📢 We won't be posting much this week, having a bit of a break. Thanks again to everyone who follows us. It's truly appreciated ♥️

Fairness and hope: A guest post by Dr SJ Beard, Research Affiliate at @cser.bsky.social and author of a new book, 'Existential Hope'

🤔 What's the best way for a govt to intervene to keep food prices affordable? Rent and energy costs can be fairly easily controlled to tackle the cost of living crisis but it's trickier with food. And #Labour will need to do something on rent, energy, and food if it wants to win in 2029.

🚨 Where we live, the govt has replaced the "8am phone scramble" for a GP appointment. But now you can only get an appointment for 3 weeks hence, or you can fill in a long online form (digitally excluding many) which might get you seen quicker. Failures like these will lead to a #Reform govt in 2029.

Has the government overreached in using terrorism law against Palestine Action? A disclosed MI5 document indicates that the basis for proscription may be weak. www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th... Lift The Ban: wedonotcomply.org

🚨 It feels like the US may just have had its Reichstag Fire moment... 😢 www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...

📢 Good. Progress. #Israel must feel the consequences of its genocidal war in Gaza. Much more concrete action will need to be taken but this is a start. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

Here’s a positive piece about my former London borough’s ongoing efforts to galvanise community against the tide of isolation, atomisation and austerity from one of our favourite orgs @equalitytrust.bsky.social Spreading this as mainstream media does not. equalitytrust.org.uk/news/blog/re...

The NHS is crumbling, schools are underfunded, energy bills keep rising – & billionaires keep getting richer It’s time to put an end to this catastrophic inequality It’s time to tax the super-rich & use the money to fund the services we all depend on. It's time to #MakeThemPay

There's also the point that while economic hardship per se might not drive extremism, economic inequality certainly does, and it seems likely that the extent to which perceived precarity will exceed actual precarity would be heightened by inequality

🗣️ Join us THIS SATURDAY 20 September to hear from our amazing lineup of speakers - from campaigners, to politicians, to economists, to community leaders and more! 📍Assemble at Portland Place, LDN at 12pm to march to Whitehall for our rally featuring:

🚨 Surely, the solution to the very damaging zig-zag between #Corbynism and #Starmerism is #Burnham as leader supported by the #Compass inspired Mainstream project in the party? That, instinctively, feels like where the sweet spot is - and should be - in the #Labour party. www.mainstreamlabour.org

🚨 Do hope that all those sorely disappointed with the shambolic launch of #YourParty will now re-think and join the #GreenParty...

What we find interesting is how he's evolved from being a rather uninspiring "Blairite-in-a-suit" to something approaching the best traditions of social democracy and municipal socialism. Being mayor of GM lends itself to that but it's still refreshing to see him grow and inhabit the role.

In darker moods, we sometimes think the British working class, so adept at repeatedly punching themselves in the face, are matched by the utter uselessness of their would-be-leaders... 😢 www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

📢 The quicker #Burnham replaces the hapless #Starmer, and his useless apparatchiks like Morgan McSweeney, the better the chances of avoiding the absolute disaster of a #Reform govt... www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-...

🚨 Some climate optimism for a change 🔽 🙂 Do think we need more of this. The endless doomsterism just renders everyone numb, overwhelmed, and incapable of action... www.theguardian.com/environment/...

📢 #INEQUALITY GRAPH OF THE WEEK (No.23) ✅ More #equal countries more robust and suffered far less during the COVID pandemic. ❌ USA performed worst. UK also fared very badly. Source: Profs Wilkinson & Pickett and The Equality Trust ♥️. For full details ➡️ equalitytrust.org.uk/evidence-bas...

🚨 Looking at the US in particular, but also globally, it feels as if the billionaire class has tired of democracy (presumably because it is not profitable enough for them) and have, therefore, decided that we can't have it any more...

There really should be much more attention on the cost of living (as from @jeevunsandher.bsky.social here) and far less obsession with flags. People are really feeling the pain of inflation.

It’s come to this: Keir Starmer is now just the warm-up act for Nigel Farage | Aditya Chakrabortty

Great idea, senior Labour figures

The first three sign-holders charged plead not-guilty to ‘terror offence’. Today’s plea hearing comes as the United Nations Commission of Enquiry has concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Take action with over 1,500 others on October 4th: wedonotcomply.org

Conspiracy to project the truth? UK law is becoming a laughing stock. Democracy is being buried by ministers and policing in favour of corporate interests. Solidarity with @ledbydonkeys.org www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

THIS IS THE CROWD THAT HAS KEPT TRUMP OUT OF LONDON

LOL 🔽 😂 www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

🚨 "Concern about immigration" is a proxy, a stalking horse for overt racism, the sort of racism that's now burst like a pus-filled boil across the UK. The failure to present any sort of positive story about immigration by mainstream politicians and the media has delivered us here. Shame on them.

Today! 👇 Come join us at 2 pm or at 5 pm (for those working office hours). Check out all the info on stoptrump.org.uk and find your bloc 💜💪🏻

Mid Street Lab, Kemptown, Brighton, 11-25 October.

📢 Privatisation: transferring billions from poor to rich 🔽🔽 It was always the plan. It is the plan. It will continue to be the plan until we end this outrageous scam once and for all. 🤬 www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

📢 THIS 🔽🔽🔽 "Part of the rise of Reform is more than immigration, it’s this feeling that nothing’s working, the political parties have failed. They make promises they don’t keep ... They look at the world around them and they just see things crumbling.” www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

🤔 Is it more accurate to describe the #Tory party as: (a) dying, or (b) mutating into something even worse ( #Reform )?

S.U.V. = Selfish Urban Vandals. More suggestions welcome...

📢 🔽🔽🔽 www.yourparty.uk/events

🚨 Realignment of British politics is taking place on the left as well as the right... 👏👏👏

I have an upcoming exhibition of two of my projects on inequality, "Shut In Shut Out", about the security gates of expensive properties, and "Status Urban Vanity" about the macho motors known as SUVs.

🤔 It's tricky to predict the effects of the #Tory party collapse, which is now gathering pace 🔽. It obviously emboldens and strengthens #Reform but the disappearance of the #Tory party could push a chunk of votes towards the #LibDems or even #Labour in its current centre-right incarnation... 🤷‍♂️

📢 ARE YOU READY for identity verification at Companies House...? It will be mandatory from 18 November 2025 onwards. All charities, social enterprises, campaign groups, not-for-profits etc, if registered at Companies House, will have to comply. changestoukcompanylaw.campaign.gov.uk/identity-ver...

📢 This looks well worth a read... 🔽🔽🔽 oneworld-publications.com/work/israel-...

The report is intended to be detailed and damning, presenting evidence it says shows that Israel is committing genocide. It says that Israel has breached the Genocide Convention that was passed in 1948 by the newly established United Nations. - Jeremy Bowen www.bbc.com/news/article...

🚨 Today MPs vote on the Employment Rights Bill. HOPE not hate is pressing MPs to back the Bill in full – because stronger rights cut off the grievance the far right feeds on. Join us and tell the government to pass the Bill in full: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/uk...

🚨🚨🚨 #Labour are asleep at the wheel... www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

🚨 No brainer 🔽🔽🔽 www.theguardian.com/money/2025/s...

Burnham 🙏

📢 A MASSIVE THANK YOU to everyone following us. We've now hit 3.5k followers which is way more than we ever achieved over at The Bad Place. Your support is hugely appreciated. Times are tough for progressives at the moment but WE MUST NEVER EVER GIVE UP. We are many, they are few. 👍♥️✊

Individually, we often recognise the importance of collective factors (like being born into wealth or poverty) in influencing life chances and outcomes, but collectively, we tend to maintain the fiction that whether people end up rich or poor is mostly down to individual characteristics and choices.

📢 THIS 🔽 cannot be repeated enough. It's what none of our political class seem prepared to admit. Until they do admit it, there is little prospect of effective action being taken to fix it.

Some interventions from @hopenothate.org.uk this week amidst growing hate and division 1. We wrote to the PM to urge him to speak out in defence of community and multiculturalism: www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

🚨 What could possibly go wrong...? ☢️💀☮️ www.theguardian.com/business/202...

📢 PLEASE CONSIDER joining the anti-Trump demo on Wednesday in London if you can. @billybragg.bsky.social will be there playing some tunes but don't let a reasonable fear of acoustic folk music put you off... 🙂