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Reposted by Ben Baumberg Geiger

Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 1d

Hadn't realised lots of trusts were no longer prescribing gluten-free food for coeliac kids.

My son is coeliac and his food is so much more expensive. We don't get on prescription because we can afford it but for a family in poverty that's a massive issue.

www.independent.co.uk/news/health/...

NHS suggests coeliac children use food banks as doctors blast ‘cruel’ cuts

Clinicians warn of ‘shocking levels of ignorance’ over ‘cruel and risky’ decision to cut gluten-free prescriptions

www.independent.co.uk

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Chaminda Jayanetti @cjayanetti.bsky.social · 5d

Labour MPs who voted against welfare cuts this summer have warned that plans to change disability benefit assessments could trigger another mass rebellion

Others called for a vote to be delayed until a review into the assessments is complete

By me, for Big Issue: www.bigissue.com/news/social-...

Labour faces another mass rebellion over reforms to universal credit

Welfare secretary Pat McFadden plans further reforms to the benefits system, expected to include abolishing the work capability assessment.

www.bigissue.com

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Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 6d

One of my favorite anecdotes from THE PREHISTORY OF THE FAR SIDE: "That doesn't sound like the Jane Goodall we know."

A few days after this cartoon was published, my syndicate received a very indignant letter from someone representing the Jane Goodall Institute.
Not only did my syndicate and I both get read the Riot Act, there was a vague implication that litigation over this cartoon might be around the corner.
I was horrified. Not so much from a fear of being sued (I just couldn't see how this cartoon could be construed as anything but silly, but because of my deep respect for Jane Goodall and her well-known contributions to pri-matology. The last thing in the world I would have intentionally done was offend Dr. Goodall in any way.
Before I had a chance to write my apology, another complication arose.
The National Geographic Society contacted my syndicate and expressed a

desire to reprint the cartoon in a special centennial issue of their magazine. My editor, aware of what had just occurred, declined, explaining why.
Apparently, whoever it was that sent the inquiry from National Geographic was shocked. They told my editor that "that doesn't sound like the Jane Goodall we know." They did some checking themselves, and an interesting fact was eventually discovered: Jane Goodall loved the cartoon. Furthermore, she was totally unaware that any of this "stuff" was going on. Some phone calls were made, and the cartoon was not only reprinted in the centennial issue of National Geographic, but was also used by her Institute on a T-shirt for fund-raising purposes.
I've since had an opportunity to visit Dr. Goodall at her research facility in Gombe. It's a wonderful place (sort of like right out of National Geographic).
"To refer to Dr. Goodall as a tramp is inexcusable even by a self-described 'loony' as Larson. The cartoon was incredibly offensive and in such poor taste that readers might well question the editorial judgment of running such an atrocity in a newspaper that reputes to be supplying news to persons with a better than average intelligence. The cartoon and its message were absolutely stupid." —Excerpt from the above-mentioned letter that started the ruckus

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Demos @demos-uk.bsky.social · 7d

✍ NEW BLOG | Putting humanity at the heart of welfare

@j-hancock.bsky.social reflects on 13 years of online conversations evidencing the enduring challenges that people face when navigating the #welfare system.

This blog draws from our ongoing Online Listening research with @jrf-uk.bsky.social.

Putting humanity at the heart of welfare

Demos is Britain’s leading cross-party think-tank. We produce original research, publish innovative thinkers and host thought-provoking events.

demos.co.uk

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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 7d

That's quite the chart annotation.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

A chart of "Major concerns of PhD candidates." The top text says, "Financial pressures top the list of concerns faced by PhD candidates, but concerns differ among the sexes. Those studying in the United States rank the political landscape as their main worry." The chart shows that in the full survey, political landscape is the biggest concern for about 20% of students (a bit higher for women than men) but there's an annotation saying "In US PhD students, this rose to 64%". Overall, the highest-rated concern was financial pressures at around 40%.

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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 8d

I'm getting really really fed up at constant reassertion that welfare spending is "out of control" when it is the same as the average for the past few decades.

One reason disability benefit costs have risen is because core support has fallen.

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Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 8d

We can also do this for the 2025 panel, here with vote intention as opposed to past vote. On the right I add people saying Don't Know. Couple of things. Gap between parties is larger now than in 2025. Reform voters are miles away from Labour. LDs cross over. DKs are in middle but near Labour 16/n

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Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 8d

On the morning of Keir Starmer's conference speech here's a new post on an odd psychopathology in British politics - our main parties don't like the people who vote for them - the dreaded Professional Managerial Class. And so they are acting out like a divorced dad seeking cooler voters. 1/n

British Politics' Midlife Crisis

Why British Parties Can't Make Peace with Their Actual Voters

benansell.substack.com

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Per Engzell @pengzell.bsky.social · 16d

1/ So you’re thinking about applying for an academic job in the UK but don’t know how? This thread will walk you through the essentials.

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James O'Malley @jamesomalley.co.uk · 12d

How the government's new digital ID will work… and why I’ve changed my mind on ID cards (FREE TO READ!)

takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/how-the-uk...

How the government's new digital ID will work

And why I've changed my mind on ID cards

takes.jamesomalley.co.uk

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the WelfareExperiences project @welfare-experience.bsky.social · 13d

How do experiences of claiming social security look in different countries? A fab online panel on 6th October are discussing first findings from @welfare-experience.bsky.social , sign up at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/welfare-ex...

Welfare Experiences Webinar

Join our webinar to hear new findings on lived experiences of Universal Credit

www.eventbrite.co.uk

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Our World in Data @ourworldindata.org · 14d

Randomized controlled trials are a key tool to study cause and effect. Why do they matter and how do they work?

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Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 15d

I was a boy in the 1970s and I thought it was brilliant. As long as I got fed, could play with my mates down the woods, and watch TOTP and the occasional war film, I was happy.

But I was looking at my (very narrow) world through a child's eyes.

You'd think this point was obvious to everyone else.

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Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 16d

I'll have more to say on Reform's proposals to scrap ILR at some point but for now I'll just note this - anyone telling you this is a popular idea doesn't know the polling. Overwhelming majority of public back giving people who work and pay taxes most or all rights after 5 years or less

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Ben Baumberg Geiger @benbgeiger.bsky.social · 20d

Can you explain a bit more/ add some links?

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Declan Gaffney @greyskiesthinking.bsky.social · 21d

Most people working in this area have known for years that DWP's figures on trends in out-of-work benefit caseloads are complete junk but have struggled to find more accurate figures. Ben has now produced an estimated time series and the discrepancy is huge. Nobody should be using these stats!

Ben Baumberg Geiger @benbgeiger.bsky.social · 21d

Are out-of-work benefit claims at a record high? My new post open.substack.com/pub/inequali... , and also my take on More or Less this morning at www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Are out-of-work benefit claims at a record high?

The official statistics are wildly misleading - I've now made some new estimates that show just how wrong they are

open.substack.com

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Ben Baumberg Geiger @benbgeiger.bsky.social · 21d

Yes, very happy for you to use this for teaching! And I'm sure there are ways that it could be improved, so let me know if they have any good suggestions...

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Ben Baumberg Geiger @benbgeiger.bsky.social · 21d

Are out-of-work benefit claims at a record high? My new post open.substack.com/pub/inequali... , and also my take on More or Less this morning at www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Are out-of-work benefit claims at a record high?

The official statistics are wildly misleading - I've now made some new estimates that show just how wrong they are

open.substack.com

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Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 23d

Fantastic column by @stephenkb.bsky.social

"Racism in the UK remains the preserve of an extreme minority — but one that is emboldened and growing louder.

It is the result of a year in which neither the government nor the opposition have been willing to draw red lines."

www.ft.com/content/fbbd...

Starmer and Badenoch are handling the far-right march all wrong

A look back to the days of Enoch Powell suggests a better model

www.ft.com

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The Policy Institute @policyatkings.bsky.social · 23d

Watch @ageingbetter.bsky.social's Experts by Experience share their stories and offer ways for employers to build more inclusive workplaces ⬇️

📺 See the full film: youtu.be/oAdLiry9CKA

Centre for Ageing Better @ageingbetter.bsky.social · 23d

"What I'm asking of employers is to be open-minded. Have an approach of being person-centred from a social model, not just about performance and competence. It needs to be more than that, more humanised way of working. Otherwise we'll become a society who's ostracised all your older Disabled people"

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The Policy Institute @policyatkings.bsky.social · 23d

NEW: Disabled older workers are almost twice as likely to experience negative treatment when applying for jobs or promotions than their peers without disabilities, according to our new report with @ageingbetter.bsky.social.

➡️ ageing-better.org.uk/resources/su...

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David Wearing @davidwearing.bsky.social · 29d

I'm not sure Kent was even this bad in my 80s-90s childhood (and I can tell you, it was pretty bad). The trajectory is absolutely chilling.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

A racist mob menacing refugee children and our town. Read this and see what lies ahead, unless we act now | Anonymous

Last weekend, it fell to ordinary people to oppose the far right and others. The national toxicity has reached us: a kind of hate I haven’t seen since the 1970s

www.theguardian.com

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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · Sep 6

What is a distinctive pattern in the UK (the young are more leftwing) is treated in the UK as what seems natural. This has the consequence that the reasons why it happens in the UK but not in most of western Europe are missed, because it's thought to be a law of nature

Owen Winter @owenwntr.bsky.social · Sep 6

Britain is now one of very few countries where Gen Z are firmly left-of-centre

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Dr Hayley Bennett @haylesben.bsky.social · Sep 5

For the ALMP and social policy nerds. This seems important 👇🏻

Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · Sep 5

Pat McFadden to DWP - which will also take on skills (currently in the DfE).

(Quick education nerd aside: that is actually a big machinery of government change if that includes 16-19 skills because it's includes funding for school sixth forms).

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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · Sep 3

Angela Rayner's statement about her divorce & parenting 'nesting' arrangements of living part-time in the home her children live in. The personal details about her son's disability and trust show why it was not a straightforward case re taxation

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Angela Rayner’s full statement on her stamp duty underpayment

Deputy PM reveals details of family situation and discusses legal advice she says she received over purchase of Hove flat

www.theguardian.com

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