garethd.bsky.social

Hello-good to see you both here. Used to see you and Georgie just about every day in the other place!

First ever Pilates class today (must get a thicker mat - it hurts)

Why are the people who accuse those talking about reversing Brexit of "living in the past" never asked about their own plans to rip up an international agreement that was first signed by the UK some 75 years ago?

“The case for Rejoin must be a case for Europe as our home: a continent…prepared to take on and defeat Russian imperialism, an economic union which can shelter countries from the storm of a global trade war” A team we want to belong to. Because it strengthens us all. www.arguably.uk/p/europe-is-...

Should we really entrust Britain's health data to a particular American firm? Demonstrators across the country think not | Aidan Baker

The lessons from Brazil and Serbia? Don't concede one inch of ground to the far right. Don't appease. Don't triangulate. Don't grovel. Don't say they have "legitimate concerns". Mobilise your base, and fight them with all the democratic means at your disposal.

And true to form, Farage and the Tories (Philp) respond by being totally dishonest about it… Freedom of movement with the EU requires EU citizenship. Immigration requires visas. Talk of ‘betrayal’ and ‘uncontrolled migration’ is the mark of a liar or a fool. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

And you don’t act in the best interests of the country by putting ruinous far right ideology into policy/law… See Brexit. See immigration. Both epic disasters doing profound, long-term damage in every way it’s possible to damage a country and take risks with its future.

So, Farage has reported ITV to the police following the work their undercover journalists did which confirmed that Reform is indeed a seething mass of racism, misogyny and bigotry. Meanwhile, here’s some commentary from Private Eye and their handy guide to undercover journalists.

Anglian Water fined puny £1.6M for polluting 14km of River Brain. Ignored alarms telling them that sewage was being dumped. Highest levels of toxic ammonia. AW has numerous criminal convictions. No exec prosecuted, licence to operate not cancelled. Fleecing normalized.

Care homes were an “afterthought” during the pandemic and government failures caused the virus to spread “like wildfire” among vulnerable and elderly people, the public inquiry has found www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

The ECHR is not a "left-wing project" but a "safeguard against arbitrary government" He describes the Tory party now as “a political party that cannot tolerate support for fundamental human rights.” What a disgrace. How are they different from Reform exactly? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Burnham urges officials to come up with more radical options for Thames Water. Here are some suggestions. Enforce laws. Prosecute execs for harming health, environment. Cancel licence to operate. Put TW into special administration. Nationalise at knockdown price. Apply to all water companies.

The undercover reporter suggested people did not mind if Farage “makes a few bob [from politics]” Jukes replied: “Well it’s a bit priced in with our Nige, isn’t it, no one’s voting for him to be the pope” But a racist, corrupt, security-risk PM is fine, is it? www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

But isn’t keeping people fearful - particularly of the French - a key tenet of Conservatism?

Jenrick on #r4today trying to downplay the raging racism of Reform… by saying “Farage has done more than anyone else to stand up against racism and the far right”. Farage the schoolboy Nazi. Farage the ‘breaking point’ Brexiter. Farage the mass-deportations champion. Farage the far right racist.

So many who follow and are followed by you effectively‘disappear’ to post no more. Anyone seen/heard anything of @sukie74.bsky.social for 3 months?

Once again… This is not a vetting problem. This is a Reform problem. This is a Farage problem. Only grim losers like this are going to sign up to a racist, misogynistic, extremist, mass-deportations and tell-the-Royal-Marines-to-murder-people-at-sea kind of party. www.itv.com/news/2026-10...

Reform UK councillors and candidates filmed making graphic threats of extreme violence, expressing racist and misogynistic views. Bromley councillor calling for King Charles to be killed. That's the kind of people Reform attracts. It has normalized hatred. What would a Reform govt unleash?

Yesterday, the head of MI5 warned that far-right, anti-migrant and anti-Muslim extremists are becoming increasingly likely to consider carrying out terror attacks. This should worry us all. 🧵

Towns in England at risk of running out of water until 2027. Over one trillion litres of water a year lost to leaks. No new reservoirs since privatisation. Record customer bills. Polluted rivers. No national planning. No national grid. Crisis deepened by privatisation. archive.ph/0XI5H

“The political, strategic and economic momentum for a reversal of Brexit is growing” and ultimately, despite - and maybe partly because of - the idiotic Tory and Reform tantrums about it, it’s becoming unstoppable. Where there’s a will, there will be a way… giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

Jenrick’s been on quite the journey from a one nation, Remain-voting Tory, through to frothing Brexiter and on to demanding that Royal Marines murder people at sea for daring to seek refuge here. All to impress the country’s racist losers and maybe get a few more votes. Christ he’s repulsive.

That would be great 👇

What a dick! Idiot, Russian asset, fucking twat!

For 14yrs, the Tories cratered our economy, added thousands to our cost of living, melted down public services and brexited us into decades of eye-watering expense and lost opportunity. That’s still their plan. With tax breaks for the super rich paid for by welfare cuts. So what TF is this headline?

Reform defends councillor over Facebook post calling immigrants ‘third world animals’. They are the worst of us

via CND

Seriously… how can a party that insists on scrapping all progress with the EU, binning NetZero and leaving the ECHR, so that it can abuse its power without accountability… how can that party claim “the soul of the nation”. The ruin - maybe. The soul - definitely not.

Leader of party - that sold its own shrivelled soul to the devils of austerity and Brexit - will use her conference speech to slag off Labour (yawn) and make the only promise the Tories ever make - cutting taxes… They have nothing new or credible… or just plain nice… to say any more.

Kemi Badenoch on Kemi Badenoch: “I never make gaffes or need to apologize or clarify my statements, as I think carefully about what I say.” Kemi Badenoch on her ‘Britannia Shield’ ‘plan’….

Voters loathed the Tory party when they booted them out in 2024.They really needed to shake off their disgrace with humility and better ideas. They haven’t. They’ve doubled down. More Brexit, more austerity, more anti-immigration ugliness, more tedious arrogance… and no good reason to vote for them.

Standing up to the balaclava nonces. Inspiring.

Hugely dishonest to pass off a sentence for setting off a bomb as "destroying a camera"

More lying-by-omission right-wing outrage exposed meme via FascinatingAvocados

England's water infrastructure at breaking point. Large part of water network installed 130-150 years ago. Thames Water infrastructure has average age of 79 years; industry average 56 yrs. 40% of TW assets are 100+ yrs old. Must end privatisation, remove profit motive.

As long as the Tories are threatening to leave the ECHR, they aren’t a serious party. Consider it the ultimate red flag. Any party who’d take this entirely unnecessary and ruinous risk with our rights and our country’s security and wellbeing should never get its hands on power. (Letter, Times)

The Tory party has killed itself with Brexit. It’s lost its mind chasing Farage into the gutter, saying unserious things, promoting unserious people who stand around in suits, arms folded, talking utter dribble to get a headline. It’s pathetic. We deserve a better opposition. This lot are shite.

So, Tories would cancel Erasmus and youth mobility, scrap the SPS deal that reduces red tape, lowers costs and eases backlogs for goods trade and renege on our new energy, defence and security arrangements… Ridiculous threat, ridiculous party, ridiculous people…

The radicalisation of the middle aged and elderly needs addressing. Many believe every single word on Facebook and X.

There are many challenges; a different UK&EU to 2016, a rogue US, 🇫🇷elections, the demands that could be made of us, our own fear of Brexit wars, Farage weakening our negotiating position BUT… At least Burnham “has created the political space to have a conversation” giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

Elon is returning to Trump Administration to? Meddle with midterms? Advise on Iran War? Help bankrupt America? All of the above Repost #Blues #Democracy #Politics

Braverman blathering on about who can be English, Farage starting his me-me-me tour of the country telling audiences he’ll fix the country in 100 days or they’ll all sack themselves… apart from him… and Yusuf fanboying that racist thug who got refused bail… A moron festival. Come on, UK. Enough now.

@paulette7.bsky.social awful game of golf this morning. Couldn’t do anything right. Didn’t lose a single ball though.

“Brexit was a huge loss both for the British people and for the European project as a whole. If the United Kingdom were to make such a decision, Spain would welcome it with open arms and once again embrace our friends in Britain.” - President Sánchez

bestforbritain.org/petition/far...

Farage says Brexit was a disaster because of Boris Johnson’s deal? Please MEDIA point out that at the time Farage supported his Brexit deal.

South West Water pleaded guilty to sewage dumping, fined £8m, a decade after the events. Yet govt introduced more deregulation. England's water industry controlled by organisations with criminal convictions. None has licence revoked. No exec prosecuted. Customers fleeced.