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Kit Roberts

@kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social
916 followers 1.6K following 141 posts

Journalist interested in culture, history, language • they/them • Views own etc

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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Anyone remotely clued in to the industry knows that it's not easy in journalism at the moment, and I'd be lying if I said there haven't been challenges this year. Ultimately, I have no regrets. It makes me proud to be able to support myself as a freelancer, particularly in such difficult times.
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
There's been controversy with Argentina at the World Cup, helping to break the news of Dolly Parton's passing (RIP Dolly!), reporting on the Greens' reaction when Hannah Spencer won the Gorton and Denton by-election, reflecting on how English folk music can push back against the far right.
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
I can't believe it's been a year since I went freelance! Where has the time gone? Here's me looking a bit windswept in Gorton and Denton during the by-election, and here's to another year!
Photo of Kit Roberts speaking to the camera during a report on the Gorton and Denton byelection
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
I approve.
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
I don’t want to hear another word about how medieval peasants were much stupider and more superstitious than modern people. Not. A. Peep. #medieval
unilad.com
Man who sold cubes of garbage collected from Taylor Swift's wedding sells out in 24 hours
He's revealed the surprisingly sentimental reason he thought fans would actually want it.
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
From The Guardian. Illuminated manuscripts like the Lindisfarne and St Chad’s Gospels, with a very distinct style from their continental counterparts, delicate metalwork found in Sutton Hoo and the Staffordshire Hoard, and intricate stone carvings clearly all don’t count as ‘art’. Embarrassing.
Quote from The Guardian saying: “I don’t mean to insult Anglo-Saxon England, but Medieval art came to Britain with the Normans.”
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
There is an ice cream van that comes by our neighbourhood. Cloudy, rain, even when there’s ice on the pavements I’ve heard them come past. Last few days? Not heard them once.
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Recently reread Persepolis because of, everything, and it’s one of those books that never leaves you. It’s easy to think of grand political narratives in opaque theoretical terms, but Persepolis showed how the personal and political are inseparable. RIP Marjane Satrapi #marjanesatrapi #iran
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Today I was listening to an excellent jazz trumpeter called Clora Bryant, apparently the only female trumpeter to perform with Charlie Parker and Dizzie Gillespie, and after a fantastic bit of playing caught myself unironically say “nice.” 🤦
static.klipy.com
Nice!
Alt: GIF from The Fast Show of jazz reviewer man saying “nice” and winking
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Can someone please invent a sun cream that doesn’t feel like greasing yourself up like a Christmas turkey. Thank you.
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Reposted by Kit Roberts
Jess O'Thomson @jessothomson.co.uk · 22/05/2026
This cartoon by Ella Baron from the Guardian today actually made me well up a little. We will keep fighting. Together.
Cartoon Separate But Equal from the Guardian. 
Link to access provided alt text: 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2026/may/22/ella-baron-on-the-ehrcs-transgender-guidance-cartoon
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Incoherent and completely unenforceable. ‘Weigh up the relevant factors’ is such vague wording it effectively amounts to just ‘vibes’. But it’s never been about enforceability, but pushing trans people out of public life by making existing in public plagued by fear of government mandated abuse.
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Drummer here. Anyone know any jazz musicians in Manchester who’d be up for setting up a casual quartet? #manchester #music #jazz
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
static.klipy.com
Kenneth Williams: Ooh Matron
ALT: Kenneth Williams: Ooh Matron
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Witches: Keir Starmer shall ne’er his great office yield, If Burnham Wood grows not in Makerfield. Starmer: Well that sounds reassuring to my ears, A forest is no threat to my career! *phone alert* Starmer: Well, shit. *Exit, pursued by journalists* #ukpolitics #keirstarmer
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Saw The Devil Wears Prada 2 last night and the themes around how dire things are for journalism and journalists right now hit very close to home. Worth a watch. #film #devilwearsprada2
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
"I am a transgender Tamil immigrant. My pronouns are they/them. "To some in this country, I am everything that the hateful despise, and I'm standing here as your MSP with care." - Q Manivannan
thenational.scot
First two transgender MSPs elected to Holyrood in historic moment
The first two transgender MSPs have been elected to the Scottish Parliament ...
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Is this the biggest victory for Cymraeg separatism since Owain Glyndwr? There have been militant groups, but I’m wondering if this is the largest formal political victory since Glyndwr declared Gwynedd independent of English rule? Happy to be corrected, just one of those thoughts.
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
So it turns out when you describe leftwing voters leaving as “shaking off the fleas” and tell people concerned about your appalling immigration policy to “fuck right off”, they go ahead and do that. Who would have thought. #uknews #elections #ukpolitics
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Just absolutely appalling. The indifferent, bureaucratic cruelty of it If your wife and child dying in an air crash doesn't meet the 'threshold' for compassionate leave to remain in the UK, what does? And we have a government that tells people who care about these injustices to 'fuck right off'
independent.co.uk
‘I lost my wife and daughter in the Air India crash. Now I’m being told to leave UK’
Mohammad Shethwala, 28, has applied for leave to remain in Britain on compassionate grounds after the disaster 10 months ago. He tells Namita Singh he wants to stay to honour their memories
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
That's true, and the Pope excommunicating leaders for not being Catholic properly is also a classic Medieval scenario 😅
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
In the latest iteration of medieval problems, the 21st century edition - Imagine if Trump and Vance now declare Leo the antipope and name their own pope
independent.co.uk
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Karl Jacoby @karl-jacoby.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
I am not one of those who believes that history repeats, but consider the following from Herodotus: the Oracle at Delphi told the fabulously wealthy King Croesus that if he invaded Persia he would "destroy a great empire." Croesus invaded and lost--the empire he destroyed was his own.
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
“Dune - God Emperor of Whitehall”
thelondoneconomic.com
Tories slammed for depicting Keir Starmer as a worm amid banknote fury
The Conservatives have been criticised after depicting Keir Starmer as a worm in a post on social media.
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Always great to see your work in print! @thenewworldmag.bsky.social #uk #folkmusic #politics
A page from New World Magazine showing an article with the headline “Folk the far right! - Traditional English music is booming again, but extremists are trying to jump on the bandwagon”
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
English folk music and practice is seeing a revival. Could it be an alternative Englishness to that pushed by the far right? My piece for @thenewworldmag.bsky.social #folk #ukpolitics #uk
thenewworld.co.uk
Can folk music fend off the far right?
Traditional English music is booming again, but extremists are trying to jump on the bandwagon
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Reposted by Kit Roberts
Fared Al Mahlool | فريد المحلول @faredalmahlool.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
March 8, 2026 - Tehran at sunrise today. But the sun is hidden behind a sky filled with smoke. After a night of intensive strikes on oil facilities, thick black clouds now hang over the city, turning morning into something that feels like night.
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
Labour have responded to a by-election in which they haemorrhaged votes to the left and came third in a seat they’ve held for decades by denying there’s a problem and doubling down on the same policies which drove those people away. They’re truly sticking their heads in the sand.
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
What a moment! The atmosphere had been building up all night before erupting when Hannah Spencer was confirmed as the new MP for @greenparty.org.uk
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Reposted by Kit Roberts
The New Arab @thenewarab.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
The once-safe Labour seat of Gorton & Denton just turned Green. Hannah Spencer’s pro-Palestine campaign delivered a historic by-election win in Manchester. The New Arab was there as the results came in Video: @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social Additional credits: Issy Maple, Kitty Grant
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
My coverage for @thenewarab.bsky.social on the results of the Gorton and Denton by-election #ukpolitics #politics #gortonanddenton
newarab.com
UK Greens stun Labour to win Gorton and Denton by-election
The Greens overturned a huge Labour majority to win Gorton and Denton, dealing a major blow to Prime Minister Starmer and reshaping the contest on the left.
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Well this aged like milk 😂
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Massive win for the Greens and a rout for Labour in Gorton and Denton. Labour went from a majority of over 13,000 to third place behind Reform, and the Greens have a comfortable majority of 4,402 votes. #ukpolitics #gortonanddenton
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Reposted by Kit Roberts
Hannah Al-Othman @hannahalothman.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Turnout in Gorton & Denton is 47.62%. It was 47.8% at the general election in 2024.
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Well there we go, polls have closed. #gortonanddenton #ukpolitics
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
It’s anyone’s guess who will win Gorton and Denton, but what do we think the margin is going to be? Less than 500 votes? Less than 100? Less than 10? Share your predictions! #ukpolitics #gortonanddenton #uk #journalist
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Very excited to be covering the by-election in Gorton and Denton for @thenewarab.bsky.social overnight. #ukpolitics #uk #byelection #manchester
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
My report from Gorton and Denton for @thenewarab.bsky.social ahead of this week’s by-election #ukpolitics #news #politics
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
I’ve been in Gorton and Denton covering the by-election for @thenewarab.bsky.social #ukpolitics #uk #gortonanddenton Read here:
newarab.com
Gaza anger gives Green Party the lead in Manchester by-election
A high-stakes Manchester by-election has become a three-way test of Labour’s Gaza stance, Green momentum and Reform’s far-right surge.
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
I interviewed @greenparty.org.uk candidate Hannah Spencer for @thenewarab.bsky.social ahead of the by-election in Gorton and Denton in Manchester this week. Check out some extracts from the interview here: www.instagram.com/reel/DVG8F1H... @zackpolanski.bsky.social #ukpolitics #manchester
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
How I define north/south as someone from Stoke-on-Trent #northsouthdivide #uk
A map of the UK with the line for the north of England including Stoke-on-Trent

London is labelled “money pit”

Merseyside is labelled “Scouse”

Brighton is labelled “fun south”

Everything southeast of Somerset is “West Country”

Midlands is from Stafford down to Worcester 

Everything below that is south
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Seen complaints from Americans about Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance because it was in Spanish. Sounds like a skill issue to me 🤷
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
“Lee Anderson? Wasn’t he a member of the Labour Party?”
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Five jobs I’ve had: - Shelf stacker - Bartender - Drummer - Tea seller - Journalist
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Well worth a read. newlinesmag.com/reportage/ho...
newlinesmag.com
How the Kurds Lost Eastern Syria
The autonomous administration in the country’s northeast replicated the authoritarian tactics of the regimes it fought, driving the Arab majority to revolt
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
I drove through Snake Pass for the first time today, a hair-raising experience. It baffles me that this is one of the main road routes between two of the biggest cities in the UK I’m sure there are plenty of complicated reasons, but talk about “if it’s not in or connected to London who cares” jfc
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
The high medieval papacy, which incidentally got through a lot of (olive) oil, didn’t fight its own battles to protect its interests, it wanted the Holy Roman Emperor to fight them on its behalf This post is not about the high medieval papacy
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
Astonishing rendition of My Way by Jessie J on Hootenanny last night, and coming after her story of coming through breast cancer what a glorious and beautiful way to say defiantly “I’m still here” #jessiej #hootenanny
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
Do you like language, culture, and history? Then give me a follow over on TikTok where I’m posting regularly on language, culture, and a bit of news, history, and general nerdy stuff that I think is cool. If you’re very lucky I might even do a dance. #tiktok #bluesky #journalist
tiktok.com
kitthejourno's Creator Profile
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Kit Roberts @kitrobertsjourno.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Oh nooo 🤣 We really just can’t catch a break can we
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