It’s one thing to disagree with a union’s decision to strike at a given time over a given dispute; quite another to question the right to strike itself. The govt has a genuinely strong record here, let’s not start unpicking it now.

Jill Stein, the US Green Party candidate in 2024, said “there is no lesser evil in this race” about Trump vs Harris. Look at the news now. Sanctimony is no substitute for substance.

It bears repeating: suicide hasn’t been a crime since 1961. The law no longer treats it as a moral failing, and nor should we, though it is always a tragedy. The real question is whether those in desperate situations should be denied assistance, or afforded the same agency others already have.

The two-child cap ends today. Around 480,000 families will be ~£4,100 a year better off. Britain is, quite plainly, fairer today than it was yesterday.

By today, every woman in the WASPI cohort has reached State Pension age (66). From here on, everyone, men and women, faces a higher state pension age.

2.7m workers get a pay rise today as the minimum wage rises. That’s ~£900 more a year on the NLW, and up to £1,500 for 18–20s. This follows the government changing the Low Pay Commission remit to factor in cost of living, sounds technical, but the impact is real.

The fact Karl Turner may be right about some things doesn’t inoculate him from being wrong elsewhere. Choosing to collaborate with a reactionary, transphobic figure tied to a rival party whose leader dismissed rape allegations as “bad sexual etiquette” was a serious error of judgement.

GMB 🤝 GMB GMB@RCN members out supporting colleagues at the BMA today. BMA staff are on strike after being asked to accept a far weaker pay offer, while the BMA is verbose in criticising stronger deals for doctors. Fair pay shouldn’t stop at your own staff 🧵 @gmblondonregion.bsky.social

After the best part of a decade going backwards, NHS satisfaction is finally, demonstrably, improving. Given the scale of what Labour inherited, the real story is how quickly the ship has been turned back in the right direction, not why it isn’t fixed overnight.

The BMA is verbose in championing its members, but dismissive of its own staff. GMB members at the RCN will be joining colleagues at GMB@BMA on the picket lines as they stand up to a hypocritical employer that can advocate loudly, but not deliver for its own workforce.

The reaction to the defeat of the AD bill in Scotland is telling. Many who said they support assisted dying “in principle” but opposed the Leadbeater bill are now cheering down a different model entirely. If you oppose any move to give end-of-life choice, just say it plainly.

NHS vacancy data for Q3 (Oct–Dec) shows real progress 👇 🔹 2,990 fewer registered nursing vacancies than last quarter 🔹 4,848 fewer than this time last year 🔹 Vacancy rate down to 5.2% (from 6.0% and 6.4%) Encouraging signs that workforce action is starting to deliver. 📉

The government has got this right.

The RCN and other health unions are right to speak out today. Attacks on nursing staff and other health workers in Gaza and beyond are indefensible. These are war crimes, plain and simple. The UK must back ICC prosecutions and stand firm in defence of international law.

Sunday Times: “The education secretary is to unveil a £500 million plan to set up 1,000 "family hubs" by 2028 in an effort to support half a million of the most disadvantaged children.” Who we are and what we are for 😍

I can’t stress this enough: many of the big hitters came out against the assisted dying bill before it was even published. It’s become fashionable to say “support the principle, oppose the bill” — but the timeline shows most were gearing up to oppose any bill.

The government won in court last week, defeating a bizarre legal challenge from the private school lobby claiming that losing tax breaks breached their human rights. Imagine the fanfare if it had gone the other way—this was a big win for fairness that deserves more attention.

One of the best things about the labour movement is how it brings together people of all ages—people who’d otherwise pass each other in the street, united by a shared passion for the details of a trade dispute or winning a council ward off a nimby independent. It’s enriching for everyone.

The Lib Dems and Rupert Lowe both think firing off loads of questions means you’re doing a great job. We can all agree they’re about as relevant as each other.

Responding to the US trade deal, Andrew Griffith calls it ‘a Diet Coke deal, not the real thing’. Can I respectfully submit that Diet Coke is class — and, in all ways, better than 'the real thing.'

An FOI reveals DHSC received the NHS Pay Review Body report on 11 April. It’s now May. The pay rise was due on 1 April. When will the government lay the report before Parliament—and give NHS staff the pay award they’ve earned and deserve? @rcn.org.uk

The Greens claimed they were on course in the West of England—even where Labour faced real challenges, they couldn’t come second. That says it all. It’s Labour or Reform. I’m for Labour—not self-indulgent Greenery.

The Supreme Court’s judgment last week was bad enough—and the language used was shocking. But the wilful misinterpretation of what it actually said is, in many ways, worse. The Gender Recognition Act 2004 remains an Act of Parliament. Its provisions still stand.

A health minister attacking the Tories for once acknowledging that trans women are women is a low moment. Trans women are women—just as surely as the sky is blue.

The author of "Tangled Up In Blue: Blue Labour and the Struggle for Labour's Soul" is running to be Labour's candidate for mayor of Croydon. I've written about what her career can tell us about the tendency: labourlist.org/2025/04/rowe...

Poll shows over half of Green voters back a merger with the Lib Dems. The idea that a party with a quarter of its MPs from North Herefordshire is the authentic voice of anything but middle-class liberalism is laughable.

Serving as a Member of Parliament is a privilege. It is incompatible with membership of the Liberal Democrats.

I’m not one for constant BBC-bashing, but headlines like “Union bosses held up Birmingham bin deal” do a lot of heavy lifting. Giving one side of the dispute centre stage, inviting readers to start from their version of events — before you’ve even clicked the link.

Society needs an alternative to the phrase “pick your brains.” It conveys a useful meaning, so I often reach for it—but it does rather conjure the image of a crow picking at a decaying carcass.

Amanda Spielman has come out attacking the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, claiming it ‘puts unions and union members ahead of children.’ Her contempt for hardworking teachers and their unions was always clear—now she’s saying it outright. No wonder the feeling is mutual.

Rolling back the Tory-Lib Dem NHS reorganisation is welcome—if you called it dastardly privatisation then, you ought to agree now. But there must be a proper workforce plan. NHSE staff deserve better than chaotic, top-down reform. I hope the government works with TUs to get this right.

How many Lib Dems backed the Employment Rights Bill at third reading last night? None. Sanctimony and bombast over action—Yellow Tories who refused to support bereavement leave and maternity rights. votes.parliament.uk/votes/common...

The govt has tabled key amendments (published in full today today) to the Employment Rights Bill, and after months of lobbying, trade unions have won major improvements. Here’s a breakdown of the biggest changes 🧵👇

Low-paid workers will finally get 80% of their wages in statutory sick pay from day one. It should be 95% of 100%, but let’s reflect on how far we’ve come—under the Tories, those earning under £123 a week got nothing. The fact we’re now arguing over how much, not whether, is real progress.

This week, Green Party peers voted to hand private health multinationals a tax break. Just one penny of public funding could exempt an entire multimillion-pound operation. Next time they lecture others about privatisation, ask why they traipsed through the lobbies with the Tories on this one.

The Tories and Lib Dems pushed through a Lords amendment exempting care from the NI rise last night—but it also hands a tax break to private health and dentistry. Public money propping up private profit, sneaked through under the cover of social care. Labour is right to oppose.

Waiting lists down again and two million extra appointments since July. That’s Labour’s record on the NHS so far. And it didn’t happen by accident: working with doctors to avoid more strikes, staving off further action from AfC staff—these were choices, and they’re proving to be the right ones.

1️⃣The Lib Dems have tabled an amendment to the Employment Rights Bill that sounds innocuous but is actually a really bad idea. It undermines trade unions, risks conflicts of interest, and hands too much power to the state. Here’s why. 🧵

Waiting lists down again and two million extra appointments since July. That’s Labour’s record on the NHS so far. And it didn’t happen by accident: working with doctors to avoid more strikes, staving off further action from AfC staff—these were choices, and they’re proving to be the right ones.

Under Leadbeater’s amendment, an assisted dying certificate is refused if 1 of 3 panel members votes against—33% opposition blocks approval. The High Court safeguard required 100% of 1 judge to oppose. This means the panel requires full agreement to approve, a stronger safeguard.

The Lib Dems refused to support the Employment Rights Bill at second reading, didn’t oppose a Tory reasoned amendment that would’ve killed it, and are now trying to dilute the role of unions through amendments. They support workers’ rights like the rope supports the hanging man. 👇

We really need to interrogate this implicit criticism of the assisted dying bill—that families won’t be notified without the patient’s consent. It’s a weirdly socially conservative notion that some who should know better are flirting with. Patients have a right to medical confidentiality.

1️⃣The Lib Dems have tabled an amendment to the Employment Rights Bill that sounds innocuous but is actually a really bad idea. It undermines trade unions, risks conflicts of interest, and hands too much power to the state. Here’s why. 🧵

The Greens opposing a modest reduction in tax breaks for the wealthiest landowners is ridiculous. This won’t even touch tenant farmers—only those with millions in assets. Shielding privilege while preaching righteousness.

For those mocking Kim Leadbeater's claim that the assisted dying bill has the "strongest safeguards in the world": a) Which country do you think has safer ones? b) Would you support implementing assisted dying under the conditions in that country, or still oppose it anyway?

The outrage over the assisted dying bill committee having a majority in favour is misplaced—this is how bill committees always work. The government or bill sponsor ensures a majority to reflect support. Portraying this as sinister is a cynical misrepresentation of the usual process.

There’s a natural tendency to favour balance—‘I support assisted dying, but not this bill’ appeals to that. But we were promised meaningful changes at committee stage, not a rubber stamp. That’s exactly what’s happening, and it’s welcome.

There’s a natural tendency to favour balance—‘I support assisted dying, but not this bill’ appeals to that. But we were promised meaningful changes at committee stage, not a rubber stamp. That’s exactly what’s happening, and it’s welcome.

Just saw a post mocking a young man by sharing his dating profile, where he calls himself a ‘physician,’ then later a ‘physician associate.’ The PA debate is important, but this is just bullying. Some claiming to defend medical the profession seem fine acting unprofessionally themselves.