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Reposted by Martin Wheatley

Anna Clarke @annaclarke.bsky.social · 20h

Every time we see further increases in people living in temporary accommodation I feel it should be pointed out that the big reason is that Local Housing Allowance is capped based on 2023 rents. Rents are rising, so private renting is increasing out of range for families in particular.

Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 21h

Homelessness stats just out show another new record in households (132k) and children (172k) living in temporary accommodation. Up 7.5% in last year
www.gov.uk/government/s...

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Reposted by Martin Wheatley

Nick Davies @njdavies.bsky.social · 1d

NEW: @instituteforgovernment.org.uk have published pt1 of Public Services Performance Tracker 2025 covering local government finances and overall performance, adult social care, children's social care and homelessness

Incredible work by @stuarthoddinott.bsky.social & @amberdellar.bsky.social

Public Services Performance Tracker 2025 | Institute for Government

Labour’s public service plans are less than the sum of their parts.

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk

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Reposted by Martin Wheatley

Chris Giles @chrisgiles.ft.com · 1d

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...

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Martin Wheatley @martinhwheatley.bsky.social · 2d

@slothlydad.bsky.social rings pretty true from 2020-21?

Tim Morton @timmorton2.bsky.social · 2d

Very interesting hour or so with @alexnurse.bsky.social at the @activetravelcaf.bsky.social presenting his research on the impact of social media campaigning on elected politicians when it comes to active travel.

Bar charts showing proportions of very negative to very positive posts by category eg Motorists, journalists, anonymous accounts and so on

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Martin Wheatley @martinhwheatley.bsky.social · 2d

Why does BBC headline this story so negatively? Scheme will *increase* council homes, more than double total number of homes and revive currently tired and shabby shops and public space Investment of £80m could see 150 homes torn down in Cambridge - BBC News share.google/Dux9UUaK7QAO...

Investment of £80m could see 150 homes torn down in Cambridge - BBC News

The city council says many of the flats are too costly to repair, and residents will be supported.

share.google

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Martin Wheatley @martinhwheatley.bsky.social · 2d

3. Caistor St Edmund (Venta Icenorum), equivalent of county town, S of Norwich. Walls enclosing large area, church using Roman materials, possibly on site of late Roman church

View across site, now large grassy field, ramparts in distance. Medieval church standing near former S gate of town

Part of E wall, now decayed to rough rubble

Well preserved section of E wall, standing 5+ metres high

Church, bits of Roman brick and tile built into walls and doorways. Tower and porch to right, left hand end of church covered in ochre render

Martin Wheatley @martinhwheatley.bsky.social · 2d

2. Burgh Castle, the matching base the other side of the former estuary. Walls standing on three sides up to 8-10 metres

Section of wall, faced with alternating layers of red brick and grey stone, circular tower beyond. Person standing by wall for scale.

South wall of fort, with two cylindrical towers

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Martin Wheatley @martinhwheatley.bsky.social · 2d

Three impressive Roman sites in E Norfolk, who knew? 1. Caister by Sea, one of a pair of forts/naval bases either side of huge estuary (no longer there)

Foundations of part of a barrack range, flint and rubble cores of the walls. At the far end, remains of a room with central heating.

Footings of gate tower and rampart to left, barrack building beyond.

Footings of barrack building, to left part of a cobbled street.

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Martin Wheatley @martinhwheatley.bsky.social · 2d

I support this analysis and the frustration, not least because so many people, #localgov, #ukhousing, respectable businesses, were making the same points over 15 years ago. Government is so bad often at listening.

Ellie Mae O'Hagan @elliemaeohagan.bsky.social · 2d

🧵Quarterly post that is actually about energy policy: There was an NAO report out today about big failures of a scheme introduced by the previous government to reduce households' CO2 emissions. The scheme, ECO, obligated energy companies to pay installers to fit heat pumps, solar, insulation etc.

Martin Wheatley @martinhwheatley.bsky.social · 6d

Were someone to observe the zebra crossing in my village they would count one driver in three ignoring pedestrians waiting to cross.

Peter Walker @peterwalker99.bsky.social · 7d

One day - *one day* - a UK newspaper will do a similar count of motor vehicles speeding inside a 20mph zone.

In 60 minutes I saw 172 cyclists run these lights – it’s a matter of time before they kill someone

The offenders included Lime bike riders, school children and a woman in high-heeled boots

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Reposted by Martin Wheatley

Alice Lilly @aliceolilly.bsky.social · 6d

If we can’t even talk in general terms about MPs’ workload- which MPs of all parties agree is v casework- heavy and getting heavier- without a lot of responses being to assume that MPs are not telling the truth/just whinging/ working on the wrong things etc- then I think we’re in a bad place

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Martin Wheatley @martinhwheatley.bsky.social · 6d

"I'm shocked. I'm shocked to find one of my associates is a Russian asset share.google/4cdacgSfDhCx...

Nigel Farage 'stunned' ex-Wales Reform leader Nathan Gill took bribes - BBC News

Nathan Gill has admitted taking money for pro-Russian statements as a European Parliament member.

share.google

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Martin Wheatley @martinhwheatley.bsky.social · 7d

Far NE of Norfolk feels like the end of the earth. Nice ramble taking in pumping mill, beach with several big pods of seals and very ancient and rustic church.

Pumping mill, tall circular brick structure with white cap and sails. In foreground canal with boats. Horsey, Norfolk, England

Pod of seals hauled up on sandy beach, sea behind, Horsey, Norfolk, England

All Saints' Church, Horsey, built of rubble with circular tower and thatched roof

Interior of All Saints' Church, Horsey, dark wood pews, screen and pulpit, rough plastered walls and rough roof rafters

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Reposted by Martin Wheatley

Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 8d

If you want to win over younger voters, telling them they can't go to university is probably not going to help.

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Martin Wheatley @martinhwheatley.bsky.social · 10d

Good they are addressing the role of freeholders/managing agents in leasehold transactions. In an executor sale I am handling (freeholder a Cambridge college) they just didn't reply to emails for a couple of months. I only unstuck it by finding a back channel to the estates bursar personally!

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Reposted by Martin Wheatley

Anna Clarke @annaclarke.bsky.social · 11d

If you spent ten times the current budget on building social housing (ie increase it from 4bn to 40bn a year), you could build around 200,000 a year. So after 25 years you might have enough to replace the 4.4m private rentals.

Greens Organise @greensorganise.bsky.social · 11d

Green Party Conference 2025 just passed a motion that would Abolish Landlords!

Through a programme of unprecedented council house building, taxation and housing those who need it, a Green government would eliminate profit from a human right.

Housing for all.

Letting agent sticking a FOR RENT sign to window.

Text reads

Green Conference votes to
Abolish
Landlords

Greens
Organise

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Martin Wheatley @martinhwheatley.bsky.social · 11d

Also quote marks 'hate crime'. Maybe it might not be 🤔

Ben Whitham @drbenwhitham.bsky.social · 11d

Men in balaclavas set fire to a mosque in East Sussex last night. It's only appearing on the BBC's local coverage, rather than its main national headlines, despite coming just a week after the (also under-reported) firebombing of an asylum hotel in London last week
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Peacehaven: Fire at East Sussex mosque probed as 'hate crime'

Video appears to show two people in balaclavas at the mosque before a large blaze spreads.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Martin Wheatley @martinhwheatley.bsky.social · 11d

It can't or won't even pretend it is investigating cycle theft at stations share.google/c5wjxYnD17qR...

Bike thefts at stations 'decriminalised' - BBC News

The British Transport Police will not investigate many categories of bicycle theft, the BBC learns.

share.google

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Martin Wheatley @martinhwheatley.bsky.social · 12d

More completely unacceptable parroting by BBC of misinformation. Need for major shake-up of editorial standards www.politicshome.com/news/article...

BBC Apologises For Airing Fake Claim About Digital ID Scheme

The BBC has apologised for airing a false claim about Tony Blair's son's company being awarded a government contract to produce the new mandatory d...

www.politicshome.com

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Martin Wheatley @martinhwheatley.bsky.social · 12d

Enough of a respite in #StormAmy to have a wander round Warwickshire landscapes today. (In my capacity as @rcwheat.bsky.social's driver to a 🚂 event.)

Street of golden stone old houses in Avon Bassett, Warwickshire, England

Cattle grazing a grassy meadow, view beyond to village of Farnborough, Warwickshire, England, buildings screened by trees.

St Botolph's Church, Farnborough, Warwickshire, England. Built of golden stone with a steeple to the right, gravestones in foreground

Houses of golden stone, one thatched, one with roof slates. Grassy bank in foreground with autumnal tree

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Reposted by Martin Wheatley

Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 13d

Utterly despicable.

Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 13d

This Israeli government decision to host Tommy Robinson will widen the growing gulf between the Netanyahu government and the British public, including the broad majority of Jews in Britain (3/4 of whom dsapproved of Netanyahu, before this new link to this anti-Muslim racist UK far right convict).

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Reposted by Martin Wheatley

Felicity Hannah @felicityhannah.bsky.social · 13d

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

Article reads:
Woman named as Archbishop of Canterbury in historic first

The 63-year-old archbishop-designate is married to Eamonn Mullally, with whom she has two children. Originally from Woking in Surrey, she was the UK's chief nursing officer from 1999 to 2004.

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Simon Evans @drsimevans.carbonbrief.org · 13d

A question for Times columnist Sebastian Payne:

What is this cheaper source of "energy" that you speak of?

The world's energy experts would like to know…

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Reposted by Martin Wheatley

Sarcophagus Gibbs @sararoseg.bsky.social · 14d

You don’t actually have to both sides this. The Jewish community in the UK is not the Israeli government. You can just condemn the murder of two British Jews killed in their place of worship and you don’t have to say a single other thing.

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Martin Wheatley @martinhwheatley.bsky.social · 14d

In any event, no need for warranted officers to do it. Trained civilians with AI doing the drudge work. Potentially anywhere in the world.

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