Stefan Siebert
@stefansiebert.bsky.social
Professor at University of Glasgow in beautiful Scotland. Views obviously my own and not medical advice or representative of my employers. Hate injustice and worried about the future of healthcare (and humanity)! ☮️
Reposted by Stefan Siebert
I wouldn’t say my views on tuition fees have *changed* but they have definitely moved from “I hate this proposal but I find some of the arguments for it difficult to rebut” to “this is an outrageous way of permitting age-differentiated taxation that we’d never accept in the other direction”.
I'm constantly shocked (but not surprised) by how little we discuss the additional financial burden placed on young people by the Clegg-Cameron student loan regime.
@rmcunliffe.bsky.social is one of the few journalists who brings it up continuously - once again in the wake of the budget 👇
@rmcunliffe.bsky.social is one of the few journalists who brings it up continuously - once again in the wake of the budget 👇
Rachel Reeves hits young graduates with a double stealth tax
The Chancellor plans to raise as much money from freezing loan repayment thresholds as from the mansion tax
www.newstatesman.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:22 PM
I wouldn’t say my views on tuition fees have *changed* but they have definitely moved from “I hate this proposal but I find some of the arguments for it difficult to rebut” to “this is an outrageous way of permitting age-differentiated taxation that we’d never accept in the other direction”.
Reposted by Stefan Siebert
Imagine paying for Netflix every month, and then paying when you watch the movie, and then getting another bill three months later because one of the actors isn’t signed with Netflix so you have to pay him directly.
That’d be STUPID right???
This is a post about health insurance.
That’d be STUPID right???
This is a post about health insurance.
November 25, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Imagine paying for Netflix every month, and then paying when you watch the movie, and then getting another bill three months later because one of the actors isn’t signed with Netflix so you have to pay him directly.
That’d be STUPID right???
This is a post about health insurance.
That’d be STUPID right???
This is a post about health insurance.
Reposted by Stefan Siebert
You just cannot take the iPaper seriously when it wheels out Kwasi ‘mini budget’ Kwarteng to comment on the budget.
We don’t *ever* want to hear from this arrogant clown again.
“No prudence”
FML.
We don’t *ever* want to hear from this arrogant clown again.
“No prudence”
FML.
November 27, 2025 at 8:05 AM
You just cannot take the iPaper seriously when it wheels out Kwasi ‘mini budget’ Kwarteng to comment on the budget.
We don’t *ever* want to hear from this arrogant clown again.
“No prudence”
FML.
We don’t *ever* want to hear from this arrogant clown again.
“No prudence”
FML.
Reposted by Stefan Siebert
Tory-linked brokers on various PPE VIP lane deals alone received nearly £100m for their involvement in contracts awarded to a number of companies, with much of the equipment provided by some deemed unfit for NHS use:
goodlawproject.org/fixers-vip-l...
goodlawproject.org/fixers-vip-l...
November 27, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Tory-linked brokers on various PPE VIP lane deals alone received nearly £100m for their involvement in contracts awarded to a number of companies, with much of the equipment provided by some deemed unfit for NHS use:
goodlawproject.org/fixers-vip-l...
goodlawproject.org/fixers-vip-l...
Reposted by Stefan Siebert
Net migration fell sharply agaim to 204,000 in the year to June 2025, having been 344k in 2024 and 848k in 2023. But falling immigration has been the biggest secret - and it is time for the media and political debate to catch up with this change
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cn...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cn...
UK net migration fell to 204,000 in year to June - live updates
Net migration, the difference between those entering and leaving the country, was 345,000 in 2024 according to revised figures.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 27, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Net migration fell sharply agaim to 204,000 in the year to June 2025, having been 344k in 2024 and 848k in 2023. But falling immigration has been the biggest secret - and it is time for the media and political debate to catch up with this change
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cn...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cn...
Reposted by Stefan Siebert
It’s amazing. Last year they reported that none of the girls vaccinated at age 12-14 in Scotland have developed cervical cancer since- a whole cohort of young women who don’t have that to worry about. But now vaccination rates are dropping below the 90% target and we need to up the effort again
November 26, 2025 at 10:09 PM
It’s amazing. Last year they reported that none of the girls vaccinated at age 12-14 in Scotland have developed cervical cancer since- a whole cohort of young women who don’t have that to worry about. But now vaccination rates are dropping below the 90% target and we need to up the effort again
Reposted by Stefan Siebert
Rory, from the Outsiders project.
Nobody should be homeless in a country as wealthy as ours.
Nobody should be homeless in a country as wealthy as ours.
November 26, 2025 at 7:50 AM
Rory, from the Outsiders project.
Nobody should be homeless in a country as wealthy as ours.
Nobody should be homeless in a country as wealthy as ours.
Reposted by Stefan Siebert
And honestly I don't give a fuck if it's popular or not. It's going to make a lot of kids' lives better. That's the point of government. Not an opinion poll.
November 26, 2025 at 1:12 PM
And honestly I don't give a fuck if it's popular or not. It's going to make a lot of kids' lives better. That's the point of government. Not an opinion poll.
Reposted by Stefan Siebert
UK gambling industry made £15.6bn in 2024 (£16.8bn in 2025)
Most companies holed up in Gibraltar & Malta, dodge UK taxes. Some pay corporation tax at the rate of 3%-4%. No VAT on gambling.
Public bears the cost of gambling addiction.
Firms resent paying extra tax to clear their mess.
Tax them.
Most companies holed up in Gibraltar & Malta, dodge UK taxes. Some pay corporation tax at the rate of 3%-4%. No VAT on gambling.
Public bears the cost of gambling addiction.
Firms resent paying extra tax to clear their mess.
Tax them.
UK's Online Gambling Industry: The £3.8 Billion Tax Question Nobody's Answering
UK's online gambling industry generates £15.6bn annually but pays minimal tax. With £3.8bn in receipts, experts say it's time for reform Here's why.
www.thelondoneconomic.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:57 PM
UK gambling industry made £15.6bn in 2024 (£16.8bn in 2025)
Most companies holed up in Gibraltar & Malta, dodge UK taxes. Some pay corporation tax at the rate of 3%-4%. No VAT on gambling.
Public bears the cost of gambling addiction.
Firms resent paying extra tax to clear their mess.
Tax them.
Most companies holed up in Gibraltar & Malta, dodge UK taxes. Some pay corporation tax at the rate of 3%-4%. No VAT on gambling.
Public bears the cost of gambling addiction.
Firms resent paying extra tax to clear their mess.
Tax them.
This is what happens and what the country becomes when you enable the bigots and racists.
Worse that it starts with language coming from the very top of government. Starmer, Mahmood and all who enabled this should be forced to apologise to these children!
Worse that it starts with language coming from the very top of government. Starmer, Mahmood and all who enabled this should be forced to apologise to these children!
November 26, 2025 at 10:51 AM
This is what happens and what the country becomes when you enable the bigots and racists.
Worse that it starts with language coming from the very top of government. Starmer, Mahmood and all who enabled this should be forced to apologise to these children!
Worse that it starts with language coming from the very top of government. Starmer, Mahmood and all who enabled this should be forced to apologise to these children!
Reposted by Stefan Siebert
Just read the Covid inquiry report. Crikey. In the general shitshow, this was one of the passages that stood out. So here (as elsewhere), Johnson lied under oath. Consequences? Don't hold your breath.
November 26, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Just read the Covid inquiry report. Crikey. In the general shitshow, this was one of the passages that stood out. So here (as elsewhere), Johnson lied under oath. Consequences? Don't hold your breath.
Reposted by Stefan Siebert
There is NO FUCKING EXCUSE for this to be happening.
I had a baby die in my arms of pertussis some fifty years ago. It was a HORRIBLE death. But my fellow nurses said to me, "It's almost stamped out now, they're all getting the shots, we won't be seeing this again."
HOW THE FUCK ARE WE HERE. 😡
I had a baby die in my arms of pertussis some fifty years ago. It was a HORRIBLE death. But my fellow nurses said to me, "It's almost stamped out now, they're all getting the shots, we won't be seeing this again."
HOW THE FUCK ARE WE HERE. 😡
A third infant has died in Kentucky, KYDPH adds:
“These are Kentucky’s first pertussis deaths since 2018. None of the infants nor their mothers received the recommended pertussis vaccinations during pregnancy or early infancy.”
s3.amazonaws.com/nursing-netw...
“These are Kentucky’s first pertussis deaths since 2018. None of the infants nor their mothers received the recommended pertussis vaccinations during pregnancy or early infancy.”
s3.amazonaws.com/nursing-netw...
November 25, 2025 at 10:01 PM
There is NO FUCKING EXCUSE for this to be happening.
I had a baby die in my arms of pertussis some fifty years ago. It was a HORRIBLE death. But my fellow nurses said to me, "It's almost stamped out now, they're all getting the shots, we won't be seeing this again."
HOW THE FUCK ARE WE HERE. 😡
I had a baby die in my arms of pertussis some fifty years ago. It was a HORRIBLE death. But my fellow nurses said to me, "It's almost stamped out now, they're all getting the shots, we won't be seeing this again."
HOW THE FUCK ARE WE HERE. 😡
Model/Actriz at the Glasgow
School of Art was like an art installation with loud music and moshing! 🙌
Highly recommend catching them live!
School of Art was like an art installation with loud music and moshing! 🙌
Highly recommend catching them live!
November 25, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Model/Actriz at the Glasgow
School of Art was like an art installation with loud music and moshing! 🙌
Highly recommend catching them live!
School of Art was like an art installation with loud music and moshing! 🙌
Highly recommend catching them live!
Reposted by Stefan Siebert
When regular people look at the howling maelstrom of violence and cruelty being unleashed against minorities in the US, they are horrified. British newspaper columnists, on the other hand, are inspired.
Trevor Philips in the Times, calling for a Trump/Miller-style of random deportations based on skin colour.
archive.ph/RlXPj
archive.ph/RlXPj
November 24, 2025 at 10:30 PM
When regular people look at the howling maelstrom of violence and cruelty being unleashed against minorities in the US, they are horrified. British newspaper columnists, on the other hand, are inspired.
Reposted by Stefan Siebert
Brutal
Robbie Gibb describes the BBC's Political Editor Chris Mason as the "unsung hero of covering politics" and "absolutely first rate"
November 24, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Brutal
Reposted by Stefan Siebert
Friend of mine fell and broke his wrist while on holiday in New York last week. Had to have an x-ray and got bandaged up. His hospital bill was £7550. Just in case anyone was starting to buy into the current UK effort to privatise our healthcare and forgot how good we have it.
November 24, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Friend of mine fell and broke his wrist while on holiday in New York last week. Had to have an x-ray and got bandaged up. His hospital bill was £7550. Just in case anyone was starting to buy into the current UK effort to privatise our healthcare and forgot how good we have it.
Reposted by Stefan Siebert
I can’t even begin to line out the torment and torrent of anguish and won’t - because it satisfies the desire for ever more cruelty but Dan is right, the only purpose served is cruel and degrading punishment - the definition of mass torture. That’s now government policy.
Labour's anti-asylum policies are already fundamentally inhumane and discriminatory. Applying them retrospectively is pure cruelty though. It serves absolutely no purpose. Meanwhile it will increase the costs and bureaucracy of an already dysfunctional Home Office.
www.thetimes.com/article/6f83...
www.thetimes.com/article/6f83...
November 24, 2025 at 3:27 PM
I can’t even begin to line out the torment and torrent of anguish and won’t - because it satisfies the desire for ever more cruelty but Dan is right, the only purpose served is cruel and degrading punishment - the definition of mass torture. That’s now government policy.
Is it surprising that public trust is so low when peers promote, lobby for and/or sponsor events for companies they have financial interests in?
Yet they do so little to help or protect the poorest or most vulnerable in society who are not part of the "club"!
Yet they do so little to help or protect the poorest or most vulnerable in society who are not part of the "club"!
Two peers face suspension from House of Lords
Former Army chief Lord Richard Dannatt and businessman Lord Evans of Watford face suspensions.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 24, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Is it surprising that public trust is so low when peers promote, lobby for and/or sponsor events for companies they have financial interests in?
Yet they do so little to help or protect the poorest or most vulnerable in society who are not part of the "club"!
Yet they do so little to help or protect the poorest or most vulnerable in society who are not part of the "club"!
Reposted by Stefan Siebert
It makes me so upset to see this at a primary school. These are children and their parents being targeted. I’ve taught kids who have had to flee their countries. Most people couldn’t survive what these kids have been through in their short lives.
NEW: Protesters targeted a Scottish primary school on Monday as English classes were put on for mothers
Signs read 'protect our schools' and 'Glasgow City Council protect our kids'
Signs read 'protect our schools' and 'Glasgow City Council protect our kids'
November 24, 2025 at 2:07 PM
It makes me so upset to see this at a primary school. These are children and their parents being targeted. I’ve taught kids who have had to flee their countries. Most people couldn’t survive what these kids have been through in their short lives.
Reposted by Stefan Siebert
At least 160,000 people have been granted refugee status over the past five years. It now seems they are intended to be caught by the Government’s plans to make refugees wait up to 20 years for settlement - even for those just months away from ILR
www.thetimes.com/article/6f83...
www.thetimes.com/article/6f83...
November 24, 2025 at 12:50 PM
At least 160,000 people have been granted refugee status over the past five years. It now seems they are intended to be caught by the Government’s plans to make refugees wait up to 20 years for settlement - even for those just months away from ILR
www.thetimes.com/article/6f83...
www.thetimes.com/article/6f83...
Reposted by Stefan Siebert
My favourite moment during the Brexit negotiations was when David Davis went to the press to complain that none of the EU member states would agree to negotiate trade deals with Britain on a one-on-one basis and would only do so as a bloc – as though they were in some sort of union.
we told you with extreme specificity what would happen if you did brexit and you did not believe us and did it anyway and then it all came true and now youre going to elect nigel farage?? same guy who made the whole country poor once already? sorry but youre just a good punchline rn
November 24, 2025 at 11:48 AM
My favourite moment during the Brexit negotiations was when David Davis went to the press to complain that none of the EU member states would agree to negotiate trade deals with Britain on a one-on-one basis and would only do so as a bloc – as though they were in some sort of union.
Reposted by Stefan Siebert
is the honourable chancellor of the exchequer unaware that other countries have universities?
November 24, 2025 at 12:29 PM
is the honourable chancellor of the exchequer unaware that other countries have universities?
This will inevitably lead to increased costs for domestic UK students as they are subsidised by foreign student fees (and also accelerate the closure/collapse of some universities)...higher education is (was?) one of the few remaining jewels and things the UK was respected for internationally!
As I said at the time this was the landmine in the immigration white paper. It will cost unis much more than they're getting from inflationary rises in domestic fees.
i: Reeves to unveil £600m raid on foreign student
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
November 24, 2025 at 9:15 AM
This will inevitably lead to increased costs for domestic UK students as they are subsidised by foreign student fees (and also accelerate the closure/collapse of some universities)...higher education is (was?) one of the few remaining jewels and things the UK was respected for internationally!
Reposted by Stefan Siebert
More than half of unpaid carers in Wales are cutting back on food and heating – and this should be sounding alarm bells of shame across the land.
That’s a 53% increase compared to the same period in 2024. Something is going very wrong with support for unpaid carers in Wales.
That’s a 53% increase compared to the same period in 2024. Something is going very wrong with support for unpaid carers in Wales.
Where did it all go so wrong for unpaid carers in Cymru?
More than 52% of unpaid carers in Wales are cutting back on food and heating - Rob Simkins of Carers Wales asks how we've ended up here.
bylines.cymru
November 21, 2025 at 2:36 PM
More than half of unpaid carers in Wales are cutting back on food and heating – and this should be sounding alarm bells of shame across the land.
That’s a 53% increase compared to the same period in 2024. Something is going very wrong with support for unpaid carers in Wales.
That’s a 53% increase compared to the same period in 2024. Something is going very wrong with support for unpaid carers in Wales.
Reposted by Stefan Siebert
The UK is about to give the US an extra £3bn a year.
The NHS 'can't afford' to pay doctors £500m a year more.
But it will give the USA 6x as much for nothing.
The NHS 'can't afford' to pay doctors £500m a year more.
But it will give the USA 6x as much for nothing.
November 24, 2025 at 12:04 AM
The UK is about to give the US an extra £3bn a year.
The NHS 'can't afford' to pay doctors £500m a year more.
But it will give the USA 6x as much for nothing.
The NHS 'can't afford' to pay doctors £500m a year more.
But it will give the USA 6x as much for nothing.