Clare Woodcock

Johnson says he will never use government ID

I wonder if this guy is related to "Boris Johnson" who introduced "voter id" as Prime Minister in 2023 ... off the back of some crazy US conspiracy theories ... and in the process, made digital ID pretty much inevitable.

Former PMs say they use subsidy only for public duties after Boris Johnson revelations Gordon Brown calls for change to rules as he and other ex-leaders say they do not use allowance for commercial work

Perhaps we could means-test it?

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

This ruthless pursuit of disabled people has damaged Labour – no matter what happens next | Frances Ryan The number of rebel Labour MPs vowing to oppose the disability cuts is growing. But the moral stain could take years to shift, says Guardian columnist Frances Ryan

“Forget the MPs who rebel over cutting disabled people’s benefits - remember those who don’t. Just as Iraq was for Blair, disability cuts is the moral stain that will mark Starmer and his government for years to come, whether they succeed or not.”

My col. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning Drowning is not the violent, splashing call for help that most people expect.

Thanks for the reminder @janemunday.bsky.social. Every summer, I repost this article DROWNING DOES NOT LOOK LIKE DROWNING. To date, I know of FOUR kids who were saved after someone who'd clicked on the link learnt how to spot actual drowning. Take time to read and pass on.

slate.com/technology/2...

Understanding the disability voting gap in the UK Using nationally representative longitudinal data from Understanding Society we explore the relationship between disability and political participatio…

Anyone know about creating credit unions &/or friendly societies, or ideally, have energy to create one for #disabled people? If the Labour government isn't going to help us, we need to help ourselves - & close the #DisabilityVotingGap.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... @cooperatives.bsky.social

Yeah that'll help the recruitment crisis

Jawdropping

Such a great thread

Morning.

Revealed: people with cancer, arthritis and amputations among 40% denied disability benefits Observer finds thousands of claims for conditions including cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis are being rejected in England and Wales

The Great Lie that PIP is an easy benefit to get. Nearly half of applications are rejected. I wrote this ten months ago on how the PIP assessment denies benefit to people with clearly substantial illness and disabilities www.theguardian.com/society/arti...

Colleges of further education in England will get less funding than promised Reduction to two-thirds of budgeted top-up payments for additional students a sign of looming government squeezes

One reason I am sceptical of the idea there are real-world savings to be had from the bucket marked 'welfare' is shouldn't some people who are currently 'NEET' (not in education, employment or training) be....in further education?

“Contrarian thinkers” will be the death of us. Serious action on the biggest challenges of our time delayed for years because people with huge media platforms were “just asking questions”:

“Is that trans person really human?”
“Is that right arm really that salute?”
“Is that iceberg really melting?”

I will never forget the photo of Zelenskyy’s face after he saw Russia’s war crimes in Bucha in 2022. He seemed to age years in an afternoon. Watching him constantly cross the world asking for aid that should have been thrown at him is one of the deepest shames of our age.

Oxfordshire people, please contribute to the Greenways consultation and share!

And one more thing: Even if the AfD comes in around 20% in the end. This also means 4/5 of German voters did not vote for them. Just saying.

Everyday the Trump administration remains in power, women's rights and safety deteriorates further. Andrew Tate wears his misogyny like a badge of honour and encourages men to view women as inferior. It's astonishing that this request 👇is even being made; what message does that send to men?

History buffs will know that every authoritarian leader eventually converges on some version of: "I *am* the state. I can not break the law, I am the law, the law is instantiated in me."

Our march to authoritarianism so far has been excruciatingly by-the-book. Hitting every beat. No surprises.

Screenshot of Telegraph live blog

Says a US administration which, last time I looked, was still barring Associated Press from White House events because it refuses to change its style guide so "Gulf of Mexico" is renamed "Gulf of America".

imagine knowing this little about modern history - and still writing about it

An act of grotesque vandalism is taking place in British universities The entire arts and heritage sector in the UK will be irreparably damaged

The incomparable Kate Lister (@k8lister.bsky.social):

"I am old enough to remember when it was important for a university to just have a history department and somewhere to study literature, and I’m not that old."

Brilliant news in the US.

In the UK remember Amazon is not your only option.

Your public library has a broad and expanding ebook (and e-audio / periodicals) offer.

And no need to pay - you paid already through taxes so make the most of it!

(Ps apologies for the language in the quoted post!)

B4044 toll bridge. Google Street View

The venue for Reeves’ speech about growth in the Oxford–Cambridge arc is on the trackbed of the closed Witney railway, and beside the B4044, where traffic flow is restricted by a C18th toll bridge and where a cycleway for the 3.5 miles to Oxford has still not been built despite a 13-year campaign.

We may need a new word to encompass this potent cocktail of cowardice and stupidity.

Elon Musk is starting to risk getting Jess Phillips killed. She's been safeguarding minister for six months. She oversaw nothing relating to the rape gangs. As an opposition MP she was one of the most prominent campaigners for the victims.

What he's doing is a travesty.

Hummer EV glamour shot

Person walking across a large intersection wearing a construction vest.

We build vehicles that weigh 9000 pounds with 1000HP, can go 0-60mph in 3 seconds and market them recklessly.

We then ask people to wear construction vests to cross the street. This is all so beyond absurd and it's truly incredible that we've normalized this.

Anti prime sale - free shipping with bookshop.org

Use this link and you can support our work with libraries *and* help local bookshops too.

uk.bookshop.org/shop/librari...

Shocking! Help people survive and they find a way to build a life. Imagine that.

Clarion Weekly, 27 September 2024 This week’s top stories More than a month's rain fell across the county in 24 hours at the beginning of the week, causing school closures, road and public transport disruption. This continued intermi...

Hello bluesky. We are the Oxford Clarion. We publish a weekly round up of Oxfordshire news. Here's this week's, starring:
-The Labour Party Conference: clues to the future of Oxfordshire 🏘️🌹
-SODC/ Vale Local Plan 🏘️🏘️
-Floods and the future 🌊🫧🛶
-A forest megaphone 🌳📣
oxfordclarion.uk/clarion-week...