@ralph9.bsky.social
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4/ The most dishonest referendum campaign in the UK during the 2010s was the No2AV campaign, and it's not even close.
August 1, 2025 at 9:26 PM
4/ The most dishonest referendum campaign in the UK during the 2010s was the No2AV campaign, and it's not even close.
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“There's much to welcome in the Govt’s proposals, including the reduction of the voting age to 16. But there's a danger that young people’s enthusiasm for our democracy will be dampened because our First Past the Post excludes so many of their voices from our politics.”
💬 @lisasmartmp.bsky.social
💬 @lisasmartmp.bsky.social
July 17, 2025 at 2:27 PM
“There's much to welcome in the Govt’s proposals, including the reduction of the voting age to 16. But there's a danger that young people’s enthusiasm for our democracy will be dampened because our First Past the Post excludes so many of their voices from our politics.”
💬 @lisasmartmp.bsky.social
💬 @lisasmartmp.bsky.social
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Plenty still scoff at idea of an AOC run. But the Mamdani success should remind us how formidable a candidate she will be in the Dem 28 primary. And she'd be formidable in the general too. Because like Trump, she is one of the few politicians to truly grasp the media age we're living in.
June 25, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Plenty still scoff at idea of an AOC run. But the Mamdani success should remind us how formidable a candidate she will be in the Dem 28 primary. And she'd be formidable in the general too. Because like Trump, she is one of the few politicians to truly grasp the media age we're living in.
Latest RNZ poll is the best ever polling result for NZ First while they’ve been in govt
June 4, 2025 at 7:18 AM
Latest RNZ poll is the best ever polling result for NZ First while they’ve been in govt
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AP reporting Red Cross hospital in Gaza saying at least 21 people killed and another 175 injured in Gaza as they went to receive aid from an Israeli-backed foundation.
June 1, 2025 at 6:07 AM
AP reporting Red Cross hospital in Gaza saying at least 21 people killed and another 175 injured in Gaza as they went to receive aid from an Israeli-backed foundation.
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I made this meme less than three months ago for something entirely different yet somehow it's relevant again 🙃
May 27, 2025 at 9:53 AM
I made this meme less than three months ago for something entirely different yet somehow it's relevant again 🙃
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The Golden Mile project spans three mayors and councils. It’s not a recent or rushed decision, been consulted on many times & supported in multiple elections. The work of this council stays in place largely until halfway through the next council term. This is how local government works!
Unethical for Wellington council to sign more Golden Mile contracts, Andrew Little says
Wellington mayor says project has been given the green-light, and it appears Little did not understand council process.
www.rnz.co.nz
May 16, 2025 at 3:37 AM
The Golden Mile project spans three mayors and councils. It’s not a recent or rushed decision, been consulted on many times & supported in multiple elections. The work of this council stays in place largely until halfway through the next council term. This is how local government works!
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Honestly don't understand the people who want to "leave Courtenay Place alone." I walk/cycle through it every day and it's a complete dump. No one stops there except to grab a takeaway. What are these people desperate to preserve?
It desperately needs rejuvenation, and it will thrive afterward...
It desperately needs rejuvenation, and it will thrive afterward...
Cuba St is packed with lines out the door of some restaurants. People want to be here because of its vibe, parklets and diversity. Courtenay Place can be the same but ONLY with the GM project proceeding. As it stands it will continue withering away. #nzpol
May 16, 2025 at 7:09 AM
Honestly don't understand the people who want to "leave Courtenay Place alone." I walk/cycle through it every day and it's a complete dump. No one stops there except to grab a takeaway. What are these people desperate to preserve?
It desperately needs rejuvenation, and it will thrive afterward...
It desperately needs rejuvenation, and it will thrive afterward...
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Early exit polls suggest the new pope did particularly well with male voters aged 45-79.
May 8, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Early exit polls suggest the new pope did particularly well with male voters aged 45-79.
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What is really baffling here is that one of Andrew Little’s most prominent commitments so far is to “make public transport cheaper” and while that is actually impossible for him to do (wrong council), what he could deliver is more bus improvements, including the long overdue ones on the Golden Mile!
Andrew Little on why we shouldn’t complete Golden Mile contracts. He’s wrong. Yes big decisions taper off after July recess up to the election, but this is not a new decision. This work has been coming for years, through multiple decisions over multiple councils. It’s happening.
April 30, 2025 at 9:00 AM
What is really baffling here is that one of Andrew Little’s most prominent commitments so far is to “make public transport cheaper” and while that is actually impossible for him to do (wrong council), what he could deliver is more bus improvements, including the long overdue ones on the Golden Mile!
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Andrew Little on why we shouldn’t complete Golden Mile contracts. He’s wrong. Yes big decisions taper off after July recess up to the election, but this is not a new decision. This work has been coming for years, through multiple decisions over multiple councils. It’s happening.
April 30, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Andrew Little on why we shouldn’t complete Golden Mile contracts. He’s wrong. Yes big decisions taper off after July recess up to the election, but this is not a new decision. This work has been coming for years, through multiple decisions over multiple councils. It’s happening.
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AV isn't a perfect electoral system by any means (has some of the same pathologies as FPP), but I can guarantee to you we won't, in the Aus election this weekend, see an utter absurdity of a result like this where the winner in no way meaningfully represents the majority in the electorate.
FPP, man
FPP, man
April 29, 2025 at 8:37 PM
AV isn't a perfect electoral system by any means (has some of the same pathologies as FPP), but I can guarantee to you we won't, in the Aus election this weekend, see an utter absurdity of a result like this where the winner in no way meaningfully represents the majority in the electorate.
FPP, man
FPP, man
I didn’t actually realise till now but at the start of the month they also announced they’re going to disenfranchise thousands of people who enrol on election day itself
April 29, 2025 at 9:24 PM
I didn’t actually realise till now but at the start of the month they also announced they’re going to disenfranchise thousands of people who enrol on election day itself
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Not since the 1940s has a Canadian Party enjoyed four or more wins on the trot. Quite something that Donald Trump would become the saviour of Canadian progressivism and Davos man Mark Carney the standard bearer of Canadian nationalism.
April 29, 2025 at 6:08 AM
Not since the 1940s has a Canadian Party enjoyed four or more wins on the trot. Quite something that Donald Trump would become the saviour of Canadian progressivism and Davos man Mark Carney the standard bearer of Canadian nationalism.
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The last government's Elections Bill broke the way we elect our mayors, allowing candidates to sneak in with low levels of public support. We could easily see a new record set on May 1st for most unpopular mayor. www.electoral-reform.org.uk/are-we-going...
Are we going to see Mayors elected with even lower levels of public support in 2025?
Four Combined Authority mayors will be elected on 1 May 2025, but changes to the rules could see mayors taking power with little public support locally.Voters are going to the polls in
www.electoral-reform.org.uk
April 24, 2025 at 2:50 PM
The last government's Elections Bill broke the way we elect our mayors, allowing candidates to sneak in with low levels of public support. We could easily see a new record set on May 1st for most unpopular mayor. www.electoral-reform.org.uk/are-we-going...
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I'm running! With our city (and world) the way it is, there's a need for constructive, pragmatic people at the table. If I'm lucky enough to receive the Greens nomination, I'll be asking for your help - for housing, infrastructure, for a Wellington where everyone can thrive.
April 21, 2025 at 6:43 PM
I'm running! With our city (and world) the way it is, there's a need for constructive, pragmatic people at the table. If I'm lucky enough to receive the Greens nomination, I'll be asking for your help - for housing, infrastructure, for a Wellington where everyone can thrive.
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I suspect that Andrew Little entering the race actually helps Tory Whanau's candidacy. It means she isn't the sole target of attacks from the right, and it means she can run to Little's left, positioning herself as the change/transformation candidate despite being the incumbent.
April 16, 2025 at 5:52 AM
I suspect that Andrew Little entering the race actually helps Tory Whanau's candidacy. It means she isn't the sole target of attacks from the right, and it means she can run to Little's left, positioning herself as the change/transformation candidate despite being the incumbent.
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American exceptionalism is electing a pariah government so repugnant that it tanks the electoral prospects of aligned right wing governments across the entire anglosphere
April 16, 2025 at 4:15 PM
American exceptionalism is electing a pariah government so repugnant that it tanks the electoral prospects of aligned right wing governments across the entire anglosphere
Kinda appropriate that the “Great” in MAGA refers to the Gilded Age
Trump: "You know, our country was the strongest, believe it or not, from 1870 to 1913. You know why? It was all tariff based. We had no income tax." (This is nonsense.)
April 7, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Kinda appropriate that the “Great” in MAGA refers to the Gilded Age
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Petition to the Telecommunications Commissioner to make all our phones play the "Goodnight Kiwi" video at 11pm then switch social media off for the night.
a gif from gifkaro shows a cat and a rabbit in space
ALT: a gif from gifkaro shows a cat and a rabbit in space
media.tenor.com
April 1, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Petition to the Telecommunications Commissioner to make all our phones play the "Goodnight Kiwi" video at 11pm then switch social media off for the night.
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New poll from Labour Together that really underlines just how utterly negligent it was not to change the electoral system for mayors back to ranked voting.
March 24, 2025 at 1:26 PM
New poll from Labour Together that really underlines just how utterly negligent it was not to change the electoral system for mayors back to ranked voting.
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💯 The government can and should reintroduce a fairer system for mayor and PCC elections
⚠️ But what would be truly negligent is failing to address First Past the Post for general elections...
...a system Labour policy recognises is "flawed" and driving "distrust and alienation" in politics
⚠️ But what would be truly negligent is failing to address First Past the Post for general elections...
...a system Labour policy recognises is "flawed" and driving "distrust and alienation" in politics
New poll from Labour Together that really underlines just how utterly negligent it was not to change the electoral system for mayors back to ranked voting.
March 24, 2025 at 3:57 PM
💯 The government can and should reintroduce a fairer system for mayor and PCC elections
⚠️ But what would be truly negligent is failing to address First Past the Post for general elections...
...a system Labour policy recognises is "flawed" and driving "distrust and alienation" in politics
⚠️ But what would be truly negligent is failing to address First Past the Post for general elections...
...a system Labour policy recognises is "flawed" and driving "distrust and alienation" in politics
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💯 "If you want to make the argument that the system is rigged and there’s an out-of-touch elite that’s basically running a kind of closed shop, well, the electoral system makes that argument easier right now."
- @robfordmancs.bsky.social hits the nail on the head
- @robfordmancs.bsky.social hits the nail on the head
How Nigel Farage could smash open Britain’s electoral system
He’s an unlikely pin-up for electoral reform campaigners — but a 2029 surge that’s not matched by House of Commons seats could see Farage turn up the heat on a “rigged” system.
www.politico.eu
March 21, 2025 at 10:48 AM
💯 "If you want to make the argument that the system is rigged and there’s an out-of-touch elite that’s basically running a kind of closed shop, well, the electoral system makes that argument easier right now."
- @robfordmancs.bsky.social hits the nail on the head
- @robfordmancs.bsky.social hits the nail on the head
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👏 MPs from across Parliament challenged the Government's inaction on First Past the Post yesterday...
A voting system Labour Party policy describes as "flawed" and "contributing to the distrust & alienation we see in politics"
🏛 We need a National Commission for Electoral Reform
A voting system Labour Party policy describes as "flawed" and "contributing to the distrust & alienation we see in politics"
🏛 We need a National Commission for Electoral Reform
March 19, 2025 at 8:50 AM
👏 MPs from across Parliament challenged the Government's inaction on First Past the Post yesterday...
A voting system Labour Party policy describes as "flawed" and "contributing to the distrust & alienation we see in politics"
🏛 We need a National Commission for Electoral Reform
A voting system Labour Party policy describes as "flawed" and "contributing to the distrust & alienation we see in politics"
🏛 We need a National Commission for Electoral Reform
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Amnesty International official Prisoner of Conscience designation when
Must read: Mahmoud Khalil speaks out for the first time since his arrest by the Trump administration in an exclusive letter, dictated over the phone to his family, from ICE detention in Louisiana.
March 19, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Amnesty International official Prisoner of Conscience designation when