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FrancesCrook@bsky.social

@francescrook.bsky.social
4.3K followers 420 following 969 posts

Co-convenor of the Commission on Political Power commissionpoliticalpower.uk Francescrook.Substack.com

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Reposted by FrancesCrook@bsky.social
Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 52m
Robert Jenrick’s handling of donations to his failed 2024 Tory leadership campaign has come under fresh scrutiny, after the UK donor at the centre of the row claimed that the politician and his senior campaign staff knew about the involvement of an overseas donor. www.ft.com/content/38a5...
ft.com
Reform UK’s Robert Jenrick faces fresh accusation from campaign donor
British businessman Phillip Ullmann says the politician was aware of his relationship with potentially illicit US donor
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James Murray @james-bg.bsky.social · 1h
The pitch here seems to be, ‘we’ll build the houses and infrastructure we failed to build during the 14 years we were in government, but we’ll do it in the most damaging and lowest quality way possible’. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Tories to pledge to scrap Environment Agency and Natural England
Shadow chancellor will also promise to scrap affordable homes regulations as part of strategy to refocus on growth
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FrancesCrook@bsky.social @francescrook.bsky.social · 17h
Not a great speech by Kemi. Rather anodyne and dull
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Byline Times @bylinetimes.bsky.social · 18h
📌 ICYMI — Reform UK Mayor Has Firm Struck off as Another Files No Accounts in Six Years — @josiahmortimer.bsky.social Exclusive: Reform UK's Sam Journet branded "Britain's worst councillor" as opponents demand he be suspended as Mayor of Basildon Council
bylinetimes.com
Reform UK Mayor Has Firm Struck off as Another Files No Accounts in Six Years
Exclusive: Reform UK's Sam Journet branded "Britain's worst councillor" as opponents demand he be suspended as Mayor of Basildon Council
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Joanna Hardy-Susskind @joannahs.bsky.social · 23h
Be under no illusion: this is a significant victory for everyone who stuck their neck out and defended jury trials, day after day, clause by clause. But it is not a comprehensive victory. Magistrates should not be allowed to send people to prison for two years.
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Kevin Maguire @kevmag.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
The Conservative Party is “authoritarian” and attacking the “free press” by banning journalists from its conference when Kemi Badenoch called Reform precisely that for doing the same. bylinetimes.com/2026/09/30/k...
bylinetimes.com
Kemi Badenoch's Conservatives Block Byline Times From Conference After Condemning Reform for Journalist Ban
The ban comes just weeks after the Conservative leader called Reform's barring of critical journalists from their conference an "authoritarian" attack on the free press
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FrancesCrook@bsky.social @francescrook.bsky.social · 22h
The rest has to go too. Giving magistrates enormous power to imprison is grossly unjust. They are white, middle class and there is rampant racism.
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Politics UK @politicsuk.com · 03/10/2026
🚨 NEW: Andy Burnham has officially scrapped Keir Starmer’s plans to limit the use of jury trials [@Independent]
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Legal C @legalclaret.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I believe most prisons hold around 1,000 prisoners. Therefore, the plan is to build 50+ new prisons. They need to be build. Land acquired, contracts exchanged, staffed. Up and running. This isn’t swift. Apart from the planning aspect, because all communities welcome prisons being nearby.
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Stephen Smith @gsds3.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
If we pretend to take it seriously, Prisons had a budget of c£8Bn, they say £2Bn a year increase to cover the capital and revenue costs of a 60% increase in places. Doesn’t come close, does it?
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East Anglia Bylines @eastangliabylines.co.uk · 03/10/2026
Councillors’ registers of interest are legally-required to be up to date within 28 days..... Another @bylinetimes.bsky.social truth to power exclusive involving an East Anglian council.
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FrancesCrook@bsky.social @francescrook.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I just don’t get Traitors. It’s boring.
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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
‘If you’ve got £1 million or £2 million to spend on political advertising, forget it,…. If you’ve got £8 million, you can make people believe anything you want.’ I wrote about Britain’s broken political finance system for the latest @lrb.co.uk
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FrancesCrook@bsky.social @francescrook.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Most of the money that the government claims to have put into probation has actually gone to private security companies for their totally incompetent tagging. Money wasted.
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FrancesCrook@bsky.social @francescrook.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
No BBC news, prisoners are not ‘walking free’ they are being released earlier but mostly onto highly restrictive conditions.
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FrancesCrook@bsky.social @francescrook.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Ms Rachel, a total heroine
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FrancesCrook@bsky.social @francescrook.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I talked to Andy Burnham about constitutional reform m.youtube.com/watch?v=bq1m...
m.youtube.com
Future of Democracy Event with Andy Burnham
YouTube video by Commission on Political Power
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FrancesCrook@bsky.social @francescrook.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I keep forgetting to check if the restaurant I’m going to has piped music, I hate it!
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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
"The party has also said it would look closer at whether parents' earnings and savings should be factored into welfare payments for their children" So according to the Tories, it's wrong to means-test benefits for boomers... but totally fine to do so for their adult children children.
bbc.co.uk
Conservatives pledge 'tough love' benefit rules for under-25s
The party says it would bring in new work requirements for young people claiming Universal Credit.
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Nick Wallis @nickwallis.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Yesterday in court... fetishists, fear and the Royal College of Nursing. genderblog.net/peggie-v-rcn...
genderblog.net
Peggie v RCN Day 6: Patricia Marquis
Patricia Marquis, Executive Director of RCN England. Pic Iain Masterton Patricia Marquis, the Executive Director of the Royal College of Nursing in England is quite obviously an intelligent, person…
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caatuk.bsky.social @caatuk.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
REVEALED: BAE Systems advised at least 13 British universities on how to repress pro-Palestine protests on campus. A new revelation by Liberty Investigates and Al Jazeera exposes the extent of the influence of BAE in the securitisation and disciplinary measures against students.
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Emma Howard @emmahoward.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
After a poultry plant shut down in July's heatwave, the UK's meat industry trade body called for processing sites to have "continuous access to water, irrespective of wider pressures on local supplies". When those sites use more water than Brighton, that matters. www.grilled.media/data-meat-in...
grilled.media
Data: Meat plants use more water than the population of Brighton
As meat processors demand priority access to water during drought, exclusive data reveals the industry's water use
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FrancesCrook@bsky.social @francescrook.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Tomorrow people will start to be released earlier from prison. Maybe up to half of the women will be released to homelessness. This is cruel. And pointless.
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Guy Shrubsole @guyshrubsole.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
George is quite right on this. I discovered via FOI requests that just 5% of all woodland creation grants go to support natural regeneration of trees, and 95% to tree planting. I’ll continue to push DEFRA to fix this. www.theguardian.com/environment/... bsky.app/profile/geor...
theguardian.com
Government ‘failing to support natural regeneration of trees in England’
Campaigners say targets for woodland creation are unlikely to be met because 95% of grants are for planting
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Stephen Kinsella @stephenstroud.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
It just gets worse. It’s not simply that institutions like the THE and Cambridge are willing to sell themselves out, but it’s so disappointing just how cheaply they can be bought. Have some pride guys and negotiate harder at least. 
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Nick Wallis @nickwallis.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
If you want to follow along on a non-X page - there is a live tweets page which updates this thread very elegantly here - just leave it open on your browser and the whole thing will be there to read: genderblog.net/live-tweets/
genderblog.net
Live Tweets
Southwark Crown Court – Criminal Damage Conviction Appeal – Day 1 LIVE 3 tweets last updated at 10:02:54 Good morning and welcome to Court 39 of the Royal Courts of Justice in London wh…
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FrancesCrook@bsky.social @francescrook.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
He’s rather good is our Andy
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FrancesCrook@bsky.social @francescrook.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I hope the National Commission on Electoral Reform will look at fundamental reform of funding politics francescrook.substack.com/p/funding-po...
francescrook.substack.com
Funding politics
Politics needs money, let’s do it properly
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FrancesCrook@bsky.social @francescrook.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
He’s rather good is our Andy
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Sarfraz Manzoor @sarfrazmanzoor.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Genuine question: is there any other elected politician who is currently in post who would get the audience response Mamdani got ? youtu.be/9dSLJHS2Uns?...
youtu.be
Mayor Zohran Mamdani on His Relationship with Trump, People in Sewers & New Public Restrooms
YouTube video by Jimmy Kimmel Live
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Alice Roberts @profaliceroberts.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Reform want to indoctrinate our children. Freedom of (and from) belief is a human right. humanists.uk/2026/09/10/s...
humanists.uk
Reform UK Braverman promises 'consequences' if pupils don't sing hymns
Reform UK has said schools will face ‘consequences’ if they fail to make pupils regularly sing hymns and the national anthem under a Reform government. The party’s education spokesperson, Suella Brave...
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FrancesCrook@bsky.social @francescrook.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Electronic monitoring (tags) has never worked properly, yet more contracts are given to poorly functioning private companies - so what do they care! The profits keep rolling in. www.nao.org.uk/reports/elec...
nao.org.uk
Electronic monitoring: improving resilience to meet increasing demand - NAO report
This report examines whether MoJ and HMPPS have clearly defined expectations for electronic monitoring, including how to measure success.
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Henry Mance @henrymance.ft.com · 29/09/2026
Imagine how the Israeli army would have responded if the rioters were Palestinian
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Henry Mance @henrymance.ft.com · 29/09/2026
"More than 100 Jewish settlers went on the rampage in a Palestinian town in the occupied West Bank on Monday night, torching buildings and cars, stoning Israeli security forces and preventing the return of a Palestinian family displaced by previous settler attacks." www.ft.com/content/4f56...
ft.com
More than 100 Israelis go on rampage in Palestinian town
Jewish settlers blocked roads, set tyres ablaze and prevented the return of a Palestinian family in latest surge of violence in occupied West Bank
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Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Final point on this. There’s nothing new to HO wanting lower numbers and HMT wanting higher numbers. Was ever thus (eg May vs Osborne). What is more surprising is that Mahmood never gets asked about this and the relative silence of Govt ministers (other than Rayner) on positive side of immigration.
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FrancesCrook@bsky.social @francescrook.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Good for her. Women only spaces for women.
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Alex Andreou @sturdyalex.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Absolutely fascinating to see Laura Kuenssberg interviewing Burnham, flailing to adjust her stance to a politician with a moral argument and a positive message, who stands up for his policies and answers her questions clearly. She is getting so agitated at him not playing the game by the 'rules'.
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Stephen Kinsella @stephenstroud.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I looked at his bio and it’s more complicated than that. But the problem with philanthropy is that it encourages people to think they can dictate terms. We need to properly tax the wealthy. 
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FrancesCrook@bsky.social @francescrook.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Can we throw out the despicable Shabana Mahmood?
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Guardian reports Rayner's continued defence of migrants care workers from in Cabinet. Seems to have won that argument for care workers with No 10 + Home Office Big unknown: will anyone protect 250k non-care workers (chefs, vets, architects) from being thrown out www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Angela Rayner stands by attack on care worker visa reforms ahead of Labour conference
Housing secretary says Home Office moved goalposts with ‘disruptive’ change to permanent residence rules
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FrancesCrook@bsky.social @francescrook.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Thank goodness for Angela!
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FrancesCrook@bsky.social @francescrook.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Maybe we should ban alcohol sales at all sporting events!
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The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 25/09/2026
Exclusive: Egypt’s top spy flew to Israel shortly before October 7 with a dire warning about Gaza, Vivian Salama reports: theatln.tc/2t3svWou
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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Great to see latest Democracy for Sale and lighthouse reports investigation, into Tony Blair Institute, in @financialtimes.com with @pickardje.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/1ca9...
ft.com
Tony Blair’s think-tank offers political access to $25,000-a-year corporate members
BP, Uber and Amazon are among corporate members of the non-profit’s membership programme, the Global Network for Change
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Patriotic Millionaires @patrioticmillionaires.org · 25/09/2026
In 1965, the average CEO made 21 times what a typical worker earned. In 2025, that number was 325 times. So yeah, working people not being able to afford a house or healthcare isn’t because they’re buying too much avocado toast.
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FrancesCrook@bsky.social @francescrook.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Is this the answer to water www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Andy Burnham talks about ‘public control’ of the utilities but it’s a minefield. We can lead him through it | Will Hutton and Andy Haldane
Nationalisation is not the ultimate answer for companies like Thames Water – but they could be run for the public benefit, say journalist and economist Will Hutton and former chief economist of the Ba...
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FrancesCrook@bsky.social @francescrook.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Is this the answer to water www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Andy Burnham talks about ‘public control’ of the utilities but it’s a minefield. We can lead him through it | Will Hutton and Andy Haldane
Nationalisation is not the ultimate answer for companies like Thames Water – but they could be run for the public benefit, say journalist and economist Will Hutton and former chief economist of the Ba...
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Henry Mance @henrymance.ft.com · 25/09/2026
it's been less than a year, and already the socialists are forcing people to go to the opera
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 24/09/2026
MS NOW reports that their White House reproter was denied access to the White House this morning despite a court order demanding she have access
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 24/09/2026
"Trump cheats in every aspect of his life. He cheated on his taxes & wives. He cheated his way out of military service & into the WH. He cheated contractors & donors who made contributions to his now-banned charity. And he cheats at the sport that distinctly relies upon personal integrity: golf."
publicnotice.co
“Cheat like hell”
Trump is proof that cheaters often win.
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