Elle
@centristmum.bsky.social
Mum, Lib Dem and naturalised Yorkshire citizen
😫
November 26, 2025 at 11:05 PM
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I hadn't thought of this aspect of why the salary sacrifice change is insane... Imagine thinking it's a good idea to have bigger disincentives for ordinary people saving for retirement than for high income people saving for retirement. It's obviously a terrible idea!
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 PM
I hadn't thought of this aspect of why the salary sacrifice change is insane... Imagine thinking it's a good idea to have bigger disincentives for ordinary people saving for retirement than for high income people saving for retirement. It's obviously a terrible idea!
Imagine if they forgot one year
Big news, income tax is being charged this year.
(It has to be renewed each year or it ceases to apply. Because it's a temporary tax, introduced to fund the Napoleonic wars)
(It has to be renewed each year or it ceases to apply. Because it's a temporary tax, introduced to fund the Napoleonic wars)
November 26, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Imagine if they forgot one year
And they cut aid to the most vulnerable in the world for this
November 26, 2025 at 12:11 AM
And they cut aid to the most vulnerable in the world for this
Can't help feel that these people obviously do on one level accept that trans women are women because only women get so blatantly disbelieved about our own feelings and experiences.
I don’t know enough about the situation with Lineham to opine on whether the judgement is valid or not, but everything about this paragraph in the BBC article makes me despair at how many institutions have been captured by the GC movement
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
November 25, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Can't help feel that these people obviously do on one level accept that trans women are women because only women get so blatantly disbelieved about our own feelings and experiences.
*looks to camera*
Caveat: I am *rubbish* at predicting what politicians will do. Last year I said the Government would be nuts to increase employer national insurance.
They increased employer national insurance.
They increased employer national insurance.
November 25, 2025 at 10:41 AM
*looks to camera*
What I enjoy about this timeline juxtaposition is that I'm not sure the very stupid idea in Sam's tweet is even the stupidest idea on my screen at that moment
November 24, 2025 at 11:28 PM
What I enjoy about this timeline juxtaposition is that I'm not sure the very stupid idea in Sam's tweet is even the stupidest idea on my screen at that moment
Rogue One is the only star wars movie where I give a shit about any of the characters. I get why people don't like it but it has heart in a way the main trilogy doesn't.
November 24, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Rogue One is the only star wars movie where I give a shit about any of the characters. I get why people don't like it but it has heart in a way the main trilogy doesn't.
One of my mum friends works for Tesco HQ. She says homeware is counter cyclical: people can't afford a new sofa so buy cushions. I noticed lately that the posh ready meal section expanded suddenly. Made me wonder if people are switching from takeaways. And if perhaps things are going to get rough.
November 24, 2025 at 11:04 PM
One of my mum friends works for Tesco HQ. She says homeware is counter cyclical: people can't afford a new sofa so buy cushions. I noticed lately that the posh ready meal section expanded suddenly. Made me wonder if people are switching from takeaways. And if perhaps things are going to get rough.
Listened to a couple of news agents episodes again after the BBC thing and Sopel and Maitliss are still on twitter, aren't they? Just very weird accepting of the premise that migration is out of control and further restrictions needed. Anyway two episodes was enough for now!
November 24, 2025 at 8:43 AM
Listened to a couple of news agents episodes again after the BBC thing and Sopel and Maitliss are still on twitter, aren't they? Just very weird accepting of the premise that migration is out of control and further restrictions needed. Anyway two episodes was enough for now!
A week or so ago I said I thought this budget had 'Gordon Brown accidentally killing DB pensions' vibes and I'm starting to think it might actually be worse than that
i: Reeves to unveil £600m raid on foreign student
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
November 23, 2025 at 10:42 PM
A week or so ago I said I thought this budget had 'Gordon Brown accidentally killing DB pensions' vibes and I'm starting to think it might actually be worse than that
Took me three goes to read this. Grim grim grim
Influencers made millions pushing ‘wild’ births – now the Free Birth Society is linked to baby deaths around the world
Influencers made millions pushing ‘wild’ births – now the Free Birth Society is linked to baby deaths around the world
A year-long investigation reveals how mothers lost children after being radicalised by uplifting podcast tales of births without midwives or doctors
As Esau Lopez was asphyxiated for the first 17 minutes of his life on Earth, the atmosphere in the room remained serene, even ecstatic. Acoustic music crooned from a speaker in a modest two-bedroom apartment in a suburb of Pennsylvania. “You are a queen,” murmured one of three friends in the room.
Only Esau’s mother, Gabrielle Lopez, felt something was wrong. She was pushing hard, but her son would not be born. “Can you help [him] out?” she asked, as Esau crowned. “Baby is coming,” the friend replied. Four minutes later, Lopez asked again, “Can you grab [him]?” Another friend murmured, “Baby is safe.” Six minutes passed. Again, Lopez asked, “Can you grab [him]?” Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 10:17 PM
Took me three goes to read this. Grim grim grim
Having been a lib dem in coalition the vibes are just exactly the same. Total public contempt for the leader. Trust gone. Big picture approach wrong. Activists desperately shouting about the few policy wins to a public that has made its mind up.
It's funny how much they talk like the Liberal Democrats in coalition, except instead of 'negotiating with the senior partner in a coalition', the coalition partner is 'the campaign people refuse to let go of the wheel or to sign off anything suggesting their campaign was anything but perfect'.
Absolutely. The improved forecasts is insane because it's banking inflationary increases in revenue that will surely provoke inflationary increases in spending (particular public sector pay).
This BTW is a work of art. Exactly the type of attitude that has got Labour into this mess.
This BTW is a work of art. Exactly the type of attitude that has got Labour into this mess.
November 22, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Having been a lib dem in coalition the vibes are just exactly the same. Total public contempt for the leader. Trust gone. Big picture approach wrong. Activists desperately shouting about the few policy wins to a public that has made its mind up.
Doctors need to decide if they want to be liked or if they want to be paid more. Tube drivers are paid a lot because they don't care who likes them.
It’s hard to read this stuff from doctors without cringing at how wildly out of touch it sounds (and how little self-awareness). £100k+ income is, to most of the public, beyond our dreams. Entitlement and class privilege is not the best way to win people over to your cause!
November 20, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Doctors need to decide if they want to be liked or if they want to be paid more. Tube drivers are paid a lot because they don't care who likes them.
Ok what the FUCK?
One plot point is that a social worker who tried to blow the whistle on child sex abuse was murdered by the organized crime group responsible for the events of the whole series and even *that* was based on a real case
www.thesun.co.uk/news/3543676...
www.thesun.co.uk/news/3543676...
Was secret paedo ring still on UK streets behind horrifying murder of dad-to-be?
“I know what’s going on. I’m going to spill the beans soon,” council worker Bulic Forsythe told a colleague on a cold February day in 1993. Just days later, the 42-year-old was found dead …
www.thesun.co.uk
November 19, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Ok what the FUCK?
I'm enjoying the people in the replies saying 'but what if we pay mothers two grand a month' and my friends, I just want to state for the record that I am happy to be your guinea pig here. I know. I'm a real team player.
yup, this is a point I keep making - people keep being like 'if we provide better parental and family support it will raise birthrates' and it just doesn't! nor do coercive methods or propaganda, China's biggest single-year fall came when they were pushing natalist stuff hardest.
I've talked about this before, but in Ireland our biggest sustained bump in birthrates since the 70s came in the wake of the Great Recession, with another smaller one in 2020.
The dynamics governing falling TFRs are well understood, but the causes of the reverse are beyond rational comprehension.
The dynamics governing falling TFRs are well understood, but the causes of the reverse are beyond rational comprehension.
November 19, 2025 at 10:35 PM
I'm enjoying the people in the replies saying 'but what if we pay mothers two grand a month' and my friends, I just want to state for the record that I am happy to be your guinea pig here. I know. I'm a real team player.
Words to live by 😂
If you want to stop me criticising, either stop doing dumb things or give me a peerage. Either is fine.
November 17, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Words to live by 😂
Except the tax pledge. They were lying about literally everything except the sodding tax pledge.
The other thing that gets me about all of this government is just the sheer dishonesty. Like they straight up lie day in day out about why and how decisions are reached. Shabana Mahmood tormenting refugees after years of loudly advocating for them is a peak example
November 17, 2025 at 10:16 AM
Except the tax pledge. They were lying about literally everything except the sodding tax pledge.
This is approaching Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor levels
NEW from Ipsos
Satisfaction with the PM remains unchanged since September, continuing to be the worst ever recorded by Ipsos for a Prime Minister, going back to 1977…
Satisfaction with the PM remains unchanged since September, continuing to be the worst ever recorded by Ipsos for a Prime Minister, going back to 1977…
November 17, 2025 at 9:58 AM
This is approaching Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor levels
Reposted by Elle
Hang on, I thought the real reason they were deserting the government was because Zack and Nigel have a better TikTok game.....
Half of all UK jobs shed since Labour came to power are among under-25s
Exclusive: David Blunkett warns Keir Starmer Britain’s youth are in danger of becoming ‘lost generation’ on his watch
www.theguardian.com
November 16, 2025 at 8:38 AM
Hang on, I thought the real reason they were deserting the government was because Zack and Nigel have a better TikTok game.....
Bluesky is never beating the allegations
November 15, 2025 at 11:27 PM
Bluesky is never beating the allegations
Just watching the Bluey cinema episode and I don't think I've ever watched a more viscerally relatable piece of TV
November 14, 2025 at 7:43 AM
Just watching the Bluey cinema episode and I don't think I've ever watched a more viscerally relatable piece of TV
This is worse than the Tories. They really wanted to cut taxes for ideological reasons. This lot know what they should do and aren't doing it because they are cowards.
November 14, 2025 at 7:34 AM
This is worse than the Tories. They really wanted to cut taxes for ideological reasons. This lot know what they should do and aren't doing it because they are cowards.
Ok so the tally so far
- saving £200 a month into a pension: bad.
- electric bikes: bad
- heat pumps: bad
- being a very well paid lawyer or accountant: good
This-is-fine.gif
- saving £200 a month into a pension: bad.
- electric bikes: bad
- heat pumps: bad
- being a very well paid lawyer or accountant: good
This-is-fine.gif
looks like the Treasury probably isn’t coming for partnerships/LLPs after all
www.ft.com/content/57e8...
www.ft.com/content/57e8...
Tax raid on UK partnerships to be less aggressive than feared
Senior City figures have been reassured that accountancy and law firms will not pay full national insurance rate
www.ft.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Ok so the tally so far
- saving £200 a month into a pension: bad.
- electric bikes: bad
- heat pumps: bad
- being a very well paid lawyer or accountant: good
This-is-fine.gif
- saving £200 a month into a pension: bad.
- electric bikes: bad
- heat pumps: bad
- being a very well paid lawyer or accountant: good
This-is-fine.gif
When I'm trying to win someone round to my choice of printer
It’s not a HP obsession!
November 13, 2025 at 10:49 PM
When I'm trying to win someone round to my choice of printer