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Cllr Ben O'Keeffe (EC&S)

@greenbenokeeffe.bsky.social
30 followers 41 following 90 posts

I'm a Green Party councillor for the East Cliff & Springbourne Ward of Bournemouth Town Council. I'm also a member of Surfers Against Sewage and can be seen pottering about on either my paddleboard or my home built canoe.

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Cllr Ben O'Keeffe (EC&S) @greenbenokeeffe.bsky.social · 6h
Please don't let the wreckers win, the only way we can get the hope back is if members stand up and vote to uphold those principles in April. There were only 200 votes in it, it won't take much to turn the tide.
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Carla Denyer @carladenyer.bsky.social · 9h
Newly elected Greens doing great stuff on housing 👏 Lewisham Council's new strategy includes: 🤝 Zero-cost land to community-led orgs on condition they build social housing 🔐 Putting that land into community land trusts, locking in affordability. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Free land for those who will build social homes on it. Is this the radical solution to the UK’s housing problem? | Phineas Harper
A bold south London initiative to give land to community groups rather than private developers could transform the system, says writer Phineas Harper
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Friends of the Earth @friends-earth.bsky.social · 18h
In March, half a million of us marched for unity. That march was a powerful, historic moment, but our next steps as members of the Together Alliance are vital. Join us at the Together Alliance Summits to help turn the tide against division. Register now: www.togetheralliance.org.uk/organise-tog...
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Cllr Ben O'Keeffe (EC&S) @greenbenokeeffe.bsky.social · 15h
Also, the parts of the motion that opened Jewish members to disciplinary action for being part of Zionist community organisations was ruled out of order because it violates the party constitution/philosophical basis, so they can't achieve their antisemitic aims and the motion isn't binding either.
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Cllr Ben O'Keeffe (EC&S) @greenbenokeeffe.bsky.social · 15h
There's a fix. They only won by about 200 votes out of 200k members. Lubna's faction swung the vote by recruiting people into the party to vote on this motion exclusively and could've been beaten with an extra tenth of a percent of the membership turning out. If you change your mind, vote in April.
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Yair Wallach @yairwallach.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
"Occupation, expulsion, settlement. It's time to win!" An advert for "Religious Zionism", Netanyahu's closest ally party. They don't leave any room for subtext
Election advert on a Israeli bus. Photograph: Roi Hen, FB, Oct 7
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Cllr Ben O'Keeffe (EC&S) @greenbenokeeffe.bsky.social · 15h
There's a third option, which is to organise and get enough people into the plenaries in April to replace the motion with something ensuring self determination for all. The Jewish Greens haven't suddenly disappeared and a large chunk of elected reps are pushing back against the antisemitic faction.
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Cllr Ben O'Keeffe (EC&S) @greenbenokeeffe.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
You know that motion was passed by a fine margin in a plenary with less than 1% of the membership in attendance, right? The Green Party has a problem with antisemitism at the moment coming from people entering from Your Party, the SWP, etc. and the Sunday plenary was a wake-up call for many.
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Central Bylines @centralbylines.co.uk · 07/10/2026
Well done to @privateeyenews.bsky.social for calling the Tories out on this utter hypocrisy.....
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Sian Berry MP @sianberry.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Today marks the third anniversary of the horrific October 7 attacks. In pursuit of peace and justice for Israelis and Palestinians, today I remember those lost, hurt, and taken on that harrowing day.
Hand holding a single lit candle with a plastic drip-catcher raised during a candlelit vigil, warm bokeh lights behind and a Green Party logo with small promotional attribution at the bottom.
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Cllr Ben O'Keeffe (EC&S) @greenbenokeeffe.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
For reference, this isn't official policy and the member who said it is currently under investigation for antisemitism.
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Dorset @dorsetuk.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Seahorse habitats 'healing' thanks to eco-moorings #Dorset #BBCNews
bbc.co.uk
Studland seahorse habitats 'healing' thanks to eco moorings
Scars in Studland Bay's seagrass meadows, caused by boat anchor chains, are healing, a study finds.
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Alex McKinstry @alexmckinstry.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
From the other place: before being demoted to Echo editor, Toby Granville allowed Reform UK to place front-page ads on all Newsquest titles in the week of the local elections .... x.com/nick_clarkLD...
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Cllr Ben O'Keeffe (EC&S) @greenbenokeeffe.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
When it finally went to a vote, the clerk recorded 16 in favour, none against, with one abstention. From now on, when Wessex Water break the regulations upstream of Bournemouth, the council will be requesting a report into the cause and future prevention to be published on the council website.
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Cllr Ben O'Keeffe (EC&S) @greenbenokeeffe.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Thanks to the support of Cllr Nanovo of the Lib Dems and Cllrs Connolly (who was the original seconder!) and Farquhar of Labour, and, near the end of the debate, Cllr Moody of Reform, Anderson acquiesced and agreed to limit his amendment to removing clause 1 and 6 with a few minor tweaks to wording.
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Cllr Ben O'Keeffe (EC&S) @greenbenokeeffe.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
But we stood our ground, I conceded the first resolution as it was flawed in a manner I hadn't considered when tabling it, and I conceded number 6 as I didn't feel I should sacrifice action in favour of a pledge, but I stood my ground on holding Wessex Water to account through 45 minutes of debate.
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Cllr Ben O'Keeffe (EC&S) @greenbenokeeffe.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Amidst 146 reports of sickness since 2019 and the hospitalisation of two children with E. coli, of whom one is still in hospital according to the Echo, Mark Anderson tabled a wrecking amendment to delete all of our resolutions and to replace them with a watered down version of a single resolution.
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Cllr Ben O'Keeffe (EC&S) @greenbenokeeffe.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Got the motion to tackle the E. coli crisis in the Stour through, I lost the testing kits because I worded it badly and had to accept an amendment and I lost the declaration of the rights of river too, but it still felt like a massive victory given Cllr Anderson attempted to delete all of it.
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Alex McKinstry @alexmckinstry.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
That they pay Ian Crump to be their "heritage writer" speaks tons about Newsquest. I've still got the double-spread he did in 2022, purporting to be 19th-c photos of Charminster in Bournemouth .... They were all of Charminster in West Dorset. One of them depicted a fecking water meadow.
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West Country Voices @westcountryvoices.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
" interfering with a rescue operation and putting people’s lives at risk is a completely different line. Nobody gets to play vigilante at sea because they don’t like what’s happening." westcountryvoices.co.uk/a-knife-a-li...
westcountryvoices.co.uk
A knife, a livestream and a rescue worker in the middle of the channel - West Country Voices
So apparently Danny Tommo decided that being angry at small boats wasn’t enough. He needed to take a knife to one in the middle of the English Channel. On Tuesday 22 September, Daniel Thomas, who call...
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Cllr Ben O'Keeffe (EC&S) @greenbenokeeffe.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The Echo isn't interested in local history unless it's AI slop from Ian Crump. The AI Springbourne protest signs are still comedy gold to me.
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Alex McKinstry @alexmckinstry.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Bournemouth Echo reported to IPSO over its bullshit RNLI story. www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2026/news/in...
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Anti-Reform @antireform.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The Reform UK scare story of a non-white take-over of the UK is pure fantasy ...
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Cllr Ben O'Keeffe (EC&S) @greenbenokeeffe.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_ent... End the genocide, Free Palestine.
timesofisrael.com
Israel will ‘finish the job’ in Gaza and seek Palestinians’ migration — defense minister
* * *
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Cllr Ben O'Keeffe (EC&S) @greenbenokeeffe.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
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UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) @ukceh.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
How do you measure river flows when there's not very much water? In higher flow we can use special remote controlled boats, but sometimes the best thing to do is get in the water, as Jasmine Hughes, our FDRI field technician explains. Join us at @rigb.org on 16 Nov to hear more
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Francis Sealey @globalnet21.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Robert Macfarlane to challenge humanity’s ‘superiority complex’ in the 2026 BBC Radio 4 Reith Lectures The acclaimed writer will argue for the urgent need to re-imagine humanity’s relationship with the living world, in order to shape a more hopeful future on Earth www.bbc.com/mediacentre/...
bbc.com
Robert Macfarlane to challenge humanity’s ‘superiority complex’ in the 2026 BBC Radio 4 Reith Lectures
The acclaimed writer will argue for the urgent need to re-imagine humanity’s relationship with the living world, in order to shape a more hopeful future on Earth
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Alex McKinstry @alexmckinstry.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Lib Dems giving nothing away tonight. Children's Services Scrutiny. One councillor asking the portfolio-holder (& Lib Dem whip, Cllr Burton) why the meeting is tonight and not the usual Tuesday. Me: "Presumably all meetings will be cancelled shortly anyway, because of the by-election?" Radio silence
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Alex McKinstry @alexmckinstry.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Bournemouth Echo's former chief reporter has left the building ... Almost her last article (10 August) was a defence of the local vigilante group Safeguard Force, which seemed to have been written between gritted teeth. www.responsesource.com/bulletin/new...
responsesource.com
Hannah Knight to join ITV News Meridian from Bournemouth Echo - ResponseSource
ITV News Meridian has appointed Hannah Knight as a production journalist. Hannah was previously chief reporter at Bournemouth Echo where she worked for three and a half years.
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Cllr Ben O'Keeffe (EC&S) @greenbenokeeffe.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
www.advertiserandtimes.co.uk/news/i-thoug...
advertiserandtimes.co.uk
‘I thought she was going to die’ – another child hospitalised after playing in Christchurch waters
Another child has been hospitalised with a serious infection after playing in polluted seawater in Christchurch, it has emerged.
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Natalie Bennett @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
"Rescue came days before Google announced a new partnership to show off examples of 'surviving harsh environments with Gemini'." Demonstrably a bad use of artificial so-called intelligence. Generative #AI has no genuine understanding of the physical world www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
independent.co.uk
California hikers rescued from mountain after using AI route planner
Using AI to plan the route was a ‘critical misstep,’ the sheriff’s office says
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Cllr Ben O'Keeffe (EC&S) @greenbenokeeffe.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
We already functionally lost ours in Bournemouth when Granville took over the Echo.
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Cwiar Cymru @cwiar.org · 01/09/2026
More appalling behaviour from the BBC. ⬇️ A trans person interviewed about their horrific experience having their surgery cancelled whilst in the hospital described as 'biologically female'. And then half the article devoted to praising the work of an unemployed transphobe. 🗣️ DEFUND THE BBC 🗣️
bbc.co.uk
Welsh Gender Service: Transgender patients told surgery cancelled in hospital
One patient said they were "heartbroken" after being told their surgery was called off 24 hours before.
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Friends of the Earth @friends-earth.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Join us in demanding clean water is put above private profit: foe.uk/nn2ka
foe.uk
Make 2026 the year polluters clean up their act
Sign the petition Last year, the government promised to crack down on water pollution. But without public pressure, its plans could once again let big polluters off the hook. We should all be able to ...
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Friends of the Earth @friends-earth.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
“People have had enough of hearing ministers say they’ll fix the problem, only to bring in measures that superficially address the issue. If we’re to end the sewage scandal once and for all, we must see the government committing to a complete overhaul of our water system.”- K. Box. shorturl.at/XBueY
shorturl.at
South West Water has worst environmental record in England, analysis shows
Exclusive: Friends of the Earth finds greatest sewage discharge in Devon, Cornwall, Dorset and Somerset
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Dirty Water Campaign @dirtywatercampaign.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
How much more of this will we take? #citizensassemblyforwater #waterpressure.uk www.theguardian.com/business/202...
theguardian.com
Dry weather sewage discharges soar as water companies face scrutiny
Exclusive: 7,280 suspected illegal spills in rivers and sea recorded in first five months of 2026
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Dirty Water Campaign @dirtywatercampaign.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
South West Water has worst environmental record in England, analysis shows
Exclusive: Friends of the Earth finds greatest sewage discharge in Devon, Cornwall, Dorset and Somerset
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Cllr Ben O'Keeffe (EC&S) @greenbenokeeffe.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Hope some day to see a story like this about the East Cliff Railway, but given BCP have put out a tender for its demolition, I think that's just a fantasy.
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Cllr Ben O'Keeffe (EC&S) @greenbenokeeffe.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/2649650... I wish I had the word count to address the Deputy Mayor's hypocrisy of rejecting spending of the set two million pound precept due to the council's ongoing running costs being unknown while moving to spend £40k of a completely unknown amount of CIL income.
bournemouthecho.co.uk
'Reform depriving some areas with Christmas lights decision'
A Green Party pledge in the run-up to the election in May was to fight to ensure that the Community Infrastructure Levy, the levy paid by developers…
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tanglewoodsteve.bsky.social @tanglewoodsteve.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
History revealing itself here in #Poole #Dorset.
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Alex McKinstry @alexmckinstry.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Echo have changed it to "CLUBS AND SOCIETIES"!! 🤣🤣🤣
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Sian Berry MP @sianberry.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Brighton residents clearly oppose these toxic chemicals being spread on our streets, so why does it continue? Brighton and Hove Council should listen and reinstate the previous ban. www.theargus.co.uk/news/2646164...
theargus.co.uk
Community groups opting out of controversial weedkiller use trebles
The number of community groups opting out of glyphosate weedkiller treatments in Brighton and Hove has more than trebled since last year
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Cllr Ben O'Keeffe (EC&S) @greenbenokeeffe.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Cllr Butcher declared in his report to the council yesterday that his committee was opposing HMOs to keep the demographics who live in them out of Bournemouth. Normally they dress it up with usually spurious concerns about parking, noise, or ASB, but now they're comfortable spewing class bigotry. 🥲
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Cllr Ben O'Keeffe (EC&S) @greenbenokeeffe.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
As uncovered by Steve Harper of the East Dorset @friends-earth.bsky.social, BCP Council is also using obscene amounts of glyphosate all across the conurbation.
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Make Votes Matter @makevotesmatter.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Exactly.
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tanglewoodsteve.bsky.social @tanglewoodsteve.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
It would've been more sensible to have reported on this, as serious as it is, after this evening's #BCP Council Audit & Governance committee meeting (mentioned in the article) as it may have stopped some (if not all) of the usual misinformed FB contributors from spreading even more misinformation.
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Natalie Bennett @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
We need to talk a lot more about #DigitalSovereignty. About reversing #financialisation and saying care should not be for sale www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
theguardian.com
Alarm at NHS patient records being put under control of US private equity firm
Doctors and MPs urge more scrutiny of £300m deal for company behind system used by most GPs in England
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New Economics Foundation @neweconomics.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Our new analysis: Heathrow expansion would mean taking jobs away from other regions in the UK - over 15,000 by 2050. By the government's own assessment, the economic case for expansion doesn't add up. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Heathrow expansion would take thousands of jobs from other UK regions, report finds
Airports in England and Wales are likely to lose millions of passengers if third runway goes ahead, DfT economic paper shows
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Dorset Wildlife Trust @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
For #NationalMarineWeek, make a pledge to help protect our oceans and rivers. Use our tips on how to reduce your plastic waste. No matter where you are across the UK, we can all help protect our waters. Ready to get started? Find more ways to use less plastic here 👉 bit.ly/4fCuALX ~ Jack
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Alex McKinstry @alexmckinstry.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
BCP Council was second-highest in England in 2022-3 with 61 complaints against councillors, at least five of which were upheld against then-Tory Cabinet members. Surpassed only by East Riding of Yorkshire Council, which saw 532 complaints (though 512 related to the same issue - an anti-Corbyn tweet)
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