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Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)

@hbowescatton.bsky.social
803 followers 614 following 383 posts

Northern, working class, queer, cis feminist academic. Lifts heavy things for fun. Personal account. Views mine. 🏳️‍⚧️ The only true feminism is intersectional 💜🤍💚

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Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
FinnMackay @finnfox.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
This is a very good guide for organisations on practically managing their inclusive toilet provision post FWS v Ministers 2025 & EHRC 2026 guidelines. From Third Sector Against Transphobia drive.google.com/file/d/18Iw5...
drive.google.com
Behind Closed Doors A Practical Guide to creating Trans inclusive toilets V1.8.pdf
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Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
Consortium @consortium.lgbt · 08/09/2026
We’re proud to support The Missing Picture, a joint research programme from Older Queer Voices and LGBT Great exploring LGBTQ+ experiences of ageing. If you’re LGBTQ+ and aged 18+, we want to hear from you, especially those aged 50+. 1/2
This graphic has an image of a rainbow reflecting through a window as the background. The white text reads:

LGBT GREAT, OLDER QUEER VOICES.

The Missing Picture. Take Part in the Research.

Research Supporter. CONSORTIUM, for stronger lgbt+ communities.
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Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
Heather Paterson @heatherpaterson.co.uk · 05/09/2026
In just two days this petition has surpassed the 10,000 signatures required to be considered for a debate in the Senedd. It is currently the second largest petition on the Senedd Cymru Welsh Government site Keep signing and sharing petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/24...
petitions.senedd.wales
Petition: Immediately unfreeze gender-affirming surgeries and protect NHS Welsh Gender Service patients.
We call on the Senedd and Welsh Government to direct the NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee (NWJCC) to: Immediately unfreeze scheduled and approved gender-affirming surgeries for patients who ha...
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Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
Jonathan Hopkin @jonathanhopkin.eurosky.social · 05/09/2026
Today we’ve had two high profile example of far right violence and we’re still waiting for a Labour government to actually do anything
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Annie Wallace @anniewallace.com · 05/09/2026
Soooo.... old ladies protesting about Gaza get arrested and charged... climate protesters get arrested and charged... and masked, black-clad pseudo-paramilitary fascists blocking the port of Dover are just left to get on with it, unhindered by the police. Right, just so we're clear on this, yeah?
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Doc000 @doc000.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Promising to eliminate an entire group of people is called genocide. In case some people weren't aware.
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Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
Jo Grady @drjogrady.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
We will not stand by as this happens. The Spectator targeted Professor Jason Arday. Now they are repeating the same playbook with another Black academic leader. We are hearing from so many Black UCU members who work in fear. Fear that they will be next. We cannot and will not tolerate this.
Spectator online news story, carrying headline ‘Simon Woolley is not fit to lead a Cambridge college. Written by Andrew Gilligan. The article accompanies a photo of Simon Woolley receiving a knighthood.
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Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
Ruth Pearce @notrightruth.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
This is the most fucked up and immediately harmful policy decision I think I've ever seen in adult trans healthcare in the UK, and that's saying something. The Welsh Gender Service is one of the best in the country. It is widely praised by the patients it helps. That is why it is being targeted.
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Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
Abigail Thorn @theabigailthorn.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
NHS cancelling surgeries for adults even after they’ve already paid for travel + accommodation and waited years to get there. Some were about to be wheeled into theatre! Every manager responsible for this decision must be sacked and every patient paid compensation.
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Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
Philippa East (Author) @philippaeast.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Seems the person “raising concerns” was Nick Wallis 🤦🏻‍♀️ (Then picked up by Welsh Tories) nation.cymru/news/welsh-t... Wallis recently did an interview with Genspect genspect.org/beyond-gende... Genspect is listed by the Southern Poverty Law Centre as a hate group www.splcenter.org/resources/ex...
Freelance journalist Nick Wallis has written an article on his Gender Blog after making a series of requests under the Freedom of Information Act.

He states: “Over the last three years the WGS has seen around 800 patients a year. The average age of those patients is 26. The crucial question is how many of those patients are recommended for cross-sex hormones after one or more appointments. Astonishingly, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board tells me ‘this information is not centrally recorded or collated’. The WGS doesn’t know what percentage of its intake it sends to the NHS’ Local Gender Teams (run by individual health boards) around Wales for endocrine assessment and hormone prescription.

“Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, which appears to be responsible for WGS, did give me some figures from March 2023 to Dec 2024, which suggested that throughout that period the monthly conversion rate from initial appointment to hormone plan varied between 51% and 88% of patients, though it did also say the data ‘was manually tracked and entered and so cannot be assumed to be 100% reliable’.
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LGBTIQA+ Greens @lgbtiqa.greenparty.org.uk · 28/08/2026
Statement from Welsh Trans Greens on the cancelling of surgeries by Welsh Gender Services: www.instagram.com/p/Dcl8eBvjZi...
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Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Someone has died after a relentless press campaign. The very least the public is entitled to is an investigation into the press’ role in these events and an independent body to review complaints against the press in the future. www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/p...
hackedoff.org
Defensive, evasive & hypocritical: The press reaction to the death of Jason Arday
The reaction of national newspapers to the death of Professor Jason Arday has exposed a brittle defensiveness at the heart of the press, and a determination to remain outside any meaningful accountabi...
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Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
M a r c u s 🏳️‍🌈🇧🇧 @marcusjdl.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
They’ve moved onto another Black person to demonise and her husband by association
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Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
Carole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
A professor writes: (Jason Stanley) The problem is that journalists failed to do basic journalism. Not a single reporter seems to have checked’ Jason Arday’s citations. The ‘quantifiable metrics’ of his work. Prof Stanley did: ‘Arday is easily comparable to the leading scholars in the field’
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Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
Middle East Eye (Unofficial) @middleeasteye-rss.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Jason Arday's marathon challenge and football claims found to be true after his death - www.middleeasteye.net/news/jason-ar…
middleeasteye.net
Jason Arday's marathon challenge and football claims found to be true after his death
Claims the late academic made which were widely derided as false in media and online discourse this month appear to be true, an MEE analysis has found
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Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
Ed Poole @edpoole1975.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
The super rich are waging full-scale class war against the rest of us. They're willing to destroy the planet to maintain their power and wealth. And the best our Labour government can do is stare at the feet and mumble some pleas about being nicer.
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Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
TransActual @transactualuk.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Have you been questioned or stopped while using a gendered space? Let us know using our Report-A-Loo tool transactual.org.uk/equality-act...
Image shows a toilet and a 'male/female' toilet sign in a dotted print style. Text reads: Have you been questioned or stopped while using a gendered space? Let us know using our Report-A-Loo tool
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Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
Petra Boynton @petraboynton.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Jason Arday gave many talks to charities, HEIs and other organisations on access and inclusion. Some are sharing these again currently, in remembrance. A more fitting tribute would be to evaluate how your organisation changed after his talk. And, if they didn't, do something meaningful now.
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Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
Dan McQuillan @danmcquillan.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Text: Treat your body like a data centre. Consume as much water and literature as possible. Upset local city councils with your existence. 
Background image: a bearded man putting up the frame of aparge tent in a muddy field with trees in the background.
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Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
Senthorun S. Raj @senthorun.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
“At a time when some Black academics are looking towards the future with uncertainty and wondering where they truly belong… We must instead build universities where Black scholars do not merely enter and survive, but are supported, valued and able to flourish.” Keep cultivating solidarity and care.
theconversation.com
Jason Arday’s death: Black academics need to feel they belong in higher education
There is a difference between being invited into a university and feeling wanted there.
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Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
Petra Boynton @petraboynton.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Things may be especially challenging right now for anyone whose lived experience, advocacy, or activism has been intertwined with tackling inequalities, prejudices and harms in academia. Although there have been multiple struggles over the years, for many this feels the closest to despair. /1
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Hacked Off @hackedoff.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Jason Arday has tragically died after a vicious campaign of press hounding and harassment. We urgently need an inquiry into the culture of the press. Add your name to demand one now: hackedoff.org/campaign-actions/demand-an-inquiry-into-the-culture-of-the-press
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Lee Hurley @hleehurley.com · 14/08/2026
Do you know what it's like to be a minority in the UK that knows any misstep could mean you're next with the UK press? You don't even have to actually do anything, just come across the wrong person.
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Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 14/08/2026
This is the coverage of Arday **just in the Telegraph** in the UK. This is only the first four pages of results, just in one outlet.
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Jason Arday found dead
2 hours ago — Mr Arday was found •unresponsive• at an address in Battersea. south London. on Froy
afternoon. He was uter pronounced dead at the scene. A Read rnore
Jason Arday says he was an illiterate, mute child. His .
6 hours ago — Jason Arday says he was an i&erate. mute child. Cambridge's youngest-ever black
professor in 2023. Arday attended from the age of four to 11
r— mm-WI 3
A PhD is no longer a sign of brilliance — take it from Dr Arday
1 day aeo — Juon Arday resigns from the Unwersity of Cambrdge after The Telegraph reports he had
falseb• claimed to have pubåshed a book
We are all Jason Arday now
S days ago — Jason Arday resons from the University of Cambridge after The Telegraph reports he had
falsew cGimed to have published a book Aug 7.2028. Read more
Cambridge professor claimed he was on Seven Up..
2 Aug 2026 — He was not bom until 1985. Prof Arday is at the centre of a row about academk
plagiarism after The Tekgragh that he had been accused
The Jason Arday 'memoir' that now appears to be more .
7 days ago — Instead of tales of triumph over adversity. the now-fomer Cambridge professors
autob"qraphy is a case study in self-rnythobgising,
Arday failed to mention 'months-long coma' in autobiography
8 days ago — Jason Arday toz publishers he was k•ft a three-month coma fohwhg a car gash. but
never wrote about the ordeal his memoirs_
Jason Arday is living proof that you reap what you sow
6 Aug 2028 — The Cambridge professor feed plagiarism alegations and made fantastical clä'ns about
his life. so what did he expect woUz happen? Read rmre
ÄIO
Arday 'accused student of Miite privilege' after she
4 days ago — Forrner Cambrdge professor alleged* htplied that Roehamptm student was racist after
cornplaint about essay SOOre.
Jason Arday is rnerely a symptom of the Leffs corruption
Aug 2026 — Lab-curs on school standards is on the same toxic assumptions that created his
academic career.
Cambridge hired Arday after 'listening to black stu…
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TACC @tacc.org.uk · 14/08/2026
@genderedintelligence.co.uk have released a guide for maximising trans inclusion. It can be downloaded here: genderedintelligence.co.uk/page/how-to-...
genderedintelligence.co.uk
Maximising trans inclusion after the Supreme Court Judgment
How to maximise your trans and non-binary inclusion in light of the For Women Scotland v Scottish Government Supreme Court Judgment
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Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
Senthorun S. Raj @senthorun.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Minoritised academics face organised harassment for writing about racism, transphobia, genocide, etc. They/we are subject to forms of hostile exposure (whether in media or politics), which proves the point for why such scholarship is necessary in the first place. They/we all deserve so much better.
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Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
Senthorun S. Raj @senthorun.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
“Academics want to promote their research outside of the university… However, in an increasingly queer- & transphobic public environment, this is becoming more difficult & more risky for researchers working on LGBTQ+ topics.” Apt report on how LGBTQ+ scholars in the UK navigate public harassment.
cssd.ac.uk
Is all publicity good publicity? Addressing Public Harassment in LGBT+ Research Impact and Engagement | The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Is all publicity good publicity is a research project funded by the EDICaucus and a collaboration between Tig Slater, Sheffield Hallam University, Charlotte Jones, Swansea University, Rosie Ola-Marie,...
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Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
Jennie Kermode @jenniekermode.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Three simple things would fix most of what is wrong with the UK. A decent system of proportional representation. Meaningful pressure regulation & monopoly break-up. Requiring all new laws to be compatible with the UN charter of human rights.
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Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
Ed Poole @edpoole1975.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
People using someone's life as a political football are now saying his death shouldn't be used as a political football. Arday's death is political. It's one of the longest running polical ideologies in British politics. The one so much wealth is built on: anti Black racism.
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The Author, Séamas O'Reilly @seamas.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Not to be some wild-eyed innocent, but I think it should be slightly bigger news that The Lancet have crunched the numbers and found that Musk's USAID cuts will kill 14 million people. And that's just by 2030. That's 9,600 people a day, every day, until the next world cup rolls around.
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TACC @tacc.org.uk · 12/08/2026
"Discrimination against a patient on the basis of gender reassignment is unlawful, whether it is direct, indirect, or amounts to harassment."
blog.beagmcd.net
A Guide for NHS Staff
The EHRC Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations became operational on 5 August 2026
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Rivers @finl3y.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Great piece of advice from @annehealthcare.bsky.social anne.health/know-your-ri...
anne.health
Know your rights: What to do if you’re stopped, challenged or photographed - Anne Health
Practical guidance on your rights, what to do if you're challenged in a toilet or changing room, and where to get help if something goes...
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Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
Matt Cameron @mattcameron.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Immigration judge to my client in court today: "Ma'am, the children will need to wait outside--but this shouldn't take long. I don't want you to be separated from your children." given what the order I knew she was about to issue, the cruelty of this phrasing stopped my breath
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Matthew Waites (he or they) @matthewwaites.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
From years of collective work, Colonialisms and Queer Politics has been published! Presenting chapter analyses of 11 empires, and their colonial legacies, plus comparison of both legal and social regulation. #Colonialisms #Queer #LGBTIQ+ @uofgsociology.bsky.social global.oup.com/academic/pro...
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Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
TACC @tacc.org.uk · 13/08/2026
The EHRC meets with organisations hostile to trans people and our rights. But would it meet with people opposed to homosexuality, race-realists, or organisations wanting to remove women’s bodily autonomy? If not, why are trans people the exception? These are the questions we have asked the EHRC!
(sent via email)
Dear Chair and Board Members,
We have recently become aware that the EHRC has met with the Darlington Nurses so that they can raise
their concerns. This is, of course, entirely reasonable. People should be able to raise concerns with their
national equality body.
What is much harder to understand is why the EHRC has, over the last few years, repeatedly made time to
meet with organisations and individuals whose campaigning is explicitly hostile to transgender people and
our rights.
So we have some very simple questions.
Would the EHRC meet with organisations or individuals who were opposed to homosexuality and believed
gay people should have fewer rights?
Would the EHRC meet with organisations or individuals who were race-realists and believed that white
people were racially superior?
Would the EHRC meet with organisations that wanted to roll back women's rights and remove women's
bodily autonomy?
We would like to think the answer to all three is an emphatic no.
And if it is no, then we want to know why transgender people are apparently the exception.
Why is it considered acceptable for the EHRC to engage with organisations and individuals who
discriminate against us, deny that we exist, describe trans women as men, use slurs against transgender
people, and even compare being transgender to a "masturbatory fantasy"?
We are tired of the double standard. We are tired of watching the organisation that is supposed to protect
people from discrimination repeatedly provide access, legitimacy and a listening ear to people whose
politics are fundamentally hostile to our existence and equality.
There is an important distinction between allowing people to express views the EHRC disagrees with and
repeatedly choosing to engage with organisations whose campaigning is directed at stripping rights and
dignity from a protected group. The former is freedom of expression. The latter raises serious questions
about institutional judgement...
And frankly, if the EHRC genuinely believes that this is an appropriate and reasonable way for an equality
body to operate, then we have to ask a very uncomfortable question:

If you believe this treatment of transgender people is reasonable, what exactly does that say about the
EHRC?
Because if discrimination is only taken seriously when it is directed at everyone except us, then the
problem is no longer simply the people campaigning against transgender people.
The problem is the equality body that has decided they are worth listening to.
We expect a substantive answer to these questions, rather than another carefully worded statement about
the EHRC's commitment to equality and human rights.
Regards,
Trans Advocacy and Complaints Collective
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852dude @852dude.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Bro. People are cool as fuck.
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Trans+ Solidarity Alliance @transsolidarity.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
🏳️‍⚧️ Trans ally? 👉 We need you ⚖️ Will you join us on 9th September to make your voice heard and show our politicians that trans rights need protecting? 🗓️ Sign up today! www.transsolidarityalliance.com/mass-lobby-2...
transsolidarityalliance.com
Mass Lobby for Trans Equality - 9th September 2026
The law around trans equality is fundamentally broken. Government inaction is hanging trans people and organisations out to dry - with a confusing mess of challenging rules and lawfare.
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Natacha @natacha.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
“Gender-critical” transphobia is not feminism. Transphobes do not represent women… 142 feminist organisations sign a manifesto in support of trans people’s human rights. gcn.ie/feminist-org...
gen
142 feminist organisations sign manifesto pledging solidarity with trans community
COMMUNITY & NEWS & TOP NEWS | 11 AUG 2026
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Doug Clow @dougclow.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
With the solar eclipse coming up on Wednesday evening it’s good to draw people’s attention to this useful and timeless* explainer of different astronomical phenomena. * since 2014 in its original Twitter form
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Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
We're about to go into our fifth heatwave with already thousands of people dead. Calling a COBR meeting was not sufficient - just first necessary one to make a plan of action. They're not even doing the basics to keep us safe. Yet are prepared to make everything much worse.
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Sarah O’Connell @sarahoconnellshow.com · 09/08/2026
If you’re a trans ally in the UK, here’s some urgently important things you can do to support the community and help protect and restore trans rights: 1. Support @GoodLawProject.org’s legal challenge against the UK government’s transphobic “guidance”: goodlawproject.org/crowdfunder/...
goodlawproject.org
Fight back against the code of practice
The government’s transphobic code of practice is now up and running. But we’re not going to take it, we’re helping to fight back. Join us
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The Research Whisperer @therealrw.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
New post this week: early findings from a study about how academics use GenAI that offers crucial insight into the emotional aspects of engaging with it, by @neilselwyn.bsky.social and colleagues: researchwhisperer.org/2026/07/21/a... #academicsky #highered #genAI
researchwhisperer.org
Academic (mis)uses of GenAI
This second post by Neil Selwyn and his collaborators shares some of the preliminary results from their research survey, which was discussed in an RW post earlier this year ‘Academics’ …
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Jo VanEvery @jovanevery.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Never forget that this was done deliberately. And violently. In order to achieve this outcome. Discursive, physical, and legislative means were all used to break unions. And to make it more difficult to rebuild and to harness the power of unions.
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Peter Stefanovic @peterstefanovic.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Your weekend reminder Nigel Farage wants to - leave the ECHR - repeal the Equality Act - Strip back workers rights - Lift restrictions on exploitative zero-hours contracts - repeal the Renters’ Rights Act which abolishes “no fault evictions” youtu.be/KxOQRt8PQys?...
youtu.be
If UK media actually explained Nigel Farage’s policies to the public no one would be supporting him
YouTube video by Peter Stefanovic
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Senthorun S. Raj @senthorun.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
“Over the last two decades and beyond, we have won trans community and connectivity on a scale that was once unthinkable. We have made allies across every part of public life. We have helped hundreds of thousands people to improve their lives.” An important reminder by @notrightruth.bsky.social. 🏳️‍⚧️
ruthpearce.net
What we have won
It was the largest trans protest in British history. We travelled from across the country to central London. We were joined by allies, especially cis gay, lesbian, bisexual, and queer people who re…
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Elizabeth Taylor @elizabethtaylor47.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Yvette Cooper confirming that NHS guidance is coming forth shortly banning trans people from single sex wards. She waffles about ‘alternative provision’ but let’s be realistic here, this will massively massively disadvantage trans people’s care. Fuck Andy Burnham
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TransActual @transactualuk.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations officially comes into effect today. Read our full joint statement: transactual.org.uk/blog/2026/08...
The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations officially comes into effect today. A joint message from Scottish Trans, Trans+ Solidarity Alliance and TransActual.If services across Britain all operate in the way it describes going forward, it will cause serious and significant harm to trans people. We will not be able to access safe, appropriate services that reflect the reality of our lives and that meet our needs.Whether the problem is the Code, or the problem is the law – something must be done. The Supreme Court ruling has turned the clock back nearly 30 years on legal protections for trans people. And it has turned on its head the UK Parliament’s intentions when it passed both the Equality Act 2010, and the Gender Recognition Act 2004.To find out more, see the joint statement on our websites.
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Natacha @natacha.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
THREAD 🧵🧵🧵🧵 Two of the main lies in the Cass Review used to justify the puberty-blocker ban; 1. The lie that puberty-blockers have a long-term negative effect on bone density. 2. The lie that puberty-blockers have a negative effect on cognitive ability. Both have been shown to be false; 1/4
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