Leigh Sparks
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sparksstirling.bsky.social
Leigh Sparks
@sparksstirling.bsky.social
560 followers 1K following 210 posts

Professor of Retail Studies, University of Stirling, Chair Scotland's Towns Partnership, Fellow Royal Society of Edinburgh, Extremely long-suffering Welsh rugby fan, occasional gardener.

Stirlingretail.com

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Business 69%
Economics 13%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Jonathan Portes, Ben H. Ansell, Will Jennings , and 6 more

robertsaunders.bsky.social
Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 4h
Headline on The World at One just now:

"Sir Keir Starmer has denied putting the Labour Party before the country by ending the two-child benefit cap".

Can we please go back to reporting the actual news, not someone's partisan take on it?

Reposted by Leigh Sparks

gwladrugby.bsky.social
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Gwladrugby 🏉 @gwladrugby.bsky.social · 6h
#RoadToWRUin Day 9:

The WRU have always been like Emperor Nero - fiddling away while everything around them is on fire. Their constant dithering over the future has led to massive and damaging uncertainty across the game. For example:

Reposted by Leigh Sparks

gwladrugby.bsky.social
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Gwladrugby 🏉 @gwladrugby.bsky.social · 1d
They've used Portas more than once, so it's likely to be significant. But maybe not significant enough to appear in any financial reporting. I'd particularly like to see how much they paid the PR firm who created that execrable consultation "survey" they're placing so much store on.

sparksstirling.bsky.social
Leigh Sparks @sparksstirling.bsky.social · 1d
Exceeding an average four times in a row is quite the feat in four data points

sparksstirling.bsky.social
Leigh Sparks @sparksstirling.bsky.social · 1d
"Asked why he had been taken off the Palestine Action case, the Ministry of Justice referred the Guardian to the judiciary press office, which refused to comment."

Simply unacceptable behaviour. Have the guts to explain or don't do it.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Removal of judge in Palestine Action ban legal challenge ‘deeply concerning’
Unusual last-minute change means panel of three will now hear case rather than Mr Justice Chamberlain
www.theguardian.com

sparksstirling.bsky.social
Leigh Sparks @sparksstirling.bsky.social · 2d
ICYMI: My recent post on the shops and ghostsigns of Whitby, with an added bit on the Flying Scotsman at Grosmont

stirlingretail.com/2025/11/24/w...

Reposted by Leigh Sparks

historicshopfronts.bsky.social
Dr Lindsay Lennie @historicshopfronts.bsky.social · 2d
Not been to Whitby for a while but remember it having some interesting shopfronts.
The Spanton 1930s frontage is excellent.

Reposted by Leigh Sparks

Reposted by Will Jennings, Steve Peers, Leigh Sparks , and 1 more

emptywheel.bsky.social
emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 2d
I've said since Trump picked on Mahmoud Khalil that he was picking his political martyrs poorly.

But this one...
Mark Kelly tweet, showing his medals on a dress uniform, reading: When I was 22 years old, I commissioned as an Ensign in the United States Navy and swore an oath to the Constitution. I upheld that oath through flight school, multiple deployments on the USS Midway, 39 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm, test pilot school, four space shuttle flights at NASA, and every day since I retired – which I did after my wife Gabby was shot in the head while serving her constituents. In combat, I had a missile blow up next to my jet and flew through anti-aircraft fire to drop bombs on enemy targets. At NASA, I launched on a rocket, commanded the space shuttle, and was part of the recovery mission that brought home the bodies of my astronaut classmates who died on Columbia. I did all of this in service to this country that I love and has given me so much. Secretary Hegseth’s tweet is the first I heard of this. I also saw the President’s posts saying I should be arrested, hanged, and put to death. If this is meant to intimidate me and other members of Congress from doing our jobs and holding this administration accountable, it won’t work. I’ve given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution.

Reposted by Leigh Sparks, Margot C. Finn, Leslie Mabon , and 3 more

pippacrerar.bsky.social
Pippa Crerar @pippacrerar.bsky.social · 2d
“I would never ever do it in a hurtful or insulting way”

Nigel Farage responds to allegations of racist behaviour from when he was a teenager at school

@itvnewspolitics.bsky.social

Reposted by Leigh Sparks

gwladrugby.bsky.social
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Gwladrugby 🏉 @gwladrugby.bsky.social · 3d
Hang it from a lamp post.

Coming to a stadium near you.... soon.

Reposted by Leigh Sparks, Peter Holmes, Jonathan Hopkin , and 2 more

yougov.co.uk
YouGov @yougov.co.uk · 3d
With Rachel Reeves reportedly set to apply a new tax on tuition fees paid by overseas students, most Britons support such a move at the previously mooted level of 6%

Support: 57%
Oppose: 18%

yougov.co.uk/topics/socie...

Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio, Suresh Venkatasubramanian, Brendan Nyhan , and 9 more

cwarzel.bsky.social
Charlie Warzel @cwarzel.bsky.social · 3d
I wrote about the fake account blowup on X this weekend. A genuine post-truth nightmare and proof that these companies have polluted their platforms so thoroughly and traded reality for profit that they've undermined the very idea of what the internet is supposed to be.
That MAGA Account Might Be a Troll From Pakistan
How X blew up its own platform with a new location feature
www.theatlantic.com

Reposted by Leigh Sparks

ottoenglish.bsky.social
Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 3d
The A55 upgrade received tens of millions from YUP you guessed it EU funding as part of the Trans European Transport Network.

So yes, sure, turn up and listen to him witter on ... and vote for him if you want Wales... but he's done NOTHING for you and never ever will.

Whereas the EU did loads.
a welsh flag with a red dragon on it
ALT: a welsh flag with a red dragon on it
media.tenor.com

Reposted by Leigh Sparks

ottoenglish.bsky.social
Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 3d
In the unlikely event that Farage arrived by train he will have gone to Llandudno station - renovated courtesy of the £21.5 million contributed by the EU to the Wales Station Improvement Programme started in 2005.

If he drove then he'd have gone on the coastal stretch of the A55 ...guess what folks

Reposted by Leigh Sparks

ottoenglish.bsky.social
Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 3d
Farage is speaking at Venue Cymru tonight.

Last revamped in 2018 with £1.8 million of EU development money and another £1 million in business development cash.

Original development also received significant EU funding.

Farage, by contrast, will give Llandudno nothing but hot air and lies.

Reposted by Andrew Scott, Leigh Sparks

eberlmat.bsky.social
Matthias Eberl @eberlmat.bsky.social · 3d
I wonder what those local farmers think about Farage's close mate who represented North Wales for UKIP, Brexit Party and Reform UK, and who just got 10.5 years for accepting pro-Russia bribes instead of helping local farmers.

sparksstirling.bsky.social
Leigh Sparks @sparksstirling.bsky.social · 3d
Our October travels continued to Whitby. Great shopfront, stores and a variety of ghostsigns, old and quite new.

stirlingretail.com/2025/11/24/w...

Reposted by Anne Applebaum, Dorothy Bishop, Simon Burgess , and 14 more

davidrvetter.bsky.social
Dave Vetter @davidrvetter.bsky.social · 3d
Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.
The Economic Impact of Brexit
Other
siepr.stanford.edu

Reposted by Leigh Sparks

mikegalsworthy.bsky.social
Mike Galsworthy @mikegalsworthy.bsky.social · 3d
£25bn of imagined savings, real-world cruelty and mathematics that should come with a trigger warning.
The truth behind Reform UK’s reckless budget
£25bn of imagined savings, real-world cruelty and mathematics that should come with a trigger warning
eastangliabylines.co.uk

sparksstirling.bsky.social
Leigh Sparks @sparksstirling.bsky.social · 3d
Whitby and Whitby Ghost Signs

As noted in the last post, we ended up in Yorkshire, being based at Grosmont, a few miles inland by train from Whitby, somewhere I had never been as far as I know (I did spend the first 4 years of my life in Yorkshire, but recollect nothing beyond vague memories of…
Whitby and Whitby Ghost Signs
As noted in the last post, we ended up in Yorkshire, being based at Grosmont, a few miles inland by train from Whitby, somewhere I had never been as far as I know (I did spend the first 4 years of my life in Yorkshire, but recollect nothing beyond vague memories of Halifax).   Obviously I knew of Whitby’s connections with Dracula…
stirlingretail.com

Reposted by Leigh Sparks, Andrew Perchard

carolecadwalla.bsky.social
Carole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla.bsky.social · 4d
NEW: This is worth your time.

@thenerve_news has the receipts.

A comprehensive timeline of Nathan Gill & Nigel Farage’s pro-Kremlin influencing activities & 2 other MEPs, David Cobourn & Jonathan Arnott.

Please read & share.

Reposted by Leigh Sparks

parodypm.bsky.social
Parody Nigel Farage @parodypm.bsky.social · 4d
Please don't judge me just because I was friends with the traitor Nathan Gill. Instead you can judge me because I described a man charged with rape, human trafficking, controlling prostitution and actual bodily harm as "an important voice for young men".

Reposted by Leigh Sparks, Cyrus Samimi

kackbro.bsky.social
M Meerkat @kackbro.bsky.social · 4d
Exactly ⬇️ This 💯......

Reposted by Leigh Sparks

cllrandyoddy.bsky.social
CllrAndyOddy @cllrandyoddy.bsky.social · 4d
I hope Baroness Hallett has Boris Johnson hauled up before the courts for contempt. Seems he lied under oath to the Covid inquiry.
Boris Johnson took four days off as NHS warned Covid could ‘overwhelm’ system
Files show then PM was walking dog, riding motorbike and hosting guests as pandemic planning stalled in ‘lost month’
www.theguardian.com

sparksstirling.bsky.social
Leigh Sparks @sparksstirling.bsky.social · 4d
"Official activity logs appear to undermine evidence that Johnson gave under oath"

If this is true then Johnson should be charged and if found guilty lose all ex-PM privileges and be jailed.

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Boris Johnson took four days off as NHS warned Covid could ‘overwhelm’ system
Files show then PM was walking dog, riding motorbike and hosting guests as pandemic planning stalled in ‘lost month’
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Andrew Scott, Leigh Sparks

adambienkov.bsky.social
Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 4d
So the line is that he wasn't getting paid for any of this

Reposted by Leigh Sparks

gwladrugby.bsky.social
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Gwladrugby 🏉 @gwladrugby.bsky.social · 5d
#ROADTOWRUIN Day Four:

According to Dave Reddin, history isn’t important. Apart from when it is

Reposted by Leigh Sparks, Alan Richardson, Aviel Roshwald

7thdragon2020.bsky.social
songs about happiness murmured in dreams. @7thdragon2020.bsky.social · 5d
elon installs a new feature that publicly displays the country where your app was installed and operates from

people find out the most racist pro-US accounts are based in israel, india, bangladesh, etc

US DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY TWITTER BASED IN ISRAEL

elon pauses location feature

Reposted by Leigh Sparks, Peter Cook

13sarahmurphy.bsky.social
Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 5d
And this is spot on. No other political figure or party gets so little scrutiny. And it’s not like there isn’t a track record…
Corruption, Russia-links, Trump-christofascist-links, Brexit, racism, total incompetence in Reform-run councils…
A dangerous clowncar revving up to drive us into the wall.
Instead, what we are starting to see is an attempt to sanitise and cleanse Farage ahead of his potential rise to the premiership. We can see this in the many pieces, from the likes of Nick Robinson, to the BBC, trying to portray Farage and his party as being a "serious" prospect for high office, as opposed to the disastrous joke a Reform Government would actually be. You can see this also in the relative lack of media interest in what Reform is already doing in local Government. Just like Johnson, who was only ever covered by the national media from the framing of his personality-based rivalry with his old Etonian school friend, rather than what he was actually doing in London, so too is the substance of what Farage's party is already up to in office being similarly glossed over. The result is that by the time that we get to the next general election, there is unlikely to have been much scrutiny, aside from by a small number of independent publications like Byline Times, of what the reality of a Reform Government would actually look like.