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Prof Christina Pagel

@chrischirp.bsky.social

63K followers 1.2K following 2K posts

Prof Operational Research , @UCL_CORU, passionate about health care, women in STEMs, defending liberal democracy (!). Member of @independentsage, posts personal. https://www.trumpactiontracker.info/

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Christina Pagel FMedSci HonFFPH is a German-British mathematician and professor of operational research at University College London (UCL) within UCL's Clinical Operational Research Unit (CORU), which applies operational research, data analysis and mathematical modelling to topics in healthcare. She was Director of UCL CORU from 2017 to 2022 and is currently Vice President of the UK Operational Research Society. She also co-leads, alongside Rebecca Shipley, UCL's CHIMERA research hub which analyses data from critically ill hospital patients. .. more

Public Health 39%

Medicine 29%

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Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 8h

I'm not worried about Labour, I'm worried about the next government!

Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 10h

Definitely worth considering what can be done.

Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 10h

Sadly less clear how their accuracy can be protected... Any ideas?!

Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 11h

Exactly this 👇👇

Melissa Jo Peltier @melissjpeltier.bsky.social · 11h

As an American watching our best & most crucial institutions crumble in less than a year under Trump, I suggest you make as many of these changes now, while you can.
We didn’t, obviously.

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Reposted by Scott L. Greer, Alison Phipps, Christina Pagel

Melissa Jo Peltier @melissjpeltier.bsky.social · 11h

As an American watching our best & most crucial institutions crumble in less than a year under Trump, I suggest you make as many of these changes now, while you can.
We didn’t, obviously.

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Reposted by Christina Pagel

Meaghan Kall @kallmemeg.bsky.social · 12h

I really miss the days of Health Protection Agency when we were able to provide independent public health advice. Bringing the organisation ever closer to central government control has only had a net negative effect on so many aspects of the organisation.

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Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 12h

it's not over yet! our next steps do indeed include constitutional experts...

Reposted by Christina Pagel

Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 12h

Important new report from @chrischirp.bsky.social @uclpolicylab.bsky.social on how easy it would be to politicise some of our key science and research bodies, with ideas on how to strengthen their independence
www.ucl.ac.uk/policy-lab/n...

UK’s arm’s length public bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation

Seven in ten Britons say it is important for top scientific institutions to be independent in exclusive new polling.

www.ucl.ac.uk

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Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 12h

It's certainly true that ultimately no parliament can bind the next. But this government can certainly make it harder for them and force a new government to do things in public and with parliamentary scrutiny.

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Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 13h

Farage has learned from the US and this is dangerous populist rhetoric

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 13h

Nigel Farage says UK teachers are ‘poisoning our kids’ and predicts strikes as PM

Exclusive: Reform UK leader, speaking at event for private US college, also claimed the ‘Marxist left’ controls education Nigel Farage has predicted teachers would go on strike within weeks of a Reform UK government, and accused them of “poisoning our kids” by telling them that black children are victims and white children oppressors. The Reform UK leader set out his view on British schools in an event for a private US Christian college in Michigan, claiming the “Marxist left” was “now in control of our education system”. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Andrew Scott, Christina Pagel, Farah Mendlesohn

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 13h

Nigel Farage says UK teachers are ‘poisoning our kids’ and predicts strikes as PM

www.theguardian.com

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Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 13h

And here is a great article about the work by @helentbiz.ft.com

yorkshirebylines.co.uk/politics/str...

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Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 13h

PS I also wrote a substack post on it which you can read here:
christinapagel.substack.com/p/the-uks-in...

The UK’s independent scientific bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation

My newly launched report on how we can safeguard the independence of our important scientific and evidence-generating institutions - not least so they can hold government to account

christinapagel.substack.com

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Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 13h

5 Setting priorities and safeguarding operational autonomy

6 Protecting the freedom to publish

7 Framing the national conversation to explain what these bodies do and why it matters

Ultimately, we want to mend our defences before it’s too late.

Report is here
www.ucl.ac.uk/policy-lab/n...

11/11

UK’s arm’s length public bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation

Seven in ten Britons say it is important for top scientific institutions to be independent in exclusive new polling.

www.ucl.ac.uk

4 12 66

Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 13h

We suggest seven initial recommendations for strengthening our key scientific and evidence-generating bodies.

1 Increasing legal and statutory protection

2 Supporting independence in leadership appointments

3 Resilient funding models

4 Strengthening accountability to parliament

cont 10/11

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Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 13h

We also carried out polling with @moreincommonuk.bsky.social .

The public strongly favours independence for our scientific bodies. 71% say it is more important for them to be independent of the Government than controlled by it, regardless of their political party affiliation. 9/11

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Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 13h

It’s like living in a castle with holes in the walls, an open gate or weak foundations.

These don’t matter if no one attacks you, but once they do, you might wish you’d patched the defences while you had the chance.
8/11

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Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 13h

As long as the Govt supports the purpose of these bodies, these vulnerabilities are not existential. But the rise of authoritarian populism across democratic societies challenges that. 7/11

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Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 13h

This is a vulnerability map for 8 key bodies: ONS, OBR, Food Standards Agency, MHRA, Met Office, UKRI, Natural England, & UKHSA.

ONS has the most independence. All but ONS have ministerially appointed leadership. 3 could be abolished with no oversight as they have no statutory basis.
6/11

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Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 13h

E.g. The Met Office is the nation’s weather service AND a global climate change research centre. It is highly vulnerable.

Ministers fund its research, influence its priorities, and appoint its leaders. With no statutory basis, its priorities and funding could be changed with little oversight. 5/11

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Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 13h

We identified 6 core components of vulnerability:

Is a body established in law?

Who appoints its leadership?

Is a body directly accountable to parliament?

Who sets its priorities?

Who controls its funding?

Is it free to publish without ministerial say-so?

4/11

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Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 13h

We studied 24 bodies in detail.

From the Office for National Statistics to the Met Office, from the Medicines & Healthcare Regulations Agency to Natural England, from the Food Standards Agency to UK Research & Innovation, these organisations meet a requirement for expertise and national need. 3/11

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Reposted by Elizabeth Stokoe

Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 13h

We found that the UK’s top scientific institutions, from the Met Office to the UK Health Security Agency, have inadequate institutional defences.

If an incoming government wanted to weaken the role of science and evidence in policy making, it could do so shockingly fast. 2/11

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Reposted by Martin McKee, Sari Kovats, Richard Betts , and 8 more Martin McKee, Sari Kovats, Richard Betts, Scott L. Greer, Elizabeth Stokoe, Peter Campbell, Alison Phipps, Ben Worthy, Max Nathan, Margot C. Finn, Graham Dutfield

Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 13h

🧵🚨

The UK’s independent scientific bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation - over the past 5 months I've been working with @martinmckee.bsky.social to map out their vulnerabilities and it's not good news.

Today our report is published!
www.ucl.ac.uk/policy-lab/n...

1/11

UK’s arm’s length public bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation

Seven in ten Britons say it is important for top scientific institutions to be independent in exclusive new polling.

www.ucl.ac.uk

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Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 15h

i'd set it to go public at 3pm...

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Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 15h

should be fine now

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Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 15h

should work now?

Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 15h

Reposting the top 10 authoritarian things Trump has done since Sunday with *proper video trimming*.

Disappointed in my video editing failure yesterday! sigh.

youtu.be/P-KK6QLWLJE

youtu.be

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Reposted by Christina Pagel

Helen Johnston @hj4euinspain.bsky.social · 17h

New report finds UK’s top scientific institutions have inadequate institutional defences to prevent potential political interference.
yorkshirebylines.co.uk/politics/str...

@yorkshirebylines.co.uk
@grassrootsforeurope.org
@chrischirp.bsky.social

Strengthening the institutions we rely on

A new report finds that the UK’s arm’s length public bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation

yorkshirebylines.co.uk

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Reposted by Meredith Broussard, Lisa W. Fazio, James Q. Wilson , and 38 more Meredith Broussard, Lisa W. Fazio, James Q. Wilson, Suresh Venkatasubramanian, Dorothy Bishop, Anna Nagurney, Brigitte Nerlich, Ben Bond‐Lamberty, Gavin A. Schmidt, Jesse H. Kroll, Julie L. Lockwood, Patrick A. Jansen, Joshua S. Weitz, Nicole Dubilier, Jason Stajich, Simon J. Greenhill, Michael A. Clemens, Hugo Mercier, Megan L. Ranney, Rosemary A. Joyce, Philip N. Cohen, Michael J. Allen, Andrew Curry, Jacob Montgomery, Juan Cole, Kris Inwood, Smith, Robert C. Richards, Rebecca Tushnet, Alan Richardson, Lauren Hersch Nicholas, Victor Galaz, Scott A. Imberman, Sebastian Karcher, Brian Keegan, Ann Bartow, Jack Stilgoe, Ted Temzelides, Christina Pagel, Annalee Newitz, David Darmofal

Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 1d

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

nyti.ms

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