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Sandy Martin

@sandyofipswich.bsky.social
3.5K followers 3.4K following 973 posts

Chair, Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform, SERA Executive (Labour’s Environment Campaign), pro-EU, LGBT+, Democratic Socialist - for 1to1 dialogue feel free to email sandyofipswich@gmail.com

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Sandy Martin @sandyofipswich.bsky.social · 1h
Right wing media are claiming that Burnham is destroying the triple lock on pensions. This is untrue and they know it. The change is to make the earnings element follow the long-term rise in earnings rather than simply the annual increase- this clearly makes sense.
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Sandy Martin @sandyofipswich.bsky.social · 2h
The justification for capitalism is that it enables investment in successful and potentially successful enterprises. But private equity firms have transformed this into an arbitrary shuffling of finance. They should not control the direction of companies they invest in.
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Sandy Martin @sandyofipswich.bsky.social · 2h
This article is 2 months old. The great news is that the Prime Minister has announced the setting up of a National Commission for Electoral Reform. If you are a Labour member or supporter and you want to be part of building a new democracy, join us at www.Labourforelectoralreform.org.uk
labourforelectoralreform.org.uk
Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform | Home
A network of Labour members and supporters campaigning for proportional representation and democratic renewal
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Richard Corbett CBE @richardcorbett.bsky.social · 19h
“Burnham is right that ‘hope comes from honesty’. That’s why Labour must make the case for rejoining the EU.” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Burnham is right that ‘hope comes from honesty’. That’s why Labour must make the case for rejoining the EU | Sadiq Khan
Brexit was a disastrous act of national self-harm. Britain needs EU membership to bring growth and security in an increasingly volatile world, says London mayor Sadiq Khan
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Labour4PR 🌹🗳️ @labour4pr.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
"We've had a decade of turbulence in our politics and I think that has stopped Britain moving forward. If we look to the next decade I think we need to show that we can have a better politics, more about problem solving than point scoring" 🎙️ @andyburnham.bsky.social 🌹 #Labour4PR #R4Today
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Labour4PR 🌹🗳️ @labour4pr.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
“Today I am announcing a new National Commission on Electoral Reform. I invite all the political parties to be part of its work. We will contest the next election with a manifesto commitment to change the electoral system” 💬 @andyburnham.bsky.social 🌹 #Labour4PR
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Sandy Martin @sandyofipswich.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Prime Minister announced National Commission for electoral reform at Conference this afternoon. Hurrah! Time for celebration now 🎉. Join us in www.Labourforelectoralreform.org.uk and help shape the new democracy @labour4pr.bsky.social
The timeline for Labour’s Journey to Electoral Reform
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Sandy Martin @sandyofipswich.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Andy Burnham expected to say he will push ahead with electoral reform plans
Exclusive: Labour conference speech will kick off process that could replace current system with proportional representation
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Labour4PR 🌹🗳️ @labour4pr.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
"Andy Burnham is expected to announce that he will push ahead with plans for electoral reform in his first conference speech as Labour leader" "One option open to Burnham is a new National Commission for Electoral Reform, an idea he endorsed at last year’s party conference" 🌹 #Labour4PR
theguardian.com
Andy Burnham expected to say he will push ahead with electoral reform plans
Exclusive: Labour conference speech will kick off process that could replace current system with proportional representation
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Labour4PR 🌹🗳️ @labour4pr.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
"This is the first time a Prime Minister has committed to changing the voting system ever. This is the closest we have been in the history of this country" 🎤 @alexsobel.co.uk 🌹 #Labour4PR
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Labour4PR 🌹🗳️ @labour4pr.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
"The radical right is a 30% proposition, First Past the Post is the only system in which they can take government" 💬 @robfordmancs.bsky.social
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Labour4PR 🌹🗳️ @labour4pr.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
"Defending democracy is constant work. One vital part of it is an electoral system that fairly reflects how people voted." 🌹 @jessicatoale.bsky.social
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Labour4PR 🌹🗳️ @labour4pr.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
💥 Dozens of local parties have sent electoral reform motions to #Lab26, thought to be more than any issue since the 2023 rule changes 🎯 Labour in Government must take the first step by launching a National Commission on Electoral Reform 🌹 We look forward to the debate #Labour4PR
labourforanewdemocracy.org.uk
Labour For A New Democracy - 2026 Contemporary Motion
The campaign for Labour to enact electoral reform, introduce Proportional Representation, and bring in fair votes
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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Via Labour for a New Democracy: Changing Britain’s voting system is among the most popular issues tabled for debate at this year’s Labour conference by local branches "At least three dozen Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) have submitted motions on the subject" - the most in three years apparently
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Labour4PR 🌹🗳️ @labour4pr.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
🗳️ The Big Electoral Reform Debate 🪑 @siennarodgers.bsky.social with @robfordmancs.bsky.social 🎤 For PR @jessicatoale.bsky.social @paulsweeney.bsky.social 🎤 For FPTP Supportive Labour MPs invited 🕡 18:45, Sun 27 Sept 📍 Auditorium 1C, ACC www.labourforanewdemocracy.org.uk/event-listin...
labourforanewdemocracy.org.uk
The Big Electoral Reform Debate — Labour For A New Democracy
Parliamentarians debate: is First Past the Post still fit for purpose?
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Labour4PR 🌹🗳️ @labour4pr.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
🏛️ How electoral reform could unlock Britain’s full potential With @thefabians.bsky.social 🪑 @pollytoynbee.bsky.social 🎤 @alexsobel.co.uk 🎤 @rachelblakemp.bsky.social 🎤 @npjgarland.bsky.social 🎤 @eichhornjan.bsky.social 🕓 28 Sept 16.15 www.labourforanewdemocracy.org.uk/event-listin...
labourforanewdemocracy.org.uk
Rewiring the state: how electoral reform could unlock Britain’s full potential — Labour For A New Democracy
Join our joint fringe event with the Fabian Society
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Electoral Reform Society @electoralreform.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The stark map of Saxony-Anhalt reveals how First Past the Post would have distorted the will of voters. With just 44%, AfD would control almost all seats, silencing the majority. buff.ly/Mfk1vNP
buff.ly
First Past the Post would have given the AfD nearly every seat in Saxony-Anhalt
There has been much coverage in recent days of the outcome of the state election in Saxony-Anhalt, which lies in eastern Germany. It is unusual for regional elections in other countries
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Sandy Martin @sandyofipswich.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
“Some people don’t know who we are any more” - indeed! And it’s the racists who know it least. There’s no such thing as racial ‘purity’. And the English are some of the most mixed people in the world. Having Asian ancestry is widespread- mine is 1/16th
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Sandy Martin @sandyofipswich.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
My German is not good, but I understand that the BSW - which is supposedly a “left-leaning” populist party that has sprung up around a charismatic leader in recent years- will form a regional government with AfD. This is not good, but it’s much better than AfD running Saxony-Anhalt on their own.
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Electoral Reform Society @electoralreform.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
In Saxony-Anhalt, First Past the Post would’ve handed the AfD near total power – regardless of their actual vote share. buff.ly/Mfk1vNP
buff.ly
First Past the Post would have given the AfD nearly every seat in Saxony-Anhalt
There has been much coverage in recent days of the outcome of the state election in Saxony-Anhalt, which lies in eastern Germany. It is unusual for regional elections in other countries
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Sandy Martin @sandyofipswich.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
‘A new environmental network for Labour councillors’ labourlist.org/2026/09/a-ne... @serauk.bsky.social
labourlist.org
'A new environmental network for Labour councillors' - LabourList
Councillors are rooted in their communities and work with residents to improve their local environment -  from clean streets, safe parks, green spaces and safe roads.
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Sandy Martin @sandyofipswich.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
I don’t agree that GB News should be investigated. What could we possibly discover that we don’t already know? It shouldn’t be investigated- it should simply be closed down.
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Sandy Martin @sandyofipswich.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
ReformUK is not a real political party- it doesn’t have a platform other than a hatred of immigrants nor any process for developing policy other than the pronouncements of Farage. What its successes demonstrate is that sufficient gratuitous media coverage can make even the worst person electable.
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Alex Sobel MP @alexsobel.co.uk · 22/09/2026
Yorkshire Water released untreated sewage into waterways for over 285,000 hours across nearly 51,000 spills in 2025. I raised this in Parliament because it's clear the privatised water model is failing. Yorkshire deserves clean rivers, not pollution. 🌊💧
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Christian Wolmar @christianwolmar.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Why does the BBC give credence to the ghastly Jim Radcliffe who is a nasty self serving Reform supporter? He is getting 3 minutes on the news
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Sandy Martin @sandyofipswich.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
The Tories are hoist on their own petard - for years they said Labour was soft on defence, but it was the Tory government, and specifically Boris Johnson, that were soft on Putin and soft on the causes of Putin. Uk voters now see a Labour government determined to preserve European security.
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Sandy Martin @sandyofipswich.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
If Tories & Reform Uk have a pact of any sort for next General Election- even just an informal non-aggression pact - Labour, Lib Dems & Greens must do the same. Anything less will be suicidal under First Past the Post- in the long run we need Proportional Representation to avoid these scenarios
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
The Green party had won this Sheffield City Council ward 40% to 39% to defeat Sheffield Council leader Tom Hunt in May. Labour win a majority of over 1000 to retake it 53% to 29% in this by-election, suggesting a shift within the left since the Spring.
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Sandy Martin @sandyofipswich.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
The slightly hopeful sign here is that ReformUK is losing well over half the seats it is defending in by-elections. Once people have a ReformUK councillor and realise how useless they are they are not voting Reform again. Let’s hope the rest of the country gets the message eventually
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Sandy Martin @sandyofipswich.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Attending significant @instituteforgovernment.org.uk session on political corruption- Robert Barrington claims Uk has dropped in its integrity faster and further over the past 12 years than every other country bar Belarus.
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Sandy Martin @sandyofipswich.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
With a huge majority in Parliament and an unpopular official opposition party, it would be perverse for the Labour government to pay the slightest attention to what Badenoch is calling for. ReformUK want to abolish Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains tax- that’s a good reason for increasing them imho
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Sandy Martin @sandyofipswich.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Watching the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk webcast on Andy Burnham’s premiership- interesting, but only Neal Lawson @compassoffice.bsky.social seems to get the need for a complete overhaul- all the others appear to accept that things will broadly stay the same.
Neal Lawson at the Institute for Government webcast
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Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 15/09/2026
Tell me again that climate change is a hoax.
Chart showing global annual temperature abnormalities between 1880 and 2024
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Sandy Martin @sandyofipswich.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
It looks like all the effective democracies in the world bar us are keen to be as close as possible to the EU. Is that because only in the UK have Murdoch and Musk focused so relentlessly on poisoning people’s minds? We need to free ourselves from the pernicious influence of these billionaire liars.
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Richard Corbett CBE @richardcorbett.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Striking trend in today’s news: -Canada says it wants a deep partnership with the EU -Australia says it wants same - UK opinion polls show record number wanting to Rejoin EU -TUC calls for govt red lines to be scrapped -Leaders of 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 & N.IRL say they want to be inside EU
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Alex Sobel MP @alexsobel.co.uk · 15/09/2026
AI can benefit society, but superintelligent AI is a different challenge altogether. My Bill would prohibit its development in the UK to protect our national security and democratic institutions.
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Sandy Martin @sandyofipswich.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
For anyone who thinks you can counter the extreme right by joining in with the demonising of immigrants- no! You’re just playing into their hands. Care for humanity must mean all humanity. Hatred begets hatred.
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Sandy Martin @sandyofipswich.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
First Past the Post would have given the AfD nearly every seat in Saxony-Anhalt electoral-reform.org.uk/first-past-t... Electoral Reform Society – ERS
electoral-reform.org.uk
First Past the Post would have given the AfD nearly every seat in Saxony-Anhalt
There has been much coverage in recent days of the outcome of the state election in Saxony-Anhalt, which lies in eastern Germany. It is unusual for regional elections in other countries
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Richard Corbett CBE @richardcorbett.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Elections could once be won by having good policies and campaigning for them on the doorstep and in debates. Now they are more likely to be won by whoever has the most money to spread lies & misinformation www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Ben Delo: Reform receives record £36m donation from cryptocurrency billionaire
Ben Delo's donation, the biggest single sum ever given to a political party in the UK, comes amid scrutiny of Reform's finances.
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Sandy Martin @sandyofipswich.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The new Prime Minister is writing a "10-year plan" for the UK. The arts & culture MUST be part of it. I've signed @campaignforthearts.org's petition urging @andyburnham.bsky.social to revitalise the arts – to revitalise the whole nation 🌱 Join me: www.campaignforthearts.org/petitions/10-year-plan/
campaignforthearts.org
Prime Minister – put the arts in your 10-year plan for the UK | Campaign for the Arts
Sign our petition urging the UK Government to build a country where the arts are available from childhood, accessible to all and thriving everywhere.
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Sandy Martin @sandyofipswich.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Our hope must be that parties built on hatred - National Rally, the Farageists, Trump’s MAGA Republicans- end up by splitting themselves because their hatred is a part of their makeup. Bardella’s trip to ReformUK was a PR disaster for him - irrelevant to Farage who has Zia Yusuf to contend with.
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Labour4PR 🌹🗳️ @labour4pr.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
“In doing this, Andy Burnham would show progressive voters and the Labour movement he can be trusted to keep his word – and that he really does intend to be a great, reforming Prime Minister.” 🗞️ Paul Sweeney MSP today in LabourList 👇 @paulsweeney.bsky.social labourlist.org/2026/09/wher...
labourlist.org
'Where next for electoral reform?' - LabourList
It is clear that a consensus is emerging around electoral reform that spans the Labour movement - and the momentum is becoming unstoppable.
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Peter Stefanovic @peterstefanovic.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Prime Minister Andy Burnham suggests he won't cut benefits to pay for defence spending "National security cannot come at the expense of social security" 👏 #PMQs
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Sandy Martin @sandyofipswich.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I think this is a bit fanciful. Far more likely to be a blunder than a deliberate attempt to destroy humanity. Insufficiently careful description of a project or the parameters of a mission could lead to AI triggering a nuclear war as the best way to fulfil their mission.
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Sandy Martin @sandyofipswich.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I think we know who he means
The Pope calls the use of the name of “Christianity” to justify nationalist hatred and violence a blasphemy
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 09/09/2026
I believe in a two-state solution in the Middle East. That’s why we’re taking action to keep that hope alive | Andy Burnham
theguardian.com
I believe in a two-state solution in the Middle East. That’s why we’re taking action to keep that hope alive | Andy Burnham
Our sanctions aren’t about the Israeli people, but about the unacceptable policies of the Israeli government, and the suffering they cause Palestinians, says the UK prime minister Andy Burnham
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Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 08/09/2026
Three years on from the ULEZ expansion, the evidence is clear: cleaner air, healthier children, fewer lives cut short.
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Alex Sobel MP @alexsobel.co.uk · 08/09/2026
Last week I spoke on the Representation of the People Bill and highlighted my amendment calling for a report on establishing a National Commission on Electoral Reform. 🗳️ #ElectoralReform #PoliticsUK #Democracy
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Labour4PR 🌹🗳️ @labour4pr.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
“The Government’s priority is a politics that works for all people in all places, not some people in some places. The Prime Minister remains committed to electoral reform as a way of supporting that objective.” 💬 @florenceeshalomi.bsky.social @bylinetimes.bsky.social bylinetimes.com/2026/09/07/a...
bylinetimes.com
Andy Burnham Insists He Still Backs Electoral Reform After Amendment Blocked
Ministers offer cross-party talks on changing Westminster's voting system as bid for speedy reform stalls
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Dame Joan Ruddock @damejoanruddock.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
If you’re interested in the arguments for changing the first past the post voting system for Parliament to a more proportional one please watch my video and sign petition.parliament.uk/petitions/76...
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