The impacts on climate and nature need to be at the heart of all government decision making. Andy Burnham's government must step up to the plate and show that a healthy economy and a healthy environment go hand in hand. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

Government contracts to require job creation instead of green targets under new rules

Louise Haigh says taxpayer money must benefit local communities amid backlash from environmental groups

theguardian.com

The government is creating a false choice here. Creating jobs and apprenticeships is crucial, but it should not – and need not – come at the expense of environmental standards or community benefit.

There's been growing recognition, in recent years, of the mental health benefits of spending time in nature But I'm not sure it's quite the same when all you can see are signs of nature dying

As extreme weather causes more events like wildfires & flooding, fire services are getting more stretched. The Government must make sure fire & rescue teams are properly resourced to provide their vital services. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Norfolk fire service faces £1m overspend amid extreme weather

Justine Thomas, a Reform UK councillor, says tighter financial controls are needed.

bbc.com

Attn. People of Faith: Together with @sojo.net, we've created the Faith Companion Action Guide 2026 — a nonpartisan toolkit equipping faith leaders & communities to safeguard democracy. Free, fair, and safe elections depend on communities ready to protect every eligible voter. Get the guide ⬇️

Protect Democracy

Free, fair, safe, and accessible elections depend on more than what happens at the ballot box. They require communities that are prepared to protect every eligible voter’s freedom to participate, supp...

sojo.net

Amazingly, this illegal war of choice comes with all the economic downsides & escalation risks every expert gaming it out in advance predicted it would.

The Independent@the-independent.com · 2d ago

Trump’s despair over Iran revealed in memo seeking ‘creative and unconventional’ ways to punish the enemy: report

Today university fees rise again, while thousands of academics across the country face job cuts, crushing workloads and shattered morale. Students deserve better than this broken system of unfair repayment that widens inequality. Abolish fees and fund universities properly!

Really pleased to host the Floodmobile in my constituency. Lots of people came along to talk about the problems they’ve had following flooding. I’ve taken up many cases like this. In Parliament I am pressing for real action on flood management.

@zackpolanski.bsky.social's Green Party "has stressed its opposition to further new licences for the North Sea, including the Jackdaw gasfield in the North Sea and the Rosebank oilfield, west of Shetland. A decision to go ahead with the projects could trigger a new surge in defectors from Labour." 💚

Join the Green Party

Join the Green Party from just £6 a year. Become a member today - join the only party standing up for people and planet.

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Alex Mace@alexmace.bsky.social · 5d ago

As Trump drives oil prices higher, half of England is in drought, and wildfires rage across Europe, the idea of drilling for more fossil fuels is completely bonkers. If Burnham goes ahead with this is shows he doesn't have the backbone to lead. www.theguardian.com/politics/...

Community empowerment is key for making decisions around local planning. Clean air and water, housing and community are the building blocks for a decent healthy life.

#FoodSecurity - our #FoodSystem is wholly unfit for the #ClimateEmergency The #FoodWaste of #FactoryFarming has to stop www.theguardian.com/environment/...

‘It’s too fast, too big’: speed of climate crisis is devastating crops, say farmers

Drought and extreme heat are killing plants, driving up prices while also making some farms economically unviable

theguardian.com

The wildfires in Suffolk are the reality of a fossil-fuelled climate emergency that is making our summers hotter and more extreme. If we have any chance of preventing the worst of the climate crisis, we need to keep fossil fuels in the ground.

More detail with links to evidence and a nice chart in my substack post 12/12 christinapagel.substack.com/p/we-are-lea...

We are learning the wrong lesson from Covid school closures

A response to yesterday's News Agents podcast...

christinapagel.substack.com

4. Support for children in disadvantaged communities, inc devices, connectivity, food, safe spaces to learn, catch-up teaching 5. Dedicated and planned mental health and social support if school closures become necessary 6. Build capacity to generate evidence more rapidly for the next time 11/12

2. Clean indoor air: helpful in a pandemic and good for health and learning at all times (and not just in schools but other buildings too) 3. Effective public health measures: testing, contact tracing, support for isolation, communication, etc 10/12

Keeping schools open is a goal not a policy. A blanket "never close schools" is a bad lesson. I suggest these: 1. Do not prejudge next pandemic which will be a different virus and could have very different age profile of who it attacks 9/12

And covid was not harmless to children. Being at lower risk than adults does not mean harmless. There was acute illness needing hospital, late onset rare but serious inflammatory disease, Long Covid and 13,000 UK children who lost a parent. (more details in substack post at end) 8/12

If/when we have an H5N1 pandemic, there will very likely be a lot of preventable child deaths because people have been deluded by these revisionist right-wing lunatics and will insist schools must be open no matter what.

Prof Christina Pagel@chrischirp.bsky.social · 5d ago

Keeping schools open is a goal not a policy. A blanket "never close schools" is a bad lesson. I suggest these: 1. Do not prejudge next pandemic which will be a different virus and could have very different age profile of who it attacks 9/12

Important 🧵👇💚 @greensagainstcovid.bsky.social @cvcev.bsky.social

Prof Christina Pagel@chrischirp.bsky.social · 5d ago

🧵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

That may be slightly uncharitable. Some are genuinely deluded. Or don't trust the government to act for the common good (can't imagine why!) Or trying to survive by appeasing abusive partners who are paranoid &/or deluded, or people with power over their lives who are making this a loyalty test.

Ryan Marino, MD@ryanmarino.bsky.social · last wk.

I’ve treated thousands of COVID patients who needed to be hospitalized but I’ve never seen a single person who needed to be hospitalized for a complication from a COVID vaccine. Cause these people are always lying.

That you published this gives me serious pause about collaborating with The Conversation in the future. This is a large slice of disinformation with a hefty mug of propaganda and a side of conflicts of interest. Retract this immediately with a correction.

🧵: Even a brief examination of this article highlights a number of issues that the @uk.theconversation.com should address. The lead author has an *immense* undisclosed COI to deny aerosol mitigations are effective, due to his role in the "very big mistake" that wasted "an enormous number of lives".

Mark Ungrin@mark-ungrin.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Be careful what you wish for. These screenshots are from the WHO's official Twitter account in 2020, and a 2022 interview with the man who is currently the Associate Director General of the WHO (and previously its Chief Scientist). Even now there have been no consequences - or even investigations.

If the algorithms are showing you an article about a study "proving" HEPA filters are not an effective way to prevent transmission of airborne infectious diseases, please look into the methodology before accepting it as Gospel. 💚🙏

The initial response to COVID-19 is similar to the withdrawal from Afghanistan, in that the crisis management was far from perfect and a serious after-action analysis would highlight valuable lessons learned, but any effort to do so is dwarfed by conspiracy theorists and liars trying to exploit it.

I had a ball visiting Matt Hudd Martial Arts and getting to take part in one of their Learning Disability classes - it was brilliant to see first-hand how much joy this community project can create for participants!

Once we are through these immediate risks, we have a lot to learn as a country on how we adapt to the new climate reality.

This has now been declared a major incident and I hope the fire can be tackled while keeping firefighters and the public safe. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Holiday park evacuated as 90 firefighters tackle Suffolk heath wildfire

Major incident declared, Sizewell B power station closely monitoring blaze and RSPB nature reserve closed to visitors

theguardian.com

I want to thank our fire and emergency services for their dedicated work in incredibly difficult conditions battling the wildfire at Dunwich. I urge the public to follow the safety advice to stay away from the area and keep doors and windows closed.

Holiday park evacuated as 90 firefighters tackle Suffolk heath wildfire

Major incident declared, Sizewell B power station closely monitoring blaze and RSPB nature reserve closed to visitors

theguardian.com

Brighton has been truly parched, and meanwhile water infrastructure crumbles. In 37 years since privatisation, not one new major reservoir for England. In the 35 years before that, nearly 100 major reservoirs were created. The new PM must renationalise water as a matter of urgency.

The NFU is right. This is the new climate reality. It doesn't matter whether people believe it's climate change. It won't care when we run out of water, food costs rocket & wildfires spread. We need a Climate Adaptation Minister to lead cross-govt action www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

Half of England in drought as farmers warn food prices could soar

Producing crops becoming harder and more expensive and prices could rise, farmers warn

independent.co.uk