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Duncan Hothersall

@dhothersall.bsky.social

2.9K followers 2.9K following 5.5K posts

Gay husband. Small businessman. Scottish Labour. #LGBWithTheT and women's rights. Pro-EU & pro-UK. Labourhame.com editor. Our Scottish Future board member. "A detestable combination of deeply disingenuous and incredibly shirty" - Stephen Bush

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Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · Nov 20

Supporting trans rights does not mean opposing women's rights.

Supporting women's rights does not mean opposing trans rights.

Please think about whose interests it serves to turn those who should be allies against misogyny and transphobia into each others' enemies instead.

#LGBWithTheT #always

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Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 54m

So good. Even better than every time some US tech entrepreneur reinvents the bus or the train.

Reposted by Duncan Hothersall

Kenneth MacLean @kennethmaclean.bsky.social · 57m

Reminds me of www.bbc.com/news/technol...

Sail-powered cargo ship 'shows potential of wind'

Using sails reduced ship's fuel use and carbon dioxide emissions, company data indicates.

www.bbc.com

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Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 55m

"The Tories like nothing more than an unfunded tax cut. It’s what keeps them going. Even if it’s a tax cut that’s never going to happen because the Conservatives are now little more than a death cult."

@mrjohncrace.bsky.social really drives home the futility of the current Conservatives here.

Badenoch enjoys her first, and probably last, Tory conference leader’s speech

The audience cheered and clapped to convince themselves the whole thing hadn’t been a waste of time

www.theguardian.com

Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 1h

While I agree on the origins of the EU ref being largely down to attempts to manage Tory malcontents, and I absolutely agree on the paucity and dishonesty of that campaign, I'm afraid I do not share your faith in citizens' assemblies as a route to fixing that problem.

Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 1h

You realise you're quoting John Swinney there?

Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 1h

Brexit does indeed loom large. No clearer warning about the dangers of a push for 50%+1 during the campaign on a question which is a pig in a poke. The lesson from Brexit should be never again. Referendums should only confirm what the public has already decided. Your job is to win the argument now.

Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 1h

Well first of all it's impossible for the public to express an opinion on a single binary question via an election which is designed to choose a local representative. People's votes in elections are always compromises. So the only logical test of public opinion on independence for me is polling.

Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 1h

I'm not arguing that if there is a second ref the winning line needs to be at 60%. I'm arguing that *for* there to be a second ref, public support for independence needs to be consistently strong, for example above 60%. I think we need refs to confirm a settled will, not be a scramble for 50%+1.

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Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 1h

52% is never overwhelming. Who got 52% in 2014? And who said it was overwhelming?

Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 3h

> If you try to control everything folk see that as weakness not strength. Rayner was an effective figure precisely because members could see the ideological dividing lines between her and Starmer and *also* saw her loyalty. Phillipson's loyalty will never seem remotely significant were she to win.

Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 3h

Even setting aside Bridget Phillipson's betrayals of trans people, the worst possible outcome for Labour would be a deputy perceived to be a pure Starmer loyalist who is already in the cabinet. It betrays a complete lack of understanding of how to manage party members, and indeed of human nature. >

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Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 3h

If we end up with another one of those then there has to be some post-referendum process in the event of a change vote which evaluates the actual outcome as opposed to what was promised and is able to reject it. But I far prefer only holding a ref to confirm the settled will of the Scottish people.

Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 3h

The route to a second ref is the indy side winning the argument. #indyref2 would be irresistible by any UK government if a clear majority (say 60-65%+) of Scots consistently supported independence. Instead indy supporters seem to want another "just push it over 50% during the campaign" effort.

Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 3h

I've never seen an analysis on the pro-independence side that doesn't grossly understate their seriousness, tbh. But more critically on hardly sees *any* analysis of this in mainstream debate, despite it being absolutely fundamental to the concept of a post-Brexit "independence in Europe" stance.

Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 3h

I think Brexit was a disaster, and above all else it demonstrates the folly of offering voters a choice of the status quo or a pig in a poke. It only takes enough lies to get them to pick the latter, and then they are left with decades to realise what the lies were, like Brexit voters are today.

Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 4h

It's economic - specifically monetary challenges and fiscal tests. For a start iScotland would have to have had an independent currency and central bank for at least three years to be able to demonstrate monetary policy. And it would have to at least look like it was heading for deficit reduction.

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Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 4h

It took a decade for Ireland to join the EC and it took twenty more years before its economy saw any significant benefit from that membership. Again, if that sort of timescale is what Scotland is looking at John Swinney needs to say so, instead of implying it would be practically instantaneous.

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Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 4h

"I want to see an independent Scotland in the EU with no austerity" is like saying "I want to end poverty at no cost to anyone". There's obviously an admirable aim in there but *it can't be done* and that fact completely trumps anything admirable about the sentiment. When will we stop pandering?

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Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 4h

Time after time we see comments like this reported but not challenged. Very many people in Scotland think an independent Scotland joining the EU would be a formality and the benefits would begin to flow immediately. The reality is the direct opposite. Why aren't journalists saying so?

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Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 4h

Can anyone point to a journalist asking John Swinney how he squares wanting to take Scotland into the EU - the monetary costs of which would be years of far worse austerity than Scotland has seen - with opposition to austerity? Or even just asking him to explain how Scotland gets into the EU?

Holyrood @holyroodmag.bsky.social · 4h

Scottish Government now operating at "the limits of devolution", John Swinney says www.holyrood.com/news/view,jo...

John Swinney: Scotland is at the limits of devolution

www.holyrood.com

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Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 4h

People with pensions: fuck not again

Reposted by Duncan Hothersall

Hughster @hughster.bsky.social · 5h

This is an extraordinarily diplomatic way of warning of a massive crash

FinTwitter @fintwitter.bsky.social · 6h

BANK OF ENGLAND FPC: RISK OF A SHARP MARKET CORRECTION HAS INCREASED || EQUITY MARKETS ARE PARTICULARLY EXPOSED SHOULD EXPECTATIONS AROUND AI BECOME LESS OPTIMISTIC

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Reposted by Duncan Hothersall

Gabriel Milland @gabrielmilland.bsky.social · 6h

Ironically, one of Leicester's "single ethnicity" areas is Belgrave Road, although actually it's not at all mono-ethnic.

Belgrave Road is the heart of Leicester East, the only seat the Tories gained in the 2024 election. Not sure the Hindus who gave them that victory will be as keen to do it again.

Saul Staniforth @saulstaniforth.bsky.social · 8h

"You go to some places like Handsworth.. parts of Dewsbury, Bradford, Leicester, where you see.. a single ethnicity.. we don't think that's healthy thing"

Kevin Hollinrake is MP for Thirsk and Malton, which according to the 2021 census is 98% white.

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Reposted by Duncan Hothersall

Gabriel Milland @gabrielmilland.bsky.social · 7h

"She extols the value of historic institutions and the rule of law ... then she endorses ICE, Trump’s paramilitary kidnap squad, as the template for a putative Tory immigration regime."

Rafael Behr @rafaelbehr.bsky.social · 8h

Badenoch’s only achievement is to have shrunk the Tories to a low-wattage Faragist think tank and warehouse storing future parliamentary candidates for Reform www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Badenoch’s ‘thoughtful Conservatism’ turns out to be just the slower road to Faragism | Rafael Behr

The Tory leader’s intellectual meanderings have shrunk her party into little more than a holding pen for future Reform party candidates, says Guardian columnist Rafael Behr

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Duncan Hothersall

Alex Andreou @sturdyalex.bsky.social · 7h

I would place pretty high odds on the person who leaked that Robert Jenrick recording (via a proxy, of course) being Robert Jenrick.

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