Adam
@adamcobb.bsky.social
Digital marketing type; European politics bore; language enthusiast; one of those gays you hear about; Eurovision nerd; that guy in the window seat. @adamcobb on Twitter
Love the gym, which feels like something you'd get in a Novotel which really needs a refurbishment.
November 27, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Love the gym, which feels like something you'd get in a Novotel which really needs a refurbishment.
I just don't think it's that surprising that Labour MPs wanted to pull the most obvious lever for alleviating child poverty, when reducing it was part of their manifesto. All people are going to have to pay more as society ages. That sucks but it's the path we're on.
November 27, 2025 at 4:05 PM
I just don't think it's that surprising that Labour MPs wanted to pull the most obvious lever for alleviating child poverty, when reducing it was part of their manifesto. All people are going to have to pay more as society ages. That sucks but it's the path we're on.
You could (and there is a major welfare reform report in production now but you can't do these things in haste). Working tax credits are no more, there's been an attempt to foist that onto business via the minimum wage increases which has led to mixed results.
November 27, 2025 at 4:04 PM
You could (and there is a major welfare reform report in production now but you can't do these things in haste). Working tax credits are no more, there's been an attempt to foist that onto business via the minimum wage increases which has led to mixed results.
Hasn't this been the situation for a decade and more though? Uprating money that comes in by RPI and money that goes out by CPI is a favourite trick.
November 27, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Hasn't this been the situation for a decade and more though? Uprating money that comes in by RPI and money that goes out by CPI is a favourite trick.
The Tories did the 'no money left' thing for 14 years and there are a number of disasters (prisons, social care, SEND provision) that are just going to need money thrown at them to resolve them. I think they are loading far too much strain onto business but personal taxes will have to go up.
November 27, 2025 at 4:01 PM
The Tories did the 'no money left' thing for 14 years and there are a number of disasters (prisons, social care, SEND provision) that are just going to need money thrown at them to resolve them. I think they are loading far too much strain onto business but personal taxes will have to go up.
Could you realistically freeze spending though? I mean NHS costs are naturally going to increase as the population ages, pensions will increase and the tax base will shrink. The spending increases aren't profligacy, they're the results of the changing demographic pyramid.
November 27, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Could you realistically freeze spending though? I mean NHS costs are naturally going to increase as the population ages, pensions will increase and the tax base will shrink. The spending increases aren't profligacy, they're the results of the changing demographic pyramid.
But also it's quite funny to see the Telegraph's angry/scare angle being '18-34 year olds are LEAVING IN THE BIGGEST NUMBERS' and... yes? What do you expect to happen if you make it much harder to stay here after you graduate.
November 27, 2025 at 3:51 PM
But also it's quite funny to see the Telegraph's angry/scare angle being '18-34 year olds are LEAVING IN THE BIGGEST NUMBERS' and... yes? What do you expect to happen if you make it much harder to stay here after you graduate.
Agreed and quite a lot of this will be because setting up a life with your partner here has become more difficult, so in some cases the British half of the couple will decide it's easier to go to Canada, Spain, Peru or wherever.
November 27, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Agreed and quite a lot of this will be because setting up a life with your partner here has become more difficult, so in some cases the British half of the couple will decide it's easier to go to Canada, Spain, Peru or wherever.
22 year old me accidentally completely destroyed a site with a plugin glitch and basically had to rebuild it from memory/archive.org overnight. Thankfully, nobody noticed.
November 27, 2025 at 3:38 PM
22 year old me accidentally completely destroyed a site with a plugin glitch and basically had to rebuild it from memory/archive.org overnight. Thankfully, nobody noticed.
Builtwith suggests WordPress and a number of plugins.
November 27, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Builtwith suggests WordPress and a number of plugins.
You'll probably also see a small but noticeable uptick in Brits leaving (not 'everyone moves to Dubai' Telegraph scare story levels but I wouldn't be surprised to see the background number rise by 10-25k a year).
November 27, 2025 at 3:24 PM
You'll probably also see a small but noticeable uptick in Brits leaving (not 'everyone moves to Dubai' Telegraph scare story levels but I wouldn't be surprised to see the background number rise by 10-25k a year).
But they had that opportunity when Trump was elected and started his tariffs and demands for higher defence spending and refused to take it!
November 27, 2025 at 1:41 PM
But they had that opportunity when Trump was elected and started his tariffs and demands for higher defence spending and refused to take it!
"Look North, what are your thoughts?
*three people start talking*
*three people start talking*
November 27, 2025 at 11:19 AM
"Look North, what are your thoughts?
*three people start talking*
*three people start talking*
Reporting Scotland sat way too far from the laptop again and won't be able to hear anything.
November 27, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Reporting Scotland sat way too far from the laptop again and won't be able to hear anything.
Tbh I'll be surprised if the salary sacrifice change arrives in the form currently being proposed. It feels very much a made up thing dropped in to make the numbers balance.
November 27, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Tbh I'll be surprised if the salary sacrifice change arrives in the form currently being proposed. It feels very much a made up thing dropped in to make the numbers balance.
If it's just doing this year vs. next year though I think that's the main stuff? The pension changes don't come in for several years.
November 27, 2025 at 11:07 AM
If it's just doing this year vs. next year though I think that's the main stuff? The pension changes don't come in for several years.
I think that (as you say) in the deeply unusual era of interest rates being at or near zero, that argument did have some merit. The problem is that moment passed. Yes it's sad and deeply regrettable that we didn't take advantage but that doesn't mean doing it now makes sense!
November 27, 2025 at 11:06 AM
I think that (as you say) in the deeply unusual era of interest rates being at or near zero, that argument did have some merit. The problem is that moment passed. Yes it's sad and deeply regrettable that we didn't take advantage but that doesn't mean doing it now makes sense!
Has the general direness of the graduate job market shown up in the teacher recruitment numbers? You'd imagine it might push more people in that direction (for better or worse).
November 27, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Has the general direness of the graduate job market shown up in the teacher recruitment numbers? You'd imagine it might push more people in that direction (for better or worse).
I think I downloaded it once, wandered around for 3 minutes, thought 'this is boring' and then never used it again. I don't think I ever met a single person who used it.
November 27, 2025 at 10:51 AM
I think I downloaded it once, wandered around for 3 minutes, thought 'this is boring' and then never used it again. I don't think I ever met a single person who used it.
It was Reuters. The hack in question didn't seem to enjoy it much www.theguardian.com/technology/b...
Reuters quits Second Life
Second Life was a fashionable virtual destination, and had its own Reuters reporter. Now he's quit, maybe the virtual tide has turned -- at least for business use of the system
www.theguardian.com
November 27, 2025 at 10:50 AM
It was Reuters. The hack in question didn't seem to enjoy it much www.theguardian.com/technology/b...
I have a horrible feeling the graduate tax will land circa 2030 when I've finally paid this darned thing off.
November 27, 2025 at 9:53 AM
I have a horrible feeling the graduate tax will land circa 2030 when I've finally paid this darned thing off.
And also how much depends on the day you've had? If I've just spent the day on a visibly collapsing NHS A&E unit, I may be sympathetic, if I've just had to decide to cut back on Christmas spending due to lack of funds, possibly less so?
November 27, 2025 at 9:53 AM
And also how much depends on the day you've had? If I've just spent the day on a visibly collapsing NHS A&E unit, I may be sympathetic, if I've just had to decide to cut back on Christmas spending due to lack of funds, possibly less so?
There's a bit of me that's wondered for a while if somehow allowing people to pay off their student loan via pension contributions could be a good thing (it feels a bit mad I have a pile of money here and a debt accruing interest there) but I'm sure there's a downside I haven't considered.
November 27, 2025 at 9:51 AM
There's a bit of me that's wondered for a while if somehow allowing people to pay off their student loan via pension contributions could be a good thing (it feels a bit mad I have a pile of money here and a debt accruing interest there) but I'm sure there's a downside I haven't considered.