Reminder you've got until August 21st to put in an app to become an SMF trustee! 🙂

Social Market Foundation@smfthinktank.bsky.social · 5h ago

Interested in joining the board of Britain's leading cross-party think tank? The Social Market Foundation is looking to appoint up to two new trustees. Applications close 21st August 2026. www.smf.co.uk/new-opportun...

Some initial signs of a potential shift on the right when it comes to climate change that I really hope continues - www.theguardian.com/media/2026/a...

Right turn on green: is the Telegraph changing its tune on the climate?

Flurry of articles has raised eyebrows and prompted a response from Kemi Badenoch defending stance on net zero

theguardian.com

Group chats of London friends have now just turned into slow tracking tiny bits of rain falling across the city as it happens.

How cute is this - a cargo bike with space for 8 kids (spotted in the Netherlands ofc), also saw loads parked outside of nurseries

Just arrived in the Netherlands for a long weekend in the Hague to visit some friends - this is definitely a trip that makes more sense by train, Eurostar to Rotterdam and a couple of local trains (would have been just 1 but some works are going on atm).

I've been wondering for years why Royal Mail don't use cargo bikes when they're so common for mail delivery elsewhere - good news, they're now introducing them in a few cities (London, Brighton and Cambridge) www.timeout.com/london/news/...

You’ll soon see these next-gen Royal Mail delivery bikes all over London

These futuristic vehicles are coming to the capital.

timeout.com

Found the first thing the new lime bike is worse at - a bit hard to tell in the pics but a standard cabin suitcase doesn't feel as secure in the new buckets (also, why aren't they ever designed to just fit these? It's only just too big for the bucket and is such a standard thing to transport)

New Education Secretary Lucy Powell has said the student loan system is at the top of her in-tray. 👇 @danihpayne.bsky.social and @beckymontacute.bsky.social recently looked at the options available to government for reform. www.smf.co.uk/commentary_p...

How do you fix a problem like student loans?: On the Plan 2 student loan controversy and what government should do about it

A small but consequential change in last years Budget is becoming an inescapable problem for Labour. What can they do to fix it?

smf.co.uk

This August children across England will have access to free bus travel. The policy was inspired by a scheme in WECA - we invited Ingrid Skeels, from a Hartcliffe (south Bristol) based charity to talk about the history of the policy and the importance of accessible travel for young people ⤵️

Free bus travel for children – a transformative policy for children's mobility and life chances - Social Market Foundation.

Affordable buses are crucial for children's mobility. Ingrid Skeels shares the story behind this summer's national free buses for kids scheme

smf.co.uk

Great piece from @danihpayne.bsky.social on today's announcement ⬇️

Social Market Foundation@smfthinktank.bsky.social · last wk.

Our Head of Education and Social Mobility @danihpayne.bsky.social on today's vocational education announcement, and the need for the pathways to be properly funded to make them truly competitive with academic routes - www.independent.co.uk/life-style/a...

This August children across England will have access to free bus travel. The policy was inspired by a scheme in WECA - we invited Ingrid Skeels, from a Hartcliffe (south Bristol) based charity to talk about the history of the policy and the importance of accessible travel for young people ⤵️

Free bus travel for children – a transformative policy for children's mobility and life chances - Social Market Foundation.

Affordable buses are crucial for children's mobility. Ingrid Skeels shares the story behind this summer's national free buses for kids scheme

smf.co.uk

A few quick thoughts re Burnham's vocational announcement today - first, the focus is good, even if it's been building for a while now - having the PM say that vocational and academic routes should be on par with one another (and making videos like the below) does really matter...

A type of cloud has been generated by France's wildfires, which has only ever been documented in Australia, the US, Canada and a small number of other locations - never in France. It generates lightning and downdrafts, worsening the fires. This is climate change. www.wired.com/story/france...

France Records Its First-Ever Pyrocumulonimbus Cloud Amid Record-Smashing Fires

Extreme fire conditions on the ground have created unprecedented conditions in the atmosphere.

wired.com

Interested in a board level opportunity at one of Britain's leading think tanks? We're looking to appoint up to two trustees with fundraising/philanthropy experience at the @smfthinktank.bsky.social Do share in your networks/happy to answer any Qs 🙂 www.smf.co.uk/new-opportun...

New opportunity: Trustee – Fundraising and Philanthropy - Social Market Foundation.

SMF is seeking two trustees, with a focus on fundraising from high net-worth individuals, philanthropic foundations, and major donors.

smf.co.uk

Interested in a board level opportunity at one of Britain's leading think tanks? We're looking to appoint up to two trustees with fundraising/philanthropy experience at the @smfthinktank.bsky.social Do share in your networks/happy to answer any Qs 🙂 www.smf.co.uk/new-opportun...

New opportunity: Trustee – Fundraising and Philanthropy - Social Market Foundation.

SMF is seeking two trustees, with a focus on fundraising from high net-worth individuals, philanthropic foundations, and major donors.

smf.co.uk

SMF researcher Barney Dowling looks at how the government can create space to reform social care, by reforming council tax alongside it ⬇️ www.smf.co.uk/commentary_p...

Social care and council tax – fixing the fundamental crisis in local government

The system of social care is broken, bankrupting many local authorities - can the Government use this to show it can fix big problems?

smf.co.uk

Important to remember in debates on the costs of net zero. The slower we tackle climate change - the higher the costs of adaptation Wildfires particularly terrify me. More than 200,000 people now evacuated across Spain and France (including the suburbs of Bordeaux). www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c5...

Firefighters battle to contain France and Spain wildfires as thousands more evacuated near Bordeaux

A blaze near Madrid is "beyond the capacity" of firefighters to contain, Spanish officials say, as more than 60,000 people have been evacuated.

bbc.co.uk

Missed this the other day re the bus far cap, but Burnham has also said he would back/provide funding for a Bristol and Bath mass transit system www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol...

Prime Minister WILL fund Bristol and Bath mass transit system

"A city like Bristol should have a mass transit system"

bristolpost.co.uk

Congratulations to @paulwaughmp.bsky.social on his appointment as an Education Minister. With the Childcare Review and Best Start in Life Strategy ahead, this is an exciting yet critical time for early years. We look forward to working with him to deliver long-overdue reform.

Our Chief Economist @gideonsalutin.bsky.social is in @politicshome.bsky.social on the politics of Andy Burnham's recently announced bus cap 🚌 www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...

Stop arguing over accounting and call this bus fare cap what it is – a huge policy win

The bus fare cap is a rare case of “Treasury brain” aligning with public demand.

politicshome.com

Never thought the day would come (I'm on Plan 1/had 3k fees so is actually possible to pay off..)

Georgia Gould and Jackie Smith so far confirmed to be continuing in DfE (which is great from a continuity POV)

Burnham’s cabinet is the first to achieve gender parity. And the Office for Equality and Opportunity will move to the MHCLG with Bridget Phillipson remaining in post as Minister for Women and Equalities. Here’s our IfG breakdown of what yesterday’s announcements mean for women in government … 🧵

Burnham's cabinet is, private school wise, a fair bit less representative than Starmer's (which had the lowest % privately educated ever - although Burnham's is still fairly low vs all other cabinets) - at 24% it's several times higher than in the gen pop (7%) and higher than all Labour MPs (15%)

The Sutton Trust@suttontrust.bsky.social · 2w ago

🚨 THE NEW CABINET 🚨 Andy Burnham is the new Prime Minister, and he's finalised his cabinet. This new cabinet is less representative than Keir Starmer's first cabinet, which was the most representative – in terms of education backgrounds – ever recorded. Our analysis 🧵👇

As well as previously holding the shadow education brief Lucy Powell was also a shadow minister for childcare and early education, backing universal provision from 1 - school age back in 2017 (and wrote on it for the SMF at the time) labourlist.org/2017/09/lucy...

Lucy Powell: The Tories' childcare failures are leading to a lost generation of kids - LabourList

If Theresa May was so keen on tackling the burning injustices facing Britain she’d be prioritising early years…

labourlist.org

No it's not about Andy Burnham's new cabinet, but given you're on bluesky anyway... We're looking for case studies! Do you know a care/residential home or NHS trust which goes above and beyond when it comes to training and progression for their staff? (particularly new hires) - if so get in touch

No it's not about Andy Burnham's new cabinet, but given you're on bluesky anyway... We're looking for case studies! Do you know a care/residential home or NHS trust which goes above and beyond when it comes to training and progression for their staff? (particularly new hires) - if so get in touch

Our Chief Economist @gideonsalutin.bsky.social on one of the proven ways to radically reduce the rates of rough sleeping -

Social Market Foundation@smfthinktank.bsky.social · 2w ago

👏 Great to hear PM Andy Burnham's commitment today to ending rough sleeping in this Parliament. As the SMF has set out, Housing First is the best policy lever to tackle the issue, and has already proven successful both at home and abroad. www.smf.co.uk/publications...

Wayne Rooney on the halftime show "I like a lot of those acts but it was crap"

Obviously lots of great acts but the half time show feels so random, like what is the theme?