Tim Bates
@tbates12.bsky.social
Guardian sub/production editor. Views my own, probably thinking too hard about things
Reposted by Tim Bates
Not commenting on Venezuela is one thing, but Starmer's ministers not even being willing to say "no of course the US shouldn't invade a peaceful sovereign democratic NATO country, which is one of our closest allies" is quite another.
January 5, 2026 at 10:30 AM
Not commenting on Venezuela is one thing, but Starmer's ministers not even being willing to say "no of course the US shouldn't invade a peaceful sovereign democratic NATO country, which is one of our closest allies" is quite another.
Reposted by Tim Bates
“The idea that squeezing a tiny elite of billionaires will pay for everything is fantasy and we do need to expose that.”
Good job no one’s ever actually said that - including me.
So why is Labour again repeatedly lying to avoid taxing the super-rich?
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Good job no one’s ever actually said that - including me.
So why is Labour again repeatedly lying to avoid taxing the super-rich?
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Zack Polanski offering voters fantasy solutions, says head of Fabian Society
Joe Dromey, head of the Labour thinktank, urges his party to take on the ‘twin populisms’ of Reform UK and the Greens
www.theguardian.com
December 31, 2025 at 9:20 AM
“The idea that squeezing a tiny elite of billionaires will pay for everything is fantasy and we do need to expose that.”
Good job no one’s ever actually said that - including me.
So why is Labour again repeatedly lying to avoid taxing the super-rich?
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Good job no one’s ever actually said that - including me.
So why is Labour again repeatedly lying to avoid taxing the super-rich?
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Tim Bates
As I said recently in The Guardian:
"Despite their hopes to the contrary, anti-trans campaigners have not won the hearts and minds they believed the Supreme Court would give them"
So they turn to this; desperate, fascistic calls for the destruction of those they hate (framed as ideas, not people).
"Despite their hopes to the contrary, anti-trans campaigners have not won the hearts and minds they believed the Supreme Court would give them"
So they turn to this; desperate, fascistic calls for the destruction of those they hate (framed as ideas, not people).
December 30, 2025 at 12:26 PM
As I said recently in The Guardian:
"Despite their hopes to the contrary, anti-trans campaigners have not won the hearts and minds they believed the Supreme Court would give them"
So they turn to this; desperate, fascistic calls for the destruction of those they hate (framed as ideas, not people).
"Despite their hopes to the contrary, anti-trans campaigners have not won the hearts and minds they believed the Supreme Court would give them"
So they turn to this; desperate, fascistic calls for the destruction of those they hate (framed as ideas, not people).
Reposted by Tim Bates
Letting hunger strikers die, arresting Greta Thunberg — this is not incompetence or even indifference. The UK state is deliberately making examples of people to ramp up the crushing of basic civil liberties and silence opposition to genocide
December 23, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Letting hunger strikers die, arresting Greta Thunberg — this is not incompetence or even indifference. The UK state is deliberately making examples of people to ramp up the crushing of basic civil liberties and silence opposition to genocide
Reposted by Tim Bates
So in the UK, they'll arrest you for supporting Palestine, and now we find they'll also arrest you for supporting those who support Palestine.
If you hold a Free Greta sign, will they arrest you for supporting someone who supports those who support Palestine?
British Matryoshka doll-ass fascism.
If you hold a Free Greta sign, will they arrest you for supporting someone who supports those who support Palestine?
British Matryoshka doll-ass fascism.
Greta Thunberg has been arrested on terrorism charges for speaking out in support of the Palestine Action hunger strikers.
FUCK this British government.
https://news.sky.com/story/greta-thunberg-arrested-at-a-protest-supporting-palestine-action-hunger-strikers-13486842
FUCK this British government.
https://news.sky.com/story/greta-thunberg-arrested-at-a-protest-supporting-palestine-action-hunger-strikers-13486842
December 23, 2025 at 2:08 PM
So in the UK, they'll arrest you for supporting Palestine, and now we find they'll also arrest you for supporting those who support Palestine.
If you hold a Free Greta sign, will they arrest you for supporting someone who supports those who support Palestine?
British Matryoshka doll-ass fascism.
If you hold a Free Greta sign, will they arrest you for supporting someone who supports those who support Palestine?
British Matryoshka doll-ass fascism.
Reposted by Tim Bates
Worked hard to get this into Guardian Oz & big props to @fiercemum.bsky.social for setting it up & Melissa Davey for publishing it. She will doubtless get loads of hassle from transphobes for it, but it needs to be out there.
Puberty Blocker bans harm trans kids, no-one should pretend they don’t.
Puberty Blocker bans harm trans kids, no-one should pretend they don’t.
Puberty blocker bans in Queensland and NZ risk extreme harm to trans youth, UK expert warns
Sociologist who surveyed effect of 2024 UK ban says denial of gender-affirming care has left trans and non-binary children in ‘abject misery and severe distress’
www.theguardian.com
December 21, 2025 at 6:10 AM
Worked hard to get this into Guardian Oz & big props to @fiercemum.bsky.social for setting it up & Melissa Davey for publishing it. She will doubtless get loads of hassle from transphobes for it, but it needs to be out there.
Puberty Blocker bans harm trans kids, no-one should pretend they don’t.
Puberty Blocker bans harm trans kids, no-one should pretend they don’t.
Reposted by Tim Bates
Shorter thread: Laura Kuenssberg is spreading misinformation and Mary-Ann Stephenson understands neither the law nor her role and can't bring herself to say trans people exist.
So, Laura Kuenssberg's introduction to her interview with Mary-Ann Stephenson is just hideous.
Let me count the ways. 🧵
Let me count the ways. 🧵
December 14, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Shorter thread: Laura Kuenssberg is spreading misinformation and Mary-Ann Stephenson understands neither the law nor her role and can't bring herself to say trans people exist.
Reposted by Tim Bates
Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.
December 13, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.
Reposted by Tim Bates
Deeply disappointed to hear that the BBC has pushed out one of the most brilliant presenters in all of science communication for speaking with integrity and honor in support of human rights and dignity.
Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.
December 13, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Deeply disappointed to hear that the BBC has pushed out one of the most brilliant presenters in all of science communication for speaking with integrity and honor in support of human rights and dignity.
Reposted by Tim Bates
Ooh gosh let me think about this one
Will Labour’s move to limit ECHR deter the far right or alienate progressive voters?
Previously sceptical MPs now want to modernise human rights law to prevent an overreach of the law and losing to the far right
www.theguardian.com
December 10, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Ooh gosh let me think about this one
Reposted by Tim Bates
Ignore the media framing, I think this is a glimmer of good news.
“The tribunal was clear that the law does not now require banning trans people from single-sex spaces” - @goodlawproject.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
“The tribunal was clear that the law does not now require banning trans people from single-sex spaces” - @goodlawproject.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Scottish nurse wins part of her tribunal in trans doctor changing room case
Sandie Peggie wins harassment claim but tribunal dismisses allegations of discrimination and victimisation
www.theguardian.com
December 9, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Ignore the media framing, I think this is a glimmer of good news.
“The tribunal was clear that the law does not now require banning trans people from single-sex spaces” - @goodlawproject.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
“The tribunal was clear that the law does not now require banning trans people from single-sex spaces” - @goodlawproject.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Reposted by Tim Bates
"I can see how organisations would be tempted to capitulate – especially when they think the legal threats are all coming from one side. It doesn’t matter if they would eventually win in court – the question is whether they can justify the risk." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The WI and Girlguiding have been pressured to exclude trans women – yet the law is clear as mud | Jess O’Thomson
Since the supreme court decision, organisations have faced lobbying and legal threats. But trans people are protected by discrimination law too, says Jess O’Thomson of the Good Law Project
www.theguardian.com
December 9, 2025 at 12:43 PM
"I can see how organisations would be tempted to capitulate – especially when they think the legal threats are all coming from one side. It doesn’t matter if they would eventually win in court – the question is whether they can justify the risk." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Tim Bates
racists roll their eyes at this, they're not happy with any message short of 'send them all back' & they don't trust labour trying to pander to them. people who aren't racist recognise this as divisive patronising nonsense. labour's approval rating is 12% and i'm surprised it is that high
December 7, 2025 at 9:24 AM
racists roll their eyes at this, they're not happy with any message short of 'send them all back' & they don't trust labour trying to pander to them. people who aren't racist recognise this as divisive patronising nonsense. labour's approval rating is 12% and i'm surprised it is that high
Reposted by Tim Bates
it might seem surprising that the people who said “look, let trans people live their lives, but i have Reasonable Concerns about sports and toilets” aren’t up in arms about this, but what you have to remember is that those people who said that are liars who were lying
December 6, 2025 at 12:40 PM
it might seem surprising that the people who said “look, let trans people live their lives, but i have Reasonable Concerns about sports and toilets” aren’t up in arms about this, but what you have to remember is that those people who said that are liars who were lying
Reposted by Tim Bates
End of the day we don’t need laws to be clear, it’s more of a vibe based thing. Just like it is with underage drinking and reckless driving
falkner argues the bathroom ban will be self-enforcing
just like *checks notes* . . . traffic laws
just like *checks notes* . . . traffic laws
December 6, 2025 at 12:26 PM
End of the day we don’t need laws to be clear, it’s more of a vibe based thing. Just like it is with underage drinking and reckless driving
Reposted by Tim Bates
Like MAGA, transphobes have gotten everything they wanted in 2025. And, like MAGA, they've never been more vitriolic toward the institutions they've captured, more disgusted by their wounded victims, more ready to plough forth into realms of cruelty that even they would have balked at a year ago.
December 4, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Like MAGA, transphobes have gotten everything they wanted in 2025. And, like MAGA, they've never been more vitriolic toward the institutions they've captured, more disgusted by their wounded victims, more ready to plough forth into realms of cruelty that even they would have balked at a year ago.
Reposted by Tim Bates
Again, do you notice how insanely idiotic and insulting British politics is, almost every day of the year? Just affront after affront, it’s one towering Fuck You after another.
December 4, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Again, do you notice how insanely idiotic and insulting British politics is, almost every day of the year? Just affront after affront, it’s one towering Fuck You after another.
Reposted by Tim Bates
Note how these awful people are getting exactly the exclusions of children that they demanded and *that still isn’t enough for them*: they demand everyone be delighted about it and kiss their arses for being brilliant.
December 4, 2025 at 7:33 AM
Note how these awful people are getting exactly the exclusions of children that they demanded and *that still isn’t enough for them*: they demand everyone be delighted about it and kiss their arses for being brilliant.
Reposted by Tim Bates
people thought Judith Butler was exaggerating before but she's been proven right, i think
December 3, 2025 at 10:53 PM
people thought Judith Butler was exaggerating before but she's been proven right, i think
Reposted by Tim Bates
It is essential to remember that Sensible centrists got everything they wanted in the UK.
The left smashed, their Competent Sensible politicians won by a landslide last year and have a huge majority and the policies they dreamed of implemented.
And the result is endless horror.
The left smashed, their Competent Sensible politicians won by a landslide last year and have a huge majority and the policies they dreamed of implemented.
And the result is endless horror.
December 3, 2025 at 3:48 PM
It is essential to remember that Sensible centrists got everything they wanted in the UK.
The left smashed, their Competent Sensible politicians won by a landslide last year and have a huge majority and the policies they dreamed of implemented.
And the result is endless horror.
The left smashed, their Competent Sensible politicians won by a landslide last year and have a huge majority and the policies they dreamed of implemented.
And the result is endless horror.
Reposted by Tim Bates
For non-Brits: nobody can afford to get sued by revved-up wingnuts and crackpots armed with JK Rowling’s money, and nobody wants to be the next organisation protested by the far right and monstered into the heart of the earth by the world’s most poisonous media outlets. So they are folding.
December 2, 2025 at 8:09 PM
For non-Brits: nobody can afford to get sued by revved-up wingnuts and crackpots armed with JK Rowling’s money, and nobody wants to be the next organisation protested by the far right and monstered into the heart of the earth by the world’s most poisonous media outlets. So they are folding.
Reposted by Tim Bates
Reactionary centrists are getting everything they wanted out of the UK's Labour party, a purge of trans people from society, a crackdown on immigration, austerity measures on social safety net programs. It's only made Reform more popular and decimated Labour's support.
December 3, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Reactionary centrists are getting everything they wanted out of the UK's Labour party, a purge of trans people from society, a crackdown on immigration, austerity measures on social safety net programs. It's only made Reform more popular and decimated Labour's support.
Reposted by Tim Bates
I find it very strange how a legal decision which relates solely to gender recognition certificates – something under 18s definitively cannot have – is being used to justify changes to longstanding policies on including trans kids.
December 2, 2025 at 7:51 PM
I find it very strange how a legal decision which relates solely to gender recognition certificates – something under 18s definitively cannot have – is being used to justify changes to longstanding policies on including trans kids.
Reposted by Tim Bates
80% of British media spends all day everyday calling trans people predators and freaks, and the remaining 20% say tsk tsk that's a bit much while still arguing they should be banned from even having a fucking hobby and, honestly, would it be so hard for them to just piss before they leave the house?
December 3, 2025 at 12:02 PM
80% of British media spends all day everyday calling trans people predators and freaks, and the remaining 20% say tsk tsk that's a bit much while still arguing they should be banned from even having a fucking hobby and, honestly, would it be so hard for them to just piss before they leave the house?
Reposted by Tim Bates
We're watching the wholesale burning of every scrap of dignity afforded to trans people in the UK, their rights, their medical services, their employment, their place within society, their bodily functions.
It is a disgrace, and a disgusting stain on the government and media of this country.
It is a disgrace, and a disgusting stain on the government and media of this country.
December 3, 2025 at 11:54 AM
We're watching the wholesale burning of every scrap of dignity afforded to trans people in the UK, their rights, their medical services, their employment, their place within society, their bodily functions.
It is a disgrace, and a disgusting stain on the government and media of this country.
It is a disgrace, and a disgusting stain on the government and media of this country.