With July and August yet to be counted the UK has already recorded about 2,877 excess deaths from heatwaves, nearly double the figure from 2025 and close to the all‑time record set in 2022. That’s three record‑breaking summers for heat deaths within just four years theworlddata.com/heat-related...

Heat Related Deaths Statistics in UK 2026 | Key Facts - The World Data

Heat-Related Deaths in the UK 2026 Heat related deaths statistics in UK 2026 point to the most dangerous heat episode the country has faced since July 2022. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issue...

theworlddata.com

Dr Sue Mann, NHS National Clinical Director for Women's Health, said the pharmacy service was a "major step forward for women's health", with "no appointment, no waiting and no judgement" www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Hundreds of thousands of women use free morning-after pill service at pharmacies

Since October, the morning-after pill has been made available free-of-charge at high street pharmacies under a new scheme in England.

bbc.co.uk

"This is a moment for the Lords to redeem itself. We can offer genuine scrutiny and attempt to strike the balance between safeguards and the practicalities of navigating any system when terminally ill." Great point by Lord Alf Dubs on the difference between real scrutiny and blanket opposition.

Andrew Copson@andrewcopson.bsky.social · 3w ago

More proof that Lord (Alf) Dubs deserves to be one of my favourite humans. Such values. observer.co.uk/opinion-and-...

Feel like true crime colliding with 24 hour political commentary is the cross breeding of two terrible media pathologies.

Only if you take their references to "the establishment" at face value, rather than as a disingenuous code for something else. I consider it to be pretty clearly the latter.

Tim Bale@timbale.bsky.social · last mo.

That Dicky (©️ @mrjohncrace.bsky.social) doesn't see the glaring contradiction between banging on about an 'establishment' plot at the same time as bigging up his links with 'a very successful aristocratic family') is truly delicious.

The right takes academia seriously, and is pouring money into neutering it. Would be good to see left wing politicians taking academia equally seriously, and taking action to support it www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

‘Dialogue is all the rage’: why is the right pouring millions into ‘civil discourse’ initiatives on US campuses?

Universities looking for a fix to relentless controversy are flocking to ‘civility’ initiatives. Critics say these efforts mask a darker project

theguardian.com

I think I agree with @stephenkb.bsky.social's diagnosis that it basically means "conforms to an archetype I can readily identify", and that a big part of that is projection on behalf of the beholder.

Will Jennings📉🗳️@drjennings.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I've been spending increasing amounts of time thinking about 'authenticity'. It is such a slippery concept both theoretically and empirically, yet seems increasingly important to contemporary politics. Populists are often seen as authentic, yet that authenticity can be highly performed...

I was 30 when my son was born. I had lived under 5 Prime Ministers. Ten (and a bit) years later he is about to live under his seventh. Thing is, you look at British history, good argument that both periods are weird outliers

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

Just realised this will be my son’s fifth prime minister and he’s 6.

This is fairly obvious but do not listen to journalists (or influencers, commentators, etc) whose advice is "annoy these people! Make enemies of those people! What an embarrassing voter to have, scare them away!"

Sunder Katwala (sundersays)@sundersays.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Camilla Long says Labour can only win public - esp Reform vote if it does things Labour MPs & progressive voters will hate Nothing on the content what "committing to a series of policies" means. (How much harder they would be than current policy?) No indication what level of immig is not too high

Did Reform lose because they were too woke? A columnist earning 8 times your salary assumes the answer is yes, and investigates from there.

As #PrideMonth continues, let’s remember: ➡️ Trans Rights 🤝 Reproductive Rights ️➡️ Gender-affirming care is essential health care. ➡️ No matter how someone identifies, they deserve access to affordable and high-quality care.

The question for me isn't "could AI ever compose a concerto as good as Bach?" The question is "what on earth would be the point of that?"

"Anyone who identifies as an 'ally', a general term for a supporter of LGBTQ+ people, could also face a prison sentence." share.google/0XD20RxNjJZt...

Ghana parliament passes bill criminalising gay acts

Same-sex acts are punishable by jail terms under Ghana's new bill targeting those identifying as gay, lesbian or transgender.

share.google

The cold reality of restricting reproductive healthcare share.google/1SlIyVkoN2yC...

US abortion restrictions are hindering access to miscarriage care, study finds

States with abortion bans are turning away from medications to a wait-and-see approach, with care falling below standards

share.google

I agree with this but also IMO this incoherence is part of why there's such intense frustration. It doesn't even feel like a smart, outcomes based growth-first model, it often feels more like an unthinking acceptance of truisms, including many about growth, and many of which contradict each other

Matthew Downhour @matthewdownhour.bsky.social · 3mo ago

People who say ‘the economy is designed for endless capitalist growth’ often seem to be missing that some of the most non negotiable parts of modern politics are policies - rent seeking, immigration restriction, etc - that have the strongest economic consensus against them from a growth standpoint

I always think of Homer Simpson whining "and that's another thing! You calling yourself queer! That's our word for making fun of you! We neeeeeed it!" in 'Homer's Phobia'

Chris Farnell@thebrainofchris.bsky.social · 3mo ago

More great work from the "Queer is a slur, at least the way I say it" crowd.

🎤⬇️

Derek Powazek@fraying.bsky.social · 3mo ago

“Bubble” is just the word you use to say “community” when you don’t like the people in the community.

Fantastic bit of reporting by @sianushka.bsky.social for @opendemocracy.net

MSI Reproductive Choices UK@msichoicesuk.bsky.social · 3mo ago

A new report by Open Democracy and @fullerproject.org has highlighted growing anti-abortion activism around parts of UK right-wing parties. All political parties should know that 9 in 10 people in Britain support the right to abortion. www.opendemocracy.net/aabortion-re...

"Immigration is projected to decline further to below 100,000 by the end of 2026 — levels not seen since the late 1990s (excluding the pandemic period)." Yet half the population believes it is rising. www.britishfuture.org/britain-thin...

Britain thinks net migration is rising — when it has actually fallen by more than three-quarters - British Future

Findings from British Future’s annual Immigration Attitudes Tracker reveal the extent of public misperceptions on net migration.

britishfuture.org

This. A piece of design either needs to look professional and high quality or it doesn't. If it does, you need a human designer. If it doesn't, AI will just make it look horrible.

alyson “end journalism” greaves@badambulist.bsky.social · 3mo ago

A notable feature of AI is that it has changed the nature of what feels amateurish. It used to be that a poster made by someone who didn’t know what they were doing would be comic sans on clipart, which was at least charming. Now it’s that creepy Ghibli-knockoff style and lots of greebly overdetail.

Public First conducted new public attitudes research ahead of yesterdsy's marches. Tommy Robinson had 17% approval and 47% approval. He is barred from the Reform Party, as a former BNP member, but its supporters are split 35% approve & 31% disapprove

From the other march, apparently, for those who missed the point of my second post.

[incidentally, some people here who claim to be on the left/anti-racist, but think that it can't be antisemitism if you just say "Zionists" instead of "Jews" would benefit from reading this.]

If this isn't "designed to stir up hatred" against Jews, what is? Why are the Met not arresting them?

"Strategic incomprehension" is such a perfect phrase. Not just the culture on X. This is infuriatingly common in politics and media more generally. "Are you actually that stupid, or do you just think I'm that stupid?" is possibly the most common thing I want to yell at the TV these days.

George Monbiot@georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 3mo ago

It's been 16 months since I left X, and I feel so much better for it. I hadn't realised just how big an impact the daily tsunami of hate, trolling, sealioning and strategic incomprehension was having on my state of mind. I cannot understand why anyone who values their mental health is still there.

Wide ranging and timely interview with Sadiq Khan from @adambienkov.bsky.social. A good read. bylinetimes.com/2026/05/12/s...

Sadiq Khan Interview: 'I Know I'm Clickbait, I Know I'm Being Monetised'

The London Mayor talks to Byline Times about how ten years of rising algorithmic online hate has transformed our politics and put his own safety at risk

bylinetimes.com

Interesting thread for anyone trying to better understand the Labour party process for changing leader mid-parliamentary term

Robert Saunders@robertsaunders.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Labour's processes for changing leader are hopelessly, catastrophically unsuited to government. More than half of all prime ministers since 1945 have taken over between general elections. This is not an unusual procedure. So it really matters when parties screw this system up... 🧵

Think some of you are starting to do the Corbyn thing again with Polanski (making an individual the sole paragon for progressive politics despite flaws and dismissing or getting defensive over repeated instances of questionable character or judgement that you wouldn't accept from other politicians)

"The letter, coordinated by British Future and shared with Jewish News, brings together more than 30 Muslim leaders, imams, academics, youth workers and community figures from across Britain." www.jewishnews.co.uk/muslim-leade...

Muslim leaders issue solidarity message to British Jews after antisemitic attacks

EXCLUSIVE: Open letter says Muslims and Jews must stand together against hatred and division

jewishnews.co.uk

🧵There is no doubt that Labour’s losses to the left hurt them, but just doesn’t seem to be borne out that what we are seeing is fragmentation of the left vote alone and Reform eating ex Tories. The right bloc is actively growing, likely some defections from Reform Labour some differential turnout.