swight103.bsky.social

Scotland has shown the lasting impact of votes at 16. Those first eligible to vote at 16 or 17 have continued to turn out in greater numbers than their peers who could only vote from 18. Former Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, Ken Macintosh, explains 👇

We didn't have all of this hysteria when the Tiries released 10,000 prisoners early, only 3 years ago. Everyone being released would have been released within a short time anyway, but the media are carrying on like all the prisoners were on whole life tariff

The French made a short film about what could happen after all immigrants would follow the ‘white, angry old man’s’ advice to go back where they came from.

Early evening on Brüsseler Straße.

Some of London’s detractors are determined to paint a picture of a city becoming less safe. The facts tell a different story. These crimes are down ⬇️

Ironically the "race realist" who initiated the media pile on that led to the resignation & then death of Arday believes that only 0.7% of people with Badenoch's "immutable" genetic heritage should be in elite positions if selection was done on IQ based merit. In fact there would be <1 black Con MP

This is what the billionaire press and many politicians were campaigning so hard to destroy. Their freedom to drive took precedence over our children's freedom to thrive. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

This stopped me in my tracks. An independent study by @qmul.bsky.social has found that after ULEZ was introduced, children’s lungs grew faster in Central London and have now caught up with children outside of the capital. Incredible.

Great news for 🇩🇪-🇬🇧 school trips! From 1 August 2026, pupils travelling on organised school trips between the United Kingdom & Germany will benefit from simplified entry rules - a tangible outcome of the groundbreaking #KensingtonTreaty. Details: uk.diplo.de/schooltrips

Some good news: Youth rough sleeping is down almost half in London. To everyone who’s helped make this possible, from the teams at City Hall to sector partners and outreach workers: thank you.

Andy Burnham, "To me, carers should be the best paid people in society, not the worst" "Many people from other countries have been caring for my dad" Andy Burnham praises migrants to the UK who care for our elderly, a stark contrast to Keir-island-of-strangers-Starmer

EVENT: Join C20 and Historic England for a special two-day event, celebrating the 80th anniversary of the 1946 New Towns Act and the launch of the late Elain Harwood’s final major publication, 'New Towns Mark One'. 🗓️ Thu 10-11 Sept 2026 📍 London + Harlow 🎟️ secure.c20society.org.uk/Default.aspx...

The Reform donations story is obviously exploding right now, and it just so happened that on Thursday I spoke to Ben Habib, Reform's former deputy leader, about what he knew and what he thinks of Farage now. It's worth a watch, it's pretty excoriating. Some key bits: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq_L...

One day to go 🐸 Enjoy unlimited bus and tram journeys every weekend this summer for the price of just one fare a day with our Weekend Hopper. Tap in with the same card or device each time, and you'll be automatically covered by the Weekend Hopper.

Making London safer is my top priority, and our efforts are paying off. Met data shows neighbourhood crime is down by 14%, including a 11% fall in personal robbery. These results show the impact of long-term investment, effective policing and communities working hand in hand.

This week's column explains how successive Environment Secretaries in the UK have been actively facilitating ecocide on behalf of industrial lobbyists. Charged with protecting the living world, one after another has been working for the enemy. This has to change.🧵 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

What irks me about UK media including BBC #Newsnight Burnham has onlyl been PM 4 2days, he's trying to push things through, to get started if u will, already he's under intense scrutiny, Tories were in power for 14yrs & did absolute zero to improve ppl's lives & were never scrutinised like this.

I feel they got the split between her and Lucy Powell the wrong way round…

Move increases the chances of a whole new ministerial team at MoJ, with Lammy widely expected to lose his role as justice secretary. The most damning thing is that by staying for two years, Timpson has become the longest serving prisons minister *for 15 years*. This level of turnover is so damaging!

Canvassers out in force in Clacton.

Hydration Break.

Is there genuinely no one but Binface lining up? Because I, and thousands like me are prepared to converge on Clacton every single day for the next few months to campaign for the bravest, most principled and talented anti-establishment figure I know. And his name does not rhyme with garage.

It would be great if Binface won Clacton and then turned out to be a remarkably effective local MP who served several terms

Manneken Pis (the famous "pissing boy" statue) in Brussels has been given a makeover #belgium #worldcup

In ten days time with your help we can cap how much money anyone can personally give to a political cause and any chance millionaires can buy our politics. If you agree share this and ask your MP to co sign the amendment. It’s time we made sure it’s democracy not donations that define our future.

‘We urge the Government to prioritise this issue. Should this situation continue unchecked, the damage to the health of higher education, research and innovation will be profound and have long-lasting consequences.’ www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/stateme...

I’ve just frozen tram and bus fares again up to November. With our Weekend Hopper Fare during the school holidays - unlimited daily bus journeys for the price of one - we’re making it cheaper and easier for Londoners to get across the city.

BREAKING: The Supreme Court in a 6-3 vote UPHOLDS birthright citizenship, affirming the default rule that all persons born in the United States (with narrow exceptions) are U.S. citizens at birth. A total LOSS for President Trump and the effort to rewrite the 14th Amendment.

This is remarkable.

This week, Buy Back Brixton successfully submitted a competitive bid to bring Brixton Market and Market Row under community ownership. Huge congratulations to the organisers and everyone in the local community who has been supporting this #BuyBackBrixton www.brixtonbuzz.com/2026/06/buy-...

Stay cool out there…

How come so many MPs are wearing jackets at #pmqs ? There must be super strong aircon in there.

From the Glasgow demo:

Exc: First Government department quits Twitter over racism and violence concerns Richard Hermer sent a directive to staff last week saying the Attorney General's Office would be coming off the platform observer.co.uk/news/politic...

This morning scrolling Bluesky, there is nothing at all in my feed about Putin’s barbaric attack on the Ukraine’s holiest site, the UNESCO protected Lavra so I’m posting this here.

Good news! Ministers have finally given green light to new #NaturalHistory GCSE. We’ve campaigned so long for this! Big hats off to tireless advocate Mary Colwell 🙌 Now our young people will have a chance to get to know & love the natural world, to feel awe & wonder, & gain skills to protect it 🌷🌳🦡

The family of the Belfast stabbing victim have released a statement saying - like the family of Henry Nowak last week - that the attack should not be used to "divide people or fuel hostility" They condemned disorder and praised the "valuable contribution" by migrants inews.co.uk/news/politic...

Persuasive from @zoegrunewald.bsky.social on how a Secretary of State for the Young would help avoid outrages such as the student loan threshold freeze. www.arguably.uk/p/we-need-a-...

How bizarre that this murder has not been all over the mainstream media

‘You can stop your war’: Zelenskyy’s open letter to Putin – in full www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

How is it that with Robert Hill's death his incredible online resource "Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950" is gone? URL dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org leads to online casino website that has Hill's Intro page. I & surely countless others miss searching it.

Es werde (Neon)licht. Your weekend Umlaut comes from Friedberg, half an hour north of Frankfurt; this was one of a number of surviving neon signs that could be spotted along the town’s high street.

A close-up of the Umlaut:

I’m in a sunny car park at a sports club in Makerfield, currently full of Labour activists - and this massive sign - ahead of Andy Burnham’s official by-election launch speech fairly soon.