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Some thoughts on Pride in Place, the UK government’s major new investment in neighbourhoods: medium.com/@jamestplunk... Drawing on a range projects we have underway at @kinship.works And hello from Liverpool and Labour Conference 👋

The idea that "the median voter will feel attacked" by challenging Reform over racism is certainly not shown by the data in this piece. It shows they may be indifferent. (It may mean a different important swing voter, who isn't the median voter)

This Pride in Place story is much more important for any Labour recovery imo than ID and ought to form a central part of its focus: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Suspect this New Statesman deep dive into the Tony Blair Institute makes the case that the correct "Economist descriptor" for the TBI is now "Oracle dealership" rather than "think tank" www.newstatesman.com/politics/202...

imagine if a family of beavers randomly showed up right now and finished whatever thing you've been putting off

On refusing to let fascism mobilise grief, and calling for mobilisation and the building of infrastructures - social, civic, cultural, worker - that can hold the complexity of race and class together, moving us towards solidarity and justice. substack.com/inbox/post/1...

Good from @stephenkb.bsky.social - 'racism does not diminish through rising GDP but through the willingness of politicians to argue against it.' www.ft.com/content/fbbd...

On refusing to let fascism mobilise grief, and calling for mobilisation and the building of infrastructures - social, civic, cultural, worker - that can hold the complexity of race and class together, moving us towards solidarity and justice. substack.com/inbox/post/1...

Today’s newsletter: on the Tory party’s lurching language:

The Chancellor's rhetoric on pride in place, community assets and high streets was correct - these things are important, particularly at the moment when face to face is more important than ever so we can see ourselves in one another. There are announcements in that vein, but little detail so far...

Good to see the first multi-year settlement for local crisis support in Spending Review, with govt's new Crisis and Resilience Fund supported by £1bn a year (replacing the Household Support Fund). Long-term funding will allow councils to target preventative support to the most vulnerable households.

NEW: Sure Start generated widespread, long-lasting benefits for children in education, health, absences, and SEND. Every £1 of up-front spending on Sure Start could generate around £2 in total benefits over the long run. THREAD on our new ‪@nuffieldfoundation.org‬-funded report: [1/11]

As we develop JRF's communities + place policy work, this from @cormacrussell.bsky.social is v inspiring - especially the call to seek a 'good enough alignment' between govt institutions + community-based associations, as the perfect relationship does not exist. www.newlocal.org.uk/publications...

The government says its cuts to disability benefits are part of a “moral mission” to get more people working. But analysis shows fewer than 100,00 are expected to start work by the end of the parliament. Meanwhile around 3m will have disability & health related benefits cut. 1/4

Some thoughts sparked by a great event in Leeds yesterday on neighbourhood health and the UK government's Test, Learn and Grow intiative. How do we make neighbourhoods engines of change? medium.com/@jamestplunk...

Under threat from Reform, coastal MPs are demanding a new strategy from Keir Starmer. 🖊️ @georgeeaton.bsky.social: Will Labour’s “Sea Wall” be swept away?

if you are interested in government, this is the best internship going... apply or RT

Some families with a disabled adult stand to lose over £12,000 per year by 2029/30 as a result of the Government's disability benefit cuts. Hardship being deepened by rebuilding the nations finances on the backs of disabled people And polling suggests the public know it.

What mental illnesses are being ‘over diagnosed’ and who by? And what effect is that supposedly having on claims for PIP which uses a functional not diagnostic test? It’s so important that public & political debates about mental health, illness and social security are informed by robust evidence

"A government that came to office pledging to end the moral scar of food bank use clearly should not be taking steps that could leave disabled people at greater risk of needing to use one." www.jrf.org.uk/news/governm...

This is good from Andy Burnham - calling not for benefits cuts that will drive more people into poverty, but instead for integrated place-based services that recognise the complexities of people's lives and provide whole-person support. www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

This is good from Andy Burnham - calling not for benefits cuts that will drive more people into poverty, but instead for integrated place-based services that recognise the complexities of people's lives and provide whole-person support. www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

This, from a DWP press release yesterday (gov.uk/government/n...), is outrageous In two short paragraphs it peddles multiple falsehoods about the current system that will be used to justify upcoming cuts & changes Here's what MPs & journalists should be challenging... 🧵

Yesterday, a Government press release claimed the number of people “considered too sick to work” had "quadrupled" since the pandemic (a "383% rise"). This is incorrect. In fact, it’s not even close. It's more like 40%. This thread explains why 🧵1/7

There’s a lot of fantastic expertise on here and on Substack: @benbgeiger.bsky.social is on both. Really terrific piece.

🚨 Today, we publish new research that lays bare the scale of child poverty in migrant families. 46% of children in families with non-UK born parents live in poverty - almost double the rate for other children. The govt cannot tackle child poverty without tackling issues in our migration system. 🧵⬇️

The New Plan for Neighbourhoods. Six thoughts 🧵. 1️⃣ It’s seeking to learn from the New Deal for Communities (great!) but the ££ involved isn’t anywhere at the same scale. www.gov.uk/government/n...

Ethnic minority adults, on average, live in households that spend a larger share of their income on housing costs than their White British counterparts. As this chart makes plain, the differences are often substantial. Read more➡️ https://buff.ly/3ErK9Y4

An update on the AI work I've been leading at @jrf-uk.bsky.social! I reflect on what we've learnt and share how tech and AI are shaping our ways of working, our understanding of poverty's dynamics, and our development of tools and communities working to tackle it. www.jrf.org.uk/ai-for-publi...

A pleasure to have been a (very small) part of this - and a huge well done to @yasminibison.bsky.social on really valuable work (and honest reflections)

In 2023, @yasminibison.bsky.social launched our 'AI for public good' work Unlike our other policy programmes, we were positioned as an explorer, posing thought-provoking questions and gathering audiences to generate new ideas in response 🔎 Read our reflections: jrf.org.uk/ai-for-publi... 1/2

An update on the AI work I've been leading at @jrf-uk.bsky.social! I reflect on what we've learnt and share how tech and AI are shaping our ways of working, our understanding of poverty's dynamics, and our development of tools and communities working to tackle it. www.jrf.org.uk/ai-for-publi...

A bleak picture for many ethnic minority groups in @jrf-uk.bsky.social UK Poverty report. Asian & Black households are by far the most likely to be in poverty - with even higher poverty levels for children in these households. No one should be more at risk of poverty because of political choices.

Power, prevention & place: 3 pillars of the ‘new local’ being forged by public servants & communities working together in new ways. My new thinkpiece sets out how this should inform the national reform agenda, which in turn must enable it to deepen & grow. www.newlocal.org.uk/articles/wha...

Our latest UK Poverty report is out today Millions of children living in poverty isn't inevitable. Poverty rates won’t reduce by the end of this Parliament if the Government doesn’t act. Economic growth on its own isn’t enough; we need targeted policy interventions & investment in social security.

Child poverty predicted to rise in most of UK except Scotland

This year the UK Govt say they will publish an 'ambitious' cross-government child poverty strategy Any respectable child poverty strategy must include action on social security including to abolish the two-child limit and introduce a protected minimum amount of support to UC 5/5

Our latest UK Poverty report is out today Millions of children living in poverty isn't inevitable. Poverty rates won’t reduce by the end of this Parliament if the Government doesn’t act. Economic growth on its own isn’t enough; we need targeted policy interventions & investment in social security.

Great piece - insights from Spanish + Mexican govts on embracing bold inflation-tackling measures, beyond adjusting interests rates (plus clear communication to publics on what they were doing!) to protect people against cost shocks. www.foreignaffairs.com/mexico/gover...

📉 How can Labour tackle poverty in the UK in 2025? On 30 Jan, we'll be discussing our annual UK Poverty report - and how the government can create lasting change through access to good work, social security reforms and affordable housing. Sign up here: events.zoom.us/ev/AlxlUn_TR...

Can AI support a world where people & planet flourish? Power is key to this question, both dominant forces & those that resist them. Last year, I invited @ginasue.bsky.social to host a @jrf-uk.bsky.social workshop on AI & countervailing power. Here, I reflect on what was discussed. bit.ly/40tOqCO

This is an important paper. We alo need to recognise that many countrvailing forces have, and continue to be, weakened... E.g. anti-trade union legislation, the abolition of the GLC*, increasing surveillance etc

This plan is long on ideas for Big Tech & short on how to help people transition to the AI economy. It's a missed opportunity to address the things that people are really worried about AI: jobs, trust, power. Instead it's 50 points of ✨: like data centres = growth. Politically, it seems tone-deaf.

Really important and engaging discussion looking to lay foundations for better-informed take up of AI - particularly timely given the government's apparently across-the-board endorsement of AI to boost the economy earlier this week.

So honoured to have been a part of this work with @yasminibison.bsky.social‬ at @jrf-uk.bsky.social. Timely launch of the report on our workshop that identified how we can--and must--talk about AI differently in the UK if we want to build just digital futures.

Can AI help to create a world where people and planet flourish? 🌍 At the heart of this question lies power - both dominant forces and those who counter them. @yasminibison.bsky.social reflects on our workshop with @ginasue.bsky.social exploring AI and power dynamics: www.jrf.org.uk/ai-for-publi...

Can AI support a world where people & planet flourish? Power is key to this question, both dominant forces & those that resist them. Last year, I invited @ginasue.bsky.social to host a @jrf-uk.bsky.social workshop on AI & countervailing power. Here, I reflect on what was discussed. bit.ly/40tOqCO