John Watts
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wattsgoingon.bsky.social
John Watts
@wattsgoingon.bsky.social
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Reposted by John Watts
eddavey.libdems.org.uk
I’m disgusted that some senior DWP people have learned nothing about the scale of the misery their policies inflicted.

It’s high time the DWP showed some respect to carers and some awareness of their own gross errors.
A screenshot of a news article from The Guardian with the headline "Senior DWP civil servant blames victims for carer's allowance scandal." The featured image shows a man in a blue hoodie pushing a person in a red hoodie who is using a wheelchair along a path.
December 7, 2025 at 10:17 AM
Reposted by John Watts
jfruh.bsky.social
the great gatsby is one of the most widely assigned books in america and yet apparently literally nobody understands it www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
December 6, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Reposted by John Watts
faineg.bsky.social
“Sarah Champion, chair of the Commons international development select committee, said: “Members received a private briefing on Sudan, at which one of the academics stated: ‘Our low estimate is 60,000 people have been killed there in the last three weeks.’”
RSF massacres left Sudanese city ‘a slaughterhouse’, satellite images show
Up to 150,000 residents of El Fasher are missing since North Darfur capital fell to paramilitary Rapid Support Forces
www.theguardian.com
December 5, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Reposted by John Watts
samfr.bsky.social
I didn't think a US World Cup would be able to top Diana Ross's "penalty" for embarrassment, but here we are.
December 5, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Reposted by John Watts
johnpring.bsky.social
Ministers have been forced to admit that the proportion of Access to Work claims they are rejecting has leapt by more than a fifth this year, with disabled campaigners describing the figures as “unacceptable” and “clearly worrying”.
#DWP #AccessToWork
www.disabilitynewsservice.com/unacceptable...
‘Unacceptable’ new figures show rejections of Access to Work claims have shot up this year
Ministers have been forced to admit that the proportion of Access to Work claims they are rejecting has leapt by more than a fifth this year, with disabled campaigners describing the figures as “un…
www.disabilitynewsservice.com
December 5, 2025 at 7:30 AM
Reposted by John Watts
psurridge.bsky.social
Which is less useful Winviz before the first innings is done or opinion polls 3 years out from a GE
December 4, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Reposted by John Watts
roberthutton.co.uk
I do sometimes wonder if I'm losing my mind. thecritic.co.uk/full...
But one of the many fascinating things about Badenoch is that she seems unable to accept “incompetence” as the answer to the question “why did the government do that thing?” This refusal is all the more surprising when you remember that she was a minister in Boris Johnson’s government. She has seen incompetence up close. Perhaps that’s the problem: when you’ve lived through the technicolour widescreen shambles that was the last Conservative administration, Starmer’s dreary disasters simply can’t compare.
December 3, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Reposted by John Watts
nation.cymru
Are you looking for something uniquely Welsh for your Christmas celebrations? These 30 festive Welsh songs will get you into the Christmas spirit while celebrating the cultural heritage of Wales
30 Welsh language Christmas tracks to get you into the festive spirit
Welsh Words Are you looking for something that is uniquely Welsh for your Christmas celebrations? These 30 festive Welsh songs will get you into the Christmas spirit while celebrating the cultural her...
nation.cymru
December 3, 2025 at 8:31 AM
Reposted by John Watts
quantick.bsky.social
I was a juror once. It was like being in a Local Facebook group except we had the power to jail someone.
December 2, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Reposted by John Watts
rhodri.biz
Glorious, from a pal on FB
December 2, 2025 at 8:57 AM
Reposted by John Watts
magnets.bsky.social
the coop this evening with possibly the most baffling musical choice i have ever experienced in a supermarket
December 1, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Reposted by John Watts
davidallengreen.bsky.social
Deliberate leaks are not culpable, but accidental leaks are heinous.

What a jolly political culture we have.
December 1, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Reposted by John Watts
drmatthewsweet.bsky.social
This is a wonderful thread. Scholarship, creativity, a portrait of a generation.
bfletcherwatson.bsky.social Ben Fletcher-Watson @bfletcherwatson.bsky.social · 7d
Eleven years ago, I wrote to Tom Stoppard to ask about this coup de théâtre from 1949. It took me down an unexpected rabbit hole - in memory of Stoppard, here's what I found.
"Years and years ago, there was a production of The Tempest, out of doors, at an Oxford college on a lawn, which was the stage, and the lawn went back towards the lake in the grounds of the college, and the play began in natural light. But as it developed, and as it became time for Ariel to say his farewell to the world of The Tempest, the evening had started to close in and there was some artificial lighting coming on. And as Ariel uttered his last speech, he turned and he ran across the grass, and he got to the edge of the lake and he just kept running across the top of the water — the producer having thoughtfully provided a kind of walkway an inch beneath the water. And you could see and you could hear the plish, plash as he ran away from you across the top of the lake, until the gloom enveloped him and he disappeared from your view. And as he did so, from the further shore, a firework rocket was ignited, and it went whoosh into the air, and high up there it burst into lots of sparks, and all the sparks went out, and he had gone. "When you look up the stage directions, it says, 'Exit Ariel.”
December 1, 2025 at 9:14 AM
Reposted by John Watts
johnpring.bsky.social
DWP failure to provide up-to-date figures on Access to Work cuts is ‘major warning sign’, say campaigners
#DWP #AccessToWork
@accesstoworkcol.bsky.social
www.disabilitynewsservice.com/dwp-failure-...
DWP failure to provide up-to-date figures on Access to Work cuts is ‘major warning sign’, say campaigners
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has claimed that “an issue” with data is preventing it releasing figures that would show just how many disabled people have been affected by cuts to the A…
www.disabilitynewsservice.com
November 28, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Reposted by John Watts
minnierahman.bsky.social
The proposed settlement changes are really difficult to understand and very stressful if you or someone you know is a migrant. Read our explainer below so you can stay up to date with what's happening.
November 25, 2025 at 5:33 PM
wattsgoingon.bsky.social
After the last government ruined fizzy drinks, this government is going to ruin milkshakes.
fintwitter.bsky.social FinTwitter @fintwitter.bsky.social · 12d
UK GOVT WILL REMOVE THE CURRENT EXEMPTION FOR MILK-BASED DRINKS FROM ITS SUGAR TAX FROM 2028
November 25, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Reposted by John Watts
rutgerbregman.com
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.

They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Reposted by John Watts
jayhulmepoet.bsky.social
Once again the internet provides us with an immortal phrase that nobody will ever guess the context of.
lastpositivist.bsky.social lastpositivist.bsky.social @lastpositivist.bsky.social · 14d
The damned in hell are not more powerful for the fact that the fires do not consume them; it is part and parcel of their torment.
November 24, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Reposted by John Watts
theguardian.com
Ryanair expects me to take the financial hit for helping others
Ryanair expects me to take the financial hit for helping others
As a doctor I stepped in to tend to an elderly passenger … but it won’t waive £100 transfer fee to rebook
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:56 AM
Reposted by John Watts
neftalememanuel.bsky.social
Have you, a family member or friend moved from council housing to renting privately?

I’m a PhD researcher looking into what drives these moves, how it impacts tenants' lives and their views of the council housing tenure.

Please reach out and share among your contacts! 👇

#socialhousing
#renting
November 23, 2025 at 7:28 PM
wattsgoingon.bsky.social
Richly deserved, it's a wonderful cheese, and vegetarian too!
nation.cymru NationCymru @nation.cymru · 16d
Wales has scooped six prizes at the World Cheese Awards 2025, with Caws Cenarth taking home the top Welsh honour for its Perl Las Deli blue cheese wp.me/p8Mk4U-19ad
November 20, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Reposted by John Watts
jim.londoncentric.media
It’s the exclusive everyone wanted, the story that will win next year’s Pulitzer…

I can reveal London’s giant AI generated Christmas artwork, the subject of much online mockery, is being torn down - and I honestly *genuinely* think you’ll never guess why. www.londoncentric.media/p/ai-artwork...
London's giant AI artwork to be torn down
The bizarre story of why a much-talked-about creation is being torn down. Plus: Docklands Light Railway extension, giant laser stalks the night sky, and more tales of Android phone theft rejection.
www.londoncentric.media
November 20, 2025 at 7:18 AM
Reposted by John Watts
dimwittedly.bsky.social
Brilliant series, phenomenal lead performance. I wish Richardson had done a Jackanory in character as Urquhart.
archivetvmusings.bsky.social archivetvmusings @archivetvmusings.bsky.social · 18d
The first episode of House of Cards was broadcast on this day in 1990.
November 18, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Reposted by John Watts
stephenboydippr.bsky.social
Noone will believe this but actually managed to watch the full game - completely uninterrupted - on Avanti West Coast wifi. Incredible stuff
November 18, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Reposted by John Watts
davidallengreen.bsky.social
And the BBC.
amykristinsanders.bsky.social Amy Kristin Sanders @amykristinsanders.bsky.social · 19d
All together now: This is why we stand up and litigate frivolous and vexatious lawsuits rather than settling.

Let's hope @cbsnews.com and ABC are taking notes.
kyledcheney.bsky.social Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 19d
JUST IN: A federal appeals court panel (with 2/3 Trump appointees) calls his lawsuit against CNN — over use of the term Big Lie — "meritless" and affirms the decision by a lower court to throw it out. s3.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
November 18, 2025 at 6:24 PM