Oh my goodness! The Marsh family lyrics have outshone themselves this time. Brilliant parody. youtu.be/o9l1xArp2RM?...

"Thank You for the Bullsh!t" - Marsh Family parody of ABBA (on Karoline Leavitt leaving White House)

YouTube video by Marsh Family

youtu.be

Good article re one of the areas of SPAD employment needing reform. The bottom line has to be that no hospitality should be accepted unless it is proportionate, directly relevant to work being undertaken, and the participants names fully logged. In my exp it's mainly men who get these invitations.

Peter Geoghegan@petergeoghegan.bsky.social · yesterday

🔴 NEW: Special advisers accepted hospitality from lobbyists and businesses 700 times + since Labour took power Glastonbury tickets, Taylor Swift, UFC fights + more SpAds sit outside the UK lobbying rules. So no one knows what was actually discussed🧵 democracyforsale.substack.com/p/the-700-fr...

Applications are now open for the 3rd year of our Youth Action Network! 🙌 YAN gives young people the opportunity to share their views and lived experiences and contribute to projects, research and policy addressing racial inequality. Interested or know who might? - apply: https://ow.ly/zBwY50ZFwWu

Burnham drops support for political funding cap aimed at curbing mega-donors. Reportedly, favours a cap at £500k. How many people have £500k to buy influence? A game only the super-rich, big corporations/unions can play. Can't end political corruption without banning all political donations.

Burnham drops support for political funding cap aimed at curbing mega-donors

PM said he would set bar at £500k, but trade unions say funding reforms could undermine their ability to donate to Labour

theguardian.com

No nursing graduate should complete their degree without a clear route into employment. This week, the RCN Students Committee have written to Duncan Burton, Chief Nursing Officer for England urging for immediate action to address the challenges faced by newly registered nurses. Read more ⬇️ (1/3)

Nursing students face unemployment despite NHS vacancies | News | Royal College of Nursing

The RCN Students Committee has written to NHS England and the Chief Nursing Officer for England calling for improvements to nursing recruitment practices. You can sign the letter too.

bit.ly

💯 this! Not enough NHS dentistry and astronomical prices in the private sector. Much greater focus on prevention is needed.

Layla Moran MP 🔶🕊️@laylamoran.bsky.social · 3d ago

Growing 'dental deserts' are a very urgent problem. Teeth are crumbling, children are in A&E and people are in terrible pain. We're not short of dentists in this country, but we need root and branch reform of the dental contract and proper incentives for dentists to take on NHS work.

This is sad news. Such an immense talent.

Adam Schwarz@adamjschwarz.bsky.social · 4d ago

RIP Tim Curry. One of my all time favourite actors. The versatility required to play both Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Show and deliver the greatest-ever portrayal of Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island was magnificent. A truly great performer and entertainer. Thank you, Tim.

Carbon emissions from just two planned datacentres in England will exceed all of ExxonMobil’s UK fossil fuel emissions. Bad for health, environment. Huge pressure on energy/water supplies Few long-term jobs generated Local people, not ministers, must decide if they want datacentres.

Two planned datacentres will have higher UK carbon emissions than ExxonMobil, analysis finds

Exclusive: Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire sites predicted to emit 4.5m tonnes a year when fully running

theguardian.com

There’s already research connecting the Shingrix vaccine to a significantly reduced risk of dementia. Now it looks like it might also significantly reduce risks of heart attacks and strokes. NHS it at 65 in the UK but you can pay privately & get it from age 50 www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

Shingles vaccine linked to lower risk of heart attack and stroke, study finds

Researchers say benefits of two-dose Shingrix vaccine could be comparable to taking daily blood pressure medication

theguardian.com

I'm seriously voncerned about the way these data centres appear to be approved irrespective of local (and wider) opposition. Where is the national debate about whether we need/want them? Destroy the countryside so we can produce AI pics/analyse data more quickly? ... no thanks!

Sad Eagle@sadeagle.bsky.social · 4d ago

A friend in north Devon has just sent me a message about a fucking huge data centre being built in the beautiful countryside. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/77... this is absolutely fucking insane.

This is a very good article. Please read.

Health Nerd@gidmk.bsky.social · 2w ago

The Jason Arday saga made me furious and sad in equal measure so I wrote about it. The whole thing is deeply unpleasant. gidmk.substack.com/p/the-jason-...

When many hands cause harm, every hand claims innocence. My thoughts on the tragic death of Jason Arday, and the accountability that disappears in a crowd. If you’d prefer to read my thoughts, you can find them here: lnkd.in/dd5iMsQE hashtag#JasonArday

UK govt to pay KPMG and EY up to £456mn to train civil servants. Continuation of policy started by Thatcher; opened the door to privatisation, PFI, outsourcing, deregulation, consultancy cult. Firms mired in scandals get govt contracts, inside access to ministers, policy makers. archive.ph/hTdhS

UK government to pay KPMG and EY up to £456mn to train civil servants

Deal marks largest contract awarded to Big Four firms in at least a decade

ft.com

"Some staff reported “shouting and abuse” of non-white medical consultants in meetings, and that trainees were “manipulated and coerced” to raise complaints about staff with minority ethnic backgrounds. ". www.hsj.co.uk/workforce/se...

Senior staff told to improve behaviour after bullying and racism findings

A trust has called for "tangible improvements" in behaviour from some of its senior clinicians, after an external review reported bullying, harassment, and racism.

hsj.co.uk

💯 this! And for all my NHS followers ... bear in mind that the 2025 Staff Survey showed that, in London, c30% of White staff said they had experienced racism at work in the previous 12 months!

con questi nuovi ritmi americani (she/her) 🏳️‍⚧️🇵🇸🏳@racheledini.bsky.social · 2w ago

I met Jason Arday in induction week in my first permanent academic job, at the University of Roehampton. We had been appointed during the same mass hiring, and spent a week together in more or less useless training sessions that felt like components of some kind of deranged summer camp. 1/

We need to show rightwing newspapers that actions have consequences. Add your name: goodlawproject.org/s/abb8a1

Jason Arday: Demand a public inquiry now | Good Law Project

Commission an immediate public inquiry into how to ensure a responsible press given its contribution to Dr Arday’s tragic death.

goodlawproject.org

Very important thread. Please read and share.

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò@olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 2w ago

Plenty to reflect about re: the Arday affair, but I'm going to repeat this one thing. The playbook the right used here is effective even though it's not especially sophisticated, as it relies on the audience to do the dirty work. I've been calling it "Trojan horse propaganda", let's go with that. 1/

For those who want to formally complain about the media harassment of Dr Jason Arday, go to NewsCord on Instagram and click the link in bio to quickly auto-submit complaints to the right people.

The best way to pay tribute to Jason Arday is to ignore the utter drivel in the media and read at least one of his more than 30 publications on the sociology of education, in particular the barriers that still exist for people from disadvantaged backgrounds, especially, but not only black people.

Well said by Mayor Sadiq Khan on tragic death of #JasonArday: Arday faced "an unacceptable public hounding and campaign of abuse…He was a victim of a pernicious public shaming that other people in his position simply wouldn't have faced" www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Tributes paid to Jason Arday after ex-Cambridge professor found dead

His family said they were "in shock" to have lost him, adding a "campaign of misinformation" had been too much.

bbc.co.uk

This is unbelievably sad and tragic.

Chris Berez@chrisberez.bsky.social · 2w ago

Holy fucking shit Jason Arday found dead

Really pleased to launch The Quiet Revolution yesterday - a collective of five orgs committed to experimenting, taking risks, and trying more imaginative approaches to anti-racism. They'll be experimenting from now until Jan next year. To keep up to date, drop us a line: www.brap.org.uk/contact

Thomson Reuters, which owns news agency Reuters, has signed a $125M deal giving ICE access to its databases of personal data. USA Today has partnered with Palantir to gain "actionable intelligence" on its audiences. The media should be opponents of Trump's police state — not collaborators.

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the world's press: www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEsa...

Count Binface meets the world's press

YouTube video by Count Binface

youtube.com

Risk of patient safety 'bonfire' with Health Bill changes, Lib Dems say - BBC News

Risk of patient safety 'bonfire' with Health Bill changes, Lib Dems say

The party says the government's plans to modernise the NHS risk another major hospital scandal.

buff.ly

Urgh! 😡

Mark Chadbourn@chadbourn.bsky.social · 3w ago

Bezos is coming for the Reds.

It is just unacceptable that the NHS may have to find funds to fight potentially a slew of nuisance lawsuits funded by one extremely wealthy person with an obsession.

@lastpositivist.bsky.social · 3w ago

Just so predictable. Labour got themselves into this because those who aren't True Believers thought they could appease those who are then the issue would go away. Not so. The GCs are obsessives attempting a top down reorientation of our culture to spite a minority they despise. They must be fought.

A midwife reported to the NMC (who dismissed the referral) and Prevent after UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) complained about her social media posts describing Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide. I am making a donation to her fundraiser. You might too www.middleeasteye.net/news/london-...

London hospital reports midwife to Prevent after UK Lawyers for Israel complaint over Gaza posts

Midwife was accused of antisemitism for social media posts and referred to the counterterrorism programme a year after she left her job at the hospital

middleeasteye.net

Racism is sadly still prevalent in our society, and these appalling behaviours are a reflection of it. At some point NHS leaders will have to decide what behaviour is acceptable and what isn't, and take concrete action whenever required.