Jonathan Simons

Just got a call from an unknown Iranian number. Now to take a big slug of coffee and call them back

Really interesting: @jonathansimons.bsky.social new polling on student loans finds people who are paying back (aged 25-44) are much **less** likely to "be concerned" with the system than people not of the age to be paying back www.linkedin.com/feed/update/... @nickhillman.bsky.social

They need to really drill down into the issue

From me

Turgid. Turgid turgid turgid. 3 corner goals. 3 loads of grappling and shoving. Hardly the beautiful game is it.

Not this thread specifically, but I’ve seen a lot of “you want to be rescued, pay your taxes” / “not so much fun over there now eh”. Just a bit distasteful to be honest

A lot of people on Bluesky that are very angry that Farage et al are chipping away at rights of citizenship, suddenly switching away themselves when it’s concerning terribly nouveau riche and tacky Brits in Dubai, eh?

You just dont get letters like this anywhere except Country Life.

For all the 200 posts on here saying that this shows the rise of the Greens, this to me seems the key insight

The biggest implication for me is a more likely shift towards some sort of PR voting system (not for 28/29, but soon after, because it will almost uniquely be attractive to all parties)

Miriam Cates contains multitudes.

This is relevant less for a “haw haw, doge, idiots”, and more to show the tensions that will increasingly face the party as they grapple with local - and national - pressures on tax and spend.

Their changing position on SEND is emblematic of this.

V interesting piece. A headline of £365m savings, but these 12 councils control just shy of £10bn of budget, so that’s a 3% efficiency. Not nothing - but £70m of that is a nationwide revaluation of the LGPS (not repeatable) and at least £25m is asset sales (ditto)

The thing is, I think that Arsenal is the middle class North London team, and Spurs is the working class North London team. But will need to see some rooms in their houses to confirm

It’s a shame that it’s half term, because the Tower of London is just going to be really busy today and there’s not much space available

What a first day for the newest member of the most hidden bit of the UK constitution; the Golden Triangle

Erm:

Making one choice does, I mean literally by definition, mean they have a choice.

Secondly, the fact only 40% want their closest school again literally means those are real choice not back up choices

I get you might not like it for whatever reason, but it is empirically true that it exists

Once again riding my hobby horse to say yes, choice is viable for most and exercised by many:

- only 35% parents make just one choice of sec school; 40% make at least three
- this doesn’t change by FSM
- only 40% want to send child to nearest schl

research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/files/199...

😂😂😂😂

V possible

I’m not averse to at least two of these (this is one of them)

A mixed blessing…..

This is the downside…..

Restriction of the Erasmus scheme, to ensure “British taxpayers are not paying for entitled students to go and lounge about on Spanish beaches for a year while studying low value subjects”. Restricted to certain subjects only

Scrapping of the various compulsory vaccinations given through schools to school children - or perhaps making them much more explicitly opt in, not opt out - on the grounds of parental choice and there being plenty of other places parents can access them if they want to

The creation of a new “West Point style” national military college which combines undergraduate teaching and the first port of call for defence research, all funded by the MoD, to be funded by cancelling all affirmative action and outreach programmes for military recruitment

Oak National Academy to have a new role in kite marking and subsidising approved curriculum and assessment resources, to protect against those expressing anti British sentiment being used in schools.

A national scholarship scheme for the highest potential FE students in a series of named trades and technical professions, entitling them fee and maintenance access at a national college of excellence which looks awfully like a defunded university repurposed for this use

Free 30 hours childcare a week for all 2-4 year olds for British families with a third child or more

The immediate abolition of the AHRC, with its research funding being reallocated to “high value STEM research”

A mandatory British history course to be taught in all schools to 14-15 year olds, funded by defunding GCSE sociology