Paul Hebden
@paulhebden.bsky.social
I help people and organisations to speak human: https://www.campaignsalience.co.uk/
Code apps: https://campaignsalience.shinyapps.io/NewsApp3/
Write: https://campaignsalience.substack.com/
Code apps: https://campaignsalience.shinyapps.io/NewsApp3/
Write: https://campaignsalience.substack.com/
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Paul Hebden
@paulhebden.bsky.social
· Aug 12
FWIW - this is how food prices spiked in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and how the cost of essentials is spiking again now.
Reposted by Paul Hebden
The @bankofengland.bsky.social is prolonging the cost-of-living crisis. After years of wage stagnation, we’re now seeing rising unemployment.
Workers need lower interest rates to boost living standards and spur investment. ⤵️
Workers need lower interest rates to boost living standards and spur investment. ⤵️
February 5, 2026 at 3:26 PM
The @bankofengland.bsky.social is prolonging the cost-of-living crisis. After years of wage stagnation, we’re now seeing rising unemployment.
Workers need lower interest rates to boost living standards and spur investment. ⤵️
Workers need lower interest rates to boost living standards and spur investment. ⤵️
Reposted by Paul Hebden
EXC:
I can reveal the contents of a memo by Labour peer Lord Maurice Glasman in January 2025 warning Number 10 it was making a mistake to hire Mandelson - sent to Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney.
www.ft.com/content/584a...
I can reveal the contents of a memo by Labour peer Lord Maurice Glasman in January 2025 warning Number 10 it was making a mistake to hire Mandelson - sent to Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney.
www.ft.com/content/584a...
Keir Starmer apologises to victims of Jeffrey Epstein
UK prime minister faces criticism from Labour MPs but insists he is not about to quit
www.ft.com
February 5, 2026 at 2:35 PM
EXC:
I can reveal the contents of a memo by Labour peer Lord Maurice Glasman in January 2025 warning Number 10 it was making a mistake to hire Mandelson - sent to Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney.
www.ft.com/content/584a...
I can reveal the contents of a memo by Labour peer Lord Maurice Glasman in January 2025 warning Number 10 it was making a mistake to hire Mandelson - sent to Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney.
www.ft.com/content/584a...
Reposted by Paul Hebden
"I know better than you how to defend core British values" says the man who just minutes earlier apologised for appointing Peter Mandelson to represent core British values in the US
February 5, 2026 at 11:50 AM
"I know better than you how to defend core British values" says the man who just minutes earlier apologised for appointing Peter Mandelson to represent core British values in the US
Counterpoint: The TaxPayers Alliance has done more to cultivate the thinking of the UK's right wing political ecology than DOGE.
The idiocy & hypocrisy now emerging in the actions of teenage Reform councillors in Kent was cultivated many years before Musk got his grubby hands on USAID.
The idiocy & hypocrisy now emerging in the actions of teenage Reform councillors in Kent was cultivated many years before Musk got his grubby hands on USAID.
February 5, 2026 at 9:15 AM
Counterpoint: The TaxPayers Alliance has done more to cultivate the thinking of the UK's right wing political ecology than DOGE.
The idiocy & hypocrisy now emerging in the actions of teenage Reform councillors in Kent was cultivated many years before Musk got his grubby hands on USAID.
The idiocy & hypocrisy now emerging in the actions of teenage Reform councillors in Kent was cultivated many years before Musk got his grubby hands on USAID.
Reposted by Paul Hebden
This quote from a Reform UK councillor sums it up beautifully. Cross-boundary moral outrages, exported online and sold (especially, but not exclusively) to generations that grew up before the internet, are such a central feature of radicalisation today. www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/ne...
February 5, 2026 at 8:42 AM
This quote from a Reform UK councillor sums it up beautifully. Cross-boundary moral outrages, exported online and sold (especially, but not exclusively) to generations that grew up before the internet, are such a central feature of radicalisation today. www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/ne...
Research idea:
Co-locate where every new data centre is being built with river level data.
Track the impact on river levels as a marker of data centre thirst for water.
- Bonus points: do it during a hospipe pan
Co-locate where every new data centre is being built with river level data.
Track the impact on river levels as a marker of data centre thirst for water.
- Bonus points: do it during a hospipe pan
February 5, 2026 at 9:06 AM
Research idea:
Co-locate where every new data centre is being built with river level data.
Track the impact on river levels as a marker of data centre thirst for water.
- Bonus points: do it during a hospipe pan
Co-locate where every new data centre is being built with river level data.
Track the impact on river levels as a marker of data centre thirst for water.
- Bonus points: do it during a hospipe pan
It must be really annoying for reactionary centrists to find that the Epstein Files are crammed with reactionary centrists.
I'm sure this is somehow the fault of trans people or black female college lecturers, Oxfam, Extinction Rebellion or something like that.
I'm sure this is somehow the fault of trans people or black female college lecturers, Oxfam, Extinction Rebellion or something like that.
February 5, 2026 at 9:04 AM
It must be really annoying for reactionary centrists to find that the Epstein Files are crammed with reactionary centrists.
I'm sure this is somehow the fault of trans people or black female college lecturers, Oxfam, Extinction Rebellion or something like that.
I'm sure this is somehow the fault of trans people or black female college lecturers, Oxfam, Extinction Rebellion or something like that.
Narrator's voice: "they didn't find it America either... it was all just propaganda to cover for the right's project to further their class war."
Reform councillors in Kent told the FT that they were surprised not to find lavish spending on wokeness from their predecessors
Another councillor has resigned from his role lesding "DOGE", regretting his comments to the newspaper acknowledging the challenges
www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/ne...
Another councillor has resigned from his role lesding "DOGE", regretting his comments to the newspaper acknowledging the challenges
www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/ne...
February 5, 2026 at 8:59 AM
Narrator's voice: "they didn't find it America either... it was all just propaganda to cover for the right's project to further their class war."
Reposted by Paul Hebden
who politically-speaking is standing up for Local Democracy Reporters? Genuine question
February 5, 2026 at 8:54 AM
who politically-speaking is standing up for Local Democracy Reporters? Genuine question
Reposted by Paul Hebden
Endless retreat >> BBC to shutter Investigations Unit to prepare for Reform UK
BBC proposes to close central regional investigations unit
BBC Local is proposing to close a unit dedicated to investigative journalism in the English regions less than four years after it was set up.
pressgazette.co.uk
February 4, 2026 at 10:24 AM
Endless retreat >> BBC to shutter Investigations Unit to prepare for Reform UK
Reposted by Paul Hebden
Reposted by Paul Hebden
Susanna Reid: "There is one person in prison, a woman who was complicit.. and then theres just accusations about potentially hundreds of men, none of whom have been arrested, charged, held to account, tried" #GMB
February 5, 2026 at 6:20 AM
Susanna Reid: "There is one person in prison, a woman who was complicit.. and then theres just accusations about potentially hundreds of men, none of whom have been arrested, charged, held to account, tried" #GMB
I cannot think of a single Labour MP who has said anything remotely useful or interesting the whole time this government has been in power. Yet they seem to be constantly belly aching off the record. >>
February 5, 2026 at 6:14 AM
I cannot think of a single Labour MP who has said anything remotely useful or interesting the whole time this government has been in power. Yet they seem to be constantly belly aching off the record. >>
Everyone, like everyone has known about austerity's effects for years. The think tanks who peddle DOGE-like ideas, the TPA, IEA and the rest. The Tories know it, Labour know it, this councillor ought to know it. None of them are stupid, they are willful
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
‘I had to learn very quickly’: Reform UK leader, 19, defends council tax rise
Party accused of breaking election promise – but officials in Warwickshire say George Finch’s 3.89% rise still not enough to balance budget
www.theguardian.com
February 5, 2026 at 5:59 AM
Everyone, like everyone has known about austerity's effects for years. The think tanks who peddle DOGE-like ideas, the TPA, IEA and the rest. The Tories know it, Labour know it, this councillor ought to know it. None of them are stupid, they are willful
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Paul Hebden
So, what Reform Councillors are learning is that Osborne was the first head of UK's version of DOGE
He called it 'Austerity' and many of us who worked in public services saw it first hand and flagged it up!
England has already been 'Doged' Mr Farage 🤬
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
He called it 'Austerity' and many of us who worked in public services saw it first hand and flagged it up!
England has already been 'Doged' Mr Farage 🤬
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
‘I had to learn very quickly’: Reform UK leader, 19, defends council tax rise
Party accused of breaking election promise – but officials in Warwickshire say George Finch’s 3.89% rise still not enough to balance budget
www.theguardian.com
February 4, 2026 at 7:03 AM
So, what Reform Councillors are learning is that Osborne was the first head of UK's version of DOGE
He called it 'Austerity' and many of us who worked in public services saw it first hand and flagged it up!
England has already been 'Doged' Mr Farage 🤬
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
He called it 'Austerity' and many of us who worked in public services saw it first hand and flagged it up!
England has already been 'Doged' Mr Farage 🤬
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
"Something" rather sums it up.
February 5, 2026 at 5:44 AM
"Something" rather sums it up.
When did journalism become just one moral panic after another? When did editors' brains rot? Now there's a puzzle.
With short-form video now dominant on social media, researchers are racing to understand how the highly engaging, algorithm-driven format may be reshaping the brain.
Is brain rot real? Researchers warn of emerging risks tied to short-form video
Research on the long-term impacts of short-form video consumption is still lacking, but recent studies show concerning associations with cognition and mental health.
nbcnews.to
February 5, 2026 at 5:42 AM
When did journalism become just one moral panic after another? When did editors' brains rot? Now there's a puzzle.
Reposted by Paul Hebden
"Rhe only reason we know any of this [about Mandelson] is because Epstein became entangled in the MAGA movement’s narrative.
"What we still aren’t asking is how similar networks of influence are operating elsewhere today."
New on D4S: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/release-th...
"What we still aren’t asking is how similar networks of influence are operating elsewhere today."
New on D4S: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/release-th...
Release the files - on Mandelson, Starmer and McSweeney
Sunlight is the only disinfectant to the corruption that's been revealed this week
democracyforsale.substack.com
February 4, 2026 at 6:50 PM
"Rhe only reason we know any of this [about Mandelson] is because Epstein became entangled in the MAGA movement’s narrative.
"What we still aren’t asking is how similar networks of influence are operating elsewhere today."
New on D4S: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/release-th...
"What we still aren’t asking is how similar networks of influence are operating elsewhere today."
New on D4S: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/release-th...
Reposted by Paul Hebden
Zack Polanski's ( @zackpolanski.bsky.social ) strongly worded open letter to Wes Streeting, rightly urging him to rip up the Palantir contract in light of the Mandelson Epstein revelations
February 4, 2026 at 6:44 PM
Zack Polanski's ( @zackpolanski.bsky.social ) strongly worded open letter to Wes Streeting, rightly urging him to rip up the Palantir contract in light of the Mandelson Epstein revelations
Reposted by Paul Hebden
this is unbelievable inews.co.uk/news/politic...
Mandelson was given secret spreadsheet to vet left-wing MPs in Labour power struggle
Whistleblower's revelation shows extent of his direct involvement in bitter battle to gain control of the party ahead of 2024 election
inews.co.uk
February 4, 2026 at 4:17 PM
this is unbelievable inews.co.uk/news/politic...
It will be ironic if leaked emails about a government that effectively stood up to BoNd VigiLAntes brings down a government that caved in to boNd viGalantES and their ilk....
February 4, 2026 at 2:40 PM
It will be ironic if leaked emails about a government that effectively stood up to BoNd VigiLAntes brings down a government that caved in to boNd viGalantES and their ilk....
Reposted by Paul Hebden
Which UK MP is going to bring forward a parliamentary debate/new legislation around Palantir's grip on our public services and in context of the latest round of Epstein files, how those contracts were put in place?
February 3, 2026 at 3:11 PM
Which UK MP is going to bring forward a parliamentary debate/new legislation around Palantir's grip on our public services and in context of the latest round of Epstein files, how those contracts were put in place?
Reposted by Paul Hebden
But then again UK had the Parliamentary expenses scandal and wiped out a generation of MPs
... and the US Congresspeople can insider trade!
Maybe we should not be so shocked!
... and the US Congresspeople can insider trade!
Maybe we should not be so shocked!
February 4, 2026 at 11:28 AM
But then again UK had the Parliamentary expenses scandal and wiped out a generation of MPs
... and the US Congresspeople can insider trade!
Maybe we should not be so shocked!
... and the US Congresspeople can insider trade!
Maybe we should not be so shocked!
Reposted by Paul Hebden
Another case of, well, quite
February 4, 2026 at 12:22 PM
Neoliberalisms's greatest achievement, lies in how effectively it's convinced us that everything is futile.
That nothing can be done.
That we can't buck the market.
That it's pointless to hope for better than Mandelson or politics that enables an Epstein or Andrew.
We can't accept this.
That nothing can be done.
That we can't buck the market.
That it's pointless to hope for better than Mandelson or politics that enables an Epstein or Andrew.
We can't accept this.
February 4, 2026 at 9:25 AM
Neoliberalisms's greatest achievement, lies in how effectively it's convinced us that everything is futile.
That nothing can be done.
That we can't buck the market.
That it's pointless to hope for better than Mandelson or politics that enables an Epstein or Andrew.
We can't accept this.
That nothing can be done.
That we can't buck the market.
That it's pointless to hope for better than Mandelson or politics that enables an Epstein or Andrew.
We can't accept this.