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Kevin Hewitt

@hewittkvnvc35.bsky.social
167 followers 130 following 28 posts

Very enthusiastic amateur naturalist specialising in all things lepidoptera (moths & butterflies) and Birds. Volunteer with the RSPB and Butterfly Conservation.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Kevin Hewitt
Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Energy suppliers urge UK govt to help households struggling with energy bills. Silence on cutting profit margins, windfall taxes on excessive profits. Household energy debt heading to £7bn. 120,000 a year die in fuel poverty. We can't afford privatisation and resulting profiteering.
bbc.co.uk
Suppliers pile pressure on government over energy bills
Immediate action is needed to help households struggling with bills this winter, says trade body Energy UK.
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 23h
There was a time when the Tories, however hypocritically, claimed to want to protect our natural heritage. Now they're just a party of vandals, ripping down the few protections the living world has for the sake of their rich chums. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Tories to pledge to scrap Environment Agency and Natural England
Shadow chancellor will also promise to scrap affordable homes regulations as part of strategy to refocus on growth
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
NHS England waiting list hits 7.33m appointments for 6.21m individuals, rises for the third time in 4 months. Privatisation by stealth. NHS capacity neglected. Thousands suffer. Private sector profiteers. www.oecd.org/en/publicati... Hospital beds per 1,000 population, Comparison 2013 and 2023.
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David Osland @davidosland.bsky.social · 16h
Beating up pensioners and vandalising curry houses in Gosport is not 'an expression of legitimate concern'
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Guy Shrubsole @guyshrubsole.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
The Tories have announced they would abolish Natural England, support a Third Runway & pull the UK out of the Aarhus Convention - in further signs they’ve totally given up on Middle England, don’t give a toss about the environment & just want to please some wealthy grouse moor owners & raving YIMBYs
Tory party press release: “[We will leave the Aarhus] Convention that powers the lawfare hindering every major infrastructure project in this country.”

“Abolish Natural England and the Environment Agency, moving to a more streamlined regulatory landscape to protect our environment.”Tory PR: “Support a Third Runway at Heathrow Airport and wider expansion, increasing capacity to deliver cheaper flights, better connections for passengers, and more exports of high-value British goods.”
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Tories to hand free childcare to those earning more than £100,000, would cost £700m to the public purse. Previously, they pledged cuts to universal credit, housing benefit, support for the long term unemployed. Continuation of the Tory war on less well-off.
theguardian.com
Tories would expand free childcare to high earners, Badenoch says
Kemi Badenoch says those earning more than £100,000 should not be discouraged from working more
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Miaganga @miaganga.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
UK chancellor to meet bank bosses for a pre-budget summit to discuss possible tax raid. Banks profiteering but resent windfall tax. Any chance of ending bank subsidies? Any chance of meeting pensioners, disabled, sick, poor to hear their concerns?
news.sky.com
Healey summons UK bank chiefs to pre-budget summit next week
The chancellor, John Healey, has called in the CEOs of lenders including Barclays, Lloyds and NatWest for talks ahead of his crucial budget statement.
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dbnewtondoors.bsky.social @dbnewtondoors.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
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Butterfly Conservation @savebutterflies.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Can you help us give moths their moment? 👉 www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/moths-matter #MothsMatter #TeamMoth
crowdfunder.co.uk
Moths Matter - Let's give them their moment
Will you help create a Red List for Britain’s macro-moths and give these overlooked species the recognition they deserve?
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Butterfly Conservation @savebutterflies.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Moths matter! 📢 Which is why we're on a mission to create the first official Red List of Britain’s Macro-moths Without this formal recognition, species risk being overlooked when national, regional and local decisions about conservation priorities and funding are made. 📷: Rob Blanken
Close-up of a Garden Tiger moth facing directly at the camera while clinging to a branch against a green background.
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Dividends paid to UK citizens taxed at rates of 8.75% to 39.35%, lower rate than wages. Dividends mostly go to the top 1%. £6bn a year raised if dividends taxed at the same rate as wages. More if NIC levied. Unlike the US, France, Germany, no UK tax levied on dividends paid to foreign investors.
leftfootforward.org
This is how the Chancellor can increase the personal allowance and lift millions out of hardship
Sustained economic growth can’t be achieved without a major boost to the purchasing power of the bottom 50% of the population
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Henry Dyer @direthoughts.com · 02/10/2026
Intrigued to see the Conservative conference will feature a speech on "press freedom" next week while they ban lobby journalists such as @josiahmortimer.bsky.social from attending their conference.
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Carla Denyer @carladenyer.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I've pushed the government to end unaffordable rents every day I’ve been an MP, and before then. It's a national scandal that thousands of ordinary people are forced to limit themselves & their life chances just to keep up with sky-high rents. This would be a much-needed reset👇
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Frances Ryan @francesryan.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Disability doesn’t care how old you are. Specialist food is no cheaper if you’re 19. Employers don’t lose their prejudice if you’re 21. This is blatant intergenerational inequality from Labour. Younger disabled people of all severities deserve better. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Key disability benefit for young people may be axed under major welfare changes
Exclusive: Plan under discussion involves intensive support to help young people into employment
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Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
@greenparty.org.uk "Environmental campaigners and Zack Polanski have both separately written to Andy Burnham and the foreign secretary to raise concerns about Rosebank's links to an Israeli company, Delek Group." Vote Green on October 8th and help Stop Rosebank. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Burnham warned Rosebank oil field could breach West Bank sanctions
Campaigners and Green Party leader Zack Polanski raise concerns about Rosebank's ties to an Israeli firm.
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The Green Party of England & Wales @greenparty.org.uk · 01/10/2026
The government needs to make clear where it stands: on the side of international law and climate science, or the side of big fossil fuel companies, wrecking our planet, and aiding atrocities in Palestine.
Letter from Zack Polanski to Ed Miliband, first page reading in full:

"Dear Ed, 

Ithaca Energy's interests in UK and oil and gas production 

Earlier this month you announced a commitment to introducing a sanctions regime for companies trading with illegal settlements – a critical and overdue step, and one which the Green Party strongly welcomes and has long campaigned for. 

It is however an overdue first step that must be strengthened and followed by wider action to end British complicity in the Israeli government’s illegal occupation and the ongoing genocide in Gaza. 

In respect of your proposed sanctions package, we would welcome clarity on your position on Ithaca Energy, the Aberdeen-based company that is a subsidiary of Israeli firm Delek Group which is blacklisted by the UN for operating in the illegal Israeli settlements in the Palestinian West Bank. 

Since 2000, Ithaca has already paid over $1bn in dividends from its UK oil and gas interests to the Delek Group. This amount would soar if the government gives the green light to new drilling projects in which Ithaca Energy has a stake – Rosebank (20%), Cambo (100%) and Tornado (50%). Revenues to Delek from Rosebank alone are expected to amount to £235 million. 

The government has been on notice since January 2026 that greenlighting these projects would put it in breach of Articles 49 and 53 of the Geneva Conventions. Therefore, a sanctions regime fit for purpose would see the government ruling out these projects and reviewing existing licences to make sure they have not been issued in contravention of our obligations under the Geneva Conventions."Second page reads:

"With the significant public interest and the apparent proximity of the decision on Rosebank, I am seeking your urgent answer to the following: What steps will you be taking to ensure revenues from UK oil and gas production are not financing support for illegal settlements? 

The UN has blacklisted Delek Group for “the provision of services and utilities supporting the maintenance and existence of settlements, including transport” and “the use of natural resources, in particular water and land, for business purposes.” 

This would seem to fall squarely under the remit of your proposed sanctions regime as you outlined in your oral statement to the House of Commons: “To those who finance or facilitate illegal settlements, let me say this: you will face the full force of UK sanctions.” 

For the FCDO to sanction companies involved in illegal settlements while DESNZ approves North Sea operations by subsidiaries of those companies would not only be counterproductive and hypocritical, but a flagrant failure of our moral and legal duties. It would stand in direct contradiction to the vision of Britain you laid out to the House earlier this month – “a Britain that upholds its values at home and around the world.” 

I look forward to your response. 

Yours sincerely, 


Zack Polanski 
Leader, Green Party England & Wales"
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Charles Keener @charleskeener.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Please watch this crucial discussion about the scale of Earth's energy imbalance. The numbers are shocking. Thanks. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tCR...
youtube.com
12 Hiroshima Bombs Every Second
YouTube video by Facing Future
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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
‘If you’ve got £1 million or £2 million to spend on political advertising, forget it,…. If you’ve got £8 million, you can make people believe anything you want.’ I wrote about Britain’s broken political finance system for the latest @lrb.co.uk
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Trump moves 9,000 troops to Middle East after threatening to hit Iran ‘very hard’. Distraction from Trump's economic failures, midterm blues, capitulation to China, court rebukes, tariff and press wars, self-aggrandizement, family fortunes from corruption Why does US Congress not check his abuses?
independent.co.uk
Trump moves 9,000 troops to Middle East after threatening to hit Iran - latest
The US president said the war will end ‘one way or another’
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
US private equity owner of Boots to sell it to a Canadian private equity firm for $9bn (£7bn). NHS prescriptions are a major money makers. Otherwise its prices are high. No UK tax levied on dividends paid by Boots to its foreign owners.
theguardian.com
Boots owner ‘closing in on sale to Canada’s Weston family for $9bn’
Deal would mark return of Canadian family to UK after it sold Selfridges department store for £4bn in 2022
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Charles Keener @charleskeener.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Keir Starmer wanted to be remembered as Prime Minister for building homes. Instead he will be remembered for his complicity in destroying them. #GazaGenocide
Rafah, in Gaza, on Google Earth, in 2022, left, and in 2026, right. (from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/google-earth-gaza-images-update-b3057562.html)
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Peter Stefanovic @peterstefanovic.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Your weekend reminder that 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 He is not on your side 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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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
🔴 We asked Tony Blair's think tank about charging businesses £500k for political access at party conferences and why one of its sponsor's logos disappeared after our reporting last week on TBI's alleged cash for access scheme This is what they said
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Millions of UK workers withdrawing from pension schemes to make ends meet Consequence of low wages and high cost of living forcing people into hardship choices - living now v income in retirement. They will have lower private pension in later life and state pension isn't enough even now.
bbc.co.uk
Why Gen Z are opting out of workplace pensions
A growing number of people are opting out of these schemes due to cost-of-living pressures.
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Portland Bird Observatory @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Very happy with this: just minutes after being gripped off by news of @paulupwey.bsky.social's Maize Wainscot we find there's one in our moth-traps as well!
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The Green Party of England & Wales @greenparty.org.uk · 01/10/2026
📺 Watch our Party Political Broadcast tonight. Tune in on ITV1 and BBC One, or via our social media channels.
Green Party advert for party political broadcast, with picture of Zack Polanski. 

Text reads: Party Political Broadcast. Thursday, October 1. ITV 1: 6.25pm. BBC 1: 6.55pm.
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Dan Webb @danwebb.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Marcle Ridge visible migration highlights after the mist lifted included 5 Golden Plover, first single Redwing of the autumn, 4 Song T, 17 Chaffinches, 67 Mips, 40 Skylarks, 3 Linnets, 2 Greenfinches, 1 Chiff and 3 Jays, all SW/W #patchbirding
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Miaganga @miaganga.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Capital gains taxed at lower rates than wages. 2024-25: 584000 people paid £24.2bn capital gains tax (CGT) on £127.3bn gains. 45% of CGT paid by those with gains of £5m+, less than 1% of CGT payers. Align CGT rates with tax rates on wages, generate £12bn-£14bn. More if NIC charged.
leftfootforward.org
This is how the Chancellor can increase the personal allowance and lift millions out of hardship
Sustained economic growth can’t be achieved without a major boost to the purchasing power of the bottom 50% of the population
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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Greenpeace UK has threatened The Crown Estate with legal action over what it describes as its “extortionate” lease fees for offshore wind farms www.rechargenews.com/legal/greenp....
rechargenews.com
Greenpeace threatens Crown Estate with lawsuit over 'extortionate' offshore wind lease fees
The Crown Estate argues its approach has helped build the UK’s world-leading offshore wind sector and that lease fees were determined by an auction process
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BTO | British Trust for Ornithology @btobirds.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Congratulations to @brigitstrawbridge.bsky.social our winner of the Dilys Breese Medal 🎉We’re pleased to award Brigit this medal for using her online platforms to encourage nature interaction and conservation in an accessible manner, and her enthusiasm in participation and promotion of BTO surveys!
An image of Brigit Strawbridge features in a circular frame. Wording over the image tile reads: Winner. Dilys Breese Medal. Brigit Strawbridge. The BTO logo features top right of the image.
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
South West Water pleaded guilty to sewage dumping, fined £8m, a decade after the events. Yet govt introduced more deregulation. England's water industry controlled by organisations with criminal convictions. None has licence revoked. No exec prosecuted. Customers fleeced.
bbc.co.uk
South West Water fined almost £8m for sewage spills
South West Water previously entered guilty pleas to pollution offences spanning six years.
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Far from taking pride in it, the men who killed this magnificent animal should be deeply ashamed. That swift, sleek, wonderful monster, flashing with holographic colours, reduced to a dead black lump. www.devonlive.com/news/devon-n...
devonlive.com
Monster 282kg tuna landed in Brixham is 'heaviest ever' catch
Giant £4,000 Bluefin tuna caught off Devon coast could be heading to Michelin-starred restaurants
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Super-rich UK energy/food magnates’ wealth skyrockets amid global crises Working-class face soaring prices, worsening climate impacts. Billionaires owning food/energy companies profit from hardship The same class funds political parties, uses tax havens, preaches low wages to workers.
theguardian.com
Super-rich UK energy and food magnates’ wealth skyrockets amid global crises
Analysis has shown the costs of daily essentials soaring in recent years, thanks in part to climate shocks, wars and geopolitical tensions
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Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Great afternoon in Kentish Town! One week today we can make history in Holborn & St Pancras - voting for rent controls, water nationalisation and action to tackle the climate crisis. We can only do it with your help! Join here: linktr.ee/HSP_6thGreenMP
Zack with two young people on the street holding vote Zack signsStaff and volunteers gathering outside cafe palestinaVote Zack Polanski sign going up in barber window Zack and a selfie with a woman on the street
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The White Falcon @markgolley.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
The Shocking Pinks!!! At some point, there will be a natural conclusion to the Vestal images from Cley but this might well be the Vestal to out-Vestal all others. Today's field-fringe visitor was the most outrageous one we've seen anywhere. Wow! @linnetincley.bsky.social #cleymothobs #norfolkmoths
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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
The UK has added 291,000 new solar PV installations in the 12 months to August 2026, the most in any 12-month period since 2012 It brings the cumulative installed solar in the UK to 23.2GW across 2,131,000 installations. It's also a 9% increase from August 2025, with 1.9GW of new capacity
solarpowerportal.co.uk
UK installs record 291,000 PV installations in 12-month period
This brings the cumulative installed solar capacity in the UK to 23.2GW across 2,131,000 installations.
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
UK public sector bodies spent £17bn with offshore-owned private equity firms last year. The same vultures received £31bn public sector contracts. Profiteering, low wages, tax dodging, asset-stripping is their business model. Enriched by public money. How many have politicians on payroll?
gmb.org.uk
£17 billion taxpayer cash went to offshore private equity last year
We need to buy British, GMB tells Labour conference
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George McGavin @georgemcgavin.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
When we fight together we can win... www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
‘Beyond priceless’: how a halt to dredging saved the seas of Scotland’s Summer Isles
Fish and shellfish populations were falling rapidly as scallop dredgers devastated the seabed, but local activists and small-scale fishers battled hard to protect their coastline
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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Climate campaigners staged a protest outside The Sanctuary, London base of crypto-billionaire Reform UK donor Ben Delo, this morning. Some protesters wore Nigel Farage and Ben Delo masks and passed around bags of money
Protesters near Westminster Abbey holding a "£36m in donations to Reform...tax breaks for Ben Delo" banner
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Migrant Lepidoptera (GB & Ireland) @migrantmothuk.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Maize Wainscot records this past week. Truly amaizing! Bonchurch, Isle Wight on 23/9 (6th British record) Lewes, Sussex on 29/9 Weymouth, Dorset on 30/9 Portland Bird Obs, Dorset on 30/9 Bracklesham, W. Sussex on 30/9 Photo J. Halsey #teammoth
Maize Wainscot
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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
🔴 Protests against Palantir across England today. In July, we published this deep dive into Palantir, its lobbying in Britain and the myriad problems NHS staff have had with its software. democracyforsale.substack.com/p/its-just-a...
democracyforsale.substack.com
"It's just a waste of time": inside Palantir's £330m NHS failure
Our new investigation reveals the problems with Palantir’s NHS tech - and the unrivalled political access that fuelled the firm’s march into the British state
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
9 years after Grenfell fire killed 72 people, Police pass files to the Crown Prosecution Service for possible charges against 54 individuals and 20 companies. How many will be prosecuted? Years of litigation will follow. Justice delayed is justice denied.
bbc.co.uk
Met Police submits Grenfell Tower fire investigation files to CPS
The force is seeking charges against 54 individuals and 20 companies over the 2017 tower block fire.
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Molly Scott Cato @greenpartymolly.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The hare is such an indescribably beautiful and sacred animal The fact that people might kill them for money or pleasure is one more indication that many are living in a death cult www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Cruel hare coursers leave 22 dead animals at Kent farm
Farmers say more action and harsher punishments are needed to tackle the illegal sport.
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Bank of England and the British financial system were deeply involved in the enslavement and trafficking of millions of African people. Slavery and colonialism is part of British history. It should be part of school curriculum, so that we can recognize ourselves and do better.
theguardian.com
Slave-trade wealth was embedded in Britain’s financial system, research finds
Dozens of Bank of England directors and founding subscribers invested in trafficking of enslaved Africans
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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Byline Times has identified seven Reform councillors who are listed as members of the masked anti-migrant groups bylinetimes.com/2026/09/16/t...
bylinetimes.com
The Reform Councillors Embedded in Britain’s Masked 'Patriot' Anti-Migrant Network
A Reform councillor and campaign co-ordinater urged his followers to join and support the masked group
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
In 2024-25 HMRC failed to collect £59.2bn of tax; £500bn since 2010. £12.8bn lost through profit shifting by multinational corporations. Promoters of a business rates avoidance scheme boasted that they have deprived local councils of £500m. Billions can be raised by ending abuses.
leftfootforward.org
Here’s how the chancellor can raise the billions needed to improve the quality of life of millions
Prem Sikka is an Emeritus Professor of Accounting at the University of Essex and the University of Sheffield, a Labour member of the House of Lords, and Contributing Editor at Left Foot Forward. Mi...
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