Georgia Banjo

Hence why they took so long to ratify the UNESCO convention! That's what the article is about.

Haha not enough space sadly! So much to write about it

Harley Street resists a facelift The world-famous medical district wants science, not salmon-sperm facials

Enjoyed writing about the two faces of Harley Street this week. Home to 40% of London's private healthcare market, it's known for its quality and treating royals. It's also where TikTokkers go for botched penis-filler ops and sperm-salmon facials. A townhouse was once a hub for international fraud

I agree, but for a different reason!

True! 😆

Haha I think if a wheel of cheese hit you in the face at 70mph anyone would be intolerant! (It is a risk apparently)

Ah, I’ll have to try to wing a trip to Finland next time! Wife carrying races sound fun

Certainly more action than golf!

I respectfully disagree :)

Indeed, would ruin the fun!

Should cheese rolling be protected as British heritage? The government mulls making England’s daftest sport official

My take on England’s daftest sport: Should cheese rolling be protected as British heritage?
economist.com/britain/2025...

DOGE comes to England’s health service Death by several thousand cuts at a vast public-sector body

The PM has just announced the abolition of NHS England, the body responsible for running the £192bn NHS.

That was just a formality though: it's death was confirmed with a DOGE-style purge that I wrote about this week. Too soon to say whether it will devolve power or centralise it even further.

This is only getting clearer by the day.

I was talking about Access to Work, not the benefits system in general (which I pointed out is stingy). I’m by no means an expert, but I was on disability benefits myself for 7 years as well as doing some reporting on them. So I think I have some idea, but of course you’re entitled to disagree ;)

I think we mostly agree Chaminda. The problem is thats not at all how the current system is set up! We need a scheme that can be used by all who most need it, but it would not be sustainable for that to be the level of support that is currently for a select few. The question is what to do instead.

It was mostly looking at coaching (you’re right that mental-health support is provided separately), which is classified as a form of support work. If you look at the graph that’s what’s skyrocketed in recent years, and is why the DWP has cut hourly rates from £450 to £205 and capped nos of sessions

Suggest you read my article. It’s not exaggerated, thats where the biggest increase in spending seems to be coming from. Hence why it’s topical

But where’s the evidence that is does? And surely when it comes to public money, isn’t the question whether this is really the most effective use of it? I get that for some with high needs they will need more support from a scheme like this. But for others it seems unfair to give to a select few

Do you think we should be spending millions of pounds so a few thousand office workers who know about a scheme can receive unregulated ADHD coaching 1-1, at £200+ per hour? I personally don’t think that’s the best use of taxpayers’ money, even if it helps those individuals.

A much-praised British scheme to help disabled workers is failing them It lavishes spending on some, and unfairly deprives others

An article I did recently on this unfortunately ended up getting sensationalised in the right-wing press. But clearly there are signs that the incentives have become distorted (e.g. how is it way easier for an influencer to get £70k from AtW than receive PIP?) The whole thing needs reforming

Sure, the imperative to cut costs is bad. But looking at the figures, it’s clear that the system was never really designed to support those with greatest need, just those who were best at articulating their needs. It becomes unviable as soon as more people find out about it, as has happened recently

Exactly, there is no sense. It’s a mall fry at the moment because such a tiny proportion off people get it. If even 10% of disabled workers got it you’d be looking at several billions. We don’t even know if it’s that effective: DWP have always said it’s too difficult to evaluate

It’s not bananas. The scheme only ever worked because most people didn’t know about it. Now the number of claimants has doubled in a few years and they’re still only 1% of disabled workers. We need a system that helps more people, and is not just first come, first serve.

Makes sense, the original proposal was unworkable anyway

It increasingly looks as if Lucy Letby’s conviction was unsafe The case of a nurse jailed for killing babies exposes deep problems with British justice

I’m well aware of the risks of trial (or retrial) by media but much about the Lucy Letby case seems deeply troubling. There seems to be a distinct possibility that what was thought to be signs of a killer nurse may actually have just been poor medical care www.economist.com/britain/2025...

The government, yes. They may look like outliers, but I think the long-term trajectory is clear

America is finished as the dominant global power which made the world in its image. This is only the beginning of the end, but it is the end. Now it behaves like any other brazen empire

This chart from my article this week is pretty scary. 12-hour waits in emergency departments were non-existent in the 2010s in England. Now they're the new normal and are leading to thousands of extra deaths a year: www.economist.com/britain/2025...

There are many reasons why rising flu cases are putting pressure on A&E this winter. But if this government is really serious about shifting to prevention, now would be a good time to look at inadequate vaccination programmes, and the number of old people we have living in cold and damp homes

Yes, surely 3 years is far too long and too close to an election. I think the only hope is for Griffiths to go rogue and try to build momentum with her own narrative built around the suffering of ordinary people. If she can hold the government's feet to the fire then that could force them to act!