My year has been made

Have we lost all sense of humanity www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Deep breath, once more for those at the back, seeking asylum is not illegal. No matter route used, which considering Labour has closed pretty much all the last remaining alternatives means irregular ones. Anti-immigration sentiments are stoked by politicians like Mahmood, not people seeking safety.

Very interesting crowdfunder on reinvigorating social clubs for the 21st century: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/21st-centu...

I have a new housemate! Meet Ziggy the cat

The Access to Work scheme that keeps thousands of people in employment is being “cut by stealth". Aga, a deaf woman who has been in distress since losing her interpreter has had her payments reinstated after intervention from Yahoo. How many more cases are there? uk.news.yahoo.com/dwp-benefit-...

The newspapers attacking her don’t have an ounce of her courage. Megha’s responsible for some of the best reporting on gender rights we have. Standing with her in sisterhood and solidarity.

The attacks on my friend @meghamohan.bsky.social are awful. This is a journalist who has dedicated her career to telling ignored and forgotten stories about women in the global south - from lesbians in Burundi and Chile, to girls fighting child marriage in Malawi & teens in prison in Palestine.

We’ve made this investigation free to read because so many people in Sheffield are affected by this story. Our journalists have been knocking on doors for weeks and we’ve had to employ lawyers because of the legal threats made against us. We can only do this kind of journalism with your support.

She has no limits

Inbox— next cover of the New Yorker: “Mayor Mamdani,” by Edel Rodriguez

What an absolute hero Samir Zitouni is - doubtless he saved lives that day www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

thank you for all the support; the statement from our union is now live here with some more reporting. now that this is public I can confirm that the majority of today’s layoffs were women of color. there are no longer any Black women working at Teen Vogue.

Oh no

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been branded "unacceptable" after leaving disabled people up to a year to claim critical PIP benefits. uk.news.yahoo.com/pip-payment-...

‘No more children are going to die like you’: how Sheffield mother kept her promise to boys killed by father 11 years ago www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Over 5% of the Reform councillors elected in May have now either resigned or been fired. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

quite depressing that choosing to belittle a bona fide medical condition for....fun? profit? attention? makes you an award-nominated journalist these days pressgazette.co.uk/press-gazett...

Buzzing to have been shortlisted for Sense's journalist of the year award! I'm in some fantastic company too. www.sense.org.uk/sense-awards...

I was so moved by Chantal. She's whip-smart, driven and deeply compassionate. She's been an unpaid carer for her son Harry, for the last 22 years. Once Chantal claims her pension, she won't receive carer's allowance any more. She'll have just £15 a month to live on uk.news.yahoo.com/carers-allow...

A proud Hullensian right here -- Hull has made it onto National Geographic's best places to travel in the world list! www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/artic...

Reform UK has been forced to reject more unlawful donations than any other British political party in 2025 the party has had to give back almost £200,000 this year from 18 impermissible donors, according to Electoral Commission data www.ft.com/content/5392...

The rikishi are taking-in the town and doing what we all do when in London. Seeing the sights, admiring the parks, shopping on High Street, taking tea at Fortnum's, using the olde phonebox, eating Chinese, and having a terrific time.

Really good piece from Jane Bradley and co at NYT. Earlier this summer Democracy for Sale revealed how anti abortionists, including ADF, were pumping money into the U.K. Free Speech Union still hasn’t responded to our queries. Funny that… democracyforsale.substack.com/p/us-antiabo...

I long to return to the time I could watch a premiere a day after its debut and not see a mass of spoilers

First scarf knit of the season complete ✅

Yessss about time www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Huntington’s disease treated successfully for first time in gene therapy trial

Any journalist quoting this absurd, invented £234 billion number cited by Farage/Reform should make absolutely clear that it has been withdrawn by *its own authors* (the Centre for Policy Studies) after they admitted it contained several major errors (1/3)

Best hold music? Cats Protection with their soothing track of purrs and meows

This news just in: we hoped the middle- and upper-class capture of the media would lessen. It’s got worse | Carl Cullinane

100’s of firms warn new guidance on single sex spaces is ‘unworkable’ and would cause ‘significant economic harm’ More than 650 organisations have urged Bridget Phillipson to ‘take immediate action to prevent these proposals from moving forward’ saying it’s incompatible with modern business values.

Not that anyone in politics listens to research, but there is a bucket of research (including some excellent recent studies) which show exactly this. Voters listen to leaders and respond to what they say.

Ofcom's GB News failure 'normalises and emboldens those who target disabled people for abuse': www.disabilitynewsservice.com/ofcom-is-nor...

Exclusive: A grieving single mum who lived without benefits support for nine months has spoken about receiving life-changing support from a @trusselluk.bsky.social food bank, and the importance of seeing people struggling like her as more than "just a statistic". uk.news.yahoo.com/food-bank-mi...

“Farage claimed last year to have “bought a house” in his constituency but the property is actually owned in the name of his partner, meaning he legally avoided higher-rate stamp duty on the purchase of an additional home – given he already owns other properties” www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

'Westminster Magistrates' Court was told the 57-year-old allegedly used social media to "relentlessly" publish offensive posts about an 18-year-old trans campaigner' www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

So many lovely treats for baby Sibyl from @lilyskitchen.bsky.social. She is LOVING the new cat food recipes. Thanks team ✨

Every day I see Reform given a platform with little to no attempt at balance. Here Tice is allowed to suggest thousands of parents are abusing the SEND system to get free taxis to school, and the isn't a single voice in the article to counter that or his other claims. It's a Reform press release

"I was an asylum seeker, and when I got to university, it changed everything. I have hope for the future" I spoke with students and experts about the potential dangers of the Home Office's plans to crack down on international students claiming asylum www.bigissue.com/news/interna...

Prominent UK women tell rightwingers: stop linking immigration to sexual abuse www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

god that's incredibly disheartening

'Gotta support the team though, haven't you?' I wrote about the world of shit TV football dialogue for @mundialmag.bsky.social, to learn why characters always talk about football in such a deeply weird way. Cheers to Adam from @footballcliches.bsky.social and Sean for chatting with me!

"... Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice" www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-engl...

Reform will have to reselect in Croydon, as their initial candidate for Mayor had been dead for 6 months when they selected her, Inside Croydon report Being dead is one way to pass the social media vetting but was likely to get noticed eventually insidecroydon.com/2025/08/27/f...

Grimsby's fans sang "Can we play you every week" in the first half against Manchester United www.theguardian.com/football/202...

‘Why not work the system’? How punks inspired by Thatcher built a Hull housing cooperative

No10 spokesman not prepared to criticise anything about Farage speech today. Not his description of "invasion", not his prediction that the UK on brink of civil war, not plans to pay the Taliban or Iran to take back migrants, or indeed to rule out doing so themselves.