"Do people who don't work in your sector know what your sector's main policy calls are" is such an important test for anyone who wants to influence policy-making

Jonathan Mountstevens@mrmountstevens.bsky.social · 3d ago

What this piece brought home was how lousy a job those of us who have spent years talking to each other about ed on social media, going to confs, blogging etc have done of communicating to anyone outside of teaching. Leaves the field wide open to stuff like this. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Over the past year, Sam Berger, Sophie Jacobson, and I have been thinking about how a federal rebuilding must center power-shifting, building civil society power for democracy. In @donmoyn.bsky.social's Substack we wrote up our lessons; we're excited to share what we're learning! 1/

Henry Farrell@himself.bsky.social · 5d ago

I remember seeing someone (very reasonably) complaining here a few days ago that there seems to be next to no visible thinking on left and center about how to join the dots on administration and democracy. This is the beginnings of an answer to that complaint donmoynihan.substack.com/p/rebuilding...

Really excited that today the Prime Minister is visiting the Meadows Nursery in Sheffield which we help to run. You can find out more about the pioneering work that he'll be hearing about that is happening in South Yorkshire to tackle child poverty in the link below www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Funding of £500k to tackle child poverty in South Yorkshire

Dream Big South Yorkshire Fund is the first child-centred investment fund in the country.

bbc.co.uk

Super interesting discussion (and paper) based on a huge dataset showing that peacetime rearmament is almost never financed by cuts in social spending cepr.org/multimedia/g...

Guns and Butter

Europe's NATO members have pledged 3.5% of GDP to rearmament. The political argument is already about which social programmes will be sacrificed to pay for this, when the government chooses guns inste...

cepr.org

One of my Crank Theories of Everything, at least of Everything in the Recent Past, is that we are dealing (badly) with COVID trauma we’d mostly prefer to pretend never happened.

I believe this as well and it has changed profoundly how I see various periods in history, too.

The Fig Economy@figgityfigs.bsky.social · last wk.

One of my Crank Theories of Everything, at least of Everything in the Recent Past, is that we are dealing (badly) with COVID trauma we’d mostly prefer to pretend never happened.

Andy Burnham says he wants to end rough sleeping, how difficult will that be & what approach should he take? It’s a subject I’ve been writing about for years in Liverpool & the city provides a good test case for the scale of the problem and what’s needed A long but hopefully useful thread 🧵

I feel like the way of dealing with such behaviour is to look these people right in the eye and say, very gently, "You think your right to park matters more than homes these children?" Then when they reply just repeat it with slightly different emphasis.

Hundreds slam proposals to turn car park into children's home in Bromley

Plans to build a children’s home on a car park in Bromley have been slammed by nearby residents who call the current parking situation “a…

newsshopper.co.uk

In response to my rant yesterday, I was asked how we can make better parks and other public places for teenage girls? What do they want? I have answers to this, so now a positive 🧵. Starting in Sweden, where this was co-designed by teenage girls.

Amen. #BookSky

⏰ | NEW BLOG: Young people in England feel less secure, supported and likely to belong than a decade ago. Drawing on conversations with nearly 200 young people and families, we explore why childhood has become more stressful and less joyful. Read here: www.ippr.org/articles/i-f...

Interested in how unconditional cash transfers impact families and child development? 📊 The Institute for Research on Poverty is hiring a Research Analyst for the Baby’s First Years (BFY) study! 📍 Madison, WI (Hybrid) ⏰ Apply by Aug 4 Details & apply 👇

IRP Research Analyst - BFY - Madison, Wisconsin, United States

Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.Job Category:Academic StaffEmployment…

jobs.wisc.edu

A quarter of young children now live in the private rented sector. In fact, children are now more likely than adults to do so. 🏠 More in our last Housing Outlook➡️ buff.ly/SNjZ77G

Not said enough in recent weeks that Bridget Phillipson was the cabinet minister who did the most to secure the abolition of the two-child benefit cap (cited by Starmer as his proudest moment).

Kirsty McNeill, Minister of State at FCDO has many years of commitment + expertise on international development for many years before entering parliament in 2024, inc as exec director at Save the Children +working for Gordon Brown when he was PM, after being a Make Poverty History campaign organiser

We must ensure more young people are part of debate on climate crisis action. My interview with @dawnnews.tv from Islamabad👇 www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7hg...

Why the World Is Running Out of Money for Humanitarian Crises | Tom Fletcher | Dawn News English

YouTube video by DawnNews English

youtube.com

A child payment could help transform the childhoods of children across Wales. A new paper commissioned by Save the Children Cymru and the Bevan Foundation shows what's needed for the Cynnal payment - and a full payment scheme - to work. Read the blog: www.savethechildren.org.uk/blogs/2026/i...

Implementing a Welsh Child Payment – what routes can the Welsh Government take?

A new legal analysis from Save the Children Cymru and the Bevan Foundation shows that a Welsh Child Payment is both legally and practically achievable under existing Welsh Government powers, despite s...

savethechildren.org.uk

Excellent research today from @jrf-uk.bsky.social shows how PM's promise to reduce welfare spending by tackling drivers can work: - Every 100,000 extra people in work reduces UC spend by £700m/year. - Hit 80% employment rate target & reduce UC spend by £10bn/year www.jrf.org.uk/social-secur...

How to reduce pressure on welfare spend in a popular and lasting way

The new prime minister wants to reduce social security spend by tackling underlying causes of need, not with blunt cuts. This would be popular and effective.

jrf.org.uk

This is an excellent overview

Giles Wilkes@gilesyb.bsky.social · 2w ago

I have written a quick 20 minute mind-dump on the welcome return of Jonathan Reynolds to the Business Department gileswilkes.substack.com/p/instant-th...

Spain’s Nico Williams gave his mother, Maria, his World Cup winner’s medal after Sunday’s final ❤️💛 Nico's parents trekked some 2,000 miles across the Sahara from Ghana to Spain as refugees. Now, their son is a world champion 🥹

Two people tried to enter a screening of The Odyssey without buying tickets after hiding inside a miniature model of the Trojan Horse. 😂😂😂

This is a politician who understands that this is not an indulgence, it's an investment. Every public space where you can have fun and not spend any money is probably more of a crimebuster than 100 cops.

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani@mayor.nyc.gov · 3w ago

This summer, we kept the lights on all night, every night, at five soccer fields across New York City.

This was the scene at Calvert Vaux Park in Gravesend, Brooklyn Tuesday night.

Like this from @timharford.ft.com on how inclusive design principles can often help all users, not those just seen as traditionally excluded www.ft.com/content/4d8e...

Burnham is planning a shakeup of the Foreign Office which is expected to include a roadmap from 0.2% to 0.7% of GDP spent on foreign aid Story: www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

Burnham plots Ed Miliband Foreign Office shake-up as he readies day-one policy blitz

Exclusive: Ed Miliband now widely expected to get the foreign secretary job as Labour sources tell The Independent that Team Burnham have been discussing major reform of the FCDO and a ‘roadmap’ back…

independent.co.uk

The UK government has proposed requiring some asylum seekers to repay around £10,000 for the accommodation and support they receive while their claims are processed. But what if allowing asylum seekers to work after six months saved more? go.cgdev.org/4pnMTsT

Asking UK Asylum Seekers to Work Would Net 3.5 Times More Than New £10,000 Charge

The UK’s recently introduced “Immigration and Asylum Bill” proposes that asylum seekers pay £10,000 each towards the cost of their accommodation and support, which the state covers. In this blog, we m...

cgdev.org

This is a great article from @jenwilliamsft.bsky.social Another example are our friends at ASSEAL in Rotherham, which is both a globally successful, locally rooted British business, and also a great supporter of work to tackle child poverty in South Yorkshire www.aesseal.com/en/locations...

AESSEAL UK - Mill Close | aesseal.com

The Global Technology Centre houses a world class manufacturing facility. Our patented modular seals technology means we’re able to respond to even the most demanding technical challenge

aesseal.com

Jennifer Williams@jenwilliamsft.bsky.social · 3w ago

A bit from me about what Burnham may mean by “redindustrialisation” as.ft.com/r/afe5abd3-4...

@mcgregor.bsky.social’s been @ippr.org trustee years &I can confidently say he’s one of the wisest, smartest, kindest. He talks human not bullshit. Really impressive experience +perspective at intersection of politics/policy/campaigns/digital. And an incredibly open, generous operator. Wicked hire ❤️

Jim Pickard@pickardje.bsky.social · 3w ago

I've been told that Matthew McGregor, currently chief executive of campaign group 38 Degrees, will go into Downing St as Burnham's director of political strategy www.ft.com/content/cba0...

New details published today reveal which countries will bear the brunt of the UK's aid cuts, exposing the human consequences of a decision that risks leaving more people hungry, more communities without vital support, and more lives lost to preventable causes.

I've written for @labourlist.bsky.social on Bridget Phillipson's recent speech on the need for universal access to early education/childcare (and a suggestion for the first step to get there) - labourlist.org/2026/07/univ...

'Phillipson is right – universal early years education should be a core mission for the Labour Party' - LabourList

There is no real route to breaking down barriers to opportunity that does not begin with action in the earliest years of life.

labourlist.org