@demos-uk.bsky.social
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Find out more about the Private Renting Knowledge Hub from the @nationwidefdtn.bsky.social ⬇️
nationwidefoundation.org.uk/introducing-...
✍ BLOG | Could letting agents be the missing link to fix Britain’s rental crisis?
@naemamalik.bsky.social sets the scene for our new research with @nationwidefdtn.bsky.social's Private Renting Knowledge Hub, exploring what we know so far - and the questions we'll ask during the research ⬇️
Thrilled to be supporting this new programme of work at @demos-uk.bsky.social.
It brings together two of my greatest professional interests (/borderline obsessions):
👉 Fixing how Whitehall works
👉 Making public services more human, responsive and impactful for citizens.
📢 Today we’re launching Powering Public Service Reform – a new Demos programme to understand and tackle the blockers that hold back change.
Not only in structures or spending, but in culture, behaviour and belief.
demos.co.uk/powering-pub...
4/8
This is about reform that lasts.
🔗 Read our launch briefing ⬇️
💬 Join the conversation on BlueSky or LinkedIn
📩 Or get in touch with @annagarrod.bsky.social or @amygandon.bsky.social directly
demos.co.uk/research/pow...
8/8
We’ll be exploring what it takes to change the system from the inside out – connecting with those already working in more open and collaborative ways.
And we’ll do it in the open: testing ideas, sharing early thinking, and inviting challenge.
7/8
And we know that delivering preventative and people-powered public services, requires attention to four key areas:
✖️ Cultural change
✖️ Accountability & Governance
✖️ Funding reform
✖️ Digital enablement
6/8
We’re asking:
🔷 Why does Whitehall behave as it does?
🔷 How can we challenge unhelpful behaviours and beliefs?
🔷 What would it take to do this in a lasting, scalable way across the government system?
5/8
📢 Today we’re launching Powering Public Service Reform – a new Demos programme to understand and tackle the blockers that hold back change.
Not only in structures or spending, but in culture, behaviour and belief.
demos.co.uk/powering-pub...
4/8
At Demos, we've long called for a different kind of state: one that empowers people and enables frontline professionals.
But it’s not just about achieving agreement on a vision. Reform keeps stalling for deeper reasons, and that’s where we’re now focusing our work.
3/8
These principles may sound simple. But seeing them in a Treasury document was notable.
It suggests the long-standing case for more human, joined-up, preventative services is starting to land at the centre of government.
2/8
Appetite for public service reform isn’t new. But something has shifted. Buried in the last Spending Review were three quiet commitments:
👥 Integrate services around people’s lives
🛑 Shift from crisis to prevention
🌍 Devolve power and design with communities
They point to a bigger change.
🧵1/8
✍ Read new blog from Demos Researcher, @naemamalik.bsky.social, to learn more about the scope of the research ⬇️
demos.co.uk/blogs/could-...
Letting agents play an important role in the experience of private renters - but how exactly?
Demos is kicking off new research to shed light on letting agents’ influence and impact on tenants, as part of the new Private Renting Knowledge Hub from the Nationwide Foundation, launched today. ⬇️
Read the report 👉 demos.co.uk/research/res...
Read the policy briefing for recommendations from Demos and Full Fact 👉 demos.co.uk/research/com...
The findings reveal that most notes were largely invisible during the unrest - and those that were became visible far too late.
28.07.2025 10:36 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
❗ Are the UK's online moderation systems crisis-ready?
Recent Demos research exposed how the community-based moderation tool 'Community Notes' failed to prevent harmful content and #misinformation from rapidly gaining millions of views over the course of the 2024 #SouthportRiots.
As the UK faces growing threats to our information ecosystems, policies that build public resilience are essential.
Demos is proud to have contributed to this report and will continue championing evidence-based solutions that centre the interests of ordinary people.
Read the full report ⬇️
7/7
We welcome calls for:
✅ Stronger ministerial responsibility for media literacy
✅ Clearer minimum standards and accountability for platforms from Ofcom on ‘media literacy by design’
✅ Explicit emphasis to media literacy in its action plan for digital inclusion.
6/7
The Committee also points to:
🔷 The pressure on teachers to keep up with fast-moving global issues in the context of media literacy education - and the need for dedicated training and CPD
🔷 A lack of joined-up government leadership with senior Ministerial responsibility
5/7
🔷 The role of local news and public service broadcasting in upgrading media literacy among the wider public
🔷 Understanding why media literacy is at the core of democratic health and epistemic resilience
4/7
Key areas where our work is reflected:
🔷 Media literacy embedded across the school curriculum enabling repeated engagement
🔷 Minimum quality standards for ‘media literacy by design’ on social media platforms - not as an option
3/7
📽️ Watch our Associate Director of Information Ecosystems, @hannahperry.bsky.social in April’s evidence session:
2/7
📢 Today the UK House of Lords Communication and Digital Committee publishes its report on media literacy.
We’re pleased to see our recommendations reflected throughout the final report and fully support its conclusions 🧵
1/7
Watch the waves launch recording here ⬇️
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4yl...
COMING UP: We will kick off our first trial with Camden Council in September, before we move to South Staffordshire District in January.
🖊️ Sign up to receive updates on our progress: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Since launch, the Waves team has worked with partners to co-design and refine the process, carefully considering all aspects such as:
➡️ democratic legitimacy
➡️ the role of experts and decision-makers
➡️ approach to recruitment, fair rewards and communications with participants and wider residents
PROGRESS UPDATE: Have you heard about Waves, our groundbreaking trial in digital democracy?
The €1m project launched in May, where we heard from @pollycurtis.bsky.social, @miriamlevin.bsky.social, Carl Miller, @audreyt.org, Councillor Anna Wright and Annette Roberts ⬇️
New Towns are key to the govt’s housing plan, but what will it take to earn public buy in?
In @telegraphnews.bsky.social, Demos' Miriam Levin warns of a "democratic deficit", if locals are not listened to and argues the programme must be designed to "enable citizen participation, not stifle it". ⬇️
I analysed hundreds of X posts about the Southport riots which received Community Notes. They were full of racism and Islamophobic hate that fuelled far right violence
Yet only 4.6% of the Community Notes we analysed were made public during the riots
Community Notes are not fit for purpose
