Brilliant to see thousands come out in Newcastle today to show that the far right are not welcome here.

1. I've long contended that austerity doesn't save money. It merely transfers costs from one group (the very rich, who would otherwise pay more tax) to others. Last night was a powerful reminder of that. Before I go further, I should say I’m fine. Just a black eye, cuts & bruises, no serious harm. 🧵

Why your next car should be an electric cargo bike

It's #CarFreeNewcastle day today. There's a website and a series of events planned: Car Free Day – Leave the car, love the city. share.google/dADmQ3BJAWWJ... Unfortunately it's all a bit more "in hope" than "in expectation". There's no new bike lane to launch / open, nothing to enable (IMHO)

Stopped by at Mayfield Park, Manchester’s newest park. Possibly the best children’s park I’ve seen anywhere. Which maybe highlights how few new parks (or even new play facilities) we’ve built in the UK for the past few decades. Not easily accessed, but finding places for a new park can’t be easy.

Heat deaths. Let that sink in. This should be a wake-up call. It's the job of govts across the world to keep their citizens safe. Instead, from continuing oil and gas drilling to dragging their feet on making our homes and workplaces safe from extreme weather, they're failing.

#passivehouse peeps, is the ~new "easyPH" compatible with #PHPP "Variants" worksheet? I see it's there but hidden, and I didn't see a mention in the manual. Alternatively, is modeling in easyPH then exporting into the full variants sheet an option. NB: not being used for certification just fiddling

Good to lay the debate to rest. As with other countries that have committed (often lesser) crimes against their people, sanctions are the very least we should impose. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Recent research shows that the potential of both carbon capture & storage and ecosystem restoration to mitigate climate change have been greatly over-estimated It is not going to be possible to suck all that carbon out of the sky once it's up there We have onlu one option: stop burning stuff

Imperial College study suggests that even if it can be made to work, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) has limited potential. As ever, it’s vital that we cut emissions as fast as possible. There is no magic bullet.

I can’t remember ever reading Country Life before and had no idea they write about architecture, but it’s always good to read about this beautiful development: www.countrylife.co.uk/architecture...

Google is now sending me push notifications for ‘news’ from X, which turn out to just be hard right propaganda about how we’ve “lost control of our borders”. Am I the only one? Is this what’s happening now?

I’m all in favour of rewilding in the right location / circumstances, but do all parks in the UK now have large sections that have been closed off and abandoned?

With so many cities ignoring longstanding calls to plant street trees, it’s good to see communities finding quicker ways to reduce the impact of heatwaves: www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Of course the Queen was Remain. You don’t sustain a hereditary monarchy by randomly pulling pins out of grenades for the lols at the urging of a cluster of snake oil chancers.

I suspect this is increasingly the experience of millions of Brits each summer, as they go on holiday to the continent. Myself absolutely included.

In response to my rant yesterday, I was asked how we can make better parks and other public places for teenage girls? What do they want? I have answers to this, so now a positive 🧵. Starting in Sweden, where this was co-designed by teenage girls.

One million hectares have burned across the EU so far this year. Langdale Moor in North Yorkshire is on fire as we speak. And yet governments and the media continue to bury their heads. Only the Green Party has a plan to tackle climate breakdown and close the inequality gap.

Although rare, chickenpox can lead to severe complications. Infection also means parents and kids have to take time off work and school. Free vaccination on the NHS is fantastic news.

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.

Reform: We need to ban wind turbines because they might possibly kill rare birds and ruin the landscape. Also Reform:

Famine is now in Gaza and waiting even a few days to act will kill many more people. How much longer before European leaders do more than pretty speeches? www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int... Any military this ‘clumsy’ should be disbanded and its leaders sent to The Hague, not sent into a major city.

As Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo put it: "A city where you can get let go of your child's hand"

Spotted this in the architectural press. A small development of timber frame homes in Honor Oak Park, London, near to - and influenced by - the Walter Segal housing in Lewisham. Each house on timber columns above screw piles due to sitting between protected trees. dowenfarmer.com/projects/hon...

Stumbled across this infill housing, then realised it’s by Marlies Rohmer, where I worked years ago as a stagiaire. Whether you like the brickwork isn’t the point, it’s just good urbanism. Great layout and density, plus details like street-facing external window seats. rohmer.nl/en/projects/...

Can't wait for the wall-to-wall media coverage of What This Means, the endless thinkpieces about Green Party dominance in a working class community meaning Labour has to take their concerns seriously and pivot towards them, you know like we'd get if Reform had won.

‘A natural antidepressant’: how working with the land is helping ex-prisoners

Even a couple of days ago, the story being pedalled was still ‘the Greens can’t win here’. Yet Dr Sarah Peters and the @greenparty.org.uk won. Don’t believe people who tell you that the party that you really believe in is a wasted vote.

South Jesmond (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) Council By-Election Result: 🌍 GRN: 36.4% (+15.2) 🔶 LDM: 33.0% (+7.3) 🌹 LAB: 16.8% (-25.3) ➡️ RFM: 10.9% (New) 🌳 CON: 2.8% (-5.7) No SDP (-2.4) as previous. Green GAIN from Labour. Changes w/ 2024.

South Jesmond local by-election today!

Again: shock.

Imagine if BBC spent as much time on the dangers of climate collapse as they do on immigration. Imagine the public response when they realise what the real danger is to our children & who is causing it. Instead of anger at refugees there’d be anger at oil companies, media bosses, politicians & BBC.

Free sunscreen vending machines in busy urban parks and play areas. Because preventing skin cancer is easier, cheaper and better for society than treating skin cancer (or dealing with the consequences).

This is a really good morning read. Two really interesting film makers discussing why they believe society is increasingly polarised. www.theguardian.com/film/2025/au...

Only 29% would back Brexit now

I really want to say something about Gaza, but I honestly can’t crystallise it into anything coherent. I just cannot understand how we’ve got to a point where the governments of the world - faced with a clear genocide and ethnic cleansing - just shrug, as if there’s nothing they can do.

Come the revolution, we’re going after this guy first. #Duolingo

The thesis that this new Corbynite party is going to decimate the Green vote is starting to feel slightly premature.

🔥 HUGE NEWS FROM THE WORLD'S HIGHEST COURT 🔥 Today the International Court of Justice (ICJ) confirmed that, under international law, countries MUST act now to avoid climate catastrophe. 🧵 @wy4cj.bsky.social

The A66 dualling project that my MP is so keen on will return 48p for every £1 spent, 92p if dubious wider benefits are included. Whereas for every €1 the Dutch invest in cycling for transport, they recoup €32 in public health savings. Someone's spending public money wisely, and it's not us.

Have you ever thought/said "I'd like to vote Green, but they won't get elected?" If yes, then it REALLY is well past time for you to update that attitude. Greens are winning enormously in local elections, and that success CAN be replicated with national elections, but only if YOU #voteGreen.

Doughnut Economics being used to shape decision-making at city level. I’d love to visit in a few years to see the results! www.theguardian.com/environment/...

If this is accurate, WeTransfer is unusable for professional creative work. Would violate most work-for-hire contracts to share copyrighted material with a third party like this.

Interesting to see the Dutch government seeking to increase cycle helmet use. I’ve long assumed that the reason the Dutch don’t tend to wear them isn’t because it’s safer not to, but because cycling became popular there at a time when helmet use was rare. road.cc/content/news...

“Politics does not meet people’s needs….it doesn’t have to be like that. We can build systems where everyone wins.” The system we live under is not set up to benefit you 🫵. It’s set up so those that already have all the wealth can hoard more @georgemonbiot.bsky.social

Every year there is an abundance of straw. Most of it ends up as animal bedding or is burned as biomass. A tiny amount gets used as a building material. We should normalise building with straw 🌾🏡

Good politics. 😎 🚌 🚌 🚌

Every July it amazes me how few of us in England know that this is a thing. Many of the tallest structures in Northern Ireland at this time are incredible temporary piles of wooden pallets, built by communities to antagonise their neighbouring communities. This isn’t even a big one.