I have been neglecting Blusky, sorry!
Here is today's newsletter, where I complain about the government failing to listen to the people impacting by their policies...mostly, predictably, when these people are women.
open.substack.com/pub/worroom/...
Thank you so much for sharing this India! I really appreciate it - it's such a difficult issue, and I'm worried reforms are going to miss the mark. I know how challenging it has been for us, and we're one of the lucky ones because we've ended up with the EHCP outcome we needed!
"Back when I were a lass, we never caught the train or bus –because, quite simply, there weren’t any. Even now, you’re still more likely to pass someone travelling on horse-back than by bus."
@jessicagh.bsky.social sits in for this week's Wor Room, recalling her Yorkshire youth and dodgy transport.
Ah fantastic, thanks India - I'm glad someone looked in more detail than I managed to do writing the newsletter last night!
I often come back to something Sir John Burn, then of Newcastle Hospitals said: he was running a National Illness Service in the NE, w/ great capability, but tough situations.
So the ONS has just released new stats on NHS experiences… ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula... ...let's see what it say about the North
I mean, man, if we get even one of those, it'll be a good day.
I love playing Budget Bingo, so that I can be disappointed every time - this year I think the North East needs local gov funding, FE funding, support for a film/TV studio, and investment in the Leamside Line.
You can read why I think that in The QT - theqt.online/time-for-the...
You're 17, you're in the 6th form common room. You've got your little off-brand MP3 player and some dodgy songs you found on the internet. One of them is The Hives, and you're listening to it with one earphone in while I talk to you about the recession.
That's this week's newsletter.
This has made me nostalgic for that period in 2018-19 when Theresa May kept calling press conferences to say she wasn't going to resign
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...
The QT is a new online weekly newspaper for the North East. It's committed to high quality journalism and analysis.
It's free to read this week, then available on a subscription of £7.99 per month.
Give it a look.
"In the North East, child poverty has to be the policy focus. Morally, it’s the only option as an umbrella mission. The human damage it does, the damage of lost potential is too great for it not to be top of the list."
My first column for The QT: theqt.online/a-year-of-ch...
There's a new online newspaper for North East England, launching on Wednesday.
I'm delighted to say I'm going to be in it, writing a regular column on policy, politics, data and evidence in the region.
You can read the first edition (and my first column) free by going to theqt.online
Including this important health warning on national coverage of the issues...
Guest views in this week's newsletter, where I rely on @leighsus.bsky.social to give some credibility to my take on the Teesworks Independent Review.
open.substack.com/pub/worroom/...
Got annoyed about the Centre for Social Justice and wrote 1200 words on their most recent report to start this week's newsletter.
It speaks volumes about the diversity of human experience that a journey across the Tees flyover inspired both this song and the opening shot of Blade Runner.
"Those of us who believe in tolerance, humanity, compassion, diversity, need to watch out and play our part to keep those lives open."
I spoke to @tomrobinson.com about how artists can build a career, and the role of political music in changing society:
www.apatternof.com/features/tom...
A couple of good maps in this week's newsletter - one on housing and infrastructure across the North from Homes for the North, and another from Chris Whitty's annual report which shows how the UK population is expected to age.
Tax them. Tax them for the emissions. Tax them for the weight and the additional use and wear of infrastructure. Tax them for the excess deaths. Tax them to change the consumer behaviours behind it.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Tell me if you see any Catholics in funny hats with suspicious looking books of matches
Might see you down the front later for one of the weirder British traditions!
Anyone on here expert enough in investment flows to tell me what the North East ranking high in foreign investment (third behind London and the South East) but low on investment sticking in the region (just 43% stays here) means?
Is being a gateway good?
worroom.substack.com/p/54-of-nort...
"Regards, Samuel"
I was going to say "no, surely it never works", then I noticed you've been doing graded from the casual 'Pan' to the more formal 'Panagiotis' and the pain and the hurt is just leaping out of the email and I think you should go back saying actually you do want some more customers.
"Too bad you want to be a loser, Sam, I'll be working with the winners...no, you don't know them, they go to another school"
Some news! I'm going to be working with New Writing North as a Creative Associate on a six-month residency, to write a collection of essays exploring North East masculinity, community and identity.
Find out all about it (and the three other talented associates), at the link below!
It should also involve pastel shades and a nice train journey
How brave is Keir Starmer? That's the question on housing and planning.
Great to guest on the Northern Agenda podcast this week to elaborate on this week's Wor Room newsletter and talk about the many and varied housing crises facing the UK, and how much political capital it would take to fix them.
More on housing and housebuilding in my Substack this week...
