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Mark W

@markwill14.bsky.social
106 followers 189 following 18 posts

Archivist, politics nerd, Proud Brummie, husband, father, human. All views are my own etc.

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Mark W @markwill14.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
One of my mates has had quite a bumper crop on his tree in Sutton Coldfield.
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Mark W @markwill14.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
It's only a game, It's only a game, It's only a game...
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Amalia S. Levi, PhD @amaliasl.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
📢 Once more for the people in the back: - Most [more than 95%] of archives have not been digitized. - Most of humanity's knowledge and memory is *not* reachable by LLMs. - Believing that AI can provid you with comprehensive, definitive, "intelligent" results is folly.
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Archives West Midlands @archiveswm.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
The Chamberlain Collection is held at the Cadbury Research Library Special Collections @unibirmingham.bsky.social An #ArchivesWM member service. Not just political papers it also includes family papers with photo albums of the gardens and glasshouses at Highbury, Birmingham
birmingham.ac.uk
Archive and manuscript collections
Details of our collections and how to search them.
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Jordan @jordanbhx.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Consultation on Midlands Rail Hub: Key for me: - What happened to the vision for Moor Street? - how does this interchange with HS2? - how will it be coordinated with Adderley Street tram works? - the viaduct is visually prominent and the symbol of Digbeth, will the widening respect the existing?
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Mark W @markwill14.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... Hyper- local bluesky if you know this junction you’ll know how bad it is. Please sign and share @localnotail.bsky.social @sundersays.bsky.social @birminghamdispatch.bsky.social @jordanbhx.bsky.social
docs.google.com
Pershore Road Safety Survey
We are petitioning Councillor Kamel Hawwash and Birmingham City Council to use some of the Stirchley ward road safety funding to make the junctions of Pershore Road and Lifford Lane and Pershore Road ...
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Mark W @markwill14.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Head above the parapet time for my 2 cents: We ban alcohol for under-18s [for the most part], but that doesn't mean we don't have over-18s that are alcohol abusers. I think this ban on social media might be too crude and proper education on social media use would also be useful.
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James O’Brien @mrjamesob.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
They are all very deliberately ignoring the express wishes of Henry Nowak's family; the judge's sentencing report & the obvious, albeit brief, consequences of a crime being reported exclusively by a lying associate of the perpetrator. It may feel futile but this has to be repeated again & again.
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Alexis Conran @alexisconran.com · 03/06/2026
Exceptional clarity from @stephenkb.bsky.social This is a must read today.
ft.com
What Henry Nowak’s murder does — and does not — tell us about policing
Kemi Badenoch says his killing needs to be seen as a ‘Stephen Lawrence moment’ but the failures in both cases differ
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Mark W @markwill14.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midland...
birminghammail.co.uk
Liberal Democrat chief 'in line to be next Birmingham City Council leader'
Exclusive insight from inside Birmingham City Council as negotiations continue to create coalition
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McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 04/05/2026
"For this focus group, conducted shortly before a sustained green glow began emanating from the station’s superlaser array, we spoke with residents who said they had backed Emperor Palpatine but now felt conflicted."
buff.ly
“They Would Never Use the Death Star on Us”: Alderaan Residents Reflect on Their Support for the Empire as a Large Imperial Installation Enters the System
“For this focus group, conducted shortly before a sustained green glow began emanating from the station’s superlaser array, we spoke with residents who said ...
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Mark W @markwill14.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Bet this doesn't get reported.
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Mark W @markwill14.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
B...but that IMF bailout...
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Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 18/04/2026
I'm a broken record on this but the radicalisation and brain rot of Gen X/boomers is a massively under-appreciated problem
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Jonn Elledge @jonnelledge.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
I have seen a lot of NIMBY selfishness in my time, but "my convenience matters more than cancer care" is a new low. Quite seriously tempted to email them and tell them as much.
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Kate Knibbs @knibbs.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Journalists know that losing the Wayback Machine would be a nightmare: www.wired.com/story/the-in...
wired.com
The Internet's Most Powerful Archiving Tool Is in Peril
As major news outlets cut off the Wayback Machine, journalists and advocacy groups are rallying to protect the Internet Archive’s vast collection of web pages.
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Finally, the thing we were promised in 2024: boring stable government inews.co.uk/opinion/reev...
inews.co.uk
Reeves's Spring Statement was empty, dull - and an utter triumph
It was an absolute snooze-fest. More of this please
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Mark W @markwill14.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
B..but the IMF bailout…
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Mike Galsworthy @mikegalsworthy.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
😂 Oops! That did NOT quite go to plan for GB News!
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Laurette 💙🇨🇦🇲🇽🇪🇺🇺🇦🐸 @laurette-mamab.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
bsky.app/profile/vivi... Thought this worth sharing
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Mark W @markwill14.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
Just thought- did Reform ever announce that Labour defector? Hmm
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Mark W @markwill14.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Could be worse, mine is Titanic! :-/
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Sarah Owen MP @sarahowen.org.uk · 18/12/2025
They literally couldn’t be bothered to even show up to discuss the VAWG strategy today. bsky.app/profile/sara...
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Mark W @markwill14.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
Given the way the world is attached to Social Media and AI it might feel like 'Everything, Everywhere, All At Once'!
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sianushka.bsky.social @sianushka.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
Facebook memories telling me it's 6 years since the Boris Johnson landslide but six years? It feels like another lifetime.
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
'This isn't an opinion. This is counting.'
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 19/11/2025
On International Men's Day, Joshua Edwicker writes: "The rhetoric of the far-right traps young men within - rather than emancipating them from - their concerns." Read here: bestforbritain.substack.com/p/the-w…
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Disillusioned With Conservatives @neverevertory.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
This is disgusting that racism has been directed at school children who were visiting Parliament Wes Streeting has taken the post down to protect the children but it's wrong that he had had to SAY NO TO RACISM! (Farage & Reform will not win)
Post from Wes Streeting
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Alex Andreou @sturdyalex.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
You may have missed this gem yesterday. From which we learn that: 1. Betting shops are really good for the mental health of isolated people. 2. Most drug-takers are not a problem. 3. Kids put tuppence in slot machines in the hope of getting rich. 4. Farage probably has a gambling industry donor.
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Reform Party UK Exposed @reformexposed.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Reform UK's Kent council tax going up by 5%. They didn't find cuts through the failed DOGE. This was their flyer in May 2025.
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Mark W @markwill14.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
@alcarns.bsky.social @preetkgillmp.bsky.social
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Jonn Elledge @jonnelledge.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
why are West Midlands police allowing flag hangers to block a public highway, exactly
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Mark W @markwill14.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
Congratulations, well deserved!
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Alex Andreou @sturdyalex.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
Receipts. You know what I do with them, don't you?
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Mark W @markwill14.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
But yeah, keep putting up the flags and stopping the boats...
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Alex Andreou @sturdyalex.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
This happened in full view of Sky News cameras and a bunch of police just standing there. Why is THIS not on the news all day? Why don't we show people what these thugs are turning the country into? I could only find it on the far right TikTok page that proudly boasted about the incident. SHARE!
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Reform Party UK Exposed @reformexposed.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
Opinion: The Nigel Farage-ing of Britain is causing a terrible ripple effect - and families like mine are feeling it www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
The Nigel Farage-ing of Britain is causing a terrible ripple effect - and families like mine are feeling it | Natalie Morris
Suddenly mixed heritage Britons are being obliged to explain ourselves and our families. We will not be pushed to the margins, says journalist and author Natalie Morris
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Adam Schwarz @adamjschwarz.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
Not a single Reform UK MP attended today's Commons statement on child rape gangs.
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BladeoftheSun @bladeofthes.bsky.social · 17/08/2025
My advice to people, take I'm angry at people not being paid as badly as me. And turn it into, I'm angry at being paid badly. Median wage 2008 - £24,769 Median wage 2025 - £29,600 Inflation from 2008-2025 - 70.51%, your wage should be £42,231 We should all be angry.
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Mark W @markwill14.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
A policy that benefited the richest and cost the UK £100bn: it's long past time to end the fuel duty freeze | Larry Elliott
Successive chancellors have steered clear of increasing taxes for motorists for 15 years, but this should be a no-brainer for cash-strapped Rachel Reeves, says Guardian columnist Larry Elliott
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Mark W @markwill14.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
I'm not doubting the premise of your point or of these polls, but I do see that ChangeUK [de-registered in 2019] are polling at 1% still. (Would I get points for knowing anyone voting for them? haha)
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LaindonFeminist @viviane49.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
So just today there are reports of Knife crime down everywhere bar Greater Manchester (6-25%) And The number of asylum seekers in hotels is down from 50,000 (2023) to 34,000 today. Where is this reported. And why is it not reported?
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Brexit Bin 🇪🇺 🇬🇧 🇩🇪 @brexitbin.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
Here's an interesting video from the other place about the devastating drop in tourism to #MAGAmerica ... Fascism is obviously a big turn-off for international travellers!
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Jordan @jordanbhx.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
Rail passenger numbers have been released for 2023-2024 and as predicted by literally everyone who knows anything about transport, they have already surpassed pre-Covid figures. Birmingham’s passenger growth second only to London.
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 11/07/2025
Haven't seen this written up in some media outlets, unlike their third (yes THIRD) place finish in a Scottish Parliamentary by-election... www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/ref...
thelondoneconomic.com
Reform's membership 'falls by almost 10,000 in a month'
Having grown rapidly earlier this year, it seems as if Reform's membership numbers are starting to fall - significantly.
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James Dart @jamesdart.bsky.social · 22/06/2025
'Would you like a few words on Oviedo?' asked @sidlowe.bsky.social earlier. Would we ever
theguardian.com
Santi Cazorla and Real Oviedo pull off the most romantic of returns to La Liga
Twenty-four long years after their relegation, then tumbling lower into ‘the mud’, the club whose fans would not let them die witnessed their return to Spain’s top table
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Disappointed Optimist @disappoptimism.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
An incredible line for an article opener:
Before ChatGPT distorted Eugene
Torres's sense of reality and almost killed him, he said, the artificial intelligence chatbot had been a helpful, timesaving tool.
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The Mad Yokai @themadyokai.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
why i support the @archive.org www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh98...
youtube.com
Can the Internet Archive save our digital history? | BBC News
YouTube video by BBC News
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Mark W @markwill14.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
This is going to be really problematic going forward. eek.
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