iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Helen Belcher

Kathy O'Donnell @kathyodonnell.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

If you're a politician, journalist, lawyer, artist, medic or social services or civil servant and you follow me, then this is the one thing I ask you to read. growinguptransgender.com/2026/10/02/l...

growinguptransgender.com

Leaving the UK with a heavy heart

Today, as a family, we have booked our flights and our one-way ticket out of the UK. This has not felt like a choice. This feels like fleeing to protect ourselves. For the past 7 years we have look…

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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The Times - which has v much joined in the rightwing clamour to reduce immigration - now reporting that Mahmood’s “success” has cost the economy £4- to £7Bn. Would they like to now honestly confirm that fewer people = less spending power for all. There’s a high price to pay for this nasty obsession.

Patrick Maguire
Chief Political Commentator Oliver Wright Policy Editor

Falling migration numbers could cost the chancellor as much as £7bn in fiscal headroom as he writes his first budget, The Times has been told.
Government insiders believe that John Healey, who already faced an uphill battle to balance the books next month, is likely to have an even bigger challenge after immigration undershot projections from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
The Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank estimated last month that the success of Shabana
Mahmood's
reforms, which have cut net migration to the low hundreds of thousands, could cost Healey some £4bn.

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Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

It really sets in stark relief the asymmetry of coverage of the "debate" over trans and women's rights across our media. On the GC side court losses are reported as wins, racism is glossed over and hate is endlessly sane-washed. Meanwhile successes on the pro-trans side are met with silence or lies.

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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

We’re not even prepared for winter, or summer

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John Mashey @johnmashey.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

From computing history, blaming “rogue” AI’s is B.S. Robert Morris Jr unleashed a worm program that caused more trouble than intended, but far less dangerous than current AI’s. *He* (not worm) was convicted of felony. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_... I used to see him at Bell Labs w/ his father.

en.wikipedia.org

Morris worm - Wikipedia

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Helen Belcher @helenbelcherobe.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Absolutely this. We don't expect car or aeroplane manufacturers to be completely absolved from their product failures. About time some of these companies were prosecuted for criminal damage.

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Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

The second attack in two weeks on an LGBT+ bookshop in Glasgow. STV posted this story on Facebook and there is an endless stream of comments underneath suggesting the answer is for them to stop using the word "queer", stop supporting trans rights, and stop being so visible. Mainstreamed hate.

news.stv.tv

Queer bookshop vandalised again two weeks after targeted attack

Category Is Books in Govanhill has been targeted twice within two weeks

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Congress of Local and Regional Authorities @congress.coe.int · 25/09/2026

Congress Rapporteur on LGBTI rights @helenbelcherobe.bsky.social welcomes the adoption of the Council of Europe’s first Strategy for Equal Rights for LGBTI People 2027-2032 “In this regard, read also my latest statement on the situation of LGBTI rights in Türkiye." 👉 go.coe.int/LoId5

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Alasdair Mackenzie @alasdairmackenzie.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

The BBC has long given up even pretending to be interested in who these people are, why they are coming or how they might feel, in favour of acting as a kind of shop window for the parties to display their wares of violence and cruelty

bbc.co.uk

Most migrant small boat arrivals in single day of 2026

A total of 781 migrants arrive on Wednesday, but the yearly total is below the same point in 2025.

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Dan Snow @thehistoryguy.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

You know who else was obsessed with dancing around on the pinheads of imagined classifications based on where great grandparents were born and what they believed? The Nazis.

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Alan Stedman @alanjstedman.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Plain speaking with a touch of humour (delivered straight faced) is sometimes the way to go Give that man a 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

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Kendall Reviews @kendallreviews.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

If the BBC are going to remove 11 sketches from That Mitchell and Webb Look on iPlayer because ‘the comedy doesn’t work in 2026,’ can they please remove Mrs. Brown’s Boys too because ‘the comedy has never worked'

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Jay Rayner @jayrayner1.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

On the BBC News Katya Adler has just described Germany, where the far right AFD keep winning elections, as entering 'uncharted political territory'. Hmmm. Where Germany is concerned I think that territory is pretty well charted.

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Richard Flowers @richarddominic.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Let’s be clear here. Anyone saying we should throw trans rights under the bus in order to protect *their* rights from Nigel Farrage is *not* a Liberal. They are a coward.

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LGBT+ Liberal Democrats 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @pluslibdems.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

LGBT Lib Dems Chair Lucas North speaking out for trans rights!

Equality is not a finite resource.
The rights of women and the rights of trans people do not have to be placed on opposite sides of a culture war.
Lucas North
Chair, LGBT+ Liberal Democrats

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Reposted by Helen Belcher

Massimo (mirror) @rainmaker1973-m.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

You’ve never seen a cat so clearly roll its eyes. Original post

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Reposted by Helen Belcher

TransActual @transactualuk.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Every penny donated helps us work toward a world where our organisation no longer needs to exist. It takes two minutes to set up a monthly donation, or make a one-off contribution, to help us continue the fight for trans rights today. tinyurl.com/DonateTransA... #Trans #Transgender #Nonbinary

Text says: Support the fight for trans rights. Donate today. tinyurl.com/DonateTransActual. Illustration of a person with a plait in their hair holding up a sign with a heart in the colours of the trans flag.

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Helen Belcher @helenbelcherobe.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I'm working on a joke about quantum mechanics. I know where it should go but no idea how it gets there.

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Reposted by Helen Belcher

TransActual @transactualuk.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Many trans people have been left potentially outed, scared, unsafe and discriminated against in their workplaces. transactual.org.uk/blog/2026/09... Let us know how this has affected you by taking part in our Trans Lives Survey: form.typeform.com/to/BRppksJ3?...

Image shows an empty office with chairs desks and laptops with large windows. Text reads: Caution! Trans At Work Trans Experiences in the Workplace. >> Many trans people have been left potentially outed, scared, unsafe and discriminated against in their workplaces.

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TransActual @transactualuk.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Trans people in Wales have been left in limbo following a decision by NHS Wales to pause access to gender affirming surgeries without warning. That cannot continue. transactual.org.uk/blog/2026/09...

Write to the Chief Commissioner at NHS Wales today, and demand that access to surgery is reinstated immediately.

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Reposted by Helen Belcher

Transparency International UK @transparencyuk.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

🗣️"We can't have billionaires treating political parties like they were football clubs" @duncanhames.bsky.social Reform's £72m in pledges from just two crypto-billionaires is a watershed moment. But it's not a new problem. Politics' dependence on the super rich needs to end. More ⤵️

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Reposted by Helen Belcher

Trans+ Solidarity Alliance @transsolidarity.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

NEW: Llais, the health watchdog for Wales, is investigating the decision by NHS Wales’ Joint Commissioning Committee to indefinitely pause access to gender-affirming surgeries. If you have been affected - they have asked you to share this with them: www.llaiswales.org/news-and-rep...

llaiswales.org

Update on our work regarding NWJCC’s decision to pause gender-affirming surgery | Llais

Ar ddechrau'r mis hwn, cyhoeddodd Gwasanaeth Rhywedd Cymru - a gomisiynwyd gan Gyd-bwyllgor Comisiynu GIG Cymru (CBCGC) ac a gynhaliwyd gan Fwrdd Iechyd Prifysgol Caerdydd a'r Fro (BIPCAF) - y byddai ...

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Reposted by Helen Belcher

Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 14/09/2026

Cis people do not understand how much trans people's rights have regressed in just 5 years. 5 years ago, there were none of these restrictions. 19 states banned legal recognition 21 states have bathroom bans 8 states ban gender marker changes on DLs 25 ban gender affirming care for trans youth

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Reposted by Helen Belcher

Twonks @twonks.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Mushrooms

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Reposted by Helen Belcher

Tom Morrison MP @tommorrisonmp.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Last year I met with officials from the Electoral Commission and warned them that we were just months away from the sort of political donations that we have just seen Reform attract. I warned them that we faced seeing parties being bought like football clubs - as playthings for billionaires.

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Reposted by Helen Belcher

Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Democratic politics will not serve the people when politicians owe their place and their futures to one or two billionaires.

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Reposted by Helen Belcher

Kevin McKenna MP @kevinmckenna.co.uk · 12/09/2026

As well as being wrong about Britain “taking them over” regarding the Falklands in 1982, when we liberated them from an invasion, the BBC might like to note Trump was 35 at the time He’s stretching the definition of young boy way, way past breaking point His memory of the time clearly is very off

Screenshot of BBC article about Donald Trump’s comments about the Falklands, which he said on his visit to Dublin. Both the claim he was a boy at the time of the Falklands War and that the British “took it over” rather than liberate them from an illegal invasion are false

The text reads:

“Earlier, while answering questions about a Iran, Gaza and a potential united Ireland, Donald Trump was also asked if he spoke to the British Prime Minister Andy Burnham about the Falkland Islands.
"Here we go again," says Trump as he recalls being a young boy when the Falklands War happened.
He says the UK was "a different country at that time" and claims "they went in and they took it over".”

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Helen Belcher @helenbelcherobe.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

What the UK Government is going by its decisions on trans people is teaching trans people that authority doesn't protect, but instead abuses. This applies in schools, in the workplace, in civic society, in politics, in healthcare. And if they can do this to trans people, they can do it to anyone.

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Helen Belcher @helenbelcherobe.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

"Just following orders", when implementing rules which cause harm which needn't otherwise be caused, was rejected as a legal defense in the post-WW2 Nuremberg trials. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superio...

en.wikipedia.org

Superior orders - Wikipedia

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Lazzie BOO!! 😱 @lazzieb.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

yes, and, um, some of us keep trying to tell people that this is how the supreme court ruling, and the EHRC guidance, is written. trans men can be excluded from any and all "single-sex" facilities if their appearance distresses someone of hegemonic class, for any reason, arbitrarily.

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James O’Brien @mrjamesob.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Surely he has to resign again to let the people of Clacton prejudge the resukt of the police investigation? It’s much more serious than the investigation he resigned over last time…

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Sean Jones KC @seanjones.org · 07/09/2026

Astonishing to hear people say they'd rather asylum seekers drowned than be saved by the RNLI. Next comes letting people die in burning hostels rather than be saved by the fire brigade and letting people get kicked to death in the street rather than be saved by the Police. Don't platform this hate.

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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

The AfD and Reform immigration policies are almost identical. There is no plausible reason for considering one far right and the other not.

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Helen Belcher @helenbelcherobe.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

It seems like a lot of broadcasters have given uncritical coverage of racists and fascists today. I've heard similar on the commercial radio news and i haven't listened to the BBC.

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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Watching BBC News and it's striking to hear the presenters repeatedly referring to the AfD as "far-right" whilst refusing to ever say the same about the hundreds of actual masked blackshirts currently swarming British ports

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TransActual @transactualuk.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

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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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Philippa East (Author) @philippaeast.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Yeah, but the Government need to ask hard questions of the NWJCC. Given that JCC have admitted that at this stage there is no evidence that anyone has been referred inappropriately, and no evidence of any patient harm, why did they pull all surgeries? Just because Nick Wallis and pals told them to?

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Robert Hutton @roberthutton.co.uk · 04/09/2026

With all respect to the BBC, the reason this story "matters" is not about whether it distracts from Reform's conference. It "matters" because it is important our leaders are not conspiring to break the law.

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Liberal Democrats @libdems.org.uk · 03/09/2026

Farage has always behaved as though the rules apply to everyone but him. These allegations against Reform look like the latest example. Lib Dem Cabinet Office spokesperson @lisasmartmp.bsky.social has written to the police and the electoral commission asking them to investigate.

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Cwiar Cymru @cwiar.org · 03/09/2026

🏛️ Nearly every Plaid Cymru backbencher has demanded answers from the NHS on trans surgeries. In a joint letter, they asked what evidence, risk assessments, and consultations the NWJCC took in its decision. It's time for answers from NHS Wales.

Senedd Cymru
Welsh Parliament
Plaid Cymru
By email lan Green OBE
Chair
NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee
Cc: Suzanne Rankin, Chief Executive, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board; Kirsty Williams, Chair, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
1 September 2026
Dear Mr Green,
RE: Pausing of gender-affirming surgeries by the NHS Wales Joint Commissioning
Committee
We are writing to express our profound disappointment at the abrupt pausing of planned operations within the Welsh Gender Service. The sudden nature of this decision by the NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee has left patients, many of whom have been preparing for surgery for months or years, without the care they were expecting and relying upon.
The impact on individuals and the wider trans community in Wales has been significant.
Understandably, this development has caused distress, fear, and a deep sense of uncertainty.
This comes at a time when the rights and dignity of trans people across the UK are increasingly under pressure. You will know that gender-affirming healthcare in Wales is clinician-led, patient-focused, and carefully paced; it is not rushed, nor undertaken lightly.
In light of this, we would like to raise the following urgent questions on behalf of our constituents and the wider community:
• Why has surgery been halted for a form of treatment that has among the highest levels of psychiatric screening and one of the lowest regret rates of any procedure offered by the NHS?
• What specifically is the cause for concern?
• What evidence informed this decision?
• Why were patient stakeholders not consulted before the decision was taken?
• Was any risk assessment carried out regarding the impact of cancelling treatment at such short notice? If not, why?
• What role, if any, did NHS England play in influencing or directing this decision?
• What is the scope of any review now underway, and when can we expect its conclusions?

Senedd Cymru
Welsh Parliament
Plaid Cymru
• When can patients expect surgeries to recommence?
• What safeguards are in place to protect patients' mental health during this pause?
• What commitment can be given to the continuation of therapies and hormone treatment during this period?
Patients deserve clarity, reassurance and a clear pathway forward. We would be grateful for a detailed response addressing each of the above points, together with confirmation of how the Welsh Gender Service intends to support those affected during this period of uncertainty.
This letter is also being copied to Suzanne Rankin and Kirsty Williams, Chief Executive and Chair of Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, given the board's role in administering the Welsh Gender Service.
We look forward to your reply.
Matthew Jones MS
Nick Carter MS
Donna Cushing MS
Kerry Ferguson MS
Marc Jones MS
Lis McLean MS
Rebeca Phillips MS
Niamh Salkeld MS
Lindsay Whittle MS
Lyn Ackerman MS
Alun Cox MS
Safa Elhassan MS
Leticia Gonzalez MS
Kiera Marshall MS
Anna Nicholl MS
Sarah Rees MS
Elyn Stephens MS
Elfed Williams MS
Beca Brown MS
Sara Crowley MS
Sera Evans MS
Carrie Harper MS
Becca Martin MS
Peredur Owen Griffiths MS
Mair Rowlands MS
Elwyn Vaughan MS

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Lyra 💕 @lyra-scotland.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

A sympathetic article from the NHS talking about cis women being forced to DIY to access testosterone during menopause. The tone would not be this for trans people, I'm sure small dose testosterone can be huge for menopausal people but just the difference in framing is shocking

bbc.co.uk

Testosterone bought by menopausal women posing as men due to NHS issues

One menopause specialist says she has seen women with up to 12 times the safe level of the hormone.

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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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Ed Davey @eddavey.libdems.org.uk · 01/09/2026

I've written to the Prime Minister ahead of his first statement later today, with a clear message: Our politics is broken and we can’t fix our country until we fix our politics.

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