Kerry Ferguson

Not exactly surprising but let's remember that the govt at the time was under massive pressure from to get £ out to businesses & individuals with only minimal checks. Fraud was the inevitable result of schemes designed at breakneck speed without proper systems to deliver them (aka "red tape").

No it isn't, and Farage/Reform aren't handing it well, but it won't make any difference to ppl who support Reform. They can't possibly be surprised by Farage's alleged views. It's like Trump's "grab them by the pussy" moment. Outrageous to the Liberal/left but it didn't dent support for Trump.

Government by Breakage What a failed appliance promotion shows us about our state

Really terrific piece by @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk this. Poses really difficult questions for governments of left and right about how provision works:

newsGP - Australia set for world-first cervical cancer elimination Vaccination programs have played a key role, and GPs remain ‘instrumental’ in boosting screening rates to reach the 2035 target.

Australia recorded ZERO cases of cervical cancer in women under 25 for the first time since they started tracking the cancer in the 80s.

This is the power of vaccines.

The HPV vaccine is extremely effective at preventing cancer.

Viruses can be oncogenic. Get your vaccines and protect yourself!

Many newspapers and politicians have been calling yesterday's fiscal statement a 'Budget for Benefits Street'. Here's three reasons why that is not accurate 🧵

Solomon is clear on the potential problems of Labour's new suite of policies - in particular reviewing a person's refugee status every 30 months to determine if their home country is safe to return to, which will cost, estimates the Refugee Council, £872m over a decade. "They're going to have to create a new bureaucracy to do this, at enormous cost,' he says.

This snippet from an interview with Enver Solomon, outgoing head of the Refugee Council, seems very typical of this govt's approach and speaks to a desire to relentlessly spend tax payer's money in pursuit of a dream of total administrative control

This is true. Enforcement of environmental crime, trading standards, food hygiene, asb etc have been cut to the bone because they aren't services that anyone notices...until something goes wrong, like this colossal flytip. See also the proliferation of high street shops selling illicit goods.

Fascinating thread

Save The Iain Anderson Show – Reverse the BBC Radio Scotland decision Can you spare a minute to help this campaign?

Save The Iain Anderson Show on BBC Radio Scotland
For decades, Iain has done more than spin records.
He has unearthed new voices, given first airtime to emerging Scottish artists & threaded songs together with stories, culture, and care. From Norman Paterson's petition on change.org
c.org/D6xKqDtMtv

Powerful thread about the importance of refuge & security. People with security can build a life & contribute. Much better for everyone.

The British library is in crisis: why does nobody care? The widespread indifference to the British Library's crippling cyberattack demonstrates a perilous failure to value the knowledge infrastructure vital for national prosperity

I’ve written a piece on the curious lack of media and political interest in the issues faced by our national @britishlibrary.bsky.social. This is strange given we live in a world where ideas, knowledge and research are a long-term source of innovation and insight
www.cityam.com/the-british-...

Thought provoking thread about political leadership & the fallacy of the 'outsider' politician with experience of the 'real' world.

If you want people to feel that their day to day lives are improving then make sure that local government is properly funded. You could call it “the pothole theory of everything”.

Plug in your postcode. deprivation.communities.gov.uk

Dog's breakfast?

We imagined the whole thing...

How we do pensions and retirement income in this country is predicated on a few assumptions, one of which is that old people have minimal housing costs and/or security of tenure. It's not happening anymore, and will get worse.

www.joxleywrites.jmoxley.co.uk/p/the-other-...

Replace “Dems” for “mainstream parties” and “GOP” for “far right” and you have West European politics.

I am not opposed to a wealth tax. What I oppose are claims it is a simple silver bullet the government opposes because it is in hoc to neo-liberalism etc etc. Yes, tax wealth. But if we want no austerity and better public services, it means more tax rises on top. Sorry. That's the real world.

Crime network behind UK mini-marts is enabling migrants to work illegally Undercover reporters were told how easy it was to make big profits selling illegal vapes and cigarettes.

BBC News - Crime network behind UK mini-marts is enabling migrants to work illegally
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Oh fgs - that's the angle here? Not 'organised crime on the high street' or 'Vapes & fake cigs sold to kids' or 'Companies House allows sham directors to run crime networks across UK'?

The Renters’ Rights Act is here — but the work is just beginning After years of waiting, the Renters’ Rights Act has finally received Royal Assent and passed into law. We’ve campaigned hard for this, and…

Proper good news today - the Renters' Rights Act gets Royal Assent. Citizens Advice see 200 people a day with problems in private rented housing. The act shifts the balance towards tenants, but it's just the start, as @tessthompsonca.bsky.social says here wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/the-renters-...

These statistics will be released on 30 October 2025.

I've been updating my lecture slides for this cycle, and I was about to post how it's wild to me that the last Index of Multiple Deprivation is still 2019. It's not like *anything at all* has happened in the last 6 years to warrant an update.

Before I did, I thought I'd better go and check...

Apropos of nothing, I really do think UK journalists and politicians need some reminding that mass deportation of LEGAL immigrants, particularly those with permanent status, is far more extreme than even Trump's America and would basically place Britain completely on its own among democracies.

Betfred says all its shops may close if Reeves hikes gambling tax The company's co-founder says it would be forced to close all its sites, putting 7,500 jobs at risk, if gambling taxes go up.

Higher taxes on gambling probably would cost some jobs. But employment has to be weighed against other social costs.

That's why we don't have brothels and ketamine stores on every high street. It was a terrible mistake to let gambling shops become such big employers.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

And when those new coercive powers are introduced, then what follows will prompt another round of more coercive powers for the state, and then another, and then another.

The UK is trapped in an illiberal spiral.

The government want more coercive powers for the state against protests, and the main opposition party wants more coercive powers for the state against migrants.

Our political-media culture continues in a loop where the response to every perceived problem is yet more coercive powers for the state.

Incredible. Both the appointment & the reporting of it : /

This is no accident or diplomatic faux pas. It is retribution for UK recognition of Gaza. A v dangerous game but Netanyahu & his rw coalition partners won't care about that.

Alleged sex offenders should not be out on bail! It's a serious offence!!

I do genuinely feel for politicians (almost everywhere) having to grapple with the fact that the longer you keep people alive, the more they cost - literally exponentially - whilst everyone wants to live a long time and keep their loved ones alive, and no one wants to pay for it.