Ali Eyre 🇪🇺

A doughty middle aged Northern woman who simply can’t be doing with your nonsense!

[Clive Lewis MP @labourlewis]

Believe it or not, I had an old school friend on today’s marches in London. He sent me some photos from the crowd.

We went to middle school together and grew up on the same Eastern District council estate in Northampton.

I asked him why he was there. He gave me two answers:
1.“The government doesn’t listen to us.”
2.“I want to feel proud of my country again.”

He wore a Union Jack, not a St George’s Cross as he said that one had been hijacked by racists.

He wasn’t there for Hopkins, Musk, or any of the professional ‘grifters’ as he put it. He was there to feel part of something bigger, though he admitted there were a lot of, in his words, “assholes” there.

He’s an electrician. He’s smart. He’s not racist, but he’s not “PC” either. He’s not a fan of Keir Starmer but he also believes Farage would be a disaster.

Oh yes, he’s a bundle of contradictions! But aren’t we all?

I don’t know what ‘box’ we put him or the millions like him in. And I think pretending they’re all racists or fascists would be a massive mistake.

Some were. But not all.

This is about something bigger than immigration slogans or GDP numbers. For decades we’ve hollowed out our national life, underfunding and undermining the very institutions that once brought us together.

Karl Polanyi, writing in The Great Transformation, argued that when markets are “disembodied” from society, when land, labour, and life itself are treated as commodities
society pushes back. He called this the “double movement”: people seeking to protect themselves, to reclaim dignity and meaning when everything solid seems to melt into air.

That’s what I saw in my friend’s photos. Not just anger, but a demand for belonging.

We’ve replaced collective experience with atomisation. Without getting too nostalgic, programmes like the BBC’s Generation Game once pulled in millions every Saturday night, giving us something we could all talk about on Monday morning. Now we watch Netflix, Disney+, Prime, or Paramount, alone, in algorithmic silos.

Football used to be affordable and rooted in community; now it’s millionaires playing for the profitability of billionaires. The NHS, the post office, the railways - all chipped away, run down, sold off or centralised, leaving people feeling powerless and disconnected.

And don’t get me wrong: some kind of “Hovis Labour” nostalgia for the 1950s isn’t the answer. The country back then was often intolerant, grey, and deeply unequal. But what we’ve built since is a society that gives people little to hold in common, no collective story about who we are or what we’re for.

I reckon that’s partly why my mate marched. Not because he wants to turn back the clock. But because he wants to feel pride again. Pride in a country that is inclusive, fair, and offers a role for everyone. Pride in a nation that has a respected place in the world, tackles grotesque inequality, and gives people something real to believe in.

Polanyi warned that when democracies fail to provide a humane alternative, the backlash can turn authoritarian. This is how fascism grew in the 1930s, not because everyone became a true believer, but because millions felt abandoned and looked for strength, identity, and meaning wherever they could find it.

If Labour and progressives don’t offer that story of renewal, if we don’t rebuild our national institutions, restore collective pride, and re-embed markets within society, the far right will do it for us, in their own image.

And by then, it will be too late.

[Good Law Project @GoodLawProject]

If you're affected by the Supreme Court's decision this week, you're not alone and we stand with you 💜

Here are some resources for our trans friends and allies 👇
https://t.co/KqlYM1lt2e

[Double Down News @DoubleDownNews]

There’s a Sickness at the Heart of Politics & It’s Called Oligarchy @GeorgeMonbiot

[Carole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla]

I gave this TED talk warning Silicon Valley of the profound threat of it posed to democracy nearly 6 years ago. It provoked a lawsuit that caused me years of pain. The UK government did nothing to contain the threat. And here we are.

[DaddyNeedsCoffee 🇺🇦 🚴‍♂️ 🎨 🇪🇺 @DaddyCoffee73]

I stand with @jessphillips… National treasure 👍 Share if you agree.

[Socialist Opera Singer @OperaSocialist]

The Independent Investigation of Child Sexual Abuse was published on 20th October 2022.

Why did the Tory government* ignore it?

Maybe because that was also the day Liz Truss resigned as PM

(*also ignored by Elon Musk, Farage and Tommy Robinson fans)

https://t.co/k6h89YtGrS

[Otto English @Otto_English]

Nigel Farage isn't the answer to your problems, Britain. He is the cause of them.

Every single fucking stupid thing he has advocated across the last twenty years has now been adopted and every stupid fucking thing has turned out to be an absolute fucking disaster.

#bbcqt

[Nicky Clark @MrsNickyClark]

Gregg Wallace and his attitudes to women of his own age in the entertainment industry, are exactly why I launched my #ActingYourAgeCampaign six years ago.
The BBC promised to me for two years they would work with me under their #5060Gender initiative.
Then didn’t bother ….

[Kath 💙🙀🇪🇺✊🏾 @KathyBurke]

It’s giveaway time! RT for a chance to win a gorgeous A3 print of your choice by the fabulous @GailMyerscough and I’ll pick a winner on Monday. Visit https://t.co/vrz5wdah2O for more lovely goodies at affordable prices. Good luck!

[Led By Donkeys @ByDonkeys]

How Musk broke Twitter and helped elect Trump
(Location: Tesla European HQ, Amsterdam)

[alex @aloomf]

the only thing america hates more than a rapist is a woman

[Fi 🇪🇺 @rahhead01]

In honour of Janey Godley, let’s get #TrumpisaCunt trending! 💕

[DOZA🧐 @lil_doza]

The Interviewer, Ezra Levvannt was Tommy Robinson’s former Boss.

He interviews a lovely Irish lady around the grand canal.

He got completely destroyed with logical responses,a big smile and kindness.

We live in a world where you’re interrogated if you practice humanity.

[Chris Packham @ChrisGPackham]

Paul and @RealBobMortimer say it’s time to march for clean rivers ! Join me on Sunday November 3rd in London – all the info and ways to get involved at https://t.co/BbKirxpV3r #GoneFishing

[Feargal Sharkey @Feargal_Sharkey]

Oh and here's @ofwat's original version of water company's 2024 scorecard compared to my reworking of it.

Now you know why the devious little cheats try and present it that way.

[Eddie Burfi @EddieBurfi]

What a handover. 🔥

After 30 minutes of Farage being Farage on LBC, @mrjamesob opens with a blistering reality check.

[Hamza Yusuf @Hamza_a96]

Every possible red line has been crossed. Medical workers killed. Hospitals bombed. Tent sites massacred. Teachers and schools bombed. Aid workers killed.

And nobody cares enough to stop it.

[George Monbiot @GeorgeMonbiot]

For years, both Conservative and Labour governments ripped into the regulations designed to protect human life, workers, consumers and the living world, favouring corporate interests over the public interest. The Grenfell Tower disaster is one of the results. 🧵