The education system is failing too many working-class pupils, but we can turn it around. Jonathan Slater, Former Perm Sect at the Department for Education on BBC Radio 4 Today, discussing a new report from the UCL Policy Lab on how we can improve standards for poorer pupils.

Really interesting piece by James Baggaley on the dangers of policy without people - and the real divide within Labour: www.newstatesman.com/politics/202...

We were joined by leaders from across Britain for a celebration of what brings us together. In partnership with @citizensuk.org @moreincommonuk.bsky.social and @belongnetwork.bsky.social. Thank you to all those who came along.

Anyone at labour conference, come down to camp and furnace for Campaign Lab Fringe @campaignlabscrape.bsky.social to learn from some of the best campaigners in the game!

What's Nigel Farage's problem with solar panels?

We're hiring 🚨 Join the team as our new Project Network Coordinator (Community-led Public Service Reform). Help us build the movement for putting communities at the centre of public service innovation! You can read more about the role and apply here 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...

I am running the Hackney Half for Summer Hype in just 1 week! I know there are lots of requests for sponsoring atm but I would be so appreciative if you could spare just a little bit - this will be the best money you spend all month!

Listening to one interview after another, capsized by the subject of who can use which public toilet. This question is purpose-built to wrong-foot trans allies, but the anti-trans position is absurd. For the love of God, please, someone make them spell out what they want

I keep coming back to this. The chair of our equalities watchdog saying that having somewhere to go to the toilet should be dependent on "powers of advocacy" rather than a right. After years of people delegitimising trans advocacy orgs as malign influences, this phrasing is particularly striking.

Really brilliant report from @annacmcshane.bsky.social and New Britain, well timed for having just spent twenty minutes on the phone trying to book a follow-up appointment with my GP! www.lbc.co.uk/opinion/view...

"In the think tank project titles and the briefings and the MP op-eds, a world that ultimately not that many people pay attention to, this habit of posing with the language of the right does nothing but signal a crushing lack of ideological self-confidence, and not a hint of desperation."

Given we're discussing how to 'get Britain building again' will raise my smallest policy grudge. Putting a skip on the kerb anywhere in London for a month costs ~£1.3k-£2k in permits and fees to the local council. Yet we're supposedly serious about retrofit and building more housing!

Really cogent and clarifying piece. The distinction between a loneliness epidemic and a solitude one feels vital. Also that we are often crap at choosing what will make us feel better (dopamine is not a virtue). Also enjoyed the exploration of the peculiar solitude of wellness man-fluencers.

Just under five days left to apply to work in one of the best teams in politics and policy! Email us for more details and a call 🙌

Great job, great people, massively important work building movement generosity and cross org cross issue thinking to win stuff for all of us on the progressive side of things - do apply!

Come join me as we take the ecosystem project into an exciting new year. Great opportunity to spend your days with some of the most inspiring people in the country helping them to collaborate and reflect on pivotal issues, strategy, leadership and more!

Our year in review and finding hope in the politics of connection. @jimbaggaley.bsky.social provides reflections from a year of activity at the UCL Policy Lab and the role connection plays in building a better world in 2025. www.ucl.ac.uk/policy-lab/n...

Moving to hear the PM introduced by an early years worker, cancer survivor and heat pump plumber (one of those much vaunted green jobs!). Beyond the buzzwords and metrics the missions touch on people's ordinary hopes, ambitions and perseverance. They're most meaningful when we remember that!

It's that time of the year, looking for some holiday cards for a good cause! If you know of any small charities/community orgs selling Christmas cards leave a reply...

5 days left to apply! Be in touch if you have any questions

"Belonging comes before belief" Fantastic to hear from @hahrie.bsky.social alongside a brilliant room of organisers, campaigners and changemakers. Vital reflections on how we bring more people, regardless of our differences, into the work of social and economic transformation.

Come join me @uclpolicylab.bsky.social! We're hiring another Project Manager for the Progressive Ecosystem project. If supporting pioneering changemakers to collaborate for impact and develop their leadership sounds right up your street, we want you to apply👇 www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/40...

Thanks @jimbaggaley.bsky.social for the recommendation. Great reflection that the route to progressive leadership has shifted from leading mass membership orgs (unions, religious communities etc.) to being successful at securing grant funding and this distances changemakers from everyday concerns.

Now feels as good a time as any to make sure Maya Rudolph as Dionne Warwick is on this site for all eternity

my deja vu being live tweeting from jewish youth movement/yachad/UJS and other communal politics settings... luckily for all that too has passed/please don't make me go back

For those looking for a longer historical view on currents in US politics Found the complexity of demand from the populists (a bimetallic money system) stark in comparison to the demands of today's populists (build a wall/stop the boats etc.) www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

As it seems to be getting busy here, we've created a starter pack for UCL People. Check out our brilliant colleagues. Do reply, and we'll add you to the list 👏 go.bsky.app/CXM2zSJ

'bring back youth clubs' always sounds a feeble answer to eg knife crime/teen mental health especially if you are of the generation where that meant a pool table + some panda pops but it's not the clubs, it's the qualified youth workers - don't get the love SureStart (RIP etc) did but just as key

Excited to be heading up to #LabourConference24 🌹 with our brilliant UCL Policy Lab team! Come join us at one of our panels (🧵incoming) with the brilliant @futuregovforum.bsky.social, SMF, @thefabians.bsky.social, More In Common and Campaign Lab.

Happy to be here! As my first offering please enjoy this poster (definitely not authentic) spotted on holiday calling on people to subscribe to the French National Loan post-WW1. Á l'œuvre!

Calling all folk with an interest in UK public policy: I’ve created a starter pack of think tankers, policy analysts & commentators active on @bsky.app go.bsky.app/LtNiL1o