Britain, 2335: The budget ceremony begins with the traditional Announcement of the Fuel Duty Rise. Two months later, there will be the traditional Postponement of the Fuel Duty Rise, continuing a ritual begun centuries earlier by Chancellors in the Fossil Fuel era

One of the many advantages of being on a bike is the ability to avoid being delayed as men with large cars argue about who should reverse because their cars are too big to fit down the road at the same time.

A very good afternoon to the absolute hero who organised and parked this beauty in the middle of little Tommy’s far-right hate march. ❤️

What’s also quite staggering is that almost all of this new generation came from solar and wind. China generated 340 TWh more electricity from solar than the year before. That’s more than our two home countries, the UK and Spain, generate from all sources each year.

Good news - more cycle lanes coming for the city centre. “long term aspirations to continue to provide cycling links through the city centre”. Let people know you support plans like this so we get the cycle network the city deserves. www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-e...

It's clear what the cause of air pollution on the Coast Road and Stephenson Road is. A barrier alongside a pavement isn't going to solve the problem. Air pollution has been greatly reduced in London through strong leadership addressing issues sensibly. We need the same to happen in Newcastle.

"In Twickenham and Richmond Park, we now have every single councillor, but we don't have every single vote. We'd welcome electoral reform in our councils, where we are overrepresented." Lib Dem leader @eddavey.libdems.org.uk calls for a fair voting system in his response to the King's Speech:

it’s such shibboleth of modern politics to blame politicians for failing town centres when the primary driver is - surely - all of us buying more and more stuff online

Amazing. So for eight months somebody counted how often each political party was mentioned across all UK broadcast media. Lib Dems are near the bottom of the table with a mere 645 mentions per MP. Top of the table with (wait for it) 70,732 mentions per MP? You'll never guess ...

Have the London based Labour people noticed what happened to their party in Newcastle after a few years of leadership challenges and infighting?

After a bit of an anomaly last time, at least everybody in Newcastle is in agreement about something - they don't want Tory politicians.

revenge of the humanities graduates, you love to see it

Local elections: Some disparate thoughts iandunt.substack.com/p/local-elec...

Spiralling global temperatures (1850-2026) It is exactly 10 years since I first put this animated graphic of changes in global temperature online. #ClimateSpiral It instantly went viral. People watched it over and over again. It still offers the power to shock a decade on.

An outline planning application in Cramlington has been green lit. It contains some transport assessments such as "... the local cycle routes can be accessed from the [location] access road, which link to the northern residential areas of Cramlington." You can see this bit of cycle route below 👇

Some good points 👇🏻 It has felt a bit like some people have forgotten it's not a general election at ties recently.

With a couple of days left until the election I've heard lots about pot holes and not a lot about social care and schools which take up well over half the councils spending. I've made a searchable website with all the spending from open data at www.sphericalsquare.net/open-data/co...

Proud of my record on walking, cycling and public transport. In 2014-16 joined the Cycle Forum as a representative of my employer, a signatory to the original Cycle City Ambition Funding bid. 2016-18 was part of the Streets for People reference group in Heaton, that grew into @spaceforheaton.com

Good day and welcome to the latest update on the War on Cars from the North East of England. You'll notice that neither of those houses were wearing hi vis or helmets...

April was the sunniest for 5 years, meaning 68% of my electricity came direct from the sun, with plenty spare to export. It was a bit colder than last year though so I used more gas so missed out on a bill free month with electric, gas and standing charges minus export credit coming to 81p.

I've been for a bank holiday ride out to Allenheads in the Pennines in very unpennine weather. Only a very gentle breeze, mostly sunny, and about 15°C.

It'll be interesting when Zia Yusuf eventually realises that he's the frog and not the scorpion

Post your warning sign.

Police are appealing for witnesses following a collision on Brunton Lane which left two cyclists with serious injuries

Reform’s victory in Staffordshire, a rural county in the centre of England, ushered in a new army of councillors. Most had no experience of local government or even each other. Since then, complaints about the behaviour of councillors have rocketed. ft.trib.al/EAZuVq3

When you're arguing against safe bike infrastructure because it would be inconvenient for drivers and a cyclist was mean to you one time and you think they're all scofflaws no matter what the data says, this is what you're arguing for. This. It's this. It's people dying who should have lived. Fuck.

And now, a cyclist killed on this stretch of road, two drivers arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving. Five years ago, the council planned - and had funding for - a safe cycle path along this road. They dragged their feet, the Tories riled up opposition, and the council gave up. I'm so angry.

Extremely pleased to hear this from Mark Rowley, much needed clarity when a community which has been repeatedly gaslit by senior figures about its own safety

Hilarious. Some guy claiming because his family history extends back to the Crusades, he should be involved in governing the rest of us. And claims that we’ll forget history if we oust him. ALL our family histories go back that far… www.channel4.com/news/the-end...

Ask the candidates standing in Heaton what has happened to the Coast Road bus lane proposals and what they propose to do about the delays experienced bus passengers.

Solar panels don’t damage the countryside you just don’t like the way they look. Skylarks. Linnets. Yellowhammers. www.ecoportal.net/en/solar-pan...

The fuel shortage has left me depressed about British politics in a way I never have been before, in that not a single party has avoided either saying or doing something incredibly stupid and completely removed from how anything actually works.

Sounds like they'd be at home on Blackett Street in Newcastle.

Most interesting bit of the UK public finances data today: Fuel duty revenues dropped in March to their lowest since July 2023. Strongly suggests people were buying less petrol petrol last month.

In Newcastle on street parking costs the council £9,260,871.63 per year. If on street parking is 'free' that would still be a cost that needs to be covered. It's roughly the same as a 6% rise in council tax, on top of existing rises. www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-e...

I'm incredibly impatient, and enforcement relies on Officers having to walk the streets and issue tickets. Just elect people who recognise the benefits of @worldbollardassoc.bsky.social Always on duty, silently guarding our pavements 24/7/365, no matter the weather.

Large parts of Newcastle are reachable from the city centre by cycle – but only where a safe, connected and convenient cycle network exists. When you speak to candidates standing in the forthcoming elections ask them if they will be working towards a safe travel network for everybody.

Not so fun facts about uninsured drivers: they kill and maim a lot of people.

With elections happening soon it's a good time to ask any candidates you speak to what their plans for tackling air pollution in the city are. A still day yesterday shows the levels that persist. We can't rely on windy days to blow pollution away from roads and into your house to fix the problem.

Why cut fuel duty? I still walk past idling vehicles. This would suggest fuel is still very very cheap. I don't leave my taps running.

Good news if you're on Agile tomorrow - you get paid for using electricity for 16 hours. It's not so great if you have a bike ride around the highest points of the Pennines.

A single line in this piece just made my day: “The electricity system operator is understood to be preparing to run the grid without any gas for short periods as soon as this summer, in a first for the UK energy system.” Renewables *work*. And progress matters🎉 www.theguardian.com/environment/...

📊 Newcastle has 1051.8km of roads, 1416.8km of footway, but only 36km of cycleway. 🚲 The city's safe cycling infrastructure is 3.42% the length of the road network. 🗣️ When you speak to candidates standing in next month's elections ask them if they support safe cycling for the whole city.

Proposals have been put forward for safer walking and cycling facilities on Matthew Bank and Jesmond Dene Road. Respond by Sunday 12 April and let the council know you support safer cycling in the city. Details below 👇🏻 newcycling.org/2026/04/safe...

📅Earlier this year the Government announced local councils would receive new powers to prohibit pavement parking. 🔎We took a look at the damage pavement parking causes in Heaton 🔗 www.spaceforheaton.com/a-year-in-th... 🗣️With elections next month, ask your candidates what they'll do about this.

Great thread 👇🏻 It's worth a walk or cycle out to see the viaduct and the views from it if you get the chance.

It's that point in a long weekend with poor weather when, sat in my warm dry house, I wondering how much of a bad idea one of my 'just ride east' routes might be tomorrow. The first train isn't even early, but it might be a bit too breezy this time. All down to what Dave's doing in the morning.

Free electricity tomorrow (if you're on the right tariff). Not due to oil or gas.