Tootfinder

#UkPol Good question!!
"Why is Labour so afraid to admit that we must tax the rich?"
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/

#UkPol
"Starmer says UK ‘can’t just tax our way to growth’ as he brushes off call for wealth tax – UK politics live"
https://www.theguard…

Good wishes and all power to the Labour rebels today. They won't vote to push 150,000 disabled people into poverty.
#UKPol #austerity #UKLabour

Twenty years since London Bomb attacks they reckon. Seems both a short time and a long time. I wasn't in town and the first I heard of it was being woken up by messages asking if I was okay. Thought they were concerned I'd been taken away on the saucers on X-Day. 😆
Some say it was the biggest act of terrorism seen on these shores since the war!
But then 20 terrorists were arrested for terrorism this week! They were flagrantly and terrifyingly holding up signs saying "I support Palestine action", the terrorizing monsters. An action that's just as much terrorism under the law these days as blowing up trains and busses.
#terrorism #ukpol

So now there's lots of Reform councillors?
Definitely not going to fight like rats in a sack, or turn out to be fruitcakes.
Almost certainly.
#ukpol

toilets law etc
That Supreme Court ruling is sort of reminding me of Brexit! Small proportion of people pushing it, don't fully understand the implications of what they're getting, lots of people who _do_ understand the implications dismayed. Blithe refs to infrastructure that doesn't exist yet. & that clip where it dawns on the politician blokie that trans men exist, it's like that clip where that other politician blokie's just found out how many trucks arrive at Dover!
#UKPol #trans #law

#UkPol #TheGuardian
"Jeremy Corbyn confirms talks about forming new party with Zarah Sultana"

This week’s #news summary:
- Boris Johnson announces the birth of his ninth child.
- The government considers compulsory chemical castration.
#ukpol

Labour party, economics, migration (UKPol)
"Labour’s only hope is to convince voters that on immigration, like Brexit or fiscal policy, what right wing populists offer is fool’s gold. This should be possible, because it happens to be true."
- @…
#LabourParty #economics #migration #Brexit #KeirStarmer #NigelFarage #EdMiliband #UKPol

I support Palestine Action more than I support this terrible genocide-enabling so-called "labour" government.
Does that mean I'm going to go to jail? Will I have to hand myself in?
#ukPol

good piece from Rafael Behr on Starmer & migration
"The prime minister’s immigration approach follows a now-familiar pattern: letting fear of a difficult argument get in the way of policy that might work"
Starmer once again demonstrating an absence of leadership skills i.m.o.
#LabourParty #KeirStarmer #UKPol

Sue Parfitt / Palestine Action / UK censorship
"An 83-year-old retired priest has been arrested for defying a newly enforced ban on pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action, just hours after the group was formally outlawed by the UK government.
"The Reverend Sue Parfitt, from Bristol, was detained for holding a placard that read: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” She was among more than 27 people arrested on Saturday for acts of defiance against the proscription."
#SueParfitt #PalestineAction #UKPol #UK #censorship

Zarah Sultana (UKPol)
"Zarah Sultana MP resigns from Labour to lead new party with Jeremy Corbyn"
!
Nice article from LBC including her own statement.
#ZarahSultana #JeremyCorbyn #LabourParty #UK #UKPol

Palestine Action / UK censorship
Good article from @….
"While the groups actions may constitute criminal damage, their actions do not represent an attempt to induce fear in the population by creating an imminent threat to life. ...
"Proscribing Palestine Action as terrorists is not about public safety – it is about suppressing protest that we may disagree or agree with, but that stands well short of being an attempt to strike fear into the British public through the use of indiscriminate violence against people. In equating support of damage to military property with support of terrorism, it endangers legitimate debate about the UK-Israel arms trade. ...
"As there is no public evidence of any link to terrorism or support of terrorist groups from Palestine Action, Open Rights Group supports their decision to appeal proscription. While we may have differing opinions on their tactics, we stand against this attack on their right to exist and speak out."
#PalestineAction #UK #censorship #UKPol

BBC bias on Palestine, letter from journalists
"We believe the refusal to broadcast the documentary ‘Gaza: Medics Under Fire’ is just one in a long line of agenda driven decisions. ...
"We are not asking the BBC to take a side.  We are asking to be allowed to do our jobs in delivering facts transparently and with due context. ...
"As an organisation we have not offered any significant analysis of the UK government's involvement in the war on Palestinians. We have failed to report on weapons sales or their legal implications.  These stories have instead been broken by the BBC’s competitors. ...
"In some instances staff have been accused of having an agenda because they have posted news articles critical of the Israeli government on their social media. By comparison, [Robbie] Gibb remains in an influential post with little transparency regarding his decisions despite his ideological leanings being well known. ...
"There is a gulf between the BBC’s coverage of what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank and what our audiences can see is happening via multiple credible sources including human rights organisations, staff at the UN and journalists on the ground. ...
"We believe the role of Robbie Gibb, both on the Board, and as part of the Editorial Standards Committee, is untenable. We call on the BBC to do better for our audiences and recommit to our values of impartiality, honesty and reporting without fear or favour."
Full text here, Owen Jones article up-thread:
#BBC #media #bias #Israel #Palestine #Gaza #RobbieGibb #UKPol

benefits, taxes, Starmer etc
Well done disability activists for championing (relative) fairness, care and sense. You shouldn't have had to deal with that cruel nonsense, but you led the way, and I appreciate it.
Tip of the hat to Labour rebels.
Keir Starmer you should fix the tax system now. #TaxWealthNotWork.
There's a campaign for a new 2% tax on wealth over £10,000,000, which seems entirely reasonable to me.
#disability #benefits #UK #UKPol #KeirStarmer #LabourParty

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

UK Co-op shops / Israel
Nice one Co-op. I do sometimes shop there, and this'll encourage me to do so. Good to see principle being upheld over profit.
"British food retailer the Co-op Group will cease sourcing products and ingredients from 17 countries, including Israel, where there are "internationally recognised" human rights abuses and violations of international law, it said on Tuesday.
"The Co-op, which is owned by its members and trades from over 2,300 food stores across the UK, said it would stop selling carrots from Israel from this month as part of a commitment to no longer stock Israeli goods."
Commiserations to any Israeli food-growers who _don't_ support the atrocities in Gaza and are caught up in this.
#CoOp #food #shopping #Israel #UKPol

Prof Anthony Costello on the UK's flawed covid policies
"UK decision not to suppress covid raises questions about medical and scientific advice"
"Early in the covid pandemic, evidence emerged from several East Asian countries that suppression could lead to successful control. Yet the UK did not adopt the approach. ... Why was suppression not recommended, and what can be done to improve advice in future?"
Currently looks like it'd go the same way in the next pandemic too:
"Five years on, many of the people who developed the UK’s flawed response are still in post; they have not changed their views on suppression, and little has been done to improve government pandemic advice committees or to introduce detailed governance rules for the UK’s future pandemic response and resilience."
#covid #history #UKPol #pandemics