David Martin (still has an underlying condition) (@geogdave) — Bluesky Profile

2 days ago

Reaching net zero by 2050 ‘cheaper for UK than one fossil fuel crisis’ Climate change committee finds move to renewable energy would also bring health, economic and security benefits Achieving the UK’s net zero target by 2050 will cost less than a single oil shock and bring health and economic benefits while insulating the country against future costs, the government’s climate advisers have forecast. Eliminating the UK’s reliance on fossil fuels by adopting renewable energy and green technologies, such as electric vehicles and heat pumps, would be the best and most cost-effective option for the future economy, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) found. Continue reading...

Reaching net zero by 2050 ‘cheaper for UK than one fossil fuel crisis’

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1 week ago

Dear Shabana,
I notice today that you referred to me in your speech on immigration at the IPPR think tank.
You said: “A party leader should not be on the beaches of France encouraging people to
make a perilous crossing on small boats.”
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised especially after the hateful Labour campaign in Gorton
and Denton, but this is just the latest in a string of lies peddled by a discredited Government
who intentionally fan the flames of racism and division.
When I went to Calais, I was not there to encourage people to travel to the UK. I was there
to see at first hand the suffering your Government and successive Governments have done
in demonising migrants in a pathetic bid to pander to the base instincts of Reform and the
flawed strategy of Morgan McSweeney.
As you will know, if you even bothered to research my visit instead of taking Reform talking
points, I was there to witness the brutality of families living in tents in freezing temperatures. I
filled water tanks and picked up litter.
What that visit did do is confirm my belief that if we are to smash the boat gangs and stop
the boats, we need to offer safer and managed routes for migrants to come to this country.
Showing compassion as a politician is not a crime. In fact, we need to see much more of it.
It reminded me of a young MP who in October 2015 spent three days in Lesbos helping
migrants fleeing war-torn Syria. She posted videos on X, talked about handing out water and
croissants to refugees and food parcels.
When she returned to the UK, she wrote a very moving piece in the New Statesman. She
said “we have to work with our European partners and create new, safe, and legal routes for
refugees to get to Europe. We cannot abandon them to their fate, left as prey for smugglers
whilst risking death on the seas.”
She said “maybe we can make ourselves feel better by saying no-one is making them get on
the boats. And again, the Home Secretary is not entirely wrong when …

Dear Shabana,

Let's clear some things up around migration and remember we're talking about people's lives.

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6 days ago

Putting the foundations in place to make Census 2031 a success The start of a census programme is an exciting moment. Decisions made now will prepare Census 2031 for success and ultimately provide those high-quality census statistics that will underpin the sta

"Putting the foundations in place to make #Census 2031 a success" blog.ons.gov.uk/2026/03/04/p... #OfficeForNationalStatistics #Population

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2 weeks ago

Drop in overseas workers is ‘car crash’ for UK hospitals and care homes, say experts Care roles hit particularly hard by UK’s lurch to the right on migration, according to analysis of Home Office data

"Ministers need to wake up."

Indeed. Some shift away from the exceptional levels of overseas recruitment 21-24 was natural/desirable.

But current "strategy" - no new visas and making life as unpleasant as possible for migrants already here - is madness.

www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

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2 weeks ago

Controversial citizenship question added to upcoming census test Researchers worry question plus other changes will reduce accuracy and boost costs of 2030 count

How the Trump administration blew up the upcoming one-and-only field test of the 2030 census www.science.org/content/arti...

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2 weeks ago

"You could say I'd lost my belief in our politicians
They all seemed like game show hosts to me"
(Sting, 1993)

How apt

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2 weeks ago

Fake Telegraph article title:
"Alistair Heath
Make no mistake, paddington bear is a direct attack on the British family"

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2 weeks ago

The campus here at @unisouthampton.bsky.social looking alright this afternoon.

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2 weeks ago

Having spent four decades involved in some way with #censuses (and teaching about them), it matters to me that politicians get the #statistics right - and it should matter to you... #population #migration

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3 weeks ago

Refocusing the ONS on its core statistics Permanent Secretary Darren Tierney sets out the next steps the ONS is taking to prioritise quality and strengthen core statistical outputs.

Refocusing the ONS on its core statistics... blog.ons.gov.uk/2026/02/19/r... published today, with links to more detail #Statistics #OfficialStatistics

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3 weeks ago

Important Customer Updates

16/02/2026: We have identified and are investigating some inconsistencies in the geographies assigned to Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRNs) in the National Statistical UPRN Lookup (NSUL) and ONS UPRN Directory (ONSUD). We are pausing production of these and will keep users updated as we work to resolve this.

ONS has paused production of ONSUD and NSUL indefinitely due to "inconsistencies in the geographies" assigned to UPRNs geoportal.statistics.gov.uk

Most geographies can be matched to UPRNs in GIS using other products, but ONSUD and NSUL are the only #opendata source that links UPRNs to postcodes.

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3 weeks ago

Some miscoding in here, e.g. Hythe (Kent) attached to Hythe (Hampshir, St Mary's, Scilly in Southampton... I only noticed as I have previously corrected Hythe (Hampshire) on Google Maps!

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3 weeks ago

They knew what they were doing...

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1 month ago

WATCH: Trump, EPA's Zeldin announce end of scientific basis for U.S. action on climate change The Trump administration on Thursday revoked a scientific finding that long has been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change, the most aggressiv...

Today, the Trump administration repealed the endangerment finding: the ruling that served as the basis for limits on tailpipe emissions and power plant rules. Without it, we’ll be less safe, less healthy and less able to fight climate change—all so the fossil fuel industry can make even more money.

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1 month ago

A reminder: ICE vehicles waste a whopping 80% of energy in their fuel.

EVs are propelled by entirely different mechanisms. Energy enters the vehicle as electricity, which directly powers the drivetrain making it 3-4x more efficient.

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1 month ago

Flooded fields under a leaden sky, a scene that could be the Somerset Levels

“Heavy rains that often fall in February have flooded the low-lying meadows in the broad valley.”
‘What to Look for in Winter’, 1959
Artist: CF Tunnicliffe
Writer: EL Grant Watson

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1 month ago

For decades as an academic I reviewed the #citations of my #publications and valiantly tried to correct them if incorrect (there are a lot of D Martins!)

Automated systems now multiply misattribution errors to a completely overwhelming level. I am hereby officially admitting defeat.

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1 month ago

Levelling down? Running down universities has huge consequences for local communities, with implications far wider than Higher Education. Very sad at many levels...

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1 month ago

Screenshot showing partial text listing the Nolan principles of public life. Highlighted headings are: Selflessness, Integrity, Objectivity, Accountability, Openness, Honesty, Leadership

"The princples are always worth repeating..." A pity our representatives seem to find it so hard! #NolanPrinciples www.good-governance.org.uk/publications...

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1 month ago

👀 Here's a quick preview of all the articles in the NEW Changing Populations - to read them, head to: sway.cloud.microsoft/WzAYgcw05ELX...

@ukri.org @uossocstatdemo.bsky.social @cra-soton.bsky.social @standrewssgsd.bsky.social @oxforddemsci.bsky.social @ncrm.ac.uk @publicpolicyuos.bsky.social

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1 month ago

Open letter from Ian Chapman to research and innovation community UKRI Chief Executive outlines changes to UKRI investment approach, addressing concerns about research funding and the financial position of STFC.

Hot off the press - a letter from the Exec Chair of @ukri.org explaining his plans and in particular the financial position of STFC. It notes curiosity driven research is protected and will make up around half of UKRI spend over the coming period
www.ukri.org/news/open-le...

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1 month ago

Looks like a corner of my childhood model railway collection, all BR 1960s, although I never had a Deltic...

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1 month ago

Here's a brief cartographic exploration of Brittany's resident population by age, using Eurostat gridded data at 1km resolution ! Thread: ↪️
#map #gis #demography #gischat #cartography

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1 month ago

Screenshot of message which reads "EVRI Your parcel was delivered to your address. Your courier delivered your parcel at" (sender and time redacted). Includes part of OpenStreetMap location map and photo of parcel on front step

Ironic that the proof of delivery message uses #OpenStreetMap (data which I created!) and shows #addresses where the other parcels should have gone...

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1 month ago

Three #parcels from #EVRI on the step today. No knock at the door. Only one of them ours.

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2 months ago

Trip boats seen bow-first moored alongside a quay, on the left. Three bright yellow boats dominate the centre of the image with a darker vessel in the foreground and a yacht haven in the background. Illuminated by bright low winter sunlight from the right.

Winter colour at #Poole Quay #Dorset #PhotoHour

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2 months ago

View along a beach with waves breaking in foreground, line of beach huts, background of low wooded cliffs under a blue sky

Winter walk #Highcliffe #Beach #Dorset #PhotoHour

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2 months ago

One star? (It's the season of goodwill, after all)

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2 months ago

UK to rejoin EU’s Erasmus student exchange programme Exclusive: British students will be able to participate in EU-wide scheme from January 2027, sources say

Thank goodness for that. Something that shouldn’t have happened, happened. And now it’s set to unhappen. Great for students, great for research in general and great for Britain.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

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3 months ago

#NHS DAILY WORKLOAD since 2022

111 - 55k calls a day - unchanged
999 - Ambulance 21k - up 1.6k

Hospital
- Urgent Admissions - 13k - unchanged
- A&E - 48k Majors - up 2.5k
- A&E - 28k Minors - up 2.5k
- Treatment - up 8k
- Outpatients - up 50k

General Practice - 1.6m - up 230k

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