Waistcoat Dave
@waistcoatdave.bsky.social
17 followers 33 following 26 posts
AuDHD, Citizen Activist & #CompassionateTroublemaker. Green Party Member Media, Campaigning & Social Change Postgrad. Adoptive Brummie.
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Reposted by Waistcoat Dave
The Labour Party have spent no time at all criticising Nigel Farage and Reform.

When I took Reform on - Labour sat their silently.

They're now spending their time attacking me and the Green Party.

Lower bills. Tax billionaires. (And rebuild European alliances.)

Join.greenparty.org.uk
UK labour. I definitely do not support NATO - quote from Zack.
#BenjaminZephaniah has always manifested so much of the heart of Birmingham to me. I cried when he passed. His words have always guided me to try to be better - kinder, funnier & wiser.

I've never been prouder to be a Brummie

I've never been prouder to be @TheGreenParty
Reposted by Waistcoat Dave
I call #Birmingham my adopted home, but I rarely go into detail, preferring to let this magnificent city & it's people prove why

My family ancestry is from South Brum. It's here that I've called home for 8 years & I don't plan to leave

This city is resilient, kind & beautiful
Reposted by Waistcoat Dave
Top people going there, listening to them, like Zack in Clacton. The in-person approach is so powerful. People want a relationship with their representatives. Tice is MP for Boston & Skegness, but not working in their interests, I don't know what relationship he has with his constituents.
Reposted by Waistcoat Dave
We now have 115,000 members (translation: a sh*t load).

And we're not stopping there. Thousands of people are joining every week to be part of a different, hopeful politics.

Join the Green Party today ⤵️
REAL HOPE. REAL CHANGE.

SH*T LOADS
of Green Party Members*

*115,000 to be precise

Green Party
Promoted by Chris Williams on behalf of The Green Party, both at PO Box 78066, London SE16 9GQ
Reposted by Waistcoat Dave
If you're left leaning and haven't really considered the Green party before, there's some serious momentum behind them right now. They could actually make a difference. I became a member about a year ago.

Think about it, at least
Reposted by Waistcoat Dave
Damn, Zack is so dangerous that he wants... hang on, let me check my notes here - trans people to be respected, drug addicts to get help rather than jailed, to protect our fucked environment and for migrants to be treated with respect... so dangerous...
"Polanski slammed” reports the Daily Express. The person doing that “slamming” is, err, Daily Express journalist Carole Malone.

And the reason? Because I want us to follow a science led public health approach to regulate drug use.
Polanski slammed over bid to legalise drugs
This also means that based on most recent figures...

TheGreenParty, scottishgreens & greenPartyNI movement needs just 5,000 more members to overtake @conservatives.bsky.social

And @greenparty.org.uk
needs just 13,000 to become 3rd largest party in the UK
And now Im not just climbing the mountain

Im power walking in a whole convoy of vibrant, fantastic folk who are fearless & dedicated

Dedicated to those same principles we've always held but at times felt alone in

Alone no more.
Politics is changing.

t.co/koy39JlGcU
https://join.greenparty.org.uk/
t.co
... And the climb had a mapped route.

Then I saw @rachelmillward & @MothinAli speak about change, power & representation with care, humour, strength & emotion.

And I felt I had walking aids for the climb

Then we started gaining 1,000 members a day - then 5,000 a day...
When I first saw @ZackPolanski speak, I'll be honest, I was overwhelmed at how strong his words resonated with my own.

But I still felt like the climb was pretty beastly.

Then I remembered the incredibly @TheGreenParty folk that I joined for in 2019 that are still here...
5,000 members in a day!

For decades I've been called all the names under the sun - woke, snowflake, fairy & libtard...

All because I ultimately believe in care, freedom & humanity.

I'll be honest, it's often felt like an uphill slog.

Not any more...
The Green surge is breaking limits! 😲

Together, we can make hope normal again! 💚
@greenparty.org.uk smashing 100,000 members. 55% increase in little over a month.

Astonishing.

And all the MSM & opponents do with their fear is name call.

Good job we know we're stronger, prouder & smarter.
Signed this today to call out @robertjenrickmp.bsky.social & set out my pride in the city I've called home for 8 years.
Reposted by Waistcoat Dave
Zack Polanski genuinely gives me hope that we can have a different kind of politics, different kind of government as opposed to the 49 years of shite I’ve lived under.
“Why is it always hard choices for working-class communities — not for multimillionaires and billionaires?”

Zack Polanski calls for a tax on the super-rich on #BBCQT
Reposted by Waistcoat Dave
Even I was surprised when Zia Yusuf (Reform) started throwing his toys out of his pram in response to Zack Polanski turning his personal attacks back him instead.

Zia might be a divisive, hateful, privately educated multi-millionaire - but he can’t handle the heat.
I could watch Zack Polanski utterly wreck Zia Yusuf ALL DAY LONG.
Reposted by Waistcoat Dave
“Why is it always hard choices for working-class communities — not for multimillionaires and billionaires?”

Zack Polanski calls for a tax on the super-rich on #BBCQT
Reposted by Waistcoat Dave
Handsworth is not divided, it’s Birmingham.

Our diversity isn’t a weakness, it’s our greatest strength. From Caribbean cafés to South Asian grocers and Eastern European shops, Handsworth represents the true face of Britain: proud, resilient, and beautifully diverse.
- Birmingham Race Impact Group
BRIG

Birmingham will not be divided

The recent remarks by Robert Jenrick about 'seeing no white faces' in Handsworth are deeply irresponsible and reveal ore about his own worldview than about our city.

Once again, we are dragged back into tired debates about "integration", "Britishness" and who belongs, as if being non-white somehow makes you less British.

Handsworth has always been one of Birmingham's most diverse and multicultural communities, a place where people of every colour, faith and background live, work and trade side by side. To claim otherwise is not only inaccurate, but also designed to provoke division and resentment.

If Mr Jenrick had looked a little closer, he would have seen the vibrant Eastern European shops, the Caribbean cafes, the South Asian grocers and the faith spaces that make the Soho Road one of the most culturally rich streets in Britain.
Perhaps his "90-minute integration study", armed with a Dulux colour chart, missed that reality.

The truth is this: Handsworth is not a slum, It is one of Birmingham's treasures; a community that has stood tall through decades of struggle and change. Rather than being maligned, it should be celebrated and placed firmly on the city's cultural and tourism map. BRIG

Monday night's Pioneers Exhibition, launched by Birmingham Race Impact Group (BRIG) and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, reminded us of the generations who have faced down racism and defended our communities - people who have worked tirelessly to build the inclusive, resilient Birmingham we know today.

Their stories, captured on the Beyond Racism website show the real face of this city: proud, diverse and enduring.

Jagwant Johal, BRIG Founding Member said, "Birmingham has always been a city of welcome and resistance, a place where difference is not feared but celebrated. Handsworth, like so many of our neighbourhoods, is living proof that integration is not about exclusion. It's about mutual respect, shared struggle and collective belonging."

Handsworth and Birmingham will not tolerate attempts to sow division. We stand united as Brummies, as neighbours, and as people who know that our diversity is our greatest strength.
Reposted by Waistcoat Dave
Passive wealth accumulation – where wealth increases due to rising asset prices – has been responsible for more than half the increase in average family wealth between 2010-12 and 2020-22.

Read more about what's been happening with household wealth in Britain in our latest report⬇️
buff.ly/Ya8kInK
Chart showing estimated mean change in family wealth per adult over preceding two years, by type of wealth accumulation: GB

Since the start of the 2010s (2010-12), passive gains have accounted for 53 per cent of the growth in average family wealth, with the remaining 47 per cent coming from active accumulation.
Reposted by Waistcoat Dave
Latest poll puts Greens just two points behind Labour. When I said we weren't here to be disappointed in Labour but to replace them, I meant it.

Join us and let's make hope normal again.

join.greenparty.org.uk
Poll from find out now showing greens on 15 and labour and Tories on 17. Reform on 32.
Reposted by Waistcoat Dave
I could watch Zack Polanski utterly wreck Zia Yusuf ALL DAY LONG.
Reposted by Waistcoat Dave
In the Samaria Gorge on the island of Crete, Greece, lies a very deep cave with a continual cold spring waterfall. To reach it, you have to swim about 100 meters in 10 degree (C) water. I spent time thinking about hypothermia I was so cold. Nice payoff tho.

Pic of the day

#photography
Walls of the cave direct you to a small bright opening in which a cold mountain spring falls to bright turquoise water. 

Along with Denali Mountain and Bryce Canyon, this is the most majestic place I’ve ever been. 

My teeth rattling even as I could stand in only waist deep water kept me from fully enjoying it,, but no chance I was missing this just for some discomfort. 

It seemed to get progressively colder tho so this is about as close as I got. In later days I’ll post a shot looking back thru the caves. The video I took is really the best indicator of the beauty here but I dunno if I can post that here or not. I may try in the comments later today.
Reposted by Waistcoat Dave
Everyone in the country should know this name