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Nearly Legal @nearlylegal.co.uk · 9h

Why, you might ask, as a housing lawyer have I not commented on the Green Party's new policy to end the private rented sector? Simple answer - it is mad. I'm all in favour of largely ending the PRS, but their policy is simply, practically, mad. Bring back an owl for everybody and then we are talking

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Paulb @paulb3964.bsky.social · 12h

I don’t know how they survive. Someone must watch them?

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Paulb @paulb3964.bsky.social · 13h

I recall Rory Stewart saying in an early “Rest is Politics” pod that most of the stuff that his constituents brought to his surgeries were things that should really have been asked of the local councillor.

How do we get that right without the MP being accused of fobbing people off?

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Stuart McDonald @actuarybyday.bsky.social · 14h

What if ageing isn’t the problem - but our systems are?

My new blog explores how changing #demographics is affecting retirement, #health, and the economy.

The question is not whether demographic trends will reshape our world – it’s how we will choose to respond.
🔗 www.lcp.com/en/insights/...

Beyond the numbers: How demographic change is rewriting the rules of retirement, health and growth

Explore how demographic change is reshaping health, pensions, and the economy, with key insights from Beyond Curious season 4.

www.lcp.com

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Paulb @paulb3964.bsky.social · 14h

The very same (from a few years ago) and a bit further down from your viewpoint.

Waterfront at Split, Croatia with the water glistening in the afternoon sunlight and the palm fringed café lined promenade beyond.

Paulb @paulb3964.bsky.social · 16h

Absolutely, reduction of wealth inequality if a fantastic policy goal. If it was as easy as a wealth tax, everyone would have already done it.

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Martin Lewis @martinlewis.moneysavingexpert.com · 16h

Aaaargh...

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Paulb @paulb3964.bsky.social · 16h

Yesterday on #BBCQT, Zia Yusef from ReformUK claimed that more than half of “homegrown” doctors were unable to secure a training post (CT/ST/GP) after completion of foundation years.

He implied that docs who qualified abroad were taking these jobs.

How much truth is there in this claim?

Paulb @paulb3964.bsky.social · 16h

Which countries currently implement any form of wealth tax and does it yield the levels of tax revenue predicted?

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Andy Cowper @hpiandycowper.bsky.social · 20h

Stunning irresponsibility from leaders in the BMA.

Somebody needs to go after them for this, very publicly and very, very hard: www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcar...

BMA leaders suggest GPs ‘overwhelm A&Es’ in revolt against NHS reforms

A letter sent by senior members of the union has been condemned for advising doctors to sabotage the Pharmacy First scheme, which they claim undermines them

www.thetimes.com

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Paulb @paulb3964.bsky.social · 20h

Oh, yes please! @scottygb.bsky.social you’ll know this stuff!

Paulb @paulb3964.bsky.social · 21h

I was just musing on when he’s going to deploy the National Guard onto the streets of Oslo

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Paulb @paulb3964.bsky.social · 21h

Is that because voters won’t vote for higher taxes in high enough numbers

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Paulb @paulb3964.bsky.social · 21h

María Corina Machado wins the Nobel Peace prize 2025.

“A brave and committed champion of peace"

"A woman who keeps the flame of democracy burning amidst a growing darkness."

Paulb @paulb3964.bsky.social · 21h

Surely the massive increase in population since 1948 (when the (state) pension age was set at 65 for men and 60 for women) will have a much greater impact on tax revenues.

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Joel Morris @gralefrit.bsky.social · 23h

They should stop polling, and just stick with the big one we had in 2016 that revealed that roughly half of us will believe any old shit.

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Paulb @paulb3964.bsky.social · 21h

As a child in Whitehaven, I remember the coal mine (long gone), the Quaker Oats factory (long gone), the chemical works (Marchon) - and its large cargo ships, the Marchon Trader & Enterprise - all long gone, the textile works (where my Dad worked) (long gone)

Sellafield remains.

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Paulb @paulb3964.bsky.social · 21h

Having lived in Whitehaven as a child, it’s certainly scrubbed up well

David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 22h

Coughs politely. Whitehaven may have seen better days but it remains an architectural gem www.countrystride.co.uk/single-post/...

#133: Whitehaven - A remarkable history

...in which we tour the west coast town of Whitehaven in the company of Blue Badge guide and historic buildings expert Alexandra Fairclough. From the heart of the bustling harbour, we paint a picture ...

www.countrystride.co.uk

Paulb @paulb3964.bsky.social · 21h

‘The result is that everybody “either works at Sellafield or knows people who do”, says Lacey, whose mum, aunt and cousins all work on the site.’

When I lived in Whitehaven >50 yrs ago, people could have said (and did) say that. (My Dad *didn’t* work there.)

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

‘It’s Sellafield or nothing’: what life is like growing up in the shadow of Europe’s oldest nuclear site

Young people growing up in Whitehaven on England’s north-west coast rely on the power plant for everything from jobs to civic investment. But for those who see their future elsewhere, options can be l...

www.theguardian.com

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Dr. Jonathan N. Stea @jonathanstea.bsky.social · 1d

Brandolini’s Law (also known as the bullshit asymmetry principle):

The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than that needed to produce it.

H/t @unbiasedscipod.bsky.social

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David Juurlink @davidjuurlink.bsky.social · 1d

PSA: When a naturopath recommends chelation “to remove the metal from your body,” that is exactly what you should not do.

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Paulb @paulb3964.bsky.social · 1d

Those statements may be correct, but has anyone found a way of implementing a wealth tax that (a) works, (b) only hits (or hits predominantly) the super rich that Polanski refers to, or (c) raises the predicted amounts of revenue?

taxpolicy.org.uk/2025/07/22/u...