Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Ben Lowndes @blowndes.bsky.social · 3d

Nicely done by @willdunn.bsky.social’s conference sketch, on the formulaic written-by-committee feel to do many of the speeches we’re hearing.

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Ben Lowndes @blowndes.bsky.social · 3d

This happens when we conflate announcements with action and results on the ground.

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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 5d

Anyone who thinks promoting a vicious racist conspiracist like Robinson is good for Jews has lost any grip on reality

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Toby Earle 🇺🇦 @tobyontv.bsky.social · 12d

‘There’s absolutely no news whatsoever about a Reform politician being found guilty of taking Russian bribes, and here’s that’s why it’s bad news for Keir Starmer’

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Ben Lowndes @blowndes.bsky.social · 11d

Puts the uproar about Angela Rayner’s troubles into perspective.

No, I don’t think what she did was good.

But this is on another level.

Emma Monk @monkemma.bsky.social · 11d

There seems to be some *confusion*
among Reform supporters over Nathan Gill being one of them

“But, but, Reform didn’t exist when he took his Russian bribes”

“But, but he was in UKIP”

“But, but it has nothing to do with Farage, he barely knew the guy”

So here’s a little history lesson 👍🏼🧵

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Ben Lowndes @blowndes.bsky.social · 13d

This is welcome but highlights a problem also around a lack of coherence and vision. Give it a month, and they’ll be onto something else.

Tactics without strategy is a quick march to death. This government has loads strategies, plans and pledges, but nothing explains what it is for that I can see.

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Ben Lowndes @blowndes.bsky.social · 15d

I wrote about this about a year ago, and when brownfield only was last raised. It’s worth asking why these sites can’t or won’t come forward, but the Guardian consistently avoids that question.

benlowndes.blog/2024/02/19/b...

What? How? Where? Questions on the brownfield housing push - Ben Lowndes

While the government's brownfield announcement led the news, it highlights the scale of the housing challenge facing our towns and cities.

benlowndes.blog

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Anna Clarke @annaclarke.bsky.social · 15d

Yet again CPRE are claiming there's sufficient brownfield land and we don't need to build on any countryside. There are many reasons why this isn't correct 🧵

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 15d

Almost 1.5m homes could be built on brownfield sites in England, report finds

Exclusive: CPRE study suggests housebuilding targets can be met without encroaching on green belt land Almost 1.5m new homes could be built on brownfield sites in England to avoid encroaching on green belt and meet the government target for housing growth by the end of this parliament, new figures suggest. But despite the scale of brownfield land available, developers are pushing to build on green land, including increased housebuilding on and adjacent to areas of outstanding natural beauty. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Ben Lowndes @blowndes.bsky.social · 15d

“Could be” doing an awful lot of heavy lifting here. Even if the 1.5m homes target were possible - and hardly anyone I know thinks it is - delivering them all on brownfield sites is not. Deep down, I’m sure the Guardian knows this.

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 15d

Almost 1.5m homes could be built on brownfield sites in England, report finds

Exclusive: CPRE study suggests housebuilding targets can be met without encroaching on green belt land Almost 1.5m new homes could be built on brownfield sites in England to avoid encroaching on green belt and meet the government target for housing growth by the end of this parliament, new figures suggest. But despite the scale of brownfield land available, developers are pushing to build on green land, including increased housebuilding on and adjacent to areas of outstanding natural beauty. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Ben Lowndes @blowndes.bsky.social · 20d

Imagine speaking to a packed room on the biggest day of your life, with a heckler beside you who could derail things at any time.

It’s easy to criticise Keir Starmer, and social media will amplify his mistakes. But, having listened to the whole press conference, I’d say he deserves credit today.

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Ben Lowndes @blowndes.bsky.social · 23d

Excellently put

Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 23d

My column in tomorrow's paper:

Starmer and Badenoch are handling the far-right march all wrong

A look back to the days of Enoch Powell suggests a better model

www.ft.com

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Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 24d

Bluesky isn’t perfect but at least its owner isn’t demanding violent insurrection in the UK from thousands of miles away

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Jessica Elgot @jessicaelgot.bsky.social · Sep 8

EXCLUSIVE - Today the Guardian is publishing the Boris Files

A trove of leaked data from the office of Boris Johnson.

It reveals how Johnson is using the relationships forged in the UK’s highest elected office to facilitate his personal enrichment.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

What are the Boris Files and what do they reveal about former PM’s conduct?

Leaked material from Johnson’s private office raises serious questions relating to his time in No 10 and since he resigned

www.theguardian.com

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Ben Lowndes @blowndes.bsky.social · Sep 7

Utterly goddam depressing. Dumping old clothes on a pavement in the rain. There are charity shops in town 5 minutes walk away.

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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · Sep 7

There were no education events at Reform conference. Their only policies appear to be giving private schools their tax breaks back and changing the history curriculum to trumpet the benefits of empire.

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Ben Lowndes @blowndes.bsky.social · Sep 6

This is a fair question. The challenge for Labour, which it must grasp quickly, is to come up with something that’s better and is making a difference. Time is short.

Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · Sep 5

One thing that's difficult to assess re: Reform is whether the fact they're deeply deeply weird will matter more in the context of an election campaign.

Shane Chowen @ukshane.bsky.social · Sep 5

Extraordinary scenes at Reform UK conference as Greater Lincolnshire Mayor Andrea Jenkyns arrives on stage singing her rock song 'Insomnia'

Ben Lowndes @blowndes.bsky.social · Sep 6

And fraught with risk. Genuinely can’t see an upside to having them.

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Kate Bevan @katebevan.com · Sep 6

Honestly, I don't know why any decent publication still allows BTL commenting. Time to call it a day on them.

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Ben Lowndes @blowndes.bsky.social · Sep 6

It’s been many years since I dipped into online comments. It surprises me that they’ve lasted this long, given the issues with managing them that you raise. It’s exhausting for those trying to manage them.

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Ben Lowndes @blowndes.bsky.social · Sep 6

Sums it up well.

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Emma Monk @monkemma.bsky.social · Aug 31

I changed my mind and decided to write this up as my weekend Substack after all!👍🏼

open.substack.com/pub/monkdebu...

Angela Rayner’s So-Called ‘Property Empire’

How newspapers turned Angela Rayner’s divorce and house purchase into a tax-dodging saga

open.substack.com

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Steve Prior @steveprior.bsky.social · Aug 31

Bang on Ben. You and I know if you ask someone to review something they will find a reason to make a change. Whether a press release or a football challenge…

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Ben Lowndes @blowndes.bsky.social · Aug 31

Ain't that the truth! Painful and entirely predictable.

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Ben Lowndes @blowndes.bsky.social · Aug 31

"After review, Fulham number 9 commits a careless challenge."

VAR in itself isn't sucking the joy out of elite football. Officials interfering in minor incdients and speaking like technocratic busy bodies is.

Pundits spent years slating refs and calling for tech. They're also at fault.

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Ben Lowndes @blowndes.bsky.social · Aug 28

Pleased to see local news reporters get such widespread support.

Hope this doesn’t last too long.

“Local news sources, and journalists whose job it is to scrutinise decision-makers, are not a throwback or an adjunct to democracy. They are a vital part of it.”

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The Guardian view on Reform UK v the Nottingham Post: a council’s boycott of its local paper is both petty and alarming | Editorial

Editorial: Elected politicians should expect to be scrutinised. This attack on journalists is an attack on democracy too

www.theguardian.com