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Val

@valmel.bsky.social
1.4K followers 962 following 651 posts

Pro EU. Hate Brexit. An oldie who seems to buck the voting trend. Truth matters. Love theatre and art - these matter in life and should be valued.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Val
Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 7h
One of two Labour gains from Reform in Northumberland by-elections yesterday. Too early to know for sure we've passed peak Reform, but another encouraging sign.
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LordSteveyPofStoke @lordsteveyp.bsky.social · 5h
Politics is like taking public transport: you cannot wait for the vehicle of your dreams, but must instead board the next one going closest to where you want to be. If you want an Uber to take you to your ideal destination, get into Politics yourself, do the legwork and stand up for your ideals.
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NationCymru @nation.cymru · 4h
Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth called for devolution of further powers to Wales to correct what he described on Friday as ‘historic unfairness’
wp.me
Wales’ wings have been clipped for too long, First Minister tells conference
Eleanor Storey, Press Association Wales’ wings have been clipped for too long, the First Minister has told his party conference. Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth called for devolution of further po...
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Cornish Skipper #FBPE #RejoinEU 🇪🇺🔶🌹💚💙 @cornishskipper.wsocial.eu · 4h
“the triple lock is not being scrapped…from 2030 the state pension’s rising each year by the highest of inflation, 2.5%, or whatever is needed to keep pace with earnings. What is scrapped is the mechanism that pushes the pension ever higher relative to wages.” theconversation.com/plans-to-tam...
theconversation.com
Plans to tamper with the pension triple lock might not be as dangerous for Labour as some believe
Young and old voters aren’t actually that divided over the triple lock.
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 7h
👀 "Nearly 10 years ago, Nigel Farage told LBC he would leave the country if Brexit were not a stunning success. For reasons that no one can quite fathom, he is still here."
theguardian.com
Welcome to the new Reform roadshow. Same as the last but more desperate | John Crace
Nige is not rattled that the UK likes its new PM. Or that Reform is second in the polls. Oh no. Because Nige believes in
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Will Norman @willnorman.co.uk · 12h
Cargo bike use in London is booming - up 126% since 2022. This week I joined 50 businesses - from Royal Mail to delivery firms, waste companies & tradespeople - to celebrate & raise awareness of this clean, green & economical alternative to diesel vans. #CargoBikeCruiseLDN
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 5h
The Labour Party are now polling on average ten points higher under Andy Burnham than they were at the turn of the year under Keir Starmer. Reform are polling on average eight points lower than they were this time last year.
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Peter Smith @redpeter99.bsky.social · 7h
To be fair, it's by far the most sensible noise to come out a Reform councillor.
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I Am Incorrigible @imincorrigible.bsky.social · 15h
Simon Clarke MP was born on 28 September 1984. That's all you need to know. #r4today
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 4h
We need the EU, and they need us. We are stronger together. ♥️ www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/polit…
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Peter Smith @redpeter99.bsky.social · 5h
Burnham opening the Brexit debate is "the biggest boost in my career" - Nigel Farage
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 3h
Makes sense. Then Tories/Reform either have to back it in an election or be quizzed on what they'll cut to pay for it.
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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 6h
Saw this in London, and I love it. The bike hanger securely stores six bikes, using a single curbside parking spot. Huge help for those who can’t keep a bike in their home!
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Samantha @msspydasam.bsky.social · 12h
I wonder why Farage is still so opposed to re-joining the EU, if only there was something...
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Catherine McKenna @cathmckenna.bsky.social · 6h
Could we please stop framing climate action as a left/right issue. It’s just a big issue that all politicians need to grapple with. Both a massive cost/risk & huge economic opportunity with clean energy transition (with big risk of stranded fossil fuel assets).
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James O’Brien @mrjamesob.bsky.social · 6h
Who radicalised him? news.met.police.uk/news/man-jai...
news.met.police.uk
Man jailed for 15 years over ULEZ camera explosion
Kevin Rees, aged 63, was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday, 2 October.
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Byline Times @bylinetimes.bsky.social · 6h
"Picking on Byline Times sends a message to other political journalists: Be careful. Don't be too critical. We can do the same to you." @adambienkov.bsky.social speaks to LBC's @mrjamesob.bsky.social about Byline Times' ban from Conservative Party Conference.
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James O’Brien @mrjamesob.bsky.social · 5h
This, on the reality of prison and early release, is among the best shows I’ve ever had the privilege of presenting. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...
podcasts.apple.com
The scandal hiding inside Britain’s prisons
Podcast Episode · James O'Brien Daily · 2 October · 1hr
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Byline Times @bylinetimes.bsky.social · 5h
🔴 NEW Reform UK Mayor Has Firm Struck off as Another Files No Accounts in Six Years By @josiahmortimer.bsky.social Read below. ↓
bylinetimes.com
Reform UK Mayor Has Firm Struck off as Another Files No Accounts in Six Years
Exclusive: Reform UK's Sam Journet branded "Britain's worst councillor" as opponents demand he be suspended as Mayor of Basildon Council
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 8h
Was just on LBC with @mrjamesob.bsky.social to discuss Kemi Badenoch's banning of @bylinetimes.bsky.social from attending Conservative conference after calling such bans by Reform "authoritarian" and an assault on free speech bylinetimes.com/2026/09/30/k...
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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Toby Earle 🇺🇦 @tobyontv.bsky.social · 3h
those behind this terrorist’s radicalisation must be rooted out www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Man jailed for 15 years over Sidcup Ulez camera blast
Kevin Rees, 63, faces a tougher sentence because the offence had a "terrorism connection".
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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 10h
New GB News accounts are out. Here are their losses to date. Or "spent political donations" if you prefer
Line chart titled 'GB News has lost £142m to date', showing cumulative losses in pounds rising steadily from around £3m in 2020/1 to £142m by 2025. The red line climbs most steeply between 2021/2 and 2023/4, reaching roughly £110m, then flattens as growth slows towards £142m. A note states the latest figures cover the seven-month period to 31 December 2025. Chart by Press Gazette, source: Companies House
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David Henig @davidheniguk.bsky.social · 3h
Free movement unlocks the full range of UK EU relationship options.
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Gareth Bouch @garethbouch.bsky.social · 3h
Absolutely make sure you read and subscribe to @bylinetimes.bsky.social - Superb publication, and excellent independent journalism. 👉 subscribe.bylinetimes.com
subscribe.bylinetimes.com
Come Join Our Quest for Truth – Byline Times
— Reader-funded since 2019 The UK’s most Kremlin-sanctioned newspaper. Banned two years running from Conservative and Reform UK conferences. Six of our journalists and contributors are on Russia’s sto...
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Simon Marks @simonmarksfsn.bsky.social · 3h
My "American Week" for @tomswarbrick.bsky.social's programme on the UK's @lbc.co.uk. This week: Trump finally gets on the campaign trail, though Republican candidates may regret it; Tennessee brutally botches an execution; and Pete Hegseth talks offensive nonsense. 🎧: audioboom.com/posts/895988...
audioboom.com
October 2, 2026 - "American Week": Trump belatedly hits the campaign trail, and Tennessee brutally botches an execution
Simon's weekly chronicle of events in the United States for Tom Swarbrick's Friday drivetime programme on the UK's LBC.  Listen live at 5:50 every Friday, or find it here on demand afterwa...
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Pet Shop Boys @handle.invalid · 3h
The complete recording will be given its world premiere along with an interview with Neil, Chris and Alan Turing biographer Andrew Hodges during Stuart Maconie’s "Freak Zone" show on BBC Radio 6Music on Sunday, 4th October at 8pm UK time.
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Graham Simpson @grahambs.bsky.social · 3h
The Daily Express is consistent, consistently wrong!
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Reuters @reuters.com · 3h
King Charles will not shy away from slavery issue during Caribbean tour, Buckingham Palace says reut.rs/4rItSCx
reut.rs
King Charles will not shy away from slavery issue during Caribbean tour, Buckingham Palace says
King Charles will not shy away from "the darkest days of our past" over Britain's involvement in the transatlantic slave trade when he tours the Caribbean later this month, Buckingham Palace said ​on Friday.
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 5h
Oli Dugmore brilliantly outlines the struggles young people face today. Brexit robbed them of countless opportunities. Restoring our EU membership is the easiest way to help our young people.
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Jack London @jacklondonbluesky.bsky.social · 3h
Never mind "won big" in the past - it is next Thursday matters, not a brief period in the sun ended by Labour finding a better leader Here is my pick as my new MP...we have enough middle aged white men with sizable egos already in parliament labour.org.uk/updates/memb...
labour.org.uk
Labour selects Sagal Abdi-Wali as candidate for Holborn and St Pancras by-election – The Labour Party
The Holborn and St Pancras by-election is on 8th October. Labour's candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali is standing to give back to the place that gave her family hope and to deliver progressive change. Find out...
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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 7h
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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Prof. Eliot Jacobson @climatecasino.net · 5h
Breaking News! y-Axis Alert! With yesterday's preliminary Niño 3.4 sea-surface temperature spiking to a new record at 29.975°C, the y-axis was raised to 30.5°C. Meanwhile, the Niño 3.4 anomaly now sits at 3.33°C above the 1991-2020 baseline. Until tomorrow ...
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Val @valmel.bsky.social · 3h
@henryriley1.bsky.social
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Val @valmel.bsky.social · 3h
'Woman of the people' buys second home in Wales willhaywardwales.substack.com/p/reform-mp-...
willhaywardwales.substack.com
Reform UK MP buys £800k Welsh second home just days after questioning their impact
Is this a case of politicians saying ‘do as I say, not as I do’?
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Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 12h
Someone should note to Suella that if this idea of Englishness wins (along with all the other Hard Right ideas that come with it), then either... a) the mob she has enabled will come for her – 'not one of us'. b) the mob will celebrate her as their greatest useful idiot. What a position.
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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 12h
Brazilian President Lula: “If it weren’t for me confronting these fascists, they would win the election easily. So I am an obstacle to them. “As long as I am alive, I will work to make sure fascism does not return to this country.”
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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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Jacob Öberg @profjacob.bsky.social · 12h
🚨🚨European leaders must stop calling #Russian attacks “hybrid,” according to Estonia's FM. They are “terror attacks” and “sabotage attacks,” says Margus Tsahkna and part of a systematic Russian effort against Europe that amounts to “some kind of war." www.politico.eu/article/esto...
politico.eu
It’s war, not hybrid attacks, says Estonian foreign minister
Margus Tsahkna says Europe must present a united front against Moscow.
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Catio Miles @catiomiles.bsky.social · 12h
This video explainer of the proposal is quite good 👇 youtu.be/ognL2PAPoWk?...
youtu.be
IT’S HAPPENING! A 3-Tier EU Is Taking Shape
YouTube video by EU Made Simple
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Jacob Öberg @profjacob.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
🚨🚨Under-reported but strikingly radical #enlargement proposal from the @ec.europa.eu where the EU would offer unprecedented "gradual integration" into the EU SM and access to research programs for candidate countries, while their applications are being worked on. www.politico.eu/article/ursu...
politico.eu
EU to offer single-market access to candidate countries
Economic benefits would be conditional and can be taken away if non-members backslide on democracy or share sensitive tech with unfriendly governments, the plan says.
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Fionna O’Leary @fascinatorfun.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
That wall of water, mud and debris likely triggered by a glacier collapse in the Himalayas, killing c1400 with over 5k people still missing, is likely a forerunner to more and not just in the Himalayas. Places like Alaska and the Rockies too and European Alps apple.news/AxjHjS3FLQTC...
apple.news
"Can and will happen": A deadly ‘tsunami from the sky’ could soon hit the US, warn experts — BBC Science Focus Magazine
The recent disaster in Nepal may be a warning of what's to come for the rest of the world September 21, 2026 Late last month, a wall of water, mud and debris – likely triggered by a glacial collapse h...
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Zero Hour: the campaign for climate and nature @zero-hour.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
🔴 We heard the Government is going to take action at Labour Conference 2026. But haven't we heard this before? 🌍 We need more than words. The Government must respond to the climate and nature crisis with the urgency it demands. 🌿 Join us to take action 👉 zerohour.uk
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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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TheBossRoss 🧶 @thebossross.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I'm ever so puzzled how - according to Allister Heath - leaving the EU was neither extreme nor mad, but rejoining it is. #Brexit
Screensjot from today's opinion piece in The Telegraph:

ALLISTER HEATH

Burnham's real plan for Britain is mad, nasty, and shockingly extreme
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Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 23h
“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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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 23h
‘If you’ve got £1 million or £2 million to spend on political advertising, forget it,…. If you’ve got £8 million, you can make people believe anything you want.’ I wrote about Britain’s broken political finance system for the latest @lrb.co.uk
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Graham Simpson @grahambs.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Emmanuel Macron, French president, and Pedro Sánchez, Spain’s prime minister, both say the UK would be welcomed back into the EU 👍
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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 23h
UK PM Andy Burnham is now looking for a Brit company that can take over from Palantir.
ft.com
Andy Burnham searches for UK alternative to Palantir
Prime minister’s ‘buy British’ push triggers hunt to find replacement for controversial US tech group awarded health service and defence contracts
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Bob White @rwdwhite.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
This is so true, it was Thatcher’s legacy that resulted in privatised and extortionate utilities, privatised and failing children’s homes where the wealthy extract in excess of £250k per child (3.8 x more than Eton PA), our oil wealth spent on inducements for target Tory voters, etc, etc.
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Parody Nigel Farage @parodypm.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Join me on GB News where I will be lying about what Andy Burnham said, pretending to give a shit about pensioners and definitely not mentioning any £5m gifts, illegal donations or police investigations.
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