www.linkedin.com/pulse/childr... Some further thoughts on last week's Ministerial decision not to proceed with a single children and families agency for NI.

Does @lucympowell.bsky.social aggree with this decision? If so, any chance other - perhaps all - government departments do the same, and relocate themselves over here on this (largely benign) platform that has no dubious connections with strange rich Americans?

📢 The third reading of the Representation of the People Bill has been announced for 14 July! This means we have just under two weeks to convince as many MPs as possible to back the amendment for a review of the UK's broken voting system. Email your MP today: actionnetwork.org/letters/ask-...

Good

The good news is that we have a group of SWs from across NI who are keen to have a conversation about what happens next. Do continue to get in touch if you are interested in being part of creating a NI association that is controlled by its members and is an independent voice for social workers.

Quite a lot of people lost someone, maybe an elderly relative, during the heatwave. My Aunt Barbara, very ill with advanced dementia, died yesterday aged 91. She was unmarried, no kids and I had been taking care of her affairs for the past few years. That’s the least interesting thing about her. 1

Nice one @libdems.org.uk 👍

It's official: Andy Burnham has been elected as the new MP for Makerfield. A longtime advocate for electoral reform, he will join the growing ranks of Proportional Representation supporters in Parliament. We'll continue to work with him to get this message heard in Westminster👇

www.linkedin.com/posts/avery-... Some further thoughts on representing social workers and social work in NI

I agree with Koulla. There is strong evidence from the Youth Justice Review (shortly after DOJ set up) that MACR should be raised. This has been blocked by the inappropriate use of the Petition of Concern, with appearance of improper pressure applied to UUP MLAs. Clear evidence of need for reforms.

The remaining members of BASW NI Committee have resigned. More details here - www.linkedin.com/posts/avery-...

How many degrees is Kevin Bacon from Quakers? Kevin Bacon can trace his ancestry on his father’s side back to the first generation of Quakers convinced in England during the time of George Fox.

Latest @theguardian.com cartoon www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

@ralphmclean.bsky.social David Gray Lost Songs is a really good album. Getting Belfast concert ready. Starting early.

Getting ready for a tough day at the office. Come and talk to us about fostering and all things #ActionforChildren at EK40 in the Eikon Centre #BalmoralShow #FCF26

Please retweet.

"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:

🗳️ Don't forget to vote today 🗳️ Vote with hope or out of frustration. Vote tactically or with your heart. Vote angry with a voting system that regularly ignores millions. Vote - and then keep demanding a better democracy where every vote is equal and all voices are heard.

Latest @theguardian.com cartoon www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The horror at what is being done to Palestinians comes from the same place as the horror at what is being done, yet again, to Jews. Does the government really want us to stop standing in solidarity with the victims of atrocities? If so, it will make the country less safe for everyone.

Keir Starmer's intention to restrict peaceful protest even further is punishment for crimes the great majority of protestors hate and reject. By suggesting that support for Palestinians is an attack on British Jews, he conflates British Jews with the state of Israel, which is wrong and dangerous.

All of us have a duty to fight antisemitism wherever we see it, and confront anyone expressing antisemitic sentiments. If people in any movement express such sentiments, they should immediately be expelled, as many have already been. No excuses, no hesitation.

Jews are not collectively responsible for Israeli government policy. People demonstrating peacefully for Palestine are not collectively responsible for the attacks on British Jews. Collective punishment for other people's crimes is not justice.

We must stand in solidarity with Jews being attacked by antisemitic criminals and terrorists: no ifs or buts. We must stand in solidarity with Palestinians being murdered by the Israeli government: no ifs or buts. These are not contradictory positions. They are consistent ones. 🧵1/5

@ralphmclean.bsky.social In the middle of listening to the excellent David Gray special. Please Forgive Me had me right back in Custom House Square last year, and I could hear the crowd singing. Magic moment.

What happened to this RFK Jr?

Number crunching: Iran war From the new Private Eye, out now.

Oh, and switching to 21st Century technologies, rather than continually extending the long fossil century, also improves people's lives, creates jobs and helps prevent climate breakdown. But who gives a damn about such details?

I don't know why this is so hard for some people to grasp. If we extend our use of fossil gas, rather than going all-out for grid batteries, heat pumps and induction hobs, we extend our dependence on *foreign* sources of gas, regardless of whether we also use the UK's last remaining reserves. 🧵

I hate when fantasy films I made a long time ago begin to come true in real life.

Marmalade will not have to be renamed due to EU rules, despite claims from senior Tory and Reform politicians. Who would have guessed.. www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...

Another triumph for deregulation! By saving a few million in monitoring and enforcement, our governments have landed us with a vast illegal waste dumping problem, new organised crime networks and a clean-up bill that could run to tens of billions. My column. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

First analysis of the climate cost of the war in Iran has found the conflict led to 5 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions being released in the first 14 days. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

Any news from Northern Ireland?

The Public Lecture at Ireland Yearly Meeting this year, entitled "Events from the Real World", will be delivered by artist Brian Maguire. Further information can be found on our website: quakers-in-ireland.ie/ireland-year... #Quakers #QuakersIreland #FaithInAction #IYM2026

💥 More than 20,000 people have signed the petition calling for changing the voting system to be part of the Representation of the People Bill. First Past the Post leaves millions of people without representation. It's time to scrap it. Add your name 👇

Difficult times call for cooperation and dialogue. But our voting system keeps giving total power to parties that only a fraction of voters support. On 30% of the vote, one party could win full control of our economy, health, foreign policy and defence. We can't take that risk.

"This Labour government can still build consensus for an alternative, but it must do so urgently. We need a national commission on electoral reform" ✍️ Beccy Cooper MP & Tim Roca MP #Democracy @drbeccycoopermp.bsky.social @timrocamp.bsky.social @politics.co.uk www.politics.co.uk/mp-comment/2...

www.nicva.org/article/nicv... Great to see these tenders live. Will make a big difference to the work of Joint Forum. Keen to see the focus on Fair Funding - a long term issue for the voluntary & community sector & a recommendation of Jones Review of Children's Social Care Services. #Reimagine

Delighted to be sponsoring this award. Congratulations to the highly commended and the winners - brilliant examples all #CareDay26

I'm at the Care Day Awards in the magnificent Ulster Museum and we're about to get underway #CareDay26

🔑 Key takeaways: 📊💥 Record political fragmentation has broken First Past The Post 📉 Public distrust is driving the public towards populist parties ‼️ FPTP may now harm Labour and the Conservatives 🗳️ Westminster needs a National Commission on Electoral Reform www.fairelections.uk/national-com...

2004 people. He told us who he was. Hasn't changed.

Latest @theguardian.com cartoon www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

No wonder we keep getting governments that most of the public want gone. "Only a fifth of the eligible electorate actually voted for the current majority government." Under First Past the Post, that's enough for a "landslide". @robfordmancs.bsky.social for @ukandeu.bsky.social 👇

I'm not saying Trump is a Russian asset, just that I can't think of anything he'd be doing differently if he were.