Water firms could be let off pollution fines as part of government overhaul Exclusive: Campaigners claim changes will let companies ‘off the hook’, as government prepares to unveil new white paper for water industry

Well said @feargalsharkey.bsky.social 👏

"No 10 is operating under paralysis of doing anything which might spook the bond markets. Ministers have failed to grasp the underlying issue - corporate greed. The people who will be paying for this are billpayers.”

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Employment Rights Act 2025: Narrowing the gap Analysis led by Cambridge University researchers has confirmed that the government’s flagship Employment Rights Act 2025 will bring British employment protections closer to those of comparative countr...

🚨New Research🚨

Analysis from Cambridge University shows the Employment Rights Act will bring British employment protections closer to those of comparative countries 👏👏

Strong growth must be underpinned by strong protections at work.

www.tuc.org.uk/blogs/employ...

📈 Big appetite for stronger regulation of social media companies in the UK.

Difficult to overstate the importance of this. Tech giants should not be making money by spoon feeding harmful content to our kids.

👏 Good to see *most* major UK political parties waking up to this widespread public opinion and promising concrete action to tackle the harm caused by unregulated tech 💪

* No prizes for guessing who the exception is...

Reaching Reform voters on the economy Attitudes to and experiences of the economy and cost of living vary across Reform UK’s large coalition. We propose some tactics to help progressives turn voters away from Reform using economic message...

👏 Really interesting research from @hopenothate.org.uk

RUK voters can certainly be reached with the right kind of message on the economy.

hopenothate.org.uk/2026/01/08/r...

Red-tape cutting has become a ‘terrible political spectacle,’ EU’s Ribera says The European Commission’s No.2 official criticized a “Trumpist” approach to EU deregulation.

“Deregulation eliminates safeguards, it puts costs onto citizens and taxpayers, creates uncertainty, discourages investment.”

👏👏 Can't say truer than that

✅ Good to see some pushback on the deregulatory language coming from senior EU officials recently.

www.politico.eu/article/eu-r...

2025 Wrapped: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Our round-up of this year’s biggest wins, the challenges our movement faced, and lessons for 2026

🗓️ 2025 has been a mixed year for the Protections Movement

❌ We’ve seen consistent attacks on the regulatory state in the name of growth

But also some transformative legislation

✅ Employment Rights
✅ Renters' Rights
✅ Online Safety Laws

Our roundup and lessons from 2025 👇

shorturl.at/BLiWq

Spot on! @taxjusticeuk.bsky.social

Avoiding tax and watering down regulation is the number one priority for US tech giants. And it's the British public that will lose out.

We need to hold firm.

Global inequality has hit a new extreme. So how much wealth is too much?🤔

The extreme poverty line is used to define unacceptable levels of poverty. What if we also created an extreme wealth line? @patmillsuk.bsky.social 1/2

'Day one rights were promised – Labour must deliver them' - LabourList Day one rights were promised. Working people expect them. Labour must deliver them—fully, and without qualification argues Andy McDonald MP.

❌ Disappointing to see 'day one rights' for workers scrapped by the government.

The UK already has some of the worst standards for worker protections in the OECD - now is not the time to water down the Employment Rights Bill.

labourlist.org/2025/11/day-...

Worker protections - including boosting the minimum wage 💰- is long overdue.

If we want to get people into work, we need to incentivise them with secure jobs and decent pay.

There is no good reason for the Chancellor not to #TaxTheBanks in tomorrow's Budget.

Banks are making record profits directly at the public's expense, whilst one in three children live in poverty in the UK.

This is the government's chance to show where its priorities lie.

Unions urge Reeves to prioritise living standards as CBI presses for shift on employment rights TUC calls on chancellor to focus on child poverty and upping minimum wage

Pressure is mounting on the Chancellor to scrap the Employment Rights Bill this Wednesday.

📉 But research shows workers are just £12 a week better off compared with 2008.

The @tuc.org.uk is right - these reforms can't come soon enough.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

The world’s digital empires are jostling for power – in Europe, we can’t afford to be useful idiots | Thierry Breton The EU is under US pressure to unravel its hard-won online safety laws. We must not give in, says former European commissioner Thierry Breton

'The EU is under US pressure to unravel its hard-won online safety laws. We must not give in'

'It is essential that we have control over how the digital space is organised, structured and regulated.' 👏👏👏

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Reform UK has doubled down on deregulation. It's time for a new politics of protection Farage and Tice have tried to position the party as pro-worker and pro-business, but now they have chosen a clear side

unchecked.substack.com/p/reform-uk-...

Reform UK has rediscovered its Thatcherite roots 💙

But what does this mean for their working class voters who want a strong state..? 💔

Could those votes be up for grabs..?

Who supports Reform and why? The charts that show who favours Farage’s party Based on largest poll of supporters, these charts and maps show five distinct groups that could hand Reform a majority

Great research from @hopenothate.org.uk on Reform's broad coalition of voters.

'Working Right' 🆚 'Hardline Conservatives' very split on workers' rights agenda.

The Big Question: What will Reform's new Thatcherite economic vision do to this tension?

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

3 key pieces of regulation that are not getting enough cut through:

✅ Employment Rights Bill
✅ Renters' Rights Act
✅ Online Safety Act

These landmark policies will change the game for renters, workers and young people online.

Why is Labour not making more of them?
www.ipsos.com/en-uk/discon...

New blueprint for AI regulation could speed up planning approvals, slash NHS waiting times, and drive growth and public trust A new blueprint for AI regulation is being announced by the Technology Secretary today (Tuesday 21st October) to help drive innovation and growth.

"AI applications hold the potential to make the lives of citizens better, faster."

True. But to do so it must be deployed safely and in a way that serves the public interest.

Good to see the government is at least keen to have this conversation on responsible AI use.

www.gov.uk/government/n...

Pete Songi on Reform UK’s economic agenda – cartoon Nigel Farage laid out his party’s policies on the economy on Monday morning – including stripping away regulations on British business

Stripping away key social and environmental laws to “grow the economy” has been tried and tested again and again.

When will we learn that trickle-down neoliberalism is a hiding to nothing..?

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Bank of England governor urges caution over financial deregulation for growth The speech effectively argued that while growth is important, regulation is needed to prevent another banking crisis.

Good to see Andrew Bailey standing up to the 'growth at all costs' agenda which is underpinned by reckless deregulation.

Since 2008 we've created a host of new financial safeguards to make sure we don't repeat those mistakes.

We mustn't now tear those down.

uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/bank-of...

Reform UK, Big Tech, and the Future of Online Safety in Britain The UK’s new tech deal with the US might feel risky – but under Farage, our ties to the big tech lobby will only deepen

What would a Reform UK gov. mean for the creep of Big Tech in Britain?

Spoiler: It's not good news for online safety or democracy -even if they do claim to represent 'the people'

👇 our take on the UK–US Tech Deal, the broligarchy, and what’s really at stake

open.substack.com/pub/unchecke...

Reform UK has hijacked the language of ‘protection’ – now progressives must reclaim it Reform UK spent the summer hammering home the need for protection from immigrants, meanwhile they seek to dismantle the protections that really matter

Reform spent the summer hammering home the need for protection from immigrants - and it worked.

But while Farage talks of protecting women, his party is working to dismantle genuine protections that keep communities safe.

We need to reclaim 'protection'. Here's how we do it 👇
shorturl.at/zyJ6b

Starmer urged to make ‘populist case’ for workers’ rights reforms Huge survey reveals employment rights policies are popular with public despite many not knowing about bill

'Delivery, delivery, delivery' is never going to be enough to hold off the threat from Reform.

@teamlabouruk.bsky.social needs a stronger message and a better narrative ✅ Worker protections is a key agenda they could be leaning into to do just this.

www.theguardian.com/law/2025/sep...

4/4 For progressives, the opening lies in recognising that although Reform voters are far from reliably left-wing, there is clear space to win support.

Especially if framed as upholding community interests > big corporate interests

Full report ⬇️

unchecked.uk/wp-content/u...

3/4 But, whilst 'Red' voters support a strong state...

✅ Pro redistribution
✅ Pro benefits
✅ Pro taxation (especially corp)
✅ Pro worker protections

...'Blue' voters want a stripped back state

❌ Public sector workers
❌ Powerful unions
❌ Private sector regulation
❌ Taxation and redistribution

2/4 Reform voters are often seen as small-state, libertarians, but they often support interventions to regulate big corps.

✅ 74% say big businesses take advantage of ordinary people
✅ 71% support nationalisation of key industries
✅ 68% support banning zero hours contracts

1/4 What unites Reform UK's coalition? And where do the cracks emerge..?

Part 2 of our analysis finds three main things unite Farage's coalition:

✅ Pessimism and disillusionment
✅ Cultural grievances
✅ Distrust of big (foreign) business

unchecked.substack.com/p/who-are-re...

Who are Reform UK's 'red' and 'blue' voters? (Part 1) Reform UK is often painted as a party of older, small-state, Brexit voters — but our research suggests the reality is more complex

3/3 For all the insights 🤔, head over to our Substack - Populism Unpacked.

👏 It's a new initiative looking at the rise of the Populist Right.

⏰ Next week we're releasing Part 2. What unites these groups, and where the cracks in Reform's coalition emerge..?

unchecked.substack.com/p/who-are-re...

2/3 Our analysis suggests Reform can be split into two tribes:

🔹 'Blue' voters - often from petty bourgeoisie, favour a smaller state, anti income redistribution and benefits, 💙 Thatcher

♦️ 'Red' voters - more working class, want Gov to redistribute income, ⬆️ private sector regulation