Stirling Smith
stirlingsmith.bsky.social
Stirling Smith
@stirlingsmith.bsky.social
96 followers 91 following 250 posts
Trade unionist, co-operator, socialist. Husband, father, grandfather. Fascinated by South Asia. Support adult education. Member Labour Party, Co-operative Party, Community trade union. Trustee of THIRST, which works for human rights in tea. All views mine.
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Reposted by Stirling Smith
If Labour cannot denounce mass deportation of permanent residents, Idi Amin style, what is the point of them?
Clean, affordable water belongs to all of us. I’ve told the new Environment Secretary to act on real evidence for public ownership and put people first. Join me:https://actionnetwork.org/letters/ask-emma-reynolds-to-base-water-policy-on-facts-not-water-industry-fake-maths?source=bluesky
Nobody could disagree, could they? Suspect Reform would say this was red tape. In fact, improved safety = higher productivity and GDP www.iuf.org/news/agricul...
ILO launches global campaign to accelerate ratification of fundamental OSH conventions - IUF
www.iuf.org
Reposted by Stirling Smith
Apropos of nothing, I really do think UK journalists and politicians need some reminding that mass deportation of LEGAL immigrants, particularly those with permanent status, is far more extreme than even Trump's America and would basically place Britain completely on its own among democracies.
Just to save Reform and the Tories time and trouble, can l suggest that they simply cut and paste the Nuremberg laws? Much simpler.
Reposted by Stirling Smith
The factory reportedly employed children - a 14 year old according to the report. Owned by a group supplying many garment brands. They will say they weren’t actually taking garments from that factory. But Bangladesh garment factories often subcontract work to cheaper factories.
This was all supposed to have stopped after the Rana plaza disaster. Global brands signed up to programmes of factory inspection. Huge amounts were spent by international donors. But the government then took over the inspections. www.nbcnews.com/world/asia/g...
Garment factory fire kills 16 workers in Bangladesh
The fire broke out on the third floor of a four-story factory in the South Asian nation’s capital, Dhaka, before spreading to a adjacent chemical warehouse.
www.nbcnews.com
Reposted by Stirling Smith
Starmer regarding Reform’s former leader in Wales, Nathan Gill: “The member for Clacton & his deputy worked alongside someone who took money to spread Putin’s propaganda. They have serious questions to answer about what they knew”

#PMQs #PoliticsLive
Reposted by Stirling Smith
Reposted by Stirling Smith
Congratulations to our friends at @cooperativesuk.bsky.social and all in the UK's co-op & mutual economy 👏

✅ 82% survive 5+ years (vs 39% of other biz)
✅ 65.7m memberships
✅ Women lead 2x more top co-ops than FTSE 100 firms
✅ 4x more likely to pay the Living Wage
✅ Community pubs up 51% in 5 years
📢 New data out today: The UK’s co-operative and mutual economy is a £179bn force for change.
10,000+ businesses. 1.5 million jobs.
Find out why our movement is doing business better - and share far and wide: www.uk.coop/news/record-... #CoopEconomy #Coops
Why do l oppose the plan for a new digital ID card? Because it won’t work. Anybody who is a company director or charity trustee is having to spend hours dealing with a new scheme to prove our ID. The tech is very unreliable and frustrating. On that evidence, we shouldn’t waste £1billion.
Reposted by Stirling Smith
Carole Cadwalladr was right and we’d be in a better world if more people had listened.
This tweet has been doing the rounds on Twitter now that Nathan Gill has pleaded guilty.

If only someone had tried to investigate UKIP & Russian interference 🧐

There’s another timeline where the Guardian supported me, doubled down on the investigation & I look 5 years younger ..
Perfect example of this government doing something really important - for which there will be zero publicity www.gov.uk/government/c...
Fair pay agreement process in adult social care - consultation document
www.gov.uk
Because so much money was wasted on buying crap stuff via the VIP lane, we’ve not got any left for vaccines? 🤷🏻‍♂️
It does seem both extraordinary & ridiculous to spend all that money developing a revolutionary, safe & effective vaccine that can be rapidly updated for an emergent, rapidly mutating, destructive & deadly virus, & then decide only the very oldest & those with suppressed immunity can access it free.
If Canada believes that 'vaccination is one of the most effective ways to protect against severe outcomes from COVID-19', and the best global scientific and medical evidence agrees, then why don't we invest in all our citizens and provide universal options - for ALL?
www.canada.ca/en/public-he...
Reposted by Stirling Smith
On average, every 4 years, the ECHR stops the UK removing 1 foreign person.

They want you to demand we leave the ECHR because of this.

I've being saying "told you so" about Brexit for a decade. Don't let them do it to you again. Please listen this time.....