clumpytree.bsky.social
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clumpytree.bsky.social
@clumpytree.bsky.social
30 followers 91 following 190 posts
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"The NEC believes that causing an unnecessary election for the position of Greater Manchester mayor would have a substantial and disproportionate impact on party campaign resources" - you wonder what impact squashing internal democracy has on campaign?!
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Labour row erupts after Andy Burnham blocked from byelection race | Andy Burnham | The Guardian
Allies of Greater Manchester mayor say No 10 has ‘chosen factionalism’ as decision leads to a furious backlash
www.theguardian.com
January 25, 2026 at 2:14 PM
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americanfietser.bsky.social
This is the glue that holds people together and gives them strength. If you don't know how you can help or contribute, just think of the simplest, kindest thing you could offer and do it. ♥️👇
acatwithnews.bsky.social Sean Beckner-Carmitchel @acatwithnews.bsky.social · 18h
Minneapolis, MN

Several women are walking through the area of protests with sambuus. They are stil hot from what I’m told.
January 25, 2026 at 1:28 AM
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hackneycyclist.bsky.social
Eerste Sweelinckstraat, Amsterdam in 1986 and today. From a car park to a street with seating, bike parking, trees, and space for kids to play. Same street, different priorities. Proof that cities can change and that when politicians choose people over cars, streets become communities.
Split “then and now” photo of Eerste Sweelinckstraat in Amsterdam. Top: black-and-white 1986 view with parked cars lining a narrow street. Bottom: present-day scene with trees, bike parking, people, and children playing, showing a shift from car-dominated to people-friendly street design.
January 24, 2026 at 6:34 PM
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samcaseyr.bsky.social
TCPA (Town and Country Planning Association) paper link is here, as usual a sober and excellent analysis.

Govt’s primary purpose is to protect against security risk, so clearly they are FAILING.

@teamlabouruk.bsky.social

www.tcpa.org.uk/ignoring-flo...
Ignoring flood risk and the end of net zero homes
www.tcpa.org.uk
January 23, 2026 at 9:58 AM
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rupertread.bsky.social
FULL UPDATE!: We learn from the Times in this morning’s paper that indeed as I surmised (see thread below) the Govt >haven’t< released an unredacted version of this bombshell report. What a scandal.

www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

Without paywall: archive.ph/2026.01.23-0...

PLEASE SHARE WIDELY!
January 23, 2026 at 9:09 AM
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james-bg.bsky.social
This will get massively overshadowed today and as ever the devil is in the detail, but is should be one of the best things Labour has done. It has the potential to improve the lives and finances of millions of people.
www.businessgreen.com/news/4524489...
'A national project to turn the tide': Government unveils £15bn Warm Homes Plan
Long-awaited plan aims to help millions of families to cut energy bills by installing solar panels, batteries, heat pumps, and insulation
www.businessgreen.com
January 21, 2026 at 7:17 AM
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mark-carney.bsky.social
We can build walls or we can be more ambitious — and build something better, stronger, and more just.
Photo of Prime Minister Carney speaking at a podium in Davos, Switzerland. A quote from his speech is edited on top: “WHEN THE RULES NO LONGER PROTECT YOU, YOU MUST PROTECT YOURSELF. BUT LET US BE CLEAR-EYED ABOUT WHERE THIS LEADS. A WORLD OF FORTRESSES WILL BE POORER, MORE FRAGILE, AND LESS SUSTAINABLE.”
January 20, 2026 at 10:56 PM
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dannyyee.bsky.social
"The car is being pushed out of Dutch cities because doing so offers answers to several of the challenges these cities face today." bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2026/01/21/w... (Bicycle Dutch)
When Space Runs Out: Rethinking the Role of the Car in Dutch Cities
Dutch cities are changing rapidly. One of the aims of this blog is to document that change, and there is plenty of work ahead. Much of what I record involves changes to streets: a before-and-after …
bicycledutch.wordpress.com
January 20, 2026 at 11:24 PM
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kim-harding.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
It's that magical time of year when people in private jets descend on a village in the Swiss Alps to discuss the issue of climate change and global poverty...
January 20, 2026 at 8:25 PM
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ianwalker.bsky.social
"Every critical ecosystem is on a pathway to collapse" - wow, the wording in this isn't pulling its punches
rupertread.bsky.social Rupert Read @rupertread.bsky.social · 4d
🚨 BREAKING 🚨
The UK Govt has quietly published - without announcement - the Joint Intelligence Committee/DEFRA report it suppressed last October. They tried to sneak it out in the midst of crisis. Read and share:

“Global Biodiversity Loss, Ecosystem Collapse & National Security.”
(link below)
January 20, 2026 at 6:08 PM
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emilykerr36.bsky.social
Bring on the Headington LTNs!

I find the transfer between the safety of the East Oxford LTNs and Headington completely wild. SImilar streets, but Headington feels like the wild west. Drivers don't wait for cyclists, they force their way through EVEN WHEN I'M RIDING WITH KIDS. Bring on more LTNs.
oxfordclarion.bsky.social Oxford Clarion @oxfordclarion.bsky.social · 6d
The Cowley Low Traffic Neighbourhoods have saved 30 collisions over 3 years within the LTNs and boundary roads according to latest casualty data, analysed by @cohsat.bsky.social

The Cowley LTNs were implemented in April 2021, after sporadic coronavirus lockdowns between March 2020 and March 2021.
Graph showing road collisions within the Cowley LTNs declining between 2015 and 2024 Graph showing decline in casualties across LTNs and boundary roads, with significant decline in 2023 and 2024. 2020 and 2021 are shaded paler due to Covid lockdown.
January 19, 2026 at 1:07 PM
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oxfordclarion.bsky.social
The Cowley Low Traffic Neighbourhoods have saved 30 collisions over 3 years within the LTNs and boundary roads according to latest casualty data, analysed by @cohsat.bsky.social

The Cowley LTNs were implemented in April 2021, after sporadic coronavirus lockdowns between March 2020 and March 2021.
Graph showing road collisions within the Cowley LTNs declining between 2015 and 2024 Graph showing decline in casualties across LTNs and boundary roads, with significant decline in 2023 and 2024. 2020 and 2021 are shaded paler due to Covid lockdown.
January 19, 2026 at 1:04 PM
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nicholasgrossman.bsky.social
Multi-layered “look what you made me do” lie.

Because Norway didn’t give a him prize (it doesn’t decide winners) for ending wars (he didn’t end) the US won’t be peaceful anymore (bombing multiple countries) and will take Greenland (part of Denmark, not Norway) to stop Russia (it’d help Russia).
sharonk.bsky.social Sharon @sharonk.bsky.social · 6d
mad king moment

from the PBS Newshour correspondent
NEW: @potus letter to @jonasgahrstore links @NobelPrize to Greenland, reiterates threats, and is forwarded by the NSC staff to multiple European ambassadors in Washington. I obtained the text from multiple officials: Dear Ambassador: President Trump has asked that the following message, shared with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, be forwarded to your [named head of government/state] “Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America. Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a “right of ownership” anyway? There are no written documents, it’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also. I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States. The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland. Thank you! President DJT”
January 19, 2026 at 5:36 AM
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emilykerr36.bsky.social
"Oxford's High Street booming, bucking national trend"

And this in a city where we've removed city centre parking and put in a congestion charge. Almost as if it's people who shop, not cars.

www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/2573227...
Oxford high street demand returns to pre-pandemic levels
Oxford’s high street is bucking the national trend, with demand rising and vacancy rates low
www.oxfordmail.co.uk
January 1, 2026 at 10:36 AM
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profrachelgan.bsky.social
Following coverage over the weekend of Sir Paul Nurse's comments that suggested that the only reason that a Fellow should be expelled from @royalsociety.org is scientific misconduct, I have written to him to explain the risks such an attitude poses of increasing sexual harassment in STEM.
Dear Sir Paul, Re: Royal Society Code of Conduct I am sure that many scientists have written to you about the specific question of Elon Musk’s Fellowship and whether, under the Royal Society’s Code of Conduct, his retaining that Fellowship is appropriate. I will not rehash these issues. Instead, as a female scientist with extensive experience of activities aiming to increase equality, diversity and inclusion in the engineering and physical sciences sector, I am writing to you (in a personal capacity) to ask you to reconsider the statements you have recently made in this context to the UK press about the Royal Society’s Code of Conduct and how it is applied. A 2018 report from the joint National Academies of the United States of America, concluded that “sexual harassment is common in academic science, engineering, and medicine” and that “greater than 50 percent of women faculty and staff and 20–50 percent of women students encounter or experience sexually harassing conduct in academia”. This report described codes of conduct that make clear that sexual harassment is unethical and will not be tolerated as a “powerful incentive for change”. The authors also noted that sexual harassment can have significant and damaging effects on the integrity of research. In my own praxis, I have found that clear and consistently-implemented codes of conduct that address these issues make female scientists and engineers safer, and allow them to focus more effectively on their research. For codes of conduct to have such a positive effect, it is vital that sanctions for actions which transgress the code are meaningful and substantial. I was hence aghast to realise that in an interview with the Financial Times published on 9/1/26, you appear to have suggested that the Royal Society “should only expel fellows if their science proved “faulty or fraudulent or highly defective””. Moreover, in a further interview with the Guardian on 11/1/26 you suggested that the code “may need to be looked at again”, with the implication that your aim would be to remove the option of sanctions on Fellows for reasons not strictly related to faults or defects in their research. I suggest that changing the Royal Society’s code of conduct so that the likelihood of serious sanctions for sexual harassment is reduced, would directly endanger women who interact with the Royal Society at events or otherwise, and would provide a licence to harass to the already powerful people on whom the Society bestows fellowship. The implications of your words - that under your leadership the only infringements of the code which are likely to receive the sanction of the Fellowship being removed are those related to research misconduct - already risk empowering harassers. You stated, in the Financial Times interview, that “there’s many bad people around, but they have made scientific advances”. Given this awareness of the possibility of bad actors in our scientific community, it is wholly irresponsible to suggest that the Royal Society would not act to sanction these people if they harass more vulnerable scientists. I am hence writing to request that you retract any suggestion that the Society’s Code of Conduct should be changed so that the only reason a Fellow might be sanctioned by the removal of their Fellowship is “faulty or fraudulent or highly defective” research. This action is necessary to safeguard female scientists, a requirement placed on the Society by safeguarding legislation and UK statutory guidance. Yours sincerely, Professor Rachel A. Oliver.
January 12, 2026 at 8:59 AM
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hackneycyclist.bsky.social
Many streets in the Netherlands once looked like those in the UK today. What matters is what happened next. Hoogeveen shows this clearly: a car-dominated main road in 2019, upgraded by 2024 with cycle tracks. Dutch roads are continuously improved to make cycling safer & neighbourhoods more pleasant
Two photos of the same main road in Hoogeveen. The earlier image shows a wide, car-dominated street with no separate cycling space. The later image shows the road narrowed for cars, with a wide red bidirectional cycle track where several teenage boys cycle together, separated from traffic by trees and parking. Two photos of the same street in Hoogeveen. The earlier image shows a wide roadway focused on motor traffic, with no protected cycling facilities. The later image shows a redesigned street with a red bidirectional cycle track, greenery and calmer traffic, where three teenage girls ride side by side.
January 14, 2026 at 7:55 PM
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userrr3.bsky.social
It also just shows how shit their electoral system is. Other countries in Europe manage to have a strong far right party (which is terrible, don't get me wrong) without them magically gaining a majority in parliament due to fucked up voting systems
January 13, 2026 at 3:51 PM
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jamesrball.com
Sometimes politics isn’t actually all that difficult. It’s just the current generation of Westminster leaders have an amazing gift for making everything seem that way.
cameronclark.bsky.social Cameron Clark @cameronclark.bsky.social · 12d
It speaks to how broken MPs' media diet is that all parties didn't collectively go "pedophilia bad" at the first possible opportunity here
stephenkb.bsky.social Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 12d
The least surprising poll finding you'll ever see:
January 13, 2026 at 2:04 PM
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anthonypainter.bsky.social
I have no doubt that under-16s will be banned from social media before the next election.

For all its many faults, It's a bad idea to ban things that you have simply failed to regulate or educate about properly.

But we will nonetheless.
Social media movement: The i Paper splashes on reporting from Jane Merrick that ministers are now actively making preparations to ban under-16s from social media, following a Tory push on the policy this week. An official told Playbook the position hasn't changed yet and the government is still monitoring how the ban goes in Australia.
January 13, 2026 at 8:28 AM
Germany recently oraised their new digital medical records system as "AI ready". The two "qualities" that made it so where, 1) that it didn't have proper encryption and it was possible to access all data from everyone, and 2) that it was just an unordered heap of files without any structured data.
levparikian.bsky.social Lev Parikian @levparikian.bsky.social · 12d
Fuck off.
Fuck off again.
Then, if you have a minute, fuck off once more, preferably staying permanently off-fucked.
theverge.com The Verge @theverge.com · 17d
OpenAI launches ChatGPT Health, encouraging users to connect their medical records
January 13, 2026 at 9:14 PM
Feels like Starmer really is beyond recovery
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When crowds direct offensive chants at Keir Starmer, who’s to blame? I’m afraid he is | Jonathan Liew
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
When crowds direct offensive chants at Keir Starmer, who’s to blame? I’m afraid he is | Jonathan Liew | The Guardian
The PM’s technocrat tendencies and lack of obvious backbone make him a target for amorphous rage, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Liew
www.theguardian.com
January 13, 2026 at 7:27 AM
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liburghal.bsky.social
There is always an XKCD
January 12, 2026 at 8:58 AM
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spinninghugo.bsky.social
The market has spoken. Trying to resist it is a waste of time. There are no serious proposals to stop this. Put the space to better commercial use, rather than try to pointlessly hold back the tide.

This is where I live this month

/1
January 11, 2026 at 9:01 PM
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nathannelson.bsky.social
Chatted with a mate on Signal. It's pretty much exactly like WhatsApp but has no Meta AI annoyance, significantly more privacy and, well, it's not Meta. Install it. Look for your contacts in it. Say hello. Just try. signal.org/install
Signal Messenger: Speak Freely
Say "hello" to a different messaging experience. An unexpected focus on privacy, combined with all of the features you expect.
signal.org
January 9, 2026 at 9:41 PM
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rnibcampaigns.bsky.social
We welcome this step, but disappointingly the proposal falls short of the consistent, nationwide solution blind and partially sighted people need.
January 8, 2026 at 3:56 PM