Sam Jeffers
@worklesshard.bsky.social
Run @whotargets.me and am a Partner @jointogether.online. Used to play drums in Fridge. Live in Cork, from London.
Calling a London doctor and the wait time for someone to pick up the phone is... an hour? Is that at all normal?
January 12, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Calling a London doctor and the wait time for someone to pick up the phone is... an hour? Is that at all normal?
Does Zahawi defecting to Reform make it trickier for Labour? Hell no. It's a gift.
January 12, 2026 at 11:53 AM
Does Zahawi defecting to Reform make it trickier for Labour? Hell no. It's a gift.
I think there's a weird outcome here where this basically just hobbles parties' ability to campaign. A £50k cap doesn't necessarily mean there will be more donors at that level, so you'll probably end up with more public funding (which would be good, though unpopular).
🆕 POLLING
New YouGov polling shows 67% of the public want political donations capped at £50k or less.
The public has spoken loud and clear – it's time to get big money out of UK politics.
Read more ⤵️
https://www.transparency.org.uk/news/latest-yougov-poll-shows-public-want-end-big-money-politics
New YouGov polling shows 67% of the public want political donations capped at £50k or less.
The public has spoken loud and clear – it's time to get big money out of UK politics.
Read more ⤵️
https://www.transparency.org.uk/news/latest-yougov-poll-shows-public-want-end-big-money-politics
Latest YouGov poll shows the public want an end to big money in politics
www.transparency.org.uk
January 12, 2026 at 11:14 AM
I think there's a weird outcome here where this basically just hobbles parties' ability to campaign. A £50k cap doesn't necessarily mean there will be more donors at that level, so you'll probably end up with more public funding (which would be good, though unpopular).
If you're considering a big digital policy swing (like a social media ban for under 16s), you surely want to do a proper assessment of costs and benefits, which could be quite large, due to 16 year olds tending to live quite a long time after?
January 12, 2026 at 9:30 AM
If you're considering a big digital policy swing (like a social media ban for under 16s), you surely want to do a proper assessment of costs and benefits, which could be quite large, due to 16 year olds tending to live quite a long time after?
Back when I wanted to run workshops in a shop, I looked into the practicalities and they seemed very hard to take a punt on (10yr lease, automatic rent increases, hard to break, rates, fit out, insurance etc etc).
There is a lot to agree with here - and it comes up over and over again on doorsteps - but its also a huge case of revealed preference.
People want a high street. They just don't want to visit it.
Not sure what can be done aside from huge state subsidy of unviable business.
People want a high street. They just don't want to visit it.
Not sure what can be done aside from huge state subsidy of unviable business.
Latest from me, on an eternally overlooked, sniffed-at issue that is politically huge www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
January 11, 2026 at 9:26 PM
Back when I wanted to run workshops in a shop, I looked into the practicalities and they seemed very hard to take a punt on (10yr lease, automatic rent increases, hard to break, rates, fit out, insurance etc etc).
It's a no brainer, and will be in there.
Seven senior Labour MPs have written to the Prime Minister, urging him to ban crypto political donations
Liam Byrne, chair of the business committee, has told Starmer that if the Elections Bill does not include a prohibition it will be amended until it does
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Liam Byrne, chair of the business committee, has told Starmer that if the Elections Bill does not include a prohibition it will be amended until it does
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Banning all political crypto donations will thwart hostil...
Starmer has been urged to take action with a forthcoming bill to prevent foreign influence on elections
observer.co.uk
January 11, 2026 at 11:41 AM
It's a no brainer, and will be in there.
Are there any good podcasts? Ideally current affairs analysis, bigger picture, without being overly newsy, too online or plain stupid?
January 10, 2026 at 12:39 PM
Are there any good podcasts? Ideally current affairs analysis, bigger picture, without being overly newsy, too online or plain stupid?
UK financial journalists absolutely *freaked out* when the OBR accidentally published the Budget 20 mins early. The Chief Executive quit because someone uploaded it with a guessable document filename.
someone probably made a lot of money off of this.
the reason these numbers are kept under seal until 8:30am sharp is that they move markets
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
the reason these numbers are kept under seal until 8:30am sharp is that they move markets
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Trump Posted Unpublished Jobs Data Early in Social Media Post
President Donald Trump posted a chart on social media Thursday evening that included figures in the yet-to-be released December employment report.
www.bloomberg.com
January 9, 2026 at 3:48 PM
UK financial journalists absolutely *freaked out* when the OBR accidentally published the Budget 20 mins early. The Chief Executive quit because someone uploaded it with a guessable document filename.
So inspiring to see people on the streets, protesting to get rid of fundamentalist zealots. And in Iran too.
January 8, 2026 at 9:42 PM
So inspiring to see people on the streets, protesting to get rid of fundamentalist zealots. And in Iran too.
Reform needs to find about 5,000 credible, articulate, well-prepared candidates over the next 3-4 years yet struggles to find 5. www.instagram.com/reel/DTQhmw-...
The Daily T on Instagram: "🚨 Daily T is live!
Reform have put forward their London mayoral candidate for 2028, Laila Cunningham. So, in today's Daily T, Tim and Camilla find out exactly what Councill...
53 likes, 7 comments - dailytpodcast on January 8, 2026: "🚨 Daily T is live!
Reform have put forward their London mayoral candidate for 2028, Laila Cunningham. So, in today's Daily T, Tim and Camilla...
www.instagram.com
January 8, 2026 at 6:32 PM
Reform needs to find about 5,000 credible, articulate, well-prepared candidates over the next 3-4 years yet struggles to find 5. www.instagram.com/reel/DTQhmw-...
I think just shut it all down, today.
Just seen Grok putting the body of the victim of the ICE shooting in Minneapolis into a bikini. Digital corpse desecration now available to the public.
January 8, 2026 at 1:41 PM
I think just shut it all down, today.
This did not age well (they won the Ashes with one proper batter).
No matter how good their bowling is, not sure they can win the Ashes with only one proper batter.
January 8, 2026 at 11:44 AM
This did not age well (they won the Ashes with one proper batter).
Never felt older than seeing my son viewed my LinkedIn profile.
January 7, 2026 at 7:25 PM
Never felt older than seeing my son viewed my LinkedIn profile.
Close friend in Minneapolis said it's been "pure One Battle After Another" in the city in recent days. Things in the city (and elsewhere) could get very serious from here.
January 7, 2026 at 5:47 PM
Close friend in Minneapolis said it's been "pure One Battle After Another" in the city in recent days. Things in the city (and elsewhere) could get very serious from here.
Given how many "good" shows force you to live with characters for 70+ hours over multiple seasons, it's surprising how few leave you feeling really bereft at the loss of your relationship with them. Also, given the answers to this, that a melancholic ending is really the only truly "good" one.
Given that apparently the Stranger Things finale was meh (idk, didn't watch it, just the scuttlebutt) and we're not that far removed from the disastrous GOT finale that retroactively made everyone have never cared about the show:
What's the *best* ending to a show you've ever seen? Quote/reply etc
What's the *best* ending to a show you've ever seen? Quote/reply etc
January 7, 2026 at 10:32 AM
Given how many "good" shows force you to live with characters for 70+ hours over multiple seasons, it's surprising how few leave you feeling really bereft at the loss of your relationship with them. Also, given the answers to this, that a melancholic ending is really the only truly "good" one.
As the largest US state, and given its enormous military significance, I'd say 6 Greenlandic senators would be appropriate.
Ok. I'll bite. Defend Greenland from what exactly?
January 7, 2026 at 8:55 AM
As the largest US state, and given its enormous military significance, I'd say 6 Greenlandic senators would be appropriate.
Ok. I'll bite. Defend Greenland from what exactly?
January 7, 2026 at 8:20 AM
Ok. I'll bite. Defend Greenland from what exactly?
This campaign could be run by any of four political parties in Wales, but is instead coming from a private company founded on Dec 23rd.
A new anti-Reform ad campaign from "Common Sense Cymru" has been running in Wales for the last week. So far, they've spent nearly £12,000 on Meta ads. They're running a mixture of attack ads and "register to vote" messaging.
www.facebook.com/ads/library/...
www.facebook.com/ads/library/...
January 6, 2026 at 11:24 AM
This campaign could be run by any of four political parties in Wales, but is instead coming from a private company founded on Dec 23rd.
This does have real "explaining, losing" vibes to it, doesn't it?
January 4, 2026 at 5:34 PM
This does have real "explaining, losing" vibes to it, doesn't it?
The 10 year old heard a lot of words she really shouldn't have.
"holy fucking shit what a goal" - me, out loud, watching fulham-liverpool at the kids' play place cafe, making lots of friends.
January 4, 2026 at 5:19 PM
The 10 year old heard a lot of words she really shouldn't have.
There still aren't any good FIFA Peace Prize jokes, despite a lot of tries.
January 3, 2026 at 3:55 PM
There still aren't any good FIFA Peace Prize jokes, despite a lot of tries.
If Lula wins this year's Brazilian election from Bolsonaro's son by only a handful of points, he'll likely be sleeping with his eyes open.
January 3, 2026 at 11:16 AM
If Lula wins this year's Brazilian election from Bolsonaro's son by only a handful of points, he'll likely be sleeping with his eyes open.
BBC radio doesn't appear to have much news coverage of Venezuela, but if you switch to Times Radio, you can hear Rod Liddle and Brendan O'Neil on it.
January 3, 2026 at 10:33 AM
BBC radio doesn't appear to have much news coverage of Venezuela, but if you switch to Times Radio, you can hear Rod Liddle and Brendan O'Neil on it.
Musk: Reject the evidence of your eyes and ears...
January 2, 2026 at 6:03 PM
Musk: Reject the evidence of your eyes and ears...
Very much a "half our advertising works, we just don't know which half" type of strategy.
www.theguardian.com/media/2026/j...
www.theguardian.com/media/2026/j...
‘Social listening’: Unilever seeks to capitalise on Vaseline’s TikTok moment
Multinational boosts online chatter after social media users showcase product’s widespread use in life hacks
www.theguardian.com
January 2, 2026 at 12:32 PM
Very much a "half our advertising works, we just don't know which half" type of strategy.
www.theguardian.com/media/2026/j...
www.theguardian.com/media/2026/j...