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magicsquare1963.bsky.social

@magicsquare1963.bsky.social
557 followers 1.5K following 20 posts
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Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
For no better reason than it's Friday, we're going to review wrestlers on how useful they'd be working in the archive. First up: Triple H. He'd probably be great to have in the office, but that water spit thing is just going to raise our humidity levels so it's a no from us.
Triple H doing the water spit thing.
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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Time for this classic again.
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Billionaire Brexiteeer and Man United owner says he has lost confidence in the UK. Lives in Monaco to avoid UK taxes, owns several luxury properties. Demands state subsidies, including for building a Man U stadium. Why do billionaires resent people getting decent NHS, social care, public services?
bbc.co.uk
Billionaire Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe says he has lost confidence in UK
Ineos founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe tells the BBC he thinks the country is "on the slide" and calls for more investment in the North Sea.
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Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 10/09/2026
London's homicide rate hit its lowest level since records began. Yet 40% of the public thought that murders had risen since 2019. That’s the danger of disinformation. We cannot accept it, and to defeat it, we’ve got to put pressure on the social media companies who profit from it.
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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
90 years ago, Parliament responded to the rise of Oswald Mosley's Blackshirts by passing the Public Order Act, which banned political uniforms, private militias and the threat of force for political objects. The debates make very resonant reading today. Here's the Liberal Robert Bernays. (Short 🧵)
You cannot conduct a fair match when one side is playing with a ball and the other with bombs and, if democracy is to survive, it must be conducted according to definite and recognised rule. One of them is that no political party should resort to any weapon other than reason and argument. The introduction of private armies, as I see it, strikes at the root of democracy. I know it is contended that the Blackshirts are not armed and, therefore, are not an army, but I do not think that argument can be upheld. … Uniformed men in military formation suggest, and are meant to suggest, the idea of force. It is no argument to reply that at this or that demonstration no force is intended. It is an inescapable fact that a uniform in politics symbolises force, to be used either now or in the future.
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Victoria Derbyshire @vicderbyshire.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Undercover filming shows Nigel Farage celebrating illegal foreign donations Footage shows a plan to break electoral law by funnelling money from a US ‘businessman’ through a UK donor The donations funded a series of widely reported polls secretly commissioned by Reform
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Enfield Dispatch @enfielddispatch.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Council criticised over decision to approve felling of 'significant' protected tree in Enfield Town The work was carried out by the same contractor involved in the fellin enfielddispatch.co.uk/council-criti…
enfielddispatch.co.uk
Council criticised over decision to approve felling of 'significant' protected tree in Enfield Town
The work was carried out by the same contractor involved in the felling of the Whitewebbs oak which caused huge uproar last year
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Private equity owns 11 of England’s 20 biggest children’s care providers. Companies loaded with debt. Profiteering, high prices, profit shifting, tax abuse is rife. Paid £205m to shareholders/investors, leaving less for front line services. Public purse robbed. Must end privatisation
theguardian.com
Private equity owns 11 of England’s 20 biggest children’s care providers, research finds
Investigation comes amid growing calls for an end to ‘obscene’ profit-making in care sector
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Officially, the water industry in England is regulated. Practically, it's unregulated. There's no difference between what it does under the eye of the Environment Agency and what it would do if the EA did not exist. The EA is completely useless, by design. www.theguardian.com/business/202...
theguardian.com
Dry weather sewage discharges soar as water companies face scrutiny
Exclusive: 7,280 suspected illegal spills in rivers and sea recorded in first five months of 2026
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
England's water companies have nearly 1,200 criminal convictions. Fines announced, quietly deferred/waived. No exec prosecuted. Regulator can ban exec bonuses. Companies reclassify exec bonuses as “retention payments” and “signing-on fees”. No action taken No end to abuses. Nationalise water.
leftfootforward.org
The case for nationalisation of water companies
England’s privatised water companies are leaders of predatory practices. In 1989, the industry was privatised for £7.6bn and had no debts. It joined Chile and a few US states&...
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Since privatisation, England's water companies have borrowed £83bn, paid £88.4bn in dividends. 35% of customer bills cover financial costs. Under-investment is the norm At the current rate of investment it will take 700 years to replace the water network. Govts obsessed with privatisation.
leftfootforward.org
The case for nationalisation of water companies
England’s privatised water companies are leaders of predatory practices. In 1989, the industry was privatised for £7.6bn and had no debts. It joined Chile and a few US states&...
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
The number of known UK enablers of tax avoidance schemes up by 34%. HMRC didn't collect £59bn last yr, £500bn since 2010. 5 enablers prosecuted in 2023-24. In 2025, one firm charged with failing to prevent facilitation of tax evasion, result awaited. Make enablers personally liable for lost taxes
ifamagazine.com
The number of promoters of tax avoidance schemes in the UK jumps by 34% in a year to 183 - IFA Magazine
The number of known promoters and suppliers of tax avoidance schemes in the UK has increased by 34% in the last year from 137 businesses to 183* (as of June
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
More UK students planning to live at home for university over 'insane' living costs. Student halls of residence replaced by private equity owned accommodation. High rents and profits. Fees (in England) and living costs plunge young adults into debt.
bbc.co.uk
More students planning to live at home for uni over 'insane' living costs
Students like Jessica say they worry about missing out on student life, but feel they have no choice but to stay at home.
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Kathryn Ingold FFPH @kathryningold.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Another public health success: www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Ulez led to better lung size and function among London children, study finds
Researchers find capacity stunted by pollution restored after introduction of ultra-low emission zone
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Shell shifted billions in profits to tax havens, leaked files reveal. Complex corporate structures, intragroup transactions used to shift profits to the Bahamas and Switzerland. Taxes dodged in many countries, including the UK. Govt inaction is protecting secret subsidies. archive.ph/Cqq2L
ftm.eu
Shell shifted billions in profits to tax havens, leaked files reveal
Leaked financial reports show how Shell moved profits through tax havens such as the Bahamas and Switzerland – potentially depriving developing nations of hundreds of millions of euros. While some of ...
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Worst we’ve known’: UK turns to imports as drought and heat hit vegetable crops. Food insecurity and higher prices would follow. Poor hit the hardest. Despite warnings, no plan for water shortages. Need reservoirs, water storage, better water management. Companies can't do national planning.
theguardian.com
‘Worst we’ve known’: UK turns to imports as drought and heat hit vegetable crops
Growers in dismay after scorching weather and lack of rain affect yields, sending wholesale prices rocketing
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Sleaze and Corruption Inc. PwC thought leadership reports ‘100 per cent AI generated’ Reports contained fake footnotes, fabricated claims and strange formatting decisions likely resulting from irresponsible AI usage. All to push the firm's products Anything not done for profits?
nationaltechnology.co.uk
PwC published AI reports containing hallucinations ‘written by AI’
Consulting giant PwC has published reports on AI and electric vehicles that contained fake footnotes, fabricated claims and strange formatting decisions likely resulting from irresponsible AI usage, a...
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Trish Greenhalgh @trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
No. Someone did a TINY trial on 47 overweight people, 26 of whom had restricted eating hours. They presented their non peer reviewed findings at a conference. Science journalists who should know better bigged up the press release. www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
theguardian.com
Restricted eating hours may reduce cognitive decline in older age, researchers find
Preliminary study shows older people who avoided food four hours before bed did better in problem solving tests
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Oxford Clarion @oxfordclarion.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Oxford University has successfully vaccinated the first volunteer in the world’s first clinical trial of a vaccine designed to protect against Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BDBV). www.ox.ac.uk/news/2026-07...
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Secretive $500bn El Salvador based crypto firm backed by Farage's biggest donor. Its biggest Thailand based shareholder gave £9m in cash to Farage's Reform party. Farage lobbied Bank of England over crypto regulation. Foreign money shaping UK politics.
bbc.co.uk
Nigel Farage: The secretive crypto firm backed by Reform's biggest donor
Tether is a giant in crytocurrency, an industry that Nigel Farage believes the UK should be embracing.
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BladeoftheSun @bladeofthes.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Michelle Mone owes £188m to the Government, in the last 9 months nothing has been done to collect it. If you owed £188, they would have fined you thousands of pounds and sent the bailiffs round. For the rich they do nothing.
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
2700+ people in England & Wales died from heat-related causes during May and June. Most likely to be the poor, old. Yet there are climate change deniers who relentlessly push fossil fuels. Earth will be cinders by the time last drop of oil/gas is burnt.
news.sky.com
More than 2,700 deaths linked to May and June heatwaves, study suggests
The analysis found that 42% died as a result of the extra heat caused by human activity - mostly burning fossil fuels.
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BladeoftheSun @bladeofthes.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
The UK has already record 3 Measles deaths in 2026 from at least 900 known cases. There were just 3 deaths in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 combined. The USA's anti-vax stupidity is being imported to the UK.
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
UK income tax personal allowance frozen at £12,570 since 2021. If increased in line with inflation, it would be £16,048 for 2026/27. As a result, in 2026/27 someone earning £17,000 will pay additional £696 in income tax and £278 in national insurance. All because govts appease the rich.
leftfootforward.org
We need to abolish state-sanctioned poverty
No one is ever born poor. They are condemned to poverty by societal policies which prevent millions from realising their full physical, mental, and intellectual capacities potentialities.
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Farage’s £5m gift from foreign crypto billionaire was reported by a banker to UK crime agency over money laundering concerns Farage has resigned as MP, will stand for the by-election. Other parties won't field candidates, ensuring that he faces outcome of parliamentary investigation.
theguardian.com
Revealed: Farage’s £5m gift reported to UK crime agency over money laundering concerns
Exclusive: Latest Guardian revelation about gift from cryptocurrency tycoon comes as Reform UK leader forces byelection
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
Curse of private equity Asda Cuts 7,500 Jobs, Accelerates Restructuring Under Financial Pressure. Private equity loaded it with debt after its 2021 acquisition. Paid interest of £730m, £2.2bn since 2021. Assets stripped, real wages cut, market share shrinking. Future?
internationalsupermarketnews.com
Asda Cuts 7,500 Jobs as Retailer Accelerates Restructuring Under Financial Pressure – International Supermarket News
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Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 02/07/2026
Disgusting. After years of broken promises, Thames Water continues to pollute our waterways with raw sewage. London deserves clean, safe rivers, not more sewage and excuses. Water companies and regulators need to get their act together.
bbc.co.uk
High levels of E. coli recorded after Thames spill in West London
Fulham Reach Boat Club recorded levels more than 60 times the threshold for suitable bathing water.
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
'A soup of toxic waste': E.coli levels in Thames '30x higher than usual' after sewage discharges during heatwave. Execs are rewarded for endangering biodiversity, human and marine life. Sewage dumping the result of decades of infrastructure neglect. Customers fleeced to pay dividends.
lbc.co.uk
'A soup of toxic waste': E.coli levels in Thames '30x higher than usual' after sewage discharges during heatwave | LBC
A level of 58,000 E. coli per 100ml of river water was found following heavy rainfall earlier this week
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Treating children like cattle’: what happens when private equity takes over a UK care home? Homes with inadequate staff, management. “High levels of distress” among the children resulted in self-harm, children not safe, poor care All in pursuit of profits. Successive govts privatised care homes.
theguardian.com
‘Treating children like cattle’: what happens when private equity takes over a UK care home?
Experts raise alarm as firms aiming to maximise assets and sell for profit become more involved in vital public services
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Royal Mail boss’s pay package triples to £6.9m. Cost of postage stamps rocketing RM hasn't hit delivery target for 1st-class post since 2017, 2nd-class mail since 2020. Ofcom continues to reduce targets. Bosses rewarded for fleecing people.
theguardian.com
Royal Mail boss’s pay package triples to £6.9m despite profits slide
Martin Seidenberg, chief executive of parent company IDS, handed payouts after takeover of UK postal service
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Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 24/06/2026
Need somewhere to cool off? Many of London’s Cool Space’s offer aircon, alongside a place to recharge and take respite from the heat. 🧊 Find your nearest Cool Space: www.london.gov.uk/programmes-s...
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Former CEO of Pennon, owner of South West Water, received £270,000 bonus despite a parasite outbreak that contaminated drinking water. SWW dumps sewage in rivers, fleeces customers, neglects investment. Execs rewarded for abusing people. OFWAT didn't stop the bonus. Let customers vote on exec pay
lbc.co.uk
Water boss awarded £270,000 bonus despite parasite outbreak that left more than 140 people ill | LBC
Pennon’s former chief executive Susan Davy received the payout after the board reversed an earlier decision to withhold it, despite anger over the Brixham cryptosporidium outbreak.
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
Private equity has devoured UK town centres. It controls airports, seaports, hospitals, care homes, football teams, housing, GP surgeries, vets, dentistry, pubs, restaurants, motorway service stations, energy, water and more. Everything financialised. What future for the UK?
leftfootforward.org
The finance curse is devouring the UK
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. Th...
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
BT CEO collects £5.58m in pay and bonus, up from £2.48m. 4.1% increase for employees earning less than £30,000, 3% rise for the rest. BT profit boosted by inflation+ rises in customer bills, job cuts on the way. No govt checks fat-cattery, all preach wage restraint to struggling workers.
theguardian.com
BT boss takes home £5.6m as pay and bonus package more than doubles
Allison Kirkby pocketed the payment after BT’s share price surged nearly 80%
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Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 12/06/2026
Our frontline workers are the beating heart of the capital, but since COVID-19 we’ve seen a disgraceful rise in abuse. We're calling on Londoners and visitors to support and respect all our frontline workers serving the capital. www.lbc.co.uk/article/supp...
lbc.co.uk
Supporting frontline workers is how we stand up for London’s values, writes Sadiq Khan | LBC
I'm calling on all Londoners to join me in showing solidarity with our frontline workers
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Anti-Reform @antireform.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
"This isn't about protecting women and kids, its not even about migrants its about race!! They are just white supremacist terrorist scum. " via We Demand UK #FarageRiots #TwoTierReform
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
The world’s ten richest people — almost all Americans — saw their collective net worth increase by $220 billion in May. These ten people are now worth a combined $2.9 trillion. The bottom 50% of U.S. households, is worth $4.3 trillion. Wondering if inequality is out of control?
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Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 03/06/2026
Support the young men in your life to recognise harmful content when they see it online. Use our new conversation tool, the N.O.I.S.E check: www.london.gov.uk/ignore-the-n...
Bold graphic on a black background with large neon green text reading: “WORRIED WHAT YOUR TEENAGE SON IS SEEING ONLINE?”
To the right, white text reads “MAYOR OF LONDON,” alongside a circular callout stating “USE OUR TOOL TO HELP THEM THINK TWICE.” A web link appears at the bottom: www.london.gov.uk/noise-check.
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The Canary @thecanaryuk.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Arsenal’s title win brought celebration and protests over club sponsor Deel, its links to Israel, and kitman Bonnick’s dismissal.
thecanary.co
Arsenal crowned champions as fans protest sponsor Deel
Arsenal’s title win brought celebration and protests over club sponsor Deel, its Israel links, and kitman Bonnick’s dismissal
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Trish Greenhalgh @trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
Every summer I repost this article on how to spot drowning. Please read it and pass on. In the last few years I’ve had SIX messages from people who saved a kid’s life after clicking on the link from my feed. slate.com/technology/2...
slate.com
Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning
Drowning is not the violent, splashing call for help that most people expect.
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Kuntie Plopkins @kuntieplopkins.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Christ donation.watch/en/unitedkin...
donation.watch
Donations by Christopher Harborne in United Kingdom | DonationWatch
Christopher Harborne has donated a total of £23,817,500.00 across 30 donations over £1K since 2010. These contributions were distributed to 2 different parties. Explore detailed insights into donation...
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mimij9.bsky.social @mimij9.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Ben Habib alleges Nigel Farage & Boris Johnson were paid £1m each by Christopher Harborne to essentially rig the election in favour of BJ. He also claims the undeclared £5m "gift" Farage received in 2024 from Harborne was payment for NF to take over as party leader of Reform UK & stand in Clacton.
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Thomas [DARK MODE], DO @tom.medsky.social · 11/05/2026
a lot of people blink for 19 seconds *not altered
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
Linden Kemkaran of Reform there... head of a council that spent £600k of taxpayers money on eight free parking spaces for her and her colleagues
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
South East Water CEO to step down after Kent and Sussex supply outages. He will probably turn up with another lucrative post. Musical chairs can't solve the water industry woes. Need fundamental change, prevent extraction of cash. Change won't happen without ending privatisation.
theguardian.com
South East Water CEO to step down after Kent and Sussex supply outages
David Hinton will remain in post while successor is found, group says, a week after resignation of chair Chris Train
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Merseyside Reform UK election candidate who called the Holocaust a "hoax" and "propaganda" has been elected in the local elections. Disgusting people www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpo...
liverpoolecho.co.uk
Reform candidate who said Holocaust was a hoax wins seat in local elections
Jay Cooper posted that the murder of six million Jews was 'propaganda' while also sharing 9/11 conspiracy theories
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Anti-Reform @antireform.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Reform = Corrupt
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
I'm not a politician, but if I ever take £5 million from a crypto billionaire businessman and start banging on about how great crypto is... please disregard everything I say and start calling me a f-ing wanker. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
No obligation to declare £5m gift, Nigel Farage says
The Reform UK leader says the gift was
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
After 45 years of neoliberalism the UK isn't self-sufficient in food, energy, drugs, auto, steel, bricks, cement, semiconductors, and more. The state cannot guarantee clean rivers, safe wastewater disposal, affordable energy, timely healthcare, good housing, decent roads. Taking back control?
leftfootforward.org
Waging war on poverty and exploitation is the only way to build a resilient society
The problems caused by neoliberalism cannot be addressed by bigger doses of neoliberal policies which prioritise profits and corporate interests over people’s welfare
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