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Paul Cotterill @bickerrecord.bsky.social · 19h

Chinese state rubs its hands with glee cos that’s how it works.

Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 19h

Trump: “If Milei loses, we will not be generous with Argentina.”

His view: South America belongs to the US.

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Paul Cotterill @bickerrecord.bsky.social · 19h

Blimey, clear up continues and I find myself described in the liberal American press, in 1991 as a "big, gentle English gentleman with closely cropped red hair". Anyway, Jahanara survived. She'll be 50 now. Not been in the liberal American press since then. Does it still exist?

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Paul Cotterill @bickerrecord.bsky.social · 21h

Tbf I think that's to do with the protest letter, not the EHRC one, though it's still silly.

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Paul Cotterill @bickerrecord.bsky.social · 21h

"Migrants will be required to pass tough new English language requirements under a law introduced in Parliament today (14 October)" says this notice www.gov.uk/government/n...

I can't see anything on the parliament website. Very odd.

Migrants will be required to pass A Level standard of English

Migrants will be required to pass tough new English language requirements under a law introduced in Parliament today.

www.gov.uk

Paul Cotterill @bickerrecord.bsky.social · 23h

Thanks as ever. FT have reinforced their paywall it seems so could actually read it via the usual hack.

Paul Cotterill @bickerrecord.bsky.social · 23h

In this Q from today, the shadow Energy Secretary manages both to confuse energy generation infrastructure and energy transmission infrastucture and apparently remain ignorant that, for example, 35% of Electricity North West i.e. the grid has been owned by Chinese state companies since 2019.

Paul Cotterill @bickerrecord.bsky.social · 23h

Jokes about Reform voters aside, is there actually an A level standard for speaking and listening to English i.e. is there an oral exam?

Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 1d

The rules will come into effect from January 8 2026. on.ft.com/477WPy0

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Paul Cotterill @bickerrecord.bsky.social · 1d

3/ So logically either the MP source is just talking bollox, or doesn't know the rules, or I don't know the rules (possible) or the source in just made up by the newspaper.

Paul Cotterill @bickerrecord.bsky.social · 1d

2/ It's the suggestion from a MP source that they can't vote for Phillipson without losing LGBTQ+ votes.

But unless I'm missing something, MPs only get one vote in the OMOV election anyway, by secret ballot, so there's no need for anyone to know how individuals vote.

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Paul Cotterill @bickerrecord.bsky.social · 1d

So this may explain why the publication of the draft code might be pushed back, but there's one thing in the article which baffles me.

Helen 🏳️‍⚧️✊🏻💕 @mimmymum.bsky.social · 2d

Bridget Philipson is trying to get grab even more power, but her ‘gender critical’ transphobic supporters and the trans-hostile media are lobbying HARD to get anti-trans legislation in place ASAP, as they can’t bear to wait a moment longer to exclude trans people! 😖

👉 archive.ph/gaCN4

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Paul Cotterill @bickerrecord.bsky.social · 1d

Ah no, I didn't. That makes sense. Thanks.

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Paul Cotterill @bickerrecord.bsky.social · 1d

I think today is the day, with parliament back at work, when the Minister may present it (and us) with the EHRC post-Supreme Court draft Code of Conduct.

If it's not published, then I'll get to wondering what internal govt wranglings are going on.

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Paul Cotterill @bickerrecord.bsky.social · 1d

Interesting to see that not a single question has been tabled by Tory or Reform MPs on Energy Security and Net Zero this morning, as parliament returns.

Labour, LibDems, Greens, SNP all have questions. whatson.parliament.uk/event/cal52645

Oral questions - What's on - UK Parliament

Energy Security and Net Zero (including Topical Questions)

whatson.parliament.uk

Paul Cotterill @bickerrecord.bsky.social · 1d

Władysław Reymont's The Peasants exactly mirrors Alain Badiou's four 'domains' in which an 'event' can take place, with the 'event' (a couple moving beyond the village to occupy manor land) being caused by love, where art, science and politics have failed in the preceding 900 pages.

Rachel Feder @rachelfeder.bsky.social · 2d

Tell me your most unhinged literary opinion, as a little treat

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Paul Cotterill @bickerrecord.bsky.social · 1d

I was in Algeria.

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Paul Cotterill @bickerrecord.bsky.social · 1d

Found my old Arabic learning vocabulary notebook during a clear out, and my Arabic handwriting of the 1980s is considerably neater than my handwriting of English in 2025.

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Paul Cotterill @bickerrecord.bsky.social · 1d

Why does the whole MSM accord Yaxley-Lennon the more or less unique courtesy, at least amongst political types, of always calling him by his non-real name, then clarifying that it is not his real name? www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Why not just always call him Yaxley-Lennon? It's easier.

Tommy Robinson says Elon Musk is paying his legal costs as trial begins

Far-right activist is accused of refusing to comply with counter-terrorism police request at Channel tunnel

www.theguardian.com

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Paul Cotterill @bickerrecord.bsky.social · 2d

Toxic combination for MP offices is: a) more problem-based casework cos i) loss of vol sec support capacity cos austerity; ii) Facebook comments saying 'write to yr MP' iii) crapper councillors cos populism; b) more policy casework cos public services decline; c) mass template emails d) poverty.

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Paul Cotterill @bickerrecord.bsky.social · 2d

1991.

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Paul Cotterill @bickerrecord.bsky.social · 2d

Para 1: Set tone for deep populist politicization of personal event
Para 2: Introduce politicization of event
Para 3: Deeply politicize event via populist rhetoric
Para 4: Claim that to politicize such an event is entirely wrong because it is a personal event
Para 5: Froth

Paul Cotterill @bickerrecord.bsky.social · 2d

I would tour council offices across the country, excersing my right to see the public register of shopkeepers of Jewish faith allowed to open on Sundays even tho' they have larger premises, to check this legal duty under Sch 2, Part II/8 para 6 of the Sunday Trading Act 1994 is being properly met.

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Paul Cotterill @bickerrecord.bsky.social · 2d

This is so nasty that it may cross the threshold as Communication Act 2003 s.127 offence:

"A person is guilty of an offence if he....sends by means of a public electronic communications network a message or other matter that is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character."

IndiaWilloughby @indiawilloughby.bsky.social · 3d

This is Graham Linehan, who UKLabour, WesStreeting and every columnist in the country rushed to defend when he was arrested by police, after inciting online violence and smashed a trans girl’s phone. They are even changing the law specifically to protect him. “Just a joke” @mrjamesob.bsky.social

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Paul Cotterill @bickerrecord.bsky.social · 2d

Ah yes, I've sorted the start up costs for about six parkruns. I've not looked hard at the accounts for a year or two tbh, but I can see why they decided to go the grant direction as they got explicitly more public heath-ish. Easy in hindsight.

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Paul Cotterill @bickerrecord.bsky.social · 2d

And some haven't. I agree it's a big step but expansion of range and services vai govt cash is not of itself a bad aspiration. Sounds like you work in this area,

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Paul Cotterill @bickerrecord.bsky.social · 3d

Question for informed Green party members:

Does this amendment to economic policy part of most recent GE manifesto, approvied at recent conference, mean the Green party effectively espouses Modern Monetary Theory?

www.greencoordinate.co.uk/motions/2024...