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Scandifriend @scandifriend.bsky.social · 1h

6% for Wilson in third place is not bad given that he was only in office for about six months of the last fifty years going through to October 2025, and we've been repeatedly told how dreadful his second term was, so that's another facet to it tbf

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Sathnam Sanghera @sathnam.bsky.social · 4h

Taking on Elon Musk should be an open goal in British politics.

Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 4h

Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, aka ”Tommy Robinson,” says Tesla CEO Elon Musk is paying his legal bills.

Robinson says Musk is paying his legal costs in counterterrorism trial

Far-right activist accused of refusing to give his mobile phone pin to police

www.ft.com

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Scandifriend @scandifriend.bsky.social · 3h

As I just said, the council tax we pay in Wigan is really not that high when the council is pulling out all the stops to provide a good public service after the last 15 years. MPs should really understand there is not a nuclear 'fuck it' option at this stage

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Scandifriend @scandifriend.bsky.social · 3h

From a purely personal perspective, I live in Wigan and the council tax we pay is...really not that bad when the council is trying its bollocks off to provide what public service it can. We are probably all going to have to pay more tax one way or another now - there are no nuclear 'fuck it' options

Tomas Hirst @tomashirstecon.bsky.social · 5h

Ahhhh (endless screaming). Where do they think *council* tax revenues go? Seems like an argument for raising council tax in the south east so they can enjoy much better local public services www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Labour MPs call on Rachel Reeves to scrap council tax

Exclusive: 13 mainly northern MPs say a new system should better account for higher house prices in south-east

www.theguardian.com

Scandifriend @scandifriend.bsky.social · 22h

Yes - a mutually rancid denouement, unfortunately

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Paul Singh @paulsingh.bsky.social · 1d

We need to ban the flow of American funding to British political causes - we cannot allow the American Christian right to undermine the consensus this country has on areas such as abortion or women’s reproductive rights.

Paul Singh @paulsingh.bsky.social · 1d

“An organization that fought abortion rights in the United States is now an unlikely conduit between MAGA Republicans and Britain’s ascendant Reform U.K. party.”

Paul Singh @paulsingh.bsky.social · 1d

They Helped Topple Roe v. Wade. Now Their Sights Are Set on Britain.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/w...

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Scandifriend @scandifriend.bsky.social · 1d

Yes, I read that - very good and sobering but necessary stuff x

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Paul Singh @paulsingh.bsky.social · 1d

We ought to change the status of the social media companies to ‘publishers’ rather than platforms so making them legally responsible for what is uploaded on to their networks.

And we need to start making online safety classes mandatory for all school children.

James Austin @jamesdaustin.bsky.social · 1d

Everyone knows at least one person (normally, but not exclusively, a guy) whose gone properly mental due to net rabbit holes.

We see public figures regularly go mad and destroy themselves.

And we have, at a policy level, just decided to put our fingers in our ears and go nahnahnah

Alastair Meeks @alastairmeeks.bsky.social · 1d

Last night I heard of another friend of a friend who has been lost to a rabbit hole of online propaganda. We need to start treating this as a serious public health concern.

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Scandifriend @scandifriend.bsky.social · 1d

Yes and yes. It's gone very unpleasant and Wild West

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Alex von Tunzelmann @alexvont.bsky.social · 1d

I bang on about this a lot: I think the combination of a global pandemic, underregulated internet/SM, collapse/corruption of trustworthy media, plus now unregulated genAI, is a wildly toxic environment for radicalisation & mental health. We see the results of that in our politics & lives every day

James Austin @jamesdaustin.bsky.social · 1d

Everyone knows at least one person (normally, but not exclusively, a guy) whose gone properly mental due to net rabbit holes.

We see public figures regularly go mad and destroy themselves.

And we have, at a policy level, just decided to put our fingers in our ears and go nahnahnah

Alastair Meeks @alastairmeeks.bsky.social · 1d

Last night I heard of another friend of a friend who has been lost to a rabbit hole of online propaganda. We need to start treating this as a serious public health concern.

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James Austin @jamesdaustin.bsky.social · 1d

Everyone knows at least one person (normally, but not exclusively, a guy) whose gone properly mental due to net rabbit holes.

We see public figures regularly go mad and destroy themselves.

And we have, at a policy level, just decided to put our fingers in our ears and go nahnahnah

Alastair Meeks @alastairmeeks.bsky.social · 1d

Last night I heard of another friend of a friend who has been lost to a rabbit hole of online propaganda. We need to start treating this as a serious public health concern.

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Scandifriend @scandifriend.bsky.social · 1d

The even faster version of that where they prepare the house for Neil's parents coming to tea and Vyvyan throws all those things through the window is the one where I could cry with laughter forever

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Scandifriend @scandifriend.bsky.social · 1d

Thanks x

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Scandifriend @scandifriend.bsky.social · 1d

The one at the end of The Young Ones is a brilliant and apposite piece of short mad music in its own right - like fusing very hallucinogenic 100mph punk and ska with Yakkety Sax. Have always wondered where it came from

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Scandifriend @scandifriend.bsky.social · 1d

Happy centenary of the birth of my all-time hero and favourite percussionist, who *Scandifriend falls down trapdoor conveniently placed behind him and is never seen again*

Scandifriend @scandifriend.bsky.social · 1d

Brown's serious and invested idealism here looks very palpable in a world of grifters and opportunists. As a PM he was neither one thing nor the other - defined by the early election that didn't happen and 2008. As a man with a moral mission he is unceasing. Labour could and should take note.

Nathan🌹 @nathanwylabour.bsky.social · 3d

A moving and intelligent call to action here from Gordon Brown. And yet another reminder of why he is my political hero.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Don’t fall for the authoritarian hype – Reform and the hard right can be stopped in their tracks | Gordon Brown

From the US to Europe and Asia, grievances are being exploited to gain power. But moderate voices are still in tune with the majority, says former prime minister Gordon Brown

www.theguardian.com

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Scandifriend @scandifriend.bsky.social · 1d

Made the Christmas cake today. Apologies if you only follow me for highbrow earnest insightful stuff (none of which I can manage), the truth is that a lot of my life is about being a 51-year-old domestic fiend and it's all a bit Enid Blyton or Milly-Molly-Mandy sometimes

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Scandifriend @scandifriend.bsky.social · 1d

I agree, but any self-respecting govt could turn around at any moment and go 'Well actually there is another way.' I suspect Labour are going to find this out the hard way.

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Scandifriend @scandifriend.bsky.social · 1d

The local council here in Wigan has been outstanding with their support for the juniors' chess club at the community centre. They do care and I'm really grateful to them

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Scandifriend @scandifriend.bsky.social · 1d

Major looks like Cicero or Abraham Lincoln compared to Badenoch and Jenrick. We all had good fun slagging him off at the time and now one gets a sense of perspective

Scandifriend @scandifriend.bsky.social · 1d

I would like to blame someone other than the zealous right of the party who are too extreme a response to the zealous left years, but I might be scurrying around a long time. Swallowed up Osbornomics and therefore legitimised his business of bad government

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Scandifriend @scandifriend.bsky.social · 1d

Clearly they're frightened of people who don't like taxes. Well Clarke in 1993-7 had no shame - not because he was frightened about electability but because he didn't want a basket case economy. He laid the groundwork for continued stability under Blair (which is what govts are meant to do!)

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Scandifriend @scandifriend.bsky.social · 1d

Yes, you know that and I know that but looks like another instalment in the great British game of warning, eye-rolling, shrugging and saying 'I told you so' when reality kicks in. In an odd way (some) Reform councillors are facing up to this at a local level better than the Westminster govt 😬

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Scandifriend @scandifriend.bsky.social · 1d

This seems fine to me: it's not north of anywhere I would consider the North; Grimsby and North Lincolnshire in general is more problematic to define (isn't it?)

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Scandifriend @scandifriend.bsky.social · 1d

That seems a bit daft favourably comparing us to France. Because if the bond markets crater we're all in the shit - no-one will get out of it by point-scoring at that point. And we have consciously chosen to isolate ourselves from Europe in the last nine years too, which has its own inherent risks

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