Trish Burns
@trishburns.bsky.social
mum to four young adults, mathematician, foodbank worker, university after children: MSc: Inequality and Social Science at LSE. Interest: perceptions of hunger
Reposted by Trish Burns
Fantastic to see @johnswinney.bsky.social cite our new analysis of the very real difference that the Scottish Child Payment is making in Scotland. Investment in social security is a good thing!
By @kittyjstewart.bsky.social @emmatominey.bsky.social @ilonapin.bsky.social @katejandersen.bsky.social
By @kittyjstewart.bsky.social @emmatominey.bsky.social @ilonapin.bsky.social @katejandersen.bsky.social
New study from LSE, York & Glasgow universities shows the Scottish Child Payment is transforming lives.
Without it, 70,000 more children would face deprivation and food insecurity.
We will keep investing in families and lifting children out of poverty.
Without it, 70,000 more children would face deprivation and food insecurity.
We will keep investing in families and lifting children out of poverty.
Scottish Child Payment | Food Insecurity | Deprivation
New analysis shows the Scottish child payment sharply reduces child deprivation and food insecurity, with no evidence of work disincentives. Discover the findings.
www.lse.ac.uk
December 12, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Fantastic to see @johnswinney.bsky.social cite our new analysis of the very real difference that the Scottish Child Payment is making in Scotland. Investment in social security is a good thing!
By @kittyjstewart.bsky.social @emmatominey.bsky.social @ilonapin.bsky.social @katejandersen.bsky.social
By @kittyjstewart.bsky.social @emmatominey.bsky.social @ilonapin.bsky.social @katejandersen.bsky.social
Reposted by Trish Burns
'I will never be sorry for standing my ground and standing up for what I believe is right.'
Vital, if hard to read, words from Stacey @changingrealities.bsky.social about why she won't be stopped from speaking out about poverty by trolls
www.changingrealities.org/blog/why-i-w...
Vital, if hard to read, words from Stacey @changingrealities.bsky.social about why she won't be stopped from speaking out about poverty by trolls
www.changingrealities.org/blog/why-i-w...
It was a lot. I didn’t realise I’d be placed all over social media. I thought it would be just a couple of pictures for something, but it is what it is now. I have thought about it a lot this morning and I had to put my thoughts down on paper.
www.changingrealities.org
December 12, 2025 at 3:03 PM
'I will never be sorry for standing my ground and standing up for what I believe is right.'
Vital, if hard to read, words from Stacey @changingrealities.bsky.social about why she won't be stopped from speaking out about poverty by trolls
www.changingrealities.org/blog/why-i-w...
Vital, if hard to read, words from Stacey @changingrealities.bsky.social about why she won't be stopped from speaking out about poverty by trolls
www.changingrealities.org/blog/why-i-w...
Reposted by Trish Burns
South Africa remains the most unequal country in the world, with the top 10% earning 70% of all pretax income.
New study by A. Gethin & L. Czajka shows that inequality in 2019 was as high as in 1993.
Racial inequality reduced only because top 10% Black incomes surged.
▶️ wid.world/news-article...
New study by A. Gethin & L. Czajka shows that inequality in 2019 was as high as in 1993.
Racial inequality reduced only because top 10% Black incomes surged.
▶️ wid.world/news-article...
Racial Inequality and Redistribution in Post-Apartheid South Africa - WID - World Inequality Database
Racial Inequality and Redistribution in Post-Apartheid South Africa The source for global inequality data. Open access, high quality wealth and income inequality data developed by an international aca...
wid.world
December 8, 2025 at 3:31 PM
South Africa remains the most unequal country in the world, with the top 10% earning 70% of all pretax income.
New study by A. Gethin & L. Czajka shows that inequality in 2019 was as high as in 1993.
Racial inequality reduced only because top 10% Black incomes surged.
▶️ wid.world/news-article...
New study by A. Gethin & L. Czajka shows that inequality in 2019 was as high as in 1993.
Racial inequality reduced only because top 10% Black incomes surged.
▶️ wid.world/news-article...
Reposted by Trish Burns
Disabled people driving luxury cars on your dime? Just the latest rightwing lie peddled by Labour | Frances Ryan
Disabled people driving luxury cars on your dime? Just the latest rightwing lie peddled by Labour | Frances Ryan
Starmer’s ailing government is happy to pursue ideas like cutting Motability, but all ministers will do is damage lives and themselves, says Guardian columnist Frances Ryan
www.theguardian.com
December 8, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Disabled people driving luxury cars on your dime? Just the latest rightwing lie peddled by Labour | Frances Ryan
This is a wonderful series of books, inventive, moving and laser-focussed on demonstrating what it means to be a decent human being.
Kuan's Wonderland, the first in the series, is an absolute delight.
Kuan's Wonderland, the first in the series, is an absolute delight.
Explorations of dystopias bring out one recurrent theme - if we let callous authoritarians get a foothold, oppression will just keep getting immeasurably worse.
Placating them is never the answer.
Strengthening mutual support is the only way forward.
kuanswonderland.blogspot.com #AntiConNovels
Placating them is never the answer.
Strengthening mutual support is the only way forward.
kuanswonderland.blogspot.com #AntiConNovels
December 7, 2025 at 11:36 PM
This is a wonderful series of books, inventive, moving and laser-focussed on demonstrating what it means to be a decent human being.
Kuan's Wonderland, the first in the series, is an absolute delight.
Kuan's Wonderland, the first in the series, is an absolute delight.
Reposted by Trish Burns
The Government's Child Poverty Strategy begins to turn the tide on child poverty.
As a result, child poverty rates will fall next year – the first time in nine years (outside the pandemic).
But other child poverty headwinds remain.
Read our full statement 👇
buff.ly/Tnqasir
As a result, child poverty rates will fall next year – the first time in nine years (outside the pandemic).
But other child poverty headwinds remain.
Read our full statement 👇
buff.ly/Tnqasir
December 6, 2025 at 10:45 AM
The Government's Child Poverty Strategy begins to turn the tide on child poverty.
As a result, child poverty rates will fall next year – the first time in nine years (outside the pandemic).
But other child poverty headwinds remain.
Read our full statement 👇
buff.ly/Tnqasir
As a result, child poverty rates will fall next year – the first time in nine years (outside the pandemic).
But other child poverty headwinds remain.
Read our full statement 👇
buff.ly/Tnqasir
Reposted by Trish Burns
"That would mean the single greatest fall [in child poverty] in one Parliament since records began." Look at how this Parliament could compare to previous ones back to 1964. An excellent foundation to build from, as @katieschmuecker.bsky.social says.
December 5, 2025 at 11:53 AM
"That would mean the single greatest fall [in child poverty] in one Parliament since records began." Look at how this Parliament could compare to previous ones back to 1964. An excellent foundation to build from, as @katieschmuecker.bsky.social says.
Reposted by Trish Burns
Sovereignty? Democracy? Sorry, but we can't afford those anymore. We'll be sued if we try to defend them.
This week's column is about a massive but scarcely-covered scandal.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
This week's column is about a massive but scarcely-covered scandal.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Hello, foreign oligarchs and corporations! Please come and sue the UK for billions | George Monbiot
The case of a planned Cumbrian coalmine shows how governments around the world are being threatened by litigation in shadowy offshore courts, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
www.theguardian.com
December 1, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Sovereignty? Democracy? Sorry, but we can't afford those anymore. We'll be sued if we try to defend them.
This week's column is about a massive but scarcely-covered scandal.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
This week's column is about a massive but scarcely-covered scandal.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Trish Burns
Ahead of the release of the UK's Child Poverty Strategy, @kittyjstewart.bsky.social, Ruth Patrick & @aaronreeves.bsky.social @lsesociology.bsky.social @lseinequalities.bsky.social consider whether boosting parental employment is part of the solution to #ChildPoverty @lsepoliticsblog.bsky.social
How to solve child poverty | British Politics and Policy at LSE
Contrary to conventional wisdom, increasing parental employment would make little difference to child poverty rates overall.
blogs.lse.ac.uk
November 29, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Ahead of the release of the UK's Child Poverty Strategy, @kittyjstewart.bsky.social, Ruth Patrick & @aaronreeves.bsky.social @lsesociology.bsky.social @lseinequalities.bsky.social consider whether boosting parental employment is part of the solution to #ChildPoverty @lsepoliticsblog.bsky.social
Reposted by Trish Burns
About a year ago, I remember talking with @kittyjstewart.bsky.social and @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social about the child poverty strategy. Back then, I was more optimistic that parental employment could play a role in reducing child poverty. Over the coming months they convinced me I was wrong.
💡New! Removing the two-child benefit limit is a good start, but how to you further reduce child poverty? Most think the answer is increasing parental employment. Kitty Stuart, @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social and @aaronreeves.bsky.social show this isn't so.
blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...
blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...
How to solve child poverty | British Politics and Policy at LSE
Contrary to conventional wisdom, increasing parental employment would make little difference to child poverty rates overall.
blogs.lse.ac.uk
November 28, 2025 at 4:06 PM
About a year ago, I remember talking with @kittyjstewart.bsky.social and @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social about the child poverty strategy. Back then, I was more optimistic that parental employment could play a role in reducing child poverty. Over the coming months they convinced me I was wrong.
Reposted by Trish Burns
The Chancellor has scrapped the two-child limit, benefitting more than half a million families.
In April 2025, out of families impacted by the limit:
- 6 in 10 had 3 children.
- 6 in 10 had at least one person in work.
- And 6 in 10 are receiving a health or disability benefit.
In April 2025, out of families impacted by the limit:
- 6 in 10 had 3 children.
- 6 in 10 had at least one person in work.
- And 6 in 10 are receiving a health or disability benefit.
November 26, 2025 at 1:45 PM
The Chancellor has scrapped the two-child limit, benefitting more than half a million families.
In April 2025, out of families impacted by the limit:
- 6 in 10 had 3 children.
- 6 in 10 had at least one person in work.
- And 6 in 10 are receiving a health or disability benefit.
In April 2025, out of families impacted by the limit:
- 6 in 10 had 3 children.
- 6 in 10 had at least one person in work.
- And 6 in 10 are receiving a health or disability benefit.
Reposted by Trish Burns
Having Johnson & Cummings in Downing Street when Covid struck was, just like Brexit, an entirely avoidable disaster caused largely by utterly appalling journalism. And now exactly the same clowns, arses & bigots with bylines are rolling out the red carpet for Farage.
www.thetimes.com/article/1b15...
www.thetimes.com/article/1b15...
Covid inquiry live: ‘Inexcusable’ delays under Johnson led to 23,000 deaths
Lockdowns may have been avoided if Boris Johnson’s government had acted faster, damning report finds
www.thetimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Having Johnson & Cummings in Downing Street when Covid struck was, just like Brexit, an entirely avoidable disaster caused largely by utterly appalling journalism. And now exactly the same clowns, arses & bigots with bylines are rolling out the red carpet for Farage.
www.thetimes.com/article/1b15...
www.thetimes.com/article/1b15...
Reposted by Trish Burns
📢 It's ok, it's not happening in London, that's the main thing... www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Flooded and forgotten: the UK’s waters are rising and we’re being kept in the dark | John Harris
Rescue operations in Wales, submerged railway lines in Cornwall – these events are ever more common. So why have we utterly failed to prepare, asks Guardian columnist John Harris
www.theguardian.com
November 16, 2025 at 1:35 PM
📢 It's ok, it's not happening in London, that's the main thing... www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Trish Burns
🧵Things are rather bleak in the world and on social media right now, so here's a thread about how a House Dalek called Colin came into our lives and looked after our kids. (We'll update each day)
#DoctorWho
Day 1: When Rory was born, Colin quickly learnt the art of nappy changing.
#DoctorWho
Day 1: When Rory was born, Colin quickly learnt the art of nappy changing.
August 10, 2024 at 7:36 AM
🧵Things are rather bleak in the world and on social media right now, so here's a thread about how a House Dalek called Colin came into our lives and looked after our kids. (We'll update each day)
#DoctorWho
Day 1: When Rory was born, Colin quickly learnt the art of nappy changing.
#DoctorWho
Day 1: When Rory was born, Colin quickly learnt the art of nappy changing.
Reposted by Trish Burns
I love the fact that these pics were taken during recording of that first Dalek story, so the general public had no idea what these metal pepper pots were.
PHOTO OF THE DAY. Daleks trying to board a London bus (1963). 📷 Het Parool.
November 4, 2025 at 10:22 AM
I love the fact that these pics were taken during recording of that first Dalek story, so the general public had no idea what these metal pepper pots were.
Reposted by Trish Burns
Yes, your honor, we received and sold stolen goods, but if there was no market for such we wouldn't have done so. Our customers are to blame.
We live in a golden age of shamelessness and grift.
We live in a golden age of shamelessness and grift.
"Sure, our plagiarism machine ingests enormous amounts of copyrighted material without anyone's permission, but it's the users of the machine who are the 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 criminals, your honor." 🙄🙄
Just unbelievable levels of chutzpah.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Just unbelievable levels of chutzpah.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
November 14, 2025 at 4:52 AM
Yes, your honor, we received and sold stolen goods, but if there was no market for such we wouldn't have done so. Our customers are to blame.
We live in a golden age of shamelessness and grift.
We live in a golden age of shamelessness and grift.
Reposted by Trish Burns
This is what many of us have been saying. Part 3 of the Planning & Infrastructure Bill is based on a myth: that we don't have enough homes because wildlife and green spaces are protected. It will solve nothing, and inflict terrible harm on our remaining ecosystems
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Nature not a blocker to housing growth, inquiry finds
Commons committee report challenges ‘lazy narrative’ used by ministers that scapegoats wildlife and the environment
www.theguardian.com
November 16, 2025 at 12:12 PM
This is what many of us have been saying. Part 3 of the Planning & Infrastructure Bill is based on a myth: that we don't have enough homes because wildlife and green spaces are protected. It will solve nothing, and inflict terrible harm on our remaining ecosystems
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Reposted by Trish Burns
New analysis with @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social and @kittyjstewart.bsky.social: If we are serious about trying to reduce child poverty we cannot rely on employment alone. We need serious investment in social security.
largerfamilies.study/publications...
largerfamilies.study/publications...
Benefit changes and larger families
We are a group of university-based researchers investigating how families with more than two children are coping with the benefit cap or the two-child limit.
largerfamilies.study
November 12, 2025 at 1:38 PM
New analysis with @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social and @kittyjstewart.bsky.social: If we are serious about trying to reduce child poverty we cannot rely on employment alone. We need serious investment in social security.
largerfamilies.study/publications...
largerfamilies.study/publications...
Reposted by Trish Burns
Yes, this is correct. And the reason is because our capitalist classes have decided that it is not sufficiently profitable, so they're not going to do it.
We must understand this reality. Capital *cannot* be relied upon to address the climate crisis.
We must understand this reality. Capital *cannot* be relied upon to address the climate crisis.
November 10, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Yes, this is correct. And the reason is because our capitalist classes have decided that it is not sufficiently profitable, so they're not going to do it.
We must understand this reality. Capital *cannot* be relied upon to address the climate crisis.
We must understand this reality. Capital *cannot* be relied upon to address the climate crisis.
Reposted by Trish Burns
Against the championing of moral sensitivity and evidential examination, the Counter-Enlightenment was born.
Riled by the promotion of universal compassion and empirical objectivity, the Anti-Woke strikes back.
Their continuing mission - keep people in the dark
henry-tam.blogspot.com/2023/09/coun...
Riled by the promotion of universal compassion and empirical objectivity, the Anti-Woke strikes back.
Their continuing mission - keep people in the dark
henry-tam.blogspot.com/2023/09/coun...
Counter-Enlightenment, Anti-Woke
The ‘Anti-Woke’ bandwagon has been picking up speed in stirring up anger and resentment against ideas that annoy reactionaries. Exposing pre...
henry-tam.blogspot.com
November 9, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Against the championing of moral sensitivity and evidential examination, the Counter-Enlightenment was born.
Riled by the promotion of universal compassion and empirical objectivity, the Anti-Woke strikes back.
Their continuing mission - keep people in the dark
henry-tam.blogspot.com/2023/09/coun...
Riled by the promotion of universal compassion and empirical objectivity, the Anti-Woke strikes back.
Their continuing mission - keep people in the dark
henry-tam.blogspot.com/2023/09/coun...
Reposted by Trish Burns
Memorializing the Enslaved in Arlington is a collaboration between the Arlington Historical Society and the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington. It aims to commemorate the names and lives of those who were long erased from the area's historical narrative. www.bbc.com/travel/artic...
The Southern US county honouring its dark past
While other places in the US are increasingly censoring how they tell their multicultural histories to travellers, one community is highlighting them.
www.bbc.com
November 9, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Memorializing the Enslaved in Arlington is a collaboration between the Arlington Historical Society and the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington. It aims to commemorate the names and lives of those who were long erased from the area's historical narrative. www.bbc.com/travel/artic...
Reposted by Trish Burns
I can’t envisage a child poverty strategy which garners any credibility without fully scrapping the two-child limit.
Unconvinced? Check out (even better share) this summary of the peer-reviewed evidence base @kittyjstewart.bsky.social @aaronreeves.bsky.social
largerfamilies.study/publications...
Unconvinced? Check out (even better share) this summary of the peer-reviewed evidence base @kittyjstewart.bsky.social @aaronreeves.bsky.social
largerfamilies.study/publications...
November 1, 2025 at 4:37 PM
I can’t envisage a child poverty strategy which garners any credibility without fully scrapping the two-child limit.
Unconvinced? Check out (even better share) this summary of the peer-reviewed evidence base @kittyjstewart.bsky.social @aaronreeves.bsky.social
largerfamilies.study/publications...
Unconvinced? Check out (even better share) this summary of the peer-reviewed evidence base @kittyjstewart.bsky.social @aaronreeves.bsky.social
largerfamilies.study/publications...
Reposted by Trish Burns
‘Carus was a pioneer, but also a dilettante and an idealist who couldn’t renounce Romanticism.’
@johnpaulstonard.com on a German scientist and painter whose career was heavily influenced by Caspar David Friedrich.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
@johnpaulstonard.com on a German scientist and painter whose career was heavily influenced by Caspar David Friedrich.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
John-Paul Stonard · At the National Gallery: View from a Prison Window
Carl Gustav Carus made copies of paintings by Caspar David Friedrich, or sought out the locations he had painted,...
www.lrb.co.uk
November 8, 2025 at 9:10 AM
‘Carus was a pioneer, but also a dilettante and an idealist who couldn’t renounce Romanticism.’
@johnpaulstonard.com on a German scientist and painter whose career was heavily influenced by Caspar David Friedrich.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
@johnpaulstonard.com on a German scientist and painter whose career was heavily influenced by Caspar David Friedrich.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Reposted by Trish Burns
If guaranteeing essentials sounds radical, it speaks to how far we have drifted from democracy‘s core promises. Markets will not beat back the far right. An antifascist economics might. Mamdani provides a playbook for democrats around the world.
My latest
My latest
Zohran Mamdani shows how Democrats can defeat authoritarians like Trump | Isabella Weber
Democrats have two choices: fight to make life affordable again for ordinary people or watch voters embrace authoritarians
www.theguardian.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:02 PM
If guaranteeing essentials sounds radical, it speaks to how far we have drifted from democracy‘s core promises. Markets will not beat back the far right. An antifascist economics might. Mamdani provides a playbook for democrats around the world.
My latest
My latest
Reposted by Trish Burns
💬 New interview:
@joelsuss.ft.com caught up with @thomaspiketty.bsky.social at our recent public event to talk about the rise of populism, wealth taxation, fiscal debt, intergenerational inequality and artificial intelligence.
Read the full feature in @financialtimes.com ⬇️
@joelsuss.ft.com caught up with @thomaspiketty.bsky.social at our recent public event to talk about the rise of populism, wealth taxation, fiscal debt, intergenerational inequality and artificial intelligence.
Read the full feature in @financialtimes.com ⬇️
Thomas Piketty: ‘The left has been a victim of its own success’
The economist on populism, fiscal debt and the long-term trend of economic equality
buff.ly
November 7, 2025 at 9:37 AM
💬 New interview:
@joelsuss.ft.com caught up with @thomaspiketty.bsky.social at our recent public event to talk about the rise of populism, wealth taxation, fiscal debt, intergenerational inequality and artificial intelligence.
Read the full feature in @financialtimes.com ⬇️
@joelsuss.ft.com caught up with @thomaspiketty.bsky.social at our recent public event to talk about the rise of populism, wealth taxation, fiscal debt, intergenerational inequality and artificial intelligence.
Read the full feature in @financialtimes.com ⬇️