“welfare is rising out of control!” – screams the right wing press. “welfare” spending in the UK (as a percentage of GDP) 1985 – 11.5% 1995 – 12.2% 2005 – 10.8% 2015 – 11.3% 2025 – 10.9% So, why all the fuss?
Craig Horrocks
@chcookley.bsky.social
Green party member and enthusiast Believer that communities do it best Communication is the way to make a better world - not conflict
Reality check: Welfare spending in the U.K. ranks in the middle of OCED countries and is one of the lowest welfare spends versus EU countries at only 10.8% of GDP.
Sam Freedman@samfr.bsky.social · 2d agoThere's a huge amount of noise about the welfare budget "spiralling out of control." This helpful chart shows it's projected to rise by a whole 0.2 points of GDP over the next five years. A myth that will not die...
Ian McKellen reciting Shakespeare's writing on racist anti-immigration riots in London during his time. It is excellent. They have been banging the same drum for 400 years.
Still waiting for the Chancellor to mention the climate 🍺
£1.5bn for council home building vs £4.7bn for private sales = the wrong priority. The Chancellor is still paying more attention to developers than local councils. Councils are ready to buy not just build housing, and we should give them the powers and funds to do it at way more scale.
This budget was a betrayal of our future; the Labour government chose protecting corporate profits over people and planet.
Counterpoint; the downside would be Sir Kier being unable to pay for his second secret family
Dr. Hilary Agro, PhD 🍄@hilaryagro.com · 3d agoBrazil banned online gambling and people started spending the money on food. It's also an incredibly popular policy. There's literally no downside!
The Green Party seem to be the only party taking seriously the collapsing food system in the UK. Fair prices for farmers, stronger protection for consumers, action when essential food prices surge, plus a strategic reserve to improve resilience. greenparty.org.uk/2026/10/03/g...
Green Party conference backs action to make food more affordable and strengthen UK food security - Green Party
The Green Party has voted to back a package of measures to tackle rising food prices, strengthen UK food security and build a more resilient food system in the face of climate change and global instab...
greenparty.org.uk
Harry Eccles@harryeccles.bsky.social · 6d agoThe Greens are doing incredible work. Why aren’t the media talking about it? harryeccles94.substack.com/p/10-importa...
Amazing things happen when you even slightly zoom out on a graph to get actual context.
Financial Times@financialtimes.com · 4d agoPresident Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is under pressure to announce budget cuts as investor anxiety about the management of Brazil’s economy surges after the leftwing politician’s re-election triggered a powerful market rout ft.trib.al/7ytzzRR
A year ago the RSF entered El Fasher in Sudan after an 18 month siege, in an attack the UN found had the "hallmarks of genocide". The RSF is backed by the UAE, a big importer of UK weapons. When will Labour act against those brazenly breaking the arms embargo?
Growth that kills its host isn’t growth. It’s cancer with good PR.
how does the PM know this? what is it based on? the *only* visa type where you ask questions during the entry application about intending to settle permanently is a spouse visa. work and student are temporary visa applications. but it's cool, you can just say anything and everybody nods
Excess heat deaths are growing. Imagine 50,000 deaths across Europe caused by a state's actions, like a war? Well, State-owned and para-statal (government-controlled) oil and gas firms are among the biggest emitters.
Prof Ian Hall@ianhall.bsky.social · 7d agoThis is what climate change looks like... The evidence is here. We need to make it impossible to ignore. www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/n...
The budget is just a few days away. Will Labour tax the super-rich? Will they introduce a wealth tax? Watch our wealth tax explainer to find out why it's time for a #WealthTax ⬇️
NO to "golden visas". We don't need even more corrupt, dangerous people arriving on private jets
Cllr Kathryn Fisher, at the recent Joint Planning Committee, explains why just speeding up planning won't help build more houses.
If you actually wanted to help businesses you could make sure we have world class education and health serives, wages are higher so people have money to spend, basic infrastructure is modern and efficient and rents and utility bills are low.
The Govt claiming we must drill more fossil fuels so we can use the tax revenues to fund the green transition is about as logical as a doctor telling you to smoke 2 packs a day to raise the money for your lung transplant You don’t put out a fire by pouring on more fuel 🔥#Jackdaw
Burnham is sending UK troops to Saudi Arabia to back their horrific bombing campaign in Yemen. The Saudi's have committed horrific war crimes in Yemen, causing a famine and cholera outbreak. The UK shouldn't be backing them under any circumstances.
We should take our water into public ownership WITHOUT COMPENSATION - starting with Thames Water. Spot on @ewanmg.bsky.social Andy Burnham has a real opportunity to achieve this now by blocking the Thames Water bailout by Thursday 29th Oct Sign the petition NOW: vist.ly/5pdj7
How can Konstantin Kisin spend so much time denouncing asylum seekers and not know this basic fact?
The Greens are a HUGELY electable and popular party, that’s why the media are attacking us so ferociously. Check out these latest policies 👇 harryeccles94.substack.com/p/10-importa...
10 important policy changes from the Green Party Conference that the media don’t want you to hear
A balanced review that you wont see from the hysterical media.
harryeccles94.substack.com
NHS staff 2.4% pay proposal ‘derisory’, says UNISON ‘This government came into office on a promise of change. Two years later, it’s pledging hope. But most NHS workers have seen neither’. Helga Pile, UNISON head of health Read more: buff.ly/gNQOMzn
Because it is absolutely vital that we protect murderous, autocratic, climate-denying, petrostates www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
UK to deploy jets to defend Saudi Arabia from Houthi attacks
The UK announces it will provide additional defensive military support to Saudi Arabia as Houthi attacks escalate in the region.
bbc.co.uk
The Energy Secretary says North Sea drilling “won’t take a penny off energy bills.” The Health Secretary says summer heatwaves put pressure on the NHS. So where’s the Government’s impact assessment? If they don’t have one, they should delay the decision on drilling for oil & gas until they do.