Happy to pay more tax. Functioning public health, social care, education and transport systems are much, much cheaper for me than trying to pay for them all privately.

My MP wrote back to say he believes the Equality Act should be updated to reflect the needs of trans people (yay!) but also not saying either way whether he was going to sign. So— I guess it’s good to know he’ll be an ally if there’s a debate or vote, but he isn’t going to try and help get one?

Girls just noticed theres a watermelon in the fridge and 11yo exclaimed, “The day has finally come! Our parents decided to love us!” EXCUSE ME?

all the descriptions go secondhand clothes on eBay saying things like, “The WHISTLES Linen Top in UK size 12 features a classic white and black striped pattern, making it versatile for various occasions from casual to formal. With short sleeves and a fit and flare silhouette, this top is perfect fo”

I have a screenshot of my then-5yo recounting the story of Guy Fawkes, and she says, “the king of England and maybe also Scotland” and I feel like that’s Englishness right there.

I do feel like we’re underestimating the extent to which this is the normal function of the Crown. “We own all the land: you have to pay us to live on it” is the point of a European monarchy.

📢 "Your voice is needed." UNISON general secretary @AndreaEganGS.bsky.social is calling on members and trans allies to oppose the EHRC guidance. MPs will decide on it in the next 30 days. Tell us why it's unworkable in your workplace. 📩 [email protected]

Just circling back to this odious individual who was at the racist riots yesterday. Someone who for years after she called for all trans men to be sterilised, as well as reams of other violent repulsive transphobia was praised and fawned over by JK Rowling, the NS and other 'centre left feminists'

"Deportations are not managing migration. What is managing migration is planning and thinking about how migrants will need access to housing or hospital, or education for their children" 👏👏👏

“Can you change your appointment” is such a wild thing to say to anyone abojt a medical appointment. Have you MET the NHS.

15 years ago I had an argument with a journalist on the Guardian Comment Is Free boards about how she wrote about university careers services. in recent weeks she's popped up on my LinkedIn defending trans exclusion and now the legal case against 10000 Black Interns and boy do I feel vindicated.

Our first official edition is here - and it’s a big one. A council deadlock that’s left Kirklees without a leader, a £100m bus order reshaping transport across West Yorkshire, and a look at whether Leeds is losing its independent beer edge. Plus peregrine falcons picking Bradford over Leeds.

EDM 240 to reject the draft Code of Practice now has 63 signatures. We all need to keep pushing this. We need everyone to write to their MP. Regardless of their positions on trans rights. If they choose to ignore our voices, at least we will have the receipts. 🧵1/3

One of the things that strikes me, having seen my share of similar police behaviour is that police by nature of their training and work culture will often tend to act with inhumanity towards anyone face down and slurring and struggling with an obvious health emergency.

my electricity bill is getting increasingly "here is a cool infographic!" and I like the design buuuut are you trying to distract me from the actual money.

nigel farage is complaining that a white guy got treated like everyone else a month ago we were criticising police for repeatedly kicking a suspect in the head. farage and co called us all antisemites can't have this both ways either the police can treat suspects horrifically or they can't

specifically which feminists fought for prisons.

Today, on International Sex Workers’ Day, we stand in solidarity with sex workers worldwide. Allyship means listening, challenging stigma, and advocating. Here are some ways you can be an active ally every day! #sexworkersday #standwithsexworkers #supportsexwork #decrimnow #allyship

you know, the guidance takes it as read that it will be clear and obvious to the service provider who is the “right” sex and who is the “opposite” sex, but what happens if the person accused of being the opposite sex immediately accuses the original plainant?

I signed up to support @theexchangeleeds.bsky.social, and all I’ve done so far is skim read the top stories, and I already understand what’s going on at Kirklees council 100% better.

there is somewhere between a large minority and a slim majority of cis women who don't believe this shit, higher numbers among younger women and queer women. We're just not even visible to Labour, I guess!

11yo has her first phone, and she stayed away with her godmother for two night last week so 8yo borrowed my phone for a text conversation with her, and it’s just 10 solid minutes of “I love you, I miss you” “no I love YOU” and smilies and gifs and I am very 🥰 🥰 🥰

Lately I’ve been in an indie team making stop-motion animation. It’s just 4 of us (animator, writer, voice actor, sound designer). The show’s called The Tiny Angry Witch. It’s all basically hand made. No AI. It’s tiring, but we love what we do. So, anyway, here’s a Witch making rude noises:

Are we finally ready to talk about how terfs have been helping the far right destroy women’s rights by pushing hyper femininity yet or is it too early for this decades old information too.

strong agree, and it really stands out to me that it’s basically the government’s only idea of violence against women or other minoritised groups. We have endless energy for creating offences for very specific types of abuse: we can’t give people housing or money and make them less vulnerable.

This is a very good piece on police interviews and the right to silence in Scots law (which - online know-alls please note - is not the same as in England), with reference to Nicola Sturgeon's decision not to answer police questions. www.scottishlegal.com/newsletter/6...

Obviously I believe in walkable neighbourhoods but also every time I read about them I think, you have to walk HOW FAR.

migrants crossing the Channel in small boats absolutely 100% IS a failure of the state, all the states, and the EU. Just in exactly the opposite way that Shipman thinks.

I keep getting GLP-1 ads which start with, “BMI between 25-27? What are my options?” and really?? REALLY?

absolutely the most threatening urban landscaping sign I’ve ever seen, no notes.

anyone serious about tackling violence against women and girls doesn’t do this.

It would be bad for public confidence if there was a suspicion that large corporate interests are buying access to the Government via the Tony Blair Institute. My letter to the cabinet office. 👇🏼

Awesome to see SARSVL (Support After Rape & Sexual Violence Leeds) speaking with authority at the Leeds Emergency Trans Demo about the real problems facing survivors of gender-based violence and the services trying to support them.

we have several books from pre-decimalisation which were updated to decimal currency, except that inflation means that "one pound" being enough for a whole family's shopping is just as baffling as two bob six ever was.

for a few months I commuted past the Dogs' Trust which had a sign with the slogan, "you can trust a dog from the Dogs' Trust" and I could never not append, "unlike those other shifty canine bastards".

how though? I was in a seminar 15 years ago w/ colleagues from Germany and Cumbria. The Germans shared their model, and the Cumbrians said, "this is great, how is it incentivised?" the Germans said, "it's not -- we do this because it's good for business" and everyone stared at each other baffled.

To get to the point where we cd discuss getting employers to pick up the cost, we'd need to talk about how expensive it is. But public conversation is overwhelmingly, "young people should choose apprenticeships, not just HE", as if there's an oversupply of apprenticeship & young people r too picky.

Our whole society is in denial about how much it costs to raise and train new workers, and who is responsible for that. The traditional apprenticeship was something that you (=your family) PAID to do-- it wasn't a favour an employer did for you, or something the state paid for.

There is endless anti-ageing skincare nonsense, but where is the shampoo and conditioner formulated for the older lady.

“And honestly—“

when should we schedule the retirement disaster for?

Watching interviews with victims of the global sumud flotilla kidnapping operation by Israel is fucking horrific and even more disturbing that the vast majority of what I'm seeing is in the Irish and Australian media rather than the British media.

we’re in Dublin this week where it is around 21 degrees, watching all the updates on the UK heatwave. sorry it’s so hot everyone!

it me

It’s so illogical to me that there are grown adults with proper jobs who quite happily square their belief that charities and human rights experts and so on can be right about everything apart from trans rights and that fascists and dictators can be wrong about everything apart from trans rights

“can’t / won’t use either” is wild.

no kink at pride discourse but it’s specifically about political leaders of cities with massive LGBTQ+ populations who desperately want to be booed.

Starmer was elected on promises of improving a country in shambles, and what he has proceeded to do is ignore the most pressing concerns to instead fixate on a petty, cruel, and fundamentally inhuman agenda of scapegoating immigrants, policing bathrooms, and tearing away support from the vulnerable.