Recently I went to a fascinating presentation about efforts to create a universal identifier to enable individuals to be tracked through the justice system. As all the agencies involved have different & incompatible databases it’s no surprise that ‘a paper-based’ system makes errors more likely

For those who aren't keeping up, Mamdani is a Zionist now (for condeming swastika graffiti on a yeshiva)

It was great to meet the Dulwich residents behind dulwichbuscampaign.co.uk today. It’s a really good, focused campaign which me, @margynewens.bsky.social and Marina Ahmad the Lambeth and Southwark MLA are delighted to support. Please sign the petition here:

Clearly a lot of details to work through in how it’s implemented but this new pay per mile charge for EVs is a necessary& fair policy. Hope HMT are engaging with devolved nations & local gov on its design as this is a real opportunity to think creatively & more holistically about motoring taxation

The UK & others have been doing their bit to help people in Gaza. To those still screaming 'complicit in genocide': you know nothing. Stop these childish games. Here's the UK foreign secretary literally standing with the aid waiting to get in. Direct your anger at those still blocking the routes.

Two retired men I know can't spend their pensions fast enough as their pots keep going up in value. But they'll still moan about Rachel Reeves and potential tax rises/new taxes on them while pondering voting Reform next time. A Mail reader and a Telegraph reader.

I’m sure Matt Goodwin will be along shortly to tell us all whether LNER Customer Service Host Samir Zitouni counts as British or not. news.sky.com/story/train-...

The #Oxford Temporary Congestion Charge for Cars is off to a good start: Sreets that were jammed are now free. Buses can move as they should, and more people are using them. Essential services can get around. Great to go forward, not back to jams! news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/start-of-tem...

Videos seen thousands of times on Facebook claim the government is banning people from using their central heating after 9pm from 1 November. But this is completely false. There is no such policy.

After a week of faffing around the @dailymail.co.uk have agreed to apologise. Here it is. Fingers crossed for fewer lies/smears dressed up as news in future

Synchronicity in my morning reading: 1. Interview with Jimmy Wales in the @newstatesman1913.bsky.social about dishonest political comms. Followed by 2. @arseblog.com on Mikel Arteta’s comms style as an antidote to dishonest football comms.

Posted this on Wednesday and it slightly took off. Then @richholman.com replied to say he'd actually made a version of what I was suggesting. So I wrote the story up for the @newstatesman1913.bsky.social www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

Let’s seize this moment for children’s outdoor play! FREE lunchtime webinar, Weds 3 Dec 12.30-1.30pm Hear from Cllrs @rezinachowdhury.bsky.social and @edwardlamb.bsky.social on the bolder actions councils can take to restore children's outdoor play. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/restoring-...

As well as energy efficiency we need to consider spatial efficiency. In cities where the supply of space for travel is constrained, making the dominant mode of transport one where a single occupant occupies 10m2 just doesn’t make sense.

This is an interesting article about the evolution of social media, but it misses a central point; TV is regulated and as a result has standards. On social media TV any old shit goes: www.derekthompson.org/p/why-everyt...

Gallery Road is currently shut due to emergency Thames Water works. A repair crew are working on site, but the road will remain shut for the current time. Thanks to the London Fire Brigade for their help earlier today.

The floodwaters now seem to have drained, but there is a large amount of mud and silt deposited on the carriageway and pavements of Gallery Road, Burbage Road and Turney Road. We are pressing Thames Water to make sure that there is a proper cleanup.

Update: The mains have been isolated and there is no flooding to the carriageway now. However, Gallery Road is to remain closed until repairs have been completed. The repair team are on site but have not started to excavate so we do not know how long it will take to complete the repairs.

Very disappointed to learn that there’s a big flood on Gallery Road in Dulwich Village due to yet another catastrophic water main burst - the responsibility of Thames Water. Gallery Road is currently closed at the south circular. We’re on the case with TW.

I remember, many years ago now (with ny transport strategist hat on) being asked in a BBC interview if Crossrail would be Khan's biggest legacy. The thing that had the biggest impact on London. I said: "No. It'll be ULEZ." (The low emissions zone)

The UK Government has released its response to the House of Lords’ Media Literacy report. The Lords warned that poor media literacy threatens democracy itself. The government agrees, but its plan focuses on coordination more than transformation. committees.parliament.uk/publications...

As an experiment I asked ChatGPT to make a passage plan for a sailing boat travelling from the Medway to Ramsgate. Utterly, completely useless and dangerous.

3,500kg 🤯 generally used to move one healthy ≈90kg individual through public spaces utter madness this policy, along with 20mph speed limits, need to be introduced in the rest of the UK

Key questions about the rollout of autonomous vehicles: 1. What’s the economic model? Privately owned cars spend 95% of their time parked, but are still returning revenue to the motor industry because they’re mostly leased, but …

The absolute bloody vandalism of austerity in one chart. Good analysis of the overall picture here.

London is proud to host Japan's Grand Sumo Tournament this week - it's fantastic to see the the teams using our cycling infrastructure to get around.

Labour has already delivered or making progress towards two-thirds of its manifesto pledges www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/lab...

At a time when patriotism can feel as as contested as ever, this is a bloody lovely ode to so much of what we love about Britain from @sofiejenkinson.bsky.social in @renewaljournal.bsky.social. Well worth a read 👉 renewal.org.uk/blog/mr-blob...

Where does the arms race on the right to demonise anyone who’s family haven’t been living in England since William the Conqueror end?

Play is instinctive, natural, and essential. But it’s being eroded. ❌ 800 playgrounds closed in the last decade ❌ 2 million children live >10 mins from one ❌ In Bournemouth East, only 35% of children live within reach of a play area

This is the key point. Canvassing in Dulwich this morning I encountered a couple of people whose opinions had been strongly shaped by far-right Facebook groups…

Macron remarks are notable- some quotes: "We have been incredibly naive in entrusting our democratic space to social networks that are controlled either by large American entrepreneurs or large Chinese companies, whose interests are not at all the survival or proper functioning of our democracies."

Watched HIGNFY last night and that ‘joke’ stood out enough for me to google Euan Blair’s company… took me 10 seconds to find that it wasn’t true…

This article manages to name her husband before it names… her.

As a result people are living longer in better health…

This is fantastic news and a strong testament to @london.gov.uk’s leadership and vision for cleaner air in #London. It demonstrates that effective policy truly makes a difference! Thank you, Sir Sadiq. Other cities and countries should look to London as a global leader in reducing #AirPollution.

This is an incredibly sensible and informed thread about the digital identity proposal. *only last week* I went to an interesting presentation about entity matching across government. It’s *HARD*. I‘ve worked on data projects matching entities in different scenarios. It’s *hard*

Sadiq Khan's team on Trump's comments about London crime The homicide rate in the US is seven times that of London

I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again. Ignore the haters, London is the 🐐

Spoke to an acquaintance last week, Spanish man with a young family running a successful business. Told me he’s closing it down and moving back to Spain.

Increase in productivity since 1979: 87% Increase in hourly pay since 1979: 32% Just so happens that ~25% of workers were unionized in 1979. Today? 10%. As unions declined, the super-rich have taken a larger share of wealth generated by labor. We must build back union power.

Honestly, the big trick Jim’s managed with London Centric (which sounds and is obvious and yet is missed *all the time*) is this: it’s fun to read. It’s interesting, or a bit outrageous, or scintillating. Not worthy or a chore. “Make the product good” shouldn’t be groundbreaking, AND YET…

My last job at the BBC was in the digital archive team, since then I’ve mostly been working on projects that expand access to heritage, so this is very sad

While I understand the BBC’s imperative to provide balance in stories, at times it can feel completely ludicrous. Data vs one person’s entirely anecdotal opinion isn’t balance.

Kemi Badenoch refusing to acknowledge that Tommy Robinson is "far-right", now on LBC, and refusing to condemn Elon Musk's words. In fact she says what Musk said *isn't* incitement. So what would be incitement then? How violent would his words have to be before he was deemed a threat to this country?

My 12 year son’s latest (recent & welcome!) obsession is to explore London by bike. Ironic that this evening after I attended #carspreading conference organised by @cleancitiescampaign.org he should be nearly run off the road by an arrogant SUV driver. He’s fine, I’m fuming…

Really stimulating day at the #carspreading conversation. Too much to summarise here, but I now have an earworm of Adam and the Ants’ Cartrouble …

on.ft.com/3I6b7GR Stop talking about wealth taxes — make these reforms instead (this is by the excellent Dan Neidle - but I reckon there’s only a slim chance of sensible decisions like these)

Also. FAO Daily Telegraph: this is the Penshaw Monument, not the Pembroke Monument. Penshaw is in the North East of England. Pembroke is in West Wales. They’re about 350 miles apart.