Tom Newby
@tomnewby.co.uk
Structural engineer. Emergency shelter specialist & ex-humanitarian aidworker. Interested in good people-centred design, equity & (climate) justice. Currently working on the unusual combination of social housing and stadiums in the UK.
Pinned
Tom Newby
@tomnewby.co.uk
· Oct 6
Built Environment starter pack, now with new accounts added, including @barnabascalder.bsky.social
go.bsky.app/KfrbNPF
go.bsky.app/KfrbNPF
Reposted by Tom Newby
Another COP. Another disappointment.
a cartoon girl in a blue dress is kneeling in a field holding a bag
ALT: a cartoon girl in a blue dress is kneeling in a field holding a bag
media.tenor.com
November 22, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Another COP. Another disappointment.
Reposted by Tom Newby
Reposted by Tom Newby
What if I told you that the entire point of the COPs is, at root, to single out their key export
November 22, 2025 at 10:19 PM
What if I told you that the entire point of the COPs is, at root, to single out their key export
History will not judge them kindly.
This is yet another betrayal of humanity.
This is yet another betrayal of humanity.
November 22, 2025 at 7:44 PM
History will not judge them kindly.
This is yet another betrayal of humanity.
This is yet another betrayal of humanity.
Reposted by Tom Newby
It’s either the most vacuous, pig-headed political naivety, or a genuine appetite for the cruelty. Either is appalling in a sitting government with a huge majority.
November 17, 2025 at 9:43 PM
It’s either the most vacuous, pig-headed political naivety, or a genuine appetite for the cruelty. Either is appalling in a sitting government with a huge majority.
Reposted by Tom Newby
Labour has comprehensively trapped itself by agreeing to play entirely by their opponents’ rules.
The game is fixed so the only move that’s ever available is more and worse cruelty, while at the same time no level of cruelty will ever be enough to win.
A moral & political death-spiral.
The game is fixed so the only move that’s ever available is more and worse cruelty, while at the same time no level of cruelty will ever be enough to win.
A moral & political death-spiral.
Lots of Labour MPs asking Mahmood tonight to rule out child detention. She won’t rule it out. That’s because forced removals of families will mean children in detention for periods.
Home Office ruling out deportation of lone minors but the changes will certainly mean more detention of children.
Home Office ruling out deportation of lone minors but the changes will certainly mean more detention of children.
November 17, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Labour has comprehensively trapped itself by agreeing to play entirely by their opponents’ rules.
The game is fixed so the only move that’s ever available is more and worse cruelty, while at the same time no level of cruelty will ever be enough to win.
A moral & political death-spiral.
The game is fixed so the only move that’s ever available is more and worse cruelty, while at the same time no level of cruelty will ever be enough to win.
A moral & political death-spiral.
Reposted by Tom Newby
"Vote for us or the far right will get in. Also, we find the far right inspirational"
🤡🤡
🤡🤡
Somebody is briefing the Times that the Home Secretary finds inspiration in Kristi Noem's leading the Trump mass deportation effort - which has gone much too far for Americans
What a kamikaze piece of political madness that is on the eve of their asylum package
www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
What a kamikaze piece of political madness that is on the eve of their asylum package
www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
Shabana Mahmood threatens Trump-style visa ban on three countries
Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo will face Trump-style sanctions if they do not start taking back more illegal migrants and criminals
www.thetimes.com
November 16, 2025 at 10:50 PM
"Vote for us or the far right will get in. Also, we find the far right inspirational"
🤡🤡
🤡🤡
Reposted by Tom Newby
Fascinating that the cause of collapse of both major parties has not just been basically identical (cost of living and service failings creating unpopularity, chasing radical right tail on immigration fuelling in-bloc schism), but that doubling down has persisted long after failure became clear.
November 16, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Fascinating that the cause of collapse of both major parties has not just been basically identical (cost of living and service failings creating unpopularity, chasing radical right tail on immigration fuelling in-bloc schism), but that doubling down has persisted long after failure became clear.
Reposted by Tom Newby
Can we go back to the days when politicians said that they really wanted to help people but it’s very hard and takes time, rather than saying that they want to hurt people and can do it quickly?
November 16, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Can we go back to the days when politicians said that they really wanted to help people but it’s very hard and takes time, rather than saying that they want to hurt people and can do it quickly?
Reposted by Tom Newby
Look, for fuck’s sake, humans have been migrating continuously for our entire existence.
Every single human in the world is the product of migration.
It’s what humans do. There is nothing *more* human.
That’s never going to change.
Just grow up, get the fuck over it and plan accordingly.
Every single human in the world is the product of migration.
It’s what humans do. There is nothing *more* human.
That’s never going to change.
Just grow up, get the fuck over it and plan accordingly.
November 16, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Look, for fuck’s sake, humans have been migrating continuously for our entire existence.
Every single human in the world is the product of migration.
It’s what humans do. There is nothing *more* human.
That’s never going to change.
Just grow up, get the fuck over it and plan accordingly.
Every single human in the world is the product of migration.
It’s what humans do. There is nothing *more* human.
That’s never going to change.
Just grow up, get the fuck over it and plan accordingly.
Reposted by Tom Newby
This is the logical consequence of Labour’s appeasement of the far right - this is an arms race Labour should never seek to win
Not everyone is unhappy about the Government's descent into anti-refugee politics
November 16, 2025 at 10:27 AM
This is the logical consequence of Labour’s appeasement of the far right - this is an arms race Labour should never seek to win
Reposted by Tom Newby
I've already emailed a couple of relevant people and department in the Labour Party. Please you do sth too - call MPs, email them, etc. This may strengthen the MPs in the Labour Party who (potentially) oppose this cruelty. Only we can stop this and now.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
No 10 tells Labour MPs it expects support for tough new asylum policies
Some backbenchers already opposing planned immigration crackdown seen as ‘economically and culturally illiterate’
www.theguardian.com
November 15, 2025 at 9:52 PM
I've already emailed a couple of relevant people and department in the Labour Party. Please you do sth too - call MPs, email them, etc. This may strengthen the MPs in the Labour Party who (potentially) oppose this cruelty. Only we can stop this and now.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Reposted by Tom Newby
Nature not a blocker to housing growth, inquiry finds
Nature not a blocker to housing growth, inquiry finds
Commons committee report challenges ‘lazy narrative’ used by ministers that scapegoats wildlife and the environment
Nature is not a blocker to housing growth, an inquiry by MPs has found, in direct conflict with claims made by ministers.
Toby Perkins, the Labour chair of the environmental audit committee, said nature was being scapegoated, and that rather than being a block to growth, it was necessary for building resilient towns and neighbourhoods. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 16, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Nature not a blocker to housing growth, inquiry finds
Reposted by Tom Newby
The scale of the damage in Gaza is unprecedented. Around 1.2m people—60% of the population—are homeless. And shelter is not the only need
Gaza’s zombie ceasefire
Neither an Arab reconstruction plan nor an American one have much chance of success
econ.st
November 15, 2025 at 11:40 AM
The scale of the damage in Gaza is unprecedented. Around 1.2m people—60% of the population—are homeless. And shelter is not the only need
Reposted by Tom Newby
The Palestinian Presidency has appealed to the international community — especially the U.S. administration and the guarantor states of the Gaza ceasefire agreement — to pressure Israel to allow the entry of mobile homes and tents into the Gaza Strip.
english.wafa.ps/Pages/Detail...
english.wafa.ps/Pages/Detail...
November 15, 2025 at 9:29 PM
The Palestinian Presidency has appealed to the international community — especially the U.S. administration and the guarantor states of the Gaza ceasefire agreement — to pressure Israel to allow the entry of mobile homes and tents into the Gaza Strip.
english.wafa.ps/Pages/Detail...
english.wafa.ps/Pages/Detail...
BBC News - Israel has destroyed more than 1,500 buildings in Gaza since ceasefire - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Israel has destroyed more than 1,500 buildings in Gaza since ceasefire
Entire neighbourhoods controlled by Israel have been levelled in less than a month, the images show.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 15, 2025 at 5:59 PM
BBC News - Israel has destroyed more than 1,500 buildings in Gaza since ceasefire - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Tom Newby
Voorstraat in Utrecht: a true fietsstraat where bikes come first and cars are guests. It’s not just safer and more relaxed to cycle - the whole street benefits. Outdoor cafés, quieter homes, and a vibrant public space. When you design for people, cities flourish.
November 15, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Voorstraat in Utrecht: a true fietsstraat where bikes come first and cars are guests. It’s not just safer and more relaxed to cycle - the whole street benefits. Outdoor cafés, quieter homes, and a vibrant public space. When you design for people, cities flourish.
Reposted by Tom Newby
Fung-wong, locally known as Uwan, has intensified into a super typhoon off Catanduanes, Philippines, bringing life-threatening conditions to the island. - PAGASA
November 9, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Fung-wong, locally known as Uwan, has intensified into a super typhoon off Catanduanes, Philippines, bringing life-threatening conditions to the island. - PAGASA
Reposted by Tom Newby
Typhoon Uwan (also known as Fung-wong) could possibly reach Super Typhoon strength (240 km/h) before striking Luzon late Monday.
Life-threatening winds, flooding, and storm surge can be expected in the region. Residents should prepare and follow local warnings. #UwanPH #Fungwong
Life-threatening winds, flooding, and storm surge can be expected in the region. Residents should prepare and follow local warnings. #UwanPH #Fungwong
November 7, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Reposted by Tom Newby
UK rejected atrocity prevention plans for Sudan despite warning of possible genocide
UK rejected atrocity prevention plans for Sudan despite warning of possible genocide
Exclusive: British government adopted ‘least ambitious’ option months before RSF’s massacres in El Fasher
Britain rejected atrocity prevention plans for Sudan despite intelligence warnings that the city of El Fasher would fall amid a wave of ethnic cleansing and possible genocide, according to a report seen by the Guardian.
Government officials turned down the plans six months into the 18-month siege of El Fasher in favour of the “least ambitious” option of four presented. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 7, 2025 at 6:07 AM
UK rejected atrocity prevention plans for Sudan despite warning of possible genocide
This is very good
NEW: The End of the Line: the centrepiece of Saudi Arabia’s Neom gigaproject - a 500m tall, 170km long wall-like building intended ultimately to house 9 million people - can’t get out of the ground, say more than 20 former Neom architects, engineers and senior executives.
ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...
ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...
End of The Line: how Saudi Arabia’s Neom dream unravelled
Mohammed bin Salman’s utopian city was undone by the laws of physics and finance
ig.ft.com
November 6, 2025 at 8:11 AM
This is very good
Reposted by Tom Newby
The USGS Shakemap for the M6.3 #earthquake shows an expected intensity of MMI 8 at the epicenter, not good. 🧪⚒️
November 2, 2025 at 9:06 PM
The USGS Shakemap for the M6.3 #earthquake shows an expected intensity of MMI 8 at the epicenter, not good. 🧪⚒️
Reposted by Tom Newby
Fighters from the Rapid Support Forces have filmed themselves committing mass killings in Darfur’s El Fasher – even as their leaders sat in US-sponsored peace talks.
The city’s fall marks a new horror in Sudan’s war, reports journalist and human rights defender Ahmed Gouja. ⬇️
The city’s fall marks a new horror in Sudan’s war, reports journalist and human rights defender Ahmed Gouja. ⬇️
An atrocity foretold: How the RSF siege of El Fasher turned into genocidal slaughter
Communication networks are down but a deluge of shocking videos point to mass killings on a devastating scale.
buff.ly
October 31, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Fighters from the Rapid Support Forces have filmed themselves committing mass killings in Darfur’s El Fasher – even as their leaders sat in US-sponsored peace talks.
The city’s fall marks a new horror in Sudan’s war, reports journalist and human rights defender Ahmed Gouja. ⬇️
The city’s fall marks a new horror in Sudan’s war, reports journalist and human rights defender Ahmed Gouja. ⬇️
A betrayal of the US's founding values.
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
www.bbc.com/news/article...
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Trump limits refugee admissions to 7,500 and gives priority to white South Africans
www.bbc.com
October 30, 2025 at 5:34 PM
A betrayal of the US's founding values.
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
www.bbc.com/news/article...
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
www.bbc.com/news/article...