Tootfinder

Half of UK councils still use pesticides in public places, research finds https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/30/uk-councils-pesticides-weedkiller-glyphosate

"A Weaponized AI Chatbot Is Flooding Canadian City Councils with Climate Misinformation"
#Canada #Climate #ClimateChange

A Weaponized AI Chatbot Is Flooding Canadian City Councils with Climate Misinformation
Thousands of councillors in more than 500 municipalities have received AI emails from a group called KICLEI, a name that mimics the international network ICLEI.

artificial intelligence “enables the cost of misinformation to come close to zero.” 
And it is starts with flooding Canadian city council mailboxes with climate misinformation https://www.nationalobserver.com/2025/05/2

"Reform’s Clean Energy Crackdown Would Cost 60,000 Jobs and Raise Bills, Says Study"
#UK #UnitedKingdom #Climate

Reform’s Clean Energy Crackdown Would Cost 60,000 Jobs and Raise Bills, Says Study
Reform UK’s policies to “scrap net zero” would cost more than 60,000 jobs and wipe £92 billion off the UK economy, according to a new study. Nigel Farage’s party — which took control of 10 councils in the recent local elections — this week claimed that the government could save £45 billion every year by […]

Changes to local government in #Essex proposed: squish together the 14 district councils (who handle planning applications, bins, etc) into 5 new councils of about 300k population each. Then abolish Essex council (adult social care, roads, etc) and give the powers to the new councils.
It generally makes sense. Local plans (town planning) get done on a larger area. And no normal people u…

Half of UK councils still use pesticides in public places, research finds | #Pesticides | The Guardian
https://archive.ph/mXx89

Computational Analysis of Climate Policy
Carolyn Hicks
https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.22449 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2506.22449

Computational Analysis of Climate Policy
This thesis explores the impact of the Climate Emergency movement on local government climate policy, using computational methods. The Climate Emergency movement sought to accelerate climate action at local government level through the mechanism of Climate Emergency Declarations (CEDs), resulting in a series of commitments from councils to treat climate change as an emergency. With the aim of assessing the potential of current large language models to answer complex policy questions, I first bu…

A weaponized AI chatbot is flooding Canadian city councils with climate misinformation, and already having some 'success'.
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2025/05/28/investigations/weaponized-ai-chatbot-…

A weaponized AI chatbot is flooding city councils with climate misinformation
Internal instructions accessed by Canada’s National Observer show that the chatbot produces tailored scripts, petitions, reports and even speeches for council chambers. The messaging is all framed to resonate with municipal officials’ duty to represent local interests. The chatbot drops the cost of misinformation to "close to zero."

I'm nervous about Southend being combined with Rochford and Castle Point - will those rural councils understand our urban needs? It risks a change in character and priorities.
We already share the same bus and train transport network. We need nearby councils working with us to grow the city, as we have no fields to build on.
Our neighbours often build car-focused housing and send us the traffic. Will they embrace city life? Will they force us to build roads? Risks and opport…

“Rising number of charging cables trailing across London’s pavements is heightening trip hazards and posing risks to pedestrian safety
London Councils’ new guidance details cross-pavement EV charging solutions offering safer way for Londoners without driveways to charge at home”

Honestly, good for these folks
City councils in Boise and Salt Lake City work around restrictions on LGBTQ flags
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/08/nx-s1-5389748/city-councils-in-boise-and-salt-lake-city-work-a…

Ranked choice voting (RCV)
is an increasingly popular electoral institution that has been posited by reformers and media outlets to produce transformative effects on electoral outcomes and representation.
This article finds no empirical support for the proposition that RCV changed fiscal outcomes or the ideological composition of city councils
— both on absolute terms and relative to mass opinion.
Furthermore, the roll-call based ideal points of legislators serving …

Go Green Without the Mafia! Dissolution of Infiltrated City Councils and Environmental Policy
Andrea Mario Lavezzi, Marco Quatrosi
https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.18410 https://

Go Green Without the Mafia! Dissolution of Infiltrated City Councils and Environmental Policy
In this article, we study the effects of organized crime infiltration in city councils on environmental policies implemented in Italy at the municipal level. To this purpose, we exploit the exogenous shock of the removal of a city council infiltrated by the mafia and its substitution with an external Commission, allowed in Italy by the law 164/1991. Our results suggest that after dissolution, environmental policies improve in several dimensions: the capital expenditure for sustainable developme…

"Analysis: Reform-led councils threaten 6GW of solar and battery schemes across England"
#UK #UnitedKingdom #Solar #SolarPower

Analysis: Reform-led councils threaten 6GW of solar and battery schemes across England - Carbon Brief
Reform UK’s local-election victories in May 2025 could put 6 gigawatts (GW) of new clean-energy capacity at risk, according to Carbon Brief analysis.

I'm #ActuallyAutistic, and I want to see a worker-controlled community where the labor process isn’t dictated by rigid hierarchies or managers running some Taylorist algorithm. Imagine abolishing those antiquated top-down structures and running things through federated councils, real participatory democracy, not just a suggestion box theater.
My ideal workday would be one w…

The right wing threat and a viable future
A statement from Steady State Manchester Introduction With horror we see the electoral success of POX, The party of Xenophobes and Fascists (which, without irony, actually calls itself Reform UK1). In the May election round they gained 677 more councillors, took control of 8 councils, landed a regional Mayor and gained another MP, in a formerly safe Labour seat.

The right wing threat and a viable future
A statement from Steady State Manchester Introduction With horror we see the electoral success of POX, The party of Xenophobes and Fascists (which, without irony, actually calls itself Reform UK1).…

🇬🇧 EV charging hubs may now be signposted from major A-roads, helping (prospective) EV drivers to find the rapidly growing number of these chargers.
More financial support is available for:
HDV depot charging
NHS electrification
Councils will be supported in providing cross-pavement charging.

New £63 million boost for Britain's electric vehicle revolution
Funding will help to build a fairer, cleaner future where every family can benefit from cheaper, greener transport.

“From Catalunya in the northeast to Andalusia in the southwest of Spain, she overcame local differences, building solidarity among anarcho-syndicalists whose strength really lay in local and regional councils. She had the capacity to speak to a crowd as if she were talking to friends in a café, and reached equally the male and female working class. A natural teacher, she understood and could explain how particular struggles fit into larger campaigns… she was one of those mythical organizers …

Trade Unionists Against the Benefit Cuts (UKPol)
Good letter, including both the principle of the thing and the likely outcomes in practice. Starmer & co should take note.
"We the undersigned are trade unionists opposed to the Universal Credit and Personal Independence bill, designed to restrict access to PIP and to reduce the sickness element (LCWRA) of UC. We believe this is shameful anti-worker and anti-working class legislation. ...
"Not only will these cuts cause increased financial hardship for some of those made vulnerable by a disabling society, but will also add considerable expenses and a much increased workload to workers in several sectors. This is because more people will be plunged into debt. More people will be served with eviction notices... Cutting incomes will push people further from work...
"The Disability Policy thinktank forecast that the cuts will lead to £1.2bn in extra costs for the NHS and local care services provided by councils, raising the alarm for both councillors and MPs whether the cuts will backfire even on their own economic terms."
Still accepting signatures:
#disability #benefits #unions #NHS #debt #UK #UKPol

"Fossil Fuels and Fake LTNs: Reform’s Five Biggest Climate Clangers Since Local Elections"
#UK #UnitedKingdom #FossilFuels

Fossil Fuels and Fake LTNs: Reform’s Five Biggest Climate Clangers Since Local Elections
In the local elections on 1 May, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK took control of 10 councils and two regional mayoralties. The party vowed to scrap climate initiatives in the authorities, and has reportedly already set up an Elon Musk-inspired “DOGE” (Department of Government Efficiency) at Kent County Council in order to identify potential cuts to […]