voterdespair.bsky.social
@voterdespair.bsky.social
Reposted
I’m a past winner of the Orwell Prize & won partly because I exposed Vote Leave’s unlawful activities.

Michael Gove was its co-convener & refused to answer a single q. He’s now a judge of the prize & our world is truly one that Orwell would recognise

bylinetimes.com/2025/11/25/m...
Michael Gove Made Orwell Prize Judge Despite Record of Attacking Journalists and Dodging Scrutiny
Critics say "Orwell would have enjoyed the irony" of the former Conservative minister's appointment
bylinetimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Reposted
Please sign this petition for a public inquiry into Russian influence on UK politics.

I don't care if you're left or right, Reform or Corbynite - we can't allow a hostile foreign nation to run riot in our political ecosystem.

Sign and share.

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...
Petition: Call a public inquiry into Russian influence on UK politics & democracy
We are concerned about reported efforts from Russia to influence democracy in the US, UK, Europe and elsewhere. We believe we must establish the depth and breadth of possible Russian influence campaig...
petition.parliament.uk
November 25, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Reposted
As Trump and Putin work to crush Ukraine and destabilise Europe and Farage’s ally gets sentenced to 10yrs for taking Russian bribes, it’s a good time to revisit this excellent report on how the British rightwing has betrayed us all.
Brexit was their weapon of choice.
bylinetimes.com/2022/03/08/p...
Putin’s Plot Against ‘Great’ Britain – And How He Got Away With It
Peter Jukes tracks Vladimir Putin’s long war against the West and the allies he has found in the pro-Brexit establishment in the plot to derail Britain
bylinetimes.com
November 23, 2025 at 9:31 AM
Reposted
It's January 31st, 2020, and Nathan Gill is celebrating our imminent departure from the EU.... and that terrible idea of a European Army.

Hmm, now I wonder who else would have been delighted about that.
November 22, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Reposted
So much winning...

"By 2025, the UK economy is 6%–8% smaller than it would have been had we stayed in the EU"

"Business investment is down 12%–18%"

"Fewer tax receipts mean less money for public services, less for investment"

Brexit impact study by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
November 23, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Reposted
Yorkshire Water flouted director pay rules, secretly handed £660k bonus through offshore parent company.

Regulator OFWAT says that is OK, govt quiet.

Law is just a paper tiger. Abuses continue. Customers fleeced.

Let customers vote on exec pay.
archive.ph/9rYlp
Ofwat says off-shore payments to Yorkshire Water boss do not flout bonus ban
Campaigners have slammed Ofwat after the water regulator found that the undisclosed off-shore payment of £660,000 to Yorkshire Water boss Nicola Shaw did not flout the Government’s bonus ban rule.
www.yorkshirepost.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 8:11 AM
A potential offence under the Bribery legislation? Or doesn't this apply to MPs:
"after she was found guilty of “unknowingly” breaching the governance code on public appointments by failing to declare £2,900 in donations she received from the man she chose as the new football watchdog."
November 7, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Reposted
Keir Starmer Forced To Defend David Lammy As Problems Mount For Embattled Prime Minister

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/keir-s...
Keir Starmer Forced To Defend David Lammy As Problems Mount For Embattled Prime Minister
He also had to reprimand Lisa Nandy amid a donations row.
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk
November 7, 2025 at 7:51 AM
Reposted
Oldest victim of Post Office scandal, 92, receives final compensation payout.

At last. But ruined lives can't be restored.

£1.2bn paid to 9,100 victims from public purse.

Not a penny from PO execs, Fujitsu, lawyers, accountants, advisers who benefited from persecution of the victims.
Oldest victim of Post Office scandal, 92, receives final payout
www.bbc.co.uk
November 5, 2025 at 8:18 AM
Reposted
Literally one of the greatest soft power brands on planet earth driven into the ground by successive British governments that embrace failure, decline and irrelevance.

on.ft.com/3Wq1XIT
British Council ‘selling everything it can’ to survive
Cultural body plans more job cuts, sale of assets and closure in 35 countries to stave off ‘financial peril’
on.ft.com
October 28, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Reposted
Kemi Badenoch asked where she would send the 150,000 people she says she would deport every year, replies that it's an "irrelevant question".
October 5, 2025 at 8:46 AM
The minister for homeless claiming their actions followed the current rules, when under new regulations giving notice & hiking rents will be illegal. 2 questions. Did no one consider the optics, a homeless minister being a landlord? Given the timing, this appears to be profiting ahead of new regs? 🤦
After Labour spent the day making excuses for her. Begin slow clap. 👏

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
August 8, 2025 at 5:51 AM
Reposted
Bank of England governor warns, weakening banking rules risks repeat of 2008 crisis.

Tory govt began repealing the post crash reforms, Labour accelerated.

Shadow banking unregulated. City is scandal-ridden.

Deregulation will encourage more abuses.

Those who play with fire will get burned
BoE governor warns Reeves weakening banking rules risks repeat of 2008 crisis
Radical shake-up to unleash risk-taking in the name of growth would be a mistake, says Andrew Bailey
www.theguardian.com
July 23, 2025 at 6:06 AM
Reposted
Looting at Thames Water

Net assets in 1990, £1,329m;
2024, £1,301m;
2025, £359m negative - liabilities exceed assets

NO shareholder investment since privatisation?

Dividends £10.4bn.

Can't rebuild water services without ending privatisation.

Water Commission didn't spot looting,
July 21, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Reposted
Please don't let this be true: the UK government couldn't possibly consider cutting funding for one of the major organisations working in the field of treatment resistant bacteria...could they? Surely they wouldn't do something that short sighted...would they?

bsac.org.uk/closure-of-t...
Closure of the Fleming Fund risks undermining UK leadership on AMR - The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
bsac.org.uk
July 17, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Reposted
2010 - 2025: HMRC didn't collect £500bn in taxes.

Govt wants to attack tax abuse, is increasing HMRC budget, but cuts planned down the line.

Budget 2025-26: £6.8bn
2026-27, £7.3bn
2027-28, £7.1bn
2028-29, £6.9bn

How will the cuts help?

Watch the Minister's reply.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUzR...
House of Lords HMRC Budget 7 July 2025
YouTube video by Prem Sikka
www.youtube.com
July 9, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Reposted
The story of modern goods trade in one consumer product. Apparently simple things that aren't simple to make and hence have few suppliers, and a global market which has delivered extreme specialisation to produce more than ever affordably and reliably. And politicians who don't understand that.
Campbell's Soup, tin cans and tariffs.
Here's the story of the unexpected economic chain reaction that links the closure of a blast furnace in Wales with one of the most iconic American products in history... open.substack.com/pub/edconway...
Tinned Soup and Tariffs
A dive down the rabbit hole of what it actually takes to make a seemingly simple supermarket product - and what happens when that product gets embroiled in a trade war
open.substack.com
June 20, 2025 at 6:06 AM
Reposted
Sir Alan Bates calls for those responsible for wrongful convictions in Post Office Capture scandal to be 'brought to account'

news.sky.com/story/post-o...
Post Office Capture scandal: Sir Alan Bates calls for those responsible for wrongful convictions to be 'brought to account'
It comes after Sky News unearthed a report showing Post Office lawyers knew of faults in the software nearly three decades ago.
news.sky.com
June 20, 2025 at 6:12 AM
Reposted
If “Not for EU” isn’t about standards, why is it only used on goods that haven’t gone through the EU safety system?

The label is a red flag—a warning that the product doesn’t meet EU safety rules.
It’s not just packaging. It’s about consumer protection.
June 19, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Reposted
🔹 Why ministers still cling to Brexit
🔹 Why pensions are sacred but child benefits are not

Because MPs are chasing headlines of ageing newspapers which try to set the agenda, but it’s speaking to fewer, older readers.

Rejoin EU is will of the people.

www.newstatesman.com/politics/med...
The public doesn’t like Brexit. Has anyone told the media?
From the broadsheets to the tabloids, journalism is increasingly out of touch with public opinion.
www.newstatesman.com
June 3, 2025 at 5:29 AM
Reposted
There are 8760 hours in a year by the way - 4m hours is 400 years worth. Privatisation is a joke, but not a funny one - time to regulate the water version properly - no dividends until they do their job.
May 30, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Reposted
I always say that the scariest part for me isn’t the explosion itself but what happens BEFORE and AFTER.

BEFORE is that moment of waiting, when you hear the sound and don’t know where it will hit or when.

AFTER is the realization that I survived but Russia probably killed someone else.

📍Kyiv 🇺🇦
May 23, 2025 at 10:41 PM