Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Louise, Prof/Dr @louiselocock.bsky.social · 2h

Sadly no residence permit, Steve! Would that were so. We're in Italy and arrived before EES started. So we'll just have to see when we leave whether the 'exit' bit of EES requires us to do the biometrics at this end.

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Reposted by Louise, Prof/Dr

Farrukh @implausibleblog.bsky.social · 14h

Chris Packham, "This country voted in a party with a massive majority and a mandate for change"

"All we see is Labour kowtowing to the far right. This causes me enormous concern"

"I'm frustrated, I'm angry, and I've frightened"

"And I get more scared every single day"

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Louise, Prof/Dr @louiselocock.bsky.social · 17h

Ah good, Tuscany stays centre left, with an increased vote share for both the centre left coalition and the more left Toscana Rossa. But on a substantially reduced turnout.

Europe Elects @europeelects.bsky.social · 17h

Italy, Tuscany regional elections:

795/3922 polling stations counted

Giani (PD-S&D): 54.0% (+5.4)
Tomasi (FdI-ECR): 40.9% (+0.4)
Bundu (*~LEFT): 5.1% (+2.9)

+/- vs. 2020 election result

➤ europeelects.eu/italy

#Toscana #Regionali2025

Louise, Prof/Dr @louiselocock.bsky.social · 17h

Sooo dramatic

Reposted by Louise, Prof/Dr

Helene von Bismarck @helenebismarck.bsky.social · 18h

Britain says Hi

Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 20h

Increasingly, politics in West Europe is a mirror of East Europe, with a large radical right party against a rag-tag of centrist/liberal, centre-left, green and radical left parties and a rapidly declining centre right. The challenge is to coordinate the progressive opposition to the radical right.

Catherine E. de Vries @catherinedevries.bsky.social · 21h

Scholars & pundits have focussed a lot on the electoral demise of center left, but in doing so we paid to little attention to the electoral problems of the center right.

Case-in-points here not only British conservatives or center right in France, but increasingly also the center right in Spain.

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Reposted by Louise, Prof/Dr

Dmitry Grozoubinski @explaintrade.com · 2d

This is an exact encapsulation of why I moved to Bluesky.

No amount of handwringing in the Atlantic about how I owe some eternal Promethean suffering to the discourse is going to make me stay on a site I hate, that stopped doing anything for me professionally years ago.

Well – no. Bluesky may or may not be, as one centre-right friend who felt unwelcome put it, “self-righteous island”. But the idea that’s why we went is nonsense. That I’ve largely stopped posting on a site that’s done more to shape my career and social circle than the rest of the internet combined is less about avoiding rival opinions (I love arguing with people who are wrong!) than with the fact the site simply became unusable. It stopped generating the things (good jokes, interesting debate, clicks) I wanted; it became extremely good at generating the things (racists, pornbots, racist pornbots) I did not.

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Louise, Prof/Dr @louiselocock.bsky.social · 19h

Do I care? No. Shameful profession, stop inflicting such terrible cruelty on bulls.

The Times & Sunday Times @thetimes.com · 19h

Spain’s top matador bids farewell — with a snip of his scissors — after a dramatic final fight ⬇️

Spain’s top matador bids farewell — with a snip of his scissors

www.thetimes.com

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Reposted by Louise, Prof/Dr

James O’Brien @mrjamesob.bsky.social · 20h

Oh.

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 20h

Reform UK abandoning manifesto pledge of £90bn in tax cuts, deputy leader admits

Richard Tice says party will concentrate on cutting civil service and scrapping net zero once in government * UK politics live – latest updates Reform UK’s deputy leader has admitted the party cannot deliver the £90bn in tax cuts promised in its manifesto, saying it would concentrate on public spending cuts once in government. Richard Tice said key election pledges such as lifting the income tax threshold would be an “aspiration” and that once in government Reform would concentrate on cutting the civil service and scrapping net zero. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Louise, Prof/Dr @louiselocock.bsky.social · 19h

National Trust members, remember to vote to keep out Restore Trust. The quick vote may not be your favourite thing, but it's the best way to stop them and not split the vote.

Louise, Prof/Dr @louiselocock.bsky.social · Sep 3

Remember there's an easy quick vote version to support the National Trust's top choice candidates. If you do wish to select your own candidates, here are the Restore Trust ones to AVOID: Gibbs, Goldman, Jenkins, Kerr, Omrani and Streeter. 2/2

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Reposted by Louise, Prof/Dr

Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 2d

Private equity wrecked UK high street, says Iceland Foods boss

PE model - low wages, cut staff/investment, high debt, profiteering, tax abuse.

PE devoured Debenhams, Maplin, Byron Burger, Cath Kidson, Comet, Flybe, Poundworld, Toys R Us.

Controls care homes, vets, supermarkets.
archive.ph/tJVkV

Private equity has wrecked the high street, says Iceland boss

Richard Walker says private buyers take out costs and fail to invest then sell to the highest bidder in a cycle that makes retailers steadily worse

www.thetimes.com

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Reposted by Louise, Prof/Dr

John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 1d

I stand with Salman Mirza.

Birmingham man takes down flags because he says 'people feel unwelcome'

Salman Mirza says he wants to

www.bbc.co.uk

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Louise, Prof/Dr @louiselocock.bsky.social · 1d

We are, yes, and the weather is super-sunny and warm 😎

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Louise, Prof/Dr @louiselocock.bsky.social · 1d

Lovely. Are you there now?

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Steve Peers @stevepeers.bsky.social · 1d

This is simply the EU enforcing its existing border controls by means of a new system, not a "threat to throw out second home owners". Again Brexiters believe that the UK should have border controls as regards the EU, but not the other way around.

Niall Ó Conghaile @nialloconghaile.bsky.social · 4d

Entirely unsurprising that the Holiday Villa 'Ndrangheta have found politcal allies at last in the shape of Reform UK.

Reform really do hypocrisy very well.

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H/T @goodclimate.bsky.social & @rolandmcs.bsky.social

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Rachel Maddow @maddow.msnbc.com · 1d

“With your patient and rigorous work, you can act as a barrier against those who, through the ancient art of lying, seek to create divisions in order to rule by dividing,” he said. “You can be a bulwark of civility against the quicksand of approximation and post-truth...”

apnews.com/article/pope...

Pope urges news agencies to stand as bulwark against lies, manipulation and post-truths

Pope Leo XIV has encouraged international news agencies to stand firm as a bulwark against the “ancient art of lying” and manipulation.

apnews.com

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Reposted by Louise, Prof/Dr

Tom Scott @tom--scott.bsky.social · 1d

Farage claims Nathan Gill was a "bad apple".

So you can visualise his relationship with other leading figures in Reform as something like this.

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Louise, Prof/Dr @louiselocock.bsky.social · 1d

Church reflected.
Santa Croce, Florence, in evening sun and wine.

A gothic church facade with white, green and pink marble, reflected in a glass of white wine on a table

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Louise, Prof/Dr @louiselocock.bsky.social · 2d

Does anybody happen to know if recording your details for EES will apply when you *leave* a Schengen country for the first time, if you're already there when the system begins?

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Reposted by Louise, Prof/Dr

Prof Nisreen Alwan @nisreenalwan.bsky.social · 2d

Let’s be real - this is a bit inconvenient but not a big deal in the long run. The big deal with Brexit is the economic destruction it inflicted and the xenophobia monster it unleashed.

Peter Stefanovic @peterstefanovic.bsky.social · 2d

UK travellers should expect "four-hour queues" as new EU border system comes into force. Brexit really is the gift that keeps giving

www.itv.com/news/2025-10...

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Louise, Prof/Dr @louiselocock.bsky.social · 2d

(Obviously someone who migrated to Massachusetts was homesick for rural Gloucestershire)

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Louise, Prof/Dr @louiselocock.bsky.social · 2d

Wow really? Same organisation? I only knew it as a pretty Cotswold village till their Covid nonsense

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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 2d

Gaza journalist Maha Hussaini: “We have returned, like we’ll always do.”

A cat sits in a window. Beyond a completely destroyed city

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Louise, Prof/Dr @louiselocock.bsky.social · 2d

N.B. from a proper journal, not one of those ridiculous Great Barrington type 'journals'

Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 3d

💉 2024–25 Covid-19 vaccine effectiveness

In U.S. veterans, the updated vaccine reduced 6-month risks of Covid-related ED visits (-29%), hospitalisations (-39%), and deaths (-64%) vs flu-only group.

🔗 doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2510226

#SciComm #COVID19 #Vaccines 🧪

Association of 2024–2025 Covid-19 Vaccine with Covid-19 Outcomes in U.S. Veterans | NEJM

Amid the declining clinical severity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and diminishing public uptake of annual coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines, ...

doi.org

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Reposted by Louise, Prof/Dr

Jonathan Atkinson @lowwintersun.bsky.social · 2d

And whilst people might criticise this as playing to the already converted, research shows Reform are actually vulnerable to messaging like this.

Rather than, you know, saying they have a point and you actually like flags too. 🙄

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