UK students to pay up to 7.1% interest on loans. UK student debt £325bn, England £295bn; expected to hit £500bn by 2040s. Who can afford to afford to buy home, start family/business? England must copy Scotland, abolish university tuition fees. Write-off tuition debt.

Student Loans Interest Rates and Repayment Threshold Announcement

The Department for Education today 10 August 2026 confirmed annual updates to interest rates for undergraduate and postgraduate Income Contingent Student Loans, repayment thresholds for Plan 1 Income ...

gov.uk

Whenever I see a Potter story I imagine a spin off with Harry, middle aged, working in an auto parts store, having sworn never to use magic again after an accident killed Ron, constantly ribbed by his co-workers asking him to "Magic up a muffler for me will you Harry"..etc

Ian Dunt@iandunt.bsky.social · 2d ago

I feel like I'm losing my fucking mind www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Your goal will be delivered between 3pm and 6pm.

Wow. Just wow.

Russia has attacked the Chornomorets Stadium in Odesa. Several people were injured. What do you say to that, Infantino? Still want to allow russians back?

Today. Brixton.

I hate this so much. Farage said this would be immigration week, and here are all the headlines talking immigration, and not positively. Could someone in power, for once, just stand up to this shit 🤬

If they want to grow Bluesky faster I humbly suggest pulling in the fash accounts everyone came here to leave behind isn’t the way…getting rid of man in hospital gown day, cartoon porn day, dead pet day and so on…maybe a better way forward. Largely why I don’t use it as much as before. Personally…

Paul Bernal@paulbernal.bsky.social · last wk.

The new CEO of Bluesky wants to change Bluesky from being a leftist bubble. The thing is, there’s nothing wrong with being a leftist bubble: the idea that everything has to be all-encompassing and suitable for everyone is a trap. 🧵 1/4

The Home Office strikes again. Also, f*** the Home Office.

EU citizens in UK get letters telling them post-Brexit residency rights were given ‘in error’

After years of building lives in UK, potentially thousands of EU citizens could be told they have no right to remain

theguardian.com

It's always the people you most expect.

I mean. There were never any signs! All these years!

Arthur Snell@snellarthur.bsky.social · 2w ago

I can’t believe that Reform UK turned out to be financed by a bunch of money laundering fronts for Russia. It’s just so unexpected.

2.48 Dark Autumn for Russia 2 theeasternborder.lv/podcast/2-48... Dark Autumn 2: The Ponyatiya-filtered audits of April predictions I made, against ISW delusions as Russia's logistics spine burns, Wildberries collapses, and the cartel state enters terminal failure.

Why he never made it as an interior designer is beyond me.

Brexit hungry. Brexit like eat Prime Ministers. “When examined, the floor of the cave which Brexit lived in, was discovered to contain the skulls of no less than six former PMs. Clearly, the latest British PM could be expected to ignore the claw raked skulls and…”

Phil Jones' body double@philsbodydouble.bsky.social · 2w ago

This is so utterly depressing. No sensible person would think Burnham & Co would or indeed could suddenly overturn Labour's EU policy overnight. All they had to do though was say that obviously, given the 2024 manifesto, they don't have a mandate to do x,y,z now, and leave it at that. 1

My best novel is unfinished because in the story plan something bad happens to a child and then…I became a father. And I couldn’t finish the story. It has occurred to me since there’s a flip to the plot which is just as satisfying and the child is victorious. So. Well. Should finish it.

Nat Guest@unfortunatalie.bsky.social · 2w ago

You know how when people have a baby they often find they then can't watch things or engage with anything where a child is hurt or in danger? It rewires their felt empathy model. Well I understand this now that I have a cat.

It's depressing that this moved me so much, but did. First time I've heard a politician praise a group of immigrants, without caveat, for a long while.

Farrukh@implausibleblog.bsky.social · 2w ago

Andy Burnham, "To me, carers should be the best paid people in society, not the worst" "Many people from other countries have been caring for my dad" Andy Burnham praises migrants to the UK who care for our elderly, a stark contrast to Keir-island-of-strangers-Starmer

It’s a Special Military Operation, clearly, with the same level of strategic genius behind it as another SMO…

GroovyShelly@groovyshelly.bsky.social · 2w ago

The Pentagon website has erased the number of U.S. Military casualties since the start of the Iran "Not-a-War," the same way he insisted if COVID wasn't talked about, it didn't exist. This, as the Commander-in-Chief of the US Armed Forces is as low as it gets.

How I feel about these online age verification laws

It’s really irritating (for want of stronger words) how Cleese has revealed himself as a kipper since Brexit. His younger self would be baffled? Who knows. But I try not to let it stain Monty Python for me…grrr.

George Monbiot@georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 2w ago

Just loving how John Cleese, now reduced to one of his own caricatures, rages about immigrants coming to the UK and failing to accept "our" culture, from his home in ... (checks notes) ... Nevis in the Caribbean.

Will be undertaking a rather long and tedious public transport journey shortly...will be made more enjoyable with Kristaps in the ear bugs ;)

Kristaps Andrejsons@theeasternborder.lv · 2w ago

2.46 National Peculiarities of Russian Freemasons theeasternborder.lv/podcast/2-46... From SVO Masonic lodges in Rostov to pawnshops charging 77% interest on wedding rings, I dissect the apocalyptic delusions, burning logistics, and final collapse of the Syndicate State. (YT version incoming)

Teacher friend related how for the last day of the school year this year (You remember that day, when we were kids, the teacher would roll in the TV & VCR and put on Star Wars) they couldn't show a movie because most of the teenagers attention spans were not sufficient to focus on a whole movie...

⛰️Aspen Mountain⛰️@aspenmntn.bsky.social · 2w ago

Parents: If your child cannot stop looking at their phone during a movie, please take it away from them before it starts. It's not enough to silence it. The light distracts from other moviegoers. Thank you for attending my Ted Talk.

I have a personal pet theory that our economy would be a lot healthier if we hadn't let franchises and chains own...all our high roads...and family stores were still common...like they are in those tyrannical EU countries....

Roland Smith@rolandmcs.bsky.social · 2w ago

Evening.

I find all these endless articles in the UK press about how we’re preparing for war against Putin and how our soldiers are going to defeat him etc so up our own arse it’s appalling. Ukraine is already doing it, dying everyday, but sure, carry on UK press with the usual exceptionalism and bollocks.

This was a great interview with a British volunteer in the Ukrainian military, call sign "Knight." He can speak about the use of vampire drones on the front lines. youtu.be/wF3ayloiTV0

Knight - Russia's Drone Use Remains a Challenge | JBO Podcast (E005)

YouTube video by Jake Broe Overflow

youtu.be

Petition: Ban foreign media ownership, enact a social media levy & new regulatory reform & fund independent, local & cooperative-owned media. We believe democracy is failing as the media & political power are owned by a tiny rich elite. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/76...

1. One our first experiences of the former Starmer gov was asking our MP Steve Reed (as he was then the relevant Minister) about Thames Water screwing us over forever, and our bills about to go up again with water running down our streets from busted pipes...and being told...

Prem Sikka@premnsikka.bsky.social · 3w ago

England water bosses’ pay rises despite bonus ban - public fury over bills & pollution. All circumventing rules, reclassifying bonuses as retention payments, making payments through other companies in the group. Govt was forewarned. Why no enforcement, fines, prosecutions?

2.45 The Wildberries Extinction Event theeasternborder.lv/podcast/2-45... As Ukraine’s drone campaign liquidates Russia’s Amazon and frontlines run out of gas, the Kremlin’s vranyo engine collapses into AI-generated lies, friendly fire, and pure Z-patriot panic.

Okay...a couple of petrol stations near us in SW London are out of unleaded petrol....which is clearly unexpected and unusual...anyone else experiencing an unexpected lack of unleaded availability?

Reminds me of...I was metal detecting on the Thames in lockdown (was within rules) and Covid vaccines were announced. A news reporter asked me (from a distance) for my opinion on the vaccines? Yes. That's it. Let's ask noted medical research scientist...man in watery mud, for his considered opinion.

Sean Mulcahy@zeneasy.co.uk · 3w ago

One for @timbale.bsky.social ? BBC Breakfast 06:33. “That’s the statistical situation but what’s the reality.” Then does vox pop.

It struck me at the end of yesterday that no one raised the new PM as a topic of conversation. It's just so regular an occurrence now it doesn't need comment. And ofc, if Burnham isn't prepared to deal with a room full of elephants he'll be gone soon enough too. Let's hope otherwise...

Scott Horton@robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 3w ago

The view across Europe: Keir Starmer was a solid British PM, like a majority of the 7 PMs over the last ten years. His problem was having to cope with England's completely lunatic media, which understands its function to be toppling governments as a form of popular entertainment.