“Frog, can you be as wonderful as this?” said Toad as he danced all over the stage. There was no answer.

I just think if the government was to become this unpopular this quickly, they might as well have done it by increasing taxes on median+ earners.

I do think Robertson blunted his response with an unnecessary sideswipe as "welfare". Money could come from higher taxes. Or cuts elsewhere. And he did the politician's get out of saying "welfare" and not "pensions". Turns an intervention from a defence-focused one to Retired Man Has Opinion.

More than 710,000 disabled people are waiting for PIP decisions, with new claim wait times now at 20 weeks. These delays can push people into poverty and worsen health conditions. My new blog breaks down the backlog and why the Timms Review must not lose sight of delays and the harm they cause.

The median age in Britain is about 40. The median Briton has not experienced sustained economic growth in their adult life time.

They’re telling me a great empire will be destroyed if I attack Persia. Even the oracles who don’t like me very much, very nasty, they all said to me, “Sir, it’s one of the great empires, and it’ll be destroyed. And all because you attacked Persia.” That’s what they’re telling me.

VICTORY! Government to open up the Land Registry - bringing to an end a thousand years of secrecy shrouding who owns England. I’ve been campaigning for this for ten years: the new Land Use Framework, published later today, makes it government policy. 1/ www.theguardian.com/environment/...

@citizensadvice.bsky.social helps 900 people a day with issues relating to the disability benefit PIP. That's a sign that the system isn't working as it should. The Timms review of PIP could be a chance to change that. We asked our advisers what it needs to get right: medium.com/p/5a3f881a08ee

In many areas, we do actually know the answers to persistent policy problems. Good news, right? Not if your job is to write about this stuff! New blog about whether public policy has a bias against ideas that true but boring. Have a read 👇 wonkwatch.substack.com/p/does-polic...

NEW: Planned welfare reform could see big benefit cuts for disabled people who can't work, Citizens Advice has warned The government wants to replace long-term ESA disability benefits with a new, much more time-limited benefit called Unemployment Insurance (UI) www.bigissue.com/news/social-...

The government wants to enhance contributory unemployment benefits - we’re good with that Contribution-based benefits can help the legitimacy of the welfare state. There is a catch though… www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...

Local Housing Allowance rates have been realigned to market rents in just two of the last 13 years. Current Government policy is for them to remain frozen. This risks a record 'affordability gap' opening between LHA rates and the 30th percentile of local rents. ➡️ buff.ly/gJR1hmO

I call on my party and my government to remove themselves entirely from X and communicate with the public where they actually participate online and can be protected from such illegality.

The Prml Scrm XTRMTR live era with Mani on bass and Kevin Shields in the band played some of the best gigs I've ever seen, blew my young head off. RIP Mani.

This (from: www.ft.com/content/75ce...) is something you can *feel* if you are in the UK, especially if you've experienced living abroad. But infuriatingly successive governments and our entire media are somehow absolutely committed to suggesting anyone who wants to change this is the devil...

Councils are on their knees after 15 years of financial squeeze. Enforcement (against poor quality accommodation, illegal evictions, illegal short lets) is difficult and expensive. Yet without enforcement capacity we won’t get the best from the legislation….

This investigation from the @sheffieldtribune.bsky.social is absolutely staggering. It is very common in Sheffield (I live in this bit) to have a leasehold, often with hundreds of years left on and pennies in ground rent. This is extortion pure and simple. www.sheffieldtribune.co.uk/a-london-law...

If you’re living with damp, cold and mould in your home, you’re not alone. These issues are impacting millions of us in the UK – putting our wellbeing on the line. Tomorrow, we're launching our new campaign pushing the government to act. Learn more about some of the issues here. 👉 bit.ly/3LnYatm

Much more detail on what's gone wrong with housing support for private renters, and what we're asking the government to do at the upcoming budget, in Sarah's excellent briefing.

📰New @citizensadvice.bsky.social briefing ahead of the #Autumnbudget: The Government if failing private renters by freezing #LocalHousingAllowance #LHA.

New blog out today, as part of our work with @healthfoundation.bsky.social, looking at the unequal health impacts of the current system of housing cost support that fails to cover people's rent.

My latest: Move over bat tunnel, here’s the wild story of how HS2 were forced to build a multi-million pound bridge for a road that… doesn’t actually exist.

Local Housing Allowance rates have been realigned to market rents in just two of the last 13 years, and current Government policy is for these to remain frozen. But this ongoing freeze means that the 'affordability gap' between LHA rates and local rents is set to reach record levels next year.

Can the Manhattan Project avoid building the nuclear bomb?

There is no need for a moral panic about the UK's welfare system. Far from perfect but recent discourse is nuts Spending is controlled, not spiralling Worklessness is near record lows My column www.ft.com/content/ee67...

DWP plans to introduce a ‘support conversation’ for disabled claimants who don’t currently meet a work coach. My new paper explores how this conversation can be done effectively and avoid causing harm 🧵 www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...

Yes, I do think that talking about the housing crisis as a single thing misses the point, because it's actually a bunch of different crises in different areas and the one that is most total (London) is also atypical. National approaches only take you so far.

A thread of inspirational quotes from two of my idols: Kemi Badenoch and Ange Postecoglou (uh-oh, I may have gotten some mixed up... or have I??) 🧵

Couple of things here: crypto boosters need to contend with just how much easier they have made these kind of extortion scams - almost as if it were feature, not bug, of the tech. Also, cannot be coincidence that these hacks are ramping up as Russia’s economy is feeling the sanctions squeeze.

I think this media habit has become such a problem it needs an embarrassing nickname - 'bookie journalism' or 'Mystic Meg' or something - which should be thrown back at journalists every single time they do this.

Safe, warm, affordable housing is vital for health, but not everyone has it. Lives are being cut short by up to 16 years across the UK and where we live is part of the problem. You can be part of the solution by asking your MP to #MakeHealthEqual. 👉https://bit.ly/4guMfFn

Garbage Day is literally the clearest, best informed source for understanding what is going on in the US right now. Amazing work by Ryan and the team, but also, what a world 😞

Pet parrots which typically live alone (whilst those in the wild live in large flocks) were given the technology to call each other. They would use it for up to three hours a day, and developed favourite friends 💔 on.ft.com/3K05vhS

Some thoughts on yesterday www.garbageday.email/p/the-logica...

Shocking: less than 3% of private rentals in Britain are affordable for people needing housing benefit. People are being pushed towards homelessness and ill health. @RachelReevesMP can fix this in Nov’s budget by restoring housing benefit to the real cost of rent. Act now: bit.ly/3V1d76a

For @theleaduk.bsky.social I had another look at the impact of the poorly-designed 'Making Tax Digital' policy on the most economically vulnerable workers in the economy. The added cost for disabled people at the same time as benefit cuts is inexplicable. national.thelead.uk/p/making-tax...

This is a great piece, and really good to see it citing Citizens Advice data on how many renters have to put up with sub-standard conditions for the benefit of their landlords 'yield'

Who’s with me for a campaign to stop politicians wearing hi viz jackets and hard hats when talking about the economy and instead being filmed playing Total War: Warhammer

Severe shortage of accessible housing for disabled people causing serious hardship news.sky.com/video/severe...

I’m quoting this because it is a very fair point for which I have an answer: The first thing is to recognize that in a democracy there is no such thing as “ the majority.” Instead, there are many and multiple overlapping majorities that can be assembled from different parts of the whole.

🚨 We're hiring a Policy Research Assistant in the Families, Welfare and Work team at Citizens Advice🚨 Come and help us make the benefits system fairer (and work with lots of lovely people)! Deadline to apply is 21st August: www.jobtrain.co.uk/citizensadvi...

Really good analysis of a maddening part of current UC design, with some very pragmatic recommendations that could save a lot of hassle, confusion and financial detrimental.

Crucial message from Citizen's Advice: "When both working full-time and claiming maximum benefit entitlement leaves one in a low-income limbo, focusing on making the former slightly more financially beneficial than the latter is only ever going to have a limited impact on outcomes..." (1/2)

Raising state pension age is a surefire way of increasing spend on disability benefits www.ft.com/content/1b30...

The narrative around Universal Credit has long centred around work incentives. This new briefing examines how effective UC is at encouraging employment – and how that focus may have overshadowed the deeper complexities of getting into work. 🧵 🔗 www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...

Thank you so much to the University of Sheffield for awarding me an honorary Doctor of Letters. I’m so touched. It was a privilege to give an address to the graduating class (all those years watching US high school dramas weren’t wasted).

Policy exchange, backed by Sajid Javid, think we need to switch the NHS funding model to social insurance, and introduce new charges for NHS services, like to see a GP policyexchange.org.uk/publication/... These are not new ideas, but they are bad ideas A thread with some evidence