David Hodgson

Switch your money to a decent building society - there are still a few available.

I agree.

Over 50 Academics Warn That Voting System Is Not Fit For Multi-Party Politics Dozens of academics have written to the government to warn that the current voting system risks producing distorted results on an 'unprecedented' s...

I never really sign stuff. But this was different. It's not about trying to facilitate or block a particular party's route to power. It's about an electoral system that's unsuited to the political realities we face today and risks giving us government after government with no convincing mandate.

First Past the Post means millions of our votes make no difference to parliament. Add your name now to demand a fairer voting system It only takes 30 seconds

UK politics isn't working. It's time to call time on the broken culture in Westminster and have a fresh start with a fair voting system. Add your name to @electoralreform.bsky.social‬'s call to #MakeSeatsMatchVotes
action.electoral-reform.org.uk/page/3782/pe...

Point of no return: a hellish ‘hothouse Earth’ getting closer, scientists say Continued global heating could set irreversible course by triggering climate tipping points, but most people unaware

‘Point-of-no-return’: Lock-in of a hellish ‘hothouse Earth’ getting closer, warn scientists

- Continued global heating could set an irreversible course by triggering tipping points, but the public and politicians are largely unaware

#climatecrisis
Story by me
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Court ruling forces Germany to upgrade its climate plans The ruling ends a nearly two-year long legal battle and requires the German government to act.

Some good news for the struggle to see climate action, and not just words, by national governments.
www.euronews.com/green/2026/0...

Trump's U.S. must not host the World Cup

It seems right to support this campaign.

footballagainstfascism.org

Yvette Cooper: Don’t fail the whales, sharks and turtles Send a postcard and tell the Foreign Secretary to make the Global Ocean Treaty UK law

Send a postcard and tell the UK Foreign Secretary to make the Global Ocean Treaty UK law act.greenpeace.org/page/183797/...

Tell your MP: our democracy shouldn’t be a gamble! Our democracy shouldn’t be a gamble. First Past the Post fails 70% of voters. We urgently need to scrap it. I’ve asked my MP to attend a crucial briefing on how to do just that. Join me 👉

This May’s local elections in England are expected to bring chaos because our voting system is broken.

I’ve written to my MP to push for fairer elections before it’s too late. It takes 2 minutes to do the same here: actionnetwork.org/letters/tell...
@compassoffice.bsky.social

London’s murder rate drops to lowest in more than a decade Sadiq Khan says ‘public health’ approach has made the capital one of the safest cities in the western world

Some good news amidst the constant feed of crisis upon crisis. Collective public action can work.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

But are you talking about what economies actually should look like in a future where current growth models will devastatingly breach planetary boundaries?

The likes of Trump and Farage cannot stomach that a diverse city like London can be peaceful.

mailchi.mp/49b7d7f7a44c...

The Nobel Factor: The Prize in Economics, Social Democracy, and the Market Turn Another in my list of the books that have had a big impact on me in the first 25 years of this century.The Nobel Factor: The Prize in Economics, Social Democracy, and the Market Turn Avner Offer &a…

Another in my list of books that have had a big impact on me in the last 25 years.

dphodgson.wordpress.com/2026/01/14/t...

The power of group breathing Government policy sometimes prioritises the wishes of certain groups over the public interest. This is partly driven by unfair influence on decision-making. But what other factors are at play?

"There’s a clear problem with the excessive influence of economic elites on economic decisions by (UK) government" and that's not the only problem..

open.substack.com/pub/faircomm...

Open letter: UK must not abstain on UN Venezuela vote Stop Trump Coalition

stoptrump.org.uk/sign-venezue...

Down to Earth: politics in the new climatic regime by Bruno Latour Down to Earth: politics in the new climatic regime by Bruno Latour, translated by Catherine Porter (2018). Bruno Latour ( 1947- 2022) was a French philosopher and anthropologist who specialised in …

In 2019 whilst browsing a bookshop in the town of Stroud on a day visit I found Bruno Latour’s book Down to Earth,translated in 2018 by Catherine Porter.

dphodgson.wordpress.com/2026/01/04/d...

Quick update for US media: the story is not about Maduro or what’s going on in Venezuela. It’s about the massive rupture in US history where the country now stands for invading and occupying any country it likes.

Trump in his press conference made it very clear this is a new age. Did you miss that?

The Hidden Pleasures of Life The Hidden Pleasures of Life by Theodore Zeldin (2014) I discovered how much I appreciated the writing of Theodore Zeldin in the 1990s through his book An Intimate History of Humanity (1992). Then …

The book I highlight first in my series on big books for me of the 21st century so far is the third and final of Theodore Zeldin’s books written to help us all in the art of living and contributing to making the world better.
wp.me/p1MAD-ty

Decline, what decline? The myth of dying Europe There is a widespread view that, by comparison with the USA, Europe is in economic and social decline. But, Zucman argues, it's not true

Why Europe is a better economy and society than the USA - and doesn't need to bend towards America's doubling-down on deregulation and thrashing the planet
eastangliabylines.co.uk/business/eco...

The Hidden Pleasures of Life The Hidden Pleasures of Life by Theodore Zeldin (2014) I discovered how much I appreciated the writing of Theodore Zeldin in the 1990s through his book An Intimate History of Humanity (1992). Then …

The Hidden Pleasures of Life by Theodore Zeldin (2014) is one of the big books that have influenced me in the first quarter of the 21st century. Here's why:
wp.me/p1MAD-ty

I do have a small number of favourite novelists I've followed over the years. The list is presented in no particular order of the importance or size of a book's impact on me.

In the fiction list my choice of reading has been less focused, mainly guided by the recommendations of friends or positive reviews in the press and social media.

Subjects of non- fiction books that attracted my attention outside of religion, have been distributed in the fields of political economy, social sciences, the natural world especially climate change,the threat to ecosystems from human economic growth and the contemporary human condition generally.

This approach tends to hold my attention better than books which are a collection of short pieces by many different authors around a wider theme.

In particular I've been affected by non- fiction books in which a single author or sometimes a pair of writers develop an argument or advance a fresh perspective by marshalling evidence based on research or their life experience

Of course there have been shorter papers, articles or reports which have been significant for me, though I feel that books generally have had the most impact, because of my time spent reading them and the greater amount of material they are able to present.

The list has fiction and non-fiction books including biographies or memoirs. I aim to write a little about each book most days over the next few weeks. These will be personal reflections on why the book matters to me rather than full reviews.

These are books published since the year 2000. Books that have made a big impression on me. Altered my perspective on life, opened up new areas of knowledge, deepened understanding, changed my attitudes or motivated differences in my behaviour.

Arriving at the last day of the first quarter of the twenty- first century has prompted me to look back at some of the books that have influenced me.

EU Commission: NO unlimited pesticide approvals Europe’s wild bees are in a death spiral – and the EU is about to make it much worse.The European Commission is proposing changes that would allow unlimited approvals for ALL pesticides – with no mand

EU Commission : NO unlimited pesticide approvals action.eko.org/a/eu-commiss...