George Monbiot

What if dinner was public infrastructure? A Scottish charity wants to reintroduce state-subsidised diners for all—potentially a big ask in the current political climate.

A charity is gaining momentum pushing for state-subsidised diners to be reintroduced across the UK to improve access to affordable, healthy, and climate-friendly food.

Not everyone is convinced, however, that there's a chance in the current political climate.

My latest for Sower ⬇️

V interesting - thanks

New planning bill could jeopardise UK’s trade deal with EU, ambassador warns Exclusive: Proposed legislation removes EU-derived nature protections as government hopes to boost economic growth

So much for "boosting growth".
All this vandalism will do is leave us with devastated ecosystems, fewer green spaces, worse quality of life, while neither solving the housing crisis (because the problem IS NOT AND NEVER WAS "bats and newts") nor creating "growth".
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

In 1791 Thomas Paine argued for a codified constitution in his publication The Rights of Man. Here we are, over 200 years later, still having to state the obvious. The absence of a codified constitution gives a free ride to the grifters and opens the door to fascism.

How can citizens and journalists hold back authoritarianism, far-right populism and hate? Join our live event with - George Monbiot - Nafeez Ahmed - Yasmin Alibhai-Brown - Nick Lowles Finding hope, protecting democracy. 7 pm, 4 November. Book now: http://bit.ly/BylinesHope

How can citizens and journalists hold back authoritarianism, far-right populism and hate?

Join our live event with

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Finding hope, protecting democracy. 7 pm, 4 November.

Book now: bit.ly/BylinesHope

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Don't miss the opportunity of having a live discussion with great guests!

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1. Read thread.
2. Comment.
Why do I keep having to say this?

There are only 6 countries without codified constitution in the world, and only 11 whose codified constitution predates end of WWII.

Surely, we deserve a modern statute of citizen rights and obligations, like the vast majority of countries in the world.

Sure, but a strong independent judicary is something a constitution could make durable.

Sorry, but I'm getting quite exasperated by this response. Is it beyond people to read either the thread or the article before commenting on them?

Er, no. Just as good a job as modern constitutions all over the world. If you'd read the article, you'd see that one potential model is Brazil's.

Exactly this. In Nature & the Human Soul, Bill Plotkin shows how modern culture often arrests psychological development at early adolescence = perceived helplessness.

One of our most urgent tasks is to all become empowered responsible adults, who'll grow into the wise elders our society so lacks.

Very good!

There seems to be a learned helplessness at play: we can't possibly improve on what we've got, so we'll just have to accept whatever ruthless autocratic governments might do to us.
In being so pathetic, we forget the extraordinary courage of our political forebears, in far worse circumstances.

Plenty of people are saying "well, having a codified constitution hasn't stopped Trump". That's partly true. But can you not imagine how much worse things would be without it? Also, the US Constitution is scarcely the model of robustness. Is it really beyond us to picture something better?

I fear you may be right

The point is that it's not "produced" by the govt, though govt support would be required, but by people and Parliament.

Please read the article

And look, I get that rushing this is far from ideal. But being completely unprotected from the rise of authoritarianism? That's even less ideal.

And sorry, but where on Earth does this idea come from, that the point of setting up a constituent assembly is to force through predetermined outcomes? Perhaps before theorising about this, people should look at how constituent and other citizens’ assemblies actually work.

I’m not sure most people have grasped the implications of parliamentary, rather than popular sovereignty, and just how vulnerable this leaves us. Why should we not have guaranteed political rights? Why should we allow any government, current or future, to walk all over us?

We must act now: without a written constitution, Reform UK will have carte blanche to toxify our nation | Goerge Monbiot It means breaking with hundreds of years of tradition, but it can’t wait. As hard-right figures spread division and laud autocrats, a fail-safe is vital, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

The Spectator and others have chosen (deliberately I suspect) to interpret this article as a desire to stop a future Reform UK government from legislating. My purpose is to stop *any* government crushing our fundamental rights. It’s just more urgent now. 🧵 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The need to protect the internet from 'astroturfing' grows ever more urgent | George Monbiot George Monbiot: The tobacco industry does it, the US Air Force clearly wants to ... astroturfing – the use of sophisticated software to drown out real people on web forums – is on the rise. How do we ...

@georgemonbiot.bsky.social reported about this in 2011.

Dark actors were already plotting to manipulate public sentiment via targeted online messaging. This is not mere "bots". This is something more sophisticated, sinister—and effective. "How could people still be voting this way?" This is how.

Keir Starmer shouldn't wait until the likely fiasco of the May local elections. If he has any concern for party and country, he should step aside now, giving his successor as long as possible to undo the damage of his disastrous premiership and restore hope in politics.

Unbelievable, yet simultaneously all too believable

Good thread, thanks

How many times do I need to ask, "read first, comment after"?

In fairness, asphyxiation has proved highly effective in terminating all these conditions.

The Caerphilly result is what we need to see everywhere at the next election: people coordinating to vote tactically for parties which seek a fairer, kinder, greener country.
Pushing out both those who have betrayed our trust AND those who seek to exploit that betrayal.

Dr Clare Gerada has been appointed a crossbench peer in the House of Lords and is now a baroness — I’ve put together a short thread about her involvement in #MECFS.

twitter-thread.com/t/1981309222...