Ruth Hubbard

Americans aren't facing a democratic collapse. We’re living in its aftermath | Eric Reinhart The US was an oligarchy well before Trump’s first term. Recognizing this reality is essential to building a true democracy

www.theguardian.com/global/comme...

This is b4 one even links it to (more partisan) arguments abt ‘neo-lib hegemony’ though i appreciate too.
As “stewards of ‘democracy’” mainstream parties are absolutely defunct, self-serving, ignorant & hostile…to people. Eng Devo/Ctty Empowermt Bill u r about to vote thru just one case in point.

Oh Clive, it’s been legitimacy crises 4 yrs. All parties in power in the U.K. exhibit systematic/multiple forms of democratic backsliding/executive aggrandisement, are unbothered at no basic electoral legitimacy (esp at locals), are anti-pluralist, no sense of democratic design etc.etc. 1/2

Earned settlement The government is consulting on how the current settlement system should be reformed and how those reforms should be implemented.

If you find @labouruk.bsky.social proposals to make refugees & other migrants wait 20+ years for permanent residence utterly abhorrent, please complete this consultation before 11:59pm on 12 February 2026: (it's quite long so don't start it with only 5mins to spare)

www.gov.uk/government/c...

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🤣🤣

From @politico.com

We get the politics the few pay for.

#democracy - it would be a good idea

Absolutely. Applies everywhere. And even when they do the objectives never include meaningful improvements to local democratic arrangements, legitimacy and public trust/accountability. No sense of ‘democratic design’ at all - not even sure they realise that’s a thing.

Crime and Policing Bill - Hansard - UK Parliament Hansard record of the item : 'Crime and Policing Bill' on Tuesday 20 January 2026.

The actual words of the current British Home Secretary:
“My ultimate vision for that part of the criminal justice system was to achieve, by means of AI and technology, what Jeremy Bentham tried to do with his Panopticon. That is that the eyes of the State can be on you at all times."

Why no actual acknowledgement/analysis of the systematic democratic backsliding of UK govts (noted globally)? Why endless reductions of ‘democracy’ to largely economic questions? Why no actual addressing of ‘democracy’ itself - an existing status quo operation assumed as unproblematic? All errors.

The House of Lords!

Not without irony but thank God somewhere in the system is beginning to challenge a wretched English Devo & Community Empowerment Bill in basic *democratic* terms.

The Bill - mostly classic 'democratic backsliding' - & gaslighting.
parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/...

And P.S. if the ‘solution’ is to keep on dismantling democracy then it’s the wrong question…

Its ’executive aggrandizement’ (Bermeo 2016).

And see here: www.v-dem.net/media/public...

Utter playing into hands (but somehow clinging to power seems more important than something we call ‘democracy’).
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Yes. If “Labour feels powerless” imagine what it‘s like for ‘ordinary people’!

One (non) “vision” / “solution” is endless promotion of ridiculous “strong leader” governance (English Devo Bill is shot through with it & it’s part of steadily unpicking our democratic fabric, & rights too.) 🧵
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It’s ”executive aggrandizement” (Bermeo 2016).

And see here: www.v-dem.net/media/public...

Utter playing into hands (but somehow clinging to power seems more important than something we call ‘democracy’)🙄🙁
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Yes. If “Labour feels powerless” imagine what it‘s like for ‘ordinary people’!

One (non) “vision” / “solution” is endless promotion of ridiculous “strong leader” governance (English Devo Bill is shot through with it & it’s part of steadily unpicking our democratic fabric, & rights too.) 🧵
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All under a ‘committee system’ of local governance!

Good job we've now got a top human rights lawyer as our PM.....

If you ever needed to be told they have no idea about/don’t believe in pluralism of any kind…

Times comment article byline: Paul Ovenden Headline: Alaa Abd el-Fattah has shown the supremacy of the Stakeholder State Strapline: My time working in No 10 showed me how much time and energy is sapped by people obsessed with fringe issues. It doesn't have to be this way

Just like the Tories, Labour's centrist hacks think themselves omniscient and infallible - they cannot fail, they can only be failed. So when they do fail, they blame everyone else.

We saw it with the Tories, and it's already started from the Starmerites with this idiotic dreck: archive.ph/rHoXA

Every other opinion column in an English-language paper these days is just 'random Labour/Democrat apparatchik explicitly opposes the concept of civil society'

I agree this is very much worth a read if you want to understand why this government has made such a mess of its first 18 months -if this is the caliber of thinking/analysis in No 10. Just deeply confused, paranoid word salad. (1/2).

Just 0.001% hold three times the wealth of poorest half of humanity, report finds Data from World Inequality Report also showed top 10% of income-earners earn more than the other 90%

There is one overriding political problem, from which all others follow. Until it is addressed, every policy advanced by governments is window dressing.
www.theguardian.com/inequality/2...

🏢Can cities save democracy?
At our AIA panel in Bonn, Sanja Bojanić, Helfried Carl, János Kendernay, and Theresa Reymann agreed: cities are key to democratic culture, but the real power lies with citizens, not cities. Mayor Ursula Sautter closed the event.

🔗 www.aia-nrw.org/en/event-rep...

This is absolutely correct. A constitution is every citizen's compact with the government, not some secret scroll that only members of a priest caste are allowed to access.

It's Our City! (Sheffield) public fb post on the govt (local governance) amendments to the (misnamed) English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill here:

www.facebook.com/share/p/1CSn...

100% ... :( :(

A welcome climbdown from Government on the rights of existing councils to continue to operate the committee system form of governance. Government amendments today provide a way for some councils to continue to operate committees (for a while, anyway) - will write something more detailed later

100%

Yes Ed but I think this happened behind closed doors - you're not saying they took notice of/even read any evidence from 'outsiders' are you?! (No suggestion of this tbh.)

Anyway here in sheff just looking at the detail and also waiting on your fuller explanation/'take'....looks v. minimal indeed.