Martin Rathfelder
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rathfelder.bsky.social
Martin Rathfelder
@rathfelder.bsky.social
Retired Mancunian agitator. Patient representative/ public contributor in Manchester University. Unpaid advocate for disabled people. Wikipedian. Whalley Range Labour Party.
Perfection is the enemy of improvement!
Reposted by Martin Rathfelder
Do Britons think the government is doing too little or too much on reducing carbon emissions?

Not doing enough: 39%
Doing too much: 24%
Getting balance right: 13%

Among net zero supporters
Not doing enough: 57%
Doing too much: 7%
Getting balance right: 16%

yougov.co.uk/politics/art...
November 11, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Reposted by Martin Rathfelder
🧵/ How far does the public support net zero?

Support: 60%
Oppose: 25%

Net support by party
Green: +81
Lib Dem: +67
Lab: +64
Con: +11
Reform: -44

yougov.co.uk/politics/art...
November 11, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Reposted by Martin Rathfelder
The Telegraph routinely spreads myths about a range of subjects - especially climate change.

It has been forced to publish over 100 corrections this year so far.

Yet it has the gall to lecture the BBC - and whip up a national panic - about journalistic standards
The Telegraph’s Record of Climate Falsehoods
The Telegraph, which has accused the BBC of bias and a lack of editorial rigour, has been forced to amend a swathe of climate inaccuracies. The BBC’s director-general and CEO resigned this weekend aft...
www.desmog.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Reposted by Martin Rathfelder
November 11, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Reposted by Martin Rathfelder
Love being reminded to do this every year. It's a win/win all round
November 11, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Reposted by Martin Rathfelder
Torrential rainfall in the Brazilian city of Belem flooded pavements outside the venue for the #COP30 climate talks. Scientists say climate change is making extreme weather events more common.
November 11, 2025 at 9:32 AM
Reposted by Martin Rathfelder
Net zero is one of the many areas where commentators are out-of-touch with public opinion in Britain. There is still broad support for cutting carbon emissions - except from among Reform supporters, who are the outliers.
🧵/ How far does the public support net zero?

Support: 60%
Oppose: 25%

Net support by party
Green: +81
Lib Dem: +67
Lab: +64
Con: +11
Reform: -44

yougov.co.uk/politics/art...
November 11, 2025 at 10:50 AM
Reposted by Martin Rathfelder
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
November 10, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Reposted by Martin Rathfelder
An excellent, impartial analysis of Trump's incendiary January 6th 2021 speech. From the....BBC.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-u...
Capitol riots: Did Trump's words at rally incite violence?
Donald Trump was accused of inciting violence that left five people dead. So what did the president say?
www.bbc.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Reposted by Martin Rathfelder
No single US news source is consumed by more than 25% of Americans, whereas 60% of Brits regularly watch/read/listen to the BBC.

A single shared source of truth makes it harder for partisan echo chambers to form, or for divisive narratives to dominate. It’s good for social cohesion and compromise.
November 10, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Reposted by Martin Rathfelder
Kudos to the anti-vaccine movement for making the world a little worse off than where they found it.
November 10, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Reposted by Martin Rathfelder
Quick thread on the BBC and the political and societal significance of recent developments:

One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
November 10, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Climate change intensified Europe’s summer heat in 2025 and drove an estimated 16,500 additional deaths across 854 cities, www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/n...
Climate change-driven summer heat caused 16,500 additional deaths across Europe
Climate change intensified Europe’s summer heat in 2025 and drove an estimated 16,500 additional deaths across 854 cities, according to a new study led by researchers from the London School of Hygiene
www.lshtm.ac.uk
November 10, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Reposted by Martin Rathfelder
"It is clear that Your Party’s founding conference will not produce the radical party many of us dreamed...

"The party’s founders are rushing to capitalise off of widespread desperation for a left-wing alternative. The result is a founding process full of flaws and fudges." From YP members:
The Strategy of Democratic Socialists (Your Party) | Prometheus
How do we organise around a sortition-based conference? Kieran Glasssmith a founder of the Democratic Socialists (Your Party) offers a plan.
prometheusjournal.org
November 10, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Reposted by Martin Rathfelder
The ”upgrade” to junction 11 on the M5 is going to cost £363mn
(fuck knows where the money goes) and is going ahead

Reopening the Stonehouse station on the Birmingham / Bristol line would cost around £25mn but trying to get it funded is impossible
November 10, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Reposted by Martin Rathfelder
The Government could support more than 220,000 people back into employment through return-to-work schemes, according to new analysis.

@lukemunford.bsky.social of @manchester.ac.uk is one of the authors who wrote the analysis.

www.healthequitynorth.co.uk/government-s...
November 10, 2025 at 9:14 AM
Reposted by Martin Rathfelder
It shouldn’t take an expert to translate public opinion into seats. But the brutal truth is that in our system, votes don’t add up to representation, they get filtered, distorted and wasted along the way.
Latest YouGov poll shows multi-party Britain breaking the voting system
If there were a general election tomorrow, who would form the next government? It sounds like a simple question if you have access to the latest polls. But when the latest YouGov poll, r
buff.ly
November 9, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Reposted by Martin Rathfelder
Reform’s only Black local chairman, Neville Watson, has quit, saying he couldn’t stand the party’s tone and language on immigration.
Watson, who chaired the Edmonton & Winchmore Hill branch, told reporters the rhetoric was “nasty” and “not what Britain needs.”
Another one walks out… 🫠
November 9, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Reposted by Martin Rathfelder
White House says nearly 700 aid trucks entering Gaza each day, a figure disputed by Palestinians and aid organisations.
US highlights Gaza aid surge; Palestinians allege ‘engineered starvation’
White House says nearly 700 aid trucks entering Gaza each day, a figure disputed by Palestinians and aid organisations.
bit.ly
November 9, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Reposted by Martin Rathfelder
Reposted by Martin Rathfelder
Angela Rayner's work is starting to pay off, after leaving office (as is often the way)
www.gov.uk/government/n...
Mayors to lead the charge for thousands of new social homes
Mayors outside of London to be given greater influence over the government's historic £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme.
www.gov.uk
November 7, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Reposted by Martin Rathfelder
Meta earns billions from ads for scams, report claims
Meta earns billions from ads for scams, report claims
Meta earns billions from ads for scams, report claims
www.independent.co.uk
November 7, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Reposted by Martin Rathfelder
Recent accidental releases from Wandsworth Prison are deeply concerning. These problems are nothing new - for years, I have been ringing alarm bells.

With both individuals now back behind bars, we need urgent action to improve the prison.

www.lbc.co.uk/article/hmp-...
I’ve been warning about HMP Wandsworth for years - now we need action, writes Rosena Allin-Khan MP | LBC
This latest security breach must be the final straw.
www.lbc.co.uk
November 7, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Reposted by Martin Rathfelder
Yep, very true.
Funny...
...and true, when you think about it.

Hardly any British immigrants to Spain ("expats", haha!) speak more than a word or two of Spanish after years there.

But "foreigners not integrating" here ...?
Most of them soon speak better English than Reform / UKIP voters & flag huggers

#r4today
November 6, 2025 at 8:32 AM