Evan Davis just now on WATO on fairness between generations: "Stop thinking about 'this generation vs that generation' - there are winners and losers *within* each generation which swamp the differences between them" - yes, working with older people in financial hardship, I agree!

I realise it's now nearly 10 years after the fire, and the wait must be unbearable for survivors and bereaved. But this sounds positive in the breadth and number of charges being considered. Let's hope the time has been used to gather evidence needed for what will inevitably be complex cases

If you're over State Pension age, on a low income and live with a partner who is below #StatePension age, the rules say you can't receive the social securuty entitlements meant for #pensioners. Today we joined with 12 other organisations to call for this unfair rule to be reversed #costofliving

Would you like to share your thoughts on the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment (PIP)? Disability Together have a short survey to gather evidence. #PIP #Timms #review #disability forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/Respon...

Finally, we have data to show vast majority of landlords earn supernormal returns: even with high interest rates, 63% outperform a 60:40 equity-gilt portfolio & 71% beat the broader real estate sector. Proud to have co-authored this with @autonomy-institute.bsky.social autonomy.work/portfolio/th...

The more I look at this the less I understand it - “circle size represents response rate” - WHAT?

What on earth is this chart format?

Between this and the guy who unwittingly stole a Faberge egg from outside a pub, it seems London thieves just can't catch a break.

Someone at TBI needs a black thinking hat

Hahahaha they actually found the lady from George Orwell

🥳

Everything about this is 10/10, the content we need right now.

I feel like one of my followers should know the answer to this…

So much this. I can't even remember whether I met Giles at some point, but his influence was such a constant that it doesn't seem that relevant - the blogs, the tweets, the kind correspondence and patience with queries have been so important to me all through my career in housing.

Apocalypse? What apocalypse?

Director of Policy and Influencing @morganvine.bsky.social: Local Housing Allowance was designed to help those who need it meet their housing costs. By freezing it, some of the people on the lowest incomes in our society have to scrimp further to pay their rent, or risk homelessness.

This is very much worth a read - remarkable piece that is incredibly insightful into what drives people to act in extraordinary ways (on both sides of this interaction)

Thanks to Neville for letting us take over your account today!

Travelodge is getting the heat on this understandably but numerous times I’ve been in hotels where simply walking up to the desk and asking for a spare key card to a specific room will get you one with no name or ID required. Mind bogglingly lax.

Really useful piece on the forthcoming changes to poverty statistics - which should hopefully give us a clearer picture of the role the social security system plays in alleviating poverty

I've moaned before about things being published on gov.uk webpages not as documents - I've spent half the afternoon track down something that's just been disappeared with seemingly no audit trail. Grr!!

Would like to see a Venn diagram of heat pump owners and Strava users

Too many older private renters are stuck in cold, energy‑inefficient homes. Read our latest blog for a breakdown of our new report and the policy changes we’re pushing for to protect older renters. https://medium.com/independent-age/older-renters-minimum-energy-efficiency-standards-5d70ef0273b0

What’s more worrying - soaring energy bills or soaring rents? Older renters need warmer homes, but also need protections to make sure that getting them doesn’t cost - in higher rents, worry, disruption, shoddy work or eviction.

THIRTY YEARS?! 😭

😮

Aziz’s commitment to homelessness appears to be creating it and then capitalising on it

I want to see a regional breakdown as I cannot believe 1 in 4 Londoners would approve of a jaywalking law. I was in Copenhagen last year which is delightful in almost every way but I lost my mind over their inability to walk across the damn road without the approval of a little green light

Since 2019, older people have been locked out of vital pension-age support like Pension Credit because their partner is younger. Today we're calling for this unfair rule to end. Couples are losing as much as £7,000 a year. Love shouldn't come at a cost 💔 www.independentage.org/about-us/cam...

Everyones keen for a bit of rent control.. (via YouGov)

Landlords eh? This is from a landlord's inspection report, triggered when the tenants gave their notice to leave, in which the landlord tries to justify deductions from the tenant's deposit. I grabbed this from a subReddit for UK Renters ( r/TenantsInTheUK).

Enjoying a healthy dose of schadenfreude today

Minor gripe of the day: government publications just being a page on gov.uk rather than a PDF. Is this just me being a luddite (possibly)? I feel like it used to be the norm to have both a PDF and a web version.

Thanks Microsoft, needed that

From us at Independent Age 👇. Improving Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards in the PRS could lift older renters out of fuel poverty but scaling back ambitions for homes that need the most work risks leaving others in the cold

Are DESNZ planning to publish the actual Warm Homes Plan today or do we just get a nice press release and some promo? 🫤

Waiting on publication of the Warm Homes Plan which is apparently waiting on “space in the Grid” and I have to say the whole notion of “space in the Grid” seems incredibly quaint right now

Want to make a difference in 2026? Become a campaigner. We helped reverse the Winter Fuel Payment changes and championed the needs of older renters in the Renters' Rights Act and Housing (Scotland) Act. We're making a difference and you can help: www.independentage.org/campaign-wit...

Will someone spare a thought for the parents of children whose special interest is the livery of different TOCs. Not sure how they will occupy themselves when all trains have the same paint job!

Appears there's been no move to unfreeze Local Housing Allowance, which will leave private renters facing another 18 months with rents rising and no extra help to cover the cost.

Expecting lots of disappointment today but this is HUGE and extremely welcome. Thank goodness.

Really pleased to support this campaign - the LHA freeze is driving people into hardship, poor quality housing and homelessness. Important opportunity for the government next week to ensure private renters get the support they need.

This has long been in the making and is a critical challenge for policy makers. One tends to assume those renting are younger, more transient populations. However, as our housing crises continue unabated families & elderly tenants will be the norm. In a volatile PRS that is deeply problematic.

Well said by my colleague Josh!

How is this a comfortable sleeping position?

Oh good grief ANOTHER minister bungling their housing affairs?

Remarkably, given I was led to believe queueing at the bar (WTF) was a Gen-Z phenomenon, there's no significant differences in preference by age...

I've had a trivial personal vendetta against Peter Mandelson since he shut the door of 10 Downing St in my face when I was briefly working there many years ago. Bigger reasons to be glad he's gone, but that's mine.

Nearly 4m renters are struggling to pay their energy bills and 3.5m are living with mould and damp. Great article by @bellribeiroaddy.bsky.social on why renters need protection against rent hikes after retrofit work, to make sure they enjoy their new warmer home ⬇️ labourlist.org/2025/07/comm...

Good grief this is an alarming chart - fewer than 1 in 3 landlords know they legally have to protect tenant deposits, awareness of other legal requirements not much better