Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 10h

Thanks for reposting - would never have read it otherwise!

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 11h

It's not gone away.

Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 14h

After a long pause, I've just done another England Covid & NHS update as we head into the autumn/winter season.

TLDR: we're in a significant Covid wave now, the NHS is stretched, get boosted if you're eligible.

christinapagel.substack.com/p/england-is...

England is now experiencing a significant Covid wave, after 10 months of relative quiet

The latest Covid situation in England and a look at where NHS services are as we head into winter

christinapagel.substack.com

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Mark Elliott @profmarkelliott.bsky.social · 11h

Really enjoyed this piece.

"Lawyers and academics therefore find themselves in the difficult position of ... trying to reason people away from a view or belief they never reasoned themselves into to begin with. We are bringing facts to a vibes fight."

UK Constitutional Law Association @ukcla.bsky.social · 1d

Alan Greene: Bringing facts to a vibes fight: Kayfabe and debates on the UK and the ECHR ukconstitutionallaw.org/2025/10/09/a...

Alan Greene: Bringing facts to a vibes fight: Kayfabe and debates on the UK and the ECHR

It is now 25 years since the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) entered into force and far from this endurance cementing its legitimacy, the judicial protection of human rights in the UK finds itself in t…

ukconstitutionallaw.org

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 11h

Was it paracetamol? 🙄

J McLaren @jmclaren.bsky.social · 11h

I was in the supermarket earlier and overhead two teenagers talking as I looked for an item I wanted.

Teenager 1 (staring at phone) : They found out that vaccines cause autism. The first autism case happened after the baby was vaccinated.

Teenager 2 : That's not how it works.

Thank God. But wow.

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J McLaren @jmclaren.bsky.social · 11h

I was in the supermarket earlier and overhead two teenagers talking as I looked for an item I wanted.

Teenager 1 (staring at phone) : They found out that vaccines cause autism. The first autism case happened after the baby was vaccinated.

Teenager 2 : That's not how it works.

Thank God. But wow.

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 11h

CCHQ will 😍 this page layout! But reading the article got me wondering. Have we got any empirical evidence (survey-based?) to support the (intuitively sensible) theory that stamp duty puts older homeowners off downsizing. It's conventional wisdom. But it is true (as opposed to 'it must be true')?

Stamp duty hurts young people the most – it has to go

The more expensive the home you need to buy, the greater the bill

inews.co.uk

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UK in a Changing Europe @ukandeu.bsky.social · 13h

"The Conservatives have been in very deep holes before… But the big difference this time is that they face a threat on their right flank, which is something they have never had to face before."

@timbale.bsky.social on whether the Tories face an existential threat

👉 www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivRL...

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 13h

"People who attend church or identify with a Christian tradition are not systematically more (or less) nativist, authoritarian or populist than their secular counterparts. Conversely, people who hold nativist and authoritarian views are often also Islamophobes, and vice versa." 👏 @kai-arzheimer.com

Islamophobia in Western Europe is not driven by religiosity

Are Christians more likely to be Islamophobic than other citizens in Europe? New research finds European Islamophobia has no link to a person’s religiosity.

blogs.lse.ac.uk

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Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 14h

After a long pause, I've just done another England Covid & NHS update as we head into the autumn/winter season.

TLDR: we're in a significant Covid wave now, the NHS is stretched, get boosted if you're eligible.

christinapagel.substack.com/p/england-is...

England is now experiencing a significant Covid wave, after 10 months of relative quiet

The latest Covid situation in England and a look at where NHS services are as we head into winter

christinapagel.substack.com

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Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 14h

One of my favorite moments from Nobel Prize history:

The Nobel Committee couldn’t reach Stanford professor Paul Milgrom to let him know that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics, so his fellow winner, Robert Wilson, went over to his house in the middle of the night to wake him up!

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 14h

Tables downloaded from here: www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/blogs/ec_est...

Establishment Poll 2025

www.electoralcalculus.co.uk

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 15h

Just found the actual tables. Not sure where 71% in the Telegraph comes from but the fact that it's significantly lower for police/military (36% as opposed to 66 and 63%) may help explain Charing Cross etc.

"Q6. Do you agree or disagree that Racism in Britain is a major problem for society."

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 15h

Tell me about it!

I know why social care isn’t being fixed

Finding £17,000 a month towards the care of my parents forced me to reflect on the collective delusions and political cowardice that conspire to prevent us confronting – once and for all – this huge s...

www.tortoisemedia.com

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 15h

LOL--even aside from the researchers' definition of 'The Establishment' (which doesn't seem to include 'the finance class'): e.g. tells us that 71% of 'the lecturing class' believes racism is a serious problem but, mysteriously, doesn't give us the figure for 'the security class' (police/military).

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 15h

Article, which talks to producers and distributors, suggests that Brexit may well have something to do with it. Surely not?

‘Vicious cycle’: the UK’s struggle with soaring food prices

Living wage rises and planning system woes are driving price increases, say producers

www.ft.com

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 15h

👍

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Resolution Foundation @resfoundation.bsky.social · 15h

Catch up on this week's Top of the Charts to learn more about boons for boomers and busts for babies ⤵️ buff.ly/Hbpp38N

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 15h

See what you mean, but so too is the massive rise in people living into their (incredibly expensive) old age!

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 15h

"The wealth tax debate shouldn’t be separate from the one about how we tax property and pensions – that’s where most of the country’s wealth sits." c/o @resfoundation.bsky.social Bet it will continue to be, though. 🙄

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 15h

Fascinating: "Declining Fertility in Wealthy Nations" (AKA the Baby Bust that nobody anywhere seems to be able to do much about). www.nber.org/digest/20251...

Graph showing huge long term decline in fertility rates in high-income countries.

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 17h

#NiceButDims

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 17h

Enjoyed doing this @ukandeu.bsky.social event with my #BGE2024 co-author @psurridge.bsky.social - and 👏 to @jillongovt.bsky.social for coping admirably with the 'two-Tims-problem'!

UKICE Lunch Hour: the state of the right - UK in a changing Europe

UK in a Changing Europe is bringing together a team of experts to understand the developments in right-wing politics. Join us online to hear their analysis of the state of the right.

ukandeu.ac.uk

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Stephen Collins @stephencollins.bsky.social · 17h

All my comics have happy endings!

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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 17h

He had his latest tiny account since early Sept. He has been using it mainly to send several dozen messages about me & one other user using the p-word for a whole month.

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Peter Walker @peterwalker99.bsky.social · 18h

The Nobel Peace Prize committee's decision to honour someone who has tirelessly campaigned against dictatorship is both worthwhile and welcome, and objectively very funny.

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 18h

Actually rather a clever choice considering he's at (kind of a) war with Maduro.

Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 18h

Breaking news: María Corina Machado has been awarded the prize for ‘keeping the flame of democracy burning amidst a growing darkness’ . The win dashes the hopes of US President Donald Trump. on.ft.com/4ocHAKY

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 18h

Shades of Abrdn

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Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 18h

Breaking news: María Corina Machado has been awarded the prize for ‘keeping the flame of democracy burning amidst a growing darkness’ . The win dashes the hopes of US President Donald Trump. on.ft.com/4ocHAKY

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 18h

Sighs of (relative) relief from universities across the country.

What the graduate unemployment story gets wrong

People with a degree are faring better, not worse than their non-graduate counterparts

www.ft.com

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 19h

Did he actually use that word? I heard he did but didn't know if it was actually written anywhere. Do you have a source, perchance?

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