting to undermine the EU still matter, says Guardian columnist Rafael Behr
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Dominic Manchee @dpmanchee.bsky.social · 15h
Spot on from @rafaelbehr.bsky.social 👇 Nigel Farage could have engaged with this core argument. He didn't. Instead he called Andy Burnham a liar. This misinformation tactic is to attack "the character, motive, or personal traits of an opponent instead of addressing the substance of their argument"
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 20h
If I was a conservative, I'd be less concerned about liberal thought-control in universities and more concerned that educated people seem to have completely rejected my philosophy.
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 18h
🚨 For several years now, polls have shown that Brits want EU membership. It's time to rejoin the EU. Listen to @pimlicat.bsky.social, CEO of Best for Britain, on LBC Cross Question. ⬇️
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 17h
Reform UK has been declining in the polls in recent months 📉👀
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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 17h
I like Emily.
apple.news
Scrap Brexit without a second referendum, says senior London Labour MP Emily Thornberry — The Standard
‘I don't think we need to have another referendum, but what we can do is have it in the manifesto, and then people can have a choice,’ says Dame Emily
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Goodwin and Dan Hodges on asylum. Goodwin says Reform will have 3rd country deals (to remove asylum seekers forever) because EU countries are looking into offshore processing. Goodwin says key is to leave the ECHR (while claiming EU countries in ECHR will have such deals too) x.com/GBNEWS/statu...
x.com
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Dorian Lynskey @dorianlynskey.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Two things that are in trouble but this government doesn’t give a shit about for some reason: 1. The BBC 2. Universities
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Zia Yusuf v short speech on asylum Sole point: past gvts spent £32 billion on asylum. Inference: Reform will spend nothing, by abolishing asylum. Yet Reform policy is third country deals to take any asylum seekers. If possible (???), very very expensive! www.reformparty.uk/news/britain...
reformparty.uk
Britain is full | Reform UK
Reform UK is Britain's fastest growing political party. Join us to fix broken Britain with common sense policies on immigration, the economy, the NHS and more.
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
1) making countries accept returns 2) problems finding third country hosts 3) building enough detention centres 4) legal obstacles Oh and the unforgivable inhumanity… Farage’s hateful fever dreams need to be torn down like this - with the contempt they deserve. liveapp.inews.co.uk/category/482...
liveapp.inews.co.uk
The four major flaws in Reform’s plan to shut down asylum system
Farage’s proposal would void existing asylum applications and reject any new ones – but the scheme features some serious pitfalls
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Legal C @legalclaret.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Surely the reverse is true? I don’t know quite how strong the closer relationship/rejoin voice is, but sticking to a vote a decade ago, which nobody under 29 had any say in, and many of whom who did are dead or have changed their minds, is surely a classic “Westminster not listening”.
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Torsten Bell @torstenbell.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Second, something way too often missed by commentators: the UK is doing more than anyone else in G7 to strengthen our public finances. We are delivering the fastest fiscal consolidation in the G7 and forecast to have the smallest deficit in 2031
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Legal C @legalclaret.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
This should be obvious to most people, but there is very little coverage of this person because she has been charged with a criminal offence. (See my earlier thread today).
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Ben Jennings @bjennings90.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Latest @theguardian.com cartoon www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Ben Jennings on Reform’s pledge to suspend the UK asylum system – cartoon
The party’s most hardline immigration policies to date have been condemned by refugee charities and others as ‘unworkable’
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David Henig @davidheniguk.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
In my opinion by far the biggest threat to economic security and resilience is the hacking of essential systems within a country. And trade is one of the key mitigations, though clearly there must be others. news.sky.com/story/hacker...
news.sky.com
Hackers heat French supermarket fridges to 50C in 'large-scale' cyber attack
The Paris prosecutor's office called the incident a "large-scale" ‌attack.
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James Talarico @jamestalarico.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Ken Paxton is selling off Texas — our land, our water, our communities. Data centers bankroll Paxton, they get tax breaks, and you get stuck with the bill. We can’t afford Ken Paxton’s corruption. (This ad was made by humans — not AI.)
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Anonymous @youranoncentral.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Zelenskyy on the Yandex bot purge: "when our strikes reached Yandex’s data centers, it suddenly became a little easier to breathe on many social media platforms. A lot of people noticed it. There was less hate, less division, and fewer provocations. Because there were fewer bots."
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Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Big pre-election authoritarian moves happening - US immigration authorities raid Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar's home www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
reuters.com
US immigration authorities raid Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar's home
US authorities conducted a predawn raid on Monday on the Washington-area home of Democratic US Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, an outspoken critic of Donald Trump who has been the target of po...
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 12/10/2026
Andy Burnham hits back at Kemi Badenoch: "How can she justify turning her back on a deal that is potentially on the table now to add billions to the UK economy?"
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 12/10/2026
Andy Burnham: “If she is saying she is happy with the status quo, she is in a minority in this country. People know Britain can do better than this." 🚨 Burnham is right: the public is unhappy with our current relationship with the EU. In fact, 628 out of 632 constituencies now want EU membership.
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Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Fun times.
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Adam Schwarz @adamjschwarz.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Lib Dem MP @calummillerld.bsky.social: "The US State Dept. intends to spend tens of millions of pounds promoting ideological propaganda and supporting far right parties in Western Europe." Surreal & horrifying that European govts must consider the threat of US state-directed far right propaganda.
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Bridget Phillipson MP, Chair of the Labour Party calls the 'lethal force' proposal of Jenrick "disgusting and illegal". "Our armed forces are not going to start opening fire on unarmed civilians, and Reform are dragging their own reputations and credibility into the gutter by suggesting it"
Bridget Phillipson MP, Chair of the Labour Party, responding to Robert Jenrick proposing lethal force be authorised in the Channel, said:
 
"Robert Jenrick's proposal to use 'lethal force' against asylum seekers in the English Channel is disgusting and illegal. Our armed forces are not going to start opening fire on unarmed civilians, and Reform are dragging their own reputations and credibility into the gutter by suggesting it.

"The truth is that Nigel Farage is authorising ever more extreme positions in order to distract from his own funding scandals and as part of an increasingly vicious bidding war with other parties on the right. Decent people will see right through it and reject this toxic politics of division.
 
“Labour is showing that we can control immigration and get numbers down with serious action, not by abandoning the asylum system altogether. We have just seen the lowest number of summer arrivals by small boat in 6 years, with 46,000 attempted crossings stopped and 80,000 people with no right to be here removed.”

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David Henig @davidheniguk.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Having been a subject about which few dared speak, rejoining the EU is now being talked about. Whether that is realistic and could even be done in one Parliamentary / EU term really depends on the UK government being overwhelmingly positive. www.ft.com/content/3aa9...
ft.com
UK could be fast-tracked back into EU, pro-Brussels group argues
Best for Britain says alignment between London and bloc would speed up any rejoining process as Andy Burnham prepares ‘options’
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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Reform spokesman Zia Yusuf is currently on the Today Programme. He seems to be arguing that asylum seekers are to blame for ambulance waiting times, youth unemployment and exam results in Wales. You couldn't satirise this. It's its own parody - which is a source of its strength.
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Chris Kendall @ottocr.at · 12/10/2026
I feel I don’t say it enough: this is truly a fantastic, welcome, long overdue change in tone, and more than just a change in tone. Yes yes it’s still [waves hands expressively] but my God it has been a long 15 years so let’s be thankful we’re finally heading in the right direction on this.
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
The Green Party has written to the Telegraph demanding an apology and retraction for publishing these two cartoons, which they say use "well known racist and antisemitic tropes in depicting Mothin Ali and Zack Polanski"
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Phillips OBrien @phillipspobrien.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
People are falling for the Trump con again. This is a trap for Ukraine. Russia has already destroyed most of Ukr power generation, so they can hold off for a day or two. Ukr needs to attack Russian refineries now. If they do, trump can blame them and help Russia more.
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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
The owners of the oil tanker Minerva Zen travelling from St Petersburg to the US East Coast say it is actually carrying liquid fertiliser not oil.
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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Former VP Mike Pence: “President Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on Russian fuel amidst Putin’s ongoing and brutal attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine makes no sense and is a betrayal of the legacy and leadership of the late Senator Lindsey Graham.”
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Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Morning. (The Times... today)
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 11/10/2026
The idea that rejoining the EU would take the UK a decade is a myth. Finland went from application to full membership in less time than it took us to negotiate and sign a trade deal with India. bestforbritain.org/uk-rejoin-eu-sin…
bestforbritain.org
UK could rejoin EU within a single Parliament, experts confirm - Best for Britain
The UK could rejoin the European Union (EU) within a single Parliament, and complete negotiations in less time than it t
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Victoria Derbyshire @vicderbyshire.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
See you tomorrow 9am BBC 1
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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Trump, trying to turn back the tide of reality by bluster alone.
Donald J. Trump O+
@realDonald Trump
The Dumocrats, along with their partners in crime, the Fake News Media, are trying to create the false narrative that, Donald Trump is so "unpopular," the Republicans are going to lose. Actually, it's just the opposite. I'm so "popular," that the Republicans are going to WIN, and that's being proven by the Record Setting Rallies we're doing (including the one in Tennessee where I'll be in a short while
- See you soon!). President DONALD J. TRUMP
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Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
just when you thought it couldn’t get worse
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South-East London for Europe (Selfe) @selfe.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Oh look..the boss, Richard Stupid Tice, has spoken. His kids are in Dubai having private education #StopReform
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John Rentoul @rentouljohn.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
From the archive, 9 years ago re 82 years ago: one I missed from #Top 10 Ministers Who Did the Job They Were Responsible For: Thatcher, teacher (Charles Moore, p211)
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Sathnam Sanghera @sathnam.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Dear tv and radio producers. Thankyou for the invitation. But, no, I do not want to appear on your show to defend the idea that I am English, after 50 years of living and working here, because the increasingly feral right want to turn this into a "debate" and you cannot see how you're being played
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Alex Hall Hall @alexhh.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
I thought I had seen it all, but this is an astonishing new low, putting the US in the company of Iran, Afghanistan and N Korea. I abhor the death penalty. The idea that kids, including my own, might see such an execution shocks me to the core. Abhorrent, barbaric, sick, warped, cruel and twisted.
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Ben Jennings @bjennings90.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
This weekend's @theipaper.com cartoon
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Dorian Lynskey @dorianlynskey.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Jenrick has wildly overshot the degree of racism that his cold-blooded political opportunism requires. Farage knows it is unwise to sound exactly like the National Front but ambitious new boy Jenrick does not. Most British racists require at least a thin veil for appearance's sake.
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
What these guys did was bigger than Brexit. They showed how you could produce work of an academic quality and distribute it through the media, to improve the standard of national debate. I wish more organisations would learn from what was accomplished here.
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Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
‘Culturally British by my standards’ is one of the most chilling phrases uttered in British politics. Entirely unsurprising to me who it’s from.
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
60% of those who responded to the Bank of England consultation called for pictures of wildlife on bank notes. Does he think the British people are conducting a "slow, steady and relentless attack" on themselves?
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
I quite like the odds on 2028. I don't gamble but I think that's worth a bit of money.
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Steve Peers @stevepeers.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
More mob shakedown action against universities
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