Nigel s gambit. Pulling political focus to himself & taking energy out of Andy Burnham s new premiership. S likely he’ll win & if so then the next general election will be Makerfield voter vs Clacton voter. In Ancient Greece - the mother of democracy- they used to expel demagogues.

Breaking news...

Not MPW's usual territory but it's very hard not to enjoy this example of the world's most powerful politician overstepping and getting blow back.

MP Watch now has a ‘lite’ version for those short of time: here Morag from the group gives a suggestion for an action this month which is help your engagement with your own MP @mpwatchnesh.bsky.social @mpwatchwitney.bsky.social @mpwatchsuttoncheam.bsky.social

Thursday 16th July in Witney @zero-hour.bsky.social @georgemonbiot.bsky.social @carolinelucas.bsky.social @oxfordclarion.bsky.social @mpwatch.bsky.social @ox.ac.uk #climate #politics

Russian Intelligence Plans Disinformation Campaign to Strain Ukraine-Poland Relations ->Kyiv Post | More on "Russian FSB Ukraine-Poland disinformation campaign" at BigEarthData.ai | #russia ukraine war #disinformation

Useful round up

🧵/7 More info here 👇👇 bsky.app/profile/dran...

Deforestation doesn't just erase trees — it erases ecosystems, histories, and the futures of communities who depend on forests to live. Why can’t we protect those giants like we protect old buildings? Sign the petition and #ProtectForestNow >> act.gp/4b4aKYp #WorldRainForestDay

Fossil fuel companies can no longer evade responsibility for climate damage! Landmark ruling vs TotalEnergies: court made clear TotalEnergies is accountable for emissions from its own ops AND for vast majority of pollution generated when its oil & gas products are burned. 350.org/press-releas...

Thoughtful and helpful input from @johnmilnehorsham.bsky.social during the CB7 debate yesterday. CCS is useful in some areas of industry, but it cannot be used as an excuse for importing large quantities of fracked gas from the US for the next 20 yrs. Our world cannot afford those emissions.

Thank you to @johnmilnehorsham.bsky.social for his smart & articulate work on the environment and in particular this speech on the 7th carbon budget yesterday. If only all MPs would do the same! @sioldridge.bsky.social @mikebernerslee.bsky.social parliamentlive.tv/event/index/...

FT exclusive: Andy Burnham is looking to set up a 'Number 10 in the north', moving part of his prime ministerial operation to Manchester, in a radical attempt to shift power beyond Westminster ft.trib.al/49mgac4

Great letter in @thetimes.com today from #brianhoskins from @granthamicl.bsky.social

🧵/1️⃣ 🚀 Past £10,000 — incredible, thank you! And on the day MPs debate the 7th Carbon Budget. We're getting ready to take the case to court. Next stop: £15k to launch the legal challenge. Help us get there 👇 #CarbonReckoning www.crowdjustice.com/case/carbon-...

THEY ARE BASTARDS

Among all the noise & news, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact we re in a planetary crisis & need to get the fundamentals right. The 7th carbon budget needs to be set before the end of the month. Please read our MP briefing, share with your MP & ask them to attend www.mpwatch.org/blog/seventh...

Great idea

£1 out of every £5 paid to private providers of children’s social care is taken out in profit. The profits are so good that a top civil servant owned shares in a children’s care company. Time to end this scam! Add your name now: weownit.org.uk/end-profit-care

“Investing in adaptation isn’t a luxury or an act of resignation. It’s a sober act of realism & responsibility”. Powerful article from @rupertread.bsky.social on the urgency & transformative potential of #climate adaptation👇

The Daily Mail shows its own allegiance is to Reform

One more aspect of Westminster where you have to say: #NoWayToRunACountry "650 individual MPs each act as separate employers with no central oversight" www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

Words fail…

Can we finally get an apology from all the oh so sensible commentators who have spent the past ten years insisting Nigel Farage isn't part of the far-right

Royston cartoon in private eye #fascism

In 7 Steps from Democracy to Dictatorship, @ecetemelkuran.bsky.social says that the normalisation of cruelty is step number 4. Demonising migrants has helped bring us Brexit and now riots. Climate science denial espoused by the same people will ultimately mean higher bills & more anger.

Palantir's co-founder claimed "the NHS makes people sick" Yet this US tech giant now runs the NHS data platform. There are serious concerns about its access to patient data and human rights record. The Government should use the break clause and kick Palantir out of our NHS.

There's a fundraiser to support the charity that helped Henry Nowak's bereaved family. Let's all do something good and chip in to help them. 2wish.enthuse.com/pf/henry-nowak

Left: Nigel Farage using the murder of Henry Nowak to sew division in society, "rights of white people matter less than ethnic minorities" Right: Henry Nowak's father, "We do not want his death used to create further division hated or tension"

This, on the death of Henry Nowak, is an outstanding piece of journalism by @stephenkb.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/aa94...

Thanks for the humane response to the murder of Henry Nowak from Sikh MPs. Thanks to #Nowak Family for their earlier wonderful dignified response in these most terrible circumstances. And #NigelFarage s rabble rousing approach deserves a police enquiry into provoking hatred.

This seems a wise approach from @greenparty.org.uk to the Makerfield by-election. The focus will be on the Mayor role should @andyburnham.bsky.social win.

Labour responds to reports Nigel Farage owes almost £10k for county court judgment after pocketing £5 million: “Farage’s finances just get murkier and murkier. If this is how he handles his own affairs, the public can have no faith in his ability to manage the public finances if Reform won power."

Green Party members including @rupertread.bsky.social & @carolinelucas.bsky.social & our own former campaign lead #JessicaTownsend asked @zackpolanski.bsky.social not to field a candidate vs @andyburnham.bsky.social in coming byelection @compassoffice.bsky.social www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

National hero #SidiqKhan @londonmayor.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

The tactical vote to stop Reform in Makerfield on 18th June is: 🔴 Labour - Andy Burnham

“This complaint was upheld on the basis that the ‘reputation’ of the Met Office had been unfairly attacked, not because the programme had aired false claims about climate change. For Ofcom, a public body’s reputation matters. The public’s right to accurate information, apparently, does not"

Redistributing Life: How Climate Change Is Redrawing the Map of Species Migration ->Earth.Org | More on "Climate change species migration biodiversity" at BigEarthData.ai | #biodiversity #climate change #species

Paddle out against pollution in Hastings with @sascampaigns.bsky.social populated by many new Green councillors, local activists, MP Helena Dollimore organisers @amandajobson.bsky.social & our own Jessica Townsend. #peoplenotpayouts

This new climate conference might be the route out of the stagnation and corruption of the #COP process.

🧵8️⃣/8️⃣ 📢 Parliament votes on 28 June. We need £10,000 urgently for our legal team to write to Govt 🙏Please back Carbon Reckoning and share this thread — help us get this right 👉 www.crowdjustice.com/case/carbon-... @rupertread.bsky.social @mpwatch.bsky.social @carolinelucas.bsky.social

Ofcom has actually put a statement saying "We strongly reject the suggestion that Ofcom is unwilling or unable to enforce the broadcasting code". Here's the reality:

Labour bood bath begins. Jonathan Pie on point as usual m.youtube.com/watch?v=83IY...

Is it wishful thinking that he could make an agreement on Proportional Representation with Greens to ensure they don’t contest Makerfield? news.sky.com/story/greens...

This stories doesn't have prominence now but the investigation means it's likely to run. The #Reform approach to politics borrows from 'strong man' politics that dictators and corrupt regimes favour. This investigation could yet do a lot of damage. Watch that space.

Wes Streeting isn’t the answer to any interesting question, apart from: how can Britain get itself into a worse mess and finally put an end to the Labour Party for ever? How can we ignore the meta crisis so food & energy shortages are routine & societal collapse becomes feasible?

News coming in Streeting is preparing to resign to challenge Starmer. I will never vote for him, he is funded by private healthcare companies and puts his own interest first.

Starmer’s hubris prevented him from learning the right lessons from his victory. He had not received a huge mandate to revive Blair’s New Labour. He had won big on the back of voters’ anger with the Tories. His task was simple: make stuff affordable again. He failed. www.rosalux.de/en/news/id/5...

It is a good time! As I argued in this piece, Labour's problem isn't *just* Keir Starmer. His flaws as a politician are painfully obvious and probably politically fatal. But any successor would deal with enormous problems and dilemmas that won't just disappear overnight.