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Joanna Nicolson

@joannanicolson.bsky.social
561 followers 552 following 267 posts

Artist, gardener. Keen to see an end to inequality, lies and culture wars

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Reposted by Joanna Nicolson
Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 5h
“Trump has tried to drive the entire South American continent towards the Far Right, an operation that will have implications far beyond the Midterms for both the US and the rest of the world.”
chadbourn.substack.com
Trump In South America
The Far Right shift is almost complete
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Spelling Mistakes Cost Lives @darrencullen.bsky.social · 12h
The moral arc of the universe is long but it bends towards Jeremy Clarkson spending decades denying global warming only to sink his fortune into a farm just as global warming really starts to kick in
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 5h
Badenoch would do a deal with Reform in a heartbeat, no matters what she says.
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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 5h
If you believe this, I have a bridge to sell you. The prime directive of the Conservative Party is to get and hold power. The idea that it would risk throwing away the opportunity merely because it involved an albeit uncomfortable arrangement with another right-wing party is clearly for the birds.
bbc.co.uk
Kemi Badenoch: I'd rather have another election than do a deal with Reform UK
The Conservative Party leader also pledged to cut the cost of hiring 21 to 24 year olds.
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Farrukh @implausibleblog.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Conservative Helen Whateley, "Tax cuts have to be funded.. I'm doing work on what is the right way to bring down the welfare bill" My view: Why is the answer always more hardship for people who are already struggling, while vast wealth can be hoarded almost untouched?
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fife4europe #FBPE #RejoinEU @fife4europe.bsky.social · 7h
Reform MP Sarah Pochin raising concerns in Parliament about second homes ruining rural communities, only to buy an £800,000 property in Anglesey 48 hours later, reveals staggering hypocrisy. Posing as populists while snapping up property is shameless. #FBPE
theguardian.com
Reform MP raises concerns about second homes – then buys one for £800,000
Sarah Pochin bought Anglesey property two days after writing to minister about impact of second homes on rural communities
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Steve Peers @stevepeers.bsky.social · 7h
I had assumed that's what he meant, but it's obviously not what he said. The press should not be condemned for reporting what he said; and no one with this much difficulty expressing his thoughts is fit to be president.
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Naomi Smith @pimlicat.bsky.social · 8h
"The choice Burnham must face is whether to go big – or go nowhere at all." eu.boell.org/en/2026/10/0... by @rostaylor.bsky.social
eu.boell.org
Could the UK really return to the EU? | Heinrich Böll Stiftung | Brussels office - European Union
Britain’s new prime minister has said that Brexit was a mistake and Britain should have a much closer relationship with the European Union. Ros Taylor looks at what that relationship could look like, ...
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Nicholas Pegg @nicholaspegg.bsky.social · 14h
Kemi Badenoch continues: ‘I can see why so many people were very fond of Jeffrey Archer. You know, we wanted him to be our mayoral candidate, and then yet another thing happened.’ Happened? He didn’t sit on a box of chocolates. He was sent to prison for perjury and perverting the course of justice.
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Sarah Kay @k-interarma.bsky.social · 15h
To the surprise of absolutely no one, but to their courage, victims of far-right figures arguing they are “protecting women and girls” from unknown and unseen particular threat from migrants are coming forward to tell their story of sexual and domestic abuse
theguardian.com
‘Bully in every way’: domestic abuse survivors say ex-partners behind far-right UK street patrols
Seven women share their stories to make people aware of patterns of violence behind anti-immigration street patrol movement
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 15h
Just the dumbest collection of halfwit confetti emerging out of that conference. Tax cuts everywhere, paid for with imaginary spending cuts. Huge spending projects with precisely zero utility, except to anchor their 'defence day' narrative. Clowns.
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 10h
Day god-knows-what of an endless stream of responses on here side-stepping the motion, or justifying it, or equivocating over it, rather than standing up for the anti-racist values people supposedly hold.
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 10h
"The prosecution case is that Andrew Tate and Tristan Tate used and threatened physical and sexual violence in order to maintain control and compliance." Where are the voices from the self appointed defenders of women and young girls who would usually be on this? www.reuters.com/world/uk/tat...
reuters.com
Tate brothers used 'lover boy' model to exploit women, Britain says
Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate used a "lover boy" model to lure women with the ‌promise of romantic relationships before coercing them to create online pornography, British law enfor...
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 9h
Call me old-fashioned, but I just think that if you are announcing £10bn of spending, then if the Shadow Treasury team and the leader's office are doing their jobs properly, the leader should have clearer answers to these questions:
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Sarah Owen MP @sarahowen.org.uk · 05/10/2026
It is deeply irresponsible for any politician, let alone a senior Conservative, to peddle the same far-right nonsense about Luton that we see from the likes of Yaxley Lennon and Reform.
theguardian.com
Tory shadow minister claims Luton has ‘no-go zones’ where ‘white people won’t go’
Blake Stephenson tells fringe meeting at Tory conference that the town is ‘a very dangerous place’ with ‘ghettoes’
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 14h
New post: Burnham has opened the door to a "rejoin" manifesto pledge. The politics make more sense than a lot of people seem to realise. I look at what it would involve at every step from pledge to referendum. There are significant barriers but it can be done. samf.substack.com/p/the-route-...
samf.substack.com
The route back into the EU
Back in 2022 I wrote about the long-term prospects for undoing Brexit and made two predictions.
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Jason Sinclair @jsinclair.bsky.social · 11h
This is very good from Rob Rinder. The comments are a complete binfire, not sure why there are so many horseshoe Greens on a Nazi's site, but there we are.
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Jules⚖️📨 @northjules.bsky.social · 10h
www.nytimes.com/2026/10/06/w... Gov. Gavin Newsom called the president “dangerous and deranged” after his remarks at a political rally, where Trump said the Iran war was necessary to “keep the world safe.” #TheCityBrief
nytimes.com
Fury in California After Trump Suggests Iran Could ‘Take Out’ L.A. or San Diego (Gift Article)
Gov. Gavin Newsom called the president “dangerous and deranged” after his remarks at a political rally, where Mr. Trump said the Iran war was necessary to “keep the world safe.”
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 9h
And the utter shamelessness of The Times for relentlessly peddling Tory positions unchallenged. No matter what lies they tell, what damage they do. You can’t really call yourself a journalist at all - or a broadsheet of record - if you do that.
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 13h
The utter shamelessness of Kemi Badenoch boasting at Conservative party conference about 'defending press freedom' and berating Reform for banning critical journalists from their conference, just days after banning Byline Times journalists from her own
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 12h
More than 9,600 have already taken action and called on Ofcom to investigate Nigel Farage's GB News show. A party leader and sitting MP should not be allowed to host their own news show. Help us reach 10,000 signatures. ⬇️
bestforbritain.org
Farage on GB News: Demand that Ofcom takes immediate action - Best for Britain
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 21h
Trump calls Natalie on stage, checks out her legs, calls her "perfect," then floats creating a reality show w/ her -- & other lowlights from his rally tonight in Nebraska (Including Trump saying of Iran, "Let them take out Los Angeles, let them take out San Diego. This is very small price to pay")
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Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 23h
Yes, the White House sometimes serves as a branch Kremlin press office, which would be humiliating for anyone who had the slightest hint of patriotism or for that matter personal dignity.
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Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 21/09/2026
A big new story from us: a big new leak means that we can put numbers on the scale of A7 -- the Kremlin's huge money-laundering machine. $6.9bn laundered through the international banking system via SWIFT, with $1.1bn sent to StanChart alone. www.ft.com/content/3848...
ft.com
Kremlin-backed forgery scheme moved $6.9bn through global banks
FT finds thousands of Russian payments handled by Standard Chartered, Citigroup and other international groups in vast leak from inside fintech A7
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Brexit has been a Tory masterclass in ideological madness. It’s widely accepted by the country as a barrelling shitshow but *still* their entitled little reps strut about insisting we can’t be allowed to vote on it again. Who TF does this person think she is? And why TF should she decide anything?
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Alex Andreou @sturdyalex.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
OMG it’s like @snellarthur.bsky.social is in my head, answering all the questions I have. This time on undersea cables and how much of a global shitshow a big attack on them would be.
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Peter Walker @peterwalker99.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
It’s not been fully spotted but to pay for 50,000 extra prison places the Conservatives have said they would cut foreign aid to £1bn a year, or 0.03% of GDP, a 90% cut. This would not even cover UN and World Bank contributions. www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
theguardian.com
Conservative plans to slash aid budget would ‘irreparably damage’ UK’s global credibility, charities say
Party’s pledge to reduce aid budget from £9bn a year to £1bn to fund new prison places branded as ‘posturing’
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Annette Dittert @annettedittert.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
This is just depressing. And I do not understand why Labour seems to let it slip. It’s not in Britain‘s, let alone their own interest.
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Arthur Snell @snellarthur.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Remarkable the impact a disorganised, impoverished terror state can have on a supposedly secure military installation in one nuclear armed state operated by the world's most powerful country. Hybrid war in action. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/04/u...
nytimes.com
U.S. Rushes to Withdraw Bombers From U.K. Air Base After New Threats (Gift Article)
The withdrawal came with unusual speed, following what U.S. officials said were threats of an Iran-based plot against the installation.
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Jill Rutter @jillongovt.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
You might hate the Environment Agency and Natural England - but am not sure how good your evidence base is that there is a latent majority for poorer air quality, more pollution and (even more) destruction of nature #CPC2026 - and homes that are going to require big retrofits
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Dan Sohege @danielsohege.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Herein lies one of the biggest recurring, and escalating, issues with hostile anti-asylum policies, they don't tackle gangs. Instead they penalise the victims of gangs. It isn't the gangs piloting boats, it is normally people seeking asylum who are forced to by the gangs. inews.co.uk/news/represe...
inews.co.uk
I represented the pilot of a mega dinghy. Why Channel migrants are still arriving
Defence barrister Audrey Mogan has seen firsthand why new legislation is bound to fail
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Phillips OBrien @phillipspobrien.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Latest piece. The discussion of a possible Russian escalation against European NATO often misses the main point that it indicates. It is not about Europe, it is about the USA. phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/the-key-po...
phillipspobrien.substack.com
The Key Point Being Overlooked
The Russian escalation talk proves one key thing
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
As a Jew I think what the Greens have done is appalling. As a political commentator I think Andy Burnham is a lucky man.
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Simon Nixon @nixonsimon.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Has Andy Burnham lost his marbles? How else to explain his refusal to intervene to allow the return of the Parthenon sculptures to Greece? My latest nixons.substack.com/p/europe-reu...
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
“A party the country still regards as toxic is determined to double down on its toxicity.” The Tories: so tedious in their relentless idiocy. Another, great cathartic piece… (loved Philp’s new name too…)
To illustrate her point, Kemi proudly drew Laura's attention to her rather desperate pamphlet The Right Way, which the Tories have published as their new credo. Six principles of Conservatism to get them through the bad times. To remind them they are right even when the country thinks they are unelectable. Kemi's Kemistry, as she hopes we will call it. The first rule is that Kemi never makes mistakes. Asked to name anything she has changed her mind about, she comes up with nothing. The laws of physics will change long before Kemi. She wants us to think of The Right Way as her foundational document that will be spoken of in hushed tones for decades to come. It will be lucky to survive
until tomorrow.
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Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
John Crace is on to something here. If Kemi wasn't female, I'd suggest she stands in front of a mirror each morning, waving her willy, tightening her upper body muscles and going 'GRRR'. Like Chris Philp.
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 04/10/2026
Reform UK wants power. But the party is haemorrhaging the people it recruits, with councillors resigning, being suspended or quitting. Since May, 51 Reform UK councillors have abandoned the party. We are keeping track: bestforbritain.org/reform-uk-defect…
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Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 05/10/2026
a short but satisfying read on this enormous own goal
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Alex Andreou @sturdyalex.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
This is a good explainer of why the motion is a problem. www.linestotake.com/p/green-part...
linestotake.com
Jewishness itself is now the offence
The Green Party votes to say “Zionism is racism”
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Ed Wilson @eddwilson.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
When anybody tells us they intend to leave the European Convention on Human Rights, there is no excuse not to challenge them on how that would affect the Northern Ireland peace process and the UK-EU trade agreement, and how it would hamper the next Hillsborough campaign. #R4Today
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Tony Yates @t0nyyates.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Even if bans are selective and hard to enforce, it will help stigmatise these glasses, threatening their viability as a commercial product.
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Russ Jones @russincheshire.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Why stop there? Scrap the treasury to make the national debt go away Scrap the NHS and cure cancer Scrap the MOD and lo: world peace 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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Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
GMB headlining with 150 migrants who arrived in Gosport overnight. In a parallel universe where the number of small boat crossings is low and falling, this would not be news, never mind headline news.
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
As long as the Tories are threatening to leave the ECHR, they aren’t a serious party. Consider it the ultimate red flag. Any party who’d take this entirely unnecessary and ruinous risk with our rights and our country’s security and wellbeing should never get its hands on power. (Letter, Times)
Value of the
ECHR
Sir, In dangerous times, serious countries do not retreat into splendid isolation. They build alliances, multiply their influence and strengthen institutions. Key among those is the 46-member Council of Europe, at its heart the European Convention on Human Rights.As former independent reviewers of terrorism legislation we have seen at close quarters that the ECHR is not just a human rights instrument. It is a national security asset. Terrorist networks, hostile states, organised crime gangs and people smugglers do not respect borders. Tackling them requires arrangements for the closest possible co-operation with our neighbours, including through joint investigations and police access to European passenger, fingerprint, DNA and vehicle data.These arrangements expressly depend on internationally agreed human rights standards, applied by a supranational court. We detect no political willingness to excuse the UK from compliance with standards to which the rest of Europe already subscribes. As authoritarian powers grow more aggressive and democratic institutions face mounting pressure, Britain should not be abandoning one of its greatest postwar achievements.
The question is not whether we can afford to remain within the ECHR. It is whether, in an increasingly perilous world, we can afford not to.
Lord Carlile of Berriew, Lord Anderson of Ipswich, Sir Max Hill
Independent reviewers of terrorism legislation, 2001-18
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Josh Neicho @joshneicho.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
A few ex-ministers, ex-diplomats and Brazil-watchers to have something intelligent to say? A big package on the Today programme? 20-30 years ago I think a major “change” Brazil election with a far Right challenger would have had that level of salience
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hornist24.bsky.social @hornist24.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Trump will now control pretty much all of South America should the re-run go as expected. That is what it is. Bolsanaro jnr is, a Trump puppet, obedient to the WH. Expect greater US presence in the country as Trump greedily eyes the mineral resources. Huge pressure next on Mexico and Canada.
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Not good. Bolsonaro now clear favourite to win.
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David Anderson @bricksilk.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Letter printed in The Times today
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Current polls suggest a PP (centre-right) and Vox (radical right) alliance is the most likely outcome. But Sanchez has come back during campaigns before.
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Paul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
...and brave politicians challenge false narratives, rather than buying into them.
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