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Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion

@timbassman.bsky.social
1K followers 1.7K following 1.4K posts

Political & economic left winger, Pro-PR. Anti-racist & straight ally. He/him. cheltenham.greenparty.org.uk #ADHD #glawsfamily #lufc No DMs please.

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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 11h
US private equity owner of Boots to sell it to a Canadian private equity firm for $9bn (£7bn). NHS prescriptions are a major money makers. Otherwise its prices are high. No UK tax levied on dividends paid by Boots to its foreign owners.
theguardian.com
Boots owner ‘closing in on sale to Canada’s Weston family for $9bn’
Deal would mark return of Canadian family to UK after it sold Selfridges department store for £4bn in 2022
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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 12h
Millions of UK workers withdrawing from pension schemes to make ends meet Consequence of low wages and high cost of living forcing people into hardship choices - living now v income in retirement. They will have lower private pension in later life and state pension isn't enough even now.
bbc.co.uk
Why Gen Z are opting out of workplace pensions
A growing number of people are opting out of these schemes due to cost-of-living pressures.
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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 6h
The ability to pour hundreds of millions of pounds into a loss-making TV channel, bent on wrenching British politics sharply to the right, is yet another of the ways in which extreme wealth is trying to remake UK democracy. It needs to be part of any serious conversation about political funding.
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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
Claire #FBPE ☘️ 🍉 🇺🇦 🇪🇺🐝 🦮🇮🇪🇧🇪 💙💚 @fbpech.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
weownit.org.uk/news/andy-bu... Will @andyburnham.bsky.social be different to Starmer/Streeting? I hope so🙏🏼 Will he do secret deals to appease billionaires, temporary satisfy Trump - but ultimately be responsible for countless deaths of ordinary ppl. Will he sacrifice the 99% to appease the 1%?
weownit.org.uk
Andy Burnham must show Trump’s Big Pharma deal the Red Card
US private pharma companies are set to benefit from a secretive trade deal on drug imports which could result in a more lethal outcome than the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
HOPE not hate @hopenothate.org.uk · 8h
🚨 BREAKING: HOPE not hate has uncovered plans by neo-Nazis to disrupt an anti-racist demo in Birmingham this Sunday. On the 90th anniversary of Cable Street, they claim they will mobilise dozens of masked neo-Nazis. hopenothate.org.uk/2026/10/02/n...
hopenothate.org.uk
National Socialist Collective exposed: Nazi militants set to target anti-racists on Cable Street anniversary – HOPE not hate
HOPE not hate blows the lid on a new outfit uniting some of the most active and extreme neo-Nazis in the country. The National Socialist...
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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
Priyamvada Gopal @priyamvadagopal.bsky.social · 6h
I promise you if I tried this even once I'd be hauled up into a disciplinary. But Dr Orr? Little research, no teaching, no problem. www.varsity.co.uk/news/32175
varsity.co.uk
Orr’s lectures covered by a postgrad
James Orr had a postgrad cover approximately seven lectures, allegedly without the Divinity Faculty’s knowledge
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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
Working Class History @workingclasshistory.com · 22h
#OtD 1 Oct 1931 10k unemployed men and women marched through Salford to protest the reintroduction of the widely resented means test for unemployment relief, and were attacked by police, leading to rioting stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8148...
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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
Nolan Principles Matter. End the #GazaGenocide💔💙 @philildo.bsky.social · 22h
It's almost as if the BBC was part of the Establishment 🤔 #VoteGreen
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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
Stop Funding Hate @stopfundinghate.bsky.social · 22h
Today's GB News TV advertisers include *Simplicity Cremations *AllClearTravel *Boxt *WeFixLondon *Ecomposite *Movinglife *WinSmart *Sonorizon *WNLPrinting *YourUnbelievaBowl *Dobel *SolomonGlobal *EKOSGroup *WhatStores *Powerjetpro *Revitive *FabFourMemorabilia *TrailFinders *Love2Stay
thenational.scot
GB News sparks fury over calls to 'castrate' all asylum seekers
GB News has sparked fury after a guest suggested all asylum seekers should be 'castrated' during a live broadcast
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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
Reform Party UK Exposed @reformexposed.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Reform UK’s Welsh leader works for firm that helps foreign workers migrate to the UK nation.cymru/news/reform-...
nation.cymru
Reform UK's Welsh leader works for firm that helps foreign workers migrate to the UK
Martin Shipton Reform UK’s leader in Wales works part time for an organisation that helps foreign migrants obtain visas to work in the UK, we can reveal. Helen Jenner recently took over from Dan…
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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 22h
“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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Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion @timbassman.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
@adambienkov.bsky.social, I reckon you need to see this from the FT: bsky.app/profile/pick...
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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
Jockyfox @jockyfox.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Journalists / lobby colleagues unite and call this out?! @hugorifkind.bsky.social @mrjamesob.bsky.social @natashadevon.bsky.social @paulbrand.bsky.social @vicderbyshire.bsky.social @pickardje.bsky.social
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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I've been a member of the lobby for well over a decade. Not a single one of my lobby colleagues has said a word about the Conservatives banning me from their conferences, without any explanation. Contrast with the US where even Fox News stood in solidarity when Trump banned news outlets he disliked
bylinetimes.com
Kemi Badenoch's Conservatives Block Byline Times From Conference After Condemning Reform for Journalist Ban
The ban comes just weeks after the Conservative leader called Reform's barring of critical journalists from their conference an "authoritarian" attack on the free press
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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
QTWTAIN Marvellous piece by @mtkonczal.bsky.social in which he carefully examines, and completely demolishes, claims that Trump's deportations have helped native-born US workers. A lesson for the UK obviously. newsletter.mikekonczal.com/p/can-we-fin...
newsletter.mikekonczal.com
Can We Find Literally Any Sign Deportations Are Helping Native-Born Workers?
Shoot the moon! Ten hypotheses, ten charts, and no payoff for native-born workers.
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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
Owen Jones @owenjones.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
She's a 94 year old Jewish human rights lawyer. She's been arrested under terrorism legislation for opposing genocide. The least we can do is to listen.
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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
Protect the Wild @protectthewild.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
SDC M40 in Gerrards Cross is one of the most harmful sites yet proposed. It puts a gas power station next to ancient and wet woodland, home to great crested newts, bats, grass snakes, skylarks and more. But it bypassed the local council and went through by the government as a Section 35 direction.
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James Anderson @1jamesanderson.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Deaths for people experiencing homelessness has rose once again according to @ourmoh.bsky.social annual report. These deaths are tragic and largely avoidable. 💔🏡🇬🇧 museumofhomelessness.org/dhp
museumofhomelessness.org
About the Dying Homeless Project | Raise Awareness and Take Action — Museum of Homelessness
Learn about the Dying Homeless Project's efforts to record, memorialize, and analyze deaths among homeless individuals across the UK to promote awareness and change.
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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Super-rich UK energy/food magnates’ wealth skyrockets amid global crises Working-class face soaring prices, worsening climate impacts. Billionaires owning food/energy companies profit from hardship The same class funds political parties, uses tax havens, preaches low wages to workers.
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 Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
Court Stats @courtstats.co.uk · 01/10/2026
📈Today, 1 October 2026, 100 out of the 532 Crown courtrooms in England & Wales will not be sitting. That's 19% of them. #courtstats #CS01102026 courtstats.co.uk
This image shows Crown Court Usage for England & Wales for 1 October 2026.

In England and Wales, out of 532 total, 297 have Judges, 135 have recorders, and 100 courtrooms are not sitting.

In London, out of 139 total, 93 have Judges, 23 have recorders, and 23 courtrooms are not sitting.

In the Midlands, out of 81 total, 41 have Judges, 21 have recorders, and 19 courtrooms are not sitting.

In the North East, out of 66 total, 38 have Judges, 18 have recorders, and 10 courtrooms are not sitting.

In the North West, out of 70 total, 38 have Judges, 26 have recorders, and 6 courtrooms are not sitting.

In the South East, out of 99 total, 48 have Judges, 27 have recorders, and 24 courtrooms are not sitting.

In Wales, out of 24 total, 10 have Judges, 8 have recorders, and 6 courtrooms are not sitting.

In Western England, out of 53 total, 29 have Judges, 12 have recorders, and 12 courtrooms are not sitting.
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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
Joanna Hardy-Susskind @joannahs.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
For the love of god
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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
Mark E Thomas FB99% FBPE @mrmarkethomas.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Poor Sir Simon. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 'remarkable national recovery' he refers to is a myth. The 1980s was when our national decline started. I wonder where he gets his information? 99-percent.org/back-to-the-...
A post suggesting that the 1980s saw a national recovery from the previous period -- entirely inconsistent with the facts.
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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
UK public sector bodies spent £17bn with offshore-owned private equity firms last year. The same vultures received £31bn public sector contracts. Profiteering, low wages, tax dodging, asset-stripping is their business model. Enriched by public money. How many have politicians on payroll?
gmb.org.uk
£17 billion taxpayer cash went to offshore private equity last year
We need to buy British, GMB tells Labour conference
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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
The Daily Britain @thedailybritain.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
🚨 NEW: Kemi Badenoch's Conservatives have blocked Byline Times from attending their party conference, just weeks after she condemned Reform UK for banning critical journalists. Byline Times chief reporter Josiah Mortimer says his application was rejected without a specific reason.
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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
Andy Brown @andybrown1951.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
9 years after 72 people were killed no company or individual has yet been held responsible and incredibly it is still legal in the UK for builders to hire their own regulator. www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news...
mirror.co.uk
Met asks Grenfell manslaughter charges be considered after families' 'fight'
Police have passed evidence onto the CPS in relation to the Grenfell Tower fire for charging decisions - a group representing survivors and bereaved families said 'no family should have to fight this ...
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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
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 Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
UK household energy bills forecast to rise 16%, or £276, in January. Household energy debt expected to hit £7bn soon. Heating v Eating dilemma. 120,000 a year die in poverty. Companies profiteer, fuelling costs, inflation, poverty. Public ownership gives govt more policy options.
bbc.co.uk
Household energy bills forecast to see biggest rise in four years
A typical household faces an annual gas and electricity bill of £1,999 from January, based on a key forecast.
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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
"As former Independent Reviewers of Terrorism Legislation, we have seen at close quarters what is too often absent from today’s debate: ECHR is not merely a human rights instrument. It is a national security asset": Lord Carlile, Lord Anderson and Sir Max Hill. www.lawgazette.co.uk/commentary-a...
lawgazette.co.uk
The ECHR is not a constraint on British security. It is one of its foundations
Britain should not be abandoning one of its greatest post-war achievements.
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Kemi Badenoch condemned Reform's ban on critical journalists covering their conference as "authoritarian", saying her own party would never do the same as "we believe in free speech. We believe in a free press." Now the Conservatives have banned Byline Times from their conference
bylinetimes.com
Kemi Badenoch's Conservatives Ban Byline Times From Conference After Condemning Reform for Journalist Ban
The ban comes just weeks after the Conservative leader called Reform's barring of critical journalists from their conference an "authoritarian" attack on the free press
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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Here's the full story that the Tony Blair Institute doesn't want to answer questions about, on Democracy for Sale
democracyforsale.substack.com
Tony’s minor tantrum: how Blair’s institute responded to fresh “cash for access” questions
We asked TBI about allegations of £500,000 corporate memberships and a logo that vanished at Labour conference. They said they’re not talking to us anymore
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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
Saul Staniforth @saulstaniforth.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
".. vandalism of the Lansley reforms.. fracturing the NHS & treating healthcare as a market chasing profit" So you're kicking out the private companies, abolishing trusts, scrapping the internal market & returning the NHS to being an integrated national health service, right?
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Anti-Reform @antireform.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Not an article Reform UK want anyone to read ... "Cutting immigration to the UK means billions less for the Treasury. Can the country really afford that?" www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Cutting immigration to the UK means billions less for the Treasury. Can the country really afford that? | Zoe Williams
‘Taking back control’ turns out to be staggeringly expensive. That’s something to mull over as budget day approaches, writes Zoe Williams
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Oliver @oliver48.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
"Labour bureaucrats block motion to cancel killer-firm Palantir’s NHS contract" www.thecanary.co/skwawkbox/20...
thecanary.co
Labour bureaucrats block motion to cancel killer-firm Palantir's NHS contract
Palantir just offered a fat salary to former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson. Is it already collecting a return on its investment?
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Deloitte paid its UK-based partners £1.125m. Firm has 784 equity partners. Due to self-employed status of partners, employer national insurance (ENI) is not paid on profits shared. 150,000 ENI avoided on every £1m of profits shared. Billions lost across the country. Must end this privilege.
cityam.com
Deloitte UK advisory arm rebounds to growth as new boss insists AI 'can’t replace lived experience'
Big Four giant Deloitte's new UK boss, Darren Graves, insisted AI “can’t replace lived experience” as the firm's advisory arms return to growth.
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Carole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Here’s the moment @labourlewis.bsky.social read out the letter at a fringe event at Labour conference hosted by @the-citizens.bsky.social bsky.app/profile/the-...
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Carole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
NEW: ‘It’s an implicit threat’. Lord Tom Watson of Palantir writes to one of its biggest critics -Labour MP @labourlewis.bsky.social - to tell him the surveillance firm is watching him. www.thenerve.news/p/clive-lewi...
thenerve.news
They’re saying: we’re watching you’: MP Clive Lewis reveals Tom Watson has warned him over criticising Palantir
In a letter to his former Labour colleague, the peer, who joined Peter Thiel’s AI company this month, writes: ‘You have made the case against the company more or less continuously’. By Carole Cadwalla...
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Electoral Reform Society @electoralreform.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
"Today I am announcing a new National Commission on Electoral Reform. I invite all the political parties to part of its work. We will contest the next election with a manifesto commitment to change the electoral system so that everyone's vote counts and everyone's voice is heard." buff.ly/TcOx9H7
buff.ly
The PM used his big speech to promise to fix Westminster's broken voting system.
We've heard promises before. I've signed to make sure this one is kept. It takes 30 seconds
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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
TransActual @transactualuk.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The EHRC's new Code of Practice is now in effect. Here's what you need to know! transactual.org.uk/know-your-ri... #TransRights #Trans #TransResources
Image of hands waving Trans flags. 

Text reads: Know Your Rights! The EHRC's new code of practice is now in effect. Here's what you need to know.
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Women for Refugee Women @4refugeewomen.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Two women and a 10 year old child have lost their lives in the Channel. These deaths are a tragedy and our thoughts are with their loved ones and all those on the boat. Safe, accessible routes, NOW. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Three people dead, including a child, in attempt to cross Channel to UK
Official says deaths – and dozens of injuries – were probably caused by crushing on boat carrying 105 people
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Protect the Wild @protectthewild.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
This is what we love to see! Sandilands Golf Club in Lincolnshire went into liquidation in 2018 and was bought by the National Trust. The Trust has completely transformed the land into a coastal nature reserve. It’s a mosaic of wetlands, grassland and coastal scrub.
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Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
This Labour government could have responded to the genocide in Gaza in so many ways, instead they cut aid. This is a dereliction of duty.
Stuff of nightmares UK cuts aid to Un Gaza food operations by 78%
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Nelly Probin @lillmagill.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Neoliberal bean counters only ever talk of costs. They never look at the benefit to the country and to individuals. Always can't be done, too much money. Until it comes to more bombs, bigger war ships or their tax perks then - deathly quiet. #MMT
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HT4Ecosocialism @ht4ecosocialism.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The needs to be read and shared: A sovereign government with its own currency can create as much money as it needs. Taxes DO NOT PAY for government spending. Governments SPEND THEN TAX. Taxes simply cancel out the money spent. There is PLENTY of money! #LearnMMT #Austerity
Book cover for The Deficit Myth by Stephanie Kelton
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Reposted by Tim Atkins #JoinAUnion
Andrew Fisher @fisherandrew79.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Me in January The Times today
On the left, Andrew Fisher writing in The i Paper in January 2026, warning that falling migration would damage the economy and necessitate tax risesThe Times today (28/09/26) reporting that falling migration numbers will cost £7 billion as Chancellor prepares his Budget.
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Paul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Personally, I’d rather have healthy kids than mollycoddled millionaires
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Robin Moira White @robinmoirawhite.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The Labour Party’s women’s conference on 26/9/26 was an embarrassing farce, with only 200 delegates of the 1,000 normal attendance (no major unions) in protest of the Labour Party’s shameful abandonment of trans people following the legally absurd ruling of the Supreme Court in FWS in April 2025.
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Natacha @natacha.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The transphobes leading the Labour Party decided to exclude trans women from the Labour Women’s conference. In doing so they excluded a huge number of cis women also; the venue was only 20% full. Labour needs to learn that transphobia harms everyone, including cis women, & not just trans people.
Lots of empty seats at Labour Women’s conference.
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Liar. Small boat crossings peaked under Johnson in 2022 reaching 46,000 in 2022. In current year they are 18,565 and falling. Also prior to Boris Johnson's Brexit there were none.
It's a disaster, and it can all be traced to
Labour ideology. Burnham has no mandate
from the people. He has no real ideas, and
no plan,

Johnson on X
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
There is IMO something absolutely spot on about the British ruling class not at all recognising that smashing up the state to sell it for scrap and cocaine might be a problem, until it started to somewhat impede their ability to wage a really serious war.
I've spent a few weeks asking people if Britain is prepared for war, among other doom scenarios. The short answer is no and the condensed reason for why that happened is that we spent the last forty years stripping off and selling the most resilient systems in the country for parts.
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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
🔴 BREAKING: BP, Uber, Amazon and more paying Tony Blair's think tank $25,000 for “networking” opportunities with politicians and policy makers at party conferences Experts say "looks and smells like cash for access" Full story on Democracy for Sale democracyforsale.substack.com/p/breaking-t...
democracyforsale.substack.com
BREAKING: Tony Blair Institute’s $25,000 corporate network “smells like cash for access”
Exclusive documents show Tony Blair's think tank offers corporate members such as BP and Uber "networking" at party conferences and "a stronger voice" in policy debates.
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