Author | Lightnews

Alex @alexholt.uk · 14d

Thanks! I’ll give it a go

Alex @alexholt.uk · 15d

There seems to be a lot of Americans on here, anyone good to follow for discussion on UK politics?

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Alex @alexholt.uk · Sep 9

Love seeing all the new features Bluesky keeps adding!

Bluesky @bsky.app · Sep 8

v1.108 is rolling out today 🚚

Now live, at long last: Bookmarks, aka Saved Posts. For all those posts you'll definitely plan to come back to!

Update the app and give it a try. The button is right down there 👇

Alex @alexholt.uk · Aug 7

This is odd because the data supports Farage’s point, but he still made up his data.

He claimed that “an Afghan male has a 22 times more likely chance of being convicted of rape than somebody born in this country”.

Sky News thinks it’s more like 4x, with that probably still being an overestimate.

Fact-checking Farage: Are foreigners more likely than Britons to commit sexual offences?

Nigel Farage says "an Afghan male has a 22 times more likely chance of being convicted of rape than somebody born in this country". Sky News's data and forensics unit has looked at the data.

news.sky.com

Alex @alexholt.uk · Jul 17

Very happy to hear that the government will be lowering the voting age to 16.

Also good that bank cards are to be accepted as voter ID - this should mean less people can’t vote due to forgetting ID, as they may still have their wallet on them.

Also makes it easier for people who don’t drive.

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Reposted by Alex

Peter Stefanovic @peterstefanovic.bsky.social · Jul 9

Labour MPs call on Starmer to focus on radical ideas to lower cost of living

Warnings from group of 104 MPs come amid fears party could lose next election if voters do not feel better off

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Labour MPs call on Starmer to focus on radical ideas to lower cost of living

Exclusive: Warnings from group of 104 MPs come amid fears party could lose next election if voters do not feel better off

www.theguardian.com

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Alex @alexholt.uk · Jul 4

Reform has already lost some council seats after its councillors resigned.

The election was in May. It’s now only July.

Clearly the Reform candidates didn’t expect to win, so they’ve already gone - and been replaced by other parties.

Alex @alexholt.uk · Jul 1

MPs just voted in favour of Labour’s welfare reforms.

The vote was 335-260 (75 majority)

Pretty close, and the bill now goes to the next stage.

This is after the government made some last minute changes meaning that the bill will not take effect until a welfare review can be considered.

Alex @alexholt.uk · Jul 1

It’s not looking too good for Starmer’s welfare reforms.

Despite the PM’s ‘concessions’, many backbenchers don’t seem convinced.

Even Mayors Khan & Burnham have encouraged backbenchers to vote against it.

This will certainly be interesting.

Alex @alexholt.uk · Jun 29

Despite The Telegraph clearly disliking it, this is a good (and necessary) policy.

Climate change is happening, and we need to do something to prevent, or at least slow, it.

A headline in The Telegraph saying “Labour considers copying Macron's net zero housing laws”, and the subheading “Ed Miliband and Angela Rayner exploring whether to adopt French green policy blamed for driving up construction costs”.

Alex @alexholt.uk · Jun 28

Farage has the benefit of not being in government - he doesn’t actually have to do anything he says.

That means it doesn’t need to be realistic, it just needs to sound good.

My only hope is that people see how Reform councils are run, and don’t vote for them at the next general election.

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Alex @alexholt.uk · Jun 27

Farage has come up with another... interesting policy.

The 'Britannica Card'.

It costs £250,000 and cuts your tax bill, but Farage claims it'll help the poor.

I would like to stress the word 'claims', as that is very much disputed.

Farage’s Plan to Let People Pay to Avoid Tax

The Britannia Card: A £250,000 card that gets you out of paying tax

open.substack.com

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Reposted by Alex

Peter Stefanovic @peterstefanovic.bsky.social · Jun 24

Keir Starmer faces a major rebellion from his own MPs over his Government's reforms to the benefits system. Some of the party's most senior backbench politicians want to stop the Welfare Reform Bill becoming law because it would force a quarter of a million people into poverty

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Alex @alexholt.uk · Jun 22

Rupert Lowe got his gamekeeper to shoot his Labrador.

His dog was unwell, so he thought taking it to the vet would be “cruel”.

So he had it shot.

He had his own dog shot.

Appalling.

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Alex @alexholt.uk · Jun 22

This headline is a tad ridiculous.

The article then says that “Were these figures to be replicated across the country at a general election, with every constituency behaving the same way”

But when does every constituency behave the same?

It’s a big assumption to make, just for a better headline.

A headline in Sky News saying “Latest polling says if an election was held tomorrow
Reform UK would win a majority”

The paragraph below says that “A new survey puts Nigel Farage's party on 34%, nine points ahead of Labour, with the Tories a distant third. Were these figures to be replicated across the country at a general election the Conservatives would be nearly wiped out with just 12 seats.”

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Alex @alexholt.uk · Jun 22

This week saw two historical votes in the Commons.

On Monday, MPs voted to decriminalise abortions.

On Friday, MPs voted in favour of assisted dying.

Parliament Just Made Two Historic Decisions

This week, MPs voted in favour of both assisted dying and decriminalising abortion.

open.substack.com

Alex @alexholt.uk · Jun 22

I imagine it’s much better for CDs than streaming services.

That being said, Spotify is probably the worst - Apple Music is better and I think Tidal is the best. Still not great, but the best.

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Alex @alexholt.uk · Jun 22

This was not the news I expected to see when I woke up today…

America has bombed Iran.

This really is not a good thing to happen. It is not going to be good for any country involved.

Oh, and just a reminder, Trump ran on a promise to end existing wars - he’s just started another.

Alex @alexholt.uk · Jun 21

Definitely had lots of flaws - but it rally is great.

I honestly couldn’t imagine what it would be like to live in a country where that didn’t exist, I just wish governments would give it the funding it needs to be as good as it could be.

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Alex @alexholt.uk · Jun 21

I don’t really know what they think that would achieve.

And it wouldn’t just be a trade war with France - we’d be saying goodbye to any chance of improving relations with the EU.

Alex @alexholt.uk · Jun 21

That all sounds pretty good to me.

I’m sure Farage & co won’t be happy, but there’s already similar things setup for other countries, so why not the EU?

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Alex @alexholt.uk · Jun 21

The only surprise is that only 61% of people think that.

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Alex @alexholt.uk · Jun 20

Expanding the Warm Home Discount is an interesting (but good) move from the government.

It feels much more like Labour than previous decisions, helping people pay fuel bills.

But Starmer still insists on benefits cuts.

There’s no coherent policy here - what is his goal?

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Alex @alexholt.uk · Jun 20

I’m not sure what Trump will end up doing, but I am confident that it won’t be good.

I don’t see why we should join Trump where there is no positive outcome.

Alex @alexholt.uk · Jun 20

Assisted dying bill passed the vote in the Commons.

It had a majority of just 23 MPs, with 314 votes in favour and 291 against.

This does not mean it has become law - it will now move to the Lords.