My statement on the harmful EHRC guidance coming in to force today 🏳️‍⚧️

A terrible day for trans people in Britain and a shameful one for the EHRC and government

Equality and Human Rights Commission@equalityhumanright.bsky.social · 18h ago

Our code of practice for services, public functions and associations comes into force today. It provides practical guidance on how the Equality Act 2010 applies to services, public functions and associations. Find out more: https://ow.ly/alIf50Zwrkx

Zia Yusuf is coming ever so close to noticing that the ECHR does not prohibit or prevent state action - armed forces, police, prisons, border controls - when it is for a proper + legitimate purpose, conducted in accordance with fundamental rights to fair process, to not be tortured, and so on.

Caring has been central to my life, and the lives of millions across the country. I'll be meeting the Prime Minister today to discuss how we can finally find a solution to the care crisis. We need to do things differently. I really hope we are on a journey to fix this.

It’s a relief to see Burnham - with help from Ed Davey and the Lib Dems - mentioning social care fees paid by disabled people. Politicians and media focus on the elderly with assets but any review must also address the poverty-inducing fees forced on working age disabled people by local councils.

I wrote this 👇 open.substack.com/pub/vicderby...

and write to your politicians. vote for parties and people who take climate change seriously. make personal changes if you can but remember that the bulk of environmental impact is from large corps, and that needs to be controlled with policy. vote and campaign.

So "control and manage net migration within sensible limits at sustainable levels" + "manage the pressures on communities fairly, in a way that the Johnson/Sunak govts did not" + defend immig gains for NHS, universities + growth + oppose the politics of remigration + racism [ethical+practical]

A cheaper ticket won't help if the bus never comes 🚍🤷‍♂️ Cheaper fares are great news, but for too many people across North Norfolk, the problem isn't price - it's that the bus doesn't show up. Let's cap fares AND enhance rural services to help connect communities.

Farage can *never* be PM. His greed and needy vanity make him an enormous national security risk. He has no clue how to behave with dignity or probity. The day he gets booted out of public life for good cannot come soon enough. If Clacton has its wits about it, it could be in less than a month.

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

Larry the cat's commitment to public service remains strong.

Trans rights are also non-negotiable and he has the opportunity to undo the horrible shit of his predecessor asap. Labour can either wake up on this or continue to see its support base collapse. It’s their decision.

Listen, I agree there’s loads of good signs re Burnham, but taking a firm pro-immigration stance should be a basic requirement for an ostensibly progressive politician. And sorry for being biased here as an immigrant myself. Mahmood made me want to leave the UK and keeping her is incredibly hurtful.

Congratulations on your appointment as Foreign Secretary, @ed-miliband.bsky.social l I look forward to working with you on the issues that confront our nation. Your statement is welcome but there is no time to waste so here are seven immediate areas we could work together: x.com/Ed_Miliband/...

Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) on X

x.com

Love to see Ed Milliband completely ignore Chris Mason’s questions and say exactly what he had pre-planned. I should find politicians ignoring questions troubling, but for some reason I never seem to mind Chris Mason’s questions being ignored.

Kevin Keegan: he hated fascists

Seems an excellent day to rewatch Party Games - better than the endless speculation on Caninet appointments at any rate….

Mark Pack@markpackuk.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Party leadership plotting: Yes, Minister’s Party Games episode

Unless this “honesty” involves the recognition that immigrants are *not* the root cause of the UK’s problems *but* actually a part of the solution to them, this will be completely pointless. I cannot stress this enough. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Burnham to say UK must be honest about its challenges as he prepares to become PM

Labour leader will visit king to accept role on Monday and will start making cabinet appointments that afternoon

theguardian.com

In Richmond, the Lib Dems won every single council seat, leaving nearly half of all voters without the representation they asked for. It's great to see the council recognise that this is not what a healthy democracy looks like. Good work 💯

Richmond Council calls for proportional representation

Richmond Council Leader Gareth Roberts urges the new Prime Minister to support electoral reform and proportional representation for fairer elections.

teddington.nub.news

When the BNP won a single council seat in 1993 it was a national news story for days. Horror. Condemnation. Now an even more far right party is getting 11% across a whole county and it's just normal.

In May we said Nigel Farage probably didn't owe tax on his £5m gift. The Guardian now reports the gift followed talks where Farage said he'd need £5m to return to frontline politics. *If* that's right, we think there's a high risk of a £3m tax bill - payable by Reform.

I actually studied this. Net zero got lumped in with BLM, trans rights, feminism etc., as a luxury belief of middle class elites that disadvantages white working class people. The basic argument is that working class people will have to pay for net zero, which is basically an elite fad

Arieh Kovler@ariehkovler.com · 3w ago

In two years Net Zero went from broad political consensus to politically toxic, without any particular scandal over the policy.

A lot of the time today I've wanted to say 'you know it's just his political obituary, right? We don't need to pretend that the last two years have been well-run'.

Tommy Robinson is a useful idiot for a hostile state. What kind of so-called British patriot jets to Moscow to rub shoulders with Putin’s cronies, bankrolled by a US trillionaire? We must protect our democracy from far-right thugs, shady tech bros and foreign interference.

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 4w ago

Elon Musk’s family foundation took Tommy Robinson to Russia, says Musk’s father

If I were Nigel Farage, I’d dip into that £5 million crypto gift just to fund a video that can compete with this! 🤣 HILARIOUS ⬇️

Right. Okay. This requires some backstory. In 1984, a small, low budget film studio in North Carolina produced a parody of Star Wars, called Hyperspace. It was released in the U.K. as ‘Gremloids’. The main character, shown here, was Lord Buckethead.

@sharkastic.bsky.social · 4w ago

As it's schism month, I think you should also explain the Binface / Buckethead schism

We are a serious country.

Imagine knocking up on polling day for Farage vs Count Binface. What line would you take? "It's neck-and-neck"? "You're support might make all the difference"? "We can't let Nigel lose to a bin!"?

Farage is a spoilt little posh boy who has spat his dummy out because he was going to be found guilty of being the grifter that everyone knows he is. Always plays the victim but like most bullies he’s actually a spineless coward. He can get in the bin 🗑️ after hopefully losing to a bin 😆

If Count Binface wins the by election and becomes an MP, will he have to renounce his title?