BrendanMartin

If you've read this fine book you'll want to come along and meet Maff next week. And if you haven't read it please come along anyway, because I am pretty sure that once you've met the author you'll want to read the book!

If, as Maff Potts says, friends and purpose are the building blocks of a good life, what are the implications for public services? That's one of the questions Maff and I will explore in the Humanity at the Heart book club chat. Please join us -- see the @publicworld.bsky.social post for the link.

I am very much looking forward to this conversation with Maff Potts. He is great fun as well as having profound insights from many years of working with homeless people. Please join us!

👥 Managers & team leads - ready to make self-organising teamwork real?

From Jan 2026: £50/month gets you
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Join the change 👉 publicworld.com/membership-g...

The argument that nationalisation will solve all the problems today is the mirror image of the Thatcherite claims made then, and hardly more defensible. We need a more serious national conversation about the future of these vital water and sewage services. 3/3

One woeful stat we had to acknowledge was that England and Wales at the time had fewer beaches with the ‘blue flag’ for sufficiently unpolluted than land-locked Luxembourg had at the time. 2/3

I worked on the campaign to keep water public in the 1980s when we built an alliance between unions and Green lobbies based on a Charter for Water that recognised the failures of state stewardship as well as that privatisation would make matters worse. 1/3

Why are there so many ladybirds this year? My roses are delighted - no affid problem this summer - but, as usual, I can’t resist wondering about the sad story behind the happy one.

I’ll be there next weekend and fear discovering that my ricketty knees are no longer up to the challenge.

Artificial intelligence: authoritarian by default? - Public World The global tennis circus has decamped from London for another year, leaving behind not only the usual dramatic memories but also an artificial intelligence (AI) controversy with relevance far beyond W...

Artificial intelligence and human judgement. publicworld.com/news-blog/ar...

Leading change? You don’t have to do it alone.

Join our free 3-month Mastermind trial this Sept–Nov for leaders building people-first orgs.

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Will none of them ever remember Denis Healey’s sound advice about what to do when you’re in a hole?

Good advice.

I used to like Maff Potts but now he's written a book - Public World I first came across Maff Potts via a presentation in which he was dressed up as a chicken, or it might have been a duck. A lot of yellow anyway. (Watch it here.) His slides kept going wrong, which I a...

publicworld.com/news-blog/i-...

beautiful scenes

Court tariffs bombshell should inspire trading partners to defy Trump [FREE TO READ] The EU must stand up to the US president’s bullying for the sake of the world trading system

My take on today's US court tariff ruling. This is an excellent opportunity for the EU and other trading partners to quit preparing packages of concessions, tell Trump to shove it and get on with trading without the US.

First 300 clicks free. It being 3.42am here in London, I am now going to bed.

Delighted to publish a thinkpiece by social explorer and author Cormac Russell. One of our headline speakers for Stronger Things 2025.

bit.ly/CormacRussel...

To hear from him on the day, sign up here 👇

Last few in-person tickets left. Or join us online.

www.newlocal.org.uk/strongerthin...

Too many people at the top of the BBC think that they should be competing with the private sector not providing an important thing that the market can't. Should focus on providing detailed coverage of 'what's in it?' that someone with the reading age of a seven year old can parse.

So am I. So annoying.

What a lovely idea, and practice. I hope there’s a book in the replies.

🥁 #StrongerThings 2025 speaker announcement 🥁

@cormacrussell.bsky.social, Managing Director at Nurture Development, will join us with provocations around community power, trust, dominant narratives, institutions and neighbourhoods.

Make sure you're in the room. Book today 🏃‍♀️ buff.ly/ahDHhvH

Chicken and egg, to be fair.

Yes, but in the context of the recent NI hikes, Starmer will still pay the higher political price.

Opinion from the FT's Editorial Board: 'The US and European countries that tout Israel as an ally that shares their values have issued barely a word of condemnation. They should be ashamed of their silence, and stop enabling Netanyahu to act with impunity.' www.ft.com/content/f5fd...

When is the right time to make changes to the way your organisation works for better outcomes ❓

The answer is now.

The key is to start somewhere and to start small, building the foundations for more significant change over time.

Find out more here: publicworld.com

Excellent piece here from @publicworld.bsky.social associate @colintalbot.bsky.social about where to focus if we want higher public service productivity.

Jeni speaks for very many of us 🙏💜🔥

Drawn 6 years go today. It was rejected and called unfair and alarmist.

Yuval Noah Harari: Trump’s world of rival fortresses In the US president’s vision of post-liberal global disorder the weak should always surrender to the strong, writes the historian, philosopher and author

I think this is the most convincing explanation of Trump and his world view I have read. on.ft.com/3EMSSEx

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

Libdems to legislate on things I find irritating. Children leaving a tiny bit of milk in the bottle so they don’t have to wash it and put in recycling. The way you look forward to a deadline passing only for another one to appear. Celery in tuna mayo

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