Under Badenoch’s approach (to life generally) if you go to a casino and net £10k at the roulette table but then lose £11k at poker you can still claim “I won £10k”. It’s so hard to know whether she truly believes anything she says
David Head
@davidheadviews.bsky.social
European. Translator & writer. Allergic to Brexit. Seeking justice for the disabled, the homeless, & refugees.
My column on how capital becomes a death cult. Faced with a choice between profit and human life, the radical right chooses profit. Then it tries to persuade us that mass death is what we want. It's the new phase of climate denial: accept your fate, earthlings. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Murderous heat, an endangered food supply, decimated landscapes: embrace the Mediterranean life | George Monbiot
As climate disaster stares us in the face, the radical right says ‘Embrace the Mediterranean life’. Embrace death, more like it, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
theguardian.com
Palantir paid just £2m corporation tax in UK in 2024 despite lucrative public sector contracts
Palantir paid just £2m corporation tax in UK in 2024 despite lucrative public sector contracts
Software group benefits from global systems and accounting practices ‘that enable tax to be shirked’, says union boss The software group Palantir paid just £2m in corporation tax in the UK in 2024, despite holding public sector contracts worth hundreds of millions, thanks to tax breaks that are likely to reduce its contributions to governments around the world for years to come. The US-headquartered company, which has harnessed AI to secure lucrative work for the NHS and the Ministry of Defence, is growing exponentially. Continue reading...
theguardian.com
Let's all support the brave protesters in Georgia who are fighting the pro-Russian government in Tblisi 24/7 and want to join the #EU because they are Europeans and detest Putin and his oligarchs! You can find them by following the hashtag #GeorgiaProtests. Picture: @rusudandjakeli.bsky.social
Trump meets Oscar Wilde's criterion for a cynic. He knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing. He is doing incalculable damage to his own country.
The New Republic@newrepublic.com · 2d agoPresident Trump is banning students majoring in degrees that don’t make enough money from taking out college loans. Degrees for social work, art, religious studies, teaching aides, and music will be hit the hardest. trib.al/aaAEu6v
Weirdly, despite repeated requests, I haven't had any invitations to Reform press events since I asked a month ago whether Farage was scared of questions about his finances.
Adam Bienkov@adambienkov.bsky.social · 2d agoNigel Farage just took a question from a 'journalist' at his press conference, who turned out to be his former chief adviser Raheem Kassam, who asks him why the media are being so unfair to him
On a political level this process of cultural atomisation that fragments shared bonds of understanding and trust between people is something authoritarian regimes want in order to prevent the emergence of mass collective action against them.
1/ The fact is that Ceuta, the Spanish exclave in Northern Africa now besieged by a flow of migrants, does not fully participate in Schengen free movement, meaning strict identity checks are legally required for anyone leaving the exclave for mainland Spain. ⬇️
World Impact News ⚡@worldimpactnews.bsky.social · 5d ago🧵 1/2 · Denmark insists that the EU must consider all options, including a suspension of Schengen cooperation, to exclude Spain from the area and prevent a repeat of the 2015 migration crisis. PM Mette Frederiksen joins France, Finland, and Sweden
Judge hands down judgement on Oxfordshire lamp-post flag ban - BBC News
Judge hands down judgement on Oxfordshire lamp-post flag ban
Oxfordshire County Council lodged a High Court case to prevent the hanging of flags near roads.
share.google
Collapse in Farage’s approval rating could spell the end for the Reform revolution
Collapse in Farage’s approval rating could spell the end for the Reform revolution
Nigel Farage has weathered various political storms, but political editor David Maddox explains why this crisis might be different
independent.co.uk
Instead of death by a thousand cuts, focused initially on Humanities but radiating out through Social Sciences to STEM and Medicine, we need a systematic conversation and assessment of what is at risk. From closed university museums and galleries to Jodrell Bank, what's at stake if we don't? 2/2
British Academy President: UK higher education crisis risks irreversible damage
As course closures, shrinking provision and widening regional inequalities threaten the future of UK higher education and research, President of the British Academy, Susan J Smith calls for an immedia...
thebritishacademy.ac.uk
And not just Exeter. At least 2 History Leicester FBAs have had to leave the University to stay in the profession due to risk of redundancy, and they won't be the only ones. The much broader issue affects thousands of excellent academics across a spectrum of disciplines (including STEM ones). 1/2
New British Academy fellows at risk in Exeter jobs cull
Being at the ‘top of your game’ no guarantee of job security, warns decorated historian now facing the chop
timeshighereducation.com
Trump again uses an opportunity to trash the UK. At least here we don't have elected representatives asking one of our most respected scientists and public servants "Who the fuck do you think you are?"
Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell stakes in FIFA’s commercial operations to private investors faces fierce opposition from UEFA, which could potentially have enough votes to block the proposal. ➡️ https://l.euronews.com/NVgH
France calls out the U.S. at a UN meeting: “The US used to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore. Today, it stands alongside North Korea, Nicaragua, Mali and Russia. Isolated. And the world no longer listens to it.” U.S. representatives stormed out of the meeting. Well said France! 👏🏼🇫🇷👏🏼
Some really encouraging Senate polls… 📍Georgia 🔵 Jon Ossoff: 56% 🔴 Mike Collins: 43% 📍North Carolina 🔵 Roy Cooper: 53% 🔴 Michael Whatley: 44% 📍Ohio 🔵 Sherrod Brown: 53% 🔴 Jon Husted: 45% 📍Iowa 🔵 Josh Turek: 50% 🔴 Ashley Hinson: 46% Keep organizing. Keep fighting.
"Britain's national economic and security interests are served by having a stronger relationship with our European allies” Miliband said in a statement “As foreign secretary, I will drive this agenda into the heart of our foreign policy - because that is how we defend Britain's interests and values
Ed Miliband grabs Brexit reset role as he reboots UK Foreign Office
Britain’s new foreign secretary brings the U.K.-EU reset into his department’s ambit — and seeks advice from old foes across the political aisle.
politico.eu
"Starting July 19, 2026, the European Union officially banned large fashion companies from destroying unsold clothes, shoes, and accessories. Instead of sending perfectly good products to landfills or burning them, companies must now donate, recycle, or repurpose them." via No one Cares
As Measles cases hit a 35 year high, as a senseless war rages on with no exit plan, as gas climbs to record highs, and the Epstein files remain secret, the U.S. Senate is holding a hearing today to yell at Dr. Fauci and again push horse dewormer on the American public.
🇬🇪The U.S. and the EU Must Wake Up to Threats in Georgia at www.justsecurity.org/149941/u-s-e...
The U.S. and the EU Must Wake Up to Threats in Georgia
Georgian Dream is crushing civil society, courts, and opposition to entrench one-party rule and Russian influence; only fast U.S.-EU sanctions can stop it.
justsecurity.org
This has always been a potential compromise on EU student fees, of a new rate between existing domestic and international. Youth mobility talks were always likely to be a challenge not least as this is a new dossier for the EU negotiators.
POLITICO Europe@politico.eu · last wk.Britain’s new PM Andy Burnham is yet to turn his attention to the EU. When he does, Brussels is ready to offer a compromise on tuition fees. 🔗 www.politico.eu/article/eu-p...
The East of England has nil representation in Burnham's Cabinet, and representation of the South West is risibly small. If beefing up representation of the North in Cabinet is seen as sending a positive signal, what signal does neglect of the East and South West send?
One week in and Andy Burnham's government is up and running. So who are the new ministers and what do Burnham's appointments tell us about how he wants to run his govt? Here's our @instituteforgovernment.org.uk top 6 takeaways - with @rebeccamckee.bsky.social and @philipnye.bsky.social 🧵...
Six things we learned from Andy Burnham’s government formation | Institute for Government
What do Andy Burnham’s cabinet choices reveal about the priorities and direction of his new government?
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
Burnham: "Social care in England is as unfair as American healthcare." It's a very good line.
The point isn't to produce essays, it's to teach students how to think for fuck's sake. The minute you automate that, it's over. You might as well close the course. Which they're also doing. This is an attack on learning, and everyone is just shrugging.
Full of despair today. Massive lay offs in social sciences and humanities across the country, Burnham puts out a video saying 'AI can write an essay', and my university is busy integrating co-pilot into all staff and student computers. We are being told we're defunct and there's no resistance.
The Nigel Farage brand is looking damaged and dated.