Jim Williams

@leorzmigrod.bsky.social Thank you for your thoughtful answer to my question this morning around non-divisive political messages. I'd love to ask you some further questions, around rigidity and authoritarianism. Are you still around Hay at all?

@steveakehurst.bsky.social Hello! I'm doing a masters dissertation on electoral viability of policies that increase tax. Your MRP data on this is fantastic. Could we chat? I'd love to ask you some questions.

Cor. Very jealous. I particularly recommend Bath Soft Cheese, Gem Ale, those amazing biscuits by the Bath Cheese Company!

Now more than ever, it is imperative that we buy local.

I am delighted to be hosting some of Bath's best businesses in Parliament to give my colleagues a 'Taste of Bath'.

Throughout the day I will be highlighting these fantastic businesses as I encourage you to buy Bath and back Britain 🇬🇧

Thanks Glenn!

Yes please! Very glad that you liked it. I had worried it might be a bit turgid. Glad it isn't! Please bore away.

Should I set this organisation up? It's a monstrous hybrid of a lean think tank and a full fat public communications campaign.

Could it ever work? Should it see the light of day? Come poke holes in it here:

open.substack.com/pub/prototyp...

With more art from the wonderful www.lengrant.co.uk

The Digital Services Tax currently brings in over £830M a year - enough to completely cover the cost of free school meals.

Politics is about choices. Cutting this Tax while diluting free schools meals would be choosing Donald Trump and Elon Musk over hungry school children.

Harro-Great News! Frederalist the Policy Bot Made Some Friends at Conference And he already knows all the policies that got passed. Bit keen if you ask me.

Fred, my policy chat bot in training, is a show off. He already knows what happened at Conference this weekend.

But is he getting it right? Maybe? Probably? Sort of? Take a look, let me know, and give me some of that juicy negative feedback goodness.

prototypepolitics.substack.com/p/harro-grea...

Portfolio - Jim Williams Jim’s⁁Portfolio of (mostly) very silly games super professional

🙋‍♂️

I'd be up for that. Here's a bunch!

docs.google.com/presentation...

Kemi Badenoch is failing to hit the spot at PMQs – and everywhere else | Andrew Rawnsley The Conservative leader isn’t convincing fellow Tories that she possesses a viable route map to recovery

THE GUARDIAN: Kemi Badenoch’s floundering leadership struggles to inspire a beleaguered Tory party as PMQs reveal her weaknesses and undermine her authority ahead of critical local elections.

- by Andrew Rawnsley

The UK is unusual in the low level of support among younger voters for a party of the radical right. (Reform polls at 5% among 18-24 year olds, compared with 31% for 65+).

But there's clearly a significant pool of support that *could* be mobilised, by a successor (or rival) to Nigel Farage.

Clean Up The Crap A proposed narrative for the Liberal Democrats - take two!

The reason @eddavey.libdems.org.uk's focus on sewage has worked so well is that it's tapped into something bigger. People feel taken for granted and (to be honest) more than a little bit shat on. The party should lean into the metaphor.

open.substack.com/pub/prototyp...

Clean Up The Crap A proposed narrative for the Liberal Democrats - take two!

The reason @eddavey.libdems.org.uk's focus on sewage has worked so well is that it's tapped into something bigger. People feel taken for granted and (to be honest) more than a little bit shat on. The party should lean into the metaphor.

open.substack.com/pub/prototyp...

Congrats Jo!

@james.fieldleveltech.org - you might appreciate this.

I've been playing around with messaging recently about cleaning up the crap (sewage, dirty money, crony contracts, etc), and decided that an image of Nigel Farage as a fatberg could be quite fun.

ChatGPT told me it could call Dall-E and make a cartoon for me, so I said yes. I'm so glad I did.

@sarahgreenld.bsky.social - reporting from the Guardian today shows that raw sewage poured out of the Chesham sewage treatment works for 2,681 hours last year. That's 111 days' worth of sewage dumped on your patch by Thames Water.

Here's the article: www.theguardian.com/business/202...

@rory-stewart.bsky.social As a supporter of proportional representation, I wonder if this might be of interest to you? Updates and analysis regarding electoral reform and the broader fight to clean up British politics, from @libdems4er.bsky.social.

@compassoffice.bsky.social @bestforbritain.bsky.social @electoralreform.bsky.social @unlockdemocracy.bsky.social

Latest issue of Fair Votes Watch from @libdems4er.bsky.social, full of updates and analysis about developments in the first to clean up British politics. All feedback welcome!

@openbritain.bsky.social @mkieran.com @mattmgallagher.bsky.social @appgfairelections.bsky.social @fairvote.bsky.social

Hi all! @libdems4er.bsky.social has launched a monthly newsletter about developments in electoral reform. Might be of interest!

Hello @makevotesmatter.bsky.social! 👋 This month's issue of Fair Votes Watch includes a link to your upcoming seminar this week on Equal Votes & Women's Representation in Politics. Best of luck with it!

actionnetwork.org/events/make-...

@markpackuk.bsky.social @lisasmartmp.bsky.social @wendychambld.bsky.social @ollyglover.bsky.social

Second issue of LDER's Fair Votes Watch out now. Might be of interest!

Fair Votes Watch | Jim Williams | Substack Updates and analysis on UK electoral reform, from Liberal Democrats for Electoral Reform (https://www.lder.org/). Covering developments across Westminster, the democracy sector, think tanks and public...

Plus of course those big stories that Diane Abbott and Kemi Badenoch both now appear to be supportive of Proportional Representation. A month is a verrrry long time in politics it would seem.

If you like what you see, subscribe at:

fairvoteswatch.substack.com

Why UK's voting system could benefit Nigel Farage's Reform UK At the last general election, Labour won two-thirds of the seats on a third of the votes. Reform is now getting into a position where it could disproportionally benefit from the UK’s voting system in ...

... and from Willie Sullivan of the @electoralreform.bsky.social on the same question:

www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

First Past the Post becoming my “friend”, says Farage — Labour For A New Democracy Reform UK has reached an “inflection point” where the voting system disproportionately advantages the party, claims Farage

Plus, this month's issue has analysis from @labour4pr.bsky.social on Farage's claim that First Past The Post will benefit Reform UK ...

www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

www.labourforanewdemocracy.org.uk/news/fptp-fr...

YouTube video by APPG for Fair Elections Manuela Perteghella on capping political donations

Watch Manuella's speech here, in a video posted by @appgfairelections.bsky.social:

youtube.com/shorts/qsyE5...

MP proposes cap on political donations amid fears of ‘bidding war for influence’ Manuela Perteghella described her Political Donations Bill as one ‘that will take big money out of British politics’.

Also featuring the brilliant Political Donations Bill proposed by Lib Dem MP Manuela Perteghella (@mp4stratford.bsky.social), which aims to "take big money out of British politics" and "protect our democracy from foreign interference".

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

Featuring polling from @moreincommonuk.bsky.social showing that 88% of the public think that the political system needs to change. (Thanks @luketryl.bsky.social for great data as always.)

Issue 2 of Fair Votes Watch from @libdems4er.bsky.social is out now, bringing you the latest news on the fight to clean up Britain's democracy. This issue: Badenoch criticises FPTP; Farage praises it; and Diane Abbott backs Proportional Representation.

fairvoteswatch.substack.com/p/issue-2-18...