Author | Lightnews

Daniel Owen

Daniel Owen

@danieljowen.bsky.social

440 followers 320 following 1.9K posts

Yes, I know you didn't specifically ask for my opinion. But here I am anyway. He/him North Devon, UK 🧡

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Daniel Owen @danieljowen.bsky.social · 11h

This isn't a Halloween thing, though, is it? She does this most days.

Reposted by Daniel Owen

Lynn Nothegger @lynnnothegger.bsky.social · 12h

Anyone on a LNER train today from Scotland to Newcastle - my mum took the wrong suitcase off the train. Her case is somewhere heading southbound. #Newcastle #LNER

Daniel Owen @danieljowen.bsky.social · 14h

Don't force voters to guess how best to vote tactically, when it's impossible to do so. Have the conversations, do the deals, persuade your activists - put principle, and people, ahead of party. Save the country from its descent into darkness.

Daniel Owen @danieljowen.bsky.social · 14h

I'm begging you, @eddavey.libdems.org.uk @zackpolanski.bsky.social @jeremycorbyn.bsky.social @zarahsultana.bsky.social @johnswinney.bsky.social @rhunapiorwerth.bsky.social to not send Farage to Downing Street by splitting the progressive vote. So many will suffer if you let that happen.

Daniel Owen @danieljowen.bsky.social · 14h

With the Tories and now Labour seeking to compete with Reform for the xenophobic anti-immigration vote, there is an opportunity - for a united progressive movement to out-manoeuvre a divided far-right. But there has to be cooperation to make it happen. And so this is my plea.

Daniel Owen @danieljowen.bsky.social · 14h

Out of 649 MPs (Speaker excluded), just 4 won their seats with over 50% of the vote. On just over a third of the popular vote nationally, Labour got nearly two-thirds of the seats in the Commons. A fragmented anti-far-right vote risks allowing Reform to do the same next time around.

Daniel Owen @danieljowen.bsky.social · 14h

And even though we have seen for decades how this plays out even in just a 3 or (ex-England) 4 party system - a progressive majority dividing its support and so handing victory to a united right-wing minority - parties remain too proud, stubborn and, frankly, stupid to cooperate for the greater good

Daniel Owen @danieljowen.bsky.social · 14h

... mis-placed confidence by pollsters will muddy the waters further, forcing everyone to guess and then second-guess what other voters might be thinking. And local party activists are proud and stubborn - they would sooner split the anti-far-right vote than help another anti-far-right candidate win

Daniel Owen @danieljowen.bsky.social · 14h

Never has tactical voting been more necessary but, at the same time, more difficult. Past performance, even from as recently as 2024, is no guide to who might do well in an individual constituency. Pollster prediction models all rely on past data so will be unreliable, but...

Daniel Owen @danieljowen.bsky.social · 14h

I think it's great to see Labour being punished for its drift to the far right, and also great to see parties challenging the toxic rhetoric on immigration and asylum prospering as a result.

But this (graph) and first-past-the-post are a recipe for disaster.

Bar graph from pollster FindOutNow, showing voting intention if a general election was called tomorrow.

Reform UK 32%
Greens 17%
Conservatives 16%
Labour 16%
Liberal Democrats 12%
Other 3%
SNP 2%
Plaid Cymru 1%

Daniel Owen @danieljowen.bsky.social · 16h

Andrew's 'downfall' appears to involve living for free in considerable comfort, expected to do nothing at all other than stay out of sight. Not exactly a hardship.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Where might Andrew live on the Sandringham estate?

The sprawling Norfolk estate is home to several properties - here is a look at where Andrew might be moving in.

Reposted by Daniel Owen

Even Spookier Malloy @spooksmalloy.bsky.social · 17h

Fun fact, Andrew is almost certainly still in line to the throne despite “losing the title”

Daniel Owen @danieljowen.bsky.social · 18h

I'm guessing NYC is in the bottom 5 for zombie invasion readiness because it's already happened there, several times, and no one even notices.

Daniel Owen @danieljowen.bsky.social · 1d

"Only the Lib Dems can win here."

Reposted by Daniel Owen

Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 1d

We're just getting started.

Time to lower bills. And tax billionaires.

If you want to see the Green Party take on Reform - this is the moment.

Join.greenparty.org.uk

Election Maps UK @electionmaps.uk · 1d

Westminster Voting Intention:

RFM: 32% (=)
GRN: 17% (+2)
CON: 16% (-1)
LAB: 16% (=)
LDM: 12% (=)
SNP: 2% (=)

Via @findoutnow.bsky.social, 29 Oct.
Changes w/ 22 Oct.

Daniel Owen @danieljowen.bsky.social · 1d

"I tried throwing him some coins, but he got angry with me. No pleasing some people."

Reposted by Daniel Owen

Angus Mmmbrains @angusmain.bsky.social · 1d

A mocked up Halloween costume pack for ‘man on train with keyboard clicks enabled’

Daniel Owen @danieljowen.bsky.social · 1d

Microsoft Copilot

oooOOOooorbette @orbette.bsky.social · 1d

What terrifying thing are you dressing as this Halloween I'm dressing up as acid reflux

Reposted by Daniel Owen

Gabby HC, but a ghost, hiding in a corner @scriblit.bsky.social · 1d

The phrase "Can I have a quick word?"

oooOOOooorbette @orbette.bsky.social · 1d

What terrifying thing are you dressing as this Halloween I'm dressing up as acid reflux

Daniel Owen @danieljowen.bsky.social · 1d

In any case, there IS the potential for material gain here. Landlords who don't get a licence are also evading the cost of the licence (£945 reportedly) as well as the costs of bringing the property to a licensable standard.

Daniel Owen @danieljowen.bsky.social · 1d

... And, in particular, using defences (inadvertent, unintentional, relying on the advice of others) that would not be accepted if made by anyone else. Like Haigh, Rayner, all the Tory scandals, it's about the perception of one rule for them, another rule for the rest of us.

Daniel Owen @danieljowen.bsky.social · 1d

I'm also not convinced by Peston's take on Rachel Reeves here, about the bar for resignation being lowered. I don't think the bar is determined by the personal material gain. I think it's about ministers breaking rules that everyone else has to follow.

From The Guardian:

"Robert Peston, ITV’s political editor, says he thinks it is a mistake for the Conservatives to be saying Rachel Reeves should have to resign over the rental licence error. He explains why in a post on social media. Here is an extract.

Kemi Badenoch’s call for Starmer to sack Reeves, for failing to register her family home when she rented it on moving to Downing Street, lowers the bar quite significantly for sackable offences by ministers. I am not certain all her shadow cabinet colleagues will thank her.

The point is that there is a clear distinction between Rayner’s failure to take stamp duty advice and Reeves’s failure to register her home with the council for rent.

In the case of Rayner, there was the potential for very large personal material gain. Her dismissal was inevitable …

Badenoch is apparently saying that almost all cock ups in a minister’s personal life should disqualify them from holding public office.

Would that stipulation really give the British people the public servants they deserve, or perhaps simply deter anyone with common sense from going into politics?"

Daniel Owen @danieljowen.bsky.social · 1d

You would think politicians would have learned that the very worst thing you can say if you're caught up in a potential scandal is "this matter is now closed so we can all move on". It always comes across as arrogant and evasive, and it never ever ever ever EVER turns out to be true.

Daniel Owen @danieljowen.bsky.social · 1d

Just finished Our Brains Our Selves by @masudhusain.bsky.social, winner of Royal Society prize. Brilliant book, beautifully written, very readable, fascinating insights into the human brain and neurology explained through 7 case studies with interesting asides and anecdotes. Highly recommend.

Reposted by Daniel Owen

Zoe Gardner @zoejardiniere.bsky.social · 1d

3 things Starmer could do instead of camps in old barracks that would actually WORK👇

1. Create safe, regulated routes to apply for asylum in the UK

2. Let asylum seekers WORK & support themselves

3. Fast track status for people from obviously unsafe countries
metro.co.uk/2025/10/29/k...

Keir Starmer tries to look tough - and exposes himself as a coward

The government's immigration policy is in desperate need of a bold change in direction.