Today, alongside the @healthfoundation.bsky.social , we’ve published a major report looking at the link between poor health and housing. Too many people in the UK live in homes that are making them sick and it’s worsening health inequalities. www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...

I just think if the government was to become this unpopular this quickly, they might as well have done it by increasing taxes on median+ earners.

Stephen Bush@stephenkb.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Think it’s also as basic as: the government has got a *really* horrible intray. Is it helpful, or unhelpful, to navigate that with a PM who is having to take time explaining why his Mandelson pick was good, or is that a draining distraction?

I do think Robertson blunted his response with an unnecessary sideswipe as "welfare". Money could come from higher taxes. Or cuts elsewhere. And he did the politician's get out of saying "welfare" and not "pensions". Turns an intervention from a defence-focused one to Retired Man Has Opinion.

Helene von Bismarck@helenebismarck.bsky.social · 4mo ago

PPS: British defence hawks love to pit spending on defence on spending on welfare. Robertson does the same here. I personally think it is not that easy. But I agree with his analysis that the complacency and frankly provincialism needs to stop.

More than 710,000 disabled people are waiting for PIP decisions, with new claim wait times now at 20 weeks. These delays can push people into poverty and worsen health conditions. My new blog breaks down the backlog and why the Timms Review must not lose sight of delays and the harm they cause.

Delays to PIP decisions are leaving disabled people struggling

New DWP data shows more than 710,000 disabled people are waiting for PIP decisions

wearecitizensadvice.org.uk

The median age in Britain is about 40. The median Briton has not experienced sustained economic growth in their adult life time.

They’re telling me a great empire will be destroyed if I attack Persia. Even the oracles who don’t like me very much, very nasty, they all said to me, “Sir, it’s one of the great empires, and it’ll be destroyed. And all because you attacked Persia.” That’s what they’re telling me.

VICTORY! Government to open up the Land Registry - bringing to an end a thousand years of secrecy shrouding who owns England. I’ve been campaigning for this for ten years: the new Land Use Framework, published later today, makes it government policy. 1/ www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Government to lift paywall from large parts of the Land Registry

Exclusive: finding out who owns land will become simpler under plans to make the best use of green spaces and hit net zero targets

theguardian.com

@citizensadvice.bsky.social helps 900 people a day with issues relating to the disability benefit PIP. That's a sign that the system isn't working as it should. The Timms review of PIP could be a chance to change that. We asked our advisers what it needs to get right: medium.com/p/5a3f881a08ee

3 things the Timms Review of PIP must achieve, according to Citizens Advice advisers

At Citizens Advice, we helped 225,000 people with Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in 2025 alone. That means we have a unique insight…

medium.com

In many areas, we do actually know the answers to persistent policy problems. Good news, right? Not if your job is to write about this stuff! New blog about whether public policy has a bias against ideas that true but boring. Have a read 👇 wonkwatch.substack.com/p/does-polic...

Does policy have a "bias against boring"?

In many areas, we do actually know the solutions to policy problems. Is it boring to point them out?

wonkwatch.substack.com

NEW: Planned welfare reform could see big benefit cuts for disabled people who can't work, Citizens Advice has warned The government wants to replace long-term ESA disability benefits with a new, much more time-limited benefit called Unemployment Insurance (UI) www.bigissue.com/news/social-...

Disabled people could face benefit cuts – even if they cannot work

Long-term claimants of employment and support allowance could be moved over to a new, time-limited disability benefit – equating to cuts.

bigissue.com

The government wants to enhance contributory unemployment benefits - we’re good with that Contribution-based benefits can help the legitimacy of the welfare state. There is a catch though… www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...

Local Housing Allowance rates have been realigned to market rents in just two of the last 13 years. Current Government policy is for them to remain frozen. This risks a record 'affordability gap' opening between LHA rates and the 30th percentile of local rents. ➡️ buff.ly/gJR1hmO

I call on my party and my government to remove themselves entirely from X and communicate with the public where they actually participate online and can be protected from such illegality.

The Prml Scrm XTRMTR live era with Mani on bass and Kevin Shields in the band played some of the best gigs I've ever seen, blew my young head off. RIP Mani.

This (from: www.ft.com/content/75ce...) is something you can *feel* if you are in the UK, especially if you've experienced living abroad. But infuriatingly successive governments and our entire media are somehow absolutely committed to suggesting anyone who wants to change this is the devil...

Councils are on their knees after 15 years of financial squeeze. Enforcement (against poor quality accommodation, illegal evictions, illegal short lets) is difficult and expensive. Yet without enforcement capacity we won’t get the best from the legislation….

Generation Rent@generationrent.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Our Head of Campaigns @nyejones92.bsky.social told @theguardian.com why landlords MUST be held accountable for the poor quality of our homes. www.theguardian.com/money/2025/n...

This investigation from the @sheffieldtribune.bsky.social is absolutely staggering. It is very common in Sheffield (I live in this bit) to have a leasehold, often with hundreds of years left on and pennies in ground rent. This is extortion pure and simple. www.sheffieldtribune.co.uk/a-london-law...

A London lawyer bought hundreds of Sheffield freeholds. Then the ‘very aggressive’ letters arrived

Exclusive: The Tribune can reveal that Andrew Milne has threatened leaseholders with high court action. It ‘broke my heart’ one woman says

sheffieldtribune.co.uk

If you’re living with damp, cold and mould in your home, you’re not alone. These issues are impacting millions of us in the UK – putting our wellbeing on the line. Tomorrow, we're launching our new campaign pushing the government to act. Learn more about some of the issues here. 👉 bit.ly/3LnYatm

Much more detail on what's gone wrong with housing support for private renters, and what we're asking the government to do at the upcoming budget, in Sarah's excellent briefing.

Sarah Hadfield@drsarahhadfield.bsky.social · 9mo ago

📰New @citizensadvice.bsky.social briefing ahead of the #Autumnbudget: The Government if failing private renters by freezing #LocalHousingAllowance #LHA.

📰New @citizensadvice.bsky.social briefing ahead of the #Autumnbudget: The Government if failing private renters by freezing #LocalHousingAllowance #LHA.

New blog out today, as part of our work with @healthfoundation.bsky.social, looking at the unequal health impacts of the current system of housing cost support that fails to cover people's rent.

Citizens Advice@citizensadvice.bsky.social · 9mo ago

As the #AutumnBudget approaches, we're calling on the Chancellor to unfreeze Local Housing Allowance (LHA) to support people on low incomes as private rents continue to soar. Read more in our blog ⤵️ https://t.co/xTGMQRoFsk https://t.co/ijj5LHQyVC

My latest: Move over bat tunnel, here’s the wild story of how HS2 were forced to build a multi-million pound bridge for a road that… doesn’t actually exist.

How HS2 built a bridge to nowhere

A state-of-the-art road bridge has been built deep in the heart of rural Buckinghamshire. Designed to carry traffic over the HS2 railway, there's just one tiny problem - there's no actual road.

martinrobbins.substack.com

Local Housing Allowance rates have been realigned to market rents in just two of the last 13 years, and current Government policy is for these to remain frozen. But this ongoing freeze means that the 'affordability gap' between LHA rates and local rents is set to reach record levels next year.

Can the Manhattan Project avoid building the nuclear bomb?

There is no need for a moral panic about the UK's welfare system. Far from perfect but recent discourse is nuts Spending is controlled, not spiralling Worklessness is near record lows My column www.ft.com/content/ee67...

DWP plans to introduce a ‘support conversation’ for disabled claimants who don’t currently meet a work coach. My new paper explores how this conversation can be done effectively and avoid causing harm 🧵 www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...

Yes, I do think that talking about the housing crisis as a single thing misses the point, because it's actually a bunch of different crises in different areas and the one that is most total (London) is also atypical. National approaches only take you so far.

A thread of inspirational quotes from two of my idols: Kemi Badenoch and Ange Postecoglou (uh-oh, I may have gotten some mixed up... or have I??) 🧵