Janet Sheppardson
@janetshep.bsky.social
Londoner on loan to West Norfolk. Ex social housing professional, interested in politics, social policy, environmental issues, art, photography, gardening & knitting (plus The Archers & Strictly for light relief)
Reposted by Janet Sheppardson
This is actually quite brilliant, up to and including the final sentence 🔥
December 1, 2025 at 11:09 AM
This is actually quite brilliant, up to and including the final sentence 🔥
Reposted by Janet Sheppardson
Have been thinking about “immigration has been tearing this country apart.” Surely I’m not the only person to think that it isn’t true, but inflamed rhetoric about immigration by politicians is what is tearing this country apart and so statements like that only makes it worse.
November 18, 2025 at 6:37 AM
Have been thinking about “immigration has been tearing this country apart.” Surely I’m not the only person to think that it isn’t true, but inflamed rhetoric about immigration by politicians is what is tearing this country apart and so statements like that only makes it worse.
Reposted by Janet Sheppardson
Oh wow @reuters.com got the photo here:
November 14, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Oh wow @reuters.com got the photo here:
Reposted by Janet Sheppardson
NEW
The letter the BBC could send back to Trump
A proposal for a reply to his $1bn claim
By me. Enjoy.
emptycity.substack.com/p/the-letter...
The letter the BBC could send back to Trump
A proposal for a reply to his $1bn claim
By me. Enjoy.
emptycity.substack.com/p/the-letter...
The letter the BBC could send back to Trump
A proposal for a reply to his $1bn claim
emptycity.substack.com
November 12, 2025 at 12:00 PM
NEW
The letter the BBC could send back to Trump
A proposal for a reply to his $1bn claim
By me. Enjoy.
emptycity.substack.com/p/the-letter...
The letter the BBC could send back to Trump
A proposal for a reply to his $1bn claim
By me. Enjoy.
emptycity.substack.com/p/the-letter...
Reposted by Janet Sheppardson
If BBC News was a hotbed of left-wing wokery producing *systemically* biased coverage Jeremy Corbyn may well have been elected Prime Minister in 2019.
It’s not. He wasn’t.
And we got Boris Johnson instead.
It’s not. He wasn’t.
And we got Boris Johnson instead.
November 11, 2025 at 7:49 PM
If BBC News was a hotbed of left-wing wokery producing *systemically* biased coverage Jeremy Corbyn may well have been elected Prime Minister in 2019.
It’s not. He wasn’t.
And we got Boris Johnson instead.
It’s not. He wasn’t.
And we got Boris Johnson instead.
Reposted by Janet Sheppardson
NEW from me:
Political hostility, high visa fees and (in the case of the UK) stagnant incomes are making the UK and US less attractive destinations for top international talent.
That steep decline in the appeal of moving to the US after 2016 is 👀
Political hostility, high visa fees and (in the case of the UK) stagnant incomes are making the UK and US less attractive destinations for top international talent.
That steep decline in the appeal of moving to the US after 2016 is 👀
October 31, 2025 at 2:32 PM
NEW from me:
Political hostility, high visa fees and (in the case of the UK) stagnant incomes are making the UK and US less attractive destinations for top international talent.
That steep decline in the appeal of moving to the US after 2016 is 👀
Political hostility, high visa fees and (in the case of the UK) stagnant incomes are making the UK and US less attractive destinations for top international talent.
That steep decline in the appeal of moving to the US after 2016 is 👀
Reposted by Janet Sheppardson
The White House is asking people not to share pictures of the East Wing because it’s even worse today.
October 21, 2025 at 10:54 PM
The White House is asking people not to share pictures of the East Wing because it’s even worse today.
Reposted by Janet Sheppardson
If I were running Labour comms I would commission an app called 'Will the Tories/Reform deport you?' then let the reactions on TikTok and Instagram do their work.
October 22, 2025 at 10:29 AM
If I were running Labour comms I would commission an app called 'Will the Tories/Reform deport you?' then let the reactions on TikTok and Instagram do their work.
Reposted by Janet Sheppardson
In one crisp para — & the 2 charts he highlights — @chrisgiles.ft.com bursts a huge number of “welfare” myths www.ft.com/content/ee67...
October 15, 2025 at 4:39 PM
In one crisp para — & the 2 charts he highlights — @chrisgiles.ft.com bursts a huge number of “welfare” myths www.ft.com/content/ee67...
Reposted by Janet Sheppardson
If scrapping indefinite leave to remain (ILR) entirely, as Reform would do, is racist, according to Labour, what is making ILR twice as difficult, expensive & humiliating to obtain, as Labour are doing?
September 29, 2025 at 1:21 PM
If scrapping indefinite leave to remain (ILR) entirely, as Reform would do, is racist, according to Labour, what is making ILR twice as difficult, expensive & humiliating to obtain, as Labour are doing?
Reposted by Janet Sheppardson
When I was a teenager there was a bus direct from my hometown in Germany to London - we had a British army base, and this direct bus connection was one of the benefits of that. One summer I went on that bus to go volunteer in an old people's home in Southend-on-Sea. I had just turned 18 and was... 🧵
September 29, 2025 at 12:32 PM
When I was a teenager there was a bus direct from my hometown in Germany to London - we had a British army base, and this direct bus connection was one of the benefits of that. One summer I went on that bus to go volunteer in an old people's home in Southend-on-Sea. I had just turned 18 and was... 🧵
Reposted by Janet Sheppardson
"Brexit will allow the Parliament more legal autonomy to legislate and regulate independently at the cost of making Britain measurably poorer" would have been a much more accurate and honest framing of the choice facing voters.
Easy for a billionaire to tell the rest of us that Brexit was worth it even though it made us poorer.
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
Sir James Dyson says Brexit was worth it – even if it’s made people poorer
Britain’s fourth-wealthiest man has argued it is better to be ‘independent’ than tied to the EU
www.independent.co.uk
September 22, 2025 at 8:14 AM
"Brexit will allow the Parliament more legal autonomy to legislate and regulate independently at the cost of making Britain measurably poorer" would have been a much more accurate and honest framing of the choice facing voters.
Reposted by Janet Sheppardson
Here is the Sun's pitifully small apology for its lie about benefits tourism - a lie that was accepted as truth by millions and helped deliver Brexit.
These lies are perverting our democracy. At a minimum, apologies should be published in the same location and size as the lie.
These lies are perverting our democracy. At a minimum, apologies should be published in the same location and size as the lie.
September 21, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Here is the Sun's pitifully small apology for its lie about benefits tourism - a lie that was accepted as truth by millions and helped deliver Brexit.
These lies are perverting our democracy. At a minimum, apologies should be published in the same location and size as the lie.
These lies are perverting our democracy. At a minimum, apologies should be published in the same location and size as the lie.
Reposted by Janet Sheppardson
Nigel Farage (Dulwich), Danny Kruger (Eton), Richard Tice (Uppingham) and Isabel Oakeshott (Gordonstoun) aren't 'standing up to the elite'. They are the elite.
September 15, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Nigel Farage (Dulwich), Danny Kruger (Eton), Richard Tice (Uppingham) and Isabel Oakeshott (Gordonstoun) aren't 'standing up to the elite'. They are the elite.
Reposted by Janet Sheppardson
The problem is that ‘this is not who we are’ is coming to feel a little empirically unconvincing. It might help if the PM actually stood up and made the case for a liberal, tolerant and inclusive country.
It didn't work out for me in the race to be deputy leader, but given events today, am sharing this again.
We in Labour are uniquely placed to bring our diverse country together against the forces of hate. When we stand up for each other, we all win.
labourlist.org/2025/09/alis...
We in Labour are uniquely placed to bring our diverse country together against the forces of hate. When we stand up for each other, we all win.
labourlist.org/2025/09/alis...
'We win when we fight together – that's the story Labour needs to tell' - LabourList
We can never give in to the forces that would divide us and send us backwards. The answer is the Labour winning over a broad coalition for our future.
labourlist.org
September 14, 2025 at 8:42 AM
The problem is that ‘this is not who we are’ is coming to feel a little empirically unconvincing. It might help if the PM actually stood up and made the case for a liberal, tolerant and inclusive country.
Reposted by Janet Sheppardson
Encountering the fascists outside Waterloo iandunt.substack.com/p/encounteri...
September 14, 2025 at 9:51 AM
Encountering the fascists outside Waterloo iandunt.substack.com/p/encounteri...
Reposted by Janet Sheppardson
Following Farage’s announcement that he plans to make “serious cuts to the welfare budgets” if he wins the next election, I’ve seen this claim being repeated from last year’s headlines again.
So let’s take a look at the the reality rather than the weaponised version
🧵
1/21
So let’s take a look at the the reality rather than the weaponised version
🧵
1/21
September 7, 2025 at 9:29 AM
Following Farage’s announcement that he plans to make “serious cuts to the welfare budgets” if he wins the next election, I’ve seen this claim being repeated from last year’s headlines again.
So let’s take a look at the the reality rather than the weaponised version
🧵
1/21
So let’s take a look at the the reality rather than the weaponised version
🧵
1/21
Reposted by Janet Sheppardson
There can be absolutely no “shock” about this. The media has been shamelessly platforming Reform all summer. All summer, we’ve had hate-mongering headlines about immigration. It’s a tedious and grim inevitability that you’ve made people angry enough to want to vote for this shit in response.
August 30, 2025 at 6:43 AM
There can be absolutely no “shock” about this. The media has been shamelessly platforming Reform all summer. All summer, we’ve had hate-mongering headlines about immigration. It’s a tedious and grim inevitability that you’ve made people angry enough to want to vote for this shit in response.
Reposted by Janet Sheppardson
A word on immigration. Don't prejudge this, just listen to the data, and then consider what the solution is.
The UK has a falling birth rate. This means that - unless things change - each generation will be 25% smaller than the one before.
The UK has a falling birth rate. This means that - unless things change - each generation will be 25% smaller than the one before.
August 25, 2025 at 5:48 PM
A word on immigration. Don't prejudge this, just listen to the data, and then consider what the solution is.
The UK has a falling birth rate. This means that - unless things change - each generation will be 25% smaller than the one before.
The UK has a falling birth rate. This means that - unless things change - each generation will be 25% smaller than the one before.
Reposted by Janet Sheppardson
It is clearly the case that asylum protests were smaller this weekend than the small over-hyped protests on August 8th, and smaller than in the second half of July.
No broadcast outlet has accurately conveyed that + asked why: they have explicitly stated and inferred growing protests
No broadcast outlet has accurately conveyed that + asked why: they have explicitly stated and inferred growing protests
August 25, 2025 at 8:53 AM
It is clearly the case that asylum protests were smaller this weekend than the small over-hyped protests on August 8th, and smaller than in the second half of July.
No broadcast outlet has accurately conveyed that + asked why: they have explicitly stated and inferred growing protests
No broadcast outlet has accurately conveyed that + asked why: they have explicitly stated and inferred growing protests
Reposted by Janet Sheppardson
"As ICE transforms into a massive, un-uniformed, masked domestic army ... there’s reason to believe it could backfire," writes @joshuamzeitz in his analysis.
Explore the historical backlash to militarized forces in civilian life and what it could mean for 2025 👇
Explore the historical backlash to militarized forces in civilian life and what it could mean for 2025 👇
ICE Risks Overplaying Its Hand. We’ve Seen It Happen Before.
Militarized federal encroachments on public life provoke strong, even violent responses — even among those who agree with their aims.
www.politico.com
July 26, 2025 at 4:11 PM
"As ICE transforms into a massive, un-uniformed, masked domestic army ... there’s reason to believe it could backfire," writes @joshuamzeitz in his analysis.
Explore the historical backlash to militarized forces in civilian life and what it could mean for 2025 👇
Explore the historical backlash to militarized forces in civilian life and what it could mean for 2025 👇
Reposted by Janet Sheppardson
Switched out my planned Substack for this one.
If you fancy it, please subscribe. It’s free.
One very readable story a week, delivered to your inbox. Comments welcome.
If you fancy it, please subscribe. It’s free.
One very readable story a week, delivered to your inbox. Comments welcome.
Murdoch Could Destroy Trump
When the two people you hate most go to war
chadbourn.substack.com
July 24, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Switched out my planned Substack for this one.
If you fancy it, please subscribe. It’s free.
One very readable story a week, delivered to your inbox. Comments welcome.
If you fancy it, please subscribe. It’s free.
One very readable story a week, delivered to your inbox. Comments welcome.
Reposted by Janet Sheppardson
🚨BREAKING: The last journalists working for AFP in Gaza have said they can no longer work for the news agency.
They are out of energy and they are starving to death.
I have never seen a statement from a news organisation like it.
🧵
They are out of energy and they are starving to death.
I have never seen a statement from a news organisation like it.
🧵
July 21, 2025 at 8:55 PM
🚨BREAKING: The last journalists working for AFP in Gaza have said they can no longer work for the news agency.
They are out of energy and they are starving to death.
I have never seen a statement from a news organisation like it.
🧵
They are out of energy and they are starving to death.
I have never seen a statement from a news organisation like it.
🧵
Reposted by Janet Sheppardson
You know it's bad when your whole "government efficiency" pitch collapses because you didn’t bother to read the detail. 🙄
The Bear goes into Reform UK’s latest scandal-that-wasn’t, ⤵️
The Bear goes into Reform UK’s latest scandal-that-wasn’t, ⤵️
Exposed: Reform UK doesn’t know how government spending works
Reform UK just confused a procurement framework with a spending scandal – and revealed they don’t understand government
eastangliabylines.co.uk
June 7, 2025 at 3:31 PM
You know it's bad when your whole "government efficiency" pitch collapses because you didn’t bother to read the detail. 🙄
The Bear goes into Reform UK’s latest scandal-that-wasn’t, ⤵️
The Bear goes into Reform UK’s latest scandal-that-wasn’t, ⤵️