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Helen Shorter

@helensh.bsky.social
490 followers 2.9K following 7 posts

Research, policy, strategy. Construction, business, education, health. Coffee, hockey, family and friends. Peak District.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Helen Shorter
Mike Galsworthy @mikegalsworthy.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Just copy & share everywhere please. Absolutely thumping.
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Laura Phillips @lauraphillips.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Essential listening. "I think this board has been asleep at the wheel of the collapse of the BBC [bc of tension btween political governance appointees+senior management doing the day to day running]..There is no formal role in the BBC..to..treat its licence fee payers+audiences as active partners.."
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beebwatch.bsky.social @beebwatch.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
“Has the BBC board failed? With more BBC job cuts announced, I talk to Dr Tom Chivers @mediareformuk.bsky.social – whose PhD examined the last BBC Charter Review about a “real moment of reckoning” for public service media. 🎧 Listen to the full episode: podfollow.com/beebwatch
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Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 24/09/2026
In London, we’ve driven school exclusion and suspension rates down to half the national average. New evidence shows that my Violence Reduction Unit has had a major impact, boosting kids’ sense of belonging in our schools and keeping young people where they’re safe.
bbc.co.uk
London mayor says new schools funding will reduce knife crimes
A quarter of state schools in London signed up to the Unicef UK's Rights Respecting Schools Award.
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Rachel Sylvester @rachelsylvester.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Elon Musk is a bigger threat to British democracy than crypto billionaires - my latest newsletter piece for @theobserveruk.bsky.social observer.co.uk/news/politic...
observer.co.uk
Elon Musk is a bigger threat to British democracy than cr...
The foreign-based tech mogul is using the X algorithm to influence British politics in more sinister ways than the £72m given to Reform last week
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Laura Phillips @lauraphillips.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Please read this:
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Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
my brilliant colleague @robertshrimsley.bsky.social on the threat from Elon Musk’s X platform www.ft.com/content/f270...
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Byline Times @bylinetimes.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
“My profession smiles at hard-right figures when they walk into a TV studio and are given a disproportionate amount of air time to make their fact-free assertions while nodding along to their scapegoating of the weak.” ✍️ Patrick Howse
bylinetimes.com
The BBC Is Just Nodding Along
The corporation's news coverage has lost its soul as a bulwark against unaccountable power and extremism, writes a former BBC News producer
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Richard Sambrook @sambrook.eurosky.social · 16/08/2026
BBC’s coverage of Reform’s welfare plans is frankly bizarre. Headlines in Ten, leading on some radio networks. Reform are not even the official opposition and the plans have less credibility than Count Binface. Will BBC News do the same for Lib Dem and Greens policy two years out from an election?
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Carol Hedges @riotgrandma.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
How come Farage is allowed to hold a press conference, which was broadcast on the BBC?
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 30/07/2026
I’d never cried during a live broadcast – then three poignant words had me sobbing | Adrian Chiles
theguardian.com
I’d never cried during a live broadcast – then three poignant words had me sobbing | Adrian Chiles
I couldn’t help choking up when the writer Katriona O’Sullivan told me her life story. Now I’m on a mission to get everyone to read her memoir, writes Adrian Chiles
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Laura McInerney @missmc.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ve thought through how this will be staffed, funded, and the class size implications for GCSE options. They learned that from the last time, right? RIGHT? www.tes.com/magazine/new...
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
And good luck finding businesses to offer meaningful work experience to hundreds of thousands of 14 and 15 year olds. As ever a failure to acknowledge that our big challenge with vocational ed is our labour market.
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ECIU @eciu.net · 26/07/2026
A leaked military report warned prolonged high temperatures and volatility in weather pose an existential risk to the UK's food security, economy and geopolitical stability. If the government is unwilling to heed that warning, we will become less secure, says Lord Deben. Independent
buff.ly
Climate change is now a national security threat – ministers must act
A leaked military report has warned that prolonged high temperatures and volatility in weather patterns now pose an existential risk to Britain's food security, economy and geopolitical stability. If…
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Natalie Bennett @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
#AxeDrax
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Despite all the noise today I'd really like you to read this, as I think it's crucial. The government's in the process of p*ssing up to £264 billion into the ground, at the behest of the fossil fuel industry. Yes, £264 *billion*. It's utterly mad, and has to stop. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
The great carbon capture con: behold the wasted billions Burnham could claw back | George Monbiot
There are far better ways to tackle climate breakdown, but successive governments have chosen to listen to the fossil fuel companies instead, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
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Prof Bill McGuire @profbillmcguire.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
"the projected cost of the full CCS programme between now and 2050 is £264bn" Pure insanity that locks-in fossil fuel usage for decades Another HS2 (only far, far, worse) in the making Please @andyburnham.bsky.social - stop this nonsense in its tracks www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
The great carbon capture con: behold the wasted billions Burnham could claw back | George Monbiot
There are far better ways to tackle climate breakdown, but successive governments have chosen to listen to the fossil fuel companies instead, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
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High Pay Centre @highpaycentre.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
It is with great regret that we are announcing the imminent closure of the High Pay Centre.
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Stefan Marciniak @profmarciniak.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
Happy 78th Birthday to the NHS 🥳 Nye Bevan’s vision of universal healthcare became reality on 5 July 1948 "Illness is neither an indulgence for which people have to pay, nor an offence for which they should be penalised, but a misfortune, the cost of which should be shared by the community"
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Natalie Bennett @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
“Wedges” was significantly shaped by British oil giant BP . ... BP kept pouring millions into Princeton each year, in part to explicitly advance carbon capture and storage technology". So familiar from #BigTobacco, #BigAg and other massively destructive forces www.propublica.org/article/wedg...
propublica.org
How BP Execs Influenced a Climate Study That Shaped a Generation of Global Policy
BP sponsored an elite Princeton research center to address the climate problem without getting off fossil fuels. Its key work, a paper known as “Wedges,” guided climate discourse for a generation.
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Richard Burgon MP @richardburgon.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Today I led a debate in Parliament to ban ALL MPs’ second jobs. Nigel Farage didn’t show up to defend any of his - including the latest one, raking in £22,500 an hour to promote a gold dealer. The gravy train must end. Watch the debate below. parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/...
Text saying Ban All MPs' Second Jobs
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Jason Hickel @jasonhickel.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Why did our ruling class not invest in decarbonising faster to avoid this acceleration in deadly heatwaves that scientists warned would come? Because of the capitalist law of value.
jasonhickel.substack.com
Climate socialism
I am writing this message to the millions of people who have been involved in the climate movement over the past several years.
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Dr Paul Dorfman @drpauldorfman.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
For the first time in the UK, more new electric vehicles (EVs) have been sold over a 12-month period than petrol cars. www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-uk-...
carbonbrief.org
Analysis: UK sales of electric vehicles just overtook petrol cars for the first time - Carbon Brief
For the first time in the UK, more new electric vehicles (EVs) have been sold over a 12-month period than petrol cars, according to Carbon Brief analysis.
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Jan Rosenow @janrosenow.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
The jaws of the energy transition are closing. In 2005 fossil fuels made two-thirds of the world's electricity. Today it's 57.4%, with clean power (renewables + nuclear) at 42.6%. Fossil share peaked around 2012 and keeps falling. More in Sunday's Substack: janrosenow.substack.com
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Nancy Knowlton @nancyknowlton.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Huge potential to use transportation corridors to create green energy - this is just a start! www.zmescience.com/science/news...
zmescience.com
Trains in Switzerland Are Now Running Over Solar Panels in a First-of-Its-Kind Test
The pilot turns unused railway space into a small but closely watched solar test.
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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
On Nigel Farage urging unions to affiliate with Reform UK, TUC chief Paul Nowak: “Let’s be crystal clear: Reform are no friends of working people. “If they were, they wouldn’t be planning to rip up workers’ rights like day one sick pay and protection from fire & rehire and zero-hours contracts."
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
In the face of frenzied right-wing attacks, this government has successfully executed one of the most ambitious climate change projects in the world. Time to give credit where it's due iandunt.substack.com/p/guest-post...
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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
"Lightsource expects to deliver a biodiversity net gain of nearly 64% for habitats and 72% for hedgerows across the site." Once again, solar farms can be far better for the environment than monoculture grass fields www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/solar-planni....
solarpowerportal.co.uk
Lightsource bp planning approved at 57MW solar-plus-storage site
Located in Wrexham, North East Wales, the company selected the site due to its proximity to a point of connection with the grid at the Legacy Substation.
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Bylines Network @bylinesnetwork.co.uk · 01/06/2026
US-style insurance felt brilliant... until the bills arrived: ambulance: $1500, then surgery, out-of-pocket fees and years of debt. Matthew Pugh went on a painful journey. Here's why he believes strengthening the NHS beats Reform’s insurance trap ⤵️ @eastangliabylines.co.uk
eastangliabylines.co.uk
Beware insurance-based healthcare: my children taught me it’s risky
My experience with both the NHS and the US Healthcare system made me a fierce defender of the NHS
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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
🚨 NEW: Inside Big Oil's campaign to push Labour to drill the North Sea Oil & gas lobbyists have met UK and Scottish ministers more than once a week since Labour took office MPs have asked questions in Parliament after meeting lobbyists, and more 🧵 democracyforsale.substack.com/p/revealed-h...
democracyforsale.substack.com
Revealed: How Big Oil is pushing Labour to drill the North Sea
Oil and gas lobbyists have met ministers 96 times since July 2024 as industry pushes to overturn Labour's North Sea drilling ban and scrap energy windfall tax.
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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
“In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Those affected receive a small apartment & counselling with no preconditions. 4 out of 5 people affected make their way back to a stable life. And all this is CHEAPER than accepting homelessness.” IT SAVES PUBLIC MONEY to house people.
thebetter.news
Finland ends homelessness and provides shelter for all in need - scoop.me
In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Why? The country applies the "Housing First" concept agains homelessness.
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 29/10/2024
In recognition of us doing fuck all to reduce emissions, let me remind y'all that carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is useless unless we decarbonize drastically. rdcu.be/dbFbB
nature.com
Carbon dioxide removal is not a current climate solution — we need to change the narrative
Drastically reduce emissions first, or carbon dioxide removal will be next to useless.
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Jooooohhhh No! @josefoshea.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Good news, everybody!
corkbeo.ie
Cork Airport to get Ireland's largest 'Solar Carport'
Waterford's Greenvolt Next will install the energy-generating roofs
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Stefan Marciniak @profmarciniak.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
Restoring measles-free status in the UK Funding primary care sufficiently Supporting community care via school nurses, midwives, & GPs Robustly and consistently countering anti-vaccine lies These are all needed to get us back to where we need to be www.bmj.com/content/393/...
bmj.com
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Dr Dave Triska @davetriska.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
📝 The Transaction Who will hold the threads of a community in 5 years? A companion piece to What You Can’t Measure (link below, read first) 👇👇👇👇 open.substack.com/pub/davetris...
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Dr Dave Triska @davetriska.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
open.substack.com/pub/davetris...
open.substack.com
What you can’t measure
He’s fifteen minutes into a routine appointment and he says it like he’s ordering a coffee.
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Dr Paul Dorfman @drpauldorfman.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Analysis: Record wind and solar saved UK from gas imports worth £1bn in March 2026 www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-rec...
carbonbrief.org
Analysis: Record wind and solar saved UK from gas imports worth £1bn in March 2026 - Carbon Brief
The UK avoided the need for gas imports worth £1bn in March 2026 thanks to record electricity generation from wind and solar, reveals Carbon Brief analysis.
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James Murray @james-bg.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Some of the world's largest businesses urging governments to back the electrification of economies as quickly as is feasibly possible. This is so self-evidently true that it remains utterly mad that it is somehow still up for debate. www.businessgreen.com/news/4526980...
businessgreen.com
Top businesses urge Europe to accelerate electrification to curb reliance on 'volatile fossil fuels'
Corporate Leaders Group and We Mean Business coalition of leading blue chips urge governments to respond to energy market crisis with renewed push to accelerate electrification
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Dr Steve Taylor @drstevetaylor.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
This year @rthonwesstreeting.bsky.social imposed a new GP contract Provided an extra £1.50 to uncap the number of calls or requests per day & stand by the phone or computer And if the job isn’t completed within 24hours the GP will be sanctioned Job specifications below - can’t see a problem🤷🏻‍♂️
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Natalie Bennett @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Hearing now how every transfer of resources from NHS into private sector reduces the capacity of public sector. 30 per cent is now more realistic figure for privatisation of the NHS - 5 big cataract surgery firms making 32% return on investment, £169m profit
Report: privatisation of the NHS from Keep Our NHS Public
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Veronika Meduna @veronikameduna.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
Research now backs up that if you let X (formerly Twitter) algorithms determine what you read, your views will shift to the right theconversation.com/a-few-weeks-...
theconversation.com
A few weeks of X’s algorithm can make you more right-wing – and it doesn’t wear off quickly
Elon Musk’s social media platform is boosting conservative content – and it’s having long-lasting effects on how users see the world.
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Chris Meder @evcurvefuturist.com · 08/02/2026
Australia added a nuke-equivalent of wind & solar every year for 8 years— accelerating. 6 replaced coal, 2 met new demand. Grid batteries now add a nuke-equivalent every ~22 months, delivering more overnight power than nuclear & charging on cheap solar. Prices are back at 2017 levels, trending down.
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 10/01/2026
World’s richest 1% have already used fair share of emissions for 2026, says Oxfam
theguardian.com
World’s richest 1% have already used fair share of emissions for 2026, says Oxfam
Richest 1% took 10 days while wealthiest 0.1% needed just three days to exhaust annual carbon budget, study shows The world’s richest 1% have used up their fair share of carbon emissions just 10 days into 2026, analysis has found. Meanwhile, the richest 0.1% took just three days to exhaust their annual carbon budget, according to the research by Oxfam. Continue reading...
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Helen Shorter @helensh.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
This! We have so many rooftops. So much better to cover current infrastructure with solar than to clog up our agricultural land.
rooftops.so
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East Anglia Bylines @eastangliabylines.co.uk · 09/12/2025
Mid Suffolk’s leader explains why rooftop solar should come before rural land – and how the councils are delivering it. Report by Andy Mellen eastangliabylines.co.uk/politics/loc...
eastangliabylines.co.uk
How councils are innovating to deliver more solar
Mid Suffolk District Council leader argues when it comes to solar energy, the principle should be simple: rooftops before rural
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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 30/11/2025
Even after the mansion tax is applied, the owner of a £5m home in Westminster will pay proportionately less in property tax than the owner of a £210k Band B property in Sunderland.
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
This is exactly what the recent Trump-BBC 'scandal' was designed to achieve. The BBC is now self-censoring criticisms of Trump in the name of "impartiality"
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Rutger Bregman @rutgerbregman.com · 25/11/2025
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture. They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
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Dave Vetter @davidrvetter.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.
siepr.stanford.edu
The Economic Impact of Brexit
Other
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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 21/09/2025
“In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Those affected receive a small apartment & counselling with no preconditions. 4 out of 5 people affected make their way back into a stable life. And all this is CHEAPER than accepting homelessness.” It costs a lot less to house people.
thebetter.news
Finland ends homelessness and provides shelter for all in need - scoop.me
In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Why? The country applies the "Housing First" concept agains homelessness.
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