Alex
@alexsz.bsky.social
Cycling, urbanism, politics, housing, London, sometimes dogs
Reposted by Alex
Yesterday I helped give a presentation on immigration law options to a room full of people trapped by the Health and Care Visa.
Promised work, paid £££, unable to work and can't find new sponsors.
This crisis i wrote a thread on 5 months ago isn't going away.
Promised work, paid £££, unable to work and can't find new sponsors.
This crisis i wrote a thread on 5 months ago isn't going away.
The debate around care visas in the political space boils down to people saying stuff like this - we desperately need people.
It's a good soundbite but...
A significant surge in care visas were issued since 2020 in response to sector demand and yet the problem of shortage has persisted.
Why?
It's a good soundbite but...
A significant surge in care visas were issued since 2020 in response to sector demand and yet the problem of shortage has persisted.
Why?
BREAKING: “We will be closing the care worker visa for overseas recruitment” - Home Secretary Yvette Cooper
Don’t we have a desperate shortage of care workers?
Don’t we have a desperate shortage of care workers?
November 7, 2025 at 7:53 AM
Yesterday I helped give a presentation on immigration law options to a room full of people trapped by the Health and Care Visa.
Promised work, paid £££, unable to work and can't find new sponsors.
This crisis i wrote a thread on 5 months ago isn't going away.
Promised work, paid £££, unable to work and can't find new sponsors.
This crisis i wrote a thread on 5 months ago isn't going away.
Why did @theguardian.com journalists went back there? The UK media and political elite is so used to kowtowing to right-wing media owners, they just don't see the difference or is there something else there?
Then why is the British government still on X?
Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how
November 6, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Why did @theguardian.com journalists went back there? The UK media and political elite is so used to kowtowing to right-wing media owners, they just don't see the difference or is there something else there?
Reposted by Alex
The haters said they couldn't do it. And they were right. Honestly, great call from the haters.
NEW: The End of the Line: the centrepiece of Saudi Arabia’s Neom gigaproject - a 500m tall, 170km long wall-like building intended ultimately to house 9 million people - can’t get out of the ground, say more than 20 former Neom architects, engineers and senior executives.
ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...
ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...
End of The Line: how Saudi Arabia’s Neom dream unravelled
Mohammed bin Salman’s utopian city was undone by the laws of physics and finance
ig.ft.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:08 AM
The haters said they couldn't do it. And they were right. Honestly, great call from the haters.
Just draw an 700 meter line around a station, and then a 3km line. The first shows the comfortable distance by walk the second is by bike. Where I live I have access to one overground line with the first option and at least 7 with the second. The easiest way to provide access to public transport
Public transport often treats bikes as a luxury—or worse a competitor—but without them leaves revenue on the table.
For 25 years, the Dutch have extended the reach of their railways through investments in (300,000) parking spaces and (25,000) shared bikes. The result? A doubling of train ridership.
For 25 years, the Dutch have extended the reach of their railways through investments in (300,000) parking spaces and (25,000) shared bikes. The result? A doubling of train ridership.
November 4, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Just draw an 700 meter line around a station, and then a 3km line. The first shows the comfortable distance by walk the second is by bike. Where I live I have access to one overground line with the first option and at least 7 with the second. The easiest way to provide access to public transport
I love these Shelter ads, I hope they won't have it that easy to find inspiration next year, but I am not optimistic.
Every 12 minutes, a family in England becomes homeless. And for families stuck in temporary accommodation, life feels like it's on hold.
This winter, Shelter’s advisers are there to answer every urgent call, giving someone to turn to and helping families fight for a safe home.
This winter, Shelter’s advisers are there to answer every urgent call, giving someone to turn to and helping families fight for a safe home.
November 4, 2025 at 11:06 AM
I love these Shelter ads, I hope they won't have it that easy to find inspiration next year, but I am not optimistic.
GB News career should have prevented his hiring, by any decent company, instead I am sure it had the opposite effect on the good old boys at the BBC.
Fishier and fishier. And in broad daylight too. New Director of Programmes for BBC News John McAndrew spent a year as Editorial Director and Director of News and Programmes at GB News.Unconscionable. @bbcnewsnight.bsky.social
@bbcnewsuk.bsky.social @hzeffman.bsky.social @bbcmarcosilva.bsky.social
@bbcnewsuk.bsky.social @hzeffman.bsky.social @bbcmarcosilva.bsky.social
November 4, 2025 at 8:48 AM
GB News career should have prevented his hiring, by any decent company, instead I am sure it had the opposite effect on the good old boys at the BBC.
WTF
Fishier and fishier. And in broad daylight too. New Director of Programmes for BBC News John McAndrew spent a year as Editorial Director and Director of News and Programmes at GB News.Unconscionable. @bbcnewsnight.bsky.social
@bbcnewsuk.bsky.social @hzeffman.bsky.social @bbcmarcosilva.bsky.social
@bbcnewsuk.bsky.social @hzeffman.bsky.social @bbcmarcosilva.bsky.social
November 4, 2025 at 8:38 AM
WTF
When Orbán's cronies take over any news outlet you can confim the fact by seeing a similar interview with him at the outlet. He does not give interviews to independent Hungarian journalists.
“60 Minutes paid me a lot of money”
In an edited-out part of the Trump interview Trump brags about extorting CBS for millions for… editing out a part of Kamala’s interview.
(He also makes it clear new CBS chief Bari Weiss is in his pocket) #RIPCBS
In an edited-out part of the Trump interview Trump brags about extorting CBS for millions for… editing out a part of Kamala’s interview.
(He also makes it clear new CBS chief Bari Weiss is in his pocket) #RIPCBS
November 3, 2025 at 9:00 AM
When Orbán's cronies take over any news outlet you can confim the fact by seeing a similar interview with him at the outlet. He does not give interviews to independent Hungarian journalists.
Reposted by Alex
When children going missing from Home Office and local authority care was flagged couple of years back #r4today presenters uncritically repeated claims children were "voluntarily trafficked". It was an angle used by politicians, and still the idea of protecting kids is dismissed as a "pull factor"
Jesus Christ. We go mad about one bloke we wrongly released, yet hear next to nothing about this horror? www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
More than 50 child asylum seekers still missing after disappearing from Kent care
Council data obtained by the Guardian shows 345 children have gone missing in recent years, many probably taken by traffickers
www.theguardian.com
November 1, 2025 at 2:38 PM
When children going missing from Home Office and local authority care was flagged couple of years back #r4today presenters uncritically repeated claims children were "voluntarily trafficked". It was an angle used by politicians, and still the idea of protecting kids is dismissed as a "pull factor"
Reposted by Alex
there is no debate to be had about integration in the UK. The debate should be about what we do about the way we indulge delusional people by pretending their arguments are not bad faith.
November 1, 2025 at 10:56 AM
there is no debate to be had about integration in the UK. The debate should be about what we do about the way we indulge delusional people by pretending their arguments are not bad faith.
This model just does not work. We need developers to pay local authorities directly instead of complex schemes and then local authorities could use this money to buy/build flats for social housing and TA. There is no way around this.
Labour plans to sell off 'affordable homes' at higher price to private buyers
Developers claim thousands of affordable new-build homes are left empty because councils and housing associations are not buying them
inews.co.uk
November 1, 2025 at 12:36 PM
This model just does not work. We need developers to pay local authorities directly instead of complex schemes and then local authorities could use this money to buy/build flats for social housing and TA. There is no way around this.
Reposted by Alex
Labour government preparing to hike income taxes - blaming bond markets.
not one adult in the room will say the obvious:
1. Britain's fiscal rules are shambles
2. Bank of England has too much power over fiscal decisions
3. ignore bond vigilantes
www.ft.com/content/5c8f...
not one adult in the room will say the obvious:
1. Britain's fiscal rules are shambles
2. Bank of England has too much power over fiscal decisions
3. ignore bond vigilantes
www.ft.com/content/5c8f...
Keir Starmer puts Labour MPs on notice for Budget tax rises
Prime minister declines to rule out higher income taxes as Treasury lays foundations for bigger fiscal buffer
www.ft.com
October 31, 2025 at 7:44 AM
Labour government preparing to hike income taxes - blaming bond markets.
not one adult in the room will say the obvious:
1. Britain's fiscal rules are shambles
2. Bank of England has too much power over fiscal decisions
3. ignore bond vigilantes
www.ft.com/content/5c8f...
not one adult in the room will say the obvious:
1. Britain's fiscal rules are shambles
2. Bank of England has too much power over fiscal decisions
3. ignore bond vigilantes
www.ft.com/content/5c8f...
Reposted by Alex
Kavin came here to work. He ended up a modern slave.
Kavin came here to work. He ended up a modern slave.
Revealed: UK’s employment visas are causing thousands of legal migrant workers to end up in modern slavery
bit.ly
October 31, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Kavin came here to work. He ended up a modern slave.
Reposted by Alex
Reposted by Alex
My friend Sarah is on the board of the American Friends of Jamaica, which has pledged $1 million in matching funds to disaster relief. They are well-connected on the ground and I trust the money will be spent wisely and quickly
theafj.org/disaster-rel...
theafj.org/disaster-rel...
Disaster Relief – American Friends of Jamaica
Support Jamaica’s Hurricane Melissa Relief Fund. AFJ provides emergency aid, food, and shelter to affected communities.
theafj.org
October 30, 2025 at 3:15 AM
My friend Sarah is on the board of the American Friends of Jamaica, which has pledged $1 million in matching funds to disaster relief. They are well-connected on the ground and I trust the money will be spent wisely and quickly
theafj.org/disaster-rel...
theafj.org/disaster-rel...
Reposted by Alex
Long thread on house building... Clearly, the government's 1.5 million new homes in England in the 5-year parliament isn’t going to happen, & everyone in the industry knows it, even if the new Secretary of State keeps repeating it. (1/n)
#ukhousing #ukconstruction
#ukhousing #ukconstruction
October 29, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Long thread on house building... Clearly, the government's 1.5 million new homes in England in the 5-year parliament isn’t going to happen, & everyone in the industry knows it, even if the new Secretary of State keeps repeating it. (1/n)
#ukhousing #ukconstruction
#ukhousing #ukconstruction
So much suffering for so little reason. We should not accept this.
'My year documenting London's housing crisis - a photo journal'
'I've been documenting the lives of ordinary Londoners trying to get by in the face of some crazy housing situations'
www.mylondon.news
October 28, 2025 at 9:04 PM
So much suffering for so little reason. We should not accept this.
Why don't we think through the whole system to make it faster and better? The military bases will be really bad too. Also, this story does not end when refugees leave asylum seeker accommodation, they need a pathway to prevent their homelessness. BTW quicker decisions means they need more support.
October 28, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Why don't we think through the whole system to make it faster and better? The military bases will be really bad too. Also, this story does not end when refugees leave asylum seeker accommodation, they need a pathway to prevent their homelessness. BTW quicker decisions means they need more support.
Reposted by Alex
The Renters' Rights Bill is set to receive royal assent and become law. Generation Rent's Dan Wilson Craw explains how it happened.
Inside the 10-year battle to change the law and help renters feel secure in their homes
www.bigissue.com
October 27, 2025 at 6:44 PM
The Renters' Rights Bill is set to receive royal assent and become law. Generation Rent's Dan Wilson Craw explains how it happened.
Reposted by Alex
NEW REPORT Criminal justice is coming apart at the seams. Police, criminal courts & prisons can’t cope with the level of demand and performance keeps spiralling downwards. Early positive steps from the government won't be enough to turn things around
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
Performance Tracker 2025: Criminal justice system | Institute for Government
The government must act to avoid the justice system returning to the crisis point seen when Labour entered office, or worse.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk
October 23, 2025 at 6:44 AM
NEW REPORT Criminal justice is coming apart at the seams. Police, criminal courts & prisons can’t cope with the level of demand and performance keeps spiralling downwards. Early positive steps from the government won't be enough to turn things around
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
Reposted by Alex
This is our work! Nice to see it getting picked up
October 22, 2025 at 2:08 PM
This is our work! Nice to see it getting picked up
@katie0martin.ft.com @stephenkb.bsky.social this article is so, so deeply wrong. Probably the only positive thing coming from the long standing inability to build things in this country is that we stopped going down the car-centric infrastructure that fast as some other countries.
Do I really have to write a ranty letter to the editor to say how disappointed I am that @financialtimes.com ran this piece, and that it came out of NESTA, with all the reasons road building is not the answer? Also, the motorway distinction is just plain weird. SIGH. www.ft.com/content/0cb6...
Let’s fall in love with cars again
Investing more into roads will only mean higher economic returns for the UK
www.ft.com
October 23, 2025 at 1:28 PM
@katie0martin.ft.com @stephenkb.bsky.social this article is so, so deeply wrong. Probably the only positive thing coming from the long standing inability to build things in this country is that we stopped going down the car-centric infrastructure that fast as some other countries.
Reposted by Alex
I’ve thought about this scene ever day since it aired
October 22, 2025 at 6:24 PM
I’ve thought about this scene ever day since it aired
Reposted by Alex
The UK is not the destination of choice for asylum seekers in Europe. It is behind Germany & France and is 17th, or 5th at a stretch, of 28
www.gov.uk/government/s...
www.gov.uk/government/s...
October 23, 2025 at 7:31 AM
The UK is not the destination of choice for asylum seekers in Europe. It is behind Germany & France and is 17th, or 5th at a stretch, of 28
www.gov.uk/government/s...
www.gov.uk/government/s...