Peter Barden

Peter Barden

@peterbarden.bsky.social

Championing connection, compassion, and mission. 🌍 Advocate of soul work, democracy and planetary regeneration. 💼 Fellow of the RSA | Builder of communities & partnerships 🎙️ Speaker on masculinity, purpose and belief

5K followers133 following336 posts

Peter Barden
@peterbarden.bsky.social

I back Zack ✊🏽

Zack Polanski@zackpolanski.bsky.social

Thank you to everyone who came out today. We've got another huge action day Sunday!! We're going to be joined by climate activist Dominique Palmer and our brilliant 5th Green MP Hannah Spencer. Come help make history & elect London's first Green MP! actionnetwork.org/events/2009-...

Peter Barden reposted

Lauren Starkey
@laurenhstarkey.bsky.social

Men will send me emails like this and then go rampaging on the streets of Dover and Portsmouth claiming they want to keep refugees out in order to “PROTECT OUR WOMEN!” Not a single one of the young male refugees I’ve worked with has ever spoken to me with such violent misogyny.

Peter Barden
@peterbarden.bsky.social

Humanity making Progress. This current wave of neofascist consciousness will not, it looks like, resolve through war, but rather, through apt ridicule and the cleansing eye of modern public scrutiny. (Imagine if this was happening 90 years ago?!) Now can we lend our lenses to the USA? #specsavers

Best for Britain@bestforbritain.org

Reform UK's popularity has fallen fast. 👏 From consistently scoring over 30% in polls a year ago, to now scoring just over 20%. ❌ Farage is toxic, and people are starting to see through his grifting.

independent.co.ukFarage is loved by some but hated by more – now even Reform can see itIn an astonishing admission, Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice has admitted that the party needs to get the country to

Peter Barden reposted

Make Votes Matter
@makevotesmatter.bsky.social

💥 New polling by @yougov.co.uk shows that 53% of MPs support a review of Westminster's voting system - a National Commission on Electoral Reform. First Past the Post is long past its sell-by date. The country is ready for change - it's time for PR 💪

theguardian.comLabour MPs will push Burnham to back voting reform in first 100 daysExclusive: Nearly 100 Labour MPs support commission on changing the system used for Westminster election
Peter Barden
@peterbarden.bsky.social

Radiant, graceful, thoughtful, magnificent, funny, fierce, iconic, legendary. So many superlatives, only one Dolly Parton. ❤️

Joel@itsjoels.bsky.social

This is the letter kids got at the end of Dolly’s Imagination Library. I defy you to read this and not cry.

Peter Barden reposted

Make Votes Matter
@makevotesmatter.bsky.social

Great to see this in the @ippr.org's new report 👇💯 To restore faith in democracy, ensure genuine representation and stop extremists from exploiting people's frustrations, we need a fair voting system where all voices are heard.

Institute for Public Policy Research@ippr.org

🗳️ NEW REPORT: Democracy should mean more than casting a vote every few years. It should give people power, purpose and a stake in public life. That is the alternative to the populist right’s politics of resentment and division. The latest from us👇 www.ippr.org/articles/the...

ippr.orgThe democratic citizen: Renewing citizenship and the public domain | IPPROften, this descends into little more than an argument about eligibility for welfare benefits. This is a disaster for progressives, who find themselves fig
Peter Barden
@peterbarden.bsky.social

This really is huge… And the global ripple effects, if the Mother of Parliaments upgrades her operating system, would be even bigger...

Make Votes Matter@makevotesmatter.bsky.social

💥 THIS IS HUGE! The electoral reform amendment tabled by @alexsobel.co.uk is now the single biggest amendment since the general election. 166 MPs from 8 parties have added their names - a quarter of the House of Commons. The system isn't working and the new PM needs to make this a priority.

politics.co.ukOne in four MPs demand electoral reform commission in ‘open goal’ for Burnham - Politics.co.ukMore than a quarter of the House of Commons has signed an amendment calling for a national commission on electoral reform, in what backers are describing as an “open goal” for Andy Burnham, the likely...
Peter Barden
@peterbarden.bsky.social

...and, now I recall, that murky, massive DUP ad funding... www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland...

irishtimes.comDUP’s Brexit ads: Who bankrolled the secretive £435,000 campaign?A journalist has tried to smash the wall of silence around NI’s record political donation
Hugo Rifkind@hugorifkind.bsky.social

For no particular reason, obviously, this weekend I found myself remembering all those allegations about mysterious dark money funding untraceable Facebook ads during the Brexit campaign.

Peter Barden
@peterbarden.bsky.social

The @bbcnewsnight.bsky.social producers need to hear this..

George Eaton@georgeeaton.bsky.social

Reform have now lost six by-elections in a row in England, Scotland and Wales. Their national poll rating is 26% – below Labour in 1983 – and Farage’s approval rating is -37. They’re very far from the voice of the people and need to stop being treated as such.

Peter Barden
@peterbarden.bsky.social

Beware the Dictatorship of Monsters. They await us in Britain. Lurking in the heartlands. Fuelled by lust of fear and hatred. Driven only by the greed for power. We musn‘t fall asleep. We musn‘t let the vampires in. America welcomed them into their House. Now look as they are bled dry.

Best for Britain@bestforbritain.org

"What Farage is doing with this tragedy is not advocacy, but manipulation. He has taken a young man's murder, stripped it of its complexity and dressed it in a pre-existing political costume. The result is not illuminating. It is dangerous."

independent.co.ukThis is what Nigel Farage really wants from Henry Nowak’s murderWith his call for ‘pure cold rage’ in response to the murder of student Henry Nowak, the Reform UK leader is playing an
Peter Barden
@peterbarden.bsky.social

Surely there is a case for the unions to drop Labour and get behind the Green Party? Stronger alignment of social values, including an upgrade to our moth-eaten voting system. Labours power psycho-drama serves no-one, as with the Tories. What unions continue to see in Labour I just can’t fathom.

Make Votes Matter@makevotesmatter.bsky.social

On May Day, here's a reminder that electoral reform is supported by unions representing millions of workers - including: - UNISON - Unite - TSSA - UCU - ASLEF - BFAWU - FBU - Musicians' Union - PCS - Prospect - USDAW If you're a trade unionist interested in PR, follow @politics4many.bsky.social 🫱🏽‍🫲🏻

Peter Barden reposted

Allison Gill
@muellershewrote.com

23 people could stop this genocidal war criminal. That’s it. 23. 20 Republican senators and 3 republican reps in the house and he’d be out of politics forever. But they won’t. They’re addicted to power. A drug so strong they’d rather see a civilization die than give it up.

Peter Barden
@peterbarden.bsky.social

Meanwhile, my @octopus.energy bill has just gone down, again, so an answer is: get yourselves onto a clean energy provider ❤️

Zack Polanski@zackpolanski.bsky.social

This is an unbelievably weak response from the chancellor to the enormous bill hikes facing households in the UK. Monitoring the situation? These lukewarm words show the government simply do not understand the scale of the cost of living crisis. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

theguardian.comRachel Reeves rules out universal support on energy billsChancellor says package offered by Liz Truss’s government was unaffordable and any future help will be targeted
Peter Barden
@peterbarden.bsky.social

Had the absolute pleasure of seeing the wonder-full @holliemcnish.bsky.social in Bath last night, live for the first time, and oh my wow, so moving, so funny, so warm, so sharp. Please please go see her, and especially MEN (weirdly was maybe one of four men?!) - there’s gold in those verses for us 💛

Peter Barden
@peterbarden.bsky.social

All this says to me is that we really, really need proportional representation, like, yesterday.

Election Maps UK@electionmaps.uk

Westminster Voting Intention: RFM: 25% (+2) GRN: 19% (=) CON: 17% (-2) LAB: 17% (=) LDM: 14% (=) Via YouGov, 15-16 Mar. Changes w/ 9-10 Mar.

Peter Barden
@peterbarden.bsky.social

This is what March does. She gives you a glimpse of whats to come, and then she snatches it away. As far as months go, definitely a tease. Not quite in the same league of terror as February (look up the etymology of February), but she’s up there. Come on April! www.bbc.co.uk/weather/arti...

bbc.co.ukUK weather: Met Office issues yellow wind warning as snow and cold returnStrong winds are likely across many parts of the UK over the next few days before turning colder with some wintry showers at the end of the week, as Simon King explains.
Peter Barden
@peterbarden.bsky.social

The threat of a far-right government elected against the public will has made tactical voting more vital than ever… It is a tragedy of our voting system that we must vote tactically rather than sincerely - but until that system changes, tactical voting is our strongest shield against the right.

Farrukh@implausibleblog.bsky.social

Carol Vorderman criticises Labour for wasting their tactical vote victory, slams Nigel Farage, and praises the Greens's Hannah Spencer Part 1/2

Peter Barden
@peterbarden.bsky.social

Wonderfully penned letter from Zack to our Home Secretary and I love how it invokes her younger self, which yes seems like a far nicer person.

Zack Polanski@zackpolanski.bsky.social

Dear Shabana, Let's clear some things up around migration and remember we're talking about people's lives.

Peter Barden reposted

Peter Barden
@peterbarden.bsky.social

Replying to @georgemonbiot.bsky.social

Tears of joy this morning! The perfect result. Not a razor thin margin, Hannah won by 4,000 votes. Compelling. Labour in 3rd is existential crisis for them. We also took a pop at the Reform Death Star and landed a nasty blow. F*** fascism. The tide is on the turn, and my heart is full.

Peter Barden
@peterbarden.bsky.social

Hannah Spencer MP! Joyful tears. Stop Reform. Matt Badloss. Embarrass Labour. Job done. Party time!

Peter Barden@peterbarden.bsky.social

Gorton and Denton. Legs tired. Coat wet. Pavements pounded. Doors knocked. Conversations had. Friends made. Hannah Spencer. Green Party. Good luck! F*** facism. Train cancelled. Bed please. There is Hope in The Dark 💚

Peter Barden
@peterbarden.bsky.social

Gorton and Denton. Legs tired. Coat wet. Pavements pounded. Doors knocked. Conversations had. Friends made. Hannah Spencer. Green Party. Good luck! F*** facism. Train cancelled. Bed please. There is Hope in The Dark 💚

Peter Barden
@peterbarden.bsky.social

‘Bar charts…matter far more than manifestos, with campaign leaflets focusing on viability rather than long-term vision. The goal becomes squeezing rivals, not expanding debate, and tactical voting replaces political choice. This is not a failure of voters. It is a failure of the system.’

makevotesmatter.org.ukThe Gorton and Denton By-Election Shows Clearly What's Wrong with FPTP - Make Votes MatterBy Livvy Gibbs, Young Make Votes Matter Coordinator.
Peter Barden
@peterbarden.bsky.social

Elections should represent what people want and need, not those with the loudest voices or deepest pockets. A National Commission is how we'll get the change we need. Could you add your name? www.open-britain.co.uk/ncer

open-britain.co.ukNational Commission on Electoral Reform | Open BritainMillions of votes don't count under First Past the Post. Sign the petition for an independent National Commission on Electoral Reform to review how Britain elects its MPs.