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Reposted by Helen Belcher

Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 20h

"15 years ago, Polish workers came here to find opportunity. Now Poland is growing twice as fast as we are," says Kemi Badenoch.

Any ideas what may have happened in the interim?

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Reposted by Helen Belcher

Aieee-Iain Clark @iainjclarkart.com · 1d

Part of Russell T Davies' speech on being awarded Outstanding Contribution to Television at the Bafta Cymru awards. (via www.instagram.com/baftacymru)

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Helen Belcher @helenbelcherobe.bsky.social · 2d

Make Brits Ian again

Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 2d

"Britian loses"

One of the side-effects of the implosion of the Conservative party is how beyond amateurish their entire operation is now.

Even at a senior level the quality and experience of the people working for them is just incredibly low

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Reposted by Helen Belcher

London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 3d

‘The current members of the Supreme Court, ten men and two women, all of them white, seem to regard the Human Rights Act as an unwelcome remnant of a past era.’

In his final piece for the 𝘓𝘙𝘉, Conor Gearty writes on the Supreme Court’s reinterpretation of the HRA: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Conor Gearty · Unwelcome Remnant: Erasing the Human Rights Act

The Supreme Court is quietly editing the Human Rights Act out of existence. In cases where human rights cannot be...

www.lrb.co.uk

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Helen Belcher @helenbelcherobe.bsky.social · 3d

... into the ground

Channel 4 News @channel4news.bsky.social · 3d

‘We have proved we can run the economy’: Conservative MP
www.channel4.com/news/we-have...

‘We have proved we can run the economy’: Conservative MP

Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge speaks to Cathy Newman at the Conservative party conference,

www.channel4.com

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Reposted by Helen Belcher

Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 4d

MPs are supposed to report potential conflicts of interest between their official duties and private financial affairs.
These are rules, not discretionary gestures towards openness.

Cat Neilan @catneilan.bsky.social · 4d

Exclusive: Nigel Farage has not updated his register since May, despite continuing to present his GB News show, record Cameo videos and being a verified X user

Qus are now being asked about the non-registration of his shareholding in GB parent co All Perspectives

observer.co.uk/news/politic...

‘Nine-jobs Nigel’ Farage denies not declaring extra earni...

Roles outside Parliament make Reform leader the highest-earning MP, but register of interests has not been updated since end of May

observer.co.uk

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Reposted by Helen Belcher

Laura McInerney @missmc.bsky.social · 4d

Tbh, the whole anti-migrant rhetoric is already making my friends on ILR look at moving.

Of course, they’re all the ones with the money and talent *to* move. Which isn’t what politicians are selling as the consequence of ILR-bashing. But it’s what will happen.

James Bowes @jamesbowes01.bsky.social · 4d

The 10 year wait for Indefinite Leave to Remain will make the UK very unattractive for high skilled workers who often have alternatives. 2019 data (excluding the NHS and universities) shows that high skilled workers on visas are heavily concentrated in multinationals who can move jobs abroad (5/x)

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Reposted by Helen Belcher

Dan Sohege @danielsohege.bsky.social · 5d

Rampant stupidity. Politicians attack the ECHR, but ignore what it means or how it works.
It has become a target, but reality is it has very limited impact on asylum removals.
Leaving it though would have catastrophic consequences for the whole country.
#r4today

www.bbc.com/news/article...

UK will leave ECHR if Tories win election, Badenoch says

The European Convention on Human Rights has become a focal point in debates around changing immigration policy.

www.bbc.com

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Helen Belcher @helenbelcherobe.bsky.social · 4d

Are you envious?

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Reposted by Helen Belcher

Joelle Grogan @joellegrogan.bsky.social · 4d

"Does the ECHR stop states from controlling their borders?"

No. The ECHR Court emphasises migration policies are up to states themselves.

"But the ECHR stops the UK from deporting foreign criminals."

No, it doesn't.

Successful human rights-based appeals against deportation are very rare.

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Reposted by Helen Belcher

Lee Hurley @hleehurley.com · 4d

This is the 'dignity and respect' they talk about

Jolyon Maugham KC @goodlawproject.org · 4d

Let's be clear: this is the result of deliberate political choices to make accessing trans healthcare substantially impossible. It's what Streeting and his ilk want.

Adam Turner 🏳️‍🌈 @awjt.bsky.social · 4d

In Glasgow, there is a 224-year waiting list for gender clinic appointments.

224 YEARS.

This is institutionalised discrimination. It's unacceptable, it's ruining people's lives and it needs to change.

We have the solution. Time for politicians to act.

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Reposted by Helen Belcher

Emma □ feet @scary-lil-emma.bsky.social · 4d

This unfortunately is not exaggeration.

Extract from the report detailing each of the UK's gender clinics current waiting times before first appointments.

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Adam Turner 🏳️‍🌈 @awjt.bsky.social · 4d

In Glasgow, there is a 224-year waiting list for gender clinic appointments.

224 YEARS.

This is institutionalised discrimination. It's unacceptable, it's ruining people's lives and it needs to change.

We have the solution. Time for politicians to act.

Gender Clinic Files: Some people in Scotland will never get a gender clinic appointment on a 224-year waitlist.

This system is failing to support people to transition not because it is broken, but by design. The frustrating thing is that this would not be a difficult problem to solve under a different political paradigm.

Trans+ people do not need to be assessed by gender clinics or diagnosed by psychiatrists to tell us what we already know: we are trans. The healthcare we need, especially when it comes to hormones, is already available to cis people through making an appointment with their GP.

Gender clinics are unnecessary and exist to segregate healthcare for Trans+ people. Abolishing this system and providing Trans+ healthcare in primary care, at the GP through an informed consent model, would solve many of the issues this data reveals. GPs already prescribe hormones to cis adults. Trans+ adults simply need the same access to this healthcare.

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Helen Belcher @helenbelcherobe.bsky.social · 5d

Lib Dem councillor here! The only thing I’m not is an FT columnist. Wondering if an irregular Byline Times column counts.

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Reposted by Helen Belcher

Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 5d

Please join me in congratulating Woman on her appointment

Sky News @news.sky.com · 5d

Woman named as new Archbishop of Canterbury in historic first

Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally, a former nurse, has been named as the next Archbishop of Canterbury - the first time a woman has been appointed to the role in the Church of England's history.

news.sky.com

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Felicity Hannah @felicityhannah.bsky.social · 5d

This article manages to name her husband before it names… her.

Article reads:
Woman named as Archbishop of Canterbury in historic first

The 63-year-old archbishop-designate is married to Eamonn Mullally, with whom she has two children. Originally from Woking in Surrey, she was the UK's chief nursing officer from 1999 to 2004.

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James Hell Brooks @kleinman.bsky.social · 7d

RIP Jane Goodall, by all accounts a wonderful woman who loved this Far Side cartoon

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Dan Sohege @danielsohege.bsky.social · 10d

Labour looking at Reform's racist policies and saying "we"ll have some of that". These aren't just discriminatory, by making migrants meet higher standards than the average person, they automatically treat migrants as if they are criminals on community service.
#r4today
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Under the proposals, legal migrants will have to learn English to a high standard, have a clean criminal record and volunteer in their community to be granted permanent settlement status.

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Reposted by Helen Belcher

John Crace @mrjohncrace.bsky.social · 10d

Lovely piece about Milly by @patrickbarkham.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

As my daughter got sicker and sicker, our quest for answers dragged on. How did we all miss the bacteria taking over her body?

I write about nature, but when Milly got sick with a mystery illness, it never occurred to me that a long-forgotten tick bite could be the cause

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Helen Belcher

Allan Faulds @afaulds.bsky.social · 10d

I think the thing with Starmer's Labour is it's very clear that - certainly at upper echelons - they aren't afraid of Reform taking power, they are afraid of losing power to Reform. Subtle but important difference, hence the confused messaging of "aren't these people evil, anyway we'll do that too"

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Ed Davey @eddavey.libdems.org.uk · 12d

Ming Campbell was a dedicated public servant and a true Liberal giant.

His principled leadership opposing the Iraq War was a mark of his morality, courage and wisdom.

But more than that, he was an incredibly warm and caring friend and colleague.

We will miss him terribly.

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Minnie Rahman @minnierahman.bsky.social · 13d

Let’s also set up infrastructure that a far-right populist party might abuse should they win an election.

Gregk Foley @gregk.co.uk · 13d

Sure, let’s collate every member of the public’s personal and private information into one giant database right before handing whole swathes of the state over to multinational corporations using an emergent technology with numerous security issues

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Helen Belcher @helenbelcherobe.bsky.social · 14d

Watching #TheHack and thinking we're basically back at square one.

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Reposted by Helen Belcher

Anand Menon @anandmenon.bsky.social · 15d

Having pondered it all morning, I'm still incredulous that all that Today programme coverage of migrant hotels at no point (unless I missed it) mentioned why people were here, what they might be fleeing from etc.

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Frances Ryan @francesryan.bsky.social · 15d

Whether it’s paracetamol or something else, Trump and co are perpetuating the idea autism is wrong and disability is an individual’s responsibility to avoid. It’s anti-science but it’s deeply ableist at its core. The goal is for non-disabled to be afraid and disabled people to be ashamed.

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