Eesh 3.32 when you got a place at short notice?!?! Serious stats! Congrats and well done

The BBC undercover investigation into false immigration claims is deeply irresponsible journalism. It does not highlight that exploitation by unregulated advisors occurs because legal aid was cut and the system is insane to navigate.

A woman riding an electric cargo bike with a child seated in a safety seat behind her. She's riding down a street lined with residential buildings. The scene includes parked cars and a no-parking sign.

A woman rides a bicycle with two children seated in a rear child seat. A white delivery van labeled "Forestier" is in the lane next to them, while pedestrians and cars fill the street. There is greenery and buildings in the background

A cyclist with a child in a seat rides along a street lined with buildings. A delivery truck is in the lane next to them, and traffic lights are visible.

A man riding a bicycle is seen from behind, carrying two children in child seats on the back. The street features a bakery and a delivery van nearby, with trees and buildings lining the road.

A city can be judged by how comfortable its most vulnerable residents feel cycling on its roads.

It was very heartening to see so many parents carrying their children on their bikes on my way to work in Paris today.

The #schoolstreets we want are spaces that people can enjoy every day, at any hour, right outside our schools.

But there are also more gradual options that make streets safer and more welcoming for children on their journeys to and from school ⬇️ #StreetsForKids

YES Andy.

From the sky news article about Jim Radcliffe: "Sir Jim was a prominent backer of the UK's withdrawal from the EU in 2016, but has since become a resident of tax-free Monaco."

Worth a read fellow climate folks

Preach it Sadiq ♥️

‘People will listen’: turning anger into community pride in North Shields A tour of local ‘wins’ shows how the charity Citizens UK is working with residents to build a better, fairer society

A fabulous, resonant account of good work in my community, led by school students and by parents with @citizensuk.org, to respond to anger with hope - focused on teen mental health, bus fares, a local playground and dog poo. All v local matters with much wider import, as the achievements show.

Good, because my experience this morning of trying to travel between Manchester and Leeds is that our transport network needs serious investment 🫠

If you're at this event, I'd love to know what's said on transport. It's the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, and frankly Stockport's approach to this area is extremely weak.

Jews and Muslims in North Manchester: A personal story ‘We thought we were the luckiest people in the world to be born in Manchester’

After all the bluff and bluster of the last few days online, this is a personal and quietly moving piece on life in North Mancheter.

More quality writing from @manchestermill.bsky.social

Quaker statement in response to Manchester synagogue attacks on Yom Kippur.

We offer our love, support and solidarity with the Jewish community, in Manchester and beyond, following the horrifying antisemitic attack on a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

This is what happens when a mayor is committed to clean air! This isn't just abstract figures about toxin levels....it means there will be kids not hospitalised, it means there will be lives not ruined by pollution, it means money saved to the NHS. All things we want in Greater Manchester too, eh?

Scrapped Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone signs removal begins Work starts to take down the signs at the cost of about £600,000, paid for by the government.

Greater Manchester ditching its Clean Air Zone is looking more short-sighted by the day
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

And obvs pay more for parking and tax because the car you are driving is doing so much more damage to the roads/environment/air quality/safety of your community

If you want to drive such a massive car my hot take is that you should have to spend the day walking alongside roads with an unpredictable toddler and see how it feels to be surrounded by drivers you know can't see the kid because their bonnet is so high.

Picture of an SUV in a supermarket car park that is too big for the parking space.

Using an (extra wide) family space at the supermarket and you're still way too big for the space?? That's #carspreading!
@cleancitiescampaign.org

The Telegraph Rayner tax scandal - £40k tax dodge - Statement Angela Rayner dodges £40,000 stamp duty Deputy Prime Minister reduces tax bill for Hove flat by declaring it as her main residence [Photo: Angela Rayner pictured at the weekend in Hove, where she has just bought a flat Credit: Dan Charity/The Sun on Sunday] Robert Mendick Chief Reporter. Amy Gibbons Political Correspondent 29 August 2025 8:57am BST

The Telegraph Money > Property > Second homes How to avoid tax on your second home From stamp duty to council tax, shield your wealth from Labour's tightening net [Photo of houses around a bay - Areas such as Cornwall have added a premium to council tax bills for second homes Credit: iStockphoto] Fran Ivens Senior Money Writer 29 August 2025 1:21pm BST

On the same day in the Telegraph:

bsky.app/profile/ianm...

Wonder if we'll ever be as outraged as a nation about rich men and super rich companies dodging tax as we are about a working class woman.

Four lane road junction without pedestrian crossing signals

Needed to go to big Asda.

Baby too small for the trike still so we got the bus.

Awful driver.

Then we get off the bus and are greeted by this massive junction without signalled pedestrian crossings.

No wonder people drive ten minute journeys.

The sorts of journeys that are made very easy by bike! But riding a bike with a small person feels daunting at best and terrifying at worst in lots of places around here.

This time stamp is really typical of journeys I need to make - roughly similar times by car or bike, at least twice as slow by public transport and generally too far to walk, especially with a child in tow if the child is walking themselves.

A screenshot from Google maps showing the time summaries for different transport options for the same route in south Manchester: 20mins in a car, 53 mins public transport, 1hr46 walking and 25 minutes on a bike.

Lack of cycling infrastructure that would make it safe to ride a bike with small children is basically a huge time tax on caregivers, particularly those who are unable to drive. Which of course is a group largely dominated by poorer women.

Guess which of these stories came first on both the BBC One and Radio 4 bulletins.

We have also submitted written evidence today. We are extremely concerned about these exclusionary amendments which would make comprehensive safe cycling for children, families & many disabled people impossible.

Bleak story in the @manchestermill.bsky.social briefing about how unsafe the roads are in GM: all 10 boroughs are in the top 20 areas in England and Wales with the highest rates of dangerous driving. So when I said unsafe roads, I guess meant unsafe drivers.

Ever-rising height of car bonnets a ‘clear threat’ to children, report says High-fronted vehicles are more likely to kill and are on the rise in Europe with the UK an extreme example

Small children are invisible to SUV drivers
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

Chart 11: Proportion of pedestrian casualties by IMD decile of casualty home postcode, by age, 2019 to 2023 (England only)

Chart of who owns the cars on our streets. Ten columns with poorest households owning 1/5th as many cars as highest income households

A damning pair of charts.

People on lowest incomes own FIVE TIMES fewer cars than the richest do.

Meanwhile kids in most deprived areas are FIVE TIMES more likely to be injured by cars.

Had a few days at Center Parcs.
There are no cars 5 days of the week, a totally pedestrianised centre, everything you need within a 15 minute walk and decent cycling facilities. Bonkers that people want these things for their holidays and don't want to make it a reality for their everyday.