1. AFM, the labor union representing professional musicians in North America, is paying tribute to Dolly Parton, who was a member of its Nashville Local 257 for 58 years. AFM says that for decades, Dolly consistently filed union contracts for her recording sessions, live gigs and tours.

Why does clean energy keep defying forecasts? Solar in 2020 was 10x what 2006 outlooks predicted. My latest Bright Spots looks at feedback loops and non-linear thinking in climate policy - and why systems thinking is key. janrosenow.substack.com/p/how-feedba...

How ‘feedback loops’ and ‘non-linear thinking’ can inform climate policy

Small changes, outsized consequences: the hidden dynamics steering the energy transition

janrosenow.substack.com

This year's Rita Hinden Memorial Lecture will be delivered by @yuanfenyang.bsky.social. The Lecture will be held at City St. George's University of London's Clerkenwell Campus on Wednesday 9 September. Register for free here: www.eventbrite.com/e/rita-hinde...

Rita Hinden Memorial Lecture: Yuan Yang MP

Dear Subscribers and Friends of Renewal. We are delighted to announce this year's Rita Hinden Memorial Lecture will be given by Yuan Yang MP. Yuan Yang is the Labour MP for Earley and Woodley, and c...

renewal.org.uk

Incredible photos from the National Trust. Rewilded land - rivers returned to natural courses, wetlands restored - have stayed green and lush during this summer's extreme heat. Reform (and Trump) claim rewilding is to blame for wildfires. These pictures are visual proof of that fallacy.

Wrote this article last year and still think about the Uxbridge backlash quite a lot. I think it summed up a lot of what was wrong with Starmer's Labour – and the benefits of Sadiq sticking by his guns are now clear to see. labourlist.org/2025/04/loca...

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan@london.gov.uk · 3w ago

This stopped me in my tracks. An independent study by @qmul.bsky.social has found that after ULEZ was introduced, children’s lungs grew faster in Central London and have now caught up with children outside of the capital. Incredible.

Vigorous love in between Andrew Bowie & Justin Webb on #r4today (Webb’s assumption that target dates are ‘arbitrary’, that rising costs are caused by net zero , that net zero is the cause of deindustrialising). Please could the BBC give its presenters a proper briefing on energy policy & net zero.

“This summer has shown beyond doubt that climate change is not a far-off prospect but with us today. None of us can pretend we cannot see it. The cracked soil, dried-out riverbeds and low reservoirs are signs that the impacts are well and truly upon us.”

I will send in as many troops as are needed to fight tinderbox Britain

The country is a tinderbox right now, and we must take extraordinary steps to protect ourselves, says prime minister Andy Burnham

independent.co.uk

UK economy has been far more resilient than the commentators/gloomsters/forecasters thought. Strong start to 2026 continues despite the headwinds of the Iran conflict - GDP growth of 0.4% in 2nd quarter. What matters most (gdp/capita) is also up 0.4%, and has risen 1% on the year

The Daily Telegraph has raced through all five stages of climate denial this week. But this is, perhaps, the most ridiculous column so far: "Without minimising the severe downsides…especially on some poorer nations, many in Britain would enjoy the kind of warmer climate predicted by modellers..."

You gotta think even Telegraph readers aren't buying this shit as their holiday home near Bordeaux goes up in flames...

Roland Smith@rolandmcs.bsky.social · last mo.

Nighty night.

Today, almost all new electricity is coming from clean energy Once clean-energy growth consistently exceeds demand, fossil-fuel power will start to decline Source: IEA

Absolutely chuffed to bits to be appointed as a minister in Department of Energy Security and Net Zero working with a brilliant team: @miattafahnbulleh.bsky.social @katiewhitemp.bsky.social @martinmccluskey.bsky.social @michaelshanksmp.co.uk Margaret Curran and @blairmcdougall.com

I always remember how affecting I found Jens Stoltenberg's speech after the Utøya massacre where he argued that "the answer to violence is even more democracy". A lesson we should all take to heart.

David Klemperer@dmk1793.bsky.social · 2mo ago

We must remember the Utøya massacre, and remember it for what it was: a far-right attack specifically targeted against democratic socialist activists. Today, the ideologies of its perpetrator are openly espoused by a global network of nationalist oligarchs as they wage war on democratic societies.

We must remember the Utøya massacre, and remember it for what it was: a far-right attack specifically targeted against democratic socialist activists. Today, the ideologies of its perpetrator are openly espoused by a global network of nationalist oligarchs as they wage war on democratic societies.

Roberta Metsola@president.europarl.europa.eu · 2mo ago

Fifteen years ago today, 77 lives were taken - most of them young - on an island that should have been a place of summer, friendship, and first ideas about the world they wanted to build. On that day, Norway grieved, and Europe grieved with it. Utøya. Oslo. We remember.

No arrivals by small boats for the last 10 days now. As of yesterday, 12,469 people had arrived so far this year across the Channel, down over 11,000 (47%) on the same time last year. More than 10% down on 2023 as well, which was when crossings were, by comparison to other years, lower.

The way we do politics is changing. Labour has a story to tell but it will take authentic working class voices to tell it. 💪📣 Get me on the NEC and together, we can tell a Labour story people believe in again. 🌹 ICYMI my pitch. 🔁👇 labourhub.org.uk/2026/07/14/m...

Make the Labour Party a touchstone for the working class

Andrew Achilleos asks you to vote him onto Labour’s National executive Committee. Belief and hope are born from stories, and the fundamental problem we have now is that people don’t believe in us –…

labourhub.org.uk

I’ll put this another way: teenage Wes grew up in a country where a career in the armed forces was closed to him. Now he’s Defence Secretary. These changes are incredibly recent

Sunder Katwala (sundersays)@sundersays.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Wes Streeting is the first UK Secretary of State for Defence who is openly gay. Gay people have been able to serve openly in the UK Armed Forces since 2000. Like PM Andy Burnham's Catholicism, something that would have been controversial is largely now a matter of biographical colour.

I know it's not the biggest news of the day, but I just spotted this... One of Keir Starmer's last acts in Govt is this: Laying legislation that will legalise 'plug-in solar' (aka balcony solar) panels in Britain It means plug-in solar panels do not (legally) have to be wired in by an electrician.

Timeline - SI 2026/848 - Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 and Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002 (Amendment) Regulations 2026 - Statutory Instruments - UK Parl...

Timeline for Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 and Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002 (Amendment) Regulations 2026

statutoryinstruments.parliament.uk

The Govt has now finished the secondary legislation needed to grant unions "access rights" to organise in workplaces, which will be legal from 30 October 2026. Unions will request entry into companies One SI sets the substantive rules (deadlines, refusal grounds, penalties), the other the mechanics

Andy Burnham just took Steve Bray into public ownership.

In today’s @scotsman.com I’ve written about my visit to Syria & the hope that exists amidst huge challenges. Syrians are on a mission to rebuild their country. It’s in the UK’s interests that they succeed. We must stand with them as partners in doing so. www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

Very good @neweconomics.bsky.social blog from @pollybillington.bsky.social on why an Andy Burnham-led Labour Government should be leading the energy transition away from oil, gas and coal at home and internationally neweconomics.org/2026/07/ener...

Energy security in an age of conflict

Why the UK must lead a global clean power alliance

neweconomics.org

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/news-op... www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/news-op... a powerful piece. About power, who wields it and what it takes for ordinary people to change the country. @liamthorp.bsky.social

Under a golden Sky the Hillsborough heroes made history again

A seismic day unfolded in parliament after years of tireless campaigning

liverpoolecho.co.uk

When my mum died the state paid for lawyers to represent the mental health trust that failed her, but as a family we had no access to funding. Now, a family in similar circumstances will get the support needed to uncover failures - so happy this is finally passed. www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Burnham hails Hillsborough law as ‘rewiring of the state’ as MPs approve bill

PM-in-waiting says bill is major step towards securing accountability families had fought for, in rare moment of Labour unity

theguardian.com

Hope in the Dark = Never Fucking Surrendering #booksky #history #antifa

Rebecca Solnit@rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Thank you! At an event last night I said "If the word hope doesn't work for you try, 'Never fucking surrender.'" The word hope seems too sunny to a lot of people, but the heart of it as I'm interested in it is: we make the future in the present, if we show up, and that never surrender part.

This is cool. Spurs have applied to install around 3,800 solar panels on the roof of their north London stadium. "The proposed 1.64MW system would give the ground a substantial source of on-site renewable electricity."

Spurs' solar ambitions kick off - Energy Live News

Tottenham want to install 3800 solar panels on their stadium roof to generate 1.6MW of power

energylivenews.com

Following the newspaper reports over the weekend in to Farage, yesterday I welcomed the review by Sir Philip Rycroft before asking what protections will be put in place to stop individuals with serious convictions or histories of financial crime from funnelling millions of pounds into our democracy.

Government must do more to ensure freelance musicians can build successful, sustainable careers in the UK That was MU General Secretary Naomi Pohl's message for MPs this week Read our full report 🔗 https://musiciansunion.org.uk/news/mu-highlights-challenges-facing-freelance-musicians-in-parliament

MU Highlights Challenges Facing Freelance Musicians in Parliament

Musicians’ Union General Secretary Naomi Pohl tells MPs that, despite improvements in workers’ rights, freelance musicians are still facing significant challenges.

musiciansunion.org.uk

Teachers are getting a 6.5% pay rise over the next two years. That's a 17% rise secured in my time as Education Secretary, alongside action on wellbeing. Under Labour, we have more teachers staying in their jobs, more rejoining & more training to teach. www.gov.uk/government/n...

Teachers to benefit from multi-year pay deal

School teachers to see pay boosted over the next two years, as part of 17% increase since the general election, accompanied by significant additional investment

gov.uk