Hotblack

I’m having a summer break.

By that I mean summer has broken me….

Hope to be back soon!

Concessions for those already on disability & health benefits are welcome, and a testament to all the work that has gone into campaigning against these cuts

But people who need support in future will face a much harsher and meaner system if the amended proposals are implemented

Book burning is fine if you pay for them?

Okay a bit rage-baity of me but it does seem another clear sign that it is the commercial and business practices that are the issue with the industry. They did this because it was cheaper

chart showing Estimated average change in equivalised household income for those affected by Spring 2025 benefit reforms: Great Britain, 2029-30. Families who lose out from the PIP reforms see much bigger changes in income than those who gain or lose from the UC reforms

The welfare reforms the Government set out in March included reform to the assessment process for Personal Independence Payments.

Families who lose out from the PIP reforms see much bigger changes in income than those who gain or lose from the Universal Credit reforms.

Read more ➡️ buff.ly/RNplure

Indeed. To me is also keeps on coming back to ‘what is the point of this Labour government?’

Despite knowing what they’re doing I can’t answer that question and doubt many of the public really could

Wonderful. I’ve been listening to audiobooks of Jeeves and Wooster recently as I hadn’t for a while. But expect I’ll be making a to return to Blandings soon. The best place to escape the world

I sense trouble at Blandings and suspect there are devious porcine plans afoot…

Especially not if it has arms and…

What exactly are they…

No, I just don’t want to think about this anymore

WTF…

Urinals by Sirius Cybernetics?

It seems like a really good way to devalue a threat for future times when it may have actually been useful

How energy will shape the future of AI (and vice versa) — Everything Energy While the history of artificial intelligence is long, ChatGPT’s public launch in late 2022 captured the world’s attention and pushed AI to the top of business and political agendas. Just a few years l...

I think a comparison with other industries and the wider energy usage landscape is most informative. The IEA (the good one) had a great report and podcast on this. Very balanced, looks at context and talks about the uncertainties

I wonder if the illogical nature of the cuts as you laid out in your example will alert more to how illogical the whole system is?

Because if anyone thinks £110 a week pays for the support needed for someone meeting the enhanced daily living descriptors…

That wouldn’t cover 3.5 hours care

The BIS says household inflation expectations have been sticky since the pandemic and, apparently, that's because central banks haven't spent enough time telling everyone how brilliant they are.
Like they need the encouragement...

The table needs upending

If the benefits system is ‘adding to the problem’ and ‘people who are too sick or disabled to work should be paid their benefits and left alone’ how does the approach being taken help?

There is a path to fixing those things. This bill does not appear to be it

Steve mentions caring responsibilities but there’s no plan for social care. There’s no mention of investing in treatments for diseases which prevent people from working. Or any explanation of why the cuts are needed to reform the system. Surely if the reform worked, cuts wouldn’t be needed?

tough tough tough decisions

I hope you do :) Look forward to hearing about your adventures

Thanks, I appreciate it even though people saying nice things seems to make me cry atm :)

There’s lots of things it’s sometimes easier to talk about in the abstract. When they potentially hit you there’s more emotion, so it can get trickier to separate from that. Having someone else say things like this helps. Am not sure I’ll be hit, I have too many PIP points, but there’s other changes

Great line from @stephenkb.bsky.social today on refusing to call the benefit cuts reforms:

“for something to qualify as a reform, it has to have some kind of policy or philosophical logic, or to be underpinned by a genuine and meaningful change to how a system operates”

Photo of a female scientist looking into a microscope in upper half of graphic. Text beneath on left hand side in dark blue box: ‘Research news’. Further text in dark blue beneath: ‘Research update from Dr Audrey Ryback – recent results from her study into blood biomarkers for ME’. There is a thin dark blue banner running along left hand side of graphic. Action for ME logo in top right corner. QR code mid right hand side.

The results from Dr Audrey Ryback's important research, which looked at testing the effect of serum from people with ME on muscle cell mitochondria, are now available.

Research Update from Dr Audrey Ryback - Findings and Pre-Print Available - Action for ME An update from Dr Audrey Ryback's research, testing the effect of serum from people with ME on muscle cell mitochondria, and findings.

There’s also a short summary available for non scientists, shared by @actionforme.bsky.social here

Manliness Arguments and controversies about masculinity and male identity show no signs of disappearing from social media. The whole topic got a huge injection of hormonal energy from the careers and notorie…

FUN FACT

"England’s becoming the chronic wing of an old men’s home. Nothing left to do but remember."

...is a line in "The Man Who Had Power Over Women", released in...1970.

discontinuednotes.com/2024/01/20/m...

If it’s as clear and obvious as he says, you shouldn’t need to change eligibility criteria. If there are people fiddling the system, that is fraud and you go after them, not people who need help. There should be no need to make things worse for people already struggling

I guess how we measure productivity is a whole other area of denial from those in charge of our institutions

Really interesting newsletter today by @stephenkb.bsky.social

There’s a few people who are very good at talking about sensitive and divisive topics in a way that doesn’t jump to those aspects but illuminates and makes you feel more informed rather than more angry. We need more of that

Yes. And also the reverse. There’s also a lot of elderly either caring for partners or other (sometimes younger) family members. And a lot of working age people who are healthy

Unpaid carers save the state a lot but I’m sure this also damages overall productivity

If only someone had laid all this out for them to understand eh…

I’d be interested (although probably made even more pessimistic) to know how many MPs had read the OBR reports. Or do they not trust themselves or the public?

One of my posts from a thread I did a while back for those interested

And even then it’s run as a really really bad retirement home.

Change the system so you and your family don’t face the roulette wheel of potentially having an awful time battling with councils and/or private service providers while being utterly rinsed if anyone needs care should be an easy sell