Jo 🔶

A Reform UK graphic announcing the defection of Cllr. Clarence Mitchell, from the Conservatives.

We see that Reform UK continues to be a retirement home for failed Conservatives, as erstwhile RBC Tory leader Clarence Mitchell defects to them.

A shameful, if predictable, move for the former press spokesperson for Cambridge Analytica. We wonder how long his Ukraine lapel pin will last?

For those joining Bluesky from the Bad Place: welcome.

Yes, you could/should have made the decision sooner, but it is never too late to make a good decision.

And there is a lot on this site which will remind you of the Bad Place before it was bad.

New Blue Check, last 90 days:

@bskycheck.com presents a different picture.

There is an unprecedented surge of verifications over the weekend, and their data shows that the vast majority of the newly verified are British, German, and Canadian elected officials/ political organizations, plus European agencies

Sure but you're stuck talking to the other people who didn't quit

Defend the BBC. It’s not perfect. But it’s worth fighting for, iv said many times, we would be so much poorer without it.

Urge to hibernate increasing

Social media algorithms can alter political views, study says A browser extension powered by AI can reduce how people feel about opposing political views, according to new research that looked into the 2024 US presidential election.

www.euronews.com/next/2025/11...

STV News. Hundreds of care homes 'sold up or collapsed' in past decade, Lib-Dems reveal. 16 Nov 2025.

Care providers feel like they’re on their own.

The SNP wasted four years and £30 million on a bureaucratic takeover of social care that they ultimately had to ditch.

Meanwhile, the UK Labour Government only made things worse by clobbering providers with a cruel tax hike.

Last sunrise in Cairo for us

Are People Willing to Trade Away Democracy for Desirable Outcomes? Experimental Evidence From Six Countries - Jonathan A. Chu, Scott Williamson, Eddy S. F. Yeung, 2025 To what extent do people prioritize living in a democracy over other indicators of good governance or personal well-being? This question has become contested as...

People value free and fair elections, and prefer living in a country with free and fair elections but with less desirable outcomes (e.g. low levels of wealth) to living in a country without free and fair elections but with better outcomes journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00104140251392539

I've been getting back into the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series after many years, and the most relatable part is how everyday objects like doors and elevators have been imbued with artificial intelligence and it just makes them obnoxious and frustrating to use and everyone hates it.

YouTube video by BBC News Sudanese survivors of el-Fasher siege tell the BBC about RSF brutality | BBC News

A horrific mass murder is unfolding in Sudan, where no one can see it. The RSF are murdering civilians in El Fasher, having finally defeated the Sudanese army forces holding out in the city. The BBC has managed to speak to some who escaped

www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7fC...

Populism is terrible for minorities

When trains are pricier than planes, there’s a heavy social, financial and environmental cost In this week’s newsletter: whether it’s a holiday or work trip, railway travellers find themselves burdened by astronomical prices

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Care Quality Commission chief quits over maternity inquiry into NHS trust he led Julian Hartley says his role at CQC ‘incompatible’ with investigation into Leeds trust he headed for 10 years

Care Quality Commission chief quits over maternity inquiry into NHS trust he led www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

"Research has shown that, inside some companies, workers begin to see their colleagues who use generative AI as less creative, even less trustworthy."

1)You may remember the articles criticizing liberal students for their hesitancy to make friends with conservative students—alleging that they were less open-minded than their conservative counterparts.

Cats face about to bite the laptop cable

Do not bite the work laptop!

Every year in local FB group, the call goes up for who can offer work experience

Chopin-mania grips Poland as pianists battle it out The composer’s soft power remains undiminished as competitors gather for the five-yearly contest

Chopin-mania grips Poland as pianists battle it out on.ft.com/46Q2PMW | opinion

Statement for National Hate Crime Awareness Week 2025 The Reading Liberal Democrats stand against hate, this week and always.

Tomorrow (Sat. 11/10/25) is the start of National Hate Crime Awareness Week.

We're proud of Reading's diversity and will always stand with victims and allies against hate. Statement from us below. 👇

Latest YouGov Westminster voting intention (5-6 October 2025)

Reform UK: 27% (-2 from 28-29 Sept)
Labour: 20% (-2)
Conservatives: 17% (+1)
Lib Dems: 17% (+2)
Greens: 12% (+1)
SNP: 4% (+1)

yougov.co.uk/topics/polit...

Tugendhat: Young people are "realising the entire economy is now geared to a bunch of people who are ageing and claiming their retirement

"It is a continuous series of politics in the centre that is defending this gap – the have assets, have jobs, have equity, against the have nots – young people"

My slow cooker veggie chili was amazing! Wish I could remember what I put in it ...

YouTube video by WION French President Macron Speaks at German Unity Day Ceremony | WION LIVE

President Macron:
“We were very naive to leave our public space to social media networks controlled by US or Chinese companies that don’t share our interests and not interested in survival of our democracies.”
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MggN...

The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Intelligence and Security Committee to launch a new probe investigating Russian interference in British politics, after Reform’s former leader in Wales Nathan Gill admitted to taking bribes to make statements in favour of Russia

The AfD qualified for three mayoral run-offs in cities in North Rhine-Westphalia today, and lost all by big margins. The lesson is not that we have overdone the AfD's rise, but that we do perhaps sometimes underestimate the counter-mobilisation effects - including in east Germany, incidentally.

Ok. They’ve pissed me off.

I’m back to tell you 3 things about ID cards:

1. Migrants ALREADY HAVE biometric ID cards & govts have been trying to digitise them for years w repeated fuckups & failures causing complete chaos - they don’t work, you do not want that system for you.

Ex-Reform UK Wales leader Nathan Gill pleads guilty to bribery charges Nathan Gill admits eight charges of bribery while being a Member of the European Parliament.

Blimey.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Right, this is actually the use case for government ID - should empower citizens issue a token that says absolutely nothing, cannot be used to steal your data, but does say to an estate agent 'yes this person can rent this home, yes this person has the right to work'.