Local councils can make or break the music industry The industry is under huge pressure from rising costs, venue closures, brexit, cuts to music education, AI - but also callous councils who act without care for this important sector We all need to do our part to save the future of music

"Quibbling" is not the word I wanted to use at the end of this speech - but what I wanted to say was not suitable for the council chamber. We had a plan to stay below 1.5 degrees of warming. We have failed - because too many politicians have worried about the short term cost.

A year ago I forced the council leader to write to the Mayor's office about the service on the Picadilly line. This week I asked if he had followed up on the (long delayed) inadequate response. The answer was no. We will keep pushing for an improved service on the Picadilly line

Instead of considering what actually needs debating in Brent, the Labour group just recycled a motion from 12 months ago, expressing support for the West London Orbital To do it once was performative. Doing it twice is a waste of council time. Brent Residents deserve better

Progress today on the project to tackle ASB on the canal. A joint effort between Friends of the Grand Union, CRT, McConnells, the Council and myself. We are putting in fences to block the most popular drinking spots on the canal - ahead of planting 100s of new bushes in Nov

Yet again a fair voting system has prevented the far right taking absolute power. Still terryifing to see this happen in Germany, but if this happened here with our voting system Reform would be in power. We need a fair voting system in this country www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Another morning clearing the rubbish from our stretch of the Canal with some wonderful local volunteers - part of the Friends of the Grand Union. #volunteering #grandunioncanal #localcouncillor #politiciansofinstagram #flytipping

Not all Reform voters are racist. But when the party allows comments like this from its leadership with no consequences. Then the party is racist. If YOU are reading this thinking " I vote reform and I am not racist", then just take a hard look at the party you are supporting

You can’t fix our country until you fix our broken politics. It was brilliant to meet some democracy campaigners today!

Anything that leads to greaters transparency in AI generated content is good for jobs, creativity - and for the tech sector itself. We need AI, and we have to innovate - but I have argued for years that we have to do it responsibly. This shows it is possible. cybersecuritynews.com/anthropic-ad...

Anthropic to Add Invisible Watermarks to All Claude AI Outputs

Anthropic will add invisible watermarks and signed metadata to Claude outputs to identify AI-generated content.

cybersecuritynews.com

One can only hope that when the country literally catches fire - even the biggest sceptics actually do start to pay attention.... www.theguardian.com/media/2026/a...

Right turn on green: is the Telegraph changing its tune on the climate?

Flurry of articles has raised eyebrows and prompted a response from Kemi Badenoch defending stance on net zero

theguardian.com

We are into yet another heatwave. Too many people still think that Net Zero will bankrupt us. The truth is the impact of climate change will cost far more. The first job of government protecting its people. A Reform or Tory Government would surrender us all to Climate Change

This is really excellent news. Not only the change in the law, but the stats regarding the uptick in people installing solar already @Reformuk: most people are not fooled by you they know green energy is the future. #climatechange #solar #renewables

UK households free to install plug-in balcony solar panels from end of August

Law change means renters and flat owners may be able to cut bills as energy costs soar amid Iran war

theguardian.com

There are so many reasons why Farage's stories about his £5m don't add up. It's epic scale gaslighting. Honestly, its a complete joke. I hope @countbinface.bsky.social beats him - it would be a fitting end to his career. #countbinface #farage #reformuk #donation #ukpolitics #clactonbyelection

Meeting with Canal and River Trust, Friends of the Grand Union and McConnells to discuss our joint effort to block anti-social behaviour hotspots on the canal. In five words: More nature, fewer beer cans. #localcouncillor #biodiversity #solutions #grandunioncanal

We do need to get more young people into work, education or training - no question. But as with every other problem, the right wing are blaming migrants. Recently they're claiming that 27 young, non-EU migrants are getting hired for every young Brit. Here's why its not true

“Don’t wait until after the next election – when you might be powerless to do anything about it.” Burnham will have a small window of time to prevent an absolutely chaotic election, and genuinely change politics for the better. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

Andy Burnham urged to change the UK’s voting system before it is ‘too late’

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey is expected to warn Labour may be ‘powerless to do anything’ to change the voting system after the next election

independent.co.uk

Visiting ASB hotspots today to discuss solutions with officers. Honestly ridiculous volume of beer cans. More meetings next week. My fellow councillors and I will not stop looking for real solutions across education, licensing, and enforcement. #asb #localcouncillor #brent

Another day campaigning in a heatwave - 35 degrees today. Oof. Kudos to people from all parties out today (in any by-election), but obviously rooting for Alex here in Streatham - the best choice ! #byelection #climatechange #heatwave #localcouncillor #politics

Yesterday I successfully moved an amendment to a Conservative motion on SCIL is allocation to force the cabinet to consider allocating SCIL to fixing roads and pavements Getting a grip on our roads and pavements is good for all residents - and will save the council money in the long run

Since I got elected I have been pushing for CIL funding to be properly invested by the council NCIL in particular is meant to be allocated based on where it was raised & most other boroughs give their councillors a say on spending in their ward. This has not been happening in Brent🧵 1/2

There are no silver bullets to fix all our issues but its clear Politics has caused, or is failing to fix, many of our issues today Do you think fixing politics should be a priority? Fill in this survey: digitallibdems.typeform.com/fix-politics

If you are going to do a job ... do it right. On this occasion - clearing rubbish along the canal. I am not even sure how the rubbish gets to some of these places.. its baffling. #flytipping #asb #localcouncillor #volunteer #canal #libdems

Another morning helping residents clear out their old / broken furniture. Community skips are a good service - but even when its right on their doorstep some of our elderly residents just cannot move these items by themselves. #politics #localcouncillor #libdems #helpinghand

I got into politics to move our country forward - to build a modern, progressive country But the fight we are having is to stop the right wing from unravelling progress already made. Workers rights, human rights, equal rights, free press, progress to net zero & more. Don't let them - get involved

Some observations from canvassing in Acton... most obviously - whoever becomes next Labour leader definitely has their work cut out to restore faith - both in their own party, but also politics itself. #politics #byelection #fixpolitics #andyburnham

Flying the flag in 31 degree heat in the Acton By-election today I got into politics because of Climate Change originally so I find campaigning in an extreme heatwave oddly motivating - and I fear we will all have to get used to it #politics #libdems #byelection #climatechange

The people telling you immigrants are the problem are preventing us from discussing the real solutions for healthcare, housing and more. Yes, people believe immigration is a problem. But the right response is not to pander to that narrative - it's to challenge it

Starmer is out and this has to be the final straw. We need to fix politics so that governments have an actual mandate. We need a fair voting system. You can help - Take our survey asking "Is Politics Working?" to send a message to our next PM: digitallibdems.typeform.com/fix-politics

Immigration or bust. An ageing population means we need more funds to cover healthcare, social care and pensions - but we have a smaller number of working people to pay for it (relatively). If we want to avoid a financial death spiral - we cannot shut the door on immigration.