Georgia Banjo

Ignore the smears: I was never a close friend of Peter Mandelson. And I fully understand the lessons we must learn | Wes Streeting I knew him but not well, and worry now that he thrived in our political culture. There was a failure of moral seriousness, says health secretary Wes Streeting

Probably a trick from Mandelson's playbook

If you are reading this it is because I’m dead: here’s what I want to tell you about how to live | Carlos Hernández de Miguel Leaving this world in an age of lies and cruelty, my last message is simple: don’t give up on truth, says Spanish journalist Carlos Hernández de Miguel

Full letter here

A letter from Carlos Hernández, the Spanish journalist who died this week.

Our job as journalists is to hold power to account, explain what's happening and give voice to the voiceless. Many still do this, but we don't do it enough. It's a big reason why trust in the mainstream media has cratered.

Agreed. It's more the principle of being judged by your peers, of having a check on state power. It's a long-standing safeguard in England. And it's being removed at a time when it feels increasingly important!

It does, and the irony? Officials often say they want to avoid giving contracts to British firms for fear of a perceived conflict of interest.

Great analysis. It was also clear from the beginning it wouldn't work. Guy's and St Thomas's was the model for all this, but after starting the programme the trust's wait times fell slower than the national average and the theatre staff went on strike...

Agreed!

Democracy needs juries

Yes, this an extreme example of why trust in the establishment is at an all-time low. For too long elites have been acting in their own interests and not in the country's, partly because we've been reluctant to call it out for what it is: corruption. Hard to avoid that now.

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