Brendan Paddy
@bjpaddy.bsky.social
Looking to make the outdoors for everyone as director of Ramblers Scotland but these are personal views. Expect pics of walks, posts on politics/world news, risidual overseas aid and guest appearances by a small hairy murderer named Pixie.
No, I'm afraid we can't just say nice things about Rod Liddle now he's dead. He was consistently & often gleefully abusive in professional settings as well as his personal life. He seemed to take particular pleasure in monstering those with less power than himself, especially young women.
St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh #beau_gustus #kijkomhoog #dag4 @ta57.bsky.social @oldedinburgh.bsky.social
"There's a real thing going on in the composition of the staff...does that not have to be looked at as well?" Nick Robinson, on Today, discussing this news.sky.com/story/nhs-st...
Patients refusing to be treated by non-white staff as NHS reports shocking rise in racism
Paul Awah, a Bedfordshire-based diagnostic radiographer originally from Nigeria, said: "It's definitely got worse – people are more expressive."
news.sky.com
Reform UK's Richard Tice investigated by parliamentary standards watchdog www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Richard Tice investigated by parliamentary standards watchdog
Tice says the complaint related to a debate on Israeli influence and whether he should have referenced his register of interests.
bbc.co.uk
Asked whether the third drought in five years is a result of the climate crisis, there was no direct attribution from No 10 at lobby earlier, but the PM's spokesman said: "You've got ministers on record as speaking to the impact of climate change and the impact it has on the country and on services"
Vance, Farage and Weidel posted fear-mongering messages about a Spanish migrant crisis that weren't true. They haven't retracted them. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
The Far Right Is Distorting Ceuta
We’ve seen this before.
theatlantic.com
There’s “off the charts” and there’s France’s absolutely bonkers June & July 2026 temperatures (see black line below). Bad things are happening. Fast.
British politicians' eternal vigilance against non-existent supermarket price gouging is amazing, given the number of *real* exploitative business practices there are out in the world that go entirely unpunished. They know it's not happening, too, they just also know it's popular to claim it is.
The i Paper @theipaper.com · 3d agoChancellor John Healey has said he is watching closely for any sign that customers were 'being taken for a ride at the pump or the till' Read more: trib.al/CWNx0QR
Gang of men hurl racist abuse at takeaway owner before violent attack www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Gang of men hurl racist abuse at Falkirk takeaway owner before violent attack
The BBC understands police are treating the attack in Falkirk last month as a hate crime.
bbc.co.uk
The amount is still far below what the U.S. spent previously on humanitarian and health aid, but resumes the flow of money for key efforts to fight malnutrition and disease. @stephanienolen.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/h...
U.S. Restores Some Vaccine and Health Aid to Unicef, Gavi and World Food Programme (Gift Article)
The amount is still far below what the U.S. spent previously on humanitarian and health aid, but resumes the flow of money for key efforts to fight malnutrition and disease.
nytimes.com
Here are those special rules on Ceuta and Melilla as regards Schengen - dating back to Spain acceding to the Schengen Convention eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-conten...
Nissim@nissimss.bsky.social · 5d agoCeuta isn’t in mainland Spain. Is on Morocco’s coast. Under Spanish control since 1500 Is one of 2 Spanish cities that form the European Union’s only land borders with Africa, While Ceuta is part of the EU, it operates under special rules that restrict people from entering Spain and the rest of EU.
Pro tip: engage with local press. Takes 2 mins and it: • shows you care about a local issue • signifies that whatever town you're visiting isn't just the next input into the rolling PR machine (even if it is) • prevents being called out like this 👇 www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/derby-n...
Derbyshire Live denied chance to ask new PM Andy Burnham questions during visit
Mr Burnham visited rail manufacturer Alstom to launch a new education policy
derbytelegraph.co.uk
🧵On @thenewsagents.co.uk yesterday, school closures and the lab leak theory were offered as two examples of legitimate questions that were hard to ask. Both have in fact been asked constantly since 2020. But here's a thread on why I think they were wrong and dangerous on school closures 1/12
An explosion at Moscow's luxury Balzi Rossi restaurant. Early reports say at least three people were killed and several others injured. Russian Telegram channels say the restaurant was closed to the public for the birthday of Russian general Aleksandr Chayko, commander of Russia's aerospace forces.
Labour's clear win in the Manchester CA mayoral election restarts a 25 year history of the Supplementary Vote delivering huge legitimacy to mayors (of all parties) since its 1st use in 2000 for London Mayor. It's a key impact story for UK political science www.lse.ac.uk/Research/Ass...
There can sometimes be an unexpectedly fine line between large scale puppetry and tactical cat riders
Someone told me to stop complaining. This is the view from our house last night towards several villages on fire. Never stop complaining! This is not normal.
Restore beating the Conservatives by around 5,000 votes should be a big story. And the distribution of votes for the Tories was not even: over a fifth of votes came from one (of ten) boroughs (Trafford).
After Reform councillors decided not to issue school holiday meal vouchers, with no impact assessment, this is spot on: "Hastings is the 14th poorest town in the country, and one in three children are living in poverty. If you cannot serve the most vulnerable in our area then of what use are you?"
Liam Thorp@liamthorp.bsky.social · 5d agoPretty remarkable how often the free speech warriors of Reform are now running to the police to report people for hurty words
Pretty remarkable how often the free speech warriors of Reform are now running to the police to report people for hurty words
Reform council chief threatens to report café boss who fed kids for free to cops
EXCLUSIVE: Barry Ashley, who runs the Grumpy Cook café in Hastings, and Labour MP Helena Dollimore have been told by East Sussex County Council chief Andy Woolley that he plans to contact police after...
mirror.co.uk
New post just out: "Burnham's first mistake" Splitting 14 year olds into academic and vocational paths seems intuitive. But it's a terrible idea that risks increasing inequality, and closing down options for the young people that need them most. (£/free trial) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/b...
Burnham's first mistake
The problem with his education plan
open.substack.com
Under The Burnham Government, talking about the importance of eventual though unspecified adult social care reform is up by 173%.
Instead, we aim to be the belligerent, chaotic kerosene poured onto the West’s self-made civilizational dumpster fire.
@andrii_sybhia 🇺🇦🏦 We have detected an intensive Russian propaganda campaign across Europe using pictures from Ceuta to sow destabilization. x.com/andrii_sybih...
Not remotely close - 47% Labour & 21% Reform on first preferences www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Labour's Bev Craig elected new mayor of Greater Manchester
Labour's Bev Craig secures nearly double the number of votes won by Reform UK's Sian Astley.
bbc.co.uk
The BBC reporters doing live coverage of the Manchester mayoral count are now basically just posting half-hourly cries for help.
Can someone explain the reason for not declaring the result of Round 1 in Greater Manchester? It's standard practice when we count STV.
