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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦

@maryindevon.bsky.social
704 followers 746 following 1.1K posts

Town Planner and Geographer (MRTPI). Used to work at NASA - planning IS harder than rocket science. We can do better.

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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 20h
And in other long term economics and politics news... www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
‘Explosion of melt rates’: 20% of Swiss glaciers lost in five years
Alpine regions in Europe experiencing extreme glacier collapse due to heat-trapping effects of fossil fuel pollution
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
For people talking about build homes on public land... Sure, have a look Using the Homes England Land Hub - GOV.UK share.google/sKc70VJ5r5qc...
share.google
Using the Homes England Land Hub
The Land Hub is an interactive map that features sites we intend to sell within the next 6 months.
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This is very not normal www.bbc.co.uk/weather/arti...
bbc.co.uk
UK weather: Temperatures to hit 25C in burst of late September warmth
Temperatures are expected to rise well above the late September average on Tuesday with a very warm night to follow, as Simon King explains.
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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 27/09/2026
Google finally updated some of its satellite images of Gaza and my god, it's horrific. The entirety of Rafah has been demolished. The majority of Khan Younis is in ruins. Entire towns completely leveled and erased of the map.
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
When do nominations open for Biggest Snowflakes on the Internet? I've found a contender: Facebook Private Landlords groups. Just whisper into their echo chamber something about hard work of tenants who pay rent (their mortgages) and the tantrum outbursts and name-calling are unbelievably OTT! 😃
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Jim Waterson @jim.londoncentric.media · 22/09/2026
London’s most expensive house, the Reform UK Treasurer, Holly Valance, one of Labour’s biggest donors, a £265m sale, and a curious loophole we’ve uncovered that could slash the taxes earned from elite London properties. London Centric x Dan Neidle collab. www.londoncentric.media/p/londons-mo...
londoncentric.media
London’s most expensive house, Reform UK’s treasurer, and a massively reduced tax bill
A £265m mansion in the heart of the Chelsea • Sold by billionaire Nick Candy and his ex-wife Holly Valance • Bought by a Labour-donating hedge fund boss • Why was the tax bill so small?
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Read this thread
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Jeff Berardelli @weatherprof.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Ocean anomalies up to +14°F! While El Niño drives global weather patterns, its biggest impacts are arguably local in #Peru, #Ecuador and the #Galápagos Islands. The extreme warmth along the coast is disrupting one of the most productive ocean ecosystems on Earth. 1/
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UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence @housingevidence.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
📢 Join us online for 'The social value of social homes in England' on Tues 13 Oct 2.30pm-4pm BST as we bring together voices from HACT, Shelter, Pathway Housing Solutions and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation to explore how we talk about social homes. 👉 Sign up: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-social...
eventbrite.co.uk
The social value of social homes in England
Explore how we talk about social homes and how we define and measure social value
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
@channel4news.bsky.social has done an excellent job reporting. Of course I'm guessing not one Reform voter will have watched that, and there willl be spinning away at GfB'News'
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
So she's not courting the Landlord vote?
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Matt Golding @goldingcartoons.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Melbourne has officially recorded the warmest winter since records began in 1855, with a mean temperature of 12.8 degrees – just above the 2013 record of 12.7 degrees.
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Borners @borners.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Great statistic by @pmsmith.bsky.social speaking to the difficult realities that the NPPF is easy to edit, and hard to enforce.
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
As if the man supposedly in charge sitting up all night reposting AI images of himself in ludicrous situations isn't enough absurdity
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Feeling motivated for a trip to Scotland now!
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Oookaaaay... Odd that "it could fund" isn't followed by something a bit more homes and community building rather than Lethal weapons. Homes and infrastructure help the economy as much as military spend, non?
Screen Grab of HBF linkedin post: Homes England received £2.24bn from the 32,276 Help to Buy loans paid off in 2025/26… representing a £218m increase on their £2.02bn origination value. 

That 10.8% return could fund 24 armed autonomous drones to operate alongside Apache helicopters under Project NYX in the government’s Defence Investment Plan…
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Ant Breach @antbreach.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
About a month until 8,000 volumes on British postwar planning and housing history gets pulped. Unless we can find someone to save it municipaldreams.substack.com/p/a-good-hom...
municipaldreams.substack.com
A Good Home Needed Urgently for One of the Most Significant Libraries of Housing and Planning in the Country
The trustees of the Octavia Hill Birthplace Museum are disposing of its Harry Simpson Memorial Library in September, next month.
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Will Stancil @whstancil.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
This CNN article and infographic is probably the best summary I’ve seen of how much traffic has actually been passing through Hormuz over time, and via which routes.
cnn.com
How traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is adapting to war
Mines, drones and competing shipping lanes – see how traffic through this vital waterway has changed
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Objectors say 150 homes will "result in a thousand extra car journeys a day" 🤣🤣🤣 Those objectors to think critically for one minute. How many in those homes will be retired? WFH? Every household taking 6 "trips" a day? Sigh. www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/2645093...
dorsetecho.co.uk
Campaigners fear 150-home scheme would bring '1,000 extra car journeys a day'
Campaigners in a Dorset village are raising concerns on a 153-home plan due to an increase of traffic posing a threat to the safety of residents
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Downplay a book or film: The Adequate Seven
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WestScot @westscot.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
This really cheesed me off this morning. There was no “slight confusion”; NF told a straight-up lie. No wonder so many people no longer engage with BBC News content…
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
10 things I'm 100% in favour of. Please note that nowhere does it imply these are inconsistent with delivering much needed homes. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
From grey water to cool spaces: 10 climate crisis policies Britain needs right now
Rejecting North Sea drilling licences and protecting nature are just some measures Andy Burnham must implement to ready country
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Paging @countbinface.bsky.social
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
ALL of britain's large developers are lobbying to bring back help to buy - post 2008 recovery up to 40% of their market sales were HtBuy and evidence clear it raised new build house prices (along with turnover).
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Wondering how strongly facebook/meta went out for the rightwing candidate in Columbia? @carolecadwalla.bsky.social
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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Reform spent £4,376,601 on campaigning last year, essentially flat on the general election year - but £8,944,096 on unexplained "office costs". No breakdown anywhere. Much smaller parties than Reform give detailed breakdowns of what went into those figures.
Office costs 2025 8,944,096 and 2024: 2,601,650
Campaign cost 2025 4,376,601 and 2024: 4,248,408
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Moving powers and funds out of Whitehall is certainly a way to make positive things happen: A record 156,000 children travelled around the West of England in the first week of Kids Go Free 2026 www.linkedin.com/posts/the-st...
linkedin.com
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
The ocean has absorbed more than 90% of the heat from global warming. Is anyone surprised that ocean temperatures are higher than ever recorded?
theguardian.com
World’s seas have hit hottest temperature on record for July, say scientists
Average sea surface temperature outside polar regions was highest on record for July, beating previous high in 2023
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Neal Hudson @resi-analyst.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Developers will offer anything other than a reduction in the headline price www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/berkele...
housingtoday.co.uk
Berkeley offers to pay private school fees for buyers of homes in north London estate
Housebuilder looks at incentives for people to buy
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
At first I was amused by a few fun posts, but this is terrifying www.npr.org/2026/07/31/n...
npr.org
Google pauses AI satellite images, after fears of deepfakes in the sky
Journalists, human rights advocates and open source analysts recoiled in horror at the initial decision: "The opportunities for abuse and disinfo are literally boundless," said one.
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jessamyn @librarian.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
I work at a public library. People who want to use AI seem to have no trouble doing so. People who don't want to use AI have a harder time. I crowdsourced and then finalized this document "How to disable or avoid intrusive AI" and then gave it a short URL: notoai.org Please pass along if it's useful
An aircraft passenger oxygen mask: a drop down passenger mask with air bag and yellow plastic mouth and nose cover, oxygen tube has been cut; Demonstration model used by flight attendant crew for passenger instruction. Has text on the side indicating that it's non-functional.
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Here's what to do. Pretend it's ye olden days (2000's) when you didn't have smart phone apps and, oh, don't know... Go to a restaurant or a shop?
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Very good fire map - so many hot spots www.lemonde.fr/en/les-decod...
lemonde.fr
A map to visualize the fires in southwestern France
Since July 22, France has faced two devastating wildfires that are still not under control.
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
plus ça change
The telegraph continuing to publish Ed Milliband attacks even with new appointment.

So perhaps the 250 attack articles were not related to the DESNEZ brief.

I believe this is what the hip kids refer to as 'living rent free'
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
yesterdays local byelections (h/t @electionmaps.uk) 2x CONS hold 2x LAB gain from REFORM 1x REFORM gain from CONS
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SMD's pension @anothersmd.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
This is fucking terrifying
Separate research supports the concern. Anat Perry, a Helen Putnam Fellow at Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute and associate professor of psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, co-authored a paper in Science examining how sycophantic AI responses erode users’ ability to calibrate their own judgment. The paper found that when AI systems consistently affirm a user’s position, the user’s capacity for independent evaluation degrades over time.

Joanna Stern, NBC’s chief technology analyst and author of “I Am Not a Robot: My Year Using AI to Do (Almost) Everything,” has documented the creep of AI dependency in daily life. Her reporting has shown how users begin with low-stakes queries, such as what to cook for dinner or what to wear, and gradually escalate to consequential decisions about careers, finances, and relationships. The trajectory from convenience to reliance is difficult to reverse once established.
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Any roll back in employee NI should ONLY be AVAILABLE to companies with SMALL MULTIPLES of lowest to highest paid workers SOMEONE TELL ANDY & CO! This one simple tick makes a lot of things more palatable
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
This breaks my heart twice - once for message and once for the place we had and lost in Europe 💔🇪🇺 🚫🚗
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Extract from my reps on the Devon LGR Not the devon picture I'd have drawn: #devolution #LGR
3 – The Plymouth/Exeter “expanded Torbay” scenario is very problematic
Plymouth’s  “expanded Torbay” scenario would leave a VERY large rural devon with no logical centre.  This remaining Devon would have few major commercial/employment anchors and no significant HE/FE provision; (just very limited technical qualifications through Petrock College with branches in Tiverton and Barnstaple.)
The largest market town in that area would be Barnstaple (pop ca 35,000) with nearby Bideford (pop 30,500).   However this would be more than 70 miles away from the remaining areas coastal south Devon.  The vast network of rural lanes would be crippling for a highways authority with a small population and limited employment.  The geographic centre would be near Okehampton (market town pop ca 9100) but creating sub-regional service centre would be expensive and require investment over long time horizons.
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Steve Reed in parliament just announced the unitary options. Some very surprising things in there!!! www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/live... starts at 12:28
bbc.co.uk
Watch BBC Parliament live - BBC iPlayer
Watch BBC Parliament live on BBC iPlayer.
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
To people who say a comedian shouldn't be taking on a role in politics/public service, i have two words: Volodymyr Zelensky Might be time to chance it?
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Alicia Kearns' question on local government reorganisation, essentially going 'Yuck, don't want to be run *by a city*' is, in my view, the single most neglected force in English politics and the single biggest threat and risk to Andy Burnham's devolution plans.
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
My new tm: MELTWEAR like sportswear, but when you're dressed for melting in the heat
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Neil Goodrich @ngoodrichhsg.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Aside from getting basic facts wrong - social rents are not subsidised the capital cost to build is part funded by grant, this article is at odds with almost all parliamentary reports, think tanks, and representative bodies on the dire need for more social housing. www.economist.com/leaders/2026...
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Andrew Sissons @acjsissons.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Not sure one can do about this other than sigh deeply. But I might as well post the explainer on why net zero isn’t even the main thing pushing up energy bills (it’s gas), as if having a safe planet to live on wasn’t reason enough…
linkedin.com
No, net zero is not the main reason energy bills are high
It seems to have become commonplace to blame net zero for Britain’s high energy bills and/or weak job market. For example, Sharon Graham of the Unite union recently described Ed Miliband as a "noose a...
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
the (King's Lynn actions on the) climate emergency was costing each household in the district £3.38 a year, whereas Brexit was about £3,450 a year 💪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
West Norfolk Council votes to keep climate emergency declaration
ReformUK's proposal to replace net zero targets with a "resilience strategy" is rejected.
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Peter Jukes @peterjukes.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
Just to remind ourselves, here are our initial @bylinetimes.bsky.social's investigations into Cottrell's role in helping Farage become a true 'Man of the Paypal' er.... checks notes... 7 years ago
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50 Shades of Planning @50shadesofplanning.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
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Shelley Powers @burningbird.net · 27/06/2026
'The draft language would also let the organization obtain public property in Gaza “free of charge”.' www.theguardian.com/law/2026/jun...
theguardian.com
Trump’s Board of Peace plans to grant itself sweeping immunity, documents show
Draft resolution seeks to shield board members and security forces from potential prosecution for work in Gaza
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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Dartmoor prison is a bit of a liability and Princetown so remote the "usual" regeneration plans are not an option... But still, good news IMO Prince William asks to stop being paid £1.5 million in rent from Dartmoor Prison - Devon Live share.google/8RKddSjw6vAa...
share.google
Prince William asks to stop being paid £1.5m in prison rent
He wants it to benefit local people instead
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