Newspaper columnists are in a unique position to shape the political agenda 📰 But the profession isn't very accessible. Our research found that half of Britain's newspaper columnists were privately educated. This figure is up from 44% in 2019 and 43% in 2014.

A genuinely big announcement on English devolution from Rachel Reeves today! As we at @instituteforgovernment.org.uk alongside others have argued fiscal devolution was a missing piece of the puzzle in the government's devolution white paper.

Again, Farage, Badenoch and their fellow travellers on X are wildly out of touch with the public on Iran. Even the majority of Reform supporters oppose their position.

According to Farage and Goodwin, Islamists en masse voted for the LGBT+ friendly white woman who represents a party run by a gay Jewish man.

‘hi, grandma? can u come pick me up from my rap battle? it's over. no, i lost. he saw u drop me off & did a pretty devastating rhyme about it’

Some great (if utterly depressing) charts and commentary from @jburnmurdoch.ft.com in @data.ft.com today. First one is a zinger… #studentloans

Gee, Universal Basic Income recoups more than it costs AND the recipients are happier and healthier. Hmmm. Where have I seen those results before? Oh yes, in every other goddam pilot study of UBI for more than a decade. Ireland joins Finland in at least making a start.

This is absolutely shocking. Something has to be done about this appalling situation in which so many now find themselves. The government needs to act

Even after the mansion tax is applied, the owner of a £5m home in Westminster will pay proportionately less in property tax than the owner of a £210k Band B property in Sunderland.

With policy ambition, this could be a parliament of rapidly falling child poverty. Significant policy change could lower child poverty numbers below 4 million again.

💬 "A FSM pupil in one part of the country (Stratford and Bow) is over 10 times more likely to attend university than someone in another (Bristol North West), by no fault of their own. How is this fair?" ‪@ericaholtwhite.bsky.social‬ unpacks our new research ✍️

🧵 NEW: The erosion of the graduate premium The minimum wage is now £25k on a 40-hour week. From next year, £25k is also the threshold for repaying new student loans There are many good reasons to go to uni - but does it still pay in the financial sense? 1/7 🔗 www.thetimes.com/article/0842...

Search engines exist. Calendars and reminders are already on your phone and email client. No one needs to use immense amounts of energy and water and stolen IP to make a worse version!

Graduate salaries have stagnated while the minimum wage has risen, leading to convergence between the two. Two decades ago, the median graduate in a ‘graduate job’ had a salary 2.5 times that of a minimum wage worker, by 2023, the typical graduate earned 1.6 times a minimum wage worker.

A remarkable stat: Heidi Alexander’s appointment as Transport Secretary means the cabinet is now 100% state-educated for the first time in history.

Denver gave people experiencing homelessness $1k/month. A year later, nearly half had housing. They also had fewer ER visits, nights spent in a hospital, and jail stays. The report estimates that this reduction in public service use SAVED the city $589k. www.businessinsider.com/denver-basic...

London above Manchester in the year of our lord 2025.

The rate of poverty in the UK is currently higher than at any point in the 21st century. @pollardtom.bsky.social spoke to @bigissue.bsky.social

Instead of a 16-64 employment rate of around 75 per cent, as the LFS says, our admin data-based estimates suggest that the rate could now be around 76 per cent. This potentially makes the Government's aspiration of reaching an 80% employment rate more achievable, although still very stretching.