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Richard

@rtruscott.bsky.social
558 followers 624 following 922 posts

Architect, work for a London Borough in Planning, Urban Design, Housing, Policy etc, like politics, culture & history, cycling…

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Reposted by Richard
Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 14h
Zelenskyy issues a statement responding to Trump’s deal with Putin to lift sanctions to purchase Russian oil and diesel.
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 21h
I dion imagine all those, like the author & those quoted, who earlier wanted the Holborn St Pancras By-election to be an opportunity to object to HS2 or Camden Council, as saying that now! Instead, Labour’s clear win endorses LB Camden’s approach! www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Loss of green space could be issue that decides Holborn and St Pancras byelection
Labour could pay price for disappearance of parks and playgrounds around Euston station
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Peter Whitewood @pwhitewood.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
A shadowy network of hedgehogs and owls, operating at the highest levels of the British establishment.
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Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Obviously not helped by the fact he is in self imposed exile. But Holborn was George Galloway’s worst ever result in a Westminster election.
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Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Compared to the local elections in May, where Greens/CPA had a pact the Labour vote is up and the Green vote is down. Right vote and Liberal Democrat vote down.
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Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
3000+ majority for Labour, comfortable and a sign of Burnham’s gains on the left. Labour vote barely drops. Green vote significantly up from 2024, but less impressive if you assume lots of Feinstein 2024 voters went to the Greens. Bad result for the Greens but not at worst end
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Steve Akehurst @steveakehurst.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Holborn and St Pancras - fairly unremarkable in the end except to say: - Burnham slowly piecing back the Lab 24 coalition, albeit mostly the left bit so far - Greens a shade underwhelming and reflects less space for them but also taking their eye off the ball a bit in the last six months
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Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
sorry to report that George Galloway received only 1% of the votes in Holborn & St Pancras
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
This sounds like a film worth seeing!
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Lewis Baston @lewisbaston.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
This suggests - gently, as it’s only two results - that there has been a 5-6 point swing from Green to Lab since May in seriously contested elections in their main battleground.
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Badenoch’s inheritance tax cut could cost £11bn – almost twice the advertised price lead to significant avoidance, act as a disincentive to downsize, distort the housing market & reduce investment. Terrific analysis by @danneidle.bsky.social ’s Tax Policy Associates: taxpolicy.org.uk/2026/10/08/c...
taxpolicy.org.uk
Tory IHT cut could cost £11bn - almost twice the advertised price
Our modelling suggests Badenoch’s inheritance tax cut could cost £7.7bn-£10.9bn a year and shift £60bn-£110bn from savings and investments into housing.
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
It’s extraordinary to think that there once was a time when George Galloway was a pretty mainstream Labour MP; such a long distance his politics & morality have travelled, he’s now in that strange place where the extreme left merged with the extreme right! www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
George Galloway contests London byelection without setting foot in UK
Veteran leftwinger has been ‘in exile in the east’ in Russia and not been to Holborn and St Pancras constituency since campaign began
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
The five habits of highly successful opposition leaders:
1 Get a popular leader, or at least one who is less unpopular than their rivals.
2 Move towards the party that defeated you.
There is usually a reason why voters picked it, which should give you a clue about what direction you need to move in.
Neutralise your areas of weakness. In our country, for the Tories that typically requires that they minimise fears that they will knacker public services; for Labour that generally requires it to minimise fears that it will spend like a drunk in a casino.
4 Convince voters that you are competent and that you've changed.
5 Form a viable programme for government.
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
It's true that not a lot of people are hit by the £100k childcare thing, but the thing is, all of the people who are live in about 100 seats, 40 of which the Tories need to win from the Liberal Democrats, 20 of them they have to prevent the Liberal Democrats winning next time.
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Really great piece by @samfr.bsky.social on how Burnham’s pledge could take Britain back into the EU, not just Closer Alignment/Customs Union/Single Market, by mid-2030s, & how to get over concerns with Free Movement/Euro/Le Pen etc. Let’s do it! samf.substack.com/p/the-route-...
samf.substack.com
The route back into the EU
Back in 2022 I wrote about the long-term prospects for undoing Brexit and made two predictions.
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Doesn’t surprise me at all that there’s a growing crisis of over-supply of PBSA (Purpose Built Student Accommodation), though apparently not in London, which I suppose is a relief for my work, though I wonder who fills all the rooms, even here! www.theguardian.com/education/20...
theguardian.com
‘I didn’t know what to do’: collapse of providers of high-end digs leaves students in shock
Cost of living crisis and drop in international students hits market for purpose-built accommodation
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
This is a good architectural podcast, but it is slightly strange (which they acknowledge) that Richard Rogers’ Lloyd’s Building is Grade I Listed, given alleged purpose of the design is that external service pipes & pods would be easily replace/update-able podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/o...
podcasts.apple.com
Deconstructed: Lloyd's Building - Inside-Out Architecture
Podcast Episode · Open City · 24 September · 29min
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Interesting, quite stark (& quite depressing given it’s depressing whenever people vote for far right!) geography of these close #BrasilElectionResults, with a stark north-south divide & virtually no states (just tiny Amapa) where the result was close! www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...
theguardian.com
Brazil presidential election 2026: first-round live results
Incumbent leftwing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is standing against Flávio Bolsonaro. Follow the latest results live
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Reform UK-run council boycotts reporter after row over potholes Derbyshire county council accused of ‘worst kind of double speak’ as it denies banning local democracy journalist but says it will ignore his inquiries www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Reform UK-run council boycotts reporter after row over potholes
Derbyshire county council accused of ‘worst kind of double speak’ as it denies banning local democracy journalist but says it will ignore his inquiries
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Esther Rantzen had a long, busy & extremely impactful life, & though I was not a fan, her passing deserves memorialising. But, to me, she & her weird legendary TV show That's Life has never been spoofed better than by Not The Nine O' Clock News - youtu.be/h2QZprRgxDc?...
youtu.be
BBC Not The Nine O' Clock News - That's Life Spoof
YouTube video by Anthony C
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
No 10 gathering evidence on public support for rejoining EU. Senior Downing Street officials reach out to thinktanks and pollsters as they test backing for reversing Brexit. This seems like a very sensible & mature approach. Rejoin, or greater closeness? www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
No 10 gathering evidence on public support for UK rejoining EU
Senior Downing Street officials reach out to thinktanks and pollsters as they look to test backing for reversing Brexit
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Not unreasonably; they need the democratic legitimacy of an electoral mandate!
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
From Brexit to electoral reform: key takeaways from Andy Burnham’s conference speech. Ending the pensions triple lock, creating a national care service and making changes to leaseholds were all announced by the PM in Liverpool. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
From Brexit to electoral reform: key takeaways from Andy Burnham’s conference speech
Ending the pensions triple lock, creating a national care service and making changes to leaseholds were all announced by the PM in Liverpool
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Excellent Peter Kellner analysis of a) increasing willingness of voters to vote tactically to stop Reform UK, & b) how a switch to #ProportinalRepresentation could help UK negotiations with the EU kellnerp.substack.com/p/how-tactic...
kellnerp.substack.com
How tactical voting could destroy Reform…
…and left-of-centre voters help to revive the Tories
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I gather from this report that Foreign Sec. Ed Miliband delivered a terrific speech to the Labour Party Conference this morning, & from reading it, I agree on its rhetorical quality & content quality, & gave Chancellor Healy an impossible act to follow: www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...
theguardian.com
John Healey says Labour will stick to fiscal rules in first speech as chancellor – UK politics live
The chancellor announced a new local apprenticeship service to boost opportunities for young people
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
For those who don’t know, this is what I was really thinking of (& I see it was just Alexander Armstrong): youtu.be/jSvov8TVFgk?...
youtu.be
2002 Pimm's ad: Pimm's O'Clock in the Woods
YouTube video by Pimm's GB
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Brilliant, very British, story about the Farmer who stumbled upon 3 anonymous white vans obstructing her lane & then a 'large group of hooded and masked men', near the US air base at RAF Fairford; reminiscent of those Armstrong & Miller Pims O’Clock ads! www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live...
theguardian.com
RAF Fairford live updates: Streeting thanks farmer who alerted police but says she has ‘a partial picture’
Member of the public who contacted police after seeing ‘group of hooded and masked men’ near RAF base says she thinks ‘someone dropped the ball’ over incident
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
‘Rip the plaster off’: Andy Burnham sets out vision for universal free social care. An NHS-style service funded by everybody will be in Labour’s next general election manifesto. Great to have a Labour Govt with such a good & significant purpose! www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
‘Rip the plaster off’: Andy Burnham sets out vision for universal free social care
PM says he will put proposals for NHS-style service funded by everybody into Labour’s next general election manifesto
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The film Pulp: What Do You Do For An Encore? is TERRIFIC; built around a 2024 concert at the Millenium Dome, that finishes with the most epic version of Common People imaginable, but much more with biography, archive film, photos & interviews, rounded out by Jarvis’s lyrical words
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James Ball @jamesrball.com · 27/09/2026
I know America tends to forget the rest of the world exists, but this does make the chances of the rest of the world buying any of your cars drop to roughly zero, fwiw.
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
…Almost like a Mini-Switzerland, like that being implemented along the Derbyshire stretch of the Hope Valley Line (though if that line was treated like Gareth proposes for North Northumberland, you’d close 2/3 of the Hope Valley Line’s stations)!
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
For 10 years, I holidayed in Embleton, nr Dunstanburgh Castle, & always thought north Northumberland needed more stations; Belford - Bamburgh + Beal - Lindisfarne, Chathill - Seahouses, Christon Bank - Dunstanburgh, Longhoughton & Warkworth! But 4 strategic stations convincing…
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Why This Beautiful Main Line Is A Mess - @garethdennis.uk #Railnatter 322 youtu.be/R2SJRtjQidc?... Very convincing in analysing capacity & need across whole line, Newcastle to Edinburgh, for commuter services at either end, & a vision of integrated local busses on Heritage Coast…
youtu.be
Why This Beautiful Main Line Is A Mess | #Railnatter 322
YouTube video by Gareth Dennis
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
The Guardian’s coverage of Man City’s 18 years of fraud & cheating today is magnificent; great articles by @barneyronay & @david_conn backed up by explainer & detailed timeline in the Sport section, plus front page news report & more on the murky financial & legal details inside!
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Dani Garavelli · Diary: Cult of Mussolini. Fascinating piece on a horrible but intriguing figure, who undoubtedly left a legacy in twisted attitudes, as well as monumental architecture, mostly terrible but some stunning & beautiful, though pointlessly so! www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Dani Garavelli · Diary: Cult of Mussolini
A couple of days before I arrived in Predappio, I read that Hitler’s birthplace in Austria had been compulsorily...
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
…other awards went to impressive schemes by Levitt Bernstein (Melfield Gardens, Lewisham), Studio Egret West (Hayes Park, Hillingdon), Proctor Mathews (Benfield Valley, Brighton) & DK Architects (Sandybrook, Halton) #HousingDesignAwards…
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Great to be at the #HousingDesignAwards last night, to see our Kings Road housing infill scheme, by Metropolitan Workshop architects, awarded, alongside 2 others of theirs, in Farmstead Road, Lewisham & Blackwall Reach, Tower Hamlets (along with Haworth Tompkins)…
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
UK shares findings of damning climate crisis national security report suppressed under Starmer. Why suppress it? El Niño poses critical threat to nations’ defences, says Ed Miliband in presentation to global foreign ministers www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
UK shares findings of damning climate crisis national security report suppressed under Starmer
El Niño poses critical threat to nations’ defences, says Ed Miliband in presentation to global foreign ministers
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Andy Burnham faces a weakened Trump – but the president remains unpredictable. @pippacrerar.bsky.social PM hopes to be firmer with US leader than his predecessor without provoking diplomatic warfare, as the Iran war weighs on the UK economy. Going 2b a tense week! www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Andy Burnham faces a weakened Trump – but the president remains unpredictable
PM hopes to be firmer with US leader than his predecessor without provoking diplomatic warfare, as the Iran war weighs on the UK economy
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Tom Gauld Cartoon of the day in The Guardian today seems pretty accurate to me; not rich, nor with a rich aunt, not a vicar, but from a good family! i.guim.co.uk/img/media/13...
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Excellent road map by George Peretz how Andy Burnham could bring in lasting #ElectoralReform, achieving constitutional legitimacy & consensus, using #CitizensJuries, framing the decision as between the Scottish & Irish forms of #ProportionalRepresentation georgeperetzkc.substack.com/p/towards-el...
georgeperetzkc.substack.com
Towards Electoral Reform
Electoral reform now has the Prime Minister on its side: but how is it to be delivered?
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Dorian Lynskey @dorianlynskey.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
We should give them independence just for fun. See how they get on
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Peter Smith @redpeter99.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Breaking. Donald Trump announces state visit to Piddington.
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Huw... @hiker-huw.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Let's grant Piddlington independence. Make them show passports & get Visas to leave the village and enter the UK! 😂 Make the parish council negotiate contracts with utilities, service providers, and trade deals with the UK government...🤣🤣🤣🤣 #piddington
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Let me count the days … @simoncosgrove.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Day 2420 of #Brexit: ‘Andy Burnham is facing calls to ensure the UK does not fall behind its international allies after the European Union opened the door to Canada becoming its first 'associate member'.’ www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...
independent.co.uk
UK urged to follow Canada’s example as it looks set to be ‘associate member’ of EU
Canada’s PM Mark Carney is pivoting to Europe amid his country’s trade war with Donald Trump
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
…Meanwhile, IMHO Burnham govt should also tell Piddington long term future of this barracks that’s within their parish boundary but separated by 1-2 fields & woodland, will not be a camp. But it & all the other military land around Arncott Hill would make an excellent #GardenSuburb for Bicester!
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
…I think Burnham govt should say just temporary, but then needs to recognise EVEN IF processing backlogs are resolved (& all other fantasy ideas to reduce asylum claims/small boats; #SmashTheGangs, #Rwanda, whatevs), will still need some permanent claimant accom.; what should that be?…
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Villagers in Piddington, Oxfordshire vote to leave UK in protest over migrant housing plan. Another mess, courtesy of Johnson & Sunak’s neglect of basic work processing asylum claims, which means temporary camps like this are needed. But not permanent… www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
English village votes to leave UK in protest over migrant housing plan
Villagers in Piddington, Oxfordshire, hold symbolic referendum over plans to house more than 1,000 asylum seekers nearby
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
All supporting acts withdraw from Ed Sheeran’s tour in solidarity with Macklemore - what a mess, undermines Sheeran’s attempt to reduce his bland, middle of the road reputation, hitting increasing division between corporate US/Israel & the rest of the West! www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
All supporting acts withdraw from Ed Sheeran’s tour in solidarity with Macklemore
Four openers and live band for Sheeran’s tour depart after removal of Macklemore over ‘free Palestine’ comments
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Richard @rtruscott.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
George Osborne saying Britain should rejoin the EU Customs Union as the simplest & quickest way to repair the undoubted harm to the economy of Brexit. He’s right, but I don’t think many people are inclined to listen to the architect of Austerity right now! www.theguardian.com/business/202...
theguardian.com
George Osborne calls for UK to rejoin EU customs union and boost trade
Ex-Tory chancellor says economy has ‘fallen off a cliff’ since Brexit but rejoining union could be ‘quite simple’
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