David Powell

Tompot Blenny on Chalk Reef habitat

We're taking legal action to stop 100,000 tonnes of sediment being dumped in Beachy Head West Marine Conservation Zone every year for the next 10 years. This should not be allowed in a protected area.

buff.ly/GEfcxEz #StopDumpingOnOurReef

How much does the UK spend on welfare?

🇪🇺 Relatively little compared to Europe: just 10.8% of GDP in 2023 (including sickness & disability benefits, pensions, etc.).

Meanwhile, 🇫🇮Finland spends 25.7% of GDP & 🇫🇷France 23.8%.

#ChartOfTheDay #Welfare

Labour blocks proposal for ‘swift bricks’ in all new homes MPs had previously backed Conservative amendment to ask developers to provide hollow bricks for endangered birds

Why? WHY?
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

We didn't dream it! 😡💥
The respectful way Keir Starmer talked about foreign workers when he was running for Labour leader is the exact OPPOSITE of the Farage-cloned way he talks about them now. But to see it here in black & white is still SHOCKING!
#RejoinEU 🇬🇧🇪🇺

(1/4) It was America and Britain that guaranteed the sovereignty of Ukraine and its borders in return for persuading them to give up their nuclear weapons.

A screenshot from The Guardian with the headline: “Planning bill ‘throws environmental protection to the wind’, say UK nature chiefs.” The subheading warns the proposals could push species towards extinction and lead to irreversible habitat loss. Below, a photo shows a wide view of the English countryside in autumn, with green fields, scattered trees in golden tones, and wooded hills in the distance - representing the kind of landscapes at risk.

The UK Government promised a planning system that works for people & nature.

But as it stands, this Bill risks fast-tracking nature’s destruction.

We’ve joined others calling for urgent change.

Nature mustn't be written out of our future. 🚨

Oh yes ! Project Stork at @kneppwilding.bsky.social are now livestreaming a nest– this is the pairs 5th breeding attempt together , and they are now on three eggs . . . watch 24/7 to catch all the action at youtube.com/live/s0liN8AzykQ

This is Marco Rubio explaining how the USA promised to defend Ukraine forever if they got rid of their nuclear arsenal left after the Soviet Union fell.

This is why lil marco was sinking into the couch. He was hoping we wouldn’t find it…so don’t RT right now this very second.

A Turtle Dove perches on a lush green mossy branch, its soft brown plumage speckled with intricate black markings. Its red-ringed eye contrasts against the blurred green backdrop. Text reads: "Turtle Dove. IUCN Red List: Vulnerable | UK BoCC: Red", highlighting the species’ steep decline and the RSPB’s habitat restoration and international advocacy efforts.

The UK’s Turtle Doves have declined by 98% since 1970. 🔻

We’re restoring vital breeding habitats and working internationally to protect them from unsustainable hunting.

#ReverseTheRedDay

M&S statement

Managing Director of Food at M&S comes out with a PUNCHY statement on how Brexit bureaucracy is impacting their business.

Five years on, few Britons think Brexit has been good for anything

% saying Brexit has had a positive impact on...
Control the UK has over its laws: 31%
UK's ability to respond to COVID-19: 23%
UK's level of international trade: 11%
NHS: 6%

Full list in chart 👇

yougov.co.uk/politics/art...

Secret listeners – revealing the life of amateur radio heroes The Voluntary Interceptors, amateur radio enthusiasts, helped break Axis codes in WW2, secretly listening for crucial intelligence from home

Skilled amateur radio operators in WWII secretly worked from home, decoding enemy transmissions. Under suspicion from neighbours, they intercepted Nazi communications, aiding Bletchley Park. Their courageous silence saved lives | Kate Moore

Learn more about them here ⤵️

Wrong to Brexit without a plan?

Oh, the toxic pushback when some of us said this at the time.

And now the Leader of the Opposition says it.

Majority of Brexit voters ‘would accept free movement’ to access single market Europe-wide polling finds UK and EU leaders now out of step with public opinion and pursue ‘ambitious reset’ A majority of Britons who voted to leave the EU would now accept a return to free movement in exchange for access to the single market, according…

Majority of Brexit voters ‘would accept free movement’ to access single market

Oh come on Labour - so depressing to hear Pat McFadden say UK has no plans for a youth mobility scheme with the EU. We have schemes with NZ, Australia, Canada, Japan, Iceland, Uruguay & more - only reason not to have one with EU is fear of right wing press. Such cowardice @bbclaurak.bsky.social

Streeting orders prostate cancer review after Chris Hoy calls for early tests Cycling star, who has terminal cancer, tells men under 50 with family history of prostate cancer to ask for test

“NHS reviews prostate cancer tests after cycling star Chris Hoy calls for more screening…Men of any age with symptoms can request a test. Men who have a brother or father with prostate cancer are
‼️2.5 ‼️times more likely to develop the disease” www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/n...

UK may approve bee-killing pesticide despite election promise to ban it Exclusive: Environment groups urge government to stick to its promises and refuse pesticide application

FFS!

A wish to line corporate pockets is NOT comparable with the need for food security.

"Farming groups say the use of the pesticide is crucial to the British food industry because sugar beet is one of the most profitable crops"...

www.theguardian.com/environment/... #nature #bees #environment

This could be a game changer

There's a growing group of deactivated ex x-ers.

Vaccinating badgers more effective than culls in stopping bovine TB, study finds Percentage of badgers with bTB fell to zero in Cornish study, raising hopes of end to cull of 210,000 badgers since 2013

Been so many studies saying the badgercull is not scientific and not productive to reduce bovine TB as most of the TB spread is cow to cow. A small study looking at vaccinating badgers instead of culling them was more effective at reducing bovine TB in badgers than cull. Please stop the cull! 🧪

Are you living with your spouse? The unreal world of CGT It’s very hard for normal people to understand tax legislation, and it’s often equally hard for tax lawyers, unless they have a deep familiarity with the rules. Here’s an example…

How, for CGT purposes, you can be "living together" even if you're not living together. A short piece on the dangers of trying to interpret tax legislation you're unfamiliar with. taxpolicy.org.uk/2024/04/12/l...

When will the COVID race be run? Steve Griffin taking us back to pandemic basics

New! Prof Steve Griffin taking us back to pandemic basics: viruses, immunity, mitigations and the future!

have a read of the latest Indie SAGE substack!

open.substack.com/pub/independ...

That would be good news. Plymouth Moor View as well, I hope.

It's good to be relieved of the question of who best to vote for to remove our Conservative MP when the general election is finally called. Thanks to all at www.southdevonprimary.org

The end of landlords: the surprisingly simple solution to the UK housing crisis Mass-scale housebuilding isn’t necessary – there is already enough housing stock. But we need to learn the wisdom of the last century when it comes to landlordism

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

Rampant COVID Poses New Challenges in the Fifth Year of the Pandemic “We’re still in a pandemic,” says a lead COVID official with the World Health Organization

Rampant COVID Poses New Challenges in the Fifth Year of the Pandemic
“We’re still in a pandemic,” says a lead COVID official with the World Health Organization
www.scientificamerican.com/article/ramp... #CovidisNotOver Duh...