@tommysharpe.bsky.social
Transformation Manager at the National grid. Christian. Labour Party member. Man City fan. All views my own. ✝️,🌹
Over the past few weeks, there have been anti-asylum protests across the UK. Last weekend, one happened in my backyard.
I went to the counter protest and found it conflicting, so I thought I’d write down my experience to try and process. This is that writing.
Great to see @islington-council.bsky.social leading the way in local Environmental action.
They’re even using warm air from London tubes to heat over 1000 homes, a school, and 2 leisure centres!
Another fine Brexit mess.
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Great news that the maternity unit at Whittington Hospital has been saved after a vigorous campaign by Labour in Islington. Only Labour can save the NHS. #SaveWhittingtonMaternity
27.03.2025 06:43 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
Awful and heartbreaking story.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
Amazing work by @islington-council.bsky.social 👏👏
One panellist quoted as saying: “I don’t care about money or gifts. I just want to be with people, share my experience and listen to others. This means a lot to me.”
Infographic explaining the UK's economic outlook has deteriorated from the budget. Fresh fiscal tightening is needed to meet fiscal rules.
Infograph assessing the options for meeting fiscal rules. Advises against making cuts to public investment or further cuts to unprotected departments.
Infograph explaining that the government may cut PIP to meet fiscal rules. But 70% of these cuts would hit families in the poorest half of the income distribution.
History tells us that savings don't materialise from rushed cuts. Instead, the government could look at tax options including extending the freeze in personal tax thresholds to 2029-30, which would raise around £8bn.
The economic outlook has deteriorated since the Autumn budget.
What are the Chancellor's options for meeting her fiscal rules?
Fascinating reading the @oxfaminternational.bsky.social “Takers, Not Makers” report. The following graph and figure stood out. Billionaire wealth is rising, it’s unfair, and it’s exploitative. No one needs that much money.
Full report: www.oxfam.org/en/takers-no...
I’m always struck by the statistician Sir Frances Galton’s simple experiment: At a 1906 country fair, 800 people participated in a contest to estimate the weight of an ox. Galton observed that the median guess, 1207 pounds, was accurate within 1% of the true weight of 1198 pounds.
10.03.2025 08:41 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0Thanks - The world feels a bit dark at the moment so trying to make sure I celebrate the good things when they do happen!
04.03.2025 22:28 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
My thoughts on 5 positive things that the UK government has done since last summer!
04.03.2025 12:58 — 👍 3 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 0cdn.one.org/pdfs/mandela...
“When needed, we enter the public square, not on behalf of ourselves, but on behalf of the other”
Powerful words from the leaders of the church in South Africa to parliament in the UK
We could also consider seizing rather than freezing Russian assets in Europe which add up to something like $200bn, something which David Lammy has talked about before
02.03.2025 09:02 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0The best personal response to the Government’s cut to the aid budget is to ensure that you give at least 0.7% of your income to internationally focused charities.
01.03.2025 12:31 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
www.seenandunseen.com/viruses-dont...
An excellent piece by @krishk.com on the importance of global cooperation on international development, both for recipients and for the UK
Global cooperation on international development has so so many benefits
27.02.2025 19:14 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Text statement from LCID which reads: After the Tories hollowed out Britain’s defences, only Labour can be trusted to rebuild our national security. As internationalists, we believe in Britain’s global role and the need to stand up to Russia and stand with Ukraine. We agree that the UK should spend more on defence but not at the expense of our overseas development budget. However, the decision to slash aid spending by 40%, to its lowest level since the 1990s, will see the world’s most vulnerable pay the price. Such a severe cut will see fragile states made more fragile, poor people made poorer, and the impacts of climate change made harsher. In the poorest parts of the world, we risk seeing our adversaries advance and seeing forced global migration accelerate. In turn, this cut will see threats to our international security grow – not shrink. In a time of geopolitical upheaval, this is the moment for the UK to stand tall and project our values in all corners of the world - through the balance of defence, development and diplomacy. We urge the government to think again.
Our response to the announcement on cutting overseas aid 👇
26.02.2025 20:47 — 👍 5 🔁 5 💬 0 📌 1
06.02.2025 18:18 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
