Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Judith Fairbairn

Warren Oates @warrenoates1.bsky.social · 3h

"Lots done. Lots more to do."

As Parliament is set to return tomorrow, here is a video the Labour government have put out to show us some of the things they have achieved in the first year.

And it's a LOOOOOOONG list.

8 49 79

Reposted by Judith Fairbairn

Cats of Yore @catsofyore.bsky.social · 17h

Absolutely love this twitter classic:

Exchange between two twitter users. A man called Scott Castaneda write to Tom Morella, "I use to be a fan until your political opinions come out. Music is my sanctuary and the last thing I want to hear is political bs when I'm listening to music. As far as I'm concerned you and pink are completely done. Keep running your mouth and ruining your fan base." User Howard Finklestein replies, "What 'machine' did you think he was raining against? The dishwasher?"

10 260 1.2K

Reposted by Judith Fairbairn

Helene von Bismarck @helenebismarck.bsky.social · 4h

This is very much worth reading by @andrewduffeu.bsky.social . It is not 2016 anymore. The world has changed and so has the EU. Which means that Britain AND EU member States should review their experience of Brexit. verfassungsblog.de/the-case-for...

The Case for a Royal Commission on Britain and Europe

verfassungsblog.de

3 17 38

Reposted by Judith Fairbairn

Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 5h

“I’m old enough to remember when mainstream British politicians, who should know better, stirred up racial hatred as a path to power. You’re old enough to remember too because it was last Tuesday. And it was Robert Jenrick”

Cathartic anger at flag-flying racism.

www.thenerve.news/p/stewart-le...

Stewart Lee: The thugs have taken my flag. So I’ve taken theirs

What do you do with a lot of cheap banners hanging from motorway bridges once you’ve torn them down?

www.thenerve.news

46 550 1.4K

Reposted by Judith Fairbairn

Dmitry Grozoubinski @explaintrade.com · 4h

This is an exact encapsulation of why I moved to Bluesky.

No amount of handwringing in the Atlantic about how I owe some eternal Promethean suffering to the discourse is going to make me stay on a site I hate, that stopped doing anything for me professionally years ago.

Well – no. Bluesky may or may not be, as one centre-right friend who felt unwelcome put it, “self-righteous island”. But the idea that’s why we went is nonsense. That I’ve largely stopped posting on a site that’s done more to shape my career and social circle than the rest of the internet combined is less about avoiding rival opinions (I love arguing with people who are wrong!) than with the fact the site simply became unusable. It stopped generating the things (good jokes, interesting debate, clicks) I wanted; it became extremely good at generating the things (racists, pornbots, racist pornbots) I did not.

82 420 1.9K

Judith Fairbairn @judithfairbairn.bsky.social · 4h

Lovely and funny writing.

1

Reposted by Judith Fairbairn

Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 19h

The thing I'm "stunned" about is why this isn't the biggest domestic news item on every flipping platform

bylinetimes.com/2025/10/11/s...

'Stunned?' Farage's Admission He Knew Nathan Gill but Not His Kremlin Associates Does Not Stand Up to Scrutiny

Insiders have told Byline Times it is 'inconceivable' the Reform Leader did not know about his close aide's pro Russian statements

bylinetimes.com

78 770 1.7K

Reposted by Judith Fairbairn

East Anglia Bylines @eastangliabylines.co.uk · 2d

Clean energy has powered Great Britain entirely for a record 87 hours so far in 2025 – up from just 2.5 hours in 2021.

Progress is accelerating, but the country still has a long way to go before reaching 100 % clean power by 2030.

Dr Simon Evans reports

Great Britain has run on 100% clean power for record 87 hours in 2025 so far

Clean-energy sources have powered Great Britain entirely for a record 87 hours this year — a milestone toward 2030 targets

eastangliabylines.co.uk

2 20 89

Reposted by Judith Fairbairn

The Green Party of England & Wales @greenparty.org.uk · 2d

“You can’t blame austerity on one hand, but then say it’s the immigrants. The immigrants haven’t caused austerity.”

Zack Polanski takes on Reform’s Zia Yusuf over spreading of misinformation on #BBCQT

44 450 1.6K

Reposted by Judith Fairbairn

UCL Constitution Unit @conunitucl.bsky.social · 7h

ON THE BLOG: Prime Minister's Question Period in the Canadian House of Commons: Lessons in parliamentary reform

@ruxandrasrbn.bsky.social explains how Canada's experiment with a Prime Minister's Question Period procedure between 2017 and 2025 worked and how it differed from the traditional model.

Prime Minister's Question Period in the Canadian House of Commons: Lessons in parliamentary reform

Between 2017 and 2025, the Canadian House of Commons operated a Prime Minister’s Question Period procedure, introduced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In a new published article summarised here, Ruxandra Serban explores how this procedure worked, and how it differed from the traditional Question Period model.

constitution-unit.com

1 1 2

Reposted by Judith Fairbairn

Mr. Spock 🖖 @spockresists.bsky.social · 7h

Once upon a time, there lived a brilliant scholar known as Ibn Sina, he inspired many thinkers, including Thomas Aquinas. He was not only a great physician but also a philosopher who understood the deep connection between the mind and the body.

5 19 99

Judith Fairbairn @judithfairbairn.bsky.social · 7h

America is the model Farage wants to implement.

1

Reposted by Judith Fairbairn

Seán Connors @seanconnorswrites.bsky.social · 1d

Good morning, CS. Nice to meet you here, away from the other place. And have a follow.
My prediction is that Starmer will try to bring the UK back in close alignment with the EU before the next GE. Then a SM/CU type offering in their manifesto. He won't offer a ref ever again. The ref will be the GE

1 2 15

Reposted by Judith Fairbairn

John Henderson @jphendo.bsky.social · 3d

Plenty of people said water privatisation was a bad idea when proposed but I don't recall anyone predicting it would be as bad as it has become. Doubt anyone thought investors would let costly company assets, in the form of vital infrastructure, deteriorate while they went for short term profits.

1 1 10

Reposted by Judith Fairbairn

Martin Lewis @martinlewis.moneysavingexpert.com · 3d

More water bills rises announced today, on top of those already planned.

Privatisation without competition, arguably the worst of both worlds

62 340 1.2K

Reposted by Judith Fairbairn

Mike @mikem51.bsky.social · 1d

Yes it’s easy to say tax the rich as a slogan when not in government. Likewise the government needs to demonstrate its approach and why it’s doing so as most people believe it’s doing nothing different to previous governments when demonstrably it is.

1 4 9

Reposted by Judith Fairbairn

Tracey @2300.bsky.social · 1d

List of wealth taxes already introduced by Labour.

7 27 51

Reposted by Judith Fairbairn

Alex Richards @alxrchrds.bsky.social · 1d

Starmer plays the long game. He’s laying the groundwork for rejoining (or near as makes no difference) in a few years, somehow. The economy and global security are pretty convincing arguments.
Wouldn't be surprised if the plan is to position Labour as the pro-Europe/EU option at the next election.

1 1 7

Reposted by Judith Fairbairn

Brian Moore @briantrumpet.bsky.social · 1d

My initial reaction to Labour's win was that they'd unravel Brexit bit by bit to 'overcome technical blockages' without each incrment really being noticeable, until the UK was within touching distance of SM/CU without really knowing how we got there, but that they were planning on 10 years to do it.

1 2 5

Judith Fairbairn @judithfairbairn.bsky.social · 1d

I think you’d enjoy it. Especially the first part where they refreshingly outline the positive things about Starmer.

1

Reposted by Judith Fairbairn

Kevin St. Alder @kevinstalder.bsky.social · 2d

Statement from the Nobel Peace Prize Committee 👏 🙏

12 65 260

Reposted by Judith Fairbairn

BremainInSpain @bremaininspain.com · 2d

4 30 57

Reposted by Judith Fairbairn

David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 2d

"Though robotaxis have notched up impressive growth, they look ploddingly pedestrian compared with far zippier pedal-powered rivals. [Waymo] proudly proclaims that its cars do around 250k trips a week. Yet in NYC alone that number of trips is made every three days using the city’s bikeshare scheme."

Forget EVs. Cycling is revolutionising transport

Pedal power is booming, spinning up a new culture war

www.economist.com

1 25 110

Reposted by Judith Fairbairn

Dawn Butler MP @dawnbutlerbrent.bsky.social · 2d

The last Labour government almost eradicated homelessness.

This Labour government will do the same, helping people in difficult times.

2 22

Reposted by Judith Fairbairn

William Simpson @williamsimpson.bsky.social · 2d

Genuinely think one way to revitalise town centres would be to build kick-ass playgrounds in them. People underestimate the fact that parents will actually travel to places specifically for a good playground. And of course the kids will then want to buy snacks or a magazine or a toy...

1 4