Great intro to Daniel Finkelstein's column www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...
10.03.2026 20:56
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Great intro to Daniel Finkelstein's column www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...
I once told officials that the policy of the Government of the Day was to be pro having cake and pro eating it, in a response to a submission suggesting we should have new rules restricting birthday cakes in schools.
It was the one occasion where the policy implications of the slogan were clear.
God, has it only been two days of “how dare you suggest that my artform no longer has mass appeal. My heavily subsidised concert had a full house of 55-65 year olds and I earn as much as €26k some years”? It’s felt longer.
This all looks remarkably sensible on V Levels. Kudos to the DfE.
feweek.co.uk/revealed-the...
Lots of v good points in this from @neildotobrien.bsky.social - civil service performance management is rubbish.
But important not to think that's unrecognised inside CS. It's the complaint you hear most often, at all seniorities - the problem is making fixing it a priority & sticking with it!
I wonder if we could get 'social Calvinism' to stick in people's minds as much as 'social Darwinism has done?
www.edrith.co.uk/p/an-arminia...
If we had built more railways than we needed, we should *stop building railways* and use those resources to do something more productive.
Arguing that in such a situation we should just keep building more and more railways because to do otherwise would be 'defeatist' is bizarre.
Thank you!
Sadly, none of this will be a surprise to anyone who has spent time in the civil service.
open.substack.com/pub/almondtr...
I wonder if we could get 'social Calvinism' to stick in people's minds as much as 'social Darwinism has done?
www.edrith.co.uk/p/an-arminia...
Less than five hours left to rate 45 classic laws:
1. Acts of Parliament
2. Physical Laws
3. Sociological and other laws
Can we get it to over 300 respondents?
www.edrith.co.uk/p/a-question...
Less than five hours left to rate 45 classic laws:
1. Acts of Parliament
2. Physical Laws
3. Sociological and other laws
Can we get it to over 300 respondents?
www.edrith.co.uk/p/a-question...
This is a lot of fun - and I finally got to vote for the repeal of the ridiculous SEND laws
Is it a surprise we've seen a huge explosion of courses the country doesn't need - and that do little (or negative) to benefit the student?
A surge in un- and under-qualified students going?
A complete collapse in standards?
No, it is the inevitable response to incentives.
Fees given for every student they take, on any course.
Unis set their own standards, who they take, who gets a 2:1 or a First (both have shot up).
Doesn't matter if the student couldn't pass A-Levels. if the course is needed. If the student benefits.
Unconditional money.
Imagine if Government gave hospitals a fixed sum for every MRI scan.
No need for the scan to be necessary or if the patient benefited - just show you've done it and get the money.
We would get a huge increase in unneccesary scans.
Yet that's our university funding system.
Final call: Retain, Reform or Repeal?
Join over 250 others in saying which of Britain's most iconic laws - plus some other 'laws'! - you would keep, or not.
Which will be most popular? Which most divisive?
Take the survey here: ⬇️
www.edrith.co.uk/p/a-question...
Final call: Retain, Reform or Repeal?
Join over 250 others in saying which of Britain's most iconic laws - plus some other 'laws'! - you would keep, or not.
Which will be most popular? Which most divisive?
Take the survey here: ⬇️
www.edrith.co.uk/p/a-question...
NEW BLOGPOST: Keir Starmer and David Lammy are taking an extraordinarily dangerous gamble with our individual liberty
For any MP unsure of how to vote on the government’s proposals to restrict trial by jury.
Thought-provoking piece on two options for how Labour could respond to the threat of the Greens.
open.substack.com/pub/mbatangs...
First, AI kills the lawyers.
Thoughtful, analytical and depressing piece from @archiehall.bsky.social.
notes.archie-hall.com/p/britains-a...
Moving piece from @rmcunliffe.bsky.social.
As someone who is often sceptical of the £200m cost of official inquiries, this was an important reminder to me that, whether or not that is the best way to do it, it is important that we do not forget those years.
www.newstatesman.com/politics/hea...
"The scars of the Covid pandemic run deep, a rupture in the relationship hundreds of thousands of citizens have with the state that has never fully healed."
Reflections on the final week of the Covid Inquiry - on what we have learned, and what we try to forget
www.newstatesman.com/politics/hea...
Does this control for greater fragmentation?
It's easier to guess someone's vote if 80% of people are voting for two parties than if <50% are.
I want it as good as poss for all kids, but a particular focus on high ability! Why is that any more baffling than the people who want the focus on SEND, or FSM, or whatever?
Speaking of focus, I need to focus on day-job now. I appreciate the engagement, esp. given my intemperate first tweet.
Sure, maybe not the best framing, but I logged on to see a bunch of people from more privileged backgrounds (OK, #notallposters) slamming the ladder which gave me opportunity, while claiming virtue.
Not pretending it was the most temperate post, but a fairly human thing to get narked about.
The very rural areas issue is a real downside and I don't think it works there.
But also applies to other types of schools e.g. Welsh medium, faith, etc.
Things I pitched internally but was told 'no' on included:
- Grammar schools
- Significant cut to university fees.
SpAds don't get to push everything they want, still less achieve it, for lots of reasons! But I'm happy with my personal record, even if I wish I'd managed much more.
Things I worked on but went nowhere while I was in:
- Restoring number controls in HE.
- Scholarship for AAA kids from poorer backgrounds going to uni.
- Much larger across the board apprenticeship expansion.
- RSHE/trans stuff.
