Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 01/10/2026And Burnham is right in his analysis that the period of profound damage to our body politic began with Thatcher in 1979 and her ideological fracturing of the postwar Social contract. His analysis echoes the Tory patriarch Macmillan’s: that privatisation was distress selling of the ‘family silver’. 000
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Thank you for this vital "thread of the day” as to what it’s like teaching in UKHE at the moment. Dispiriting in the extreme if you have kids and believe in culture and learning as fundamentals. 010
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Hmm. Glassy eyed AI actress Tilly Norwood having a moment when talking to Piers Morgan and Tom Conti. Tilly diplomatic, if AI "wooden", to the last… (tip of the hat to Gary Marcus – Marcus on AI) x.com/PiersUncenso... 000
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 17/09/2026Wasn’t the board packed with MAGA stooges ahead of this Trump campaign? 010
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 17/09/2026This is particularly important if you want to remove the skin of a navel orange in one clean spiral and of course stripping little pith threads that mar the perfection of each carefully exfiltrated segment. You might as well ask a surgeon or a chef to abandon a respective scalpel or paring knife. 010
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 17/09/2026From Brexit to Piddington this little man has brought out the worst in us from the worst amongst us. And his £72 million crypto top up is still just gloss on a turd. 061
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 16/09/2026Yes – Passport to Pimlico turned entirely on its head. There they sought independence to assert the best of Englishness – all the values of fairness and inclusion and joy in community we might value today. Here it’s so riven with racism, xenophobia and fascist leaning we can’t see their actual hurt. 030
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 14/09/2026And Brexit leads to the end of the UK – the devolved nations all see their futures in the EU and independent of Westminster. Here we go… www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...bbc.co.ukWestminster coming to an end, say Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish leadersThe leaders of Plaid Cymru, SNP and Sinn Fein say the UK government should prepare for constitutional change. 010
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Fossil fuel crisis – thanks to Trump's war with Iran leading to the Houthi push in Yemen with the attack on the Saudi East West pipeline to Yanbu – here we go… www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/...bbc.co.ukHow global trade and oil prices could be hit by Houthi advanceYemen's Houthis have seized territory near the Bab al-Mandab Strait - a key trade gateway for oil and global shipping. 100
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 14/09/2026AI Bubble Burst – here we go… www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cm...bbc.co.ukTech stocks fall after calls for AI development to slow downIndustry bosses warn safeguards are needed to protect humanity - our AI experts answer your questions on the technology and its future. 110
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Seems Google is aware that these steps cross the GDPR threshold. The countries in the list – the EU and the UK, despite Brexit – have GDPR protections for citizen’s privacy against corporate and government overreach. And as others have pointed out, the penalties are significant. 031
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 13/09/2026The right wing press is having a field day with Emma Barnett's tense interview with Kemi Badenoch. If it was a "car crash", then it was Badenoch's behaviour that took her through the windscreen. I feel Barnett is currently the only journalist on Today willing or capable of taking Badenoch to task. 052
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 12/09/2026So after Delo's £36 million comes a match from Harborne while Parliament is still investigating the first £5 million Farage failed to declare and the Met considers cash to circumvent donation law. Are the latest donations in fact just Musk subversion funds as per AfD? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...bbc.co.ukReform receives second £36m donation in two days as crypto investor matches recordThe party says the money will allow it to fight the next election on a "level playing field", while rivals have renewed calls for donations from individuals to be capped. 000
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 11/09/202638º – 38 Degrees – is asking regular respondents what line it should take with the consensus that we need to (re)join the EU urgently and that Brexit has and will continue to wreak havoc if we don't act. If you get the email, don't fail to respond. Don't let 38º both sides the issue again this time. 000
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Harrowing – All.Over.Again – Testimonies, testimonies, testimonies… www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cv...bbc.co.uk9/11 anniversary: Victims remembered 25 years on from September 11 attacks - follow liveMemorials to remember those killed in the September 11 attacks will be held at the site of the World Trade Center and at the Pentagon. 001
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 10/09/2026One of the odder failures of cultural understanding amongst the far right threatening the volunteer members of the RNLI. Perhaps the source of their funding – Musk et al. – goes some way to explain the ignorance of the origins and history of this vital UK public service organisation. 38d.gs/jpcf38d.gsAn open letter in support of the volunteers and staff at the RNLIThis is a disgrace. Brave RNLI volunteers being called scum for risking their lives to save others at sea is just plain wrong. So I've signed an open letter of thanks for the RNLI letting them know th... 000
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Finally… can I say finally, some proper scrutiny of just how crooked Farage actually is. 020
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Her Fascist toxicity – beyond the euphemistic 'populist', or worse, the new coinage 'pragmatic' – is going to prove cancerous to progressive politics in the UK. We don't want racism and xenophobia – drivers of Fascism – from the Home Office. We need positivity now about the benefits of immigration. 080
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Thank you for today's thread of the day teasing out the devil in the detail of the current prisons crisis made almost entirely out of politicians' reactionary steer on sentencing, new insane legislation around demonstrating and collective failure to address the UK's need for rapid access to justice. 010
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 01/09/2026And to ram home this point about the egregious appetites of datacentres – that's here in the UK, the US and Australia – this clip from The Juice Media flagged by Brexit Bin @brexitbin.bsky.social. bsky.app/profile/brex... 032
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Chris Gey’s Brexit Blog has always been excellent, but this is a seminal edition as Burnham comes in sticking with Labour’s sclerotic positions on both EU Membership and Immigration. So frustrating and here is an unemotional analysis of the stupidity: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2026/08/brex...chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.comBrexit Britain is still a tinderbox<a rel="me" href="https://mastodon.online/@ChrisGrey">Mastodon</a> 021
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 31/08/2026Re Boles advising Burnham: "It explains … attempts … to detach [FoM] from single market membership, … why the government is willing to sacrifice the economic growth … the universities … central to its regional and innovation policies … the house-building programme it is committed to delivering." 000
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 31/08/2026It is both welfare of the animals and the greenhouse gas emissions connected with the industrial slurry these kinds of farms generate. The figures are thought to be much higher than expected or currently recorded. Regulation can bring multiple benefits. 38d.gs/vegn38d.gsThe Great British dairy scandal: we need honest welfare labels NOW!I just signed the campaign for mandatory labels on our dairy products now! 000
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 29/08/2026And if you haven't yet seen this three episode primer on exactly why Thatcher's privatisation of our water supply remains the most egregious and dangerous of all the privatisations, you can still catch it here: Watch Dirty Business | Stream free on Channel 4 www.channel4.com/programmes/d...channel4.comDirty BusinessShocking real-life drama about the muck in our water and a corporate scandal 000
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 29/08/2026Remember the awful lessons of Channel 4's 'Dirty Business'? Surfers against Sewage is handing in a petition next week, and it wants to make sure the Government can’t ignore us. "We’re pushing for 350,000 signatures — can you add your name and help us get there?" you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/en...you.38degrees.org.ukEnd the sewage pollution scandalIt’s shocking how water companies have gotten away with polluting our waterways with sewage. That’s why more than 319,000 of us have signed the petition demanding an end to the sewage scandal. We’re... 100
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 25/08/2026The move to a digital world must not be accompanied by a brutal ending of existing free analogue services particularly where these depend upon a licence fee payment for TV & Radio in the UK. A "Switch off" is a penalty. Digital needs to be an addition justifying itself on its own merits. 38d.gs/2bjo38d.gsSave Our Freeview TVUnbelievable. The Government is threatening to switch off Freeview TV, forcing millions to pay for expensive broadband just to keep their telly. We have just days to force them to back down. Sign the... 000
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 23/08/2026You also have Anthropic's tacit admission of infringement in its $1.5 billion compensation payment to copyright holders… I think we will eventually see joint action by the publishing community against AI bosses. First the community needs to recover from the scale and shock of this brazen IP heist. 352
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 22/08/2026Climate in Crisis – in every season. In summer wildfires will threaten our communities, our wildlife, and our landscapes 🌳 We need the UK Gov to back our amazing fire fighters and invest in a real national wildfire prevention plan. Join me and sign the petition: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/te...you.38degrees.org.ukProtect nature for the future: make wildfire prevention a national priorityEnough is enough. Devastating wildfires are threatening our communities, our wildlife, and our landscapes 🌳 We need the UK Gov to back our amazing fire fighters and invest in a real national wildfire ... 000
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 21/08/2026Zero Hours contracts – an evil of the egregious Tory administrations from 2015. We hoped for change with Labour. Broken promise: the Government promised guaranteed hours for all workers, but now most will miss out. 🚫 Sign the petition now to protect every worker: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/pr...you.38degrees.org.ukSign the petition to give all workers the right to guaranteed hoursBetrayal: the UK Gov pledged guaranteed hours for all workers, but now most will miss out. Sign now to fight back. 000
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 20/08/2026Multiple reasons to resist data centres: grotesque pressure on energy and water; negative employment impacts; loss of data sovereignty and the primary risk of an AI burst bubble recession to come. This happens to be in my back yard, but the issue is Europe wide. you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/no...you.38degrees.org.ukNo To Data Centres in EalingSouthall already suffers from high temperatures due to the loss of gardens and lack of larger green spaces when compared to the rest of the borough. This lack of mature greenery also slows the ... 021
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 19/08/2026Word of warning to anybody (or business) whose core business model depends upon copyright and the value of the IP. The presence of AI anywhere near a creative process invalidates your capacity to verify your IP and defend your copyright ownership of your work. That it's Human Intelligence matters. 011
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 19/08/2026The completely undeliverable demands of AI for both power and water reflect the wrong headedness of the current LLM based model of AI – probability engines without global models for how our world works – and the fantastic inefficiency of productivity tools that are often Sorcerer's Apprentice wrong. 130
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 19/08/2026An excellent primer in bubbles and how this one will be spectacular with the ridiculous carve outs given to AI companies by complicit leaders like Trump and governments such as the UK's, desperate for a silver bullet to avoid Brexit realities. Resisting data centres is democracies 1st line defence. 100
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 19/08/2026A thoughtful, heartfelt piece on bullying in the media in the days before Jason Arday's death. And for institutions, a reminder of the duty of care they owe their staff and the imperative of defending them effectively wherever and whenever they're attacked. broligarchy.substack.com/p/a-digital-...broligarchy.substack.comA Digital LynchingA practical guide for individuals and organisations when the mobs gather 000
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 17/08/2026In terms of Trump coveting Greenland and other real estate, there are his overt statements, his social media mutterings and then the machinations of companies linked to his clown car of corruption. Here is a petition you can sign to take action on the last point: secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/...secure.avaaz.orgGreenland vs TrumpA Trump-linked oil company just sent heavy equipment to drill in Greenland. Join to help locals stop it! 000
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 16/08/2026Tip of the Hat to Jon Gruber at Daringfireball for pointing to an excellent piece from the team at the Economist on how you might sense that a piece had been generated by AI rather than a human with something to say. Now only available from the Internet Archive site: archive.ph/202608112230... 000
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 16/08/2026A Substack from Christina Pagel reminding us of the damage caused by childhood diseases in recent history until MMR based vaccines eliminated diseases such as Measles in the UK and US and the absurdity of the Trump administration reversing this in the US. christinapagel.substack.com/p/trump-and-...christinapagel.substack.comTrump and RFK Jr need to shut up about the MMR vaccineA reminder of how terrible these diseases used to be 020
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 14/08/2026A “Bin-Bin” outcome in Clacton overnight, following a huge swing to Count BinFace, who took 27% with 9,455 votes and Farage chose not to face the count/Count, lied to the media that the Police advised him not to attend and this morning the Parliamentary enquiry resumed. www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c5...bbc.co.ukParliamentary investigation resumes into Farage hours after he wins Clacton by-electionThe Reform UK leader won the contest, which was boycotted by major political parties, but didn't attend the declaration. 032
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 13/08/20261976. August. Similar thoughts after 3 months at 30°C+. Howell, minister for nothing in particular, is appointed Minister for Drought by cunning fox Wilson. 10 days later we have endless rain from the start of September. Howell becomes the Minister for Rain (or Flood?). Precursor x2, but far worse! 020
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 13/08/2026Broader than just tax equity and fairness in our high streets and communities, this is about recognition of the UN as a means for the world community to come together to resolve problems that follow if powerful nations slide into Fascism – eg Christian Nationalism – corruption and greed. 38d.gs/n9zw38d.gsStand up to Trump and Bezos: stronger tax rules NOWJeff Bezos has just been crowned the world's third richest person...while Amazon dodges billions in tax. Right now, governments are negotiating new global tax rules. Tell the UK Government: don't cave... 000
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 08/08/2026All credit to the wag who described this by-election as a “Bin-bin” situation. 010
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 08/08/2026Tariffs – national self harm in any language. A long and international history provides all the evidence any of them can need. What are they thinking? Or is this just corrobating evidence that the Hill neither reads nor thinks. 010
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 08/08/2026And that we _still_ have Mahmood’s proposals for a further shameful attack on refugees in the pipeline for the same debased purposes should make this supposed liberal democracy shake with righteous indignation that we’re not being ourselves let alone just. Burnham – your words alone are not enough. 000
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 08/08/2026It’s always been a performatively stupid and cruel policy. That it was a Labour government that made the last awful changes should be shaming – the majority of the slide towards fascism over the last 50 years in order to pander to Faragism and worse can rightly be placed at Tory doors, but not this. 100
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 08/08/2026Wonderful legal commentary on just how badly Trump’s case against Shah and the BBC is going: bsky.app/profile/trut... 021
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 07/08/2026Watch it here on demand, though you'll need to sign up for Channel 4 and remind yourself of at least some modicum of the tedium and madness of advertising on commercial television. It's shocking at the human level and a timely reminder of Thatcher's corrosive impact. www.channel4.com/programmes/d...channel4.comDirty BusinessShocking real-life drama about the muck in our water and a corporate scandal 094
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 07/08/2026Mea Culpa – I'd meant to watch C4's Dirty Business months ago and last night I binge watched all three episodes (don't eat while you watch!). It is of course chapter & verse evidence for the point I'm making that Water should never have left the public realm. Water for profit is evil and corrupting. 1122
Simon Rae-Scott @simonraescott.bsky.social · 07/08/2026If Labour doesn't address this issue, it then has the problem that it's party to pushing yet more of the tax burden on those least able to pay it – the tax payers at the bottom of the Standard Rate 20% tax band. This was an unforgivably regressive tax measure by the Tories – for Labour? Doubly so! 110