Reform is basically a suburban petrol station's DVD bin of Tory politicians.
Sarah Postlethwaite
@sarahpostlethwaite.bsky.social
Ecologist | Hiker | Raver | Bat botherer | Zoopharmacognosy dabbler | Autistic
Commenting on the cataclysms of the 20th century, philosopher Hannah Arendt wrote: “The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction and the distinction between true and false no longer exist.”
1. This short thread is about the issue that dominates almost every aspect of politics, and causes or exacerbates most of our problems: the extreme wealth of a small number of people. Here’s the amazing thing: almost the entire political class aligns with the ultra-rich against the rest. 🧵1/10
The UK Government just released its national security assessment on #biodiversity loss: an actual intelligence assessment using the same frameworks as military threat analysis. The conclusion? #Nature is a foundation of national security and every critical #ecosystem is on a pathway to collapse. 🧵
It is the source of so many of our evils: the astonishing concentration of wealth in the hands of a very few, and the immense political power that gives them. We cannot solve our problems until we tackle it. This week's column. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
At the root of all our problems stands one travesty: politicians’ surrender to the super-rich | George Monbiot
There are many excuses for failing to tax the ultra-wealthy. The truth is that governments don’t tackle the problem because they don’t want to, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
theguardian.com
Yvette Cooper, foreign secretary, last week (on the protests in Iran): “These are fundamental rights - free speech, peaceful assembly. The exercise of these rights should never come with the threat of violence or reprisals.” Unless you are in the UK. www.theguardian.com/law/2026/jan...
Labour MPs plan to oppose move to restrict protest at animal testing sites
Campaigners warn proposals being voted on in Commons are threat to ‘long and legitimate history’ of peaceful action
theguardian.com
Looking south-west from Bardon Hill, the highest point in Leicestershire (also a SSSI partly for a very rare spider Mastigusa macropthalma)
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Wage war on nature to build new homes: that’s Labour’s offer, but it’s a con trick | George Monbiot
The government’s new planning bill is tearing down environmental protections to benefit developers. This nation of nature lovers won’t stand for it, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The Guardian view on Labour targeting nature: the problem isn’t snails, but a broken housing model | Editorial
Editorial: Rachel Reeves’s drive to speed up development is beginning to treat wildlife and the environment as expendable. Voters want homes built, but not at any cost
theguardian.com
Halting the decline in farmland bird species is going to require a lot more effort than just some nature-friendly farming schemes. It will require a wholesale reconsideration of where and how we build, which is the opposite of what’s currently happening. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Wild bird numbers continue to fall in UK with some species in ‘dramatic freefall’
Species index fell by 4% between 2019 and 2024 – although data shows woodland populations beginning to stabilise
theguardian.com
Deregulation is massive self harm for negligible gain. Have the government learnt nothing from recent expensive examples of regulatory failure, such as the collapse of Carillion, the Grenfell tower fire & cladding scandal, or our water pollution situation? 🤦♀️ www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Rachel Reeves tells private equity bosses she plans to shut down more regulators
Chancellor stopped short of saying which regulators were in government’s crosshairs
theguardian.com
From Great Yarmouth to the world: Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty broke new ground in 1877 and inspired change in animal welfare. 150 years on, the fight against cruelty continues, with rescue centres still needed across the region | Kate Moore @eastangliabylines.co.uk @oscarwoofs.bsky.social
Beauty, broken and rescued: 150 years of equine welfare
The legacy of Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty reminds us: cruelty to any creature is everyone’s concern
eastangliabylines.co.uk
Seeing climate change like this, it changes you’: dance duo Bicep on making an album in Greenland Collaborating with Indigenous artists and sampling melting glaciers, the Northern Irish artists are championing Arctic culture – and documenting a collapsing world www.theguardian.com/music/2025/j...
‘Seeing climate change like this, it changes you’: dance duo Bicep on making an album in Greenland
Collaborating with Indigenous artists and sampling melting glaciers, the Northern Irish artists are championing Arctic culture – and documenting a collapsing world
theguardian.com
"The Govt has no plans to ban driven grouse shooting..." A disappointing (but not unexpected) conclusion to the @wildjustice.bsky.social petition debate just now from Labour Minister Daniel Zeichner. No hint of licensing either: @rspb.bsky.social policy must shift www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVP_...
Two orchids from two local parks today. Pyramidal (a new record for the park) and (I think as still out and not checked) common spotted x southern marsh hybrid (one of many). #wildflowerhour
Not speeded up, just a very hungry bat! (Common pipistrelle) Found trapped in a house this week, and released after a couple of nights captivity in order to put some weight back on. #bats #batcare #pipistrelle
The flammability of historic buildings that are the subject of longstanding contentious planning disputes is really worryingly high. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Manchester fire: Residents evacuated from tower as blaze spreads
Residents are evacuated from a tower block after embers from a major fire at Hotspur House spread.
bbc.co.uk
Saw many small tortoiseshells along the Derbyshire lanes today
My favourites from this week - large skipper, marbled white, six-spot burnet & ringlet.
Two of Leicestershires hard rock quarries - Cliffe Hill and Croft. Surprised to see lots of southern marsh orchids in very dry places at Cliffe Hill.
Hot off the press! wildjustice.org.uk/general/wild...
Wild Justice presses ahead with legal challenge against the government's Planning and Infrastructure Bill - Wild Justice
PRESS RELEASE: Conservation campaign group Wild Justice has issued a legal challenge to the government’s claim that the new Planning […]
wildjustice.org.uk
Some of the meadow buttercups in a field near me have interesting white & yellow colour combos
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill will be a disaster for nature. Britain's wildlife is a source of pride for millions - voters will not take kindly to its destruction. There will be electoral consequences. The Government must accept my proposals before it's too late.
Deserts are spreading across Britain, yet scarcely anyone in public life even seems to have noticed. This week's column seeks to open our eyes to something that has been too big to see. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
There’s an invader turning huge swathes of Britain into deserts – and these dead zones are spreading | George Monbiot
Vast areas of land are now dominated by one species – purple moor-grass – and good luck with seeing a bird or insect there. How do we revive these habitats, asks Guardian columnist George Monbiot
theguardian.com
Another bat-bashing article, fitting nicely with the governments anti bat & newt rhetoric, on the eve of the P&I Bill report stage. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
Why a bat in the attic could see home improvement costs go through the roof
As Labour plans an overhaul of planning rules on the preservation of bats, Alex Ross finds a system met with frustration and defence by homeowners and conservationists alike
independent.co.uk
