Leaving the ECHR won’t “Take Back Control” – it will hand your rights to politicians The myths are seductive, the reality is very different – without the ECHR your freedoms rest on whichever Home Secretary wakes up grumpy

👏 Today marks 75 years since the creation of the ECHR.

We should celebrate the vision that Winston Churchill showed in recognising everyone’s human rights.

But there are now calls for the UK to leave ECHR.

As with Brexit, leaving would strip all of us of fundamental rights.

The Bear explains

Train hero who saved passengers during attack named The family of rail worker Samir Zitouni say they are

Cambridgeshire: the heroic railway worker who saved many lives during the Huntingdon train attack has been named.

Via BBC

Train worker hero credited with saving lives in the Huntingdon knife attack named as Samir Zitouni.

Mass shootings in the US, per Gun Violence Archive:

2015: 332
2016: 383
2017: 347
2018: 335
2019: 414
2020: 611
2021: 689
2022: 644
2023: 659
2024: 503

So far in 2025...324 mass shootings in just 272 days.

We do not have to keep living like this.

Are you paying attention?

Chillingly, moments after the AD vote, the private company dubbed the “Tesla of euthanasia” (selling death by gassing), commented on exploiting the UK market:

“As soon as we know that the final legislation is in place we’ll start enthusiastically pursuing the option of using the device in the UK...

Tories, they are degenerate, lying, corrupt cunts. They’ve are exposed time and time again. Every time I meet someone who supports them a set of uncomfortable questions ensues. I don’t care if they are friends or family, their complacency and lack of care has fucked our country.

a man wearing sunglasses and a leather jacket holds a sign that says d.o.g.e. ALT: a man wearing sunglasses and a leather jacket holds a sign that says d.o.g.e.

Trump’s Putinesque vanity parade today is going to cost US taxpayers upwards of $45 million (£33m).

This from a government that has already spent ca $170 billion more than the Biden administration in the same period last year.

So much for DOGE huh

Sharing a little Obama appreciation on this #ObamaDay

HERE is what is really happening on the ground in LA.

Ya, know where 47 is sending troops to go after America citizens exercising first amendment rights.

#FreedomToDissent

Jonathan Joss' husband alleges actor was shot by man who yelled homophobic slurs Jonathan Joss, an actor best known for his voice role on the animated series "King of the Hill," has died in a shooting.

Bigots in his neighborhood burned his house down, killed his dogs, and murdered him . . . all for being gay in Texas.

So don't you dare complain that there's no reason for #LGBT people to have a Pride holiday that announces our right to live safely and openly.

www.usatoday.com/story/entert...

One in 10 Britons have no savings, UK financial regulator says Stress and anxiety among those with debts remains high but help is available, a major survey finds.

Life on the edge.

Some 10% of Britons have no cash saved at all. Another 21% had less than £1,000 tucked away.

Personal debt surging.

Years of austerity, real wage cuts, corporate profiteering, frozen tax allowance take toll.

Later life shocks await.

Must redistribute.

Letter: The truth about Trump’s tariffs and the so-called Brexit ‘benefit’ A furious but forensic response to Michelle Dewberry’s claim that Trump’s latest tariffs are a Brexit benefit

A furious but forensic response to Michelle Dewberry’s claim that Trump’s latest tariffs are a Brexit benefit.

A letter to East Anglia Bylines

We're in London today with a big old bus to tell our Govt this country cannot afford cuts. Instead they should tax us, the super rich. A 2% wealth tax alone could raise up to £460mln a week. @Keir_starmer - invest in a fairer economy. Patriotic Millionaires say Tax Our Wealth

💥 BREAKING: Walt Disney Company shareholders voted today 99-1 percent to reject an anti-LGBTQ+ proposal, requesting that the company sever its relationship with the Human Rights Campaign and HRC's Corporate Equality Index. Disney Board recommended shareholders vote against the proposal.

A screenshot of a social media post from the account "GET A GRIP" (@docrussjackson ), timestamped 1 day ago, with a blue checkmark. The post quotes a previous post by "Martha Kelly" (@MarthaKelly3 ), which reads: "Under capitalism, it’s normal to let children go hungry, let banks force people out of their homes, let sick people die for lack of access to healthcare. But the idea that billionaires could just be less rich – not poor, not struggling, just less rich, is considered insane." The quoted post is followed by a reply from "techsiren" (@techhsiren

Just less rich. That’s all we’re asking.

How did Rachel Reeves suddenly find billions for Ukraine?

No new borrowing. No tax rises. No magic money tree.

Her solution is much more clever – because it also benefits you and me:

No second state visit for Trump This is UNBELIEVABLE. Keir Starmer has just handed Donald Trump a letter from King Charles, inviting him for a second state visit to the UK. It’s totally unprecedented, and I was so outraged when I he...

Unbelievable. Donald Trump has been invited to a state visit to the UK. We should not be rolling out the red carpet to celebrate this man. Agree? Add your name to the petition today: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/no...

#ThamesWater just emailed me to tell me my bill is going up. I'm going to email them back and tell them I'm switching to a new provider. Oh wait, I can't. What was that about #privatisation being great for competition and consumers? 🚰

The water industry shows how the state indulges corporations to the detriment of society Since 1989, water companies have been the subject of over 1,100 criminal convictions, but governments are content for them to control the industry.

When is a fine not a fine?
When it is levied on England's water companies.

Aug 2024: OFWAT announced £168m fine on 3 companies. ZERO Paid.

Dec 2024: £18m fine on Thames Water for paying unjustified dividends. ZERO Paid.

Regulatory indulgence emboldens companies, encourages more abuses.

How Right-Wing Media Spread the False Claim That One in Twelve Londoners Are 'Illegal Migrants' There is a deliberate attempt to mislead the public, in order to push for Trump-style mass deportations, argues Zoe Gardner

How Right-Wing Media Spread the False Claim That One in Twelve Londoners Are ‘Illegal Migrants’

There is a deliberate attempt to mislead the public, in order to push for Trump-style mass deportations

bylinetimes.com/2025/01/30/h...

Decision time: local government to be overhauled in the East The government has announced arrangements for local government reorganisation in most of the East of England

While using East Anglia is used as an example, this is a good explainer on the government's roll-out of its devolution plans, answering what, why & how.

@eastangliabylines.co.uk

Decision time: local government to be overhauled in the East The government has announced arrangements for local government reorganisation in most of the East of England

Will Thurrock’s debts sink Greater Essex?

A new unitary authority is coming, but the fate of its financial black hole remains unclear.

@stephenmcnair.bsky.social investigates the tough decisions ahead.

THREAD: We’re two weeks in, so here’s a quick report on what Trump has done so far. Spoiler alert: none of it very helpful, and most of it is extremely harmful.

Are you happy with Brexit? Yes 29%, No 70%, don’t know 1%

Just a little poll in The Express.

You know what to do —> xd.wayin.com/display/cont...

NatWest finalises £450m bonus pot as return to private ownership looms The bank's annual results will come with the government on the brink of no longer being its single-biggest shareholder after nearly 17 years, Sky News can reveal.

NatWest Bank finalises £450m bonus pot, 25% higher than last year.

CEO remuneration expected to hit £6.6m.

Their profiteering is our poverty.

Govt tells worker wage rises are inflationary, but that doesn't apply to exec pay, dividends, share buybacks.

It's class war.

'Labour’s Borders Bill Is a Gift to the Far-Right That Won’t Stop Boats but Will Cost Lives' The bill will cause untold human suffering while also still failing to deter irregular migration, argues Nathan Phillips

‘Labour’s Borders Bill Is a Gift to the Far-Right That Won’t Stop Boats but Will Cost Lives’

The bill will cause untold human suffering while also still failing to deter irregular migration, argues Nathan Phillips

bylinetimes.com/2025/02/01/l...

Trump 2.0 is already proving chaotic and vindictive. What next? Trump’s early moves have been to destabilise parts of US governance and to ramp up the threat of trade wars, even against the United States’ allies

✍️ Trump 2.0 is already proving chaotic and vindictive. What next?

Trump’s early moves have been to destabilise parts of US governance and to ramp up the threat of trade wars, even against the United States’ allies

By Jane Thomas

@campaignjane.bsky.social

Lies, damned lies and misrepresentation The Times recently led its front page with an entirely bogus story about VAT on private school fees. What were the facts?

The Times recently led its front page with an entirely bogus story about VAT on private school fees. What were the facts? | Stephen McNair