Ed Pemberton

The Prml Scrm XTRMTR live era with Mani on bass and Kevin Shields in the band played some of the best gigs I've ever seen, blew my young head off. RIP Mani.

Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at https://www.ft.com/tour. https://www.ft.com/content/75ce2fba-f6df-4d72-a5a4-0a297d50891f?emailId=5ae282da-81cb-4162-8f99-b98a89b5f638&segmentId=22011ee7-896a-8c4c-22a0-7603348b7f22 Successful social democracies spread both taxation and spending across the population. Everyone pays their way and everyone reaps the benefits in the form of high-quality and well-funded public services, fostering socio-economic solidarity with buy-in from the top and bottom alike. At the other end of the spectrum, the US has lower taxes and public spending, but a far more dynamic economy and strong incentives for work and innovation. Its robust growth means high living standards are no longer confined to the top but increasingly shared across much of the population. The UK has the worst of both worlds: it collects much less tax revenue from the middle of the income distribution than its European neighbours with better-quality public services, while at the top the combination of high and rising taxes with the abrupt withdrawal of public goods creates bad incentives and resentment all round. The UK’s curious experiment in eating the rich while shrinking the state has left Britons less satisfied with their public services than not only Scandinavians but most Americans, and poorer than not only Americans but most Scandinavians.

This (from: www.ft.com/content/75ce...) is something you can *feel* if you are in the UK, especially if you've experienced living abroad. But infuriatingly successive governments and our entire media are somehow absolutely committed to suggesting anyone who wants to change this is the devil...

Councils are on their knees after 15 years of financial squeeze. Enforcement (against poor quality accommodation, illegal evictions, illegal short lets) is difficult and expensive. Yet without enforcement capacity we won’t get the best from the legislation….

A London lawyer bought hundreds of Sheffield freeholds. Then the ‘very aggressive’ letters arrived Exclusive: The Tribune can reveal that Andrew Milne has threatened leaseholders with high court action. It ‘broke my heart’ one woman says

This investigation from the @sheffieldtribune.bsky.social is absolutely staggering. It is very common in Sheffield (I live in this bit) to have a leasehold, often with hundreds of years left on and pennies in ground rent. This is extortion pure and simple. www.sheffieldtribune.co.uk/a-london-law...

If you’re living with damp, cold and mould in your home, you’re not alone.

These issues are impacting millions of us in the UK – putting our wellbeing on the line.

Tomorrow, we're launching our new campaign pushing the government to act.

Learn more about some of the issues here. 👉 bit.ly/3LnYatm

Much more detail on what's gone wrong with housing support for private renters, and what we're asking the government to do at the upcoming budget, in Sarah's excellent briefing.

📰New @citizensadvice.bsky.social briefing ahead of the #Autumnbudget: The Government if failing private renters by freezing #LocalHousingAllowance #LHA.

New blog out today, as part of our work with @healthfoundation.bsky.social, looking at the unequal health impacts of the current system of housing cost support that fails to cover people's rent.

How HS2 built a bridge to nowhere A state-of-the-art road bridge has been built deep in the heart of rural Buckinghamshire. Designed to carry traffic over the HS2 railway, there's just one tiny problem - there's no actual road.

My latest: Move over bat tunnel, here’s the wild story of how HS2 were forced to build a multi-million pound bridge for a road that… doesn’t actually exist.

Chart showing percentage gap between LHA rates and the estimated 30th percentile rent level since April 2012: Great Britain In April 2011, LHA was lowered to the 30th percentile (meaning that 30 per cent of privately rented properties in the BRMA are charged rent at or below the LHA rate) and a year later, the process of automatically linking LHA to market rents ended. Since then, LHA rates have been frozen in eight of the last 13 years and current Government policy, reflected in the official forecasts, is for them to remain frozen for another four years

Local Housing Allowance rates have been realigned to market rents in just two of the last 13 years, and current Government policy is for these to remain frozen.

But this ongoing freeze means that the 'affordability gap' between LHA rates and local rents is set to reach record levels next year.

Can the Manhattan Project avoid building the nuclear bomb?

There is no need for a moral panic about the UK's welfare system.

Far from perfect but recent discourse is nuts

Spending is controlled, not spiralling

Worklessness is near record lows

My column www.ft.com/content/ee67...

DWP plans to introduce a ‘support conversation’ for disabled claimants who don’t currently meet a work coach. My new paper explores how this conversation can be done effectively and avoid causing harm 🧵
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...

Yes, I do think that talking about the housing crisis as a single thing misses the point, because it's actually a bunch of different crises in different areas and the one that is most total (London) is also atypical. National approaches only take you so far.

A thread of inspirational quotes from two of my idols: Kemi Badenoch and Ange Postecoglou

(uh-oh, I may have gotten some mixed up... or have I??)

🧵

Couple of things here: crypto boosters need to contend with just how much easier they have made these kind of extortion scams - almost as if it were feature, not bug, of the tech.

Also, cannot be coincidence that these hacks are ramping up as Russia’s economy is feeling the sanctions squeeze.

I think this media habit has become such a problem it needs an embarrassing nickname - 'bookie journalism' or 'Mystic Meg' or something - which should be thrown back at journalists every single time they do this.

A wall with black spots of mould forms the number 16.

Safe, warm, affordable housing is vital for health, but not everyone has it.

Lives are being cut short by up to 16 years across the UK and where we live is part of the problem.

You can be part of the solution by asking your MP to #MakeHealthEqual. 👉https://bit.ly/4guMfFn

Garbage Day is literally the clearest, best informed source for understanding what is going on in the US right now. Amazing work by Ryan and the team, but also, what a world 😞

When a parrot wanted to connect with a distant friend, a touchscreen showed a selection of other birds available online. The parrots learned to activate the screen, designed specially for them, by touching it gently with their tongues rather than pecking aggressively with their beaks. "We had 26 birds involved," said Hirskyj-Douglas. "They would use the system up to three hours a day, with each call lasting up to five minutes." The interactions ranged from preening and playing with toys to loud vocal exchanges. "When we went through the data, we found that most of these parrots had favourite friends," said Hirskyj-Douglas.

Pet parrots which typically live alone (whilst those in the wild live in large flocks) were given the technology to call each other. They would use it for up to three hours a day, and developed favourite friends 💔
on.ft.com/3K05vhS

Some thoughts on yesterday
www.garbageday.email/p/the-logica...

An estate agent's To Let sign outside some brick houses has been defaced - with the word 'to' crossed out and after the word 'let', the word 'down' has been added - so it reads 'LET DOWN'. Underneath this image is some wording that reads 'People are being let down by housing benefit that fails to match the true cost of rent'.

Shocking: less than 3% of private rentals in Britain are affordable for people needing housing benefit.

People are being pushed towards homelessness and ill health.

@RachelReevesMP can fix this in Nov’s budget by restoring housing benefit to the real cost of rent. Act now: bit.ly/3V1d76a

Convenience Store Woman is a great and, crucially, short!

Making Tax Digital plans will penalise vulnerable and low-paid workers Many disabled people are already only surviving because of their ability to work and earn alongside their rights to state support.

For @theleaduk.bsky.social I had another look at the impact of the poorly-designed 'Making Tax Digital' policy on the most economically vulnerable workers in the economy.

The added cost for disabled people at the same time as benefit cuts is inexplicable.

national.thelead.uk/p/making-tax...

This is a great piece, and really good to see it citing Citizens Advice data on how many renters have to put up with sub-standard conditions for the benefit of their landlords 'yield'

Who’s with me for a campaign to stop politicians wearing hi viz jackets and hard hats when talking about the economy and instead being filmed playing Total War: Warhammer

Severe shortage of adaptive housing for disabled people causing serious hardship Chrystal Hendry has a rare muscular condition and is facing a no-fault eviction.

Severe shortage of accessible housing for disabled people causing serious hardship news.sky.com/video/severe...

'powerful tools' also not an unreasonable description of some of the people in charge of them

I’m quoting this because it is a very fair point for which I have an answer: The first thing is to recognize that in a democracy there is no such thing as “ the majority.” Instead, there are many and multiple overlapping majorities that can be assembled from different parts of the whole.