Michael WsM
@mikeywsm.bsky.social
Wine lover, sailor, cyclist, skier. He/him. #StillEuropean 🇪🇺🏳️🌈
Slovakia rewrote its Constitution to erase rights for LGBT+ people and weaken human rights protections. The EU has opened an infringement procedure – but stronger action depends on public pressure. Add your name to defend equality: a.allout.org/s/v0qyx/
Defend equality and LGBTI+ lives in Slovakia
Slovakia rewrote its Constitution to erase rights for LGBT+ people and reject international human rights protections. The EU has opened an infringement procedure – but stronger action depends on us. A...
a.allout.org
December 16, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Slovakia rewrote its Constitution to erase rights for LGBT+ people and weaken human rights protections. The EU has opened an infringement procedure – but stronger action depends on public pressure. Add your name to defend equality: a.allout.org/s/v0qyx/
Reposted by Michael WsM
"In the face of the biggest hunger strike in a generation led by Palestine Action prisoners, Bristol campaigners call for action while mainstream media remains silent"
thebristolcable.org/2025/12/prot...
thebristolcable.org/2025/12/prot...
Protests in Bristol in support of major prison hunger strike
In the face of the biggest hunger strike in a generation and a media blackout, Bristol campaigners call for action
thebristolcable.org
December 13, 2025 at 9:06 AM
"In the face of the biggest hunger strike in a generation led by Palestine Action prisoners, Bristol campaigners call for action while mainstream media remains silent"
thebristolcable.org/2025/12/prot...
thebristolcable.org/2025/12/prot...
Reposted by Michael WsM
These compassionate young people are still on hunger strike. It is heart-breaking. Please support them and answer their demands. observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
‘Death risk’ fear for Palestine Action hunger strike activists | The Observer
observer.co.uk
December 13, 2025 at 9:19 AM
These compassionate young people are still on hunger strike. It is heart-breaking. Please support them and answer their demands. observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Reposted by Michael WsM
Happy #HumanRightsDay!
Starmer has chosen to mark it by... kicking off negotiations on how to water down our human rights 🤯
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The ECHR protects all of us, so we should all be worried about changes that amount to "human rights... except for those people"
Starmer has chosen to mark it by... kicking off negotiations on how to water down our human rights 🤯
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The ECHR protects all of us, so we should all be worried about changes that amount to "human rights... except for those people"
European nations to begin major talks on ECHR migration rule changes
The talks are the most significant sign yet that international human rights law could be reinterpreted.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 10, 2025 at 8:24 AM
Happy #HumanRightsDay!
Starmer has chosen to mark it by... kicking off negotiations on how to water down our human rights 🤯
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The ECHR protects all of us, so we should all be worried about changes that amount to "human rights... except for those people"
Starmer has chosen to mark it by... kicking off negotiations on how to water down our human rights 🤯
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The ECHR protects all of us, so we should all be worried about changes that amount to "human rights... except for those people"
Please sign this joint petition, organised by @unlockdemocracy.bsky.social @electoralreform.bsky.social @compassoffice.bsky.social @openbritain.bsky.social @makevotesmatter.bsky.social
actionnetwork.org/petitions/pe...
actionnetwork.org/petitions/pe...
Petition to Democracy Minister
First Past The Post undermines our politics.
It leaves most of us with MPs we didn't vote for, and keeps delivering results that don't represent public opinion.
The upcoming Elections Bill is a chan...
actionnetwork.org
December 5, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Please sign this joint petition, organised by @unlockdemocracy.bsky.social @electoralreform.bsky.social @compassoffice.bsky.social @openbritain.bsky.social @makevotesmatter.bsky.social
actionnetwork.org/petitions/pe...
actionnetwork.org/petitions/pe...
Reposted by Michael WsM
If you see this car please contact the police.
It’s stollen.
😀
It’s stollen.
😀
December 5, 2025 at 10:00 AM
If you see this car please contact the police.
It’s stollen.
😀
It’s stollen.
😀
More excellent analysis from Chris Grey.
“… the BBC is indeed ‘liberal’, not in the fatuous sense of being ‘woke’ or biased towards liberal causes but in the deeper sense that it embodies, or seeks to embody, something like the Liberal Enlightenment values of rationality, evidence, and pluralism.”
“… the BBC is indeed ‘liberal’, not in the fatuous sense of being ‘woke’ or biased towards liberal causes but in the deeper sense that it embodies, or seeks to embody, something like the Liberal Enlightenment values of rationality, evidence, and pluralism.”
Stasis, sanctimony and the liberal paradox. New post on my Brexit & Brexitism Blog with such Brexit news as there is, but mainly analysis of what 'responsible Farage' tells us about the tensions in Reform and what the BBC row tells us about Brexitism: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2025/11/stas...
November 15, 2025 at 10:08 AM
More excellent analysis from Chris Grey.
“… the BBC is indeed ‘liberal’, not in the fatuous sense of being ‘woke’ or biased towards liberal causes but in the deeper sense that it embodies, or seeks to embody, something like the Liberal Enlightenment values of rationality, evidence, and pluralism.”
“… the BBC is indeed ‘liberal’, not in the fatuous sense of being ‘woke’ or biased towards liberal causes but in the deeper sense that it embodies, or seeks to embody, something like the Liberal Enlightenment values of rationality, evidence, and pluralism.”
Excellent comment from Lord Patten
SUPERB and angrily unvarnished response, by former BBC chairman, Lord Patten.
"I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA
"I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA
November 10, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Excellent comment from Lord Patten
Reposted by Michael WsM
Protest is fundamental to our democracy - we rightly celebrate people like Nelson Mandela who changed the world through protest
But this govt is clamping down on our protest rights with increasingly authoritarian laws
Thanks @greenpeaceuk.bsky.social for making this point so powerfully
But this govt is clamping down on our protest rights with increasingly authoritarian laws
Thanks @greenpeaceuk.bsky.social for making this point so powerfully
November 5, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Protest is fundamental to our democracy - we rightly celebrate people like Nelson Mandela who changed the world through protest
But this govt is clamping down on our protest rights with increasingly authoritarian laws
Thanks @greenpeaceuk.bsky.social for making this point so powerfully
But this govt is clamping down on our protest rights with increasingly authoritarian laws
Thanks @greenpeaceuk.bsky.social for making this point so powerfully
Reposted by Michael WsM
Thought-provoking final paragraph here on the social cost of carbon.
"From that perspective, the question is less, “Why are flights so cheap?” and more, “Who actually pays for them?” "
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
"From that perspective, the question is less, “Why are flights so cheap?” and more, “Who actually pays for them?” "
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
When trains are pricier than planes, there’s a heavy social, financial and environmental cost
In this week’s newsletter: whether it’s a holiday or work trip, railway travellers find themselves burdened by astronomical prices
www.theguardian.com
October 24, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Thought-provoking final paragraph here on the social cost of carbon.
"From that perspective, the question is less, “Why are flights so cheap?” and more, “Who actually pays for them?” "
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
"From that perspective, the question is less, “Why are flights so cheap?” and more, “Who actually pays for them?” "
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Michael WsM
Reposted by Michael WsM
Keir Starmer's aides are reportedly telling him not to go to the COP30 climate conference, because Reform would attack him for it.
Yes, they might.
And he should wear it as a badge of honour.
Standing up for humanity, for science and a habitable planet.
Where's the hazard in that?
Yes, they might.
And he should wear it as a badge of honour.
Standing up for humanity, for science and a habitable planet.
Where's the hazard in that?
September 26, 2025 at 7:53 AM
Keir Starmer's aides are reportedly telling him not to go to the COP30 climate conference, because Reform would attack him for it.
Yes, they might.
And he should wear it as a badge of honour.
Standing up for humanity, for science and a habitable planet.
Where's the hazard in that?
Yes, they might.
And he should wear it as a badge of honour.
Standing up for humanity, for science and a habitable planet.
Where's the hazard in that?
Reposted by Michael WsM
How do we fix this mess?
September 16, 2025 at 6:34 AM
How do we fix this mess?
Read this.
Thanks @jonathanliew.bsky.social - the question is how do we stop this discourse and turn it around?
Thanks @jonathanliew.bsky.social - the question is how do we stop this discourse and turn it around?
will be doing some more general columns for the guardian going forward. this one is on remigration and the evolution of a far-right pipe dream into mainstream discourse. I promise they won’t all be this depressing. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
What is the endgame in this toxic immigration debate: is it friends and neighbours thrown out of the country? | Jonthan Liew
The notion of remigration was abstract, but the right is dragging it towards respectability. If the goal is homogeneous whiteness, they should say it, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Liew
www.theguardian.com
September 10, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Read this.
Thanks @jonathanliew.bsky.social - the question is how do we stop this discourse and turn it around?
Thanks @jonathanliew.bsky.social - the question is how do we stop this discourse and turn it around?
Reposted by Michael WsM
🚨BREAKING: Rail fares could go up by 5.5%🚨
But they don't have to. There is a different way.
Delivering public ownership of our whole railway - not only train operators - would allow the government to cut fares for you.
🆕READ our new report now: weownit.org.uk/passengersno...
But they don't have to. There is a different way.
Delivering public ownership of our whole railway - not only train operators - would allow the government to cut fares for you.
🆕READ our new report now: weownit.org.uk/passengersno...
Passengers not profit: a vision for the Railways Bill | We Own It
The government's upcoming Railways Bill should include these reforms if it is serious about delivering for passengers.
weownit.org.uk
August 18, 2025 at 10:02 AM
🚨BREAKING: Rail fares could go up by 5.5%🚨
But they don't have to. There is a different way.
Delivering public ownership of our whole railway - not only train operators - would allow the government to cut fares for you.
🆕READ our new report now: weownit.org.uk/passengersno...
But they don't have to. There is a different way.
Delivering public ownership of our whole railway - not only train operators - would allow the government to cut fares for you.
🆕READ our new report now: weownit.org.uk/passengersno...
Reposted by Michael WsM
#TodayInQueerHistory
August 3 (2013)
"I'm the oldest gay in the village" proudly adorned the sign on George Montague's mobility scooter.
George and his partner Somchai Phukkhlai was a fixture at Brighton Pride. #OTD in 2013, George was one of the first Pride Ambassadors for Brighton & Hove.
August 3 (2013)
"I'm the oldest gay in the village" proudly adorned the sign on George Montague's mobility scooter.
George and his partner Somchai Phukkhlai was a fixture at Brighton Pride. #OTD in 2013, George was one of the first Pride Ambassadors for Brighton & Hove.
August 3, 2025 at 2:44 PM
#TodayInQueerHistory
August 3 (2013)
"I'm the oldest gay in the village" proudly adorned the sign on George Montague's mobility scooter.
George and his partner Somchai Phukkhlai was a fixture at Brighton Pride. #OTD in 2013, George was one of the first Pride Ambassadors for Brighton & Hove.
August 3 (2013)
"I'm the oldest gay in the village" proudly adorned the sign on George Montague's mobility scooter.
George and his partner Somchai Phukkhlai was a fixture at Brighton Pride. #OTD in 2013, George was one of the first Pride Ambassadors for Brighton & Hove.
Reposted by Michael WsM
The petition to repeal the #onlinesafetyact has now passed 310,000 signatures, making it the third largest petition so far this Parliament.
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/722903
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions?state=all
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/722903
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions?state=all
Petition: Repeal the Online Safety Act
Comments
petition.parliament.uk
July 27, 2025 at 8:22 PM
The petition to repeal the #onlinesafetyact has now passed 310,000 signatures, making it the third largest petition so far this Parliament.
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/722903
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions?state=all
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/722903
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions?state=all
@jackshoulder.bsky.social we really enjoyed your LGBTQIAP+ tour of Bristol Museum! Wide-ranging, informative and amusing. Recommended.
July 27, 2025 at 12:08 PM
@jackshoulder.bsky.social we really enjoyed your LGBTQIAP+ tour of Bristol Museum! Wide-ranging, informative and amusing. Recommended.
Dear @heidialexander.bsky.social : please impose an emergency moratorium on open access applications.
weownit.org.uk/news/stop-pr...
weownit.org.uk/news/stop-pr...
Open letter: stop First Group, Arriva and other private firms clinging on to our railway | We Own It
Private firms like First Group and Arriva are fighting to cling on to our railway. The government must impose a moratorium on approval of new rail contracts with private firms.
weownit.org.uk
July 16, 2025 at 10:39 AM
Dear @heidialexander.bsky.social : please impose an emergency moratorium on open access applications.
weownit.org.uk/news/stop-pr...
weownit.org.uk/news/stop-pr...
I just signed ILGA-Europe's petition with All Out that could really change things for LGBT+ people. Add your name and join me in the fight for LGBT+ rights! a.allout.org/s/Pa1eQ/
🚨 EU’s Equality Betrayal – Act Now to Stop It!
The EU is abandoning a crucial anti-discrimination directive, leaving millions unprotected. This is a dangerous setback for equality. Sign now to demand that European leaders reverse course and commit...
a.allout.org
July 11, 2025 at 9:50 AM
I just signed ILGA-Europe's petition with All Out that could really change things for LGBT+ people. Add your name and join me in the fight for LGBT+ rights! a.allout.org/s/Pa1eQ/
Reposted by Michael WsM
Is Bromance Dead? A Photo Casebook Special
The new Private Eye is out now
The new Private Eye is out now
June 11, 2025 at 7:06 AM
Is Bromance Dead? A Photo Casebook Special
The new Private Eye is out now
The new Private Eye is out now
June 3, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Reposted by Michael WsM
Brexiteers
From the new Private Eye, in shops now.
From the new Private Eye, in shops now.
May 28, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Brexiteers
From the new Private Eye, in shops now.
From the new Private Eye, in shops now.