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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 4d

😭

IG newberlinlibrary

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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 11d

Some thoughts on Pride in Place, the UK government’s major new investment in neighbourhoods:

medium.com/@jamestplunk...

Drawing on a range projects we have underway at @kinship.works And hello from Liverpool and Labour Conference 👋

Pride in Place. Yes, but how?

The details will make all the difference

medium.com

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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 8d

The idea that "the median voter will feel attacked" by challenging Reform over racism is certainly not shown by the data in this piece. It shows they may be indifferent. (It may mean a different important swing voter, who isn't the median voter)

The New Statesman @handle.invalid · 8d

Crying racism only hurts Labour

Activists like it, but the median voter will feel attacked.

📊 @bwalker.uk

Crying racism only hurts Labour

Activists like it, but the median voter will feel attacked.

www.newstatesman.com

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Jane Green @profjanegreen.bsky.social · 14d

This Pride in Place story is much more important for any Labour recovery imo than ID and ought to form a central part of its focus:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Which areas are due to get share of £5bn funding boost?

Under the Pride in Place programme, 169 communities will get £20m over a decade to spend on boosting their local area.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 16d

Suspect this New Statesman deep dive into the Tony Blair Institute makes the case that the correct "Economist descriptor" for the TBI is now "Oracle dealership" rather than "think tank" www.newstatesman.com/politics/202...

Inside the Tony Blair Institute

Who really benefits from the former PM’s tech evangelism?

www.newstatesman.com

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depths of wikipedia @depthsofwikipedia.bsky.social · 17d

imagine if a family of beavers randomly showed up right now and finished whatever thing you've been putting off

In early 2025, beaver activity in the Brdy Protected Landscape Area, Czech Republic, contributed to the restoration of a wetland ecosystem. A family of beavers constructed a series of dams that coincidentally accomplished environmental goals of the Czech government, which had delayed its proposed project since 2018 for bureaucratic and financial reasons. The beaver-built dams saved the Czech government approximately US$1.2 million,

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Yasmin Ibison @yasminibison.bsky.social · 25d

On refusing to let fascism mobilise grief, and calling for mobilisation and the building of infrastructures - social, civic, cultural, worker - that can hold the complexity of race and class together, moving us towards solidarity and justice.

substack.com/inbox/post/1...

Who Is Organising Poor White Folks Towards Liberation?

Is anyone speaking directly with them besides the fascists?

substack.com

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Yasmin Ibison @yasminibison.bsky.social · 24d

Good from @stephenkb.bsky.social - 'racism does not diminish through rising GDP but through the willingness of politicians to argue against it.'

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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Yasmin Ibison @yasminibison.bsky.social · 25d

On refusing to let fascism mobilise grief, and calling for mobilisation and the building of infrastructures - social, civic, cultural, worker - that can hold the complexity of race and class together, moving us towards solidarity and justice.

substack.com/inbox/post/1...

Who Is Organising Poor White Folks Towards Liberation?

Is anyone speaking directly with them besides the fascists?

substack.com

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Scot Hunter @scothunter.bsky.social · Jul 4

Bar chart titled "Healthy life expectancy at birth, by sex and deprivation level (IMD decile), England". The chart compares healthy life expectancy for men (dark blue bars) and women (light green bars) across ten deprivation deciles, from most deprived (Decile 1) to least deprived (Decile 10), based on the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD).

In Decile 1 (most deprived), healthy life expectancy is approximately 51.1 years for men and 50.5 years for women.
In Decile 10 (least deprived), it rises to about 70.1 years for men and 70.2 years for women.
The chart shows a clear upward trend in healthy life expectancy as deprivation decreases, with a nearly 20-year gap between the most and least deprived groups.
Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), 2020–2022 data.

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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · Jun 20

Today’s newsletter: on the Tory party’s lurching language:

The new alarming Tory language on Britishness

By redefining ‘native’ to exclude mixed-ethnicity Britons, the Conservatives shift towards a racial purity test once unthinkable

www.ft.com

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Josh Westerling @joshwesterling.bsky.social · Jun 11

The Chancellor's rhetoric on pride in place, community assets and high streets was correct - these things are important, particularly at the moment when face to face is more important than ever so we can see ourselves in one another. There are announcements in that vein, but little detail so far...

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Yasmin Ibison @yasminibison.bsky.social · Jun 11

Good to see the first multi-year settlement for local crisis support in Spending Review, with govt's new Crisis and Resilience Fund supported by £1bn a year (replacing the Household Support Fund). Long-term funding will allow councils to target preventative support to the most vulnerable households.

Text from Spending Review document reading 'The SR allocates £842 million per year (£1 billion including Barnett impact) to reform crisis support. This includes the first ever multi-year settlement to transform the Household Support Fund into a new, Crisis and Resilience Fund incorporating Discretionary Housing Payments and funding councils to support some of the poorest households so that their children do not go hungry outside of term time. This longer-term funding approach enables local authorities to provide preventative support to communities – working with the voluntary and community sector – as well as to assist people when faced with a financial crisis, to support our ambition to end mass dependence on emergency food parcels.'

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Yasmin Ibison @yasminibison.bsky.social · Jun 3

@lelakogbara.bsky.social

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The Institute for Fiscal Studies @theifs.bsky.social · May 22

NEW: Sure Start generated widespread, long-lasting benefits for children in education, health, absences, and SEND.

Every £1 of up-front spending on Sure Start could generate around £2 in total benefits over the long run.

THREAD on our new ‪@nuffieldfoundation.org‬-funded report:

[1/11]

Chart shows the effects of Sure Start on academic achievements by age, SEN support by age, probability of hospitalisation by age and criminal behaviour up to age 16.

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Yasmin Ibison @yasminibison.bsky.social · May 21

As we develop JRF's communities + place policy work, this from @cormacrussell.bsky.social is v inspiring - especially the call to seek a 'good enough alignment' between govt institutions + community-based associations, as the perfect relationship does not exist.

www.newlocal.org.uk/publications...

Exploring the Potential of Community-Centred Public Services - New Local

This thinkpiece by the leading social explorer Cormac Russell focuses on how to realign the relationship between institutions and communities. He sets out how better understanding and working alongsid...

www.newlocal.org.uk

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Katie Schmuecker @katieschmuecker.bsky.social · May 21

The government says its cuts to disability benefits are part of a “moral mission” to get more people working.

But analysis shows fewer than 100,00 are expected to start work by the end of the parliament.

Meanwhile around 3m will have disability & health related benefits cut. 1/4

Clip from the times Monday 19 May with headline “fewer than 100,000 will find work through Labour jobs scheme”

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James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · May 9

Some thoughts sparked by a great event in Leeds yesterday on neighbourhood health and the UK government's Test, Learn and Grow intiative. How do we make neighbourhoods engines of change?
medium.com/@jamestplunk...

Neighbourhoods as engines of change

On the need for bridges from the edges to the centre

medium.com

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The New Statesman @handle.invalid · Apr 30

Under threat from Reform, coastal MPs are demanding a new strategy from Keir Starmer.

🖊️ @georgeeaton.bsky.social: Will Labour’s “Sea Wall” be swept away?

Will Labour’s “Sea Wall” be swept away?

Under threat from Reform, coastal MPs are demanding a new strategy from Keir Starmer.

www.newstatesman.com

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Jill Rutter @jillongovt.bsky.social · Apr 1

if you are interested in government, this is the best internship going... apply or RT

Institute for Government @instituteforgovernment.org.uk · Apr 1

Interested in making government more effective? Applications for our 2025–26 research internship programme, starting in September 2025, are now open.

Closing date: Tuesday 29 April, 11:00 ⏰

Find out more:
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/about-us/car...

A job advert for research internships 2025-26 at the IfG.

Six one-year, full-time internships starting in September 2025.

Salary: £30,000

Deadline: Tuesday 2 April, 11:00

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Katie Schmuecker @katieschmuecker.bsky.social · Mar 26

Some families with a disabled adult stand to lose over £12,000 per year by 2029/30 as a result of the Government's disability benefit cuts.

Hardship being deepened by rebuilding the nations finances on the backs of disabled people

And polling suggests the public know it.

Chart showing losses for a family where one person cares for another - monthly after housing costs income would be £1,036 per month less than the equivalent family now. That is 55% of their after housing costs income. In 2029/30 they would gain £12 from the higher basic rate of Universal Credit, but lose £472 from LCWRA change, lose £225 from the carers element change and lose £357 from PIP change.

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Andy Bell @andybell-centremh.bsky.social · Mar 16

What mental illnesses are being ‘over diagnosed’ and who by? And what effect is that supposedly having on claims for PIP which uses a functional not diagnostic test? It’s so important that public & political debates about mental health, illness and social security are informed by robust evidence

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Yasmin Ibison @yasminibison.bsky.social · Mar 18

"A government that came to office pledging to end the moral scar of food bank use clearly should not be taking steps that could leave disabled people at greater risk of needing to use one."

www.jrf.org.uk/news/governm...

The Guardian @theguardian.com · Mar 18

Liz Kendall unveils UK benefits cuts set to leave many sick and disabled worse off

Welfare secretary announces changes aimed at cutting bill by up to £5bn in face of opposition from Labour MPs * UK politics live – latest updates Liz Kendall, the welfare secretary, has faced down angry Labour MPs to unveil drastic cuts to the UK’s…

www.theguardian.com

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Yasmin Ibison @yasminibison.bsky.social · Mar 17

This is good from Andy Burnham - calling not for benefits cuts that will drive more people into poverty, but instead for integrated place-based services that recognise the complexities of people's lives and provide whole-person support.

www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

Jobcentres should be Live Well centres — this is what that means

Our outdated state is collapsing, but unified local services can get the UK buzzing again

www.thetimes.com

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Yasmin Ibison @yasminibison.bsky.social · Mar 17

This is good from Andy Burnham - calling not for benefits cuts that will drive more people into poverty, but instead for integrated place-based services that recognise the complexities of people's lives and provide whole-person support.

www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

Jobcentres should be Live Well centres — this is what that means

Our outdated state is collapsing, but unified local services can get the UK buzzing again

www.thetimes.com

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