Thrilled to see the gvnt take our recommendation to scrap the 'aim to permit' rule for Adult Gaming Centres. I'm staying at my Mum's in Newark this wkend where they have started to spread, and you can see them popping up all over the country. This will give councils the power to say 'no more'.

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

Great to see the Government scrapping the "aim to permit" rule for Adult Gaming Centres, giving local areas control back of their high streets. We called for the change in our report 'High Streets at Stake' last year. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

🚨 OUT NOW 🚨 Can local news stop social media misinformation? 🗞️ @jamiegollings.bsky.social of the SMF, former Tory minister John Penrose, & News Media Association's Theo Bamber join @alaintolhurst.bsky.social to discuss what government can do to harness local journalism 🎧 Listen: pod.fo/e/42eabd

How much time have you spent on local Facebook groups, X or Nextdoor recently? Hopefully less than the @smfthinktank.bsky.social research team - we manually analysed 125,000 social media posts from 95 places in the UK to get a read on the extent and nature of local misinformation. (1/6)

New @smfthinktank.bsky.social report out today on family food insecurity and child hunger (research largely done by Jake Shepherd and @danihpayne.bsky.social, with a little from me). Includes data from a new survey of 2,500 parents on their experiences of food insecurity (short 🧵)

Social Market Foundation@smfthinktank.bsky.social · 3mo ago

🚨OUT TODAY🚨 Almost half of parents say they are struggling more today to feed their kids than 5 years ago. Our latest report examines what’s worked for tackling food insecurity – and what more Government can do. Read the full report, sponsored by Deliveroo www.smf.co.uk/publications...

Is the bond market following the Labour leadership rumblings as closely as we are, and UK reporting implies? Not so according to an investment banker I spoke to at the weekend. He said it was all about Hormuz, and these swings are being seen elsewhere. Seems like a fair point from what I can see...

Fruit Pastille Lolly flavour sweets...Do they mean...you know, fruit pastilles?

Not surprising to see the study this morning that the poorest parts of England have 70% more vape shops/bookmakers than wealthier areas. Our report on Adult Gaming Centres (AGCs, high street slot places) called for councils to be given more powers to say no to these kind of venues, with... (1/2)

Excellent summary of what is going on with SEND policy here, as well as new polling on teachers' views on possible solutions.

Social Market Foundation@smfthinktank.bsky.social · 6mo ago

England's SEND system is widely recognised as broken. As teachers and parents await the Government’s SEND review, @danihpayne.bsky.social @beckymontacute.bsky.social’s latest briefing explores what trade-offs may be needed to fix the system.

Anyone who was intrigued by the Citizens Advance idea (lump sum now in exchange for postponing your state pension by a year) I've got a thought piece out today on it with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. actuaries.org.uk/think/

Would you take £12.5k now in exchange for pushing back your state pension by a year? I'm currently exploring the idea of a Citizens Advance, which Andrew Lewin MP, its originator, makes the case for in a great blog piece for Best for Britain bestforbritain.substack.com/p/would-you-... (1/2)

Would you delay your pension to get on the housing ladder?

By Andrew Lewin MP

bestforbritain.substack.com

13 out of 28 cabinet posts taken by new people - in line with a the 'big but infrequent' reshuffles we expected from Starmer so far, with 40-50% turnover. For the junior ranks...(1/3)

Charts galore in my analysis of reshuffles past - could Starmer really change up to 40% of his front bench? www.smf.co.uk/commentary_p...

Everyday I'm reshuffling | SMF analysis of past reshuffles

Could as many as 2 in 5 frontbenchers face the chop this reshuffle? SMF analysis looks at the evidence from previous reshuffles.

smf.co.uk

Congratulations to those receiving results today, but worrying indicators for the post-16 education sector

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

📚Level 3 Results Day analysis📚 Key points: 🔵Regional gaps in university entry continue to widen 🔵Progress on widening access has stalled 🔵Lower tariff unis still squeezed as higher and medium tariff institutions expand to plug budget gaps 🧵for details

For policymakers and the HE sector, #ResultsDay reveals a great deal about - how the higher education system is functioning - who it is reaching - how well it is navigating a turbulent financial environment. 4️⃣ trends to keep in mind when the results and UCAS data land tomorrow🧵

Want to raise some money whilst discouraging the most harmful forms of an activity and protecting a UK heritage industry? Raise gambling taxes, with a higher rate on 24/7 remote gaming says @smfthinktank.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/4d20...

Rachel Reeves faces calls to increase taxes on £15bn gambling industry

Treasury moves to streamline levies on bookmakers and reflect ‘exponential’ growth in online betting

ft.com

This by-election shows the ‘Mersey wall’ is breached This result demonstrates that Reform’s strength in the polls was able to translate to votes. This will be of concern enough to Labour, but the geography of this loss portends bigger risks…(map explained below) (1/12)

We know what populism is - but what is the data behind it?🧐 In our second video on Understanding Populism, @jamiegollings.bsky.social sets out what defines Reform-leaning areas, regional variations and where centre-ground parties need to respond. www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSiT...

Understanding Populism: The data behind populism

YouTube video by Social Market Foundation

youtube.com

Starmer promised in a speech today to listen to communities 'failed' by politics. Our @smfthinktank.bsky.social latest research on populism explores some of the causes of this rising dissatisfaction with mainstream parties.... (1/2)

We’ve all seen poll after poll showing the rise of populism and Reform UK - but what is driving this? At SMF @smfthinktank.bsky.social, we are looking at populism through a policy lens, gathering 73 bits of data on 500+ English constituencies. Here’s the main takeaways... (1/8)

I have had loved ones be told that their BMI was not low enough to access NHS support for eating disorders, and to come back when it was lower - i.e. when their condition had worsened, which it duly did. (1/2)