Chris Birks

Labour's dilemma: The two-child benefit cap The current two-child benefit cap means that low-income families with children do not receive additional means-tested benefits for any third or subsequent children.

The two-child benefit cap is morally indefensible and a driving force behind rising child poverty. The fact that we have this policy in one of the richest countries in the world, is scandalous.

𝗔𝘆𝘂𝗽, 𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗸! 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗗𝗲𝗿𝗯𝘆𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘆 🦆
From the top of Derby Cathedral in 2021. The moment my professional career peaked. Nothing will beat this.

Went all the way to Warwick and the only photos I took was of a church, obviously.

Happy #NottinghamshireDay from a sun-drenched Newark 🏰🌳

It's just dawned on me that it's 20 years (TWENTY) since I picked up my GCSE results, which is impossible because I'm still only 26 👀

Whatever’s in that envelope doesn’t define your future. The best is yet come.

A real red-letter day at work, today. Over 900 healthcare workers went on strike for 28 days and won! A pay rise and back pay of up to £2500. Huge congratulations to those workers who braved the picket line and my colleagues who struck the deal 🙌🏻

☀️ 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗻𝘆 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵

The ‘annual whistle’ at Cromford Steam Rally. Coming to this every year is a Derbyshire tradition. Like getting your local passport stamped.

Sunshine, sequins and solidarity @prideinbelper.bsky.social 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️✨

Next week, I'm leading 52 teenagers at a Christian summer school. More signups than ever before. They're searching for something bigger than themselves, something that can provide stability in an unstable world.

SWEEEET CAROLINNNEEE! 🦁⚽️

📍Costa del Cleethorpes

Boys need better role models says Brighton & Hove Albion CEO A new taskforce to help young men is led by Brighton & Hove Albion FC chief executive Paul Barber.

The Lost Boys Taskforce is urgently needed. Too many young men feel isolated, angry and unheard.

But tackling this crisis means more than mentors. Let’s reopen youth centres, get more men into primary teaching and recognise the role women can play too.

The centre where I started my youth work career is now a long-forgotten prefab building covered in graffiti. The young people who valued a safe space to be themselves and ask difficult questions were turfed back onto the streets. Future generations deserve better.

That’s #undc2025 wrapped for me. My first @unison.org.uk conference and hopefully not my last. Getting to speak with so many dedicated members and spend time with colleagues who only usually exist on Teams, has been great. Also, Liverpool is still properly ace.

Good day to ewe!

Castle’s glowing, boat’s flowing 🛥️

I’m up a windmill

After our Spanish holiday last year, I was determined to make more of an effort for our next visit. So, if you need to buy a jacket or directions to the dentist, soy tu hombre 🇪🇸

The Australian election coverage is wild

Votes cast = 2 ✅✅
Dogs seen = 0 🦮❌
#dogsatpollingstations

There’s a lovely episode where she goes back to Tobermory and can’t walk down the street without being stopped every 100 yards.

Lib Dems back ban on playing music and videos on public transport in England Under the plan, those who flout the prohibition could face a maximum fine of £1,000

I know everyone's going to love this and I don't want to spoil the fun but it's illiberal. I'm sorry. I know. But it is.

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

GET IN THERE, OSCAR! 🧡
Which member of the McLaren F1 comms team will be brave enough to suggest getting the World Champion merch on order after four races?

a stained glass window with the words hen 's risen above it ALT: a stained glass window with the words hen 's risen above it

“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!” (Luke 24:5-6) ✝️

Easter is a reminder that love wins, hope lives, and new life is always possible.
Wishing you a joyful, hope-filled Easter!

🌳 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗪𝗼𝗼𝗱
A trek up to the highest point in Nottinghamshire on a gloriously sunny day. A beautiful spot with some great history too.

I wish BBC local editors felt the same. My last radio boss asked me to ditch a story I’d been working on and vox people about Daniel Craig’s pink tuxedo jacket. That wasn’t even the worst one. I resigned a few weeks later 😂

Thousands of churches face financial blow after VAT changes on repair works Churches fear new tax rules will put major restoration programmes at listed places of worship in jeopardy

When governments cut support for the poorest, it’s our churches and local voluntary groups that step in. We can’t let these beautiful buildings fall into ruin—for congregations, communities, and the generations before us who built them.

Eurovision has gone down hill