Julian Hughes

penrhynbirder.bsky.social

19 October 2026 22:51

Only £300 of this was a fine, the other £400 was "court costs" - and that must surely be a fraction of the costs of the local authority, police and court, before even counting the clean-up? Not that serious an offence then, when the rest of us foot the bill.

Emma Cameron

ecameron.bsky.social

19 October 2026 22:50

Governments look almost certain to miss nearly all of the targets – potentially continuing the record of never having met a single UN target on nature since the biodiversity convention was created in 1992. UK is on track to meet just 3 of the 23 targets by the end of the decade. #biodiversityloss

George Monbiot

georgemonbiot.bsky.social

19 October 2026 22:49

Burnham too is deluded on this issue. He might think he's playing nice, but he's opening the door to the nastiest elements, who *will* come to dominate if they can simply buy persuasion, in the way that Bolsonaro's backers have done in Brazil. By refusing to cap, he's signing Labour's death warrant.

George Monbiot

georgemonbiot.bsky.social

19 October 2026 22:49

By and large we don't get the governments we deserve; we get the governments funders pay for. As in the US, UK politics is becoming dominated by huge spending. The result is *inevitably* to push us rightwards. The unions' position is breath-takingly blinkered. They will never win the funding race.

George Monbiot

georgemonbiot.bsky.social

19 October 2026 22:48

The trade unions resisting a political donations cap in the UK are ragged-trousered philanthropists. Thanks to their delusion that a system allowing limitless donations enhances their power, they're in danger of handing the country to the far-right parties that billionaires support. Burnham must act