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Rob Howarth

@rob53.bsky.social
1.3K followers 367 following 61 posts

Married, retired, splits time between U.K. and France. #UKEUFriend

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Reposted by Rob Howarth
Mark Hamill @markhamillofficial.bsky.social · 8h
All these years later.... I'm STILL a member of The Resistance.
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Chris Grey @chrisgrey.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Good 🧵👇
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Farrukh @implausibleblog.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
French Finance Minister Roland Lescure on the UK rejoining the European Union tells the BBC, "Come back. Anytime" My view: Across Europe, the message to Britain is increasingly simple: come back. We are stronger working with our closest neighbours — economically and in our shared defence.
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 08/10/2026
Andy Burnham said "all options" for our future with Europe are on the table. But EU membership is the only one that makes sense - it will boost our economy and, crucially, it's what the majority of Brits want.
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Graham Simpson @grahambs.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
"From our German side, I can assure you that we will do anything we can do to bring the UK closer and closer back to Europe, to the European continent, to the EU. And I'm really happy to have you here today with this clear message from your side and with this clear answer from our side." Merz 👍
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Tax Justice UK @taxjusticeuk.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Gary is just 1 of the 120 @PatrioticMillionairesuk that signed an demanding Burnham tax them more. And, despite what you might see in the press, Gary is part of the majority. 80% of UK millionaires support a 2% tax on wealth over £10million. patrioticmillionaires.uk/latest-news/...
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EveryDoctor @everydoctor.org.uk · 08/10/2026
Here’s an overview of our latest newsletter! The PM’s acknowledged that broken social care is breaking our NHS. A hopeful step but we need real action. Sign up for our newsletter for the next edition: actionnetwork.org/forms/join-t... Become a monthly donor: everydoctor.org.uk/join-our-com...
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Bremain in Spain @bremaininspain.com · 08/10/2026
With over £1billion lost across the EU and more than 17,000 jobs, UK government have highlighted the “shared European interest” in solving the ongoing Brexit touring crisis for artists, musicians and crew as they called for more “real progress” at an event in Brussels.
nme.com
UK government shout out "shared European interest" of solving Brexit touring crisis in push for "real progress" in Brussels
The UK government have highlighted the "shared European interest" in solving the ongoing Brexit touring crisis for artists in Brussels
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Dale Vince @dalevince.com · 08/10/2026
Here’s a new idea - people get stripped of honours for doing dishonourable things - let’s add tax dodging to the list. buff.ly/6zFAOmn
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 08/10/2026
The EU wants us back ♥️ French finance minister: "What I can tell the British people is: come back, anytime."
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Dan Neidle @danneidle.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
This does in fact seem obvious to everyone apart from the people who came up with the policy.
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Peter Kay @theonlypeterkay.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
“The government has previously been accused of hiding the truth from the public after refusing to publish a report from UK intelligence officers warning of the catastrophic impacts on national security from the collapse of vital ecosystems around the world.” www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Britons kept in dark about scale of climate crisis, say viewers of ‘first-of-its-kind’ emergency briefing
Nine out of 10 people felt motivated to act after watching film outlining threats to food security, economy and public health
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 08/10/2026
The easiest way to ‘bring the UK closer to Europe’? Rejoin the EU.
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Dan Neidle @danneidle.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Kemi Badenoch wants to exempt the family home from inheritance tax. But that creates a perverse incentive for elderly people to *upsize* to save IHT. That could double the cost of the policy, and push £100bn+ from savings into housing. A 🧵 on bad tax cuts.
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Private Eye Magazine @privateeyenews.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
In a thrilling contest which kept the whole world on the edge of their seats to the final whistle, Manchester City today narrowly lost to the Premier League by a score of 114-1. From the new Private Eye, out now.
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EveryDoctor @everydoctor.org.uk · 08/10/2026
Every pound taken as profit by private equity is a pound lost to NHS patient care and NHS staff. It's easy to feel like sending a letter won't make a difference, but doing nothing guarantees nothing changes. Send our letter to your MP in 60 seconds: everydoctor.eaction.org.uk/stop-private...
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Tax Justice UK @taxjusticeuk.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
No, the UK isn't a poor country (its the 19th richest). No, we're not suggesting we "frisk" people at airports. No, the rich aren't scared of a tax they can easily afford. & No, we shouldn't base policy on fabricated data.
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Andrew Hesselden @andrewhesselden.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
The next few months matter enormously. Political decisions taken now could lock Britain into a slightly softer Brexit for years — or open the road back to Europe. We should be clear about the minimum we want: Freedom of Movement of goods, services, people and capital.
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Andrew Hesselden @andrewhesselden.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
We should stop asking how little of Brexit we can undo. Ask instead: what does Britain need to prosper again? Freedom of Movement of goods. Freedom of Movement of services. Freedom of Movement of people. Freedom of Movement of capital. That should be our starting point.
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mimij9.bsky.social @mimij9.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
All these glowing write up’s by the usual suspects, Peston, Rigby, Mason, regarding Badenoch’s speech. Not one asking where the money is going to come from for her ridiculous defence dome & billions upon billions of tax giveaways? Considering what Truss did, not pointing this out, is a disgrace.
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Richard Corbett CBE @richardcorbett.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
British public opinion moves relentlessly in favour of rejoining the EU. Brexit has failed Britain.
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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Hats off to the Eye (as ever), for flagging the Conservative hypocrisy over our conference ban
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We Own It @weownit.org.uk · 07/10/2026
Privatisation has benefited overseas investors, who have plundered the assets we used to own. It's way past time to call an end to the failed ideology of the Thatcher era and beyond. Read our report on how and why it should be done vist.ly/5mce2
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
From the new Private Eye
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Failures of privatisation. Royal Mail to cut up to 2,500 jobs Foreign-owned RM doesn't meet letter delivery targets even after regulator lowered them. Postage: 1st class, £1.80, 2nd class 91p. When privatized in 2013: 1st class 60p; 2nd class 50p. Poor service at triple price. Customers fleeced.
bbc.co.uk
Royal Mail plans to cut 2,500 head office jobs
The postal service firm wants to cut the head office and other jobs by the end of 2027.
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We Own It @weownit.org.uk · 07/10/2026
LET THEM GO BUST ! Last year, Thames Water took out a £3bn loan - at 9.75% interest. And now they want another £2.4bn to keep going?! ENOUGH. If water companies can't survive without rip-off loans, they should be declared insolvent and brought into public hands through special administration.
Screenshot from The Daily Telegraph, 2nd October 2026: "Thames Water seeks £2.4bn lifeline after rescue plan stalls Troubled utility risks more financial turmoil if its army of hedge fund backers do not provide emergency cash", above a graphic of the Thames Water logo swirling down a drain.
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Andrew Hesselden @andrewhesselden.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Goods. Services. People. Capital. The four freedoms are not an optional extra. Together they make the European economy work. Britain needs all four. The next few months could decide whether we settle for managing Brexit better — or begin reversing it.
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 07/10/2026
Spot on 🎯 "There are several reasons for the UK to adopt a more proportional voting system of which the most important is the moral one: it’s fairer."
theguardian.com
Why a PR voting system is the best bet for Britain | Letters
Letters: Tom Walker responds to a letter that said first past the post is the lesser of two evils for voters. Plus lette
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European Movement UK @europeanmovement.co.uk · 07/10/2026
Britain has so much to contribute to Europe and so much to gain by helping shape its future. We share Alastair Campbell’s belief that our country should play a strong, leading role in our continent. It’s time to be ambitious about what we can achieve together.
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Mr RobertBob @mrrobertbob.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Pre Brexit UK was better in every way. Since 2016 EVERYTHING has got worse. Any government NOT actively seeking to reverse Brexit is doing us harm. #RejoinEU
static.klipy.com
Waving European Union Flag
ALT: Waving European Union Flag
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 07/10/2026
@alastaircampbell2.bsky.social: "The biggest reasons for the shift are the economy-shrinking, trade-undermining, rights-losing facts, which so powerfully spell out the scale of the mistake the country made in cutting ourselves off from our nearest and biggest trading partner."
thenewworld.co.uk
Alastair Campbell's diary: The door that leads back to the EU is finally open. Now let's walk through it
How fitting that new talk of joining again coincided with the 500th issue of The New World, originally founded to oppose
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Mike Galsworthy @mikegalsworthy.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
🔥DEBATE ON APPLYING TO JOIN EU🔥 Monday 12 October Over 25,500 emails sent from you to your MPs. All 650 MPs have had at least one - some have had over 100. Use this link to send an email to your MP to ask them to attend —> www.europeanmovement.co.uk/contact-mp-a...
europeanmovement.co.uk
Ask your MP to stand up for our future in Europe
On 12 October, Parliament will debate the UK's future relationship with Europe, after a government petition got over 100,000 signatures. Will you write to your MP to ask them to attend the debate?
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 06/10/2026
The public already backs rejoining the EU. It's time for our politicians to make the case for EU membership. Use our tool to ask your MP to attend the debate: bestforbritain.org/take-action/tell…
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Andrew Hesselden @andrewhesselden.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Whatever MPs think Britain’s future relationship with the EU should look like, it deserves serious debate in Parliament. Ask your MP to attend the upcoming debate: www.europeanmovement.co.uk/contact-mp-a...
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Andrew Hesselden @andrewhesselden.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Want to unlock the path back to the EU? Campaign for Freedom of Movement. Not eventually. Now. If politicians can become comfortable with British people once again living, working, studying and retiring freely across Europe, the biggest psychological barrier to rejoining starts to fall.
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Bremain in Spain @bremaininspain.com · 06/10/2026
President of the European Commission since 2014, Jean-Claude Juncker, thinks his biggest mistake as the EU's chief executive was to listen to then-Prime Minister David Cameron's request to stay silent while Brexit campaigners told "lies" ahead of Britain's 2016 referendum. www.dw.com/en/ecs-junck...
dw.com
EC's Juncker admits biggest mistake, over Brexit
The EU was wrong to stay silent ahead of the 2016 Brexit referendum, Jean-Claude Juncker said as he prepares to step down. Being vocal would have 'destroyed' campaigners' lies. He called for a high tu...
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Andrew Hesselden @andrewhesselden.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
A British musician playing in Berlin. A consultant working with a client in Brussels. A builder taking a job in France. A retiree living in Spain. A student studying in Bologna. Stop trying to squeeze all human movement into the word “immigration”. It’s mobility. And it matters.
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Andrew Hesselden @andrewhesselden.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
If your answer to Freedom of Movement is “but I don’t want to live abroad”, you’ve missed the point. You don’t have to use a freedom for it to be valuable. I may never live in Vienna. I still want the right to wake up one morning and decide that I will.
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Tax Justice UK @taxjusticeuk.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Thank you @jemmaforte for saying it like it is. 👏 Extreme inequality is a doom-loop, if we don't tackle it soon it will continue to drive our economy to stagnation & make a mockery of our democracy.
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Andrew Hesselden @andrewhesselden.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Europe used to be somewhere British people could move through life, not just travel through on holiday. A job offer in Amsterdam. A relationship in Barcelona. A retirement in France. No grand plan required. Freedom of Movement made opportunity spontaneous. Brexit made it bureaucratic.
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 05/10/2026
👏 Rachel Blake MP: "The case for a closer relationship with Europe is no longer ideological. It is practical. It is economic. And it is patriotic. "The time has come to stop treating EU membership as an unsayable idea. It should be part of the national conversation about Britain’s future."
huffingtonpost.co.uk
Rejoining The EU Must No Longer Be 'An Unsayable Idea', Declares Labour MP
Writing for HuffPost UK, Rachel Blake says overturning Brexit “should be part of the national conversation about Britain
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Shadow chancellor vows to cut tax in every Tory budget As always, it would be tax cuts for the rich. No mention of corporate welfare, equitable distribution of income/wealth. We haven't recovered from previous Tory follies. NHS queues, potholed road, crumbling schools. What will they cut next?
bbc.co.uk
Shadow chancellor vows to cut at least one tax in every Tory budget
Shadow ministers unveiled a series of policies on day two of the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham.
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Andrew Hesselden @andrewhesselden.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Brexit didn’t just change our relationship with Europe. It changed what an ordinary British person was allowed to imagine doing with their life. Study in Prague. Work in Paris. Retire in Spain. Fall in love in Rome. Start a business in Berlin. Freedom of Movement made Europe ours too.
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Andrew Hesselden @andrewhesselden.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
We keep talking about Freedom of Movement as though it was something Britain generously gave to Europeans. It was something WE had too. 70 million British people had the freedom to live, work, study and retire across Europe. We didn’t stop immigration. We surrendered our own freedom.
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Andrew Hesselden @andrewhesselden.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
The most extraordinary thing about Brexit is that we made it harder for British people to move to Europe — and then called it “taking back control”. Control for whom? Because millions of us lost control over where in Europe we could live, work and build a life.
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Andrew Hesselden @andrewhesselden.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
We talk endlessly about the economic cost of Brexit. But what price do you put on a generation losing the freedom to simply say: “I think I’ll try living in Italy for a year.” Freedom of Movement was an enormous expansion of personal choice. We should want it back.
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Andrew Hesselden @andrewhesselden.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
One of Brexit’s cleverest tricks was persuading British people that Freedom of Movement was about other people coming here. It was also about us. Our jobs. Our families. Our businesses. Our retirement. Our adventures. Perhaps we should start talking about what WE lost.
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Andrew Hesselden @andrewhesselden.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Politicians keep offering young people a few years of European mobility as though turning 30 somehow ends your need for opportunity. Freedom of Movement was never a gap-year perk. It was a lifelong freedom to study, work, build a business, fall in love, raise a family or retire across Europe.
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Andrew Hesselden @andrewhesselden.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
We measure Brexit in GDP points, trade figures and border delays. But there’s another balance sheet. Jobs not taken. Businesses not started. Relationships made harder. Years abroad that never happened. Lives lived with fewer choices. Loss of freedom has an economic cost. It has a human cost too.
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
England's water infrastructure at breaking point. Large part of water network installed 130-150 years ago. Thames Water infrastructure has average age of 79 years; industry average 56 yrs. 40% of TW assets are 100+ yrs old. Must end privatisation, remove profit motive.
standard.co.uk
MP says London water network is 'at breaking point' with two incidents in a week
London MP Paul Kohler said the two incidents highlighted the poor state of the region's water infrastructure
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