I hate that AI has made me approach cute animal videos with an air of suspicion. I resent having to harden my heart to the possibility of an unlikely friendship between a very large dog and a very small one

Progressive thought has been totally expunged from the British political mainstream, and *still* the argument is that there’s an unacceptable institutional bias to the left within the news media. It is *utterly* mad. Very clear for all to see what’s happening here.

So many echoes of my conversations with students experiencing loneliness here. The structure of freshers’ weeks etc put so much pressure on first meetings when in fact it’s through regular, repeated, low pressure contact that most of us ultimately find our people

Befriending Week 2025 is here! From 1 - 7 November, communities will be gathering to celebrate befriending and social connection. We have a fantastic programme lined up - visit the blog to find out what's in store! befriending.co.uk/bw25-launch #BefriendingWeek #WythnosCyfeillio

Delighted to have worked with @tlap.bsky.social on just a few of these projects and programmes - but lots more to explore in this summary!

What did we work on over the last financial year? Our new 24-25 Highlights Report shares work across five key areas – from co-production to innovation and inclusion in care and support: buff.ly/bUDEWVJ #socialcare #coproduction #TLAP #careandsupport

This new paper from @blimeysimon.bsky.social @thekingsfund.bsky.social is helpful primer on the big questions in front of the Casey Commission. I’m not so convinced by a national assessment system, not least because I fear losing babies with bath water - but agree it’s worth thinking through

Fair pay agreement consultation @DHSCgovuk is seeking feedback from individuals & organisations on how to establish the best way to collectively agree a #fairpay agreement. Consultation closes 11:59pm on 16 Jan 2026 www.gov.uk/governmen...#fairpay#socialcare #caremanagers #consultation

roll-out of social prescribing in England's primary care system www.thelancet.com/journals/lan... Rapid ⬆️ in Px Doesn't appear to a rapid increase in the £ available for services to which people are referred If this were referrals to orthopaedics that wouldn't be ok not ok in this context

Some very wise heads have come together to think through the 10 Year Plan. This is worth a read

I've long had an interest in asylum and immigration issues, on which I'm sadly no longer reporting. I also like riding my bike. So, next Saturday, I'm undertaking the #BoxHill100 in aid of the emergency appeal by Southwark Day Centre for Asylum Seekers: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/box-hill-1...

To illustrate the point a pizza at Pizza Express is now £20 or you can get a rump steak at Hawksmoor for £27. The gap has really shrunk.

At @socialcarefuture.bsky.social gathering today the Casey Commission flagged that it has today opened itself up to hear views directly from people and organisations. More detail is promised soon on structured engagement, but the form is open now: caseycommission.co.uk/contact/

Great to be with @socialcarefuture.bsky.social movement in Manchester today. @alexfoxshared.bsky.social is doing great work capturing the key points in this morning’s ‘Suggestion Time’ for the Casey Commission

I’ve been talking a lot about home being not necessarily the place you already live, but more a place of safety and connection. This story illustrates that beautifully

I’ve been frustrated to see so much of the ongoing story about asylum seekers and the protests against them covered without hearing from those seeking asylum and now being met with hostility and hatred I set out to speak to those directly affected to find out about the impact this is having 👇

Read up and down this thread: trans people have been treated abominably by the state and are now in an impossible position to

Loneliness is rife among young men. It’s time to get offline and talk to each other | Alexander Hurst

Hello network. Do I know anyone that might be able to lend me a desk and a bit of wifi near King’s Cross tomorrow afternoon?

These kinds of support services are exactly what we’ll need to move care out of hospitals. We can’t afford to be losing these organisations right now

A weekend away camping with two old friends got me thinking about how central our sense of identity is to our wellbeing, and how much sustaining it relies on our relationships. Happier campers: makingrightsmakesense.wordpress.com/2025/07/21/h...

Great to hear @georgiagould.bsky.social talking about creating an authorising environment for civil servants to work differently with the frontline to deliver the test, learn and grow approach - but contrary to No10 media guidance that civil servants shouldn’t engage in public Q&A?

This is really very good - well worth a read. I think the point about respecting people’s time is particularly well made. Relationships are built on trust - including trust that people will show up when they say

Story tonight about our joint open letter to The Times We’re calling for the guidance that is preventing civil servants from participating in public and stakeholder events to be withdrawn www.thetimes.com/article/2e4f...

Is it though?

I feel attacked! (Great thread, well worth a read)

Why is it only Tuesday. It feels emotionally like a Thursday.

20 years ago I was on my way to work & the “bloody Northern Line wasn’t working as usual” & I bumped into a colleague & ushered her up to a Thameslink train which rolled us into Kings Cross - over the carnage unfolding below. News unfolded slowly over the next hour. It was frightening & horrifying

Seems the NHS plan will be published late next week. So we have 4 or 5 more days of leaks to come. No doubt there will be much to welcome, & many more unanswered questions. But I hope we never again see a communication process so disrespectful to NHS staff, to partners, & to those they serve.

1/ This is an important comment on civil servant's public voice from @drhannahwhite.bsky.social and @alexgathomas.bsky.social at @instituteforgovernment.org.uk. And it could have particular implications for public bodies and regulators. A short thread...

This is unbelievable (not in a good way). What part of a Mission-based approach would suggest disempowering officials and preventing them engaging with outside views?

If this is true it's absolutely chilling. What is the govt thinking?

Perhaps the most important reason that tens of thousands of people in U.K. died unnecessarily in the pandemic was that ministers and their advisers failed to engage with those affected by their decisions. This incredibly stupid decision will make things worse ukpandemicethics.org/blog/martin-...

Come join my team at GMCA. Are you passionate about the role of the VCFSE sector in shaping policy & practice to further equity & improve lives in Greater Manchester? Help deliver our GM goal of good lives for all in a thriving city region. 🌱 apply.greater.jobs/gmca/Job/Job...

Thread

Hello! I am working on a project with the Royal Institution about the Christmas Lectures, and would love to talk to people who grew up watching them on TV, or now watch them with their own kids (or, ideally, both). Please share 🤗

I’ve been making my way through the Welfare Reform Bill and this paragraph on the gov.uk website is genuinely disgusting. Receiving a decent disability benefits rate “encourages sickness”, does it? Funny, I thought it just enabled severely ill and disabled people to eat.

Despite the dramatic headline, it seems that Casey has simply decided to meet the parties separately at first and bring them together later. It should be quite hard to work up to a ‘fury’ about that. #socialcare www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...

my artificial intelligence will, within the year, become more powerful than the human mind can even understand. right now though it’s scamming lonely people into believing it’s god. we think that’s just a phase it needs to work through

If you want to know how today's spending review affects #socialcare, you are going to have to wait. There is no clear sum to fund a fair pay agreement and promises of 'over £4bn' for social care in 2028/29 are unclear. Puzzled, frustrated thread > news.sky.com/story/spendi...

It’s lots of material but the COVID Inquiry hearings should be essential viewing for all U.K. Public Health professionals. There is a lot to reflect on. A lot of lessons to be learned. We on @independentsage.bsky.social knew it was bad but not this bad. And as our reports show, this is not hindsight

*LEWISHAM FOODBANK NEEDS YOU* We look forward to a future when no one needs a food bank to survive. Until then, we'll continue to provide emergency food and practical help. Will you support this vital work? Even the smallest donation will make a difference.

Who would have thought that asking people what they would find helpful and fun might actually be helpful and fun.

If you want to build relationships between people so that they're no longer strangers to each other then you need social and cultural infrastructure

To the good people who make a meagre living here looking after our elders, a long way from home: thank you. Your work is seen, and appreciated.

The new @CommonsHealth report is a robust critique of the ‘do nothing/delay’ approach to #socialcare reform. It finds too little data to answer its own exam question - what is the cost of doing nothing - but points to some ways forward. V short thread 🔽 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Great piece by Sheila Hancock. She is the same age as my mum and a lot of this resonates.

Useful thoughts as ever from @blimeysimon.bsky.social - I personally find the “in the short term cut waiting lists” bit the most troublesome, but perhaps it was inevitable and there are also some bits to cheer, and a very welcome lack of “most vulnerable” and / or “elderly” references