Hysnaps Blog

Let’s Rethink Parliament: How Often Does Parliament Really Sit? The House of Commons sits around 150 days a year. That scarcity quietly shapes behaviour, incentives, and how politics actually works.

Parliament doesn’t pause — but its calendar does.

When time is scarce, behaviour changes.
Delay becomes leverage.
Performance crowds out patience.

New post in the Let’s Rethink Parliament series 👇

#LetsRethink #UKParliament #Politics #SystemsThinking

Let’s Rethink Parliament: What is Parliament Actually For? Parliament has always changed — often reluctantly, often under pressure. So why does change now feel taboo? This is the start of a series asking what Parliament is really for, and how its incentives shape behaviour over time.

Parliament doesn’t run hospitals.
It doesn’t build homes.
It doesn’t manage schools.

So why do we keep judging it as if it does?

New post 👇

#LetsRethink #UKParliament #Politics #SystemsThinking

Let’s Rethink Parliament: Change Is the Tradition Parliament has always changed — often reluctantly, often under pressure. So why does change now feel taboo? This is the start of a series asking what Parliament is really for, and how its incentives shape behaviour over time.

New series starting today: Let’s Rethink Parliament

Not about tearing it down.
Not about blaming MPs.

About noticing how habits, incentives, and time quietly shape behaviour — and outcomes.

First post 👇

#LetsRethink #UKPolitics #Parliament #SystemsThinking

Lets Re-Rethink HealthCare: let’s revisit what we proposed — and see if housing might have the cure. Lets Re-Rethink HealthCare: let’s revisit what we proposed — and see if housing might have the cure. When we finished Let’s Rethink Health, we didn’t pretend the NHS was broken because people didn’t care. We were clear that: staff care patients care and most policy intent is, broadly, well-meaning The problem wasn’t values. It was how the system is asked to function.

Lets Re-Rethink HealthCare: let’s revisit what we proposed — and see if housing might have the cure.
So what could we learn from our look at housing - does it provide any further options for the health service.

#LetsRethink #HealthService #UkPolitics #SystemsThinking #SolvingLongTermIssues

Lets Re-Rethink Education: let’s revisit what we proposed — and see what housing might have taught us Lets Re-Rethink Education: let’s revisit what we proposed — and see what housing might have taught us. So on this Friday the 13th I'm going to do something I've not done so far - go back to a previous rethink topic and see if the last one can provide and further options. When we wrapped up Let’s Rethink Education, we didn’t shy away from the scale of the challenge. We were clear that if we genuinely wanted an education system that could deliver outcomes closer to private school standards for everyone, the numbers were uncomfortable. We weren’t talking about tweaks. We were talking about something closer to £100–150bn a year once fully delivered. And we were also honest about something else.

Lets Re-Rethink Education: let’s revisit what we proposed — and see what housing might have taught us.
So on this Friday the 13th I'm going to do something I've not done so far - go back to a previous rethink topic and see if the last one can provide and further options.

#LetsRethink #Education

Lets Rethink Housing: Surely we can do something now? Without new laws? Lets Rethink Housing: Surely we can do something now? Without new laws? So let’s imagine this has gone well. We’ve got a solid idea. We’ve persuaded a government to back it. The legislation is being drafted. The machinery is grinding into life. Which means — realistically — we’re waiting. Not months. Years. And while all that process is happening, another question naturally pops up: Is there anything we could start doing now, using the laws and powers we already have?

Lets Rethink Housing: Surely we can do something now? Without new laws?
Say we’ve agreed on a better housing system.

The laws are coming.
The machinery is spinning up.

But while we’re waiting…
surely we can start doing something?

#RethinkHousing #UKHousing #PolicyMaking #HomesNotAssets

Lets Rethink Housing: Let’s be honest — we need to stop politicians tinkering. Lets Rethink Housing: Let’s be honest — we need to stop politicians tinkering. If we build a housing system that actually works, how do we protect it from short-term politics, market panic, and the mistakes that broke housing policy before?

Lets Rethink Housing: Let’s be honest — we need to stop politicians tinkering.
Say we finally build something that works.
Homes get built.
Land starts moving.
Investors pile in.
Then there’s an election.
How do we stop it all being torn up?
#RethinkHousing #UKPolitics #LongTermThinking #HomesVasset

Lets Rethink Housing: Right — so what would this actually look like in practice? Right — so what would this actually look like in practice? What if we could unlock land, build homes, and offer investors a boring alternative to property — without confiscation, forced sales, or blowing up the housing market?

Lets Rethink Housing: Right — so what would this actually look like in practice?
We’ve talked about incentives.

So what would a real alternative actually look like?

Not theory.
Not slogans.
Just something that could work.

#UKHousing #RethinkHousing #HomesNotAssets #PublicPolicy

Lets Rethink Housing: People use housing as an investment — could we find a better alternative? People use housing as an investment — could we find a better alternative? If housing became the default place to put savings because everything else felt worse, what would a boring, stable alternative look like — and could it take some pressure off homes?

Lets Rethink Housing: People use housing as an investment — could we find a better alternative?

Does investing really need to mean owning the thing itself?

We don’t do that with roads or power.
So why housing?

#Infrastructure #UKHousing #RethinkHousing #PublicPolicy

Lets Rethink Housing: Can we actually encourage developers and land-bankers to build? Can we actually encourage developers and land-bankers to build? If land-banking and delayed building are often rational responses to risk and incentives, what would need to change for building homes to feel like the sensible choice again?

Can we actually encourage developers and land-bankers to build?
If building homes is how developers make money…
why wouldn’t they be building?

Maybe the question isn’t greed —
maybe it’s incentives.

#UKHousing #RethinkHousing #HousingCrisis #SystemsThinking

Lets Rethink Housing: OK — so how do we actually move forward? OK — so how do we actually move forward? If shouting doesn’t help and waiting feels safe, how do we reduce the risk enough for housing to start moving again — without breaking people or the system?

OK — so how do we actually move forward?
When waiting is rewarded,
why would anyone make a move?

That’s not a moral failure.
It’s an incentive problem.

#HousingPolicy #UKPolitics #RethinkHousing #SystemsThinking #Economics #CostOfLivingCrisis #Politics #Infrastructure

Lets Rethink Housing: OK — so we’ve got a Mexican standoff. How do we move forward? OK — so we’ve got a Mexican standoff. How do we move forward? Why the UK housing system feels stuck, why everyone’s waiting for someone else to take the risk, and what actually breaks a stalemate like this.

OK — so we’ve got a Mexican standoff. How do we move forward?
Builders wait.
Landowners wait.
Investors wait.
Politicians wait.

No one feels reckless.
Nothing moves.

#HousingPolicy #UKPolitics #HousingCrisis #RethinkHousing #CostOfLivingCrisis #Politics #Economics #UKLife

Lets Rethink Housing: Surely — housing is as important as roads and water? Surely — housing is as important as roads and water? A conversational look at why housing fits the definition of infrastructure, and what changes when we start planning it with the same seriousness as roads, water, and power.

We plan roads.
We plan water.
We plan power.

So why don’t we plan housing the same way?

#UKHousing #HousingCrisis #Infrastructure #RethinkHousing

They’re FINE w/ immigrants as long as it’s Elon or Non-Doms etc

They’re FINE w/ taking govt money as long as it’s not u

They’re FINE w/ drug use as long as it’s rich people doing coke

They’re FINE w/ rape gangs as long as it’s white billionaires.

It’s never the principle. It’s usually classism.

Lets Rethink Housing: Why shouting at landlords and developers doesn’t help. Why shouting at landlords and developers doesn’t help A conversational look at why blame feels satisfying but doesn’t fix the housing shortage — and how incentives, not bad actors, keep the system stuck.

If building homes was the safest way to make money,
more homes would already be built.

So what’s really stopping it?

#HousingPolicy #UKPolitics #CostOfLiving #RethinkHousing #Housing #CostOfLivingCrisis #UKLife #Economics

Lets Rethink Housing: So… who actually benefits when we don’t have enough housing So… who actually benefits when we don’t have enough housing? A conversational look at how housing shortages create quiet winners, hidden risks, and why fixing the system has become politically uncomfortable.

Housing shortages don’t happen forever without someone benefiting.

The uncomfortable question is who — and why that makes change so hard.

#HomesNotAssets #UKHousingCrisis #RethinkHousing #Housing #UKLife #Politics #Economics #CostOfLiving

Lets Rethink Housing: Should habitation be linked with speculation? Should homes really be treated like something to bet on? A conversational look at how speculation quietly reshaped UK housing — and the contradiction at the heart of treating homes as investments.

We didn’t set out to speculate on housing.

We wanted somewhere to live. Somewhere for our family.

So when did homes start feeling like something to bet on?

#UKHousing #HomesNotAssets #HousingCrisis #RethinkHousing

I am not alone

I would love to think that the UK Green Party read my blog, but I know the chances are slim, anyway the leader today echoed the points I recently made wrt drugs and drugs policy, so Yeah me. BBC News - Drugs policy approach needs to change, Polanski says Lets Rethink Policy-Making:…

Lets Rethink Housing: Why do builders and investors seem to be dragging their feet? Why does so much land sit empty while housing need keeps growing? A conversational look at why waiting, holding, and delaying have become the sensible choice in UK housing — and what that means for getting unstuck.

Vacant land. Long waiting lists. Rising prices.

Maybe the question isn’t why isn’t anyone building?

Maybe it’s why waiting has become the sensible choice.

#UKHousing #HousingCrisis #HomesNotAssets #RethinkHousing

Lets Rethink Housing: When did we stop treating a house as a home? When did we stop treating a house as a home? A conversational look at how UK housing quietly shifted from somewhere to live into something to invest in — and why that change still shapes everything that followed.

We didn’t vote on it.
We didn’t announce it.

But somewhere along the way, homes became investments.

Let’s rewind and ask when that actually happened.

#UKPolitics #HousingPolicy #HomesNotAssets #RethinkHousing

Lets Rethink Financial Services: Why Regulation Matters If financial markets aren’t as complex as we’re told, why do they keep failing? A UK-focused look at regulation, short-term gains, long-term costs, and why we keep relearning the same lesson.

We’re often told financial crises are unforeseeable.

They aren’t.

The UK has a long pattern: crisis → reform → forgetting.
Short-term gains feel good. Long-term risk quietly builds.

Part 2 of Rethink Financial Markets looks at who benefited, who paid, and why the same arguments keep coming…

Lets Rethink Financial Services: Incentives, bonuses, why sensible people do odd things. We’ve mentioned incentives a few times now, so we probably need to stop pretending we’re not going to talk about them. This is usually the point where people brace themselves, because they assume this is about greed, bonuses, or “bad behaviour”. It isn’t really. It’s about something much more awkward. It’s about how we behave when rewards are involved — especially when we’re trying to do a decent job inside a system that measures us in slightly odd ways.

We’ve mentioned incentives a few times now.
This is usually the point where people brace themselves, because they assume this is about greed, bonuses, or “bad behaviour”.

It isn’t really.

It’s about something much more awkward

#LetsRethink #FinancialServices #Incentives #BonusCulture

We cannot let a small group of peers delay the assisted dying bill forever What is going on week in, week out in the House of Lords at the moment is simply filibustering masquerading as legitimate scrutiny.

What is going on every week in the House of Lords at the moment is simply filibustering masquerading as legitimate scrutiny

If a small group of peers continues to delay the assisted dying bill, then the Parliament Act must be on the table, writes Baroness Hayman, former Lord Speaker

a group of cartoon characters are standing in a row with the word honk behind them ALT: a group of cartoon characters are standing in a row with the word honk behind them

Personally I always thought that the most successful party in the history of the UK should be awarded to the Monster Raving Loony Party - who whilst never being elected have actually managed to get several of their manifesto promises made law - what could be more successful than that?

Lets Rethink Financial Services: How shareholding quietly changed. We still talk about shares as if buying one means backing a business. You put some money in. The business does well. You wait. At some point — ideally years later — you share in the rewards. Most people would recognise that description. It feels… reasonable. And the awkward thing is: it’s not wrong. It’s just not the whole story anymore. Because we still use the same language — ownership, confidence, value, long term — even though the behaviour attached to those words has changed rather a lot. So this is less a history lesson, and more a “hang on… when did that shift?” conversation.

We still talk about shares as if buying one means backing a business.

Most people would recognise that description. It feels… reasonable.

And the awkward thing is: it’s not wrong, but it has evolved.

#LetsRethink #FinancialServices #Shareholding #Investing

Lets Rethink Financial Services: They may not be as complex as you thought. You were probably told that finance is complicated. That it’s all maths, charts, Greek letters, and people much cleverer than you. That’s convenient. Because it means you’re not supposed to ask questions. The truth is: financial systems aren’t hard to understand — they’re hard to explain honestly. So instead of textbooks and equations, here are films, games, and stories that do something far more dangerous: They show you how the financial services behave when no one’s watching.

You were probably told that finance is complicated.
That it’s all maths, charts, Greek letters, and people much cleverer than you.

That’s convenient.
Because it means you’re not supposed to ask questions.

The truth is simpler - and more uncomfortable:
financial systems aren’t hard to understand.…

Lets Rethink Policy-Making: What All of This Was Really About This post brings together the themes explored across the series — punishment, incentives, unintended consequences, and cost — to reflect on what policy does once it becomes a system. It asks how evidence can sit alongside values to design laws that work better in the real world.

Across drugs, sex work, migration, and punishment, the same pattern kept repeating.

This post steps back to ask what all of that was really about — and what happens when morality and evidence drift apart in policy-making.

#UKPolitics #LetsRethink #PolicyMaking #SystemsThinking

Lets Rethink Policy-Making: Illegal Drugs – Cost of Losing the War. Has the War on Drugs delivered what it promised? Looking at fifty years of UK policy, this post explores drug use, harm, and public cost — not to win an argument, but to ask whether “being tough” turned out to be an especially expensive way of managing a persistent human behaviour.

Did the War on Drugs work the way we hoped?

A calm, evidence-led look at fifty years of UK policy, persistent behaviour, and the costs of trying to legislate reality away.

#UKPolitics #LetsRethink #PolicyMaking #EvidenceBasedPolicy

So, if UKIP have a Nazi cross, Trump has the SS, Elon's doing Nazi salutes...

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