A great, great thread

This year - one of both mat leave and reporting travels around the country - I've found an alternative story to the "Broken Britain" narrative. My column for the @newstatesman1913.bsky.social Christmas issue:

Late shout for this. Still time to register!

Ahead of our end of year Data Insights session (sign up here! Featuring special guest @anooshc.bsky.social from the New Statesman www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/turning-th...) I wrote something very short on the 2 child limit, living standards and political ambition medium.com/p/9e10a39f80cf

100% against the concept of things/ people being ‘overrated’. Goes for music, football, films whatever. If you don’t like it, say what you think, don’t bring others’ opinions into it.

The living standards crisis will worsen without urgent action. Targeted bill support is needed. For energy alone, it could save 5.6 million households an average of £360 a year. The government and suppliers must act now to stop people spiralling into debt.

It is a lot of tweets but it’s worth reading. As he says - you can disagree on the substance. But we need to talk about the substance!

"Scrapping the two-child limit and addressing high energy bills will prevent hundreds of thousands of children from growing up in poverty and help households across the country keep the lights on." Our CEO responds to today's Autumn Budget ⤵️ https://bit.ly/4pDEOzb

Great to see energy bills cut by average £150 in the budget - with the focus rightly on tackling the disproportionate cost of electricity. This should make it easier for people to benefit from clean power, and support people on electric heating, who are often in the deepest fuel poverty 1/2

Poverty is so expensive to our state and public services. It damages life chances for children and has a massive drag on the economy. Here’s what one of our brilliant frontline advisers wrote in our Budget submission on this:

Scrapping the two-child limit is a brilliant step forward. Reversing this cruel policy will not only pull hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty altogether (and lift many more out of very deep poverty); it will also stop over 100 additional children from being pulled into poverty every day

One of the big mistakes the left made was branding tax credits as corporate welfare. You need cash transfers as well as a minimum wage because different people have different financial needs. A minimum wage high enough to support three kids and a disabled spouse is not a sensible minimum wage.

Why the two-child limit has to go, in a chart.

Buckle up friend it’s time for bread made out of crisps 🍞 🥔 Full disclosure it was not a flawless first attempt. The aim was to make a loaf of bread where the majority ingredient is crisps. 1. Buy 450g of crisps, without shame

You can’t cut child poverty without scrapping the two child benefit limit, and you can’t be a Labour government if you preside over rising child poverty. Me for @labourlist.bsky.social on the route to getting done what Labour must get done. labourlist.org/2025/11/gord...

Really good thread from Becca here

Proper good news today - the Renters' Rights Act gets Royal Assent. Citizens Advice see 200 people a day with problems in private rented housing. The act shifts the balance towards tenants, but it's just the start, as @tessthompsonca.bsky.social says here wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/the-renters-...

Is saying that the Jews run the world antisemitic or just vigilant? Tune in for next week's episode of "is it racist to be racist"

Every word of this.

Twenty of the second tier Championship clubs in 2025 now have higher attendances than the 15k that Villa had in 1986. Football as a source of local connection + pride was in a bad way then and a much better place beyond the premiership today

My colleague @mashley.bsky.social argued recently that directly reducing electricity bills (to reverse the levies) may be a better use of government money than cutting VAT. Why? Because it opens up an affordable route to get off gas and further lower bills, via electric heating

Excellent thread on what should guide any Jobcentre engagement with disabled claimants (many of these principles should be standard across the whole UC system - not just for those currently exempt from conditionality).

This is what we keep seeing- and keep saying- at Citizens Advice. Was in Durham today speaking to debt advisors and no one there thought the cost of living crisis had ended.

“I think politicians are ignoring prices and bills and hoping we’ll forget about them and find something else to complain about…” My report on how the flighty Westminster bubble forgot about the cost-of-living crisis, which certainly isn't over:

New @citizensadvice.bsky.social report on Temporary Accommodation. People know that it's really expensive for local authorities to house tenants in TA, but this report shows how expensive it is for the families too. lnkd.in/ejB5ycRU

💡 Ofgem’s changes on standing charges won’t cut bills - lower charges just mean a higher cost per unit for energy. Tinkering at the edges won’t help people this winter. We need long-term, targeted support for households facing record energy prices ⤵️ https://shorturl.at/NSTLZ

Our latest data shows that people’s problems are becoming more urgent and more complex. And the systems designed to support them are harder to navigate than ever. Join us on 25 September to hear from a panel of experts and explore our data ⤵️ https://bit.ly/41XFPsn #CADataInsights

There was some good chat here a while back about the glorious awfulness of Ukraine 0-0 Switzerland AET at the World Cup in 2006 - aka Probably the Worst Game of All Time. Is Kairat 0-0 Celtic in the second leg of the CL qualifiers (aggregate 0-0, heading to extra time) a rival?

I don't drive much and am terrible at parking when I do, but this is a good example of a market intervention that obviously works for consumers. www.gov.uk/government/n...

Come and join the best team going to do impactful work on welfare policy. This is a great opportunity to learn and develop research and influencing skills in a friendly and supportive organisation.

Lauren Hemp, Norfolk hero and European champion. Congratulations Lionesses!

The challenge of energy affordability is very real, but rising block tariffs aren’t the answer. People on low incomes with poorly insulated homes or who need more energy for health reasons could see rising bills, while those with multiple homes or can install solar panels avoid paying a fair share

Lucy Bronze on how she decided to blast her penalty down the middle (and score). “Statistically it’s risky for the goal keeper to stand still… so yeah, I love maths”.

Terrible penalties = great shootout

New paper from Citizens Advice on how to deliver tangible growth - which puts money in people’s pockets - in consumer markets. TLDR: Consumer confidence is key & slashing hard won consumer protections without adequate safeguards isn’t the answer.

Great report and thread below on the links between health and work. Super topical...

That would be the wrong conclusion. This isn’t about sticking to plans, it’s about not having good plans to begin with. This policy was terrible from day one. Any commentary should start from there.

6/15 The best summary of the UCPIP Bill and what it means that I have seen in the past 24 hours is from @lauralhutch.bsky.social & @tommacinnes.bsky.social of @citizensadvice.bsky.social wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/these-are-no... They call out the awful euphemism underpinning the entire exercise.

Unity across disability organisations and charities in calling for MPs to vote against the UC & PIP Bill today www.ucpipbill.co.uk/wp-content/u...

The vote is today. If MPs vote for the bill they are enshrining this short termist, arbitrary unfairness in law

If Parliament votes in favour of the UCPIP Bill it will enshrine an arbitrary cut in law. We welcome the Timms Review but once again the government is doing things in the wrong order. @CitizensAdvice is asking MPs to vote against these proposals and calling on government to step back and think again

Exempting current claimants from harmful cuts does not mean profound harm will not be inflicted as result of UCPIP bill. Citizens Advice is urging MPs to vote against the bill. These are not reforms. They are cuts to people who can least afford it. wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/these-are-no...

A long thread on why the concessions in and around the UCPIP Bill (ie the disability benefits cuts) are illusory, disingenuous and potentially makes things worse 🧵 There are 5 big myths to bust -fifth is the most difficult to untangle, but the most significant in my view, so please do bear with 🙂

A genuinely elite achievement by Lee Carsley. And the team did what all fans of the men’s seniors have always wanted- played like they do for their clubs. No fear, no weight of the shirt. And yeah the fearlessness of youth helps, but for decades the u21s were underachievers too

After all the rumours we now know what's in the amendment. From November next year, new claimants who need help to cut up food, dress, wash, or use the toilet would be denied the lifeline that PIP provides. For young disabled people and people who become disabled in the future, it is utterly bleak

How will the proposed disability benefit cuts impact disabled people? Today we’re sharing the story of one of the people we’ve helped: Anita*. The cuts could mean she loses over £8k per year (43% of her income)❗ New blog out now: medium.com/p/1ab8959922a1