Sign in

Barbara Hearn OBE

@joelypop.bsky.social
116 followers 248 following 170 posts

I write I read I talk I laugh & cry sometimes at the same time. I know people and people know me. … or so they say 🤔

PostsRepliesMedia
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 23h
Happy #Caturday chilling time
070
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
@theguardian #womenarewomen not #girls www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... #ellehunt
theguardian.com
The hill I will die on: not everything is a ‘girl’ thing – stop gendering and infantilising it all | Elle Hunt
No, I don’t want to go for a girl walk before my girl dinner with my girl mates: I am a grown woman who walks and eats and votes – and, patriarchy, I am on to you, says freelance journalist Elle Hunt
000
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
#ForestFriday at Buskett Woodlands. So many ancient trees
061
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Hurrah www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
No 10 gathering evidence on public support for UK rejoining EU
Senior Downing Street officials reach out to thinktanks and pollsters as they look to test backing for reversing Brexit
000
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Durlston forest -beauty cared for by people & a great view on #ForestFriday #nature
2124
Reposted by Barbara Hearn OBE
Mainstream @mainstreamlabour.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
We’re deeply concerned that Conference has been denied the opportunity to debate public ownership of water. That faction-driven procedure can stifle debate on essential services should concern everyone who wants Labour to be a confident, outward-looking movement.
On the CAC’s Decision to Block our Motion on Water Ownership

We are profoundly concerned that the Conference Arrangements Committee (CAC) has denied the Labour movement gathering in Liverpool the opportunity to debate public ownership of water. It is a policy supported overwhelmingly by the public and globally the norm.

That such an important question about the future of an essential public service can be stifled by faction-driven procedure should concern everyone who wants Labour to be a confident, outward-looking political movement.

Our Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, put it well when Mainstream was launched last year: “We’ve got to get beyond this culture where everything’s a threat. If people are speaking out, it can actually be an opportunity to make changes.”That principle matters. Labour will need bold ideas and serious debate if our government is to deliver the scale of change the country needs. Conference should be a place where our movement can test those ideas, challenge established thinking and develop new answers together - not one where important debates are prevented from taking place.

If Labour is to build the movement and the programme capable of changing the country, the Party must rediscover its confidence in its members: their ideas, their experience, their willingness to challenge orthodoxies and their capacity to think big about what a Labour government can achieve.
034
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
www.theguardian.com/books/2026/s... #RIPBonnieGreer a truly wonderful voice in UK culture that will be missed
theguardian.com
Bonnie Greer, writer and cultural commentator, dies aged 77
The British-American novelist and playwright who regularly appeared on current affairs shows will be remembered for her ‘warmth, humour and generosity’, says her husband
000
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
#ForestFriday nature inviting and past the worst of the heat here
161
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
#Super rich panic about their personal wealth but keep doing business in UK www.theguardian.com/news/2026/se...
theguardian.com
Billionaire Chris Rokos, who paid £330m in tax last year, to quit UK
Hedge fund tycoon is latest financier to exit amid fears among super-rich over tax rises
011
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
www.theguardian.com/books/2026/s... what a great woman
theguardian.com
Gloria Steinem, groundbreaking feminist campaigner, dies aged 92
Prolific author campaigned against domestic violence, female genital mutilation, pornography and the Vietnam and Gulf wars
000
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
@zipposcircus.bsky.social first trip to a #circus in my adulthood. Wonderful. Witty , surprising & such #fitness
010
Reposted by Barbara Hearn OBE
WutTheWut😵‍💫 RBroeck🗳️💙 @wutthewut.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Believe the science. It is literally written in stone. Vaccinate.
307177135236
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
We need to show rightwing newspapers that actions have consequences. Add your name: goodlawproject.org/s/abb8a1
goodlawproject.org
Jason Arday: Demand a public inquiry now | Good Law Project
Commission an immediate public inquiry into how to ensure a responsible press given its contribution to Dr Arday’s tragic death.
000
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
What #islington #musicfestival looks like in action #London www.Islingtonfestival.com
000
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
www.theguardian.com/media/2026/j... the #BBC adds over £6bn to the #economy using the subscribers investment wisely
theguardian.com
‘What has the BBC ever done for me?’ Romesh Ranganathan reboots corporation’s 1985 licence fee plea
As with the John Cleese original, comedian is supported by famous faces from Claudia Winkleman to David Jason
000
Reposted by Barbara Hearn OBE
Magpie @magpieofthesea.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
I planted this oak tree about 25 years ago. I had a nice nap under yesterday. #BlueskyArtShow #growing #oakTree
A look up at the bright blue sky and sun rays through a canopy of oak leaves
12769171
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
A new outfit for @countbinface.bsky.social when he is elected. #Clacton wants honesty from its #MP. #Countbinface for Clacton who will have its voice in #Parliament at highest level
000
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Edmund Burke father of #conservatism and admired by modern #Conservative party said “ “Chivalry has gone to be replaced by xxx and #economists” and he was not happy in his #Reflections #politics
000
Reposted by Barbara Hearn OBE
Andrii Frolov @artandriifrolov.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
"Rainy Evening Street" - my oil painting
1846901627
Reposted by Barbara Hearn OBE
Mainstream @mainstreamlabour.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
www.mainstreamlabour.org/updates/andy-burnham-leader-of-the-labour-party
mainstreamlabour.org
011
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
www.theguardian.com/fashion/2026...
theguardian.com
‘Zara death pants’: are these the world’s most dangerous trousers?
Wide-legged and flowing, they are causing a storm on social media, with people posting videos of the fabric getting caught in escalators and causing painful trips
010
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
A twilight moment #Sussex #nature #uk
040
Reposted by Barbara Hearn OBE
Mainstream @mainstreamlabour.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
💥💥💥 Huge news 💥💥💥 Mainstream leads the CLP nominations for the NEC elections! And all of our brilliant candidates for the NEC and NPF are officially on the ballot. Thank you to the CLPs and Labour Groups across the country supporting the Mainstream team.
A screenshot of a LabourList article that reads; Mainstream top CLP nominations for NEC elections. Daniel Green.
186
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
And this week two #Muslim women working on #rights and a #Quaker elder explaining #quakerism as a methodology not a faith makes clear to me that there is so much to learn in life as we live it. #openmind #multicultural #multifaith #London #education
040
Reposted by Barbara Hearn OBE
Peter Jukes @peterjukes.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
This is crazy. Peter Thiel’s spy tech Palantir is embedding itself in the British state, and makes hundreds of millions from Government contracts in health, policing and defence, but pays barely any taxes
28639420
Reposted by Barbara Hearn OBE
BladeoftheSun @bladeofthes.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Andy Burnham looks like he might cancel the NHS England contract with Palantir, they also have one worth 2.5x as much with the MoD. RT if you want them both out of the UK.
19630435
Reposted by Barbara Hearn OBE
Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
An absolute banger of an exclusive from the Sunday Times. It's devastating. For the first time, I'm uncertain if Farage can actually survive this www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
thetimes.com
Revealed: Nigel Farage secretly funded by convicted criminal
The Reform UK leader did not declare benefits including staff, security and housing by crypto-gambler George Cottrell, our investigation reveals
2222350876
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
My week Mon: Watered #CoE #church warden’s garden Tues: with #Hindu #Tamil speaker Wed: Lunch with #Nun Thurs : Lunch with #Unitarian #Pastor Fri: Tea with a #Jewish family Nxt wk celebrating a friend’s birthday. She is a #Muslim. Isn’t #London wonderful. #multicultural #multifaith @london.gov.uk
001
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
www.theguardian.com/media/2026/j...
theguardian.com
Lisa Nandy announces plan to quit X over fear it pushes ‘abuse and misinformation’
Culture secretary says her department will stop using platform, citing concern over its far right content that fuels violence and division
000
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
@arsenalfc.bsky.social does the top amazing #footballclub score ‘nil points’ for it #Arsenal website… its shocking? Link congratulated me for renewing my season ticket … link… suggested I buy and shows nothing about my purchase… so bad. #worldcup26
000
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Not sure what this tells me but Erling Haaland #ManchesterCity paid £4million MORE in tax than #KingCharles in 2024-25 #UK #WorldCup2026 #football #monarchy #wealth. #taxpayment #tax I am super glad they both did. Will other wealthy folk follow? Or do a runna?
000
Reposted by Barbara Hearn OBE
Christabel Cooper @christabelcoops.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Extraordinary credit to Sadiq Khan for pushing through this deeply controversial policy. This is what can happen when politicians are prepared to stick to their principles.
20984268
Reposted by Barbara Hearn OBE
John Pearce @johnpearce650.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
I wonder if Anthropic’s owners fail to see the irony in their complaint, given how their own AI has been trained on the stolen work of authors, on an epic scale: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Anthropic accuses Chinese rival Alibaba of illicitly extracting AI capabilities
The firm alleged that Alibaba used fraudulent accounts to access data from its Claude AI model.
0102
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
@arsenalfc.bsky.social the purchase of my (+2) #ArsenalWomen #seasonticket seats is horrendous. 3 hours in and still not completed. Asked for payments 8 times and each time site crashes. Only my bank could say what was happening .
000
Reposted by Barbara Hearn OBE
Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 23/06/2026
10 years after Brexit, Farage is richer... Are you? www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn0vx2e…
bbc.co.uk
Farage says £5m gift spending details 'not public's business'
Rival parties have raised concerns over the gift received by the Reform UK leader before he became an MP.
17451179
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
#Suffragettes #tennis Helen #Pankhursr is speaking 'Her Court: The role #Wimbledon Played in the Suffrage Movement' The event will reflect on women’s histories, activism, sport, legacy and the continuing relevance of the Suffragette movement today. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/time-leisu...
eventbrite.co.uk
Time & Leisure ‘In Conversation’ with Helen Pankhurst CBE & Carmela Corbett
Her Court: The Role Wimbledon Played in the Suffragette Movement: A Young Masters Exhibition Project In collaboration with Wimbledon Museum
000
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
The start of a new phase for our country ? #Labour @mainstreamlabour.bsky.social paper by Mathew Lawrence and Alex Williams - The Productive State: A Framework for Manchesterism. Read it here: actionnetwork.org/forms/the-pr...
actionnetwork.org
Read Mainstream's new paper 'The Productive State: A Framework for Manchesterism'
I've just downloaded Mainstream's new paper by Mathew Lawrence and Alex Williams - The Productive State: A Framework for Manchesterism. Read this new contribution to the debate about how Labour can b...
000
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
Jon Snow may have Alzheimer's – but he's still changing the world metro.co.uk/2026/06/20/j...
metro.co.uk
Jon Snow may have Alzheimer's – but he's still changing the world
One last story from Jon Snow.
010
Reposted by Barbara Hearn OBE
Mainstream @mainstreamlabour.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Andy Burnham's victory in Makerfield is a victory for mainstream Labour values. The people of Makerfield chose hope, unity and a radical change of direction. Labour must hear and heed the lessons of this by-election to defeat Reform and transform the country.
Andy Burnham's victory in Makerfield is a victory for mainstream Labour values. The people of Makerfield chose hope, unity and a radical change of direction. He won by offering a bold and popular left programme that can transform lives, raise living standards, and redress the imbalance of power and wealth that plagues the UK.

Andy won because he united voters around a positive vision for the future. He has proven that Labour succeeds when we are confident in our values, ambitious in our offer and willing to speak to the hopes and fears of communities too often taken for granted by our distant and centralised politics. He has also shown that Labour wins when it draws upon the energy, ideas and talents of our whole movement.

The route back to political strength is a confident Labour politics that unites, inspires and offers a new political and economic settlement. Labour should reflect carefully on what happened in Makerfield. The country is asking for a new chapter. The sooner we listen, the sooner we can build the broad coalition needed to defeat the politics of division and deliver the radical change that Britain needs.
2158
Reposted by Barbara Hearn OBE
lukewarm24.bsky.social @lukewarm24.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
415343
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
www.theguardian.com/film/2026/ju...
theguardian.com
‘Why would you put a toxic product into the hands of a young child?’: director turned activist Beeban Kidron on why big tech needs its ‘tobacco moment’
In her work as an online safety campaigner, the baroness and Bridget Jones director has seen things she can never unsee – and she’s furious at the tech overlords doing nothing to stop the abuse
000
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
In #faragefantasyland this would not be true. Time to #Reform our thinking on #immigration #Muslims #Islam & be human not allocating blame…
000
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026... well done our #Muslim #London #Mayor.
theguardian.com
London mayor Sadiq Khan blocks £50m Met police deal with Palantir
Exclusive: Scotland Yard had been in talks to use Palantir’s AI technology to automate intelligence analysis
000
Reposted by Barbara Hearn OBE
KMark1969 @kiwimark1969.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
CHAMPIONS!! #Arsenal #COYG
011
Reposted by Barbara Hearn OBE
Francis H Powell writer and poet @fhpowellwriter.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
#TagTuesday #streetart #photo Francis H Powell
042
Reposted by Barbara Hearn OBE
Mainstream @mainstreamlabour.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Let us seize this opportunity to show the Labour Party at its best. A statement from Mainstream's Interim Council on the Makerfield by-election 👇
On the forthcoming Makerfield by-election:

Uniting behind the strongest possible candidate and running a positive, hopeful campaign with an offer of transformative change at its heart is how Labour will earn the kind permission to continue representing the people of Makerfield in parliament.

That is why we hope Labour’s National Executive Committee will ensure Makerfield CLP is free to choose from the widest possible field of candidates for this by-election - a field that should clearly include Andy Burnham.

Let us seize this opportunity to show the Labour Party at its best and put country before party.
242
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Somewhere over the rainbow. #nature #Devon
000
Reposted by Barbara Hearn OBE
Elli Anderson 🌊💙🇺🇸 @ellilanderson.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Facts!
25937
Barbara Hearn OBE @joelypop.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
#Devon #nature at best
030
Reposted by Barbara Hearn OBE
Mainstream @mainstreamlabour.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Real change is possible - if we seize every opportunity to set our party on a better path. This year’s elections to Labour's NEC and NPF are an opportunity we can’t afford to miss. Nominate the Mainstream team in your CLPs now! www.mainstreamlabour.org/2026-nec-and...
A red/purple gradient graphic with Mainstream's NEC candidates pictured and named with their membership numbers attached.

Your candidates for the NEC.

Kerry Postlewhite (CLP section)
L1212372

Jovan  Owusu-Nepaul (CLP section)
L1232610

Cat Arnold (CLP section)
L1452611

Elizabeth Dennis (Local Gov section)
L0145211

This year, vote to reconnect Labour with its mainstream.
154