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Pete Cookson

@pete-cookson.bsky.social
256 followers 153 following 3.3K posts

'People who talk about revolution and class struggle without referring explicitly to everyday life, without understanding what is subversive about love and what is positive in the refusal of constraints, such people have a corpse in their mouth.' - R.V.

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Reposted by Pete Cookson
Working Class History @workingclasshistory.com · 19m
#OtD 3 Oct 1952 the UK conducted its first-ever atomic bomb test on the Monte Bello Islands off the coast of Western Australia. The government later admitted they gave no thought for the health of Aboriginal people living nearby stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/1024...
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Pete Cookson @pete-cookson.bsky.social · 15h
"A group of Jewish Greens tried to alert their comrades to these dangers, asking for an amendment that might allow Jews to go to synagogue, but they were rejected. When one ... anti-Zionist Jew rose to speak..., he was shouted down with cries of "Zionist"." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
The Green party’s anti-Zionism motion is yet another attempt to tell Jews how we should think | Jonathan Freedland
The resolution shows little understanding of what Zionism is, who Jews are or how antisemitism works, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland
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Pete Cookson @pete-cookson.bsky.social · 16h
“Last night was not just inefficient, it was cruel and it was torturous." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Tennessee suspends executions as Christa Pike’s lawyer says failed lethal injection leaves her in critical condition
Independent inquiry ordered after failed execution of Pike, who was convicted of 1994 murder
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Pete Cookson @pete-cookson.bsky.social · 16h
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Key disability benefit for young people may be axed under major welfare changes
Exclusive: Plan under discussion involves intensive support to help young people into employment
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Pete Cookson @pete-cookson.bsky.social · 16h
www.theguardian.com/news/2026/se...
theguardian.com
Super-rich UK energy and food magnates’ wealth skyrockets amid global crises
Analysis has shown the costs of daily essentials soaring in recent years, thanks in part to climate shocks, wars and geopolitical tensions
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Reposted by Pete Cookson
Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Trump moves 9,000 troops to Middle East after threatening to hit Iran ‘very hard’. Distraction from Trump's economic failures, midterm blues, capitulation to China, court rebukes, tariff and press wars, self-aggrandizement, family fortunes from corruption Why does US Congress not check his abuses?
independent.co.uk
Trump moves 9,000 troops to Middle East after threatening to hit Iran - latest
The US president said the war will end ‘one way or another’
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Reposted by Pete Cookson
UNISON @unison.org.uk · 02/10/2026
Join UNISON in challenging Reform UK: buff.ly/oU736jb
buff.ly
Responding to Reform Network | UNISON - the public service union
Reform UK is gaining influence, with policies that could have a serious impact on jobs, pay and public services.
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Reposted by Pete Cookson
Rob Tracinski @tracinski.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
This would come across a lot better if he hadn’t just lost a war.
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Comparison of state pension in G7 shows that the UK state pension is the least generous. Countries have wide variance in how retirement incomes are funded and how returns are calculated. Purists might want more nuanced data but this is what we have. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
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Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
This is a dreadful argument from Burnham. Empirically false - almost 6m people were granted settled status; about 4m are currently resident. More importantly panders to racism/xenophobia, and directly contradicts argument made in his speech about migrant contributions.
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Reposted by Pete Cookson
Tribune @tribunemagazine.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Britain doesn’t have to choose between a decent pension and decent care. We can — and should — provide both.
tribunemag.co.uk
Protect the Triple Lock
Britain doesn’t have to choose between a decent pension and decent care. We can — and should — provide both.
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Farrukh @implausibleblog.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
After the Brexit referendum in 2016, Nigel Farage predicted that the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Austria and Italy. 2016 to 2025: each country has become more pro EU 🇳🇱 Netherlands - from 72% to 81% 🇩🇰 Denmark - from 62% to 85% 🇸🇪 Sweden - from 64% to 85% 🇦🇹 Austria - 37% to 51% 🇮🇹 Italy - 33% to 52%
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
You can see the genocide from space. Yet still it is widely denied.
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Trades Union Congress @tuc.org.uk · 01/10/2026
It's time to tax billionaires.
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Pete Cookson @pete-cookson.bsky.social · 16h
Apparently, I'm not English.
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Reposted by Pete Cookson
Lacks the Necessary Aptitude. @theoccasionaltog.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
This will kill young people. This is shaping up to be just as bad for some of the most vulnerable amongst us as last Summer, where Kendall, Starmer and a whole swathe of Labour lied continuously, both in parliament and in the media, cherry picking figures and talking about a moral duty etc.
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Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
“With births barely exceeding deaths, and likely to fall, idea UK faces inexorable immigration-driven population growth is detached from reality. The long-term challenge is how we sustain the workforce, public services and tax base as the population ages.” www.thetimes.com/article/uk-p...
thetimes.com
UK population grows at slowest rate since 1998, ONS figures show
The slowdown is largely due to the ongoing fall in net migration
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
To those who somehow don't seem to understand: Which part of authorising weapons sales to a state committing genocide, banning the protest movement trying to stop these sales, using the RAF to provide surveillance flights for Israel and providing major diplomatic and media support is NOT complicity?
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Keir Starmer wanted to be remembered as Prime Minister for building homes. Instead he will be remembered for his complicity in destroying them. #GazaGenocide
Rafah, in Gaza, on Google Earth, in 2022, left, and in 2026, right. (from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/google-earth-gaza-images-update-b3057562.html)
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Amnesty International UK @amnestyuk.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Patients, health workers and communities are clear: we want Palantir out of our NHS. Last night, hundreds of us rallied outside Palantir's London HQ to say so. Thank you to everyone who showed up, from local actions to the rally 💛 #PeopleVsPalantir
A person holds up a black placard reading 'People vs Palantir' with an Amnesty International logo, at a busy evening rally on a London street. Below, white and yellow text reads: 'Hundreds rally outside Palantir HQ to demand an end to its NHS contract.
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Working Class History @workingclasshistory.com · 02/10/2026
#OtD 2 Oct 1944 the Warsaw Uprising against Nazi occupation was finally crushed after two months of vicious fighting
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Americans are relearning the lesson we learned during the Gilded Age of the late 1890s, when robber barons ran the government and the economy for their own benefit: Oligarchy is incompatible with the common good. I'm hopeful we'll respond with a new progressive movement.
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David Osland @davidosland.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Capitalism has now reached the stage at which companies openly admit that their products represent 'an existential risk to humanity'. And then invite investors to pump money into them anyway.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 22h
CEO-to-worker pay ratio in 1965: 20-1 CEO-to-worker pay ratio in 1990: 75-1 CEO-to-worker pay ratio today: 325-to-1 Trickle-down economics was always a sham. Nothing has ever trickled down.
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Pete Cookson @pete-cookson.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
theguardian.com
Sixteen English councils spend more than 80% of core funding on social care
Councils collectively spent record 71.9% of core spending on adult and children’s care last year, analysis shows
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Nick Dearden @nickdearden.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The crazy thing is we’re still not getting the drugs promised. Like the drug mentioned in the piece which could help end HIV transmission but is being sold for $28000. It’s costs $40 to make it.
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Saul Staniforth @saulstaniforth.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
On #GMB Burnham is asked what hes doing about energy prices going up & he says "what we've got to do is address the root cause, which is the conflict in the M/E" Meanwhile over on #BBCBreakfast we're told RAF Fairford is being used by the US as a staging ground for bombing Iran
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andrew phillips @herfst.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Chameleon, from the Greek χαμαί ‘on the earth’ and λέων ‘lion’, was calqued from Akkadian nēš(u ša) qaqqari lit. ‘lion of the ground’, a figure attested in the Epic of Gilgamesh (line 314 ᴜʀ.ᴍᴀʜ šá qaq‐qa‐ri). The term is paralleled in lexical tablets from Ebla (ca. 2300 BCE) as na‐iš qar‐qá‐rí‐m.
Neo-Assyrian cuneiform clay tablet with a portion of the Epic of Gilgamesh, heavily fragmented.Line art of cuneiform tablet. The term ‘lion of the ground’ is highlighted.
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Saul Staniforth @saulstaniforth.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
@zackpolanski.bsky.social asks, why is the govt reducing arms sales to Israel, we should be ending them completely.
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Andrew Fisher @fisherandrew79.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Stand by what I said in July on #PoliticsLive on the triple lock. It's affordable, justifiable, and there are much better targets for saving money (even on pensions) than modifying the triple lock
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Saul Staniforth @saulstaniforth.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
"we all know how this is going to turn out" @zackpolanski.bsky.social on the [good] things that Andy Burnham is saying.
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The Citizens @the-citizens.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Mic drop moment at our event on the sidelines of #labconf26 in Liverpool, when @labourlewis.bsky.social revealed a letter from Tom Watson showing Palantir has tracked his mentioning them nearly 130 times. Is there anything Palantir doesn’t want to know about us?
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Pete Cookson @pete-cookson.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
'The National Secular Society has reported a religious charity to the regulator after uncovering videos which promote violence against women and condone the execution of gay people and accused 'witches'.' www.secularism.org.uk/news/2026/09...
secularism.org.uk
Charity sermon says men can hit wives ‘to show who’s in charge’
Preacher at Hackney mosque condones death penalty for gay men and people accused of 'witchcraft'. Read More
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Saul Staniforth @saulstaniforth.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
"Its the wrong place to get money from.. there are other places.. the richest 50 families are worth £500bn. Why are we talking about pensioners £12,500 & not talking about a wealth tax. Why is that?" @unitesharon.bsky.social says scrapping the triple lock would be the wrong thing to do
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Saul Staniforth @saulstaniforth.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
"Has he learned nothing from the winter fuel cut fiasco?" Kevin Maguire on reports that Burnham is going to announce an end to the triple lock on pensions at some time in the future #GMB
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Pete Cookson @pete-cookson.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
'Those who have voted for Galloway, campaigned for him, or excused him over the years as an awkward fellow traveller now have his party’s own word for what it is. The horseshoe now appears to be ready at the farrier’s.' www.saasuk.org/articles/geo...
saasuk.org
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Working Class History @workingclasshistory.com · 28/09/2026
#OtD 28 Sep 1907 socialist revolutionary and anti-colonialist Bhagat Singh was born in what is now Pakistan. An advocate of working-class uprising, he attacked Gandhi for his fear of the proletariat. He was executed by the British in 1931 stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/1006...
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Dan Diamond @ddiamond.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Russell Brand, who's awaiting trial in London next month on rape and sexual assault charges, will moderate a panel at DC's MAHA summit tomorrow on reforming a U.S. health agency
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David Osland @davidosland.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I only wish I could get cancelled the same way people who regularly write for Britain's biggest-circulation tabloid newspaper are 'cancelled'
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M a r c u s 🏳️‍🌈🇧🇧 @marcusjdl.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
One of the worst state pensions in western Europe, 2 million pensioners in poverty and increasing numbers of pensioners still paying rising rents… triple lock being removed is not a left wing position just because you don’t like rich boomers
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Natacha @natacha.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
As Andy Burnham decides to make pensioners poorer instead of taxing the mega-rich or rejoining the EU, a reminder of how the UK compares with the rest of Western Europe on pensions.
Luxembourg: £2436
Switzerland: £2400
Norway: £2164
Denmark: £1822
Holland: £1403
Italy: Men £1437, Women £1056
Belgium: £1401
Malta: £1400 - £1600
Spain: £1341
France: £1296
Germany: £1281
Sweden: £1226
Austria: £1121 (min)
Ireland: £1115 (min)
UK: £1045
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Working Class History @workingclasshistory.com · 29/09/2026
#OtD 29 Sep 1944 communist nurse and partisan Virginia Tonelli was burned alive in the San Sabba concentration camp in Italy. The fascists had tortured her for days, but were unable to get her to speak. Exasperated, her torturers then burned her alive workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e77-...
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Alice Roberts @profaliceroberts.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Reform want to indoctrinate our children. Freedom of (and from) belief is a human right. humanists.uk/2026/09/10/s...
humanists.uk
Reform UK Braverman promises 'consequences' if pupils don't sing hymns
Reform UK has said schools will face ‘consequences’ if they fail to make pupils regularly sing hymns and the national anthem under a Reform government. The party’s education spokesperson, Suella Brave...
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Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Why is the Government going after pensioners? It's time to tax the rich
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Andy Burnham announces end of triple-lock on the state pension from 2030. It will be replaced by double-lock, slower growth in state pension. Full state pension is already less than 50%of the minimum wage. Poverty awaits future retirees. £500bn of taxes not collected by HMRC since 2010.
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Caroline Lucas @carolinelucas.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Sadly there was a climate & nature shaped hole at the heart of Burnham’s speech. Nothing on the benefits of nature restoration & same old words on a “pragmatic” approach to N Sea drilling. There’s nothing pragmatic about pouring fuel on a scorching earth - he should rule out Rosebank & Jackdaw now
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National Secular Society @natsecsoc.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
"Boycott her in bed... and discipline them physically as well, by lightly hitting them to show who is in charge." These are the words of a sermon delivered at a London mosque which, as a registered charity, receives tax breaks to undertake 'the advancement of religion'.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Tyrants view educated citizens as their greatest enemy. Slaveholders stopped the enslaved from learning to read. Nazis burned books. Dictators censor media. That’s why Trump is attacking education, science, museums, the media, and the arts – to prevent us from learning. It's Fascism 101.
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Pete Cookson @pete-cookson.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
newhumanist.org.uk/articles/the...
newhumanist.org.uk
The view from a school in a Reform-led council
As a teacher, I encourage children to question the hate that some of them are taught at home
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Amnesty International UK @amnestyuk.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Protesters were being ARRESTED for HOLDING UP SIGNS outside the Labour Party Conference yesterday! But this is nothing new. In the UK, OVER 3,500 people have been arrested, with MORE THAN 2,250 formally charged under TERROR LAWS for PEACEFULLY PROTESTING the ban on Palestine Action.
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