The amount of people who talked down to me - a transgender former Labour councillor - as if I know nothing about either subject. I was effectively accused of being naive and over-emotional, and then told that Burnham would be better once he got in* Your "Fell For It Again" awards are in the post 👍

Rose Schmits@roseschmits.bsky.social · 22h ago

Big shout out to all the people who were mad at me for not wanting them to vote labour cause they were “certain labour will be better on trans rights than the tories“, they couldn’t have done it (segregation) without you

Imagine being so desperate to sling mud at the left, that you'll uncritically accept the testimony of a "former" neo-fash? It happens more than you might think 😶

flyingrodent@flyingrodent.bsky.social · 21h ago

Me: (a smart columnist, looking at claims made by an ex-Tory neo-Nazi booted out of the party for crimes, now standing as a Tory councillor whole doing a rehabilitation tour parroting the agreed media line in his new “anti-extremism” gig) This is extremely convincing stuff, and very worrying.

I met up with Tamatha Paul while she was in London to discuss nature's rights in Aotearoa (New Zealand). @greenparty.org.uk

Some towns didn't get xmas light put up because it was too dangerous for staff to install them.

Nate O@nateo.bsky.social · 2d ago

Ex-PM Starmer said, in response to Raise the Colours terrorising people, ‘I am supporter of flags’, ‘I’m very encouraging of flags. I think they’re patriotic and I think they’re a great symbol of our nation’ and his family had ‘got St George’s flag in our flat’ www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

The Tories - and Reform - allowing a man to run for office who was jailed for harassing a Jewish MP. Will there be a public reckoning re: antisemitism in both parties? 🤔

Left Foot Forward@left-foot-forward.bsky.social · 2d ago

Kemi Badenoch says she wants to give people "second chances" leftfootforward.org/2026/08/kemi...

weird cognitive dissonance over on X, which seems to be wall to wall right wing grifters whose media / hate careers are based on supposedly protecting women & girls, all in deep mourning about the guy who wrote this

Who remembers how pleased with itself the BBC was its "exposé" about asylum seekers faking being gay

DIVA Magazine@divamag.bsky.social · 3d ago

Concerns for LGBTQIA+ people after changes made to Home Office asylum interviews

Wait a second

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 5d ago

‘MPs have had their stomachs pumped’: concerns over ‘alcohol-soaked’ culture in Westminster

It's worth pointing out that it was @zackpolanski.bsky.social raising Reform's funding consistently, for months, that forced the media to eventually start seriously covering it.

Reform Party UK Exposed@reformexposed.bsky.social · 5d ago

Why the questions about Reform UK and its wealthy donors won’t go away

I think what's happened here is the press immediately recognised the obvious truth of what Hannah Spencer said but their idea of fairness/compromise is to still go in two footed on her, a vile 'leftie', and then circle back and pick up her points a few months on without acknowledging they were hers

Podcasting is Praxis@praxiscast.bsky.social · 5d ago

That's weird, because a whole discourse happened where we were all told drinking was super normal and anyone asking questions was a gross communist who didn't understand? www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

You've REALLY got to hand it to the staff and volunteers at the count on a day like this. Thank you for keeping our democracy moving 😊

Everywhere I look today I keep seeing: 1) deadly wildfires ripping through our communities 2) people desperately trying to get by as energy costs soar 3) record oil & gas profits When will we see that these three things are connected? www.wsj.com/business/ene...

Big Oil Is Reaping Rewards From the Chaos in Energy Markets

ExxonMobil’s earnings doubled and Chevron posted its highest quarterly earnings on record as energy prices soared during the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

wsj.com

The lack of media coverage of this election has been stunning, especially when compared to Gorton and Denton, Makerfield (both within Greater Manchester), and Clacton. GM has a population larger than half a dozen EU countries!

Jonn Elledge@jonnelledge.bsky.social · 6d ago

...and this is how i found out the biggest by-election in British history was yesterday

The forecast - shockingly low - turnout really highlights this point. When the press and even politicians don't treat an election as a priority, voters are unlikely to do so. This is a MUCH bigger issue at local gov elections across the country. What do we do about it?

Sophie Stevens 💚🍉@sophiestevens.bsky.social · 6d ago

Isn't it interesting that the largest by-election in British political history has been treated with all the importance of a council poll - by media and by parties on the ground today? I guess my point is that the PM has quite some way to go in order to really legitimise his push for devolution

Just sitting on the pavement and clapping is now terrorism. Not saying anything, not holding or displaying any signs, just sitting on the pavement & clapping. Andy Burnham can stop this. But he isn't. Reporting by Steven Methven for @novaramedia.com

Absolutely nuts: Google Earth now has a feature that lets you convincingly fabricate satellite imagery www.digitaldigging.org/p/how-to-pla...

Isn't it interesting that the largest by-election in British political history has been treated with all the importance of a council poll - by media and by parties on the ground today? I guess my point is that the PM has quite some way to go in order to really legitimise his push for devolution

Green Mayor candidate Geraldine Coggins is calling an end to rushing into AI projects without considering the environment By @willem-moore.bsky.social

Green mayoral candidate says wildfires require AI data centre rethink

Green Mayor candidate Geraldine Coggins is calling an end to rushing into AI projects without considering the environment

thecanary.co

Hedgehog stops campaigning: pity they don't have votes! In Ardwick leafletting for @geraldinecoggins.bsky.social with Cllr Alex-Salik Imran when we found a distressed young hedgehog. With Cllr Amna Abdullatif, a dash across Manchester reached vet surgery before it closed

I thought he couldn't do any electoral reform without a mandate from a general election?

Nick Garland@npjgarland.bsky.social · last wk.

1/ Great reporting in The Times on the emerging momentum behind support for compulsory voting, which @ippr.org called for a couple of weeks ago: www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

Angela Rayner, secretary of state for Housing, Communities and Local Government, has said no to rent controls. That means saying no to a policy that saves renters up to £2,400 a year and saves the Treasury £12 billion on housing benefit. We'll keep fighting to bring in rent controls.

Cities dismantled their tram networks to become “motor cities of the future”. The result? You could travel further within 30 mins via public transport in 1957 than you can in 2026. Cities are seeking billions to rebuild networks. Incredible piece of work this.

The Exchange@theexchangeleeds.bsky.social · 2w ago

If you stood on Briggate at 8am on a weekday in 1957, and stood there again in 2026, in which year could you reach more of the city in half an hour? Samuel Bancroft has crunched the numbers. Since the 1950s, Leeds has got bigger - but the city has effectively shrunk.

Hosepipe bans are in place in South and South West England. Meanwhile 'Data Centres' there are still using more than 3m litres of water a day. And they pay 1/10th per litre for water you do, so you are subsidising them too.

#GC4Mayor 💚👏💚👏💚 GET INVOLVED NOW!!!👇 greatermanchester.greenparty.org.uk join.greenparty.org.uk

GREATER MANCHESTER MAYORAL BY-ELECTION - Greater Manchester Mayoral By-Election

Greater Manchester Mayoral by-election · 30 July Replace Labour. Stand up to Reform. Vote Green. Join an action day → Request a posterboard → Read my manifesto → Donate → Help us win this — pick a way...

greatermanchester.greenparty.org.uk

The Green Party of England & Wales@greenparty.org.uk · 4w ago

We need hundreds of volunteers. We did it in Gorton and Denton, and we can do it in Greater Manchester." Join co-Deputy Leader Mothin Ali in Manchester this Saturday.

Labour has such a sense of entitlement to the votes of Mancunians, that it considers any campaigns by other parties to be an act of theft. We've been taken for granted for FAR too long - only @geraldinecoggins.bsky.social will stand up for the people of Greater Manchester!

Zack Polanski@zackpolanski.bsky.social · 2w ago

This coming Thursday. Let's make it happen. Vote Green as your first preference vote. Let's take Greater Manchester back from private profit and run it for the people.

Right-to-buy was always a massive bung, and we see the effects of it to this day, in how asset-rich income-poor households are eager to vote for politicians who treat them as the most-in-need.

BladeoftheSun@bladeofthes.bsky.social · 2w ago

The most interesting thing about Right to Buy is it should have meant Councils had loads of money to build new Council Houses But actually they stopped Because Thatcher blocked Councils from using this money to build houses and cut their budget from Government Because of their increased incomes

Last year, Louise Haigh said Israel's actions in Gaza were "nothing less than a genocide." Now she's in the Cabinet, will she stand by those words and help end the UK's complicity in it?

Free tomorrow? Join Hannah Spencer and Ellie Chowns n Manchester and help get Geraldine Coggins elected as Mayor of Greater Manchester.

Something in Manchester's social media spaces now that simply wasn't a feature a year ago: Labour MPs and councillors posting directly into groups, showing evidence of what they've been doing If a side effect of the Green wave is to convince others to do their jobs then we're doing something right!