Now *that* is an air source heat pump. Congratulations to Ben and the team at Winchester Science Centre for getting rid of their oil-fired boiler and replacing it with this beauty! The centre is still warm and welcoming (and, of course, still fun and inspiring too). But now low carbon as well!

If the UK government had a Culture Secretary, that person would be in a position to take a view about whether child porn on demand was a good thing, or a bad thing. thecritic.co.uk/brin...

The Liberal Democrats won 106 Council By-Elections in 2025, more than any other party #ByElectionsWrapped 1) LDM 106 2) RFM 104 3) CON 45 4) LAB 36 5) GRN 24

We did this in Winchester to secure much needed social homes and rebalance our city's estates away from HMOs. No apologies. No regrets.

It’s such a mess. Two weeks after the Mayoral elections were put back by two years, the Labour government is now asking councils if we want to delay county, district and unitary elections as well.

Budget 2025: This is how you lose the world iandunt.substack.com/p/budget-202...

Brexit reminders. New post on my Brexit & Brexitism Blog. Brexit may not be in the headlines, but many current news stories carry reminders of it, including the Hallett Inquiry report, the Gill scandal, the Budget & the latest net migration figures: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2025/11/brex...

Read 'em and weep. (www.nber.org/system/files...)

Read of the day: Ben canters through recent pro-bubble literature. The most surprising thing for me is his argument that by massively augmenting the demand for energy at this (imho fraught) time, the data centre bubble might leave a hugely positive legacy. stratechery.com/2025/the-ben...

On the one hand...

Nationalism is a shibboleth. The challenges we face are daunting. But we are not going to overcome them by hunkering down behind of imaginary lines scrawled on a map by medieval warlords. Our problems are transnational, and the solutions are too.

Was great to have a chance to congratulate @winchester.gov.uk's fantastic Animal Welfare team on being awarded a very special pair of @rspcaoffficial.bsky.social awards for the 3rd consecutive year - Platinum PawPrints for Stray Dog Services and Animal Activity Licensing.

The media ready to cover Reform by-election victories today only to find Lib Dems winning 7/10

Was looking forward to see Winchester's new statue of Jane Austen - and then was blown away when it was unveiled. Stunning.

Absolutely delighted to hear about Alex Drage's victory in the Yateley West by-election. It was such a pleasure to campaign for someone who's so committed to strong action on cutting carbon and reversing the decline in biodiversity and nature.

Windy day but a good crew out in Yateley West including prospective Hampshire Mayoral candidate @martin.tod.social

Some exciting news... My Lib Dem colleagues across Hampshire, Portsmouth, Southampton and the Isle of Wight have chosen me to be their Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of Hampshire and the Solent. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltHq...

Unzoomed #594 2/6 🔴🟢⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️ unzoomed.com

Err hello BBC that decline in car production isn’t really over the last 25 years looks more like mostly within the last 10 years….

Great to chat with Ed Davey at his book signing hosted by One Tree Books. So many people came to hear Ed speak not only about his personal experiences as a carer; but also the Lib Dems’ care policies and our willingness to take a different approach to solving the care crisis in our country.

@winchester.gov.uk rated #1 district council in the country for climate action. Very proud... 😀 councilclimatescorecards.uk/councils/win...

A quick reminder that no dog died from missing a walk, but many dogs have died as a result of being exercised in hot weather! I've treated many dogs with heat stroke and it is often fatal, which is heartbreaking for the owners.

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/71... What do you mean, you haven't signed the Parky Charter petition calling for better Parkinson's care?? We Parkies have an excuse - one of the symptoms of PD is apathy. But as for the rest of you, jump to it! (pretty please..)

A more interesting question is whether other areas should have assemblies, rather than the 'combined authority' model.

The wonderful surviving wall paintings in the Holy Sepulchre Chapel in Winchester Cathedral, which date to the 12thC #winchester #winchestercathedral #medieval #medievalwallpaintings

New post from me about Trump's tariffs and why Harold Macmillan was right - we Brits are truly Greece to America's Rome - because our Brexit-era compulsion to think everything was 'simple' has a Trumpian heir. A short thread. 1/n benansell.substack.com/p/simple

"When we're spending £100billion a year on servicing government debt, I don't think anyone could seriously argue that we don't need to get a grip of government borrowing and government debt." - Reeves Did mass public sector cuts lower that 'debt' the last time we tried it?

Five years on and we’re still going round and round with whether Covid is airborne. There’s no scientific doubt. Denial broke us. healthydebate.ca/2025/03/topi...

There's something rather magical about aerial photographs of trees

Yes – and this isn't a commentary on the specific piece here, as I haven't had chance to read it – but: the conversation is almost identical to the one about mental health. Which is that we *constantly* talk about the need to talk about it, and never have the actual bloody conversation.

I've heard a few people say the best way to understand Severance is to watch each episode twice. For me, watching it once and barely knowing what the fuck is going on works just fine.

And the answer is: Use more profanity.

Advice please, @profanity.accountant

Polish Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Wałęsa and 38 other former political prisoners of Poland's communist regime have condemned Donald Trump's treatment of Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, which they said reminded them of communist interrogation techniques

"The older that I get, the more I understand that there aren’t a lot of people who are stupid, but there are a lot of people who are incurious, and their incuriosity is understood by people who were curious about something as stupidity." - this is a fantastic piece about AI use but also about life:

The UK Government English #Devolution white paper outlines changes to local council structure. The Government has also asked councils in the Hampshire & Solent region to propose how they'll restructure to become larger unitary authorities: winchester.gov.uk/news/2025/fe...

Good to see @winchester.gov.uk as one of the first local authorities with a proper gov.uk @bsky.app handle. 👍

Say what you like about David Cameron but he really did shoot UKIP's fox.

Since it's #BurnsNight tonight and #JaneAusten250 this year, I took the opportunity to post a speech I was asked to make to the 'immortal memory' that references both of them (as well as John Keats and Edward Young)! www.martintod.org.uk/2025/01/25/y...

Minimum Income Requirements leave families ripped apart, often with huge impacts on children. It makes falling in love and having a family a "pay to play" system, and causes so much harm. They are an unjust "tax on love" and devastate lives. MIR needs to be scrapped. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

No, SARS-CoV-2 isn’t a little bit airborne. It’s not “situationally” airborne. It’s an AIRBORNE VIRUS, spreads via the air. I’m granting an amnesty on people who said (5y ago) that it wasn’t. I won’t say I told you so if you finally acknowledge the evidence. Let’s just get this right and move on.

New paper published @ajpseditor.bsky.social Showing that reduced access to public services fuelled far right support in 🇮🇹 Existing work on far right highlights globalization & migration grievances, what about people’s experiences with the state? We use 🇮🇹 reform to find out shorturl.at/zQ8bJ

Last ‘Cowper’s Cut’ of 2024 outside the paywall for a couple of hours. I mean, who’s doing anything much around now? www.healthpolicyinsight.com/cowpers-cut-...

British governance is so appallingly incompetent that central government set out to hurt post-92 universities, but ended up within an ace of bringing the entire Higher Education system down on their own heads.

It is remarkable how the focus on handwashing in public places has persisted despite us learning years ago that the virus is airborne.

ianburbidge.com/2024/12/20/o... On the devolution white paper: diamonds in the rough or fool’s gold? Much to welcome Care on the point of devo down vs sucking up to bigger units of geography @ianburbidge.bsky.social

We had a brilliant afternoon watching Winchester City Football Club play on their brand new AstroTurf pitch! Thanks for your hospitality - and the excellent chilli! @martin.tod.social

English households spent more on beer than rent for most of the last millennium h/t @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Very useful read - although if the devolution white paper is a tweak to the current system - and the issue of funding for local government (or the powers for local government to fund itself) isn't properly addressed, it's unclear why they're bothering and why they expect change.