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Helen Back

@helenback1.bsky.social
66 followers 135 following 437 posts

Edinburgh based. Here for the politics, cycling chat, community news, nature, quality of life, comedy, cats, old and beautiful things. End the monarchy. Rejoin the EU. Ban sleeping bag style coats

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Reposted by Helen Back
Sian Berry MP @sianberry.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Are the Royal Family public servants or not? And if they are, then why do they have a blanket exemption on rules that others have to follow? In July I introduced a Bill to end outrageous Royal exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act. You can read it here: bills.parliament.uk/bills/4267
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road.cc @roadcc.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
“In the last decade, about three people every week have been killed by drivers on your roads. In that time, the only people you’ve asked to be courteous are cyclists. Make it make sense”
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Anger as “tone-deaf” Traffic Scotland tells cycling groups “courtesy goes a long way” and to “be mindful of traffic behind you”, days after cyclist killed by driver during club ride; The most stylish ...
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Pete Fraser @petefrasermusic.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
In the movie version of this, after Piddington runs out of food water and money as a result of leaving the UK, the residents apply for asylum and end up housed in a military base, with HILARIOUS consequences. www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Piddington in Oxfordshire votes to leave UK over asylum plans
Piddington residents voted over proposals to house up to 1,256 male asylum seekers nearby
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Chris Scott (he/him) @chrisdonia.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Morningside Road and Raeburn Place, both key bus routes, both heavily used by pedestrians, both suffering awful blockages due to parking. Remove all parking spaces from both, you've got a beautiful dedicated bus/tram lane and could maybe even widen the pavements.
Screenshot from Google Maps street view, looking along Raeburn Place, dated June 2023. Cars parked on either side of the road, one vehicle driving in each direction, with plenty of space for them on either side. Screenshot of Google Maps street view showing Morningside Road, dated October 2025. Various parked vehicles on both sides of the road, cars and a bus seen driving in each direction.
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Ridgehead @ridgeheadgames.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Wow I sure hope the 77-year-old man who has never had a job and who achieved his current position in life simply by being born and outliving his mother can help shape the future of this cutting-edge technology
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Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Politicians on the centre-left and centre-right simply don't seem to understand they are in an existential battle for the future of British democracy.
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Britain is just looking on as a handful of tax hating billionaires buy our political future.
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nickybruty.bsky.social @nickybruty.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Wake up Burnham. Failing to introduce caps because it might affect union donations is laughable in the wake of this tsunami of corruption
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Tom Hogg 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @tomhogg.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
#EdTravCyc Voi bike expansion? Not welcome in Craiglockhart. www.craiglockhart.org/news/voi-ele...
craiglockhart.org
Craiglockhart Community Council | News | Voi Electric Bike H
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Reposted by Helen Back
Andrew Heald @andyheald.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
So having failed to inspect the bridge properly for several years, and failed to negotiate with Network Rail for access on the adjacent old railway line , Edinburgh Council decide to close a key piece of tranport infrastructure without bothering to speak to local residents …
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
That sobbing you can hear outside is Lord Hannan of CANZUK beating his tiny little fists against an invisible Brexit unicorn
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Bumm0r @bumm0r.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Alt text since Scott was not aware that this shoule be added: "Elevated view from a bus showing the physical reality of street justice undone: 100 pedestrians and cyclists crushed into narrow margins, while 10 cars glide through a sprawling road that takes up nine-tenths of the frame"
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Reposted by Helen Back
The Guardian @theguardian.com · 08/08/2026
‘I hate what AI is doing to the minds and happiness of the young’: Katherine Rundell on the view from the classroom
theguardian.com
‘I hate what AI is doing to the minds and happiness of the young’: Katherine Rundell on the view from the classroom
Education is at a crossroads, argues the author and academic. Should we embrace new technology in the name of efficiency, or is it time to fight back?
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SW20ed #Edinburgh @sw20.info · 02/08/2026
After lengthy repair, the 172m Porto’s Dom Luís I Bridge reopened to public transport, taxis, cyclists & pedestrians only. After lengthy repair, #Edinburgh’s 160m North Bridge reopened with a lane of hatching, no cycling provisions, without widening busy pavements and no traffic reduction measures.
Dom Luís I Bridge is a double-deck metal arch bridge that spans the river Douro between the cities of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia in Portugal. 

On 27 June 2003, the upper deck was closed to motor traffic in order to adapt the structure for the metro system. The new "D Line" was inaugurated on 18 September 2005, and opened to the metro trams and pedestrian traffic.

The lower deck remained open to general traffic until October 2021, when it closed temporarily to all traffic for the start of repairs and renovation work predicted to last about one year. When it reopened, in April 2023, the lower deck was restricted to public transport, taxis, cyclists and pedestrians.Photo shows North Bridge, four lanes for vehicles (x2 bus lanes, x2 vehicle area) and a fifth for hatching - space that could have been used for wider pavements. 

North Bridge is a bridge in Edinburgh linking the High Street with Princes Street, and the Old Town with the New Town. The current bridge was built between 1894 and 1897.
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Adam Bede @adambede.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
The monarchy as a check and balance on a prime minister, that was a singular failure when Johnson was found by the Supreme Court to have misled the Queen and then didn't resign. I understand that the Attorney General also failed to inform the whole Cabinet that prorogation may have been illegal.
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Jon Owen @anotherjon.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
"That brings us to our next taxi licence renewal application. The Police object, based on the applicant having been convicted of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old woman who was a passenger in his taxi. His application is otherwise all in order. All those in favour?" www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Four councillors quit after vote for rapist taxi driver to keep operator licence
The four have resigned from Highland licensing committee after voting to allow David Brown to keep an operator's licence.
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Reposted by Helen Back
Jester mouse @jestermouse.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
static.klipy.com
Father Ted Speech: Moving On To Liars
Alt: Father Ted Speech: Moving On To Liars
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Helen Back @helenback1.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
@edinburghcouncil.bsky.social @stephenjenkinson.bsky.social @rosssmckenzie.bsky.social This part of the western approach road is a motorway slip road in a built up part of the city and nobody seems to want to do anything to tame it. Can’t even feel safe on the derisory pavements …
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Helen Back @helenback1.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Terrible idea. Some councils paying to amend the pavement for the benefit of wealthy drivers and ensuring the kerbside they own will never be used for anything but private car parking. No guarantee car owners will get space outside their house either. Watch the proliferation of trailing cables
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Helen Back @helenback1.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
@edinburghcouncil.bsky.social @livingstreetsedi.bsky.social @stephenjenkinson.bsky.social @sw20.info Cycling along Princes St is dangerous for lots of reasons but the road surface where it meets tram lines is now the worst ever. It can’t remain like this *any longer* or someone will die under a bus
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Steve Bullock @guitarmoog.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
This is A Good Thing, but I can’t helping but be struck yet again by how pointless and self-defeating it is for the UK to have to spend a decade or more of work and rebuilding relationships just to get to a position that’s still nowhere near as good as it was on 30th January 2020.
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Helen Back @helenback1.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
@stephenjenkinson.bsky.social - this should be an urgent safety priority to install some kind of crossing here on Westfield Road. It would also slow down the motorway speed of traffic as it exits and approaches the WAR which is unmonitored and completely out of hand
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Helen Back @helenback1.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
@edinburghcouncil.bsky.social - this is ridiculous and needs fixing asap
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Reposted by Helen Back
elia ayoub @ayoub.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
The UK version of “Project 2025” by the Reform party includes a British ICE, a concentration camp for 24,000 people, mass surveillance and withdrawing from refugee, anti-torture and anti-trafficking conventions. It’s on their website. That’s how comfortable fascists are in the UK today.
The Legislation
Upon winning a general election, a Reform government under Prime Minister Nigel Farage will:
1) Leave the ECHR
2.) Repeal the Human Rights Act and replace it with a British Bill of Rights.
3.) Pass The Illegal Migration (Mass Deportation) Bill:
This Bill will:
Create a legal duty to remove illegal migrants for the Home Secretary
The Bill opens with a blunt obligation for the Home Secretary: "The Secretary of State shall ensure the removal from the United Kingdom of each person who does not have extant leave to remain and is not an Irish citizen or otherwise protected by regulations made under this Act."
The following parts of the legislation are introduced on an emergency basis, with an in-built sunset clause after 5 years:
Disapply the 1951 Refugee Convention, the UN Convention Against Torture, the Council of Europe Anti-Trafficking Convention (ECAT)
Derogation is justified under the Vienna Convention doctrine of state of necessity: Britain faces a national emergency in which uncontrolled illegal migration undermines public order.
These treaties will otherwise be used by activist judges to frustrate deportations, even after the repeals of the HRA and ECHR.
Create Detention Power Without Hardial Singh Constraints
This means illegal migrants can be detained until they are deported. Activist lawyers routinely use Hardial Singh to secure their client's bail, after which the client absconds.
If you came to the UK illegally, you are ineligible for asylum. End of story
All asylum claims will become inadmissible if made by a person within the Act's scope. If you came to the country illegally, you are ineligible for asylum in the UK. This strips the Home Office, the immigration tribunals and the higher courts of jurisdiction to even consider claims. A claim that cannot be considered cannot suspend removal and therefore, cannot delay a flight.
Re-entering after deportation and destroying ID becomes a serious criminal offence
Re-entry after deportation will be…The Operational Plan
We will create an enforcement unit called UK Deportation Command, including an Illegal Migrant Identification Centre - harnessing cutting edge data fusion
A Reform government will create a cutting edge enforcement data centre to relentlessly identify and detain all illegal migrants in the UK. Using powers granted by the new legislation, it will automatically share data between the Home Office, NHS, HMRC, DVLA, banks and the police. It will power bulk warrants, including mandatory biometric capture during any police encounter. Each power addresses a failure mode observed over the past decade - for example, banks and GP surgeries unaware of a customer's status, or overstayers slipping through because a warrant covered only a single property.
Secure Immigration Removal Centres (SIRC) will be built rapidly to detain up to 24,000
Detention capacity for up to 24,000 will be created within 18 months. The Home Office will build Secure Immigration Removal Centres. This will be modular accommodation built in remote parts of the country. Conditions are basic but not punitive: prefabricated two-person rooms, canteen catering, on-site medical suites. Robust perimeters and internal movement controls prevent escapes.
This enables detention-on-arrest: no more bail. This capacity would allow for up to 24,000 illegal migrants to be deported per month.
Initial Voluntary Return Window
A six-month Assisted Voluntary Return window precedes large-scale raids. Illegal migrants will be offered a financial incentive to self-deport. An app will be launched to facilitate this.
The Deportation Flights
The Home Office will scale up charters to 5 flights per day. To guard against last-minute aircraft unserviceability, the RAF will keep one Voyager aircraft on six-hour 'hot-spare' readiness. If a commercial charter breaks down, detainees can still be flown out that night, preserving operational integrity. The legal reset will mean activist lawyers will no longer be able preven…
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Charlie @urchaidh.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
Silverknowes Road being returned to cars and car parking after a typically disingenuous campaign by the Edinburgh Liberal Democrats. Never let those lying sellouts tell you they give a shit about carbon reduction, climate change, active travel or road safety.
A sign saying 'Cycle Lane Closed' at the start of a section of segregated cycle lane currently being dismantled.
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Reposted by Helen Back
Transform Scotland @transform.scot · 04/04/2025
Scotland must act on the rise of SUVs. These heavier vehicles increase road maintenance costs, take up more space, and pose a greater risk to pedestrians. The public should not bear the cost of larger, more dangerous cars.
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Helen Back @helenback1.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
@rosssmckenzie.bsky.social pedestrians sacrificed on a caged narrow pavement so cars can have a wide junction to race in off the motorway slip road of the WAR on roseburn street. This must be difficult or impossible for some. Nothing on other side at all. Any chance of a revision here?
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Bob From Accounts 🚲 @bobfromaccounts.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
"Cycling is not a practical daily travel option for most people." In 2022, 26% of car trips in the UK were shorter than 1 mile, and 71% were under 5 miles. A 5-mile bike ride takes around 30 minutes. Provide people with the option to cycle and build more safe infrastructure
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Martin Lewis @martinlewis.moneysavingexpert.com · 03/02/2025
Today's Poll: Would you prefer the UK was closer to the US or the EU in international relations and trade terms? Which is closest to your view. 1️⃣ I'm under 40: EU 2️⃣ I'm under 40: US 3️⃣ I'm 40+: EU 4️⃣ I'm 40+: US 📊 Show results
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Rosamundi @rosamundi.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
you don't have to give your email address after voting, just submit and see poll results.
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Guy Shrubsole @guyshrubsole.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
Stop Musk from funding far-right politics in the UK! I just signed this petition 'Tighten the rules on political donations' - it's nearly at 30,000 signatures - can you add your name too? - petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...
petition.parliament.uk
Petition: Tighten the rules on political donations
We want the government to: Remove loopholes that allow wealthy foreign individuals to make donations into UK political parties (e.g. by funnelling through UK registered companies). Cap all donations ...
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Caroline Lucas @carolinelucas.bsky.social · 05/01/2025
Pity Farage wasn’t asked about this - he should be forced to own it @bbclaurak.bsky.social @theneweuropean.bsky.social
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Chris @chrixoffer.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
Golf courses don't belong in cities
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Hamish Kallin @hamishkallin.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
Just a reminder that roughly 5.5% of Edinburgh is golf courses.
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Jon Cooper @joncooper-us.bsky.social · 25/12/2024
I love how Denmark isn’t taking any shit from Donald Trump. 🇩🇰 🤣
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Peter Stefanovic @peterstefanovic.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
I’m old enough to remember Boris Johnson telling businesses Brexit paperwork could go in a bin. Now they need a warehouse to store it in
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Dr Mark Hartl @drmhartl.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
This morning's commute in #Edinburgh from Russel Road along the new #Roseburn Path extension to the Canal. Wonderful and a game changer, cutting out Russel Road, Murieston Place, Ardmillan Terrace and Harrison Road (4.5x speed). #CyclingToWork #CyclingInEdinburgh
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Cllr Stephen Jenkinson @stephenjenkinson.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
I’m confident a new e-bike hire scheme can be in place by next summer and that it’ll prove popular with both visitors and residents alike 🚴‍♂️ www.scotsman.com/news/transpo...
scotsman.com
All-electric bike hire scheme to be launched in Edinburgh by next summer - here's how it would work
Successor to ill-fated Just Eat Cycles would be at no cost to city council
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Jon Burke🌍 @jonburkeuk.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
Great starter pack of major news outlets now on Bluesky. Truth matters. bsky.app/starter-pack...
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