Richard Bates
@discript.com
Publisher – fiction and non-fiction. Friend to writers. Dementia carer. Cyclist. Activist. Cat parent.
Liberal Democrat 🔶 elected to Chichester District Council (UK) in 2023, also on West Sussex County Council Health & Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee.
Liberal Democrat 🔶 elected to Chichester District Council (UK) in 2023, also on West Sussex County Council Health & Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee.
Pinned
Richard Bates
@discript.com
· Jan 23
The reason we annually mark #HolocaustMemorialDay is so we never forget.
“I grew up writing letters, but it is so expensive to send them now, and people tend to respond by text, WhatsApp or a phone call. I say to them: ‘I don’t want to chat, can’t you write me a letter?’ Letter writing is so underrated.”
@letterappsoc.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
@letterappsoc.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
‘I tried. I felt everything’: readers tell us how they would use their last chance to send a letter
With the Danish postal service ending its letter deliveries, we asked what you would put in your final envelope
www.theguardian.com
December 29, 2025 at 10:31 AM
“I grew up writing letters, but it is so expensive to send them now, and people tend to respond by text, WhatsApp or a phone call. I say to them: ‘I don’t want to chat, can’t you write me a letter?’ Letter writing is so underrated.”
@letterappsoc.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
@letterappsoc.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
We rescued our Bengal cat from the RSPCA last year. “We’re seeing a worrying rise in the number of stray and abandoned #cats, which is putting huge pressure on animal rescues across the country,” Alice Potter, cat welfare expert at the RSPCA, noted. #AdoptDontShop
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
December 26, 2025 at 1:27 PM
We rescued our Bengal cat from the RSPCA last year. “We’re seeing a worrying rise in the number of stray and abandoned #cats, which is putting huge pressure on animal rescues across the country,” Alice Potter, cat welfare expert at the RSPCA, noted. #AdoptDontShop
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
Gomez is right about #ConcentrationCamps
December 26, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Gomez is right about #ConcentrationCamps
Britain’s privatised water utilities are particularly apt example of this, and the #SewageScandal that the government has failed to stop.
In 1970 the UK and Norway were roughly equal, almost no debt, and owned all their Public Services.
Now the UK owns nothing and has £3tn of debt.
While Norway still owns everything and has the equivalent of £10tn.
That's how privatisation 'works'.
Now the UK owns nothing and has £3tn of debt.
While Norway still owns everything and has the equivalent of £10tn.
That's how privatisation 'works'.
December 24, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Britain’s privatised water utilities are particularly apt example of this, and the #SewageScandal that the government has failed to stop.
#Cyclists do not feel safe on British roads.
Why do we keep cycling through every season? Are we mad?
No. It’s the quickest, most efficient way to get around while keeping fit.
Six years ago I got involved in local politics when a woman in our village was killed cycling to work.
Why do we keep cycling through every season? Are we mad?
No. It’s the quickest, most efficient way to get around while keeping fit.
Six years ago I got involved in local politics when a woman in our village was killed cycling to work.
Germany shifts over 2 million e-bikes every year. France: over 500,000.
Britain? It will be lucky to get to 150,000. Why?
Because people need to feel safe to cycle, and that requires serious and sustained government support, which has not been forthcoming.
www.theguardian.com/news/2025/de...
Britain? It will be lucky to get to 150,000. Why?
Because people need to feel safe to cycle, and that requires serious and sustained government support, which has not been forthcoming.
www.theguardian.com/news/2025/de...
Cycling is changing at speed – but is Britain keeping pace?
Emulating the bike-friendly highways enjoyed by our continental neighbours will take a lot more money and political will
www.theguardian.com
December 21, 2025 at 4:16 PM
#Cyclists do not feel safe on British roads.
Why do we keep cycling through every season? Are we mad?
No. It’s the quickest, most efficient way to get around while keeping fit.
Six years ago I got involved in local politics when a woman in our village was killed cycling to work.
Why do we keep cycling through every season? Are we mad?
No. It’s the quickest, most efficient way to get around while keeping fit.
Six years ago I got involved in local politics when a woman in our village was killed cycling to work.
Experts agree people who cycle every day for transport will only cycle if they feel it is safe, which requires long-term investment in infrastructure.
“You can’t reach the potential of #cycling without making it much more safe and hospitable to cycle. It all comes down to that basic fact.”
“You can’t reach the potential of #cycling without making it much more safe and hospitable to cycle. It all comes down to that basic fact.”
Cycling is changing at speed – but is Britain keeping pace?
Cycling is changing at speed – but is Britain keeping pace?
Emulating the bike-friendly highways enjoyed by our continental neighbours will take a lot more money and political will
www.theguardian.com
December 21, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Experts agree people who cycle every day for transport will only cycle if they feel it is safe, which requires long-term investment in infrastructure.
“You can’t reach the potential of #cycling without making it much more safe and hospitable to cycle. It all comes down to that basic fact.”
“You can’t reach the potential of #cycling without making it much more safe and hospitable to cycle. It all comes down to that basic fact.”
How art can transform a rotten egg into affirmative action:
🎨 marmaladebleue’s (IG) children hungered for revolution against the US President, so she found the oldest egg in her house.
#ArtAsActivism
#ArtAsActivism
December 20, 2025 at 12:05 PM
How art can transform a rotten egg into affirmative action:
#BookSky
“There’s part of me which would quite like to retire. And part of me which, having seen people who retire and are utterly miserable and directionless, knows very well that I don’t want to.”
Alan Hollinghurst joins the club.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...
“There’s part of me which would quite like to retire. And part of me which, having seen people who retire and are utterly miserable and directionless, knows very well that I don’t want to.”
Alan Hollinghurst joins the club.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...
‘There’s a sense of our freedoms becoming vulnerable’: novelist Alan Hollinghurst
A knighthood, a lifetime achievement award and a hit theatre production of The Line of Beauty… the author on a year of personal success and political change
www.theguardian.com
December 20, 2025 at 11:32 AM
#BookSky
“There’s part of me which would quite like to retire. And part of me which, having seen people who retire and are utterly miserable and directionless, knows very well that I don’t want to.”
Alan Hollinghurst joins the club.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...
“There’s part of me which would quite like to retire. And part of me which, having seen people who retire and are utterly miserable and directionless, knows very well that I don’t want to.”
Alan Hollinghurst joins the club.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...
“It’s a lost publishing world – boozy lunches and dinners rather than rushed sandwiches at a desk; scrawled letters rather than emails – but fascinating all the same.”
Not entirely lost – Charles Monteith was one of my friends and publishing mentors.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...
Not entirely lost – Charles Monteith was one of my friends and publishing mentors.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...
William Golding: The Faber Letters review – the making of a masterpiece
Correspondence between the Lord of the Flies author and his editor reveals one of the great literary collaborations of the age
www.theguardian.com
December 20, 2025 at 9:03 AM
“It’s a lost publishing world – boozy lunches and dinners rather than rushed sandwiches at a desk; scrawled letters rather than emails – but fascinating all the same.”
Not entirely lost – Charles Monteith was one of my friends and publishing mentors.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...
Not entirely lost – Charles Monteith was one of my friends and publishing mentors.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...
Thankfully, “Lib Dems have repeatedly sought to push Keir Starmer’s government to take a more robust stance against a US president who, polling shows, is unpopular with many UK voters.”
👏 👏 👏
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
👏 👏 👏
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Lib Dems call for inquiry into hostile foreign state interference to include US
Party says US government’s explicit support for far-right nationalist parties in Europe amounts to outside interference
www.theguardian.com
December 19, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Thankfully, “Lib Dems have repeatedly sought to push Keir Starmer’s government to take a more robust stance against a US president who, polling shows, is unpopular with many UK voters.”
👏 👏 👏
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
👏 👏 👏
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
#LocalDemocracy could be postponed again.
This is a democratic farce. The government is essentially asking Conservative council leaders if they would like to grant themselves an extra year in power. It is like a teacher asking a student if they’d prefer to skip their exams because they aren’t ready.
news.sky.com/story/millio...
news.sky.com/story/millio...
Millions could see county council elections delayed again
The government is expected to argue that the delay is needed because councils need more time to complete a reorganisation process.
news.sky.com
December 18, 2025 at 3:39 PM
#LocalDemocracy could be postponed again.
Here’s a candidate you could vote for!
December 18, 2025 at 9:11 AM
Here’s a candidate you could vote for!
The grinch has been identified by @robertreich.substack.com.web.brid.gy
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Behold, it’s the Trump who stole Christmas | Robert Reich
The president continues to preach austerity and hate to people struggling to make ends meet. No wonder voters are turning on him
www.theguardian.com
December 17, 2025 at 12:53 AM
The grinch has been identified by @robertreich.substack.com.web.brid.gy
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
“I feel the lack of elders,” Whishaw says. “It’s like this massive gap, which is still so sad and shocking.” Ben #Whishaw on Peter #Hujar: “He literally stopped the minute he got the diagnosis.”
Many elders have survived and remain as a living AIDS archive.
www.theguardian.com/film/2025/de...
Many elders have survived and remain as a living AIDS archive.
www.theguardian.com/film/2025/de...
‘To be really successful, you have to be sexy in a straight way’: Ben Whishaw on libidinous New York and playing Peter Hujar
Peter Hujar captured a queer Manhattan demi-monde that is now lost to Aids. Whishaw reveals what he learned playing the photographer in a minimalist film being hailed by some as a masterpiece
www.theguardian.com
December 17, 2025 at 12:45 AM
“I feel the lack of elders,” Whishaw says. “It’s like this massive gap, which is still so sad and shocking.” Ben #Whishaw on Peter #Hujar: “He literally stopped the minute he got the diagnosis.”
Many elders have survived and remain as a living AIDS archive.
www.theguardian.com/film/2025/de...
Many elders have survived and remain as a living AIDS archive.
www.theguardian.com/film/2025/de...
Reposted by Richard Bates
Michelle Obama revealed on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' that she and Barack Obama had plans to have dinner with Rob and Michele Reiner on Sunday night.
December 16, 2025 at 5:26 AM
Michelle Obama revealed on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' that she and Barack Obama had plans to have dinner with Rob and Michele Reiner on Sunday night.
The scale of these increases will force venues to cut jobs, raise prices and “in many cases close entirely”.
Business rates will rise by 115% for the average hotel and 76% for a pub, compared with just 4% for large supermarkets and 7% for distribution warehouses.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Business rates will rise by 115% for the average hotel and 76% for a pub, compared with just 4% for large supermarkets and 7% for distribution warehouses.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
‘Squeezed from every direction’: pubs voice fury at Reeves’s business rates changes
Chancellor’s claim to be helping trade met with disbelief in England and Wales amid soaring staff costs, energy bills and other overheads
www.theguardian.com
December 16, 2025 at 10:05 AM
The scale of these increases will force venues to cut jobs, raise prices and “in many cases close entirely”.
Business rates will rise by 115% for the average hotel and 76% for a pub, compared with just 4% for large supermarkets and 7% for distribution warehouses.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Business rates will rise by 115% for the average hotel and 76% for a pub, compared with just 4% for large supermarkets and 7% for distribution warehouses.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Chichester Christmas Charity Tractor Run lit up West Sussex villages tonight.
www.justgiving.com/page/chiches...
www.justgiving.com/page/chiches...
December 14, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Chichester Christmas Charity Tractor Run lit up West Sussex villages tonight.
www.justgiving.com/page/chiches...
www.justgiving.com/page/chiches...
#Planning policy, or habitat destruction? “It’s time our Labour government stopped pitching nature as the enemy of a better life for ordinary people in this country and realised that, for the vast majority, it is a measure of it,” says @chrishinchliff.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Reeves’s planning overhaul stalls as senior adviser quits after four months
Exclusive: Catherine Howard’s exit comes amid disagreements at top of government about how far to push deregulation agenda
www.theguardian.com
December 14, 2025 at 12:41 PM
#Planning policy, or habitat destruction? “It’s time our Labour government stopped pitching nature as the enemy of a better life for ordinary people in this country and realised that, for the vast majority, it is a measure of it,” says @chrishinchliff.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
‘Longhand differs from a recording device, not in accuracy but in the intercession of this quaint little thing called “your brain”.
@zoesqwilliams.bsky.social describes the pleasure in writing by hand known by @letterappsoc.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
@zoesqwilliams.bsky.social describes the pleasure in writing by hand known by @letterappsoc.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Pens at the ready! A gen-Z trainee takes on the Guardian’s ‘scribbler-in-chief’
As the exam regulator consults about introducing onscreen exams amid complaints of hand fatigue, a young aspiring journalist goes head-to-head with a self-professed expert
www.theguardian.com
December 14, 2025 at 12:22 PM
‘Longhand differs from a recording device, not in accuracy but in the intercession of this quaint little thing called “your brain”.
@zoesqwilliams.bsky.social describes the pleasure in writing by hand known by @letterappsoc.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
@zoesqwilliams.bsky.social describes the pleasure in writing by hand known by @letterappsoc.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
December 13, 2025 at 2:08 PM
#CarClubs are good news for any city. Having used them, I know how empowering and liberating it to be able to use any vehicle for a short length of time or a long journey. London should receive government support to enable them to relieve congestion and pollution
www.the-guardian.com/business/202...
www.the-guardian.com/business/202...
Zipcar’s rivals consider London expansion after it reveals UK exit
Free2Move, Enterprise Car Club and Co Wheels among those eyeing growth, as well as peer-to-peer firm Hiyacar
www.theguardian.com
December 13, 2025 at 11:41 AM
#CarClubs are good news for any city. Having used them, I know how empowering and liberating it to be able to use any vehicle for a short length of time or a long journey. London should receive government support to enable them to relieve congestion and pollution
www.the-guardian.com/business/202...
www.the-guardian.com/business/202...
Can’t happen soon enough 👇👇👇
We need the PM to address the nation: explain the security, climate and economic emergencies we face, announce the end of the special relationship, scrap ridiculous red lines, and apply to rejoin the EU at the earliest possible opportunity.
CAN WE PLEASE STOP BEING SO DAMN WET!!
Where’s our courage, our backbone?
WE NEED TO STAND UP TO TRUMP REGARDLESS OF THE CONSEQUENCES.
The peace and security of Europe is at stake.
Our lily-livered prime minister needs to find some cojones before it’s too late!!!
Where’s our courage, our backbone?
WE NEED TO STAND UP TO TRUMP REGARDLESS OF THE CONSEQUENCES.
The peace and security of Europe is at stake.
Our lily-livered prime minister needs to find some cojones before it’s too late!!!
December 12, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Can’t happen soon enough 👇👇👇