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Michele Grant

@michelegrant.bsky.social
2.4K followers 2.9K following 708 posts

Living life beyond a career in the news industry but still rooting for public service broadcasting and old school journalism. Also ... housing and urban issues, Liverpool #YNWA, feminism, politics, walking.

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Reposted by Michele Grant
Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Not sure how the triple lock change will ultimately play politically. But trapping the Tories and Reform into defending a policy literally none of them support in private is potentially a neat move.
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Michele Grant @michelegrant.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Given that hacking is a criminal offence are we happy for the AI companies to be exempt from criminal liability? www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
theatlantic.com
OpenAI Has Gone Rogue
It’s impossible to know the extent of the AI-hacking crisis.  
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Michele Grant @michelegrant.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Fascinating how activists are able to combine free speech and no platform.
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Michele Grant @michelegrant.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Jon Ossoff has the oratory of Obama and the substance of Truman. #Ossoff2028
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Reposted by Michele Grant
James Ball @jamesrball.com · 16/08/2026
A former director of BBC News speaks:
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Reposted by Michele Grant
Richard Sambrook @sambrook.eurosky.social · 16/08/2026
BBC’s coverage of Reform’s welfare plans is frankly bizarre. Headlines in Ten, leading on some radio networks. Reform are not even the official opposition and the plans have less credibility than Count Binface. Will BBC News do the same for Lib Dem and Greens policy two years out from an election?
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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Lest we forget...
Only 22% of people said Burnham becoming PM was the last political news story they could recall - and that was top of the chart!
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Michele Grant @michelegrant.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
unherd.com/2026/07/the-...
unherd.com
The truth about Britain's social-care cartel
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Reposted by Michele Grant
Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Our latest voting intention sees cross over. Labour move ahead by 4. Their first lead since March 2025 & highest share since Nov 24 🌹 LAB 28% (+4)
⏩ REF 24% (-2)
🌳 CON 22% (nc)
🔶 LIB DEM 12% (+1)
🟢 GREEN 8% (-3)
🟡 SNP 2% (nc) N = 2061| Dates 24-27/7| Change w 22/7
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Michele Grant @michelegrant.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
There are two kinds of people. People who stand on a travelator and people who walk on a travelator.
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Michele Grant @michelegrant.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
This will stay with me for a very long time. magazine.newstatesman.com/2026/05/30/m...
magazine.newstatesman.com
My last days with my daughter
Before Ruby, I did not understand that families who live in hospitals are not unusual people
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Reposted by Michele Grant
Rory Cellan-Jones @rorycj.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
open.substack.com/pub/rorycell... My GP surgery got an AI in to answer the phones. At first it seemed to deal with the problem of the 8 o’clock rush for appointments but then patients revolted.
open.substack.com
Dear AI EMMA -You're fired!
GP surgery decides AI receptionist is not up to the job
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Reposted by Michele Grant
Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
If this isn't "designed to stir up hatred" against Jews, what is? Why are the Met not arresting them?
antisemitic banner at the United the Kingdom rally
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Michele Grant @michelegrant.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
The thing about political leadership is that it's made up of two components: the job and the game. Starmer treats it as a job. Johnson treated it as a game. Blair and Brown between them managed both. The Westminster commentariat is only interested in the game.
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Michele Grant @michelegrant.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Fabulous listen thanks to @garius.bsky.social and @grindrod.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/johngrin...
open.substack.com
Monstrosities Mon Amour: Stevenage with Gareth Edwards
#17. John Grindrod meets historian and podcaster Gareth Edwards for a trip to the dreamy cycle paths of Stevenage and the pleasures of a corned beef sandwich
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Rosamundi @rosamundi.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Your Party, proclaiming their support for a multi-property buy to let landlord whose main policy was promoting car use and ripping out LTNs. 🙄
Post from the Your Party account.
🎉Newham Independents take away Labour's majority!🎉

Congratulations to Your Party-backed Newham Independents for winning 24 seats as residents turn on Labour over its failures on child poverty, housing and Gaza.

That's community power! 💪

And then there's a graphic with a picture of the Newham Independents candidates without any alt text.
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Reposted by Michele Grant
James Ball @jamesrball.com · 06/05/2026
"Posts liked by Polanski include one asking “how much does Israel pay him” of Starmer, and another claiming “Labour has been bought by and happily promotes an apartheid genocidal state”.
thenewworld.co.uk
We need to talk about Zack Polanski
The charismatic Green leader is close to a breakthrough - yet must answer legitimate questions about his past and his social media likes
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Lucy Powell MP @lucympowell.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
What new laws have been passed since the election in a nutshell 👇
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Municipal Dreams @municipaldreams.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Maybe not your usual celebration of May Day but a real demonstration of what a progressive Labour council could achieve for its people - a Bermondsey Metropolitan Borough council float from the 1930s.
A lorry with an image of Bermondsey's new health centre and a role play of dental treatment, etc.
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Reposted by Michele Grant
Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Its important the Green Party, during + beyond this electoral cycle, set out much more clearly what they will exclude as antisemitic hatred + hostility, and to articulate how to criticise Israel's govt & support Palestinian rights without antisemitism vs Jews [or this type of hate vs Israelis+Jews]
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
You can, unfortunately, get away with a lot of bigotry and be a viable party for national power. But I don’t think you can be open to positions like this one on crime and be viable.
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Andrew Jacobs @andrewjacobslnd.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Forgiving Kanye West is Melvin Benn's personal choice. Giving him a three-night headline slot is a commercial one. This statement confuses the two spectacularly throughout.
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Michele Grant @michelegrant.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Fascinating to read the comments on this boilerplate post, in which the word Zionist (never defined but broadly applied) serves as absolution for racism. It's such a convenient word.
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Michele Grant @michelegrant.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
'One in five students would be reluctant to, or would never, houseshare with a Jewish student, 23% have seen behaviour that targets Jewish students for their religion or ethnicity and 47% have witnessed justification of the 7 October attacks by Hamas.' www.theguardian.com/news/2026/ma...
theguardian.com
Antisemitism has ‘become normalised’ on UK campuses, says Union of Jewish Students
Poll of students of all faiths and none found almost a quarter had seen Jews targeted for their religion or ethnicity
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Reposted by Michele Grant
Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
Morning Bluesky.
Graffiti reads: IN THE FUTURE, EVERYONE WILL WANT TO BE ANONYMOUS FOR FIFTEEN OUTES
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Michele Grant @michelegrant.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
'China’s disillusionment with Iran’s leaders means that Beijing is not inherently opposed to regime change. Because its priority is to ensure that Iran remains a viable economic partner, it is regime agnostic.' reader.foreignaffairs.com/2026/03/05/w...
reader.foreignaffairs.com
Why China Won’t Help Iran
Beijing Cares About the Oil, Not the Regime
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Michele Grant @michelegrant.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
While we wait to see if war with Iran is going to happen this BBC explainer on what happens to the world economy if Iran blocks the strait of Hormuz is very useful. BBC News - Strait of Hormuz: What happens if Iran shuts global oil corridor? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
What is the Strait of Hormuz and why does it matter?
Iran's threat to block the world's most vital oil transit point has raised fears of major global economic consequences.
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Michele Grant @michelegrant.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
Excellent analysis from Mark Urban on how Westminster lobby correspondents drown out the real news.
open.substack.com
Did the Lobby Misread the Starmer Story?
Our political press can be an asset or liability
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Michele Grant @michelegrant.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
'Oligarchs gonna oligarch. And if your motto is “Move fast and break things,” it turns out that a lot of what gets broken is what the rest of us value most.' open.substack.com/pub/tinabrow...
open.substack.com
Bafflement with Bezos
The whole debacle of the Washington Post brand hara-kiri last week dispatched the myth that a tech billionaire could save serious journalism.
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Michele Grant @michelegrant.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
The 8:10 Today interview with Gordon Brown is an utter tour de force. A towering intellect matched by the deepest integrity.
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Michele Grant @michelegrant.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
For anyone still missing Succession. open.substack.com/pub/tinabrow...
open.substack.com
Rupert Murdoch’s Poisoned Dynasty
Gabriel Sherman’s new book Bonfire of the Murdochs is full of juice.
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Michele Grant @michelegrant.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
'The deadliest two-day protest massacre in history, according to documents reviewed by Iran International's Editorial Board.' www.iranintl.com/en/202601255...
iranintl.com
Over 36,500 killed in Iran's deadliest massacre, documents reveal
More than 36,500 Iranians were killed by security forces during the January 8-9 crackdown on nationwide protests, making it the deadliest two-day protest massacre in history, according to documents re...
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Michele Grant @michelegrant.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
What an internet shutdown hid from us. Don't look away. www.thetimes.com/article/c0bf...
thetimes.com
Inside Iran’s brutal protest crackdown: ‘It feels like everyone is dead’
The first messages to get through the internet blackout in more than two weeks share stories of brutal and widespread violence
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Michele Grant @michelegrant.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
news.sky.com/story/blood-...
news.sky.com
'Blood-curdling accounts' of killings and sexual violence: What we know about landmark Rohingya genocide case
The accounts of the Rohingya people are being heard directly in an international court for the first time as Myanmar stands accused of committing genocide.
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Reposted by Michele Grant
Laura Phillips @lauraphillips.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
@simonjackbbc.bsky.social: ‘Speech from #Carney at #Davos is quite something. Basically saying rules based order is over, other countries must band together to protect themselves against the US. That insurance against the US comes at a cost but so be it. Companies+countries must choose their side.’
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Kurt Andersen @kurtandersen.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Eight democratic, prosperous, sensible countries with a combined population larger than that of the United States and $15 trillion in combined GDP––all of whom whom sent troops to Afghanistan in 2002 when we asked––give an unmistakable fuck you to the dangerous clown running the U.S. government.
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Michele Grant @michelegrant.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
My god. www.thetimes.com/article/01ba...
thetimes.com
Iran report says 16,500 dead in ‘genocide under digital darkness’
Witnesses tell of the brutality inflicted on those taking part in anti-regime protests
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Michele Grant @michelegrant.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
Genuinely useful and interesting amid all the political slop of whose up whose down. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
The one measure that can tell us a lot about the state of the UK economy
Consumer confidence levels are rebounding for some in the UK, but older generations look to be immune.
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Reposted by Michele Grant
British Library @britishlibrary.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
We're delighted to have acquired the archive of writer and essayist Ronald Blythe, best known for book Akenfield, which explores changing rural life in Suffolk during the 20th century. Discover more in this blog post by curator Helen Melody: link.bl.uk/86s
Image of writer and essayist Ronald Blythe, best known for book Akenfield, which explores changing rural life in Suffolk during the 20th century.
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Michele Grant @michelegrant.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Wes Streeting"No one would dispute when I was growing up that being able to use tools like hammers or a saw was a good skill set for us to learn as young people.
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Michele Grant @michelegrant.bsky.social · 11/01/2026
'So here’s an extraordinary fact: this week, Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine will have lasted longer than the Soviet Union's war against Nazi Germany, 1418 days.' open.substack.com/pub/timothyg...
open.substack.com
Ukraine: 1418 days and counting
+ as we hope against hope for Iran, lessons from the history of protest
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Ursula von der Leyen @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu · 10/01/2026
Tehran’s streets, and cities around the world, echo with the footsteps of Iranian women and men demanding freedom. Freedom to speak, to gather, to travel and above all to live freely. Europe stands fully behind them.
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Mike Luckovich @mluckovich.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
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Michele Grant @michelegrant.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Abbas says Ra'am party will be open to Jewish candidates, in major shift www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_ent...
timesofisrael.com
Abbas says Ra’am party will be open to Jewish candidates, in major shift
* * *
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Reposted by Michele Grant
Matthew Sweet @drmatthewsweet.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
So much truth. And controversial view: for me one of the key differences between radio programmes and podcasts is that radio programmes rarely make me shout GET THE FUCK ON WITH IT I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU SAID EARLIER IN THE PUB I WASN’T THERE
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Michele Grant @michelegrant.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
@gabyhinsliff.bsky.social Is a beacon of light in the toxic terrain of cancel culture www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...
theguardian.com
Jewish klezmer-dance band Oi Va Voi: ‘Musicians shouldn’t have to keep looking over their shoulders’
After 20 years playing around the world, the group had two UK gigs cancelled this year after protests from activists. It’s made them feel targeted for who they are, the band say
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Matthew Goodwin objects to prosecuting this: ‘I think it’s time for the British to gang together, hit the streets and start the slaughter. Violence and murder is the only way now. Start off burning every migrant hotel then head off to MPs’ houses and Parliament, we need to take over by FORCE.’
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Laura Phillips @lauraphillips.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Essential 🧵Mina Al-Lami Chief #jihadist #media specialist #BBCMonitoring Update on #IS. Pls read her final post. "Online supporters of IS have been enthusiastic about what they describe as the group's return to global headlines+renewed international discussion of the group as a security threat."1/
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Michele Grant @michelegrant.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
"We are a culture adrift, searching for meaning but mostly only finding distraction" . Rutger Bregman delivering the BBC 2025 Reith Lecture at Stanford. share.google/qhlsiP6zinAb...
share.google
BBC Radio 4 - The Reith Lectures - BBC Reith Lectures 2025 – Moral Revolution
Historian and author Rutger Bregman announced as BBC Radio 4's Reith lecturer for 2025.
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