Andy
banner
andydrummond.bsky.social
Andy
@andydrummond.bsky.social
Between Knotty Ash and North Cave.
Posts about bikes, Lib Dems 🔶 and occasionally intensive care medicine.
All views own and probably not that interesting.
Pinned
Really important article - I’d argue that the switch to opt-out hasn’t failed but hasn’t worked as hoped either. It does however reinforce that even with opt-out in place it’s important to consider your wishes, register a decision & tell your loved ones - #LeaveThemCertain #YesIDoNate #OrganDonation
Shocking yes, surprising no.
🚨🚨 Huge revelations about Farage from those who knew him in his youth. On the record.

"He would be sort of singing these kind of ‘gas ’em all’ sort of songs”

“I have a very strong memory of him using the W-word...and the P-word for those of south Asian origin"

www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-...
‘Deeply shocking’: Nigel Farage faces fresh claims of racism and antisemitism at school
Bafta-winning director among contemporaries urging contrition and apology from Reform UK leader, who denies the allegations
www.theguardian.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Reposted by Andy
My confusion is

1. Benefits will be removed from people who refuse to work

2. Asylum seekers will still not be allowed to work

So will they remove benefits for not working from people they have barred from working?
November 18, 2025 at 11:30 AM
If you have a Labour MP, write to them to express your concerns and do it today #PerformativeCruelty
Listening to Steve Reed explain on the radio today that he can't say what Mahmood's plan means for kids of people who give birth after they've been granted asylum because that's a hypothetical Q govt can't be expected to answer right now made me think these reforms are going to unravel quite fast
November 18, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Reposted by Andy
Can those in Commons and media holding govt to account please keep asking this Q until we get a clear answer?
'will you be deporting thousands of children to a place they've never been minister' is a big enough & obvious enough Q that govt has to know the answer to it before they unveil the whole package - it surely has a material effect on costs, numbers, political impact, maybe legality. So either..
November 18, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Reposted by Andy
“As a mum and a wheelchair user, pavement parking puts me and my children in danger every day. I don’t understand why drivers think they can block pavements — they’re for pedestrians.” - Aideen, campaigner

Join our campaign against pavement parking https://bit.ly/4hWpLxM
November 18, 2025 at 7:49 AM
#BattleOfTheAtlantic content - the campaign to which the entire rest of WW2 was a sideshow.

Sadly going to stop short of WATU, HX229 and ONS5…

@almurray.bsky.social
Atlantic War: No Phoney War At Sea (Part 1)
Podcast Episode · WW2 Pod: We Have Ways of Making You Talk · 18/11/2025 · 55m
podcasts.apple.com
November 18, 2025 at 8:17 AM
From last week’s Transport Select Committee, @heidialexander.bsky.social disappointing massively on #ActiveTravel. If you have no targets, you can’t be held to account for failing to meet them, and again this shows the Government failing to take AT seriously committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence...
November 17, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Reposted by Andy
If they want to really feel like they have little say, they could try campaigning *for* cycling infrastructure...
November 17, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Reposted by Andy
Could be wrong, but feels like the asylum and immigration policy moves today might finally be the thing that ends the Starmer leadership. Starmer earned a reprieve from the PLP and the membership with the conference speech but is rapidly burning what little goodwill remains with the backbench
November 17, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Reposted by Andy
Another Labour MP goes public with concerns.
A strong immigration system doesn't need to be a cruel one.

It shouldn't need saying - but refugees & asylum seekers are real people, fleeing war and persecution.

This daughter of an immigrant is proud of our British and Labour values of respect and not turning our backs on people in real need.
November 17, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Reposted by Andy
Listening to the FT podcast where they say Mahmood is McSweeney's top choice of successor and the idea that Starmer will go but the man most responsible for his catastrophic unpopularity will get to choose the next PM is, um, optimistic on his part
November 16, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Post-on-call head clearing #ThisIsWhy
November 17, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Reposted by Andy
The local Highways Authority (WSCC) has recalculated the cost projections to make them look much more expensive, while at the same time the county’s budget deficit has ballooned.
This is partly attributable to lack of funding from central government.
www.westsussex.gov.uk/campaigns/bu...
Budget 2026 to 2027 - West Sussex County Council
www.westsussex.gov.uk
November 17, 2025 at 11:16 AM
Reposted by Andy
Confiscating jewellery from survivors of a war zone makes you look like a fucking Nazi. And the obscene thing is, that is the intention. It's there to look appropriately harsh. Indecent. Filthy. A moral stain. And no-one of good character would have ever proposed such a thing in the first place.
November 17, 2025 at 10:48 AM
The politician who has issued this warning wants to snatch jewellery from the desperate. How exactly is this in line with Labour’s values?
Ms Mahmood has warned it is "the last chance for decent, moderate politics".

What are you talking about?
November 17, 2025 at 10:50 AM
There is no excuse for supermarkets selling refill packets for more than the jar they’re meant to refill #Sustainability #ClimateEmergency
November 17, 2025 at 10:40 AM
Reposted by Andy
November 17, 2025 at 6:46 AM
Reposted by Andy
"The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, said that without the shake-up, another 2,200 vehicles would be driving in the zone on an average weekday, making it no longer fit for purpose."
November 16, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Reposted by Andy
We s-t use Just Eat for takeaways (1x/month?). Don't use others. We also order directly.

I've noticed recently restaurants we order from via JustEat (mostly long established) do their own delivery. I am curious why as seems to be new development. Is it for cost, reliability or ethical reasons?
November 16, 2025 at 9:19 PM
A lot of good stuff in this week’s #SundaySchool, including a reminder that the bottle and can #DepositScheme is a litter prevention scheme as much as anything else.

Not clear why we seem to be the only country in Europe that can’t do this.
💒 SUNDAY SCHOOL Tax of My Tears OUT NOW!

🔀 How can sticking to a pledge become a U-turn?
🚮 Fly-tipping trauma
🚻 “Doing a Mandy”

@pimlicat.bsky.social & @mrkennycampbell.bsky.social deliver today's lesson.

🎧👇
🍏 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/q...

🍊 open.spotify.com/episode/4Pmt...
Sunday School: Tax of my tears
Podcast Episode · Quiet Riot · 16/11/2025 · 52m
podcasts.apple.com
November 16, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Rumours of a gambling tax in the budget.

I think taxing this industry that causes so much misery is something we can all get behind.
November 16, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Anyone who uses the delivery ‘platforms’ is consciously or unconsciously blinding themselves to the fact that the business model only works by exploiting the vulnerable.

#GigEconomy
Life as a food delivery worker: ‘Sometimes men open the door naked’
To earn a living as a delivery rider, some work 10-12 hour days, contending with low pay, exhaustion, accidents, injuries and harassment. Is this a new form of modern slavery?
www.theguardian.com
November 16, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Reposted by Andy
Donald Trump destroyed public service broadcasting in the US - it's little surprise Nigel Farage wants to do the same thing here.

Trump’s America, don’t let it become Farage’s Britain.
November 16, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Reposted by Andy
At the last General Election, Labour's slogan was "Change".

At the next General Election, Labour's slogan will simply be "Tommy".
November 16, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Reposted by Andy
The LDFoWWC AGM is today with an excellent opening speech from @ollyglover.bsky.social

If you are a member of the @libdems.org.uk join us here and campaign for safer walking, cycling and wheeling. #ActiveTravel

www.libdemcycling.org.uk
November 16, 2025 at 3:37 PM