Miles King
@milesking.bsky.social
Now at tail end of a long career in UK Nature Conservation - nature reserves, SSSIs, policy work, lots of reports - and 10+ years of blogging. Currently run @poundburynatureproject. Cellist. Living with chronic vestibular migraine. Personal account.
Pinned
As the clock runs down until Wednesday's budget, the farming and landowning sectors are once again working themselves up into a lather over the already announced changes to Inheritance Tax exemptions for agricultural property and businesses; claims of a collapse in food production at the fore 🧵1/x
One of many very good reasons to abolish leaseholds
This story is a complete disgrace - and an explanation of so much that is wrong with our economic system.
Great reporting by @manchestermill.bsky.social as ever.
manchestermill.co.uk/meet-the-lon...
Great reporting by @manchestermill.bsky.social as ever.
manchestermill.co.uk/meet-the-lon...
Meet the London lawyer terrorising the leaseholders of Bolton
‘If these allegations are true, this is one of the most egregious cases of bullying I have ever seen’
manchestermill.co.uk
December 3, 2025 at 9:50 AM
One of many very good reasons to abolish leaseholds
I was following up on the discovery by @waxcapscooch.bsky.social and Bryan Edwards from DERC.
Also, so love that the Guardian is reporting this detail - besides the incredible chalk grassland heaving with orchids, the land next to the Cerne Giant also harbours rare Hazel Gloves fungus.
@milesking.bsky.social found some growing & I went to the spot the other year, here’s some pics.
@milesking.bsky.social found some growing & I went to the spot the other year, here’s some pics.
December 3, 2025 at 8:59 AM
I was following up on the discovery by @waxcapscooch.bsky.social and Bryan Edwards from DERC.
Reposted by Miles King
Also, so love that the Guardian is reporting this detail - besides the incredible chalk grassland heaving with orchids, the land next to the Cerne Giant also harbours rare Hazel Gloves fungus.
@milesking.bsky.social found some growing & I went to the spot the other year, here’s some pics.
@milesking.bsky.social found some growing & I went to the spot the other year, here’s some pics.
December 3, 2025 at 8:50 AM
Also, so love that the Guardian is reporting this detail - besides the incredible chalk grassland heaving with orchids, the land next to the Cerne Giant also harbours rare Hazel Gloves fungus.
@milesking.bsky.social found some growing & I went to the spot the other year, here’s some pics.
@milesking.bsky.social found some growing & I went to the spot the other year, here’s some pics.
BBC news now fully captured by the rabid right.
BBC leading the news this morning with ‘BBC reveals’ that government has spent more than £100m on Covid inquiry
That only reaction is TaxPayers’ Alliance says a lot….
That only reaction is TaxPayers’ Alliance says a lot….
December 3, 2025 at 8:51 AM
BBC news now fully captured by the rabid right.
How it started How it's going
December 2, 2025 at 5:56 PM
How it started How it's going
Reposted by Miles King
What a wonderful story - and a beautiful illustration of the power of the arts.
Great writing expands our imagination. It helps us to see the world in new ways.
And that has consequences that can never be measured by "average starting salaries" or "contribution to GDP".
Great writing expands our imagination. It helps us to see the world in new ways.
And that has consequences that can never be measured by "average starting salaries" or "contribution to GDP".
December 2, 2025 at 9:35 AM
What a wonderful story - and a beautiful illustration of the power of the arts.
Great writing expands our imagination. It helps us to see the world in new ways.
And that has consequences that can never be measured by "average starting salaries" or "contribution to GDP".
Great writing expands our imagination. It helps us to see the world in new ways.
And that has consequences that can never be measured by "average starting salaries" or "contribution to GDP".
Finally some reality is seeping into this Govt's climate ambitions. Carbon Capture and Storage is and always will be a pipe dream foisted on the rest of us by the Fossil Fuel industry.
#Graphicoftheweek: The UK has sharply downgraded near-term expectations for engineered carbon removals📉
Our chart shows the scale of this shift, highlighting the need to focus on delivering proven climate solutions like renewables and electrification⚡
https://ember-energy.org/
Our chart shows the scale of this shift, highlighting the need to focus on delivering proven climate solutions like renewables and electrification⚡
https://ember-energy.org/
December 2, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Finally some reality is seeping into this Govt's climate ambitions. Carbon Capture and Storage is and always will be a pipe dream foisted on the rest of us by the Fossil Fuel industry.
Happy December! November 2025 in Dorchester was a wet but very mild month, despite a short cold spell with hard frosts mid-month. 153.4mm fell making it the second wettest month of 2025 after January. Mean Temp of 10.9°C was very warm, warmest day 17.3C (13/11). Coolest day 20th with just 6.7°C 1/2
December 2, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Happy December! November 2025 in Dorchester was a wet but very mild month, despite a short cold spell with hard frosts mid-month. 153.4mm fell making it the second wettest month of 2025 after January. Mean Temp of 10.9°C was very warm, warmest day 17.3C (13/11). Coolest day 20th with just 6.7°C 1/2
Reposted by Miles King
Watched BBC 6 o clock news. Just a completely unserious broadcast. Chris Mason, acting like a children's entertainer, giving a prolonged impenetrable editorial. Not a whiff of informative content about the Budget or what it means for the country. Just playschool blah blah bollocks.
December 1, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Watched BBC 6 o clock news. Just a completely unserious broadcast. Chris Mason, acting like a children's entertainer, giving a prolonged impenetrable editorial. Not a whiff of informative content about the Budget or what it means for the country. Just playschool blah blah bollocks.
Sounds like a lot.
Except £500M over two decades is a measly £25M a year, further eroded by inflation- which at the current 4% means the year 20 value is equivalent to around half of year 1’s.
Except £500M over two decades is a measly £25M a year, further eroded by inflation- which at the current 4% means the year 20 value is equivalent to around half of year 1’s.
🔎£500m
The government will today commit £500m to landscape recovery projects across England over the next two decades, funding large scale habitat restoration and creation to help meet climate, nature and water targets.
www.businessgreen.com/news/452256...
The government will today commit £500m to landscape recovery projects across England over the next two decades, funding large scale habitat restoration and creation to help meet climate, nature and water targets.
www.businessgreen.com/news/452256...
Environmental Improvement Plan: Defra pledges £500m for landscape recovery in revised plan
Long-awaited update to wide-ranging Environmental Improvement Plan set to be published later today by the government
www.businessgreen.com
December 1, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Sounds like a lot.
Except £500M over two decades is a measly £25M a year, further eroded by inflation- which at the current 4% means the year 20 value is equivalent to around half of year 1’s.
Except £500M over two decades is a measly £25M a year, further eroded by inflation- which at the current 4% means the year 20 value is equivalent to around half of year 1’s.
Epic epic Epic Hans Zimmer at the O2. Totally Epic . Did I mention it was EPIC?
November 30, 2025 at 11:13 PM
Epic epic Epic Hans Zimmer at the O2. Totally Epic . Did I mention it was EPIC?
Brexit wins again.
Everyone loses.
Everyone loses.
Really bad news. And completely irresponsible given where we are.
Can’t decide who this is worse for, the EU or the UK. But the real looser, of course, is European defence. So all of us.
on.ft.com/4pb0xP6
UK talks to join EU defence fund break down
on.ft.com/4pb0xP6
UK talks to join EU defence fund break down
November 30, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Brexit wins again.
Everyone loses.
Everyone loses.
Reposted by Miles King
Really looking forward to Saturday’s British & Irish Botanical Conference #BIBConf25. I’ll be part of a panel discussing the use of AI in botany. Apparently, this is what AI thinks we look like, so I expect everyone to dress entirely in green (with a weird BATHIMAND logo) @bsbibotany.bsky.social
November 28, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Really looking forward to Saturday’s British & Irish Botanical Conference #BIBConf25. I’ll be part of a panel discussing the use of AI in botany. Apparently, this is what AI thinks we look like, so I expect everyone to dress entirely in green (with a weird BATHIMAND logo) @bsbibotany.bsky.social
Not sure what's the most shocking aspect of this story of waste being dumped to a depth of 2m across 0.6ha of SSSI..
that the fine was a paltry £15000..
that it took 3 years for NE/EA to stop the dumping..
Or that the judge actually believes the SSSI can be restored!
www.gov.uk/government/n...
that the fine was a paltry £15000..
that it took 3 years for NE/EA to stop the dumping..
Or that the judge actually believes the SSSI can be restored!
www.gov.uk/government/n...
Landowner to pay £31,000 for landscaping Cornish SSSI with waste
Martin McAnulty has to undo the damage he did to a habitat-rich Site of Special Scientific Interest in St Dennis, Cornwall.
www.gov.uk
November 29, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Not sure what's the most shocking aspect of this story of waste being dumped to a depth of 2m across 0.6ha of SSSI..
that the fine was a paltry £15000..
that it took 3 years for NE/EA to stop the dumping..
Or that the judge actually believes the SSSI can be restored!
www.gov.uk/government/n...
that the fine was a paltry £15000..
that it took 3 years for NE/EA to stop the dumping..
Or that the judge actually believes the SSSI can be restored!
www.gov.uk/government/n...
The latest @thenerve.news piece by Stewart Lee... I had reread several of the sentences, with a disconcerting feeling my brain was turning inside out. I hope that was the intended effect.
The question is put: does Farage still coddle the fascism of his youth?
www.thenerve.news/p/stewart-le...
The question is put: does Farage still coddle the fascism of his youth?
www.thenerve.news/p/stewart-le...
Stewart Lee: I’ll tell you one thing: it wasn't Jeremy Corbyn who went around whispering ‘Gas the Jews’
You would think the alleged indiscretions of the youthful Nigel Farage would have drawn outrage from a just and impartial British media. Strangely, it seems they have not
www.thenerve.news
November 28, 2025 at 6:11 PM
The latest @thenerve.news piece by Stewart Lee... I had reread several of the sentences, with a disconcerting feeling my brain was turning inside out. I hope that was the intended effect.
The question is put: does Farage still coddle the fascism of his youth?
www.thenerve.news/p/stewart-le...
The question is put: does Farage still coddle the fascism of his youth?
www.thenerve.news/p/stewart-le...
Reposted by Miles King
Did somebody say Pigeon?
a cartoon dog wearing a helmet and goggles is standing with his arms crossed .
ALT: a cartoon dog wearing a helmet and goggles is standing with his arms crossed .
media.tenor.com
November 28, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Did somebody say Pigeon?
Not forgetting the racist justification for exterminating the indigenous peoples of North America.
Insulting to have to point this out, but if you have spent even 30 minutes reading US history, you realize that every decade has been dominated by racist hysteria that the "new" people won't ever fit in.
This exact prejudice would have been applied to Miller's forebears, when they fled pogroms.
This exact prejudice would have been applied to Miller's forebears, when they fled pogroms.
Stephen Miller is now arguing that assimilation is fundamentally impossible and that certain cultures are not compatible with Western civilization
November 28, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Not forgetting the racist justification for exterminating the indigenous peoples of North America.
Badenoch will next claim that Christ feeding the five thousand is err unchristian. Skivers!
November 28, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Badenoch will next claim that Christ feeding the five thousand is err unchristian. Skivers!
Reposted by Miles King
Just cancel your Netflix subscription and stop buying avocados. You'll be fine
November 28, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Just cancel your Netflix subscription and stop buying avocados. You'll be fine
“The details are dribbling into the public domain” This is No laughing matter. www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cl...
Prostate cancer screening should not be offered to most UK men, experts expected to say
The UK National Screening Committee is due to say only men with the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations, aged between 45 and 61, should be offered regular testing.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 28, 2025 at 2:19 PM
“The details are dribbling into the public domain” This is No laughing matter. www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cl...
Incredible how influential this man is over Labour policy. #BlueLabour
🔴 NEW - Labour Group Slams Lord Glasman Over Climate Denial Lecture
The Labour peer called for new coal power in the Global Warming Policy Foundation’s annual lecture.
📝 @adambarnett.bsky.social
The Labour peer called for new coal power in the Global Warming Policy Foundation’s annual lecture.
📝 @adambarnett.bsky.social
Labour Group Slams Lord Glasman Over Climate Denial Lecture
An influential Labour peer has been criticised for being the star speaker at the UK’s main climate science denial group, which says carbon emissions are a “benefit to the planet”. Lord Maurice Glasman...
www.desmog.com
November 28, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Incredible how influential this man is over Labour policy. #BlueLabour
Today's post from @chrisgrey.bsky.social covers a range of topics, explaining clearly how so many of this country's problems stem from Brexit. I think "enshittification", initially created to describe the internet, applies well here. Brexit reminders chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2025/11/brex...
Brexit reminders
<a rel="me" href="https://mastodon.online/@ChrisGrey">Mastodon</a>
chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com
November 28, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Today's post from @chrisgrey.bsky.social covers a range of topics, explaining clearly how so many of this country's problems stem from Brexit. I think "enshittification", initially created to describe the internet, applies well here. Brexit reminders chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2025/11/brex...
Reposted by Miles King
Today's 70% fall in net migration to 205,000 was not one of the six stories in BBC ten o'clock news.
Ta massive assymetry in whether rises in immigration and falls in immigration are considered newsworthy by broadcasters
Down by 140k isn't thought to be.
Up by 140k undoubtedly would be.
Ta massive assymetry in whether rises in immigration and falls in immigration are considered newsworthy by broadcasters
Down by 140k isn't thought to be.
Up by 140k undoubtedly would be.
November 27, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Today's 70% fall in net migration to 205,000 was not one of the six stories in BBC ten o'clock news.
Ta massive assymetry in whether rises in immigration and falls in immigration are considered newsworthy by broadcasters
Down by 140k isn't thought to be.
Up by 140k undoubtedly would be.
Ta massive assymetry in whether rises in immigration and falls in immigration are considered newsworthy by broadcasters
Down by 140k isn't thought to be.
Up by 140k undoubtedly would be.