👏 @russincheshire.bsky.social russincheshire.substack.com/p/the-spread...

The record temperatures, wildfires and drought we have seen in the UK & Europe is climate change in action. There is hope. It has been a record year for renewable energy generation, all new homes will have solar panels from next year. But we must accelerate the transition to clean & green energy.

For GOD'S SAKE. Massive landowners call for ban on disposable BBQs, but at the same time call for "a lifting of the ban on controlled burning" 'You oiks shouldn't burn moorland - that's OUR job' Entitled double standards. Ban both. @georgemonbiot.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

Calls to ban disposable barbecues in England and Wales over wildfire risk

Lib Dems and many Labour MPs join farmers, landowners and firefighters in urging temporary prohibition

theguardian.com

A decade after the Brexit vote, the UK has lost its trading edge in goods faster and more broadly than any G7 peer. How can we boost goods exports and regain our trading edge?

When a controversial writer dies the temptation is to produce one's own assessment of their work. But by definition, writers should be judged by what they write. So here are some links: www.spectator.com.au/2018/09/is-i...

Is it possible to draw Serena Williams without being racist? | The Spectator Australia

I have spent the morning trying to draw a cartoon of a black person without it being racist. It’s bloody…

spectator.com.au

As politics newsletters continue to come in highlighting dinghies in the Channel - yes, a problem, but nothing like as dangerous as many others - I continue to feel like I'm losing my mind. The media class have just lost all contact with reality.

French forces held a fierce defensive perimeter around Dunkirk and lost 18,000 souls. 40,000 became POWs. Without their resolve we wouldn’t have our nation’s story. It’s estimated 20-60k French resistance fighters died during the war. You’re only diminishing yourself with comments like this.

Gordon Brown is right. Make time to read this. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

After five brutal years of Taliban rule, Afghan women and girls need our help – and I have a plan | Gordon Brown

Even in the face of appalling repression, girls yearn to fulfil their educational potential. We must set up a global fund to help them, says former UK prime minister Gordon Brown

theguardian.com

The state of this. A lovely day out for Badenoch and Philp, playing dress up and making pronouncements about early release schemes - having left the country with one hundred available men's prison places, after fourteen years in charge. You read that right. One hundred places.

And now, a little Vivaldi. Michel Tirabosco, a renowned pan flute player, collaborating with Raphaël Froissart. He is a professor at the Geneva Conservatory. Born with physical differences, he began playing the pan flute at 7 and has achieved international recognition for his skill. #streetmusic

Wrote about the deafening silence on our summer of climate impacts from Labour, the Lib Dems, the Greens, business leaders, and even some campaign groups. The dominant climate discourse from the past week has been from those who want to ditch net zero targets and trash decarbonisation policies.

Jessica Elgot@jessicaelgot.bsky.social · 2d ago

We are in the third drought in five years. We have the National Trust and NFU - those radical types - sounding the alarm on unprecedented temperatures. But so little from any single figure in politics talking about the climate crisis.

“Yusuf says Britain is being 'invaded', accusing Tory and Labour governments of offering 'a free ferry service and free hotels'” Absolutely no mention of the fact that small boat arrivals are 43% down. This policy will not attract new supporters, it merely panders to the existing no-hopers.

John Springford@johnspringford.bsky.social · 2d ago

Ah, so Immigration Week is Stupid Week, as expected

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 ago

Nigel 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

How Europe lost the Battle of Ceuta; the four horsemen of the summer apocalypse; why Europe faces a climate sovereign doom loop; and why the Clacton by-election is not a joke - latest edition of Wealth of Nations just published open.substack.com/pub/nixons/p...

Europe's Defeat

How Europe lost the Battle of Ceuta; the four horsemen of the summer apocalypse; why Europe faces a climate sovereign doom loop; and why the Clacton by-election is not a joke

open.substack.com

If you're arriving at uni this autumn, or maybe dropping your kids, remember that there could be a ghostly phalanx of absent redundant staff, lost modules and degraded degrees making it a very unhappy place. It may *look* the same, but it won't *be* the same. www.ft.com/content/e5b0...

Several UK universities nearly ran out of cash last year, says report

Almost a quarter of higher education institutions were left with less than 70 days of cash to cover costs

ft.com

Definitely the case here. In two weeks we find which 9 of 12 in my group will be gone. The other 3 will then have a month to prepare and find hourly-paid replacements for all the classes across two degrees. And supervise 25 PhDs. Plus admin and pastoral care and research. Management doesn’t care.

Glen O'Hara@gsoh31.bsky.social · 3d ago

If you're arriving at uni this autumn, or maybe dropping your kids, remember that there could be a ghostly phalanx of absent redundant staff, lost modules and degraded degrees making it a very unhappy place. It may *look* the same, but it won't *be* the same. www.ft.com/content/e5b0...

Few people understand that the UK university system is in crisis, but even fewer realise that many of the people losing their jobs are amongst the best in their fields

Glen O'Hara@gsoh31.bsky.social · 3d ago

So it's farewell to the History subject area at the University of Hertfordshire, not the first nor the last to go. One of the best departments in the country, just extinguished like a snap of the fingers. Think of the waste. (1/2)

Our world is a tinderbox as we approach 1.5C above preindustrial temps. We’re locked in for at least 2C, & on track for 4C in our children’s ‘lifetimes’. Tumbleweeds as we wait for governments, the media & the public to provide a proportionate response to this information.

Tbf, not one to defend Thames Water at all as a disgrace. But they have been trying to build a huge, necessarym reservoir since *2006* but it's always been blocked by planning and politicians. Layla Moran made a big thing campaigning for it not to be built.

So it's farewell to the History subject area at the University of Hertfordshire, not the first nor the last to go. One of the best departments in the country, just extinguished like a snap of the fingers. Think of the waste. (1/2)

For #AncientSiteSunday let's go to my favourite #Roman site: the temple complex of #Baalbek, located in the Bekaa Valley, #Lebanon. The breathtaking site contains some of the largest Roman temples ever built. The so-called Bacchus temple is one of...🧵1/2 📷 Rami Rizk 🏺 #archaeology

It's very painful inside 95% of universities. The reality is that (a) 25% to 33% of posts will close; (b) a handful of unis will go bust and be forcibly merged; (c) Arts and Humanities will be restricted to a small number of institutions whose disgraceful behaviour certainly won't be forgotten.

Owen Davies@odavies9.bsky.social · 4d ago

So a whole lot of my talented Humanities colleagues are now unemployed as of today. A lot of understandable concern over Exeter. But for over two decades my Hums colleagues were in the top quartile for their research contribution to society. History top 10. Now gone with only a national whisper.

So a whole lot of my talented Humanities colleagues are now unemployed as of today. A lot of understandable concern over Exeter. But for over two decades my Hums colleagues were in the top quartile for their research contribution to society. History top 10. Now gone with only a national whisper.

Sir #DavidAttenborough “Things are going to get worse. This is the new extinction. We are in terrible, terrible trouble and the longer we wait to do something about it, the worse it is going to get." #ClimateEmergency

David Attenborough, the voice of Our Planet: “Things are going to get worse”

The voice of some of the most stunning nature documentaries ever made is pessimistic about the future of wildlife on earth.

vox.com

New: A business that made a six-figure donation to Reform UK received interest-free loans of £67m from unnamed “related companies” in the months before, raising questions about the possible origin of the funds. observer.co.uk/news/politic...

Reform given six-figure donation by firm that received £6...

Nigel Farage’s party is facing questions about the lack of transparency over £100,000 in funds donated by a management consultancy

observer.co.uk

@gabrielpogrund.bsky.social: ‘EXCLUSIVE Nigel Farage struck secret deal for return as Reform leader months before election — challenging claim he wasn't involved in politics so didn't need to report gifts. In May 24 he showed deal to treasurer, who tonight acknowledged its existence’

Nigel Farage struck Reform comeback deal long before election

Supervised by the convicted fraudster George Cottrell, the agreement undermines Farage’s claim about when he decided to return to politics

thetimes.com

Geopolitics and Security Studies Center analyst Dionis Cenusa on the Ceuta crisis: “The timing chosen for this hybrid warfare operation was not accidental… 1/

What I find troubling about Badenoch's polling is that, when she faced a really serious test of her judgement over the War in Iran, she failed it spectacularly - and blamed British Muslims. And it's had almost zero effect on her reputation. That says something about us, not just her.

Luke Tryl@luketryl.bsky.social · last wk.

🧵Looked quite a bit over past week at appeal of Burnham, what about Badenoch, whose approvals have risen significantly since a low last Autumn, when barely 10% of voters gave her a gross positive approval, to over 30% and higher net approval than Farage, Polanski & Davey.

Who started the war Diane? WHO STARTED THE WAR? Is Ukraine in NATO? No. Was Ukraine even close to joining NATO? No. Is the US allowing Russia to batter cities and murder Ukrainians? Yes. In a way there is no point even engaging with such BS. But these tankie views are murderous & vile.

Diane Abbott calls Russia’s full scale invasion against Ukraine, which last night murdered nine civilians and earlier this week killed an 18 month old baby “The NATO campaign against Russia” youtu.be/SMBjoiMskxA?...

Diane Abbott MP

YouTube video by StoptheWarCoalition

youtu.be