Sophie Dennis
@sophiedennis.bsky.social
Head of User-Centred Design & Product @MadeTech. ex @ukhsa @nhsdigital @cxpartners @dwpdigital. Devon exile in Yorkshire. #sophiesthatux she/her
Reposted by Sophie Dennis
Compare and contrast the Government language.
£3,750 EV grant on a £35k car: ‘helping families’.
Cycle to Work: ‘subsidising leisure’.
And yet cycling delivers TEN TIMES the impact of electric cars for reaching net zero. It’s almost like narrative, not data, is driving policy.
£3,750 EV grant on a £35k car: ‘helping families’.
Cycle to Work: ‘subsidising leisure’.
And yet cycling delivers TEN TIMES the impact of electric cars for reaching net zero. It’s almost like narrative, not data, is driving policy.
November 21, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Compare and contrast the Government language.
£3,750 EV grant on a £35k car: ‘helping families’.
Cycle to Work: ‘subsidising leisure’.
And yet cycling delivers TEN TIMES the impact of electric cars for reaching net zero. It’s almost like narrative, not data, is driving policy.
£3,750 EV grant on a £35k car: ‘helping families’.
Cycle to Work: ‘subsidising leisure’.
And yet cycling delivers TEN TIMES the impact of electric cars for reaching net zero. It’s almost like narrative, not data, is driving policy.
Reposted by Sophie Dennis
Please read, listen, and share widely. www.theguardian.com/music/2025/n...
‘I never wanted to sing into a vacuum’: Scottish folk pioneer Dick Gaughan’s fight for his lost music
A skilled interpreter and social justice champion, Gaughan is a hero to the likes of Richard Hawley and Billy Bragg. Yet much of his work has been stuck in limbo for decades – until a determined fan s...
www.theguardian.com
November 19, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Please read, listen, and share widely. www.theguardian.com/music/2025/n...
Reposted by Sophie Dennis
THREAD. A collection of photographs of excellent trees I have met on walks.
You will find the captions to each photo in the alt text.
You will find the captions to each photo in the alt text.
November 19, 2025 at 6:31 PM
THREAD. A collection of photographs of excellent trees I have met on walks.
You will find the captions to each photo in the alt text.
You will find the captions to each photo in the alt text.
Reposted by Sophie Dennis
‘I’d run down the road thinking I was God’: cannabis users on their psychosis – and the clinic trying to help them
‘I’d run down the road thinking I was God’: cannabis users on their psychosis – and the clinic trying to help them
Katie hears voices and has been sectioned 50 times. Isiah became paranoid and tried to kill himself. Both link their illness to cannabis – and the drug is getting more and more potent. Is a tiny London clinic showing the way forward?
www.theguardian.com
November 16, 2025 at 4:50 PM
‘I’d run down the road thinking I was God’: cannabis users on their psychosis – and the clinic trying to help them
Reposted by Sophie Dennis
Author wrote best book he's ever written.
Publisher disintegrated/fucked off with author's earnings.
Book was finally published by new publisher.
Author has bought two hardbacks, for full price, to give away, signed.
Please repost/reply if you'd like a chance to win one..
bsky.app/profile/zygo...
Publisher disintegrated/fucked off with author's earnings.
Book was finally published by new publisher.
Author has bought two hardbacks, for full price, to give away, signed.
Please repost/reply if you'd like a chance to win one..
bsky.app/profile/zygo...
November 13, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Author wrote best book he's ever written.
Publisher disintegrated/fucked off with author's earnings.
Book was finally published by new publisher.
Author has bought two hardbacks, for full price, to give away, signed.
Please repost/reply if you'd like a chance to win one..
bsky.app/profile/zygo...
Publisher disintegrated/fucked off with author's earnings.
Book was finally published by new publisher.
Author has bought two hardbacks, for full price, to give away, signed.
Please repost/reply if you'd like a chance to win one..
bsky.app/profile/zygo...
Reposted by Sophie Dennis
The more you look into the Prescott memo, the worse it gets
The remarkable story we discussed this morning. (No paywall but do consider subscribing.) www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-e...
EXCLUSIVE: Michael Prescott himself doctored Trump quote in his anti-BBC report
A report alleging Panorama broadcast misleading Trump quotes contains misleading quotes itself
www.thenewworld.co.uk
November 13, 2025 at 12:54 PM
The more you look into the Prescott memo, the worse it gets
Reposted by Sophie Dennis
Never forget
November 12, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Never forget
Reposted by Sophie Dennis
A month ago I looked at what I called Labour's midlife crisis- an obsession with chasing socially conservative Reform-curious voters and ignoring groups of disaffected voters with social attitudes much closer to Labour voters. But some people thought there was method in their madness. Was there? 1/n
November 12, 2025 at 3:01 PM
A month ago I looked at what I called Labour's midlife crisis- an obsession with chasing socially conservative Reform-curious voters and ignoring groups of disaffected voters with social attitudes much closer to Labour voters. But some people thought there was method in their madness. Was there? 1/n
Reposted by Sophie Dennis
"What I think Blue Labour believe is that Labour voters in the marginal Red Wall district have fundamentally different views on social (and maybe economic) issues than Labour voters in safe London seats. They don’t."
open.substack.com/pub/benansel...
open.substack.com/pub/benansel...
Labour at the Margin...
...of survival
open.substack.com
November 12, 2025 at 2:01 PM
"What I think Blue Labour believe is that Labour voters in the marginal Red Wall district have fundamentally different views on social (and maybe economic) issues than Labour voters in safe London seats. They don’t."
open.substack.com/pub/benansel...
open.substack.com/pub/benansel...
Reposted by Sophie Dennis
I proudly present the internet's nerdiest and prettiest tax calculator.
Other calculators just calculate your tax. This one calculates your tax now, and under various Budget proposals. And draws a pretty chart showing the marginal and effective rates for *everyone*.
Other calculators just calculate your tax. This one calculates your tax now, and under various Budget proposals. And draws a pretty chart showing the marginal and effective rates for *everyone*.
November 12, 2025 at 3:47 PM
I proudly present the internet's nerdiest and prettiest tax calculator.
Other calculators just calculate your tax. This one calculates your tax now, and under various Budget proposals. And draws a pretty chart showing the marginal and effective rates for *everyone*.
Other calculators just calculate your tax. This one calculates your tax now, and under various Budget proposals. And draws a pretty chart showing the marginal and effective rates for *everyone*.
Reposted by Sophie Dennis
🔥 Exciting news...early bird tickets for #CampDigital 2026 are now available!
We're back at the RNCM on Thurs 7th May, and we've already confirmed some fantastic speakers and workshops (with more TBA)!
Check out our lineup so far, and book early birds at:
www.nexerdigital.com/camp-digital...
We're back at the RNCM on Thurs 7th May, and we've already confirmed some fantastic speakers and workshops (with more TBA)!
Check out our lineup so far, and book early birds at:
www.nexerdigital.com/camp-digital...
November 12, 2025 at 3:01 PM
🔥 Exciting news...early bird tickets for #CampDigital 2026 are now available!
We're back at the RNCM on Thurs 7th May, and we've already confirmed some fantastic speakers and workshops (with more TBA)!
Check out our lineup so far, and book early birds at:
www.nexerdigital.com/camp-digital...
We're back at the RNCM on Thurs 7th May, and we've already confirmed some fantastic speakers and workshops (with more TBA)!
Check out our lineup so far, and book early birds at:
www.nexerdigital.com/camp-digital...
Reposted by Sophie Dennis
Just finished Everything Will Swallow You by Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social and just have to say how wonderful it is - funny, touching, surreal, sad in places, laugh out loud in others. Obsessive record collecting and long walks invoked happy childhood memories.
Highly recommend 😻
#BookSky
Highly recommend 😻
#BookSky
November 11, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Just finished Everything Will Swallow You by Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social and just have to say how wonderful it is - funny, touching, surreal, sad in places, laugh out loud in others. Obsessive record collecting and long walks invoked happy childhood memories.
Highly recommend 😻
#BookSky
Highly recommend 😻
#BookSky
“an AI “arms race” developing” in planning - gov promotes use of AI to speed up planning, others build AI tools to automate the process of objecting to applications…
🧐
November 9, 2025 at 2:47 PM
“an AI “arms race” developing” in planning - gov promotes use of AI to speed up planning, others build AI tools to automate the process of objecting to applications…
Reposted by Sophie Dennis
1/ The US Government has quietly removed a memorial to Black soldiers who died in World War II from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, South Limburg. The move follows a complaint from the right-wing Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission. ⬇️
November 9, 2025 at 9:23 AM
1/ The US Government has quietly removed a memorial to Black soldiers who died in World War II from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, South Limburg. The move follows a complaint from the right-wing Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission. ⬇️
Reposted by Sophie Dennis
Bloody hell! It’s been a long time since a book has brought me to tears. @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social Thank you so very much for writing Everything Will Swallow You. Book of the year. #BookSky #TheStorygraph
November 9, 2025 at 9:41 AM
Bloody hell! It’s been a long time since a book has brought me to tears. @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social Thank you so very much for writing Everything Will Swallow You. Book of the year. #BookSky #TheStorygraph
Reposted by Sophie Dennis
When you think about it, the phrase “earning a living” is really quite vile.
🔗 https://adactio.com/notes/22233
🔗 https://adactio.com/notes/22233
November 6, 2025 at 9:07 AM
When you think about it, the phrase “earning a living” is really quite vile.
🔗 https://adactio.com/notes/22233
🔗 https://adactio.com/notes/22233
Not everything is shit and people - in a broad, collective sense - are basically decent and heroic. In case you needed cheering up. Says science
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
‘Heroic actions are a natural tendency’: why bystander apathy is a myth
Modern research shows the public work together selflessly in an emergency, motivated by a strong impulse to help
www.theguardian.com
November 8, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Not everything is shit and people - in a broad, collective sense - are basically decent and heroic. In case you needed cheering up. Says science
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Reposted by Sophie Dennis
Just added to my Etsy shop:
🌿final small print run of my '26 calendars
🪶my handmade recycled silver jewellery designs (incl intricate casts of real flowers)
🌸limited ed'n mounted art prints of my photos
💐tiny posy mental health kits
Last orders for📮 in time for🌲: 19 Nov
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/silv...
🌿final small print run of my '26 calendars
🪶my handmade recycled silver jewellery designs (incl intricate casts of real flowers)
🌸limited ed'n mounted art prints of my photos
💐tiny posy mental health kits
Last orders for📮 in time for🌲: 19 Nov
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/silv...
November 5, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Just added to my Etsy shop:
🌿final small print run of my '26 calendars
🪶my handmade recycled silver jewellery designs (incl intricate casts of real flowers)
🌸limited ed'n mounted art prints of my photos
💐tiny posy mental health kits
Last orders for📮 in time for🌲: 19 Nov
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/silv...
🌿final small print run of my '26 calendars
🪶my handmade recycled silver jewellery designs (incl intricate casts of real flowers)
🌸limited ed'n mounted art prints of my photos
💐tiny posy mental health kits
Last orders for📮 in time for🌲: 19 Nov
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/silv...
Reposted by Sophie Dennis
A major barrier to NHS productivity is that it thinks of cost cutting in silos not value adding across systems. This means that lower costs in one silo can cause huge waste in other silos making the whole system far less productive...
November 5, 2025 at 12:31 PM
A major barrier to NHS productivity is that it thinks of cost cutting in silos not value adding across systems. This means that lower costs in one silo can cause huge waste in other silos making the whole system far less productive...
Reposted by Sophie Dennis
open.substack.com/pub/rorycell... Beforehand there were disagreements amongst the #Movers&Shakers about giving publicity to what some regard as a fringe therapy. But I think you’ll agree that the scientist promoting this idea gave us plenty to think about.
Movers and Shakers: Light Therapy
Can infrared light help treat Parkinson’s?
open.substack.com
November 1, 2025 at 10:26 AM
open.substack.com/pub/rorycell... Beforehand there were disagreements amongst the #Movers&Shakers about giving publicity to what some regard as a fringe therapy. But I think you’ll agree that the scientist promoting this idea gave us plenty to think about.
Reposted by Sophie Dennis
Q for the public sector digital hive mind: I want to land a point about the difference between how a user experiences a problem vs how gov solves a problem (esp. showing it might be many teams across orgs...?) Any pointers on a visual for this welcome 🤗
October 30, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Q for the public sector digital hive mind: I want to land a point about the difference between how a user experiences a problem vs how gov solves a problem (esp. showing it might be many teams across orgs...?) Any pointers on a visual for this welcome 🤗
“We never validated our core assumptions before investing heavily in solutions”
Sheesh…
Sheesh…
The next time people complain that user research just slows things down, show them this towering monument of hubris. Quite staggering.
I legitimately didn't know they were competing with Steam and it's crazy to me that they burnt so much money on what sounds like something with very little (or wildly misguided) market research.
October 29, 2025 at 11:37 AM
“We never validated our core assumptions before investing heavily in solutions”
Sheesh…
Sheesh…
Reposted by Sophie Dennis
I've removed the paywall permanently from this piece, which is a chapter from my novel Villager (republished today), told entirely in the form of an online village message board. If you like it, you'll probably like the book. If you don't, you won't... the-villager.ghost.io/the-village-...
The Village Message Board
Its authenticity was discredited because of his reputation, but also because he was quick with gin at the time and wearing an item of knitwear back to front.
the-villager.ghost.io
September 11, 2025 at 9:44 AM
I've removed the paywall permanently from this piece, which is a chapter from my novel Villager (republished today), told entirely in the form of an online village message board. If you like it, you'll probably like the book. If you don't, you won't... the-villager.ghost.io/the-village-...
Reposted by Sophie Dennis
Yay. Priceless. The right column at the right time. And a gleefully English two fingers to the haters.
October 25, 2025 at 7:38 AM
Yay. Priceless. The right column at the right time. And a gleefully English two fingers to the haters.
Reposted by Sophie Dennis
First speaker announcements for #CampDigital 2026 are coming soon.
Hold the date - we’re a bit earlier next year - Thursday 7th May at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.
Hold the date - we’re a bit earlier next year - Thursday 7th May at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.
Save the date: #CampDigital returns Thurs 7th May!
We’re back at the RNCM for a day of inspiring talks and workshops that spark ideas across design and digital.
🎤 Speaker announcements coming soon!
🗓️ Mark your calendar and stay tuned for updates on tickets and more.
#UX #Design #Digital
We’re back at the RNCM for a day of inspiring talks and workshops that spark ideas across design and digital.
🎤 Speaker announcements coming soon!
🗓️ Mark your calendar and stay tuned for updates on tickets and more.
#UX #Design #Digital
October 16, 2025 at 2:15 PM
First speaker announcements for #CampDigital 2026 are coming soon.
Hold the date - we’re a bit earlier next year - Thursday 7th May at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.
Hold the date - we’re a bit earlier next year - Thursday 7th May at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.