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Labour Party Member, ex special needs teacher, veggie, promotes plight endangered animals esp orangutans, likes badminton, racketball, saxophone, genealogy

London, UK
Joined July 2008
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VanAllen retweeted
🚨 NEW: Andy Burnham has announced plans to fine people who ride e-bikes on pavements, jump red lights or ride while drunk Lime and other firms would also need insurance to compensate people who get hit as well as designated parking spots
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💔🦧 Heartwarming moment baby orangutan Irene finds comfort in Dr. Karmele Llano Sánchez’s arms after being rescued with her mother amid devastating forest fires in Borneo, Indonesia. Both are now receiving much-needed care. ❤️🙏 🎥 @KarmeleMacaca @IAR_Indonesia
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Britain had about 30 million hedgehogs in the 1950s; we've got under 875,000 today. The population has dropped by about 97%. Shocking.
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Another report that concludes that Britain’s best interest is to rejoin the EU :
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Baby orangutans are often targeted for the illegal pet trade because they are small and vulnerable. But taking a baby orangutan means separating them from their mother, who may even be killed in the process.
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VanAllen retweeted
I’m not going to agree with Andy Burnham on everything, but this statement needed to be said by a Prime Minister. After the Conservatives suppressed the truth for years, this took courage.
Andy Burnham becomes first PM to confirm Russian interference in Brexit referendum @campbellclaret and @RoryStewartUK's exclusive interview with @andyburnham on tomorrow's episode of Leading is out in full at midnight.
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VanAllen retweeted
🚨 WATCH: Andy Burnham says he wants to bring the UK closer to the EU to "control illegal immigration" He says deals on food and drink, emissions trading and a youth experience scheme are "on the table" "We should not turn our backs on this opportunity"
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Congratulations John and thank-you for your work uncovering and telling the truth. We have never needed you and the BBC more @BBCWorld @BBCBreaking
I’m celebrating (if that’s quite the right word) the 60th anniversary of my arrival at the BBC in 1996. Tomorrow (Tues) at 9 pm BBC Two will mark it with a documentary, which will then be available on iPlayer. It’s been made by the brilliant Simon Lister, and does me proud.
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Octopuses sense light with their whole body & taste the world as they touch it. Yet there are few laws to protect them from factory farms. We’re racing to stop this cruel, unsustainable industry in its tracks. ️✍️ Help protect octopuses from farms: bit.ly/471yPwV
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"Brexit has done more harm than good to UK growth."
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VanAllen retweeted
Jelapat may not be one of the biggest orangutans on his Pre-release Island, but he may be one of the smartest! Update here 👉 bos-uk.org/jelapat-the-strat…
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Andy Burnham confirms what previous PM's - May, Johnson, Truss, Sunak and Starmer - failed to, that Russia interfered in the Brexit referendum. My view: Andy Burnham says that, when he entered Downing Street, he asked whether Russia had interfered in the Brexit referendum and was told: “Clearly.” For years, May, Johnson, Truss, Sunak and Starmer had the power to confront the truth about how Brexit was won and what it was doing to Britain. Instead, they protected the political settlement that had elevated some of them, and treated Brexit as a prize to defend rather than a disaster to honestly reassess. They put their careers and party calculations ahead of the country. Britain was left poorer, more isolated and divided, while Putin’s ambition to weaken Europe was served. Why are we still carrying on with that vision? Britain should be working with our neighbours to rebuild trust, strengthen cooperation and unite Europe against the threats we face—not continuing to deliver the outcome Putin wanted. It's time to #RejoinEU
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VanAllen retweeted
Good news
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I don't care what anyone says, I believe we can end rough sleeping in Britain. Today is World Homeless Day, and I don't think anyone in this country should be sleeping rough on our streets. Certainly not tonight. That's why one of the first commitments I made as Prime Minister was to end rough sleeping. Not manage it. Not reduce it. End it. And I'm putting over £400 million behind a national drive to get everyone in for Christmas. And to put my own money where my mouth is, I'm making my latest salary donation from my PM salary to The Passage in Victoria, an amazing charity I visited on my very first day in Downing Street. All this will help make sure that every person sleeping rough is offered a route off the street and a safe place to stay because, in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, people should not be left to sleep outside with nowhere to turn. This isn't the finish line. We'll keep building the homes, creating the jobs, and reforming the services to stop people reaching crisis point in the first place. But today, I wanted to say this: we should never accept rough sleeping as normal. Not in Britain, not in 2026, and not while I'm Prime Minister.
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Andy Burnham becomes first PM to confirm Russian interference in Brexit referendum @campbellclaret and @RoryStewartUK's exclusive interview with @andyburnham on tomorrow's episode of Leading is out in full at midnight.
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The Labour Party are now the most trusted political party on almost every major issue with voters, new polling has revealed.
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As Netflix documentary My Octopus Teacher showed, these marvellous creatures are too intelligent to be factory farmed 🐙 The mind of an octopus can be compared to a three-year-old child’s Are we really going to trap them in barren tanks of water while they await slaughter for food? #WorldOctopusDay @CIWF_Global
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