Driving is a privilege, earned through assessment and retained via acceptable standards. Why should such people ever be allowed to lawfully drive again and share the road with victims? We would never return a firearms licence to someone who unlawfully used a gun to kill. Why is driving different?

This is great, a readable scientific and cultural history of vaccines that show just how amazing they are

The thread linking this and today’s @jacktshaw.bsky.social paper on the dire state of the public realm is how centralisation and the crushing of local government finance has done harm out of all proportion to the money saved by the treasury: social, cultural and political

Fantastic photo from Phil Laybourne capturing the moment a Red Deer steps on some Lego.

Interesting 🧵from @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social here. It's NOT just for "kerb nerds", but for anybody who is genuinely interested* in people getting about, especially people with disabilties. *Not those banging on about "thuh disabled" whenever driver privilege is questioned.

The pump recovered from the Mary Rose, presented here as a thread. (Well, it has to be a thread, the blooming thing's over 8.22m (4.49 fathoms) long!)

Job opportunity - we need a fab new colleague to do quant research on work, welfare and mental health within @kingscsmh.bsky.social (closes 8 Feb) This is funded until Apr/28, but we'll support you in bids to extend it - please do circulate to suitable ppl! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQD294/p...

Beyond routine: the role of skills, education, and technology in middle-skill occupations research looks at middle occupations, jobs that occupy the centre of the distribution of occupations in terms of skills and income. www.edge.co.uk/research/pro...

Well worth reading from someone who understands northern politics.

I've seen a number of organisations and politicians use the data seemingly showing a productivity miracle in large northern city regions, especially Greater Manchester. Something didn't seem quite right. So I take a look in this piece:

wikipedia turns 25 today! the last unenshittified major website! backbone of online info! triumph of humanity! powered by urge of unpaid randos to correct each other! somehow mostly reliable! "good thing wikipedia works in practice, because it sure doesn't work in theory" - old wiki adage

My paper shows that youth migration has also increased in recent years, especially among graduates. Graduates move from places with weak labour markets to London and other high-paying cities, which exacerbates regional skills inequalities. Skilled labour, as well as capital, flows towards London.

THEN AND NOW: Igtham, Kent, 1888 v today.

Fascinating detailed industry data on labour #productivity from The Productivity Institute. The ranking of the top and bottom industries has changed little in the last 15 years or so. Interactive data viz here: bit.ly/49BL04m #dataisbeautiful

Just going to reply with this chart whenever I hear people telling me how the triple lock will destroy the public finances from now on.

Excellent long thread on the big rail investment announcement for the North. Tl; dr - Groundhog Day?

Oh that's fabulous too, Richard! ❤️

Wait to see what is happening to people claiming UC who have a disability. The government is cutting it by about 50% for new claimants from April 2026 The Guardian view on long waits for disability benefits: the system should not push people closer to poverty www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

NEW article by me, on Henry VII’s trade wars, and their long-term impact on labour restrictions www.ageofinvention.xyz/p/age-of-inv...

Medway’s Local Plan has gone to inspection, with formal objections from two Labour councillors in the ruling administration, who warn it is unsound and not legally compliant. Plus Ofsted on children’s services and Medway on standby as Kent’s water network came under strain.

Meet Ying and Yang, stalwarts of Renfrewshire's Long Tailed Tit synchronised dance scene😁 📸 Lovely shot by Les Wood👏

As always, a fantastic response from @wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk : wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk/response-to-...

It's no secret that new technologies are changing skills demands. Last week, the @financialtimes.com carried a graph reinforcing the dual importance of both mathematical and social skills - but emphasising that social skills are driving higher wage roles.

Park update: many of the sculptures remain unopened after Xmas. Or perhaps these are coccoons or chrysalis (We don’t thing chrystalpalisalis will catch on..)

I work in a public service adjacent space (adult skills). You've no idea just how much energy is soaked up by central levers being pulled. Basically most innovation energy in a system is devoted to responding to central lever pulling. A big problem is the levers are too connected rather than not...

Huh. Turns out officials thought they were dealing with a tolerable risk of harm. I really hoped that wasn't the explanation

@jamesomalley.co.uk for interest...

Today is Tridi the 23rd of Nivôse in the year 234. Nivôse is the month of snow. Today we celebrate iron.#JacobinDay More information on iron

This is an interesting read. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... A few thoughts -

Just ban it. Stop this being socially acceptable FFS 🤬

10 years on from the National Living Wage's introduction, after a decade of rapid increases, a *smaller* share of employees are paid at the wage floor now than in 2016 (6.1% v 6.7%). Something that basically no-one predicted and very few appreciate, even today.

I had a great time chatting about older people with @timharford.ft.com on BBC4 More or Less. The starting question was – are one in four pensioners really millionaires? Quick thread below: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

NEW: UK workers who lose their job see their living standards fall and their financial distress increase, despite unemployment benefits. Isaac Delestre and Tom Waters' new report finds spending falls across a range of items, including even a 16% fall in supermarket spending:

New powers for councils to enforce against pavement parking don't go far enough. Officials will be allowed to define what constitutes "unnecessary obstruction" when parking on the pavement, creating a postcode lottery. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp80ll3kk9jo

The Acts of Elizabeth came much later, in 1598 and 1601. The earlier Tudor Acts were partly punitive, but the Act of 1536 was also influenced by the 1531 defence of welfare provision made on behalf of the city of Ypres. Read the astonishing Ypres report at rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1238880

It's a huge milestone and definitely one to celebrate. Now we'll be looking closely at the government's proposals to see what they mean in practice. And we will keep pushing until disabled people can use our streets safely and with confidence.

This has been a long time coming, so very welcome news! We're been working in coalition with @guidedogsuk.bsky.social , @livingstreets.bsky.social and @walkwheelcyclet.bsky.social for years on pavement parking.

It's great to see action starting against dangerous pavement parking. Now we need: A clear definition of what "unreasonable obstruction" means; Effective ways to enforce against obstructive and dangerous parking; Enforcement against pavements being broken by heavy vehicles. Read more: bit.ly/4jsWbRa

“These new powers do not go far enough to protect pedestrians. It’s disappointing not to see a nationwide prohibition.” Our @charitycat.bsky.social responds to the news that local authorities will receive legal powers to restrict pavement parking. https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/pavement-parking

"Today, Svalbard is the warmest place in the country!" Norwegian meteorologists reported on January 8

It's shocking that Trinity Hall are considering targeting student recruitment from "elite private schools." The University of Cambridge is a world-class institution, but access is overwhelmingly unequal 🧵 www.theguardian.com/education/20...

After five years of contemplation, it seems the solution to the blight of pavement parking is a fudged halfway house that doesn't address the actual problem. Having tried to get police action on pavement obstruction, I know how hard it is. 71% of consultees favoured an outright ban (like in London).

DfT press release on footway parking. They've bottled a national ban and so will rely on local action with new powers (which are not explained, but area-based). A postcode lottery as now then? I await actual details. www.gov.uk/government/n...

Interesting headline on DWP and AI. Article useful too. www.theregister.com/2026/01/07/d...

Critically, we also need the public to support actions that enable older people to live great lives without having to drive for when they fail the eye tests. So the public need to get onboard with no pavement parking, pedestrian priority, denser housing, fewer out-of-town shopping centres, etc etc

This finding of "hidden" public support for green policies strongly echoes our work on pluralistic ignorance when it comes to non-car travel: most people support non-car travel more than car travel, but at the same time they believe this is a minority view

Exciting news! I was interviewed by @currentbiology.bsky.social for their Q & A section, where I talk about the future of palaeontology, dangers of AI in education, social media and science communication. Featuring, my doodles! cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(25)01552-0

I think your identification of the issue is right. Both education and employment being 'greedy' and not promoting both studying and working together. Must be possible to have FE/HE working to get their students jobs around their courses, and reflecting soft skills to post course jobs.

The decline of Saturday jobs - and working while studying more generally - gets far too little attention