📚💙 #booksky

If you enjoyed a book(s), here are 10 things you can do to exercise your enormous power as a reader and radically help the author. And every action here is free: 1. Post about the book on your socials, even if you think your following is small. Every single voice matters. 2. Review on... (cont.)

@danneidle.bsky.social and the team at Tax Policy Associates have been sharing their attached calculator - and it is a fantastic piece of work. Having had a look at what a 2p increase in taxes would mean for my own income, it is, honestly, minimal and easily absorbable on a monthly basis.

New NHS England stats, via NHS Confederation: "The total waiting list for procedures and appointments has dropped to 7.39 million in September, down from 7.41 million in August. "The proportion of people waiting less than 18 weeks for care stood at 61.8% in September, up from 61.0% in August."

So this is interesting from Robert Peston. The claims of people inside No 10 briefing the press about the PM fighting for his leadership appear to be wrong. As I speculated this morning, it appears to have been nothing more but a response to a question from a journalist! @mrjamesob.bsky.social

Yes, unemployment was 4.2% & is now 5%. But that is not the full picture. The data before Labour came to power had employment at 74.6% & it's now at 75%. In terms of people it was 33.489m. It's now 34.192m. That is 703k more people in work. How can that be? Because there is a 3rd group. 2/3

Boris Johnson says the idea that criticism of the BBC is being organised by the right is ‘complete and utter bollocks’, which makes me think there might be something in it.

The policy has been described as 'extortion' and 'madness' by the party’s leader Nigel Farage. on.ft.com/43nsMBl

If we're talking about bias, why do BBC politics programmes, from Politics Live to the Laura Kuennsberg Show, still always begin with a look at the newspaper front pages, which are overwhelmingly biased in one direction. Helps frame the entire news agenda and debate in their favour

Good news: more than 50% of the world’s economies have seen carbon emissions from fossil fuel power generation peaking. And with the speed of change in the electricity sector many more will join this growing list in coming years.

It’s already started - the BBC allows Newsmax boss to opine about bias, suggest some of the Jan 6 mob were merely innocent tourists visiting Congress, without pushback

Oh look. There really are "no go areas" in England. And they're marked by St George's flags www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

More blather and bulls**t from Trump.

Nowhere in the hysterical pile-on against the BBC in the British press has anyone mentioned that BBC News now has 77 million viewers & listeners in the US and has established itself as the second most trusted news source there.

Batteries are coming to Europe. Earlier this year Europe’s largest battery storage site went live at Blackhillock, Scotland. The facility has a capacity of 300MW/600MWh. Much larger batteries are under development: A huge 1 GW / 4 GWh system is being constructed in Jänschwalde, Germany.

our BBC analysis: “Insiders admit the BBC has often been at fault. But the scandals have been amplified by a hostile cohort of rightwing politicians and media allies” www.ft.com/content/28b4...

SUPERB and angrily unvarnished response, by former BBC chairman, Lord Patten. "I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA

NEW: Rachel Reeves signals she intends to remove the two-child cap *in full* "I don't think a child should be penalised because they're in a bigger family through no fault of their own," she tells BBC.

Seriously, if Farage is going to hold a press conference every Monday morning and keep on dominating the news cycle, the govt MUST retake the initiative. Force politics journalists to choose. An actual government minister briefing or Reform, who have 5 MPs. Every week @darrenpjones.bsky.social Now.

The fact that the BBC has made serious culpable errors does not negate the point that there is a real and concerted right-wing media campaign to destroy it. Both points can be true at the same time and the campaign would not end even if the errors did.

Genuinely @news.sky.com will you continue to carry Farage propaganda gatherings live & subject your journalists to this kind of abuse? He thinks he's Trump, publicly humiliating journalists he doesn't like. Are you going to allow this to continue? He has five MPs. STOP pandering to him!

Meanwhile, in Reform's Lancashire CC, the councillor in charge of care homes, owns a private care home, and is closing council care homes. 👀 A resident’s son, a Reform party member, said any move would “kill” his mother. ~AA #NeverThoughtTheLeopards www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

not only was Prescott’s former employer Hanover Communications a Tory outfit, it also represented Sky News for many years….

Well this would explain his absence at the Cenotaph this morning. This is obscene. Remembrance is not an opportunity for self-aggrandisement.

www.rawstory.com/doj-tells-re... This would suggest that the US government shutdown won't come to an end anytime soon. As soon as it's up and running again, the vote will go against Trump.

Big news for arts education. After 16 month review, government has pledged to reverse the secondary status that - partly due to EBacc - arts subjects have come to occupy in the national curriculum (in England), V helpful thread from @campaignforthearts.org below

So what are we waiting for? 👋 The EBacc goes by the end of this academic year 💬 More consultations to come before... 🛼 ... the new curriculum rolls out in 2028 👀 More info awaited on a National Youth Strategy, a new National Centre for Arts and Music Education + more 🧶 8/10

What else is new? 🎨 Real shift in tone: the arts described as a “fundamental part” of education 🌳 A new entitlement to enrichment activities for every child, including the arts + culture (although no new funding has been announced to deliver this) 🧶 7/10

How has the Government responded? ✅ Accepted: EBacc to be scrapped 🔧 Altered: Progress 8 to now include creative subjects 🎨 Added: a pledge to “revitalise arts education” in new national curriculum ➡️ In short, the Government is going further than the recommendations 🧶 6/10

What’s all this about a review? 🖊️ Jun '24: Labour manifesto pledges to transform education system 📜 Jul '24: Independent “Curriculum & Assessment Review” commissioned 📕 Nov '25: Final report published + Government responds 🔔 NEXT: Major reforms to 5‑ to 19‑year-olds’ education in England 🧶 2/10

🎆 After years of decline, there’s hope for arts in schools again 🎆 Our take on the Curriculum & Assessment Review, and the government's response to it 🧶 1/10

only in the small print of this article do they make clear that the pensioners paying an extra £2,500 of tax would have to have “earnings over £125,140” I know many pensioners are asset rich but how many have income at that level?

This will be wonderful! 💙📚 #booksky

On famous authors who had no one turn up for their book launches... open.substack.com/pub/flyonthe...

incredible photo that's definitely worth at least 1,000 words from Andrew Harnik of Getty

Wow! Isabelle Kenyon has been shortlisted for Leader of the Year and The Fly on the Wall Press Publishing Academy has been shortlisted for a FutureBook Excellence Award by The Bookseller ! www.flyonthewallpress.co.uk/post/fly-on-... @inpressbooks.bsky.social

www.thebookseller.com/futurebook-c... V proud to see @isabellekenyon.bsky.social shortlisted for this prestigious award, in recognition of the fantastic work she's doing with @flyonthewallpress.bsky.social Always moving forwards. 📚💙❤️ FOTW Publishing Academy also listed for an Excellence Award. 👏👏

Which one is more English?

Manchester readers. One for you tomorrow evening @blackwellsmcr.bsky.social Two authors of stunning climate fiction novels come together. 📚💙 #BookSky

must-read analysis of how Musk's twitter is drenching new users with right-wing propaganda news.sky.com/story/the-x-...

You have got to actually be f*cking kidding me

Another Reform councillor has quit the party. Isabella Kemp now sits as an independent on Kent County Council. By my calculation, that’s nine Kent Reform councillors gone since May. Joke party of amateur hobbyists.

news.sky.com/story/the-x-... This is an excellent piece of work by the Sky News team which needs to be amplified. Not only our politicians but our journalists need to get off X. It was obvious to many of us much sooner. I hope @news.sky.com will feature their report heavily over the next week.

Conservative Councillor says "young black males" are "flooding" the UK Contacted by Byline, she defended her comments, saying “we cannot sustain the volume of.. black males” that “jeopardises [our] security" Asked why their skin colour matters, she replied “because they are [black], aren’t they?"

💙📚 #Booksky Find something new to read and support a cracking little indie press and authors as you do!

Anyone heard anything about this today? Judgement was meant to be forthcoming today according to The Times a few weeks back.

Manchester readers. One for you tomorrow evening @blackwellsmcr.bsky.social Two authors of stunning climate fiction novels come together. 📚💙 #BookSky

Nigel Farage's favoured Mayoral candidate for Doncaster said black people cannot be English. Reform councillor Alexander Jones claimed being English requires Anglo-Saxon ‘lineage’. The messages were deleted after questions were raised by Byline Times bylinetimes.com/2025/11/05/n...

Nigel Farage's hypocrisy exposed during PMQs. 🚨 Farage has earned more than £1.1 million through second jobs since the General Election, but he calls for cuts to the minimum wage for young people. Unbelievable.