Our former Head of Research and Policy, @beckymontacute.bsky.social is currently giving evidence to the UK COVID-19 Inquiry 🔎 Tune in live to learn about the impact of the pandemic on children and young people 👇 www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOYc...

I'll be giving evidence at the COVID inquiry this afternoon, as part of the children and young people module. You can watch (either during or post) on the inquiry YouTube channel -

Spoke on a panel event yesterday on how skills and HE can help government boost social mobility and economic growth (mostly dominated by the HE/FE target which had JUST been announced in the leader's speech) #labourconference

Rachel Reeves in conversation with Matt Forde just started off - @smfthinktank.bsky.social #labourconference

HE/FE target is interesting framing, and always good to see the focus on vocational training/apprenticeships - if achievable will depend in part on what a "gold standard" apprenticeship is, and much more work will be needed to have enough high quality apprenticeships available. #labourconference

Starmer just mentioned the government's flagship early education and childcare policy in the leader's speech - but as I've written, while govt present it as part of the Opportunity Mission, there are big issues in access for children from poorer homes - www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...

Leader speech watch party with the @smfthinktank.bsky.social team #labourconference

Great to speak with @andrewlewinmp.bsky.social yesterday about his idea for a Citizen's Advance - having a year of state pension as a lump sum earlier in life in return for a later retirement. With early insights into @smfthinktank.bsky.social research on the issue from @jamiegollings.bsky.social

A conference tradition

Graph of the morning (from the @smfthinktank.bsky.social event with Google on AI and productivity) across every age range, women are using AI tools in their work at lower rates than men #labourconference

Social Market Foundation Head of Education and Social Mobility @danihpayne.bsky.social on yesterday's maintenance grant announcement - www.theguardian.com/education/20...

This is such great news 🎉 - ensuring students from poorer homes have the money they need to study is vital for social mobility. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Great @smfthinktank.bsky.social event this morning with Policy@Manchester on health inequalities - a huge thank you to our speakers, Dr Natalie Bennett (UoM), John Maingay (British Heart Foundation) and Dame Clare Moriarty (Citizens Advice) #Labourconference

We have a packed itinerary today, covering: 🚑 Tackling health inequality, kindly sponsored by Policy@Manchester 🎲 Gambling reform View our full schedule: buff.ly/MPlwEMi

Always very happy to see a full room of people interested in pension policy (for SMF Labour conference event #2) - it's an absolutely vital area and does not get as much attention as it should #labourconference

Packed out room for the first @smfthinktank.bsky.social event at Labour conference, an in conversation with Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Peter Kyle. #labourconference

Labour Conference - Sunday 🌹 Social Market Foundation events: 🟣 2.30pm: Secretary of State Peter Kyle in Conversation with SMF Director, Theo Bertram (sign up via SMF website) 🟣 4pm: Pensions adequacy and growth – can you do both? Including Torsten Bell MP. Dukes Suite, Maldron Hotel Liverpool

Gambling tax reform is a hot topic atm 🔥 (and a long standing area of interest for the SMF) not one to miss -

A great event for education/HE people at Labour conference -

Would recommend St Helens parkrun (although it is hilly!) 🏃‍♀️

Once more, our amazing Trustee @beckymontacute.bsky.social is running another half marathon to raise money for our work with bereaved families! We're incredibly grateful for all her support & dedication. Please share & donate if you can! www.justgiving.com/page/rebecca...

Great to see so many MPs support the @smfthinktank.bsky.social's work on gambling tax reform. Our proposal recommends raising Remote Gaming Duty to 50%, which could raise up to £2bn annually - aimed at online casino-style gambling.

📣 Next week, the UK COVID-19 Inquiry will begin hearings for Module 8, which will examine the impact of the pandemic on children and young people across the UK. On Wednesday, our former Head of Research and Policy, @beckymontacute.bsky.social, will give evidence to the Inquiry.

Do I hate any train station as much as I hate Euston? (The return of the big boards rather than giant adverts has made it slightly less awful)

I remember having lectures in the early 2010s about the potential of gene therapy and wow, it is just amazing actually seeing it happen now.

Thank you @smfthinktank.bsky.social for having us to discuss the importance of tackling health inequalities across the country ❤️ You can watch the discussion here 📽️ youtube.com/watch?v=Aa1I...

Couldn't live update (as was chairing) but an interesting/important session this afternoon on health inequalities in the UK, hosted by @smfthinktank.bsky.social and Policy@Manchester - all the speakers stressed the importance of preventative public health measures #LDConf

First Social Market Foundation event of party conference season - Working smarter, how can AI deliver productivity for all? #LDconf

Good morning from Bournemouth 🌞

I love everything about this 🚌 -

Will I physically be able to run a half marathon after 3 weeks of party conferences? Time to find out! I'm running the Manchester half in a few weeks' time, to raise money in my mum's memory for @inquest-org.bsky.social - please do donate if you can. www.justgiving.com/page/rebecca...

Lots going on in AI policy this week including the announcement of a big tech deal between the UK and the US. Stay up to date with AI Wonk Week from @mullerreports.bsky.social and @sam-rob.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/destinym...

🚨NEW EVENT 🚨 At Labour Party Conference, we'll be discussing: is a Citizens Advance the state alternative to the bank of Mum and Dad? We'll be joined by @andrewlewin.bsky.social, @jeevunsandher.bsky.social, and the SMF's @jamiegollings.bsky.social. See our full events programme: buff.ly/lkQAlGo

Elitist Britain 2025 is out! It has been a huge effort across our team to gather data for 1000s of individuals across politcs, sport, the media and more. It was great to write some thoughts to accompany today's launch: www.suttontrust.com/news-opinion... #SocialMobility #Elites #Politics #Media

Pleased to write about working class access to the media industry in @theguardian.com today. Our Elitist Britain research out today shows that almost half of columnists, commentators and top podcast hosts went to private schools. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Really pleased to see this from SMF, showing the role that Housing First needs to play in finally, sustainably, turning the tide on rough sleeping in England. I hope those working on the *much anticipated* cross-government homelessness strategy are taking note.

New SMF briefing (from @gideonsalutin.bsky.social) on proven policy solutions to reduce rough sleeping -

This is such fantastic news and a real testament to decades of work from amazing campaigners. Finally, families will have access to legal aid when a state body is represented. Honestly I could cry finally seeing this, this will make such a huge difference to so many families.

This is such fantastic news and a real testament to decades of work from amazing campaigners. Finally, families will have access to legal aid when a state body is represented. Honestly I could cry finally seeing this, this will make such a huge difference to so many families.

Do come along to this if you're at Lib Dem party conference next week -

Keep up to date with the latest AI developments and what they mean for policymakers in the UK - by signing up to AI Wonk Week. 👩🏾‍💻 Put together each week by AI experts at the Social Market Foundation (@mullerreports.bsky.social and @sam-rob.bsky.social ) substack.com/home/post/p-...

This is the patriotism I want - something that is positive, inclusive and inspiring. That mood unfortunately feels a long way away right now 😔 www.newstatesman.com/culture/spor...

In the last 10 years the UK has seen two MPs killed. I am so, so deeply worried about the rise in temperature in our political debate right now. Violence is never acceptable, and should absolutely never be encouraged - especially by those with big platforms and a wide reach.

Want to stay up to date on AI policy? 👩‍💻 @sam-rob.bsky.social is the @smfthinktank.bsky.social's in-house AI expert, and has just launched a new substack. He'll be taking a realistic, pragmatic look at ongoing developments in the AI space ⤵️ aipragmatic.substack.com/p/welcome-to...

Pensions policy should be getting so much more attention than it does. To shift that balance, yesterday we hosted an afternoon on all things pensions policy in Westminster....

Populist politics on both sides of the political spectrum offer easy answers, but the issues facing Britain in 2025 do not have easy solutions - why we need new people and new ideas in the centre of British politics now more than ever ⤵️

Populist politics on both sides of the political spectrum offer easy answers, but the issues facing Britain in 2025 do not have easy solutions - why we need new people and new ideas in the centre of British politics now more than ever ⤵️

This is great news (there's been a big gap between cohort studies)

Who you are and where you come from can make a big difference to your health🏥 That's why we'll to be discussing the importance of tackling health inequalities at Party Conferences, in partnership with Policy@Manchester 📽️ Watch SMF Research Director @beckymontacute.bsky.social explain more

Have made my tik tok debut and now understand why people older than me struggle to convert to PDF 😭