A good man. How the world so needs more people like Jim Thomas.

Wishing friends & followers a happy new year

Why do people stay on X - the lemmings argument

Thoughtful post that goes to the heart of how to move towards a national care service in the context of wide local variations in spending and need. This is not straightforward.

Announced yesterday this is getting little media attention but has profound consequences for local services over the next 3 years & needs careful analysis

so great that Labour's adult care policy amounts to a Louise Casey report and an unspecified pay rise in about 2028 www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Indeed. What do you think @davidjbuck.bsky.social ?

Adult social care workers provide a vital public service, but this is not reflected in their pay and job conditions. So, it is welcome that the Government is creating the Adult Social Care Negotiating Body - our latest briefing note looks at how to ensure its success. ➡️ buff.ly/veEOJFN

"there's a new serif in town"

Excellent discussion on ageism in social care by @bsgageismsig.bsky.social Thanks to panel @melanie-henwood.bsky.social @richardhumphries.bsky.social @gerrynos.bsky.social & Steve Milsom. Underlines urgency for big reform of social care & key points for the Casey review.

At #NCASC25 listening to minister Stephen Kinnock describe, with earnest sincerity, his vision for adult #socialcare. Much of the content could have been delivered by any minister over the last 28 years I’ve attended this conference.

“Net migration has fallen to the lowest level seen since 2021” - though you’d never know from media coverage & political rhetoric

An obvious talking point for the annual gathering of the #socialcare clans this week - but ahead of tomorrow’s Budget is anyone at HM Treasury listening? #ncasc2025

Lost for words that the government - a Labour government - has chosen to do this 😩

What on earth has happened to us? #ashamed www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Another demography-defying example of policy rhetoric colliding with the real world #neighbourhoodcare

It will be intriguing to observe and evaluate the natural public health experiments of some of the proposed Mamdani policies such as universal free childcare, free and fast public transport and subsidised grocery stores. New York, New York, we’re watching! edition.cnn.com/2025/11/04/p...

Mamdani: "New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants, and as of tonight, led by an immigrant."

The first thing Yaxley-Lennon did on leaving court was to thank Elon Musk for funding his legal costs. That's Elon Musk who has repeatedly called for civil war in the UK. As of typing this - all of the major politicians and platforms maintain a presence on X and it is time for them all to leave.

Call for Abstracts! Special Issue: Strengthening Research Practice Partnerships in Social Care: Evidence, Impact and Policy Learning Deadline: 3 Nov 2025 Full details: evidenceandpolicyblog.co.uk/2025/10/15/e... @bupjournals.bsky.social @annetteboaz.bsky.social @a-mtowers.bsky.social

In this new blog @richardhumphries.bsky.social​ looks back at the government’s record on social care after a year in power and forward to assess the prospects of reform. Read more ⬇️ https://bit.ly/43uaOwT

Oh.

Great to see #applebyblue win the Stirling Prize. Visited it last year with @housinglin.bsky.social

“There is precious little truth in a picture of Britain as a country where hordes of shirkers collect benefits from the rest of us.” Thank you @chrisgiles.ft.com for this sane & evidence-based commentary

75 years ago, the #Windrush generation answered Britain’s call, and helped build the NHS we know today. This #BlackHistoryMonth, we honour their legacy, their struggles, and their extraordinary contribution to health and social care. Read more: https://bit.ly/4qddc56

Labour manifestly don’t have a credible plan for NHS reform. My latest column is outside the paywall for an hour or two. www.healthpolicyinsight.com/cowpers-cut-...

”…..if the government tries to implement a big change like this on the cheap, it might end up looking like a failure, whether or not it was a good idea.” on.ft.com/3IwfWcQ The most radical Labour plan you haven’t heard about

”Everyone thought we’d come in and there were going to be these huge costs we could cut away but there just aren’t,” said a third senior Reform cabinet member in Kent

This article manages to name her husband before it names… her.

”…..we do this work at a time when trust feels fragile and anger is often directed downwards — with disenfranchised communities pitted against one another and with people being encouraged to blame those who already have the least power.” Wise & timely words

To celebrate the #InternationalDayOfOlderPersons, we’ve added a new story to #CareCantWait. With the support of her carers, 92-year-old Pam is able to live independently at home, surrounded by family, friends, neighbours & the community that she loves. adass.org.uk/campaign_art...

On Yom Kippur many Jewish people in Britain have their phones off to mark the holy day. As it ends at 723pm, some will hear the tragic Manchester news for the first time. At that time, please join many of us to send a message of solidarity to British Jews.Thanks Together coalition for proposing.

“As long as I hold this office, it will be the business of this government to build a National Care Service worthy of the name.” Sounds expensive.

Very welcome -,but if £500m doesn’t cover the actual costs it will just pile more pressure on already besieged councils & providers www.gov.uk/government/n...

Sad to hear this. For me he was the finest poet of our time. RIP Tony.

An amazing piece of public art - here at the #BritishIronworksCentre in Shropshire

Social Work Networks: Past, Present and Future #swhn @socwkhistory.bsky.social Joe Hanley, Jane Tunstill, James Blewett, June Thoburn 25 September 2025 14:00 to 16:00 All welcome! www.kcl.ac.uk/events/socia...

"We call for progressives to look beyond paid services and listen to the human wish to care, embedding real choice into the system" This ought to be a really important report.

SCIE and The Access Group are convening a series of policy roundtables to develop a framework for national standards of care. The initiative will build a shared vision of how national standards can deliver consistency, equity and quality across the country. Follow the link to find out more.

Multiple Labour MPs have called for online safety law to be beefed up to tackle hate speech Some have also urged the government to come off X altogether “Why would anybody want to lend legitimacy to a platform that’s primary purpose is to make money off the back of hate?” @sarahowen.org.uk said

Just one person but here’s my daughter’s reflection on her stay in hospital in Newcastle.

Another reason to remain puzzled as to why so many decent people & organisations continue to support this odious man’s SM platform

Encouraging. Oh to have been a fly on the wall. #caseycommission caseycommission.co.uk/baroness-cas...

This is exactly the kind of despicable scaremongering that Aseem Malhotra has made his modus operandi. Insinuations, hearsay, anti-vaxx, non-evidence-based, lurid, self-enriching, anti-scientific claptrap. Of course Reform UK lapped it up. 1/4

Powerful call for a much more radical approach by @healthfoundation.bsky.social & @thekingsfund.bsky.social

A mob of angry drunken men screaming abuse outside an asylum hotel have defended their actions, saying all they want is for women and girls to feel safe walking the streets. From the new Private Eye, out now.

Rayner says in her resignation letter: "The challenges of government are nothing compared to the challenge of putting food on the table and getting a roof over our head when I brought up kids working as a home help." Absolutely. A shame to lose that perspective from the cabinet table.

Great analysis from Tilda here: London looks to be particularly vulnerable to restrictions in overseas staff working in adult social care And despite ending the visa route in July, the government has yet to announce when it plans to implement Fair Pay Agreements or if they will be fully funded

”this is no way to conduct public finances in a mature democracy” - a healthy corrective to some of the current hysteria about our public finances, thank you @chrisgiles.ft.com