william howard

[Paul Powlesland @paulpowlesland]

Before & After…

If anyone doubts the power of community action over the @EnvAgency’s spineless inertia, you can walk to the outskirts of Ilford & walk along an ancient lost river to see for yourself.

With 10 days of intense effort by dedicated volunteers, the river River Roding Trust managed to clean up & restore 250 metres of the Aldersbrook (about 1/3 of the brook). This allows a direct comparison between the parts of the brook we restored & those we haven’t got round to yet.

These photos & videos are all from May 2026. The first is on a part of the Aldersbrook still to be restored & shows the old flood defences which are no longer needed & are killing the river but which the EA won’t remove unless we volunteers pay them £50,000 just for surveys. These defences have caused 2-3ft of stinking sludge & silt to build up over 70 years, such that the water in the brook is just a few centimetres deep. Combine with huge amounts of rubbish & and out of control knotweed infestation & the river ecosystem is essentially dead. A river that is older than England destroyed by official indifference.

A hundred metres away, and it’s a different story. The rubbish & the invasive species (I sprayed the knotweed myself last autumn) are gone. The silt that used to clog the river is now spread on the banks & rapidly providing fertile ground for native plants. Instead of sludge, there’s 2-3ft of water, so fish have returned to the brook for the first time in decades, along with dragon flies, herons & a nesting moorhen. We river guardians knew our intervention would make a difference, but have been shocked at quite how quickly nature has come back. The restored Aldersbrook is now a rare jewel: pretty much the last fully natural tidal brook in London.

The EA now has a choice. It can salvage some good from this situation & work with us to restore the remaining sections of the brook, or it can continue to do nothing. If the latter, river guardians *will* be back this winter to finish the job & the EA can see how well prosecuting volunteers for restoring a river without permission goes for them.

[Paul Powlesland @paulpowlesland]

“I don’t give a shit what your system is, what does it mean for the river?”

I genuinely never thought I would have to challenge the British state in order to protect the river I love, but here we are. Massive thanks to Channel 4 for spending so much time & care in detailing the incredible work done by volunteer river guardians on the River Roding: I am going to use the description of us descending on litter like a “squadron of community-minded locusts” again!

Whilst I no longer shocked at the indifference of public bodies like the EA & local councils to the desperate plight of our rivers, it has genuinely surprised me that @EnvAgency thinks it is a good use of their powers to prosecute volunteers for doing their job for them by restoring rivers, especially when there are serious illegal sewage discharges nearby that they have done nothing about. Please withdraw your prosecution threats EA & work with us instead. The Roding could genuinely be a test case in how government & river guardians can work together to protect & restore our rivers.

https://t.co/vCBY3cPxmE

[Paul Powlesland @paulpowlesland]

Why is Sadiq Khan @MayorofLondon breaking his promise to make London’s rivers swimmable?

One of the most eye-catching promises the Mayor made to get elected, was to make London’s rivers swimmable. But halfway through his term he has made no progress towards this goal, & seems to be quietly dropping this goal on the basis that it isn’t achievable.
However, as a guardian of London’s third biggest river, who knows the river better than most, I know it is a completely achievable goal with effort & imagination. Further, the volunteer charity I run put forward a detailed plan to make the Roding swimmable, which was rejected by the Mayor’s Grow Back Greener fund without explanation. Here’s a thread, on how the Mayor can live up to his promises 🧵

[Channel 4 News @Channel4News]

Exclusive: Reform UK leader Nigel Farage owes almost £10,000 after he ended up with a county court judgment, Channel 4 News can reveal.

A Reform UK spokesperson said he was unaware of the judgment until we brought it to his attention.

[Paul Powlesland @paulpowlesland]

Incredible stuff from @LondonPortAuth. They patrol the foreshore to check people have a permit to look at the mud for old objects (& prosecute you if you don’t have one), but they don’t do any checks for water companies illegally putting sewage in the Thames, and have never brought a prosecution for illegal sewage dumping. We really need to replace them with guardians of the Thames who will actually look after the river.

[Jerome Foster II @JeromeFosterII]

A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land. – Franklin D. Roosevelt

[Football on TNT Sports @footballontnt]

“I’m speechless”

Southend United hero Collin Andeng Ndi reacts to winning the FA Trophy 👏

🎙 @Msmith850

📺 TNT Sports and HBO Max

[Psychojographer @psychojography]

Happening now on Chalkwell Beach! @sascampaigns #paddleoutprotest #estuary

[BladeoftheSun @BladeoftheS]

Ken Murphy is Tesco’s UK CEO and the highest paid supermarket boss.

He pays himself £10,800,000 a year, but is registered to pay tax in the Republic of Ireland.

Yet he complains that 'costs' are too high so he can't afford to pay his workers.

[Robbie @Robbie_Reasons]

I think all MP's should be audited every year.

[Southend Libraries @southendlibrary]

Tomorrow! Lizzie Page talks us through her inspirations, obstacles and experiences in publishing. A Q&A and book signing/sale will follow this fascinating talk.
Saturday 16th May, 2pm-3.30pm at The Forum
Tickets are FREE. Call: 01702 534111 or visit: https://t.co/VwOe8AdJek

[Visit Gravesham @Visit_Gravesham]

For #NationalWalkingMonth take a stroll along our magnificent riverside, breathe in the fresh air & take in the stunning views of the #Thames Estuary 🌊

And call into St George's Arts Centre today until 1pm for tourism advice, upcoming events & a friendly welcome.

[Sky News @SkyNews]

BREAKING: Nigel Farage bought a £1.4 million property in cash, shortly after receiving a £5m personal gift from billionaire donor Christopher Harborne, Sky News learns.

Sky's political correspondent @AliFortescue has this exclusive story ⬇️ 

https://t.co/LKwzx3IN3x

[Sky News @SkyNews]

BREAKING: Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips has resigned from Keir Starmer's government.

Sky's political editor @BethRigby has more on this exclusive story ⬇️

Politics latest: https://t.co/mk6s8P7cz3

📺 Sky 501 and YouTube

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

After a $1.6 billion investment and years of hard work, the Seine River, which was once heavily polluted, is now clean enough for swimming for the first time in over a century.

The city of Paris has also invested in three public swimming locations.

[ITV News West Country @itvwestcountry]

Thousands of young people will brave the wilds of Dartmoor this weekend to complete the gruelling Ten Tors Challenge.
They set out in teams of six, tackling a 35-, 45- or 55-mile route, camping overnight on the moor, and encountering some of the toughest terrain in southern England.
Read more: https://t.co/gHWvbZXhf3
Pictures from the MoD.

[Prem Sikka @premnsikka]

Nigel Farage blames “computer-hacking” for public revelation of his £5m gift from a billionaire living in Thailand.

Gift not disclosed to authorities. Foreign money funds Reform. What have the tax exiles been promised?

What else has not been disclosed?
https://t.co/VWFnPKkcdL

[william howard @bouybilly]

Southend currently elects one third of its councillors every year for three years.🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

Southend-on-Sea local election results 2026 in full - Manchester Evening News https://t.co/SXOn6dFgDc

[Prem Sikka @premnsikka]

Private equity owned Morrisons supermarket fined £750k for dirty bakery.

Council environmental health officers found poor cleanliness, dirty equipment, inadequate staff supervision, food safety & management failures.

Yet corporations demand deregulation.
https://t.co/gfYAXTalEj

[Sangita Myska @SangitaMyska]

Watch one of Nigel Farage’s Reform candidates react as racist tweets from his own X account - including one apparently excusing the rape of a Sikh woman and one that declares white people are “the master race” - are read to him.

The footage is from a joint investigation by @murphy_simon , @DailyMirror & @hopenothate that exposes Stuart Prior for a slew of hateful comments. Reform said it was “looking into” posts.