A democracy isn’t (just) an electoral system. It’s also a culture of deliberation, debate, sensitivity to public concern, attention to social movements and community leaders, respect for civil rights and minority interests, free expression and association and due process. How’s your country doing?

Question - if wealth taxes don’t work and raise only paltry amounts, how come whenever we start seriously discussing them rich people start pouring resources into trying to start race and class wars as a distraction?

If Prince Andrew's reputation sinks any lower he'll be offered a senior role in the Trump administration.

Farage’s partner - the fraud files bit.ly/3KVZpj4 which raise more questions about where she found £885,000 to buy Clacton house that Farage ‘misspoke’ to say he bought. Times says Brussels may look again at “his colourful two decades as an MEP between 1999 and 2020”

Betting firm threatens to end its entire High St presence if it has to pay any more tax bit.ly/4qhaL1j yet another in the too rich and too important to pay tax series

Corporate Welfare London developers to build fewer affordable homes, but get higher subsidies to build them. Why build unaffordable homes? Why subsidies for highly profitable companies? Subsidies will be swallowed by companies, won't filter down to people. Let councils build affordable homes.

Carbon offsets, though widely used, often fail to deliver real emission cuts. They undermine global climate goals by enabling polluters to avoid reducing fossil-fuel use.

Nigel Farage is cosying up to the US anti-abortion group that challenged Roe v Wade. Women in Britain should know that www.theguardian.com/global/2025/...

Even with Mike Johnson on mute, I still feel my fingers twitching.

And if you’re wondering who Labour is listening to? “Reeves boasted she hatched plan to rip down our nature protections over a “smoked salmon & scrambled eggs breakfast” with corporate lobbyists”. While Starmer’s resolve to kick down planning rules are result of his “conversations with leading CEOs”

Cardiff Council is set to become the first local authority in the UK to introduce higher parking charges for SUVs and other heavy vehicles, in a move campaigners say will make city streets safer and fairer

UK banks oppose tax rise. Falsely claim to be paying 46.4% tax rate. The PwC generated number includes PAYE, employee national insurance which is paid by workers. VAT which is borne by customers. it is extrapolated from a sample, can't be verified Why do media reports not expose this sham claim?

In #HouseofLords tonight I was talking about the tech mess of eVisas and asking how #DigitalID could possibly be different? www.computerweekly.com/news/3666253...

Oh, babes. Have you got a big surprise coming...

🌳We need to plant more trees and woodland to tackle climate change and support habitat creation. To do this, our tree production sector need the right support.

£100 a day? That'll teach 'em!

Holding govts to ransom. Goldman Sachs warns Rachel Reeves against tax rises on banks. Banks happy to be bailed out, take QE, mis-sell products, not to be prosecuted for frauds, hike charges, pay lousy rates on savings. Need windfall taxes. Raise top rate of income tax.

Comprehensive failure as cowboy builders and inadequate regulation meant 98% of solid wall insulation fitted badly, requiring repair * Those affected need redress * insulation, fitted well, still good way to reduce energy costs * but regulate **properly** www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Trumpian Revolutionary slogan: “Bread, Peace, and Real Estate.”

This is the man the BBC elevated & is refusing to investigate despite @carolecadwalla.bsky.social l & @bylinetimes.bsky.social having done all the work for them . Do we have a precedent for a this ? A national broadcaster ignoring possible treason , isn’t that in itself sort of treasonous 🥴 ?

We are excited to watch Hamza's Hidden Wild Isles on BBC One tonight. Hamza Yassin is travelling around the UK to uncover hidden wildlife spectacles. Hamza filmed some of the first episode amongst the Bluebells at Ebernoe Common Nature Reserve.

Over 200 charities, businesses & organisations have signed our open letter to Keir Starmer asking him not to weaken the laws protecting National Parks and Landscapes. We're so thankful to everyone who added their name 💪 This letter represents millions of people and shows that #NationalParksMatter

Glad to see Nigel Farage has finally remembered Nathan Gill, former leader of Reform in Wales - found guilty of taking bribes from Russia. Maybe he'll now remember how much he took from Putin's propaganda broadcaster Russia Today for all his TV appearances when he was a MEP?

Number of deportations the ECHR have actually blocked since 1980 - 13 (THIRTEEN). Please remember this next time some grifting populist claims us leaving the ECHR (and sacrificing the rights it gives us in the process) will allow us to ‘control our borders’.

This is a beautiful read. Welcome back Alaa Abd el-Fattah! www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

stop thinking right now

Ever since I finished Question Time, Reform have massively been on the attack. Including a rant from Richard Tice entirely designed to distract from Reform and Russia. Everyone should know about Nathan Gill, the bribes from Russia and the link to Reform.

Amazing what a decent government with decent Ministers can do.

love this!

This is the official return of a native species lost for over a century.

Alas, poor Jenrick...

This is a lie. There are many criticisms you might sensibly and truthfully make of the Sentencing Council and the Sentencing Guidelines. I’ve been making them for years. But this is an outright lie. Pure fabrication. A fraud on the public.

If a policy is announced at Tory conference and no one is around to hear it, is it still populist bullshit?

⚠️ Worried about data centres’ energy & water use? Don’t forget the chemicals! Data centres use F-gases is their cooling systems - potent greenhouse gases that also leak #ForeverChemicals into air, water & soil. Europe must build its AI boom on renewable energy + safe, natural refrigerants 🌿

You should be angry at private companies making massive profits from our taxes to house the most desperate people in appalling conditions... And NOT the people forced to live in them. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Jenrick's "team have compiled and passed to the Telegraph a mega dossier of 35 judges he reckons have “pro-migration bias” — and he wants to sack ‘em all" This is a Trump tribute act. Dangerous "enemy of the people" stuff here. www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...

Are they actually joking ⁉️ 5 private water companies want permission to raise your bills EVEN HIGHER 💧Bills already went up £10/month in April💧 There is no market, the rip off won't end until we end privatisation Start by taking back Thames Water www.theguardian.com/money/2025/o...

Just got a haircut, and my lovely barber, a Turkish guy who employs 6 people, and has a wife who's an IVF technician, is shutting up shop and moving to another country because his Indefinite Leave to Remain is under threat by these venal, stupid, posturing politicians, left and right.

Well I'm blowed - who could've predicted this?

Well done Faversham. These people need to realise that, in the real world, their views don't prevail 👍

👀 he's 'avin a larf!

I'm Jewish. I'm also Mancunian. Every other national party leader was interviewed by Laura Kunesberg during their conference. Maybe the BBC thought as someone who also supports Palestine - I had nothing to say? Let's keep growing: join.greenparty.org.uk

Turning Point is meant to be a youth movement.

Got clap back on air for saying this yesterday but I believe it to be true- Islamist extremists pretend to represent Muslims (they do not). The far right are pretending to care about Jewish ppl (they do not). They’re both abhorrent & we’re all caught in their crossfires.

"Does the ECHR stop states from controlling their borders?" No. The ECHR Court emphasises migration policies are up to states themselves. "But the ECHR stops the UK from deporting foreign criminals." No, it doesn't. Successful human rights-based appeals against deportation are very rare.

Just heard Chris Philp on BBC’s Today programme explaining why the Tories want to leave the ECHR. He claimed ECHR isn’t mentioned in Belfast Agreement - which is simply untrue. The UK govt agreed to incorporate it into NI law & give direct access to the courts (Strand 3). Why no BBC fact-check?

The ECHR is much more than a treaty. It’s a quiet promise - a shield against abuse of power, a lifeline for the vulnerable, a declaration of who we are as a nation. In an age of upheaval and division, we must not let it be torn up for political convenience

Jaw dropping...

An inspirational woman. Sad news.