Michael Warhurst
@mwarhurst.bsky.social
My work focusses on EU environmental policy, heading up environment/health NGO CHEM Trust, but this is a personal account. Also interested in democracy, regulation, sustainability, science-policy etc
Reposted by Michael Warhurst
After a certain point the sanity of Palantir's leadership does matter to the national security of the UK and other European states buying its software
February 8, 2026 at 12:14 PM
After a certain point the sanity of Palantir's leadership does matter to the national security of the UK and other European states buying its software
It was well known at the time that the fluorocarbon replacements for CFCs were environmentally problematic (eg due to global warming potential), but chemical industry lobbying kept the focus on that route rather than natural refrigerants like hydrocarbons:
apple.news/Aubqa835AQFS...
apple.news/Aubqa835AQFS...
Saving the ozone layer has ‘polluted Earth with forever chemicals’ — The Times and The Sunday Times
The saving of the ozone layer by banning the aerosol gases that destroy it is one of the great environmental success stories. But the substances brought in to replace them have polluted the Earth with...
apple.news
February 8, 2026 at 9:24 AM
It was well known at the time that the fluorocarbon replacements for CFCs were environmentally problematic (eg due to global warming potential), but chemical industry lobbying kept the focus on that route rather than natural refrigerants like hydrocarbons:
apple.news/Aubqa835AQFS...
apple.news/Aubqa835AQFS...
Reposted by Michael Warhurst
I've just released a short video showing the journey to Orkney, by Caledonian Sleeper to Inverness, the scenic Far North Line to Thurso (Britain's most northerly station) and Northlink Ferries from Scrabster to Stromness on the excellent m/v Hamnavoe. Take a peek!
youtu.be/8TpQJS-a4EM?...
youtu.be/8TpQJS-a4EM?...
To Orkney by sleeper, Far North Line & ferry
YouTube video by The Man in Seat 61
youtu.be
February 8, 2026 at 8:39 AM
I've just released a short video showing the journey to Orkney, by Caledonian Sleeper to Inverness, the scenic Far North Line to Thurso (Britain's most northerly station) and Northlink Ferries from Scrabster to Stromness on the excellent m/v Hamnavoe. Take a peek!
youtu.be/8TpQJS-a4EM?...
youtu.be/8TpQJS-a4EM?...
Reposted by Michael Warhurst
Terrifying that such powerful people have mad and dangerous religious extremist views.
Peter Thiel warns the Antichrist and apocalypse are linked to the ‘end of modernity’ currently happening—and cites Greta Thunberg as a driving example
fortune.com/2026/02/04/p...
*Not satire.
fortune.com/2026/02/04/p...
*Not satire.
Peter Thiel warns the Antichrist and apocalypse are linked to the ‘end of modernity’ currently happening—and cites Greta Thunberg as a driving example | Fortune
The Gen Z Swedish climate activist is a legionnaire of the Antichrist, Thiel claims, a “Luddite” who wants to halt technological progress in its tracks.
fortune.com
February 8, 2026 at 8:18 AM
Terrifying that such powerful people have mad and dangerous religious extremist views.
Reposted by Michael Warhurst
Hey, @politico.eu, shouldn't you include Tony Blair Institute's well-known links to petrostates & oil & gas companies in this report?
And shouldn't you call him "oil & IT lobbyist" first, since he's been that twice as long as he was PM?
www.politico.eu/article/tony...
And shouldn't you call him "oil & IT lobbyist" first, since he's been that twice as long as he was PM?
www.politico.eu/article/tony...
Tony Blair’s think tank: Labour should revise Windfall Tax
The tax on oil and gas profits has been in place since 2022.
www.politico.eu
February 7, 2026 at 7:29 PM
Hey, @politico.eu, shouldn't you include Tony Blair Institute's well-known links to petrostates & oil & gas companies in this report?
And shouldn't you call him "oil & IT lobbyist" first, since he's been that twice as long as he was PM?
www.politico.eu/article/tony...
And shouldn't you call him "oil & IT lobbyist" first, since he's been that twice as long as he was PM?
www.politico.eu/article/tony...
Sunlit uplands update :
‘Exports of British farm products to the EU have dropped almost 40% in the five years since Brexit, highlighting the trade barriers caused by the UK’s divorce from the EU in 2020.’
#Brexit
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘Exports of British farm products to the EU have dropped almost 40% in the five years since Brexit, highlighting the trade barriers caused by the UK’s divorce from the EU in 2020.’
#Brexit
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Post-Brexit sales of British farm products to EU fall by 37%
NFU warn it could take years to restore Brexit losses despite efforts to smooth negotiations on farming and other elements of UK-EU reset
www.theguardian.com
February 7, 2026 at 8:27 PM
Sunlit uplands update :
‘Exports of British farm products to the EU have dropped almost 40% in the five years since Brexit, highlighting the trade barriers caused by the UK’s divorce from the EU in 2020.’
#Brexit
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘Exports of British farm products to the EU have dropped almost 40% in the five years since Brexit, highlighting the trade barriers caused by the UK’s divorce from the EU in 2020.’
#Brexit
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Michael Warhurst
I find it absolutely galling to have read over and over about how the state pension triple lock couldn’t conceivably be overturned/debacle over winter fuel payments while there has been as yet zero political commentary about how exploitative student loans have been for a whole generation.
The system we have now quite literally embeds the income and wealth inequalities HE is supposed to alleviate. It is outrageous and incredible that a progressive govt could describe it in any way as “fair.” Too many senior politicians today think we have Plan 1 loans. They just don’t understand it.
February 7, 2026 at 5:33 PM
I find it absolutely galling to have read over and over about how the state pension triple lock couldn’t conceivably be overturned/debacle over winter fuel payments while there has been as yet zero political commentary about how exploitative student loans have been for a whole generation.
A monopoly supplier should clearly be regulated, the real question is why they weren’t from the start; the obsession with ‘Better Regulation’ maybe?
“Despite their growing use… the industry was, until a few days ago, unregulated”
www.theguardian.com/money/2026/f...
“Despite their growing use… the industry was, until a few days ago, unregulated”
www.theguardian.com/money/2026/f...
‘Plainly wrong’: London flat dwellers fight shock £200,000 heating bill
Almost 1m UK households are hooked up to heat networks. None had protection from poor service or price hikes … until last month
www.theguardian.com
February 7, 2026 at 3:08 PM
A monopoly supplier should clearly be regulated, the real question is why they weren’t from the start; the obsession with ‘Better Regulation’ maybe?
“Despite their growing use… the industry was, until a few days ago, unregulated”
www.theguardian.com/money/2026/f...
“Despite their growing use… the industry was, until a few days ago, unregulated”
www.theguardian.com/money/2026/f...
Reposted by Michael Warhurst
This is first and foremost where the focus of the story should be. Of men, misogyny, and power.
I have always specifically hated this part of my city and the world, the "gentleman's clubs" that are sadly part of the same thing.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
I have always specifically hated this part of my city and the world, the "gentleman's clubs" that are sadly part of the same thing.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
Sex and snacks, but no seat at the table: the role of women in Epstein’s sordid men’s club
Files reveal a world of flattery and fratboy tones, where rich men are cultivated and women provide services
www.theguardian.com
February 7, 2026 at 9:35 AM
This is first and foremost where the focus of the story should be. Of men, misogyny, and power.
I have always specifically hated this part of my city and the world, the "gentleman's clubs" that are sadly part of the same thing.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
I have always specifically hated this part of my city and the world, the "gentleman's clubs" that are sadly part of the same thing.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
Reposted by Michael Warhurst
“We owe it to Epstein’s victims and to British democracy to demand historic change”
Gordon Brown
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Gordon Brown
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
We owe it to Epstein’s victims and to British democracy to demand historic change | Gordon Brown
The abuse of women by figures such as Epstein, and of political power by the likes of Mandelson, must be confronted. As far as I am able, I will play my part, says former UK prime minister Gordon Brow...
www.theguardian.com
February 7, 2026 at 9:19 AM
“We owe it to Epstein’s victims and to British democracy to demand historic change”
Gordon Brown
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Gordon Brown
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Michael Warhurst
POLITICO: “As Europe’s political class moves to clean up its mess and address its shame concerning ties with Epstein , it’s inadvertently highlighting the comparative lack of accountability in 🇺🇸- No prominent politicians have taken a fall.” www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
February 7, 2026 at 4:42 AM
POLITICO: “As Europe’s political class moves to clean up its mess and address its shame concerning ties with Epstein , it’s inadvertently highlighting the comparative lack of accountability in 🇺🇸- No prominent politicians have taken a fall.” www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
Free speech update
NBC editing out the booing of JD Vance is a disgrace. It’s an international event. Americans have the right to know what the world is saying. NBC has bowed down to Trump.
February 7, 2026 at 9:11 AM
Free speech update
Reposted by Michael Warhurst
I really hope people advocating to ban kids from SM read this. Some kids are isolated by disabilities or circumstances. Furthermore, some kids grow up in abusive households. “Ideally, a child’s exposure to online worlds should be moderated by their parents” isn’t a reassuring sentiment for everyone
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
The impacts of locking under 16 yos from their social media networks are now beginning to bite for those young people who relied on them for social connection
The impacts of locking under 16 yos from their social media networks are now beginning to bite for those young people who relied on them for social connection
‘I’ve lost my friends’: advocacy groups warn Australia’s social media ban risks isolating kids with disabilities
Despite the ban’s aim to protect young people, experts are concerned that those in marginalised communities or living with disabilities could lose vital support networks
www.theguardian.com
February 7, 2026 at 8:06 AM
I really hope people advocating to ban kids from SM read this. Some kids are isolated by disabilities or circumstances. Furthermore, some kids grow up in abusive households. “Ideally, a child’s exposure to online worlds should be moderated by their parents” isn’t a reassuring sentiment for everyone
Reposted by Michael Warhurst
New on FT website:
Downing Street has refused to say whether Sir Keir Starmer knew Palantir was a client of Peter Mandelson’s lobbying firm when they both visited the company in Washington last February — ahead of it winning a £240mn UK government contract.
www.ft.com/content/5bba...
Downing Street has refused to say whether Sir Keir Starmer knew Palantir was a client of Peter Mandelson’s lobbying firm when they both visited the company in Washington last February — ahead of it winning a £240mn UK government contract.
www.ft.com/content/5bba...
Starmer faces questions over visit to Palantir office alongside Mandelson
Former ambassador was also shareholder in lobbying group that counted US tech firm as a client
www.ft.com
February 7, 2026 at 8:20 AM
New on FT website:
Downing Street has refused to say whether Sir Keir Starmer knew Palantir was a client of Peter Mandelson’s lobbying firm when they both visited the company in Washington last February — ahead of it winning a £240mn UK government contract.
www.ft.com/content/5bba...
Downing Street has refused to say whether Sir Keir Starmer knew Palantir was a client of Peter Mandelson’s lobbying firm when they both visited the company in Washington last February — ahead of it winning a £240mn UK government contract.
www.ft.com/content/5bba...
Entirely normal country
Acive duty military are being ordered to buy a ticket to Melania and watch it, whether they want to, or not. www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/mil...
Military Pressured to See ‘Melania’ Against Their Will
A military group has evidence of troops being ordered into theater—the movie theater.
www.thedailybeast.com
February 7, 2026 at 9:08 AM
Entirely normal country
Reposted by Michael Warhurst
How a ‘Whitehall official‘ says they actually know nothing about public procurement.
February 7, 2026 at 8:52 AM
How a ‘Whitehall official‘ says they actually know nothing about public procurement.
Reposted by Michael Warhurst
I can’t stop wondering how many of the women that were in these labs and offices are reading these emails and realizing - maybe for the first time, or potentially again - just what kind of people they worked for.
all these emails between academics and Epstein are more testimony of what women in academia have to contend with 😡
February 5, 2026 at 4:27 AM
I can’t stop wondering how many of the women that were in these labs and offices are reading these emails and realizing - maybe for the first time, or potentially again - just what kind of people they worked for.
Reposted by Michael Warhurst
Kind of fascinating how China hawks and the UK Right seems unable to process that if it is to his advantage Trump will sell them out over and over again without blinking
Rupert Lowe is out the traps on the latest Chagos twist. Plus his 'reply guys'.
February 5, 2026 at 6:34 PM
Kind of fascinating how China hawks and the UK Right seems unable to process that if it is to his advantage Trump will sell them out over and over again without blinking
Reposted by Michael Warhurst
NEW – Analysis: Clean energy drove more than a third of China’s GDP growth in 2025 | @laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social @belindaschaepe.bsky.social
Read here: buff.ly/M7N4yjx
Read here: buff.ly/M7N4yjx
February 5, 2026 at 12:01 AM
NEW – Analysis: Clean energy drove more than a third of China’s GDP growth in 2025 | @laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social @belindaschaepe.bsky.social
Read here: buff.ly/M7N4yjx
Read here: buff.ly/M7N4yjx
Reposted by Michael Warhurst
This is why 21st century racism is a guaranteed way to make yourself stupider, the 'need' to make an ancient prejudice stack up is the reverse of a performance-enhancing drug.
There is no logic to it whatsoever. Someone said on a podcast to justify racism and now they all spout it like it means something.
I really don't get the 'Britishness is a national identity, English is an ethnicity' argument. Have these people ever lived in the borderlands? I think of my Scottish cousins with whom I share some genes but a different national identity, how does this work?
February 5, 2026 at 12:36 PM
This is why 21st century racism is a guaranteed way to make yourself stupider, the 'need' to make an ancient prejudice stack up is the reverse of a performance-enhancing drug.
Reposted by Michael Warhurst
There is no logic to it whatsoever. Someone said on a podcast to justify racism and now they all spout it like it means something.
I really don't get the 'Britishness is a national identity, English is an ethnicity' argument. Have these people ever lived in the borderlands? I think of my Scottish cousins with whom I share some genes but a different national identity, how does this work?
February 5, 2026 at 12:23 PM
There is no logic to it whatsoever. Someone said on a podcast to justify racism and now they all spout it like it means something.
Reposted by Michael Warhurst
This is a good observation. People voted brexit because they wanted change on that day, but the actual effect was in the future. This future. It's very hard to engage with brexit publically because giving dire news is not what people want from figures who are meant to exude reassurance
It's not "Labour psychodrama"; it's "established political class in freefall regardless of rosette colour because EU membership was a load-bearing aspect of modern Britain and it's impossible to square this financial and cultural circle."
February 5, 2026 at 10:59 AM
This is a good observation. People voted brexit because they wanted change on that day, but the actual effect was in the future. This future. It's very hard to engage with brexit publically because giving dire news is not what people want from figures who are meant to exude reassurance
‘We are currently living through a paradigm shift in the speed, scale and severity of risks driven by the climate-nature crisis. Yet many regulations and government actions are dangerously out of touch with reality.”
#Climate
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
#Climate
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Flawed economic models mean climate crisis could crash global economy, experts warn
States and financial bodies using modelling that ignores shocks from extreme weather and climate tipping points
www.theguardian.com
February 5, 2026 at 7:48 AM
‘We are currently living through a paradigm shift in the speed, scale and severity of risks driven by the climate-nature crisis. Yet many regulations and government actions are dangerously out of touch with reality.”
#Climate
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
#Climate
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Michael Warhurst
Greenland effect on Eurobarometer? Asked if they would feel more worried if their country were not an EU member, Danes tops the list (76%). Views of the US are bleak too: 91% of Danish respondents say things are going wrong there, versus just 4% who think they’re going right
February 4, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Greenland effect on Eurobarometer? Asked if they would feel more worried if their country were not an EU member, Danes tops the list (76%). Views of the US are bleak too: 91% of Danish respondents say things are going wrong there, versus just 4% who think they’re going right
Reposted by Michael Warhurst
It’s the Epstein files deja vu: how many more powerful men knew about his crimes, and helped him out anyway? | Marina Hyde
It’s the Epstein files deja vu: how many more powerful men knew about his crimes, and helped him out anyway? | Marina Hyde
I’m sorry, but this is not just a political scandal. Time to refocus on the horrific mistreatment of women and girls, and the role of these ghouls, says Guardian columnist Marina Hyde
www.theguardian.com
February 3, 2026 at 5:11 PM
It’s the Epstein files deja vu: how many more powerful men knew about his crimes, and helped him out anyway? | Marina Hyde