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Marc Francis

@marcfrancisth.bsky.social
165 followers 344 following 217 posts

Former Labour Party councillor for Bow East ward in Tower Hamlets

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Reposted by Marc Francis
Jim Waterson @jim.londoncentric.media · 04/10/2026
This is clearly already Angela Rayner’s WhatsApp pic. Anyway probably most revealing is which friendly journalists are on the Conservative tapestry.
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Kevin Schofield @kevinschofied.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Rabbi Charley Baginsky and Rabbi Josh Levy, co-leads of The Movement for Progressive Judaism, said: "A party that votes against protecting Jews while debating whether their self-determination is racist is practising the racism it claims to oppose.” www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/greens...
huffingtonpost.co.uk
Greens Branded 'A Racist Party' After Passing Anti-Zionism Motion
Zack Polanski has also been criticised for missing controversial conference vote.
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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 02/10/2026
We don’t blame you if this one passed you by, but last week we got fresh data on the benefit cap. Find out more in Top of the Charts ⤵️ buff.ly/r8lWc67
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Marc Francis @marcfrancisth.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Just heard that the former Chief Executive of the Regulator for Social Housing has become a Board member of Sanctuary Housing Group. Swan tenants, whose complaints about Sanctuary's poor services post-takeover were systematically ignored by the RSH last year, might well enquire into this connection
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Marc Francis @marcfrancisth.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Well done ex-Green Leader Caroline Lucas for speaking out again today against the appalling "Zionism is racism" motion at this weekend's Green Party conference. As she says, it is clearly "divisive" and a sign "Jewish people are not welcome". Meanwhile, Zack Polanski continues to equivocate over it
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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Burnham's speech marks perhaps the best opportunity to replace First Past the Post since 1918. I joined @jonathanfreedland.bsky.social & @lucyfisher.ft.com recently on "The Long View" to explore the history of electoral reform in Britain - & the lessons we might learn. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
bbc.co.uk
BBC Radio 4 - The Long View, Electoral reform
Jonathan Freedland takes the long view of electoral reform.
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Tim Morton @timmorton2.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
"Together with Shelter, Chas and others, Shac’s advocacy for homeless people ultimately led to the transformational 1977 Housing (Homeless Persons) Act that is still the basis for homelessness legislation today.” So many lives changed. @stevehilditch.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
theguardian.com
Peter O’Callaghan obituary
Other lives: Housing association executive who was at the centre of the early movement to tackle homelessness
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Marc Francis @marcfrancisth.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Last year's excellent piece by @andrewkersley.bsky.social provides context to the "with immediate effect" departure of Notting Hill Genesis' Chief Exec on Monday. Who could have guessed getting someone in from Foxtons would result in tenants and shared owners receiving an even worse service?!
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Marc Francis @marcfrancisth.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Just heard York Hall is going to be closed to swimmers throughout October as well. That’s nearly four months shut. It is long overdue for Tower Hamlets Council to give 'Be Well' members a proper explanation what is being done to fix this problem and when this work will be completed. #NotBestValue
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Carers UK @carers-uk.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The Prime Minister's commitment to fundamentally reform our broken social care system and build a National Care Service has grasped the urgent need for change. Read our full response, shared by our Chief Executive, Helen Walker, on its vital importance: pulse.pulse.ly/njg3r3gl20
An image featuring a quote in red italic text against a plain white background. 

At the top left are large red opening quotation marks. The quote reads: "As Baroness Casey’s work moves forward, we want to see the Prime Minister’s commitment today become a really ambitious settlement, with unpaid carers at its heart, that will truly deliver, providing people and families with the high-quality support they need."

To the bottom right, the quote is attributed in red text: "- Helen Walker, Chief Executive".

In the bottom left corner is the "carers uk" logo, featuring a red icon of simplified intertwined figures representing people, followed by the text "carers" in dark grey and "uk" in red.
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Marc Francis @marcfrancisth.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
As a cllr, I took up many complaints from tenants and shared owners at Thomas Fyre Drive, so the departure of NHG's Chief Exec is no surprise - even if it is overdue. I hope bringing in a leader with some actual expertise will secure residents a proper service. www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/notting...
housingtoday.co.uk
Notting Hill Genesis confirms departure of Patrick Franco ‘with immediate effect’
Helen Evans now at the helm of 68,000-home non-compliant landlord
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Marc Francis @marcfrancisth.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Thanks to @thlabour.bsky.social's Cllr Victoria Lupton for inviting me to join their meeting with residents opposing AEG's plan to use Victoria Park for 75 days next summer. I'd be amazed if Aspire's cllrs vote against this application when it comes to committee but this is a misuse of a public park
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Nick Garland @npjgarland.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Kind of grimly fascinating as always, coming from the former director of strategy to a Labour PM. There just isn't a future for a centre-left politics that is this hostile to pretty basic progressive values.
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Marc Francis @marcfrancisth.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
What on earth are Tower Hamlets Council planners doing recommending approval of another 520 student rooms on the former LEB site?! This is contrary to the Local Plan and comes on top of thousands of other student rooms already approved. Well done to cllrs on the committee for unanimously refusing it
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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Mind-blowing story in Private Eye about how the Telegraph's chief reporter reached out to James Orr (or meant to) after the Channel 4 donation revelations


...within hours of journalists on either the *Guardian* or *Sunday Times* contacting Reform for comment on the same stories ahead of them publishing their own investigations. Reform deputy leader Richard Tice and his fiancée, supposed journalist Isabel Oakeshott, even crowed online about their spoiler tactics.

Not that the *Telegraph* doesn't do its own leg work when reporting on Reform. After James Orr, the party's head of policy, had to resign after a sting by *Channel 4 News* (see "*Right Orr Wrong*, p14"), *Telegraph* chief reporter Rob Mendick texted Orr: "I was hoping to talk to you entirely on background," he schmoozed. "You must be feeling very bruised and I totally Appreciate [sic] the sensitivities. I suspect you deserve better and I wanted to see how I can put the record straight in some way." Alas, instead of the Reformer and Cambridge theologian, Mendick messaged someone else, who shared it with the *Eye*!
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Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf-uk.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
~165,000 families, containing over 370,000 children, are hitting the benefit cap, 50,000 more families than before. The Government should introduce a protected minimum floor in Universal Credit to stop deductions from pushing families further into hardship, as @iainkporter.bsky.social explains
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Marc Francis @marcfrancisth.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Important story here. It shows why it was so wrong to approve these 800 co-living flats without any on-site affordable housing in the first place. Also, LBTH's CEO + Monitoring Officer refused to investigate a claim Aspire's cllrs were 'whipped' to vote for it towerhamletsslice.co.uk/poplar/isle-...
towerhamletsslice.co.uk
Isle of Dogs developer seeks £35m cut to affordable housing payment | Poplar News | Tower Hamlets Slice
A developer behind an 835-home Isle of Dogs tower wants to cut its affordable housing contribution to Tower Hamlets Council by around £35m.
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Karl Pike @karlpike.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I have a short essay in this relaunched Progressive Review from @ippr.org, called ‘A Liberalism of Public Things’. Open access link below: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
A Liberalism of Public Things
The social democratic ideological tradition - including the liberalism within it - should be described more accurately and defended. Liberalism within social democracy is the liberalism of public thi...
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Pete Apps @peteapps.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
More detail about the building in Poplar where a man died in a fire at the weekend: - Building was fitted with combustible Hemsec insulated panels, which were non-compliant at the time of build (oddly described as 'inflammable' by the manufacturer) peteapps.substack.com/p/a-fire-in-...
peteapps.substack.com
A fire in Poplar
A fire at a building awaiting cladding remediation claimed the life of a man at the weekend. What do we know about this blaze, and what do we still need to know? PLUS - thoughts on the new PAS 9980
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Marc Francis @marcfrancisth.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Just discovered that Manchester is setting a requirement for new development to include 30% affordable housing in its Local Plan. If this figure works for Manchester, why have London Boroughs being told to reduce their requirements from 35% to 20% irrespective of viability of individual schemes?
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HOPE not hate @hopenothate.org.uk · 11/09/2026
Last week, the Electoral Commission published new data on donations to political parties covering the second quarter of this year, and to the surprise of absolutely no one, Reform UK continue to be fuelled by crypto investors and overseas businessmen. hopenothate.org.uk/2026/09/10/c...
hopenothate.org.uk
Crypto investors and overseas businessmen continue to fuel Reform UK – HOPE not hate
Last week, the Electoral Commission published new data on donations to political parties covering the second quarter of this year. They reveal that, from April...
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Matthew Pennycook MP @matthewpennycookmp.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Delighted our Social Housing Bill passed its Second Reading this week. At its heart are radical reforms to the Right to Buy to protect precious social rented homes and incentivise the building of more of them. The Bill also gives greater protections to tenants who are victims of domestic abuse.
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Marc Francis @marcfrancisth.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Well done to @thlabour.bsky.social's Cllr Shubo Hussain for listening to Fish Island residents' concerns and voting against this application. Any good in this scheme is far outweighed by the loss of sunlight to their homes. Inevitably, the Aspire Party's cllrs voted for it. The Green cllr abstained!
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Lewis Baston @lewisbaston.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Only in a field including Justin Webb could this guy have been the centrist. The John Roberts of the Today programme.
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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 10/09/2026
🏠 Local Housing Allowance is back in the headlines off the back of Conservative Party plans to cut it by a further £4 billion. But what is the reality of housing support today? 🏠
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Samuel Thomas @smlthms.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Timms Review has published draft recommendations today - really welcome transparency. Will share longer form thoughts in the next few days but they're a mixed bag: great to see a lot of things we've all been calling for, but also some clear longer-term dangers. www.gov.uk/government/p...
gov.uk
The Timms Review: co-chair update, September 2026
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Rafael Behr @rafaelbehr.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
On the urgent task of stopping nationalists, pumped with Maga propaganda and Kremlin money, conniving against liberal democratic Europe www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
European democracies are running out of time to turn away from the abyss | Rafael Behr
Far-right parties, Maga ideology and Kremlin money are conniving to suffocate liberal idealism for another generation, says Guardian columnist Rafael Behr
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Rachel Blake MP @rachelblakemp.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Awaab’s Law gives tenants stronger accountability over their homes. Now we want to see that in practice, and ensure social landlord and Housing Associations are held to account where action isn’t being taken🏡
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Edward Luce @edwardluce.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
New free to read link as.ft.com/r/f15cad1d-1...
as.ft.com
Kushner and Witkoff’s blind amateurism
The misguided belief that dangling potential postwar profits can lead to peace has hampered US diplomacy from Ukraine to Gaza and Iran
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Marc Francis @marcfrancisth.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Utterly predictable but still terrible to see Tower Hamlets Council planners recommend the approval of 280 co-living flats in Wansbeck Road. This scheme does not conform to existing policy on heights in Fish Island and significantly reduces sunlight/daylight to neighbouring homes + amenity space
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Labour Unions @labourunionsuk.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Gordon Brown is absolutely right. Solidarity and community matters - and so do the institutions that allow us to stand together. Thatcher deliberately and consciously did everything possible to undermine that workplace solidarity. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Youth clubs, trade unions, pubs: here's how Burnham can fix Britain's social recession | Gordon Brown
From volunteering to the WI, we have lost so many ways to meet our neighbours. Making that easier can only be good for society, says former UK prime minister Gordon Brown
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THCVS @thcvs.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
September's Children & Youth Bulletin is here. Join this month's Children & Youth month's forum & the THCVS Health & Wellbeing Forum: 2 great chances to connect & shape support across Tower Hamlets. + Funding, family support, opportunities for young people, news & jobs. Read more ➜ bit.ly/4yquej9
A promotional banner for the Voluntary Sector Children and Youth Forum (VSCYF), showing a child kneeling on pavement drawing with colourful chalk sticks. Text reads: "Voluntary Sector Children and Youth Forum (VSCYF)" and "Wednesday 16 September, 11:00am to 12:30pm, Streets of Growth, Hayloft Point, 6 Middlesex Street, E1 7EX. THCVS logo in the top left corner.
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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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Marc Francis @marcfrancisth.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Thanks to the teams at Chisenhale Art Place, our very own resident DJ Tom + all the volunteers for putting on a brilliant street party this weekend. It was great to catch up with neighbours + see the kids playing in the streets. Tower Hamlets Council should do more to support these community events
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Marc Francis @marcfrancisth.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Really disappointing to hear York Hall leisure centre will remain closed for at least another month. Kids swimming lessons are now seriously disrupted. Meanwhile, Tower Hamlets Council keeps charging 'Be Well' members for a service they haven't been able to access for nearly 3 months. #NotBestValue
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Marc Francis @marcfrancisth.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Just heard about this Local Govt Ombudsman investigation into systemic maladministration + poor decision-making by LBTH's Homeless Services. Despite raising similar concerns during my time as a cllr, we were never told about the actions required in this judgment. Hundreds of local families affected
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Marc Francis @marcfrancisth.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
So happy to hear a homeless family I helped before the election has now finally got the permanent social home they need and deserve. However, it isn't right that it takes a cllr's intervention to cut through maladministration + poor decision-making currently endemic at Tower Hamlets Housing Options
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Marc Francis @marcfrancisth.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Just seen the only change to latest planning application to redevelop Bow Wharf is 20% affordable housing instead of 15%. The idea this is all that is viable from 66 canal-side flats in Mile End Park is risible. It shows why Angela Rayner should scrap Steve Reed's policy in places like Tower Hamlets
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Quiet Riot @quietriotpod.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Out Now: QUIET RIOT B SIDE! We are joined by @rachelblakemp.bsky.social to talk HOUSING CRISES PLURAL. 🏡 Supply problems 🏚️ Quality issues 🛌 Rough sleeping And much much more! 🍏 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/q... 🎧 open.spotify.com/episode/4dtw...
podcasts.apple.com
B-Side: The Last Housing on The Left
Podcast Episode · Quiet Riot · 21 August · 52min
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Marc Francis @marcfrancisth.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Good explainer here why @bellribeiroaddy.bsky.social's effort to get Govt to hold underperforming housing associations to account are so vital. For a decade, the 'Regulator for Social Housing', covered-up the systemic failures of Clarion Housing, leaving many tenants' homes in serious disrepair
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SHAC: The Social Housing Action Campaign @shacaction.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
SHAC Article: We Can End the Conspiracy of Silence: Join MPs’ Call for Action shaction.org/2026/08/20/w...
shaction.org
Social Housing Action CampaignWe Can End the Conspiracy of Silence: Join MPs’ Call for Action
By SHAC and Lindsay Bush Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP and a cross-party group of MPs have blasted the Government’s lack of housing association accountability, writing to the Housing Minister, Angela …
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Neil Goodrich @ngoodrichhsg.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Excellent explainer on Local Authority housing finances. One can draw a direct line between the items discussed in this article, and the fact that LAs are overrepresented in the social landlords with a C4 (worst) consumer grading from the regulator. redbrickblog.co.uk/2026/08/self...
redbrickblog.co.uk
If Andy Burnham is serious about a council housebuilding revolution, what does he need to know about the self-financing settlement for the HRA?  - Red Brick
Chloe Fletcher is the Chartered Institute for Housing's Head of Policy and External Affairs. She explains why council housing finance has become unsustainable - and argues that a new settlement must r...
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🐋Cpeterkessler @cpeterkessler.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
London's historic east end pub, the Lord Morpeth is running a CrowdFunder to support its staff and expenses since last month's Thames Water main flood. You can get a 🍺 & 🍕 and help the suffragette's historic boozer! www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/pay-it-for...
crowdfunder.co.uk
Pay It Forward at The Lord Morpeth
Help the Lord Morpeth team after our flood! Pre-buy your reopening pint or pizza today to support our staff 🍻🍕
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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 19/08/2026
As Andy Burnham looks to take rough sleepers off the streets and into more secure accommodation, the freeze on local housing support risks pushing more families into temporary accommodation and staying there longer.
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Tom Copley @tomcopley.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
It’s fantastic news that London will receive £168m of additional funding to support people off the streets - 38% of the national total. We’re determined to support the PM’s drive to ensure everyone has a safe place to sleep, working with London Councils and charities. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Andy Burnham unveils plan to get rough sleepers off streets for Christmas
Rough sleepers in England will be offered housing, in a move likened to the “Everyone In” initiative during the pandemic.
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Brick Lane Bookshop @bricklanebookshop.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
One space remaining for this season's East End Writers' Workshop. Begins Sept 21st, 6 bi-weekly classes from experienced authors and teacher Roger Mills. Writing exercises and constructive feedback in all genres. All welcome, especially beginners. bricklanebookshop.org/product/east...
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Marc Francis @marcfrancisth.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Good to see work is finally about to begin on the redevelopment of Albert Jacob House. Six of these 53 new family-sized council properties will be to Part M4(3) standards, providing urgently-needed fully-accessible homes for disabled people on Tower Hamlets Council's waiting list. #BuildingHope
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Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
A look at how our seven segments have shifted their voting intention since Burnham became PM. The most striking shift is among Progressive Activists the most socially and economically left segment where Burnham has erased the greens lead, though still way below Corbyn levels.
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CW @cwassermann.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
The other big group who will struggle are pensioners who never had/don't get PIP/DLA because they became disabled in later life. Some won't even be under consultant care I'd imagine even if they have poor mobility. Hope this gets sorted.
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