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Reposted by Dave Jones

York College UCU @yorkcollegeucu.bsky.social · 22h

Be like your social media admin (me) and return your ballot!

VOTE YES ✅

Dave Jones @davegjones.bsky.social · 1d

Summary: bags of potential if they can keep the broad appeal and horizontal structure. It can't become a narrow committee of single issue activists. It can't be just a talking shop, it needs to do things too. It takes a lot of talking to do things well but not so much nothing happens.

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Dave Jones @davegjones.bsky.social · 1d

The Green question: 'why YP and not the Greens?'. Answers on the day were; not socialist enough, a bit middle class, not big enough, but ultimately let's work together. No contest agreement was strongly supported.

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Dave Jones @davegjones.bsky.social · 1d

What would I like to see: horizontal structures are unfamiliar to some people and more guidance was needed. More rules are needed to make discussions efficient. This will need to be agreed to and not inflicted on to the meeting.

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Dave Jones @davegjones.bsky.social · 1d

Will I go back: Yes. I'm curious to see what happens next, how it tightens up into something practical. How it manages to stay 'open' and horizontal.

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Dave Jones @davegjones.bsky.social · 1d

What I enjoyed: I got to speak to lots of interesting people that are full of hope, that want to make things better and that want to work together. I didn't hear any speeches.

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Dave Jones @davegjones.bsky.social · 1d

What else was great: they (everyone there) made it work in the end. The clumsy start was made up for by the strong finish. And all without any personality dominating. It shows there is potential.

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Dave Jones @davegjones.bsky.social · 1d

What wasn't great: the total openness and lack of structure meant it had a confusing and unproductive start. People had to make assumptions of consequences and these people assumed differently.

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Dave Jones @davegjones.bsky.social · 1d

What was great: local people attempting direct democracy from the ground up. The meeting was so open to ideas and discussion and it was completely unrestricted to become whatever people wanted from it.

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Dave Jones @davegjones.bsky.social · 1d

Who came: I didn't get to meet everyone, this is what I sampled. Everyday folk that wanted to do some good. Also, local leftwing organisers (Palestine, stop the far right, ex labour, etc). They came with enthusiasm and little baggage.

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Dave Jones @davegjones.bsky.social · 1d

Who organised: some local people (5) that wanted to try something. They paid for it themselves, they gave up their time, they showed amazing patience. More on this later.

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Dave Jones @davegjones.bsky.social · 1d

Why did I go: I want to know what will separate YP from the Greens. I like direct democracy. I like speaking to like-minded people.

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Dave Jones @davegjones.bsky.social · 1d

What was it: local people interested in both your party and direct democracy meeting to start building a new 'thing'. It had a horizontal structure in the spirit of including all voices (more later).

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Dave Jones @davegjones.bsky.social · 1d

A friend invited me to a local #yourparty meeting. I went along not sure what to expect. But I had a question: why Your Party and not The Greens?

A 🧵 on my experience with some horizontally structured direct democracy of a left wing flavour.

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Dave Jones @davegjones.bsky.social · 1d

I scraped Cs at GCSE English, did A levels, went to uni, got a PhD (admittedly in maths) by having a 160 page thesis published as well as other papers and then failed the English test to become a teacher. I passed second time but A level English has always been beyond me. Good job I'm not foreign...

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Reposted by Dave Jones

Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 2d

A new week - and a new huge milestone!

@greenparty.org.uk now have 100,000 members!!!

We are absolutely on track to next overtake the Tories - let's make hope normal again!

Join.greenparty.org.uk

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Reposted by Dave Jones

THE NERVE @thenerve.news · 3d

Quote: I’m old enough to remember when mainstream British politicians, who should know better, stirred up racial hatred as a path to power. You’re old enough to remember this too because it was last Tuesday. And it was Robert Jenrick. Stewart Lee

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Reposted by Dave Jones

University and College Union (UCU) @ucu.org.uk · 7d

Ballot papers are landing!

Ballots open on the 13th!

Vote YES for fair pay, safe workloads and binding national agreements.

This is our chance to win.
#VoteYes #NewDealForFE

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Reposted by Dave Jones

uculondonoffice.bsky.social @uculondonoffice.bsky.social · 6d

The Countdown has started

Ballot starts next Monday, 13 October: VOTE YES to put pressure on the employers to negotiate the settlement we need in FE

VOTE YES for a New Deal for FE www.ucu.org.uk/article/1419...

VOTE YES for a New Deal for FE

Members in around 70 further education college employers in England are to be balloted for industrial action following an inadequate offer for 2025-26 from employers' representatives.

www.ucu.org.uk

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Reposted by Dave Jones

York College UCU @yorkcollegeucu.bsky.social · 5d

Pay erosion in FE makes all of our jobs harder. Dedicated colleagues leave our workplaces every year and we have to do more with less.

Vote YES ✅

Academic staff 🤝 Support and Professional Services staff

University and College Union (UCU) @ucu.org.uk · 5d

Staff in FE need real change now

Pay has fallen by a third in real terms while workloads have become unmanageable

Vote YES for a Better Deal for FE ✅

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Dave Jones @davegjones.bsky.social · 6d

To quote one of the finest minds of his generation: It was a very good deadpan joke

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Dave Jones @davegjones.bsky.social · 6d

If you write it in base three then I think it is 222222/111111

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Reposted by Dave Jones

Aaliyah 🇮🇪🇵🇸 ‼️SAVE GAZA‼️ @aaliyahxx.bsky.social · 7d

Watch | A man was arrested in London for holding up The New World magazine, featuring the "sign of the times" with the words:

"I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action"

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Reposted by Dave Jones

Michael Emonds @michaelje67.bsky.social · 9d

Well said, Gary Neville! 👏

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Reposted by Dave Jones

Russ Jones @russincheshire.bsky.social · 7d

A paean to privatised public transport.

Today I had to go from Stockport to Salisbury. So I bought a ticket

Stockport > Bristol > Salisbury

The drive to Stockport should have taken 35 minutes. Satnav said it would take 2 hours, and I'd miss my train.

So I went to Macclesfield, where I found...

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