Reposted by DHinrio
Yeah. The correct 'reform' of the OBR is it should be Parliament's creature first and foremost. It's good for HMT to have its own forecasts and for the Chancellor's ideology to be a partial driver to them!
What should happen is that: we publish multiple OBR forecasts in advance around different tax / spend scenarios and we can then have a proper debate about the state of the nations finances.
The OBR publishing early is bad news for a) the person who carries the can b) the political debate around the OBR but maybe good for those of us who think Budget documents should be published before, not after, the Chancellor speaks as a matter of course when the world doesn't end at 13:30 today?
November 26, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Yeah. The correct 'reform' of the OBR is it should be Parliament's creature first and foremost. It's good for HMT to have its own forecasts and for the Chancellor's ideology to be a partial driver to them!
Reposted by DHinrio
(Relatedly this is IMO the actual 'problem' with Motability, in that by design having a middle operator between 'a person with a disability' and 'the manufacturer' we've actually made the whole process of modification more expensive and less dynamic. Not that it doesn't only issue Trabants!)
November 26, 2025 at 1:19 PM
(Relatedly this is IMO the actual 'problem' with Motability, in that by design having a middle operator between 'a person with a disability' and 'the manufacturer' we've actually made the whole process of modification more expensive and less dynamic. Not that it doesn't only issue Trabants!)
Reposted by DHinrio
This is something that really bothers me in so much talk about benefits including from some policy wonks.
Not everyone who is given something from the state is Oliver Twist, nor should they be.
The state should provide help to all sorts of people in different circs, not just gruel for the needy
Not everyone who is given something from the state is Oliver Twist, nor should they be.
The state should provide help to all sorts of people in different circs, not just gruel for the needy
Sorry, no, Motability was not about 'helping the most vulnerable' - it was about providing people who need modified vehicles modified vehicles!
November 26, 2025 at 1:19 PM
This is something that really bothers me in so much talk about benefits including from some policy wonks.
Not everyone who is given something from the state is Oliver Twist, nor should they be.
The state should provide help to all sorts of people in different circs, not just gruel for the needy
Not everyone who is given something from the state is Oliver Twist, nor should they be.
The state should provide help to all sorts of people in different circs, not just gruel for the needy
Now let's get rid of the bedroom tax and the benefit cap.
Whatever else this government do (and there's plenty of issues with this budget) ministers will always be able to point to this as an incredible important contribution to the country's future. Almost half a million kids taken out of poverty.
Scrapping the two-child limit in full is a monumental decision. Well done to all involved in the Child Poverty Strategy, and everyone who has made the case against the policy.
OBR says scrapping costs £3 billion in 2029-30 and will lift 450,000 out of poverty
OBR says scrapping costs £3 billion in 2029-30 and will lift 450,000 out of poverty
November 26, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Now let's get rid of the bedroom tax and the benefit cap.
Reposted by DHinrio
Think Reeves can chalk this up as a win. A big win actually.
U.K 30 YEAR GILT YIELD DOWN 9.8 BPS TO 5.23%, IN BIGGEST ONE DAY FALL SINCE APRIL
November 26, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Think Reeves can chalk this up as a win. A big win actually.
Reposted by DHinrio
Reflections on the budget from the head of Students4Reform
November 26, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Reflections on the budget from the head of Students4Reform
Reposted by DHinrio
beginning to believe I would actually vote for a dead pigeon on a stick if it just promised to restore the fuel duty escalator
November 25, 2025 at 4:40 PM
beginning to believe I would actually vote for a dead pigeon on a stick if it just promised to restore the fuel duty escalator
Reposted by DHinrio
A cornerstone of so many offences is behaviour that falls below that expected of an ordinary person. Dishonesty is a classic example of this. Reasonable is another.
Ordinary people should therefore be the ultimate decision makers as to whether the behaviour has fallen below such a standard. /1
Ordinary people should therefore be the ultimate decision makers as to whether the behaviour has fallen below such a standard. /1
Imagine coming up with a proposal so stupid, so unworkable, so thoughtless, that it makes Robert Jenrick look sane by comparison.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Jury trials could be scrapped except in most serious cases
Only cases of alleged murder, rape or manslaughter will be decided by a jury under new proposals to cut court backlogs.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 6:54 PM
A cornerstone of so many offences is behaviour that falls below that expected of an ordinary person. Dishonesty is a classic example of this. Reasonable is another.
Ordinary people should therefore be the ultimate decision makers as to whether the behaviour has fallen below such a standard. /1
Ordinary people should therefore be the ultimate decision makers as to whether the behaviour has fallen below such a standard. /1
Reposted by DHinrio
BREAKING: This is huge news, the EU's equivalent of the 🇺🇸Supreme Court's 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling.
🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states.
This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺
🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states.
This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺
www.reuters.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:10 AM
BREAKING: This is huge news, the EU's equivalent of the 🇺🇸Supreme Court's 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling.
🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states.
This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺
🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states.
This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺
Reposted by DHinrio
I actually think it's bad that the law thinks that calling a 17 year old a "sissy porn-watching scumbag", a "groomer" and a "disgusting incel" in public is not a crime, and indeed I do not think criticising this would constitute "[picking] sides in the debate about sex and gender identity".
November 25, 2025 at 12:08 PM
I actually think it's bad that the law thinks that calling a 17 year old a "sissy porn-watching scumbag", a "groomer" and a "disgusting incel" in public is not a crime, and indeed I do not think criticising this would constitute "[picking] sides in the debate about sex and gender identity".
Reposted by DHinrio
Don’t want to be too moralistic about this, but it is an active disgrace what people are doing to a profoundly liberational scheme that costs relatively piddling amounts on the basis of a couple of right wing shitposters misrepresenting it on Twitter.
November 25, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Don’t want to be too moralistic about this, but it is an active disgrace what people are doing to a profoundly liberational scheme that costs relatively piddling amounts on the basis of a couple of right wing shitposters misrepresenting it on Twitter.
Reposted by DHinrio
Why the two-child limit has to go, in a chart.
November 25, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Why the two-child limit has to go, in a chart.
I was prepared to reluctantly accept the Leveson reforms as an emergency response to the crisis in the criminal justice system, but today's proposals are grossly in excess of that and should be opposed relentlessly.
what the fuck
November 25, 2025 at 11:48 PM
I was prepared to reluctantly accept the Leveson reforms as an emergency response to the crisis in the criminal justice system, but today's proposals are grossly in excess of that and should be opposed relentlessly.
Reposted by DHinrio
pretty much every long-time Labour volunteer I know is seriously considering whether to vote Green or Lib Dem.
It is amazingly horrifying in how little Labour leaders have zero, even negative faith in the values that their party's supposed to stand for. I have the deepest sympathies for the party ground floor workers and supporters who're disgusted by this grotesque betrayal of their values. It's despairing.
November 25, 2025 at 8:53 PM
pretty much every long-time Labour volunteer I know is seriously considering whether to vote Green or Lib Dem.
Reposted by DHinrio
EXCLUSIVE: US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff advised Russia on how to pitch Ukraine plans to Trump, in audio files reviewed by Bloomberg
Witkoff Advised Russia on How to Pitch Ukraine Plan to Trump
US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, fresh from the triumph of the Gaza peace deal, held a phone call last month with a senior Kremlin official to suggest they work together on a similar plan for Ukraine — and that Vladimir Putin should raise it with Donald Trump.
bloom.bg
November 25, 2025 at 7:52 PM
EXCLUSIVE: US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff advised Russia on how to pitch Ukraine plans to Trump, in audio files reviewed by Bloomberg
Reposted by DHinrio
Countries that have abortion access, DEI policies or protection for LGBTQ+ people will be considered “human rights violators“ by the Trump regime
We’re in the upside down.
www.forbes.com/sites/maryro...
We’re in the upside down.
www.forbes.com/sites/maryro...
Abortion And DEI Policies Now Considered Violations Of Human Rights, U.S. Says
The Trump administration has overhauled how the State Department conducts its annual Human Rights Report.
www.forbes.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Countries that have abortion access, DEI policies or protection for LGBTQ+ people will be considered “human rights violators“ by the Trump regime
We’re in the upside down.
www.forbes.com/sites/maryro...
We’re in the upside down.
www.forbes.com/sites/maryro...
Reposted by DHinrio
this is a chilling read on influencers pushing an extreme version of homebirthing with disastrous consequences www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...
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
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:55 PM
this is a chilling read on influencers pushing an extreme version of homebirthing with disastrous consequences www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...
Reposted by DHinrio
Amid a deepening ecological crisis and acute water shortage, Tehran can no longer remain the capital of Iran, the country’s president has said. www.scientificamerican.com/article/iran...
Iran’s Capital Is Moving. The Reason Is an Ecological Catastrophe
The decision to move Iran’s capital is partly driven by climate change, but experts say decades of human error and action are also to blame
www.scientificamerican.com
November 23, 2025 at 2:42 AM
Amid a deepening ecological crisis and acute water shortage, Tehran can no longer remain the capital of Iran, the country’s president has said. www.scientificamerican.com/article/iran...
Reposted by DHinrio
Messages from school to my parents in the 90s: Fill in the slip at the bottom & bring in £2 for the trip to the zoo
Messages from school now: Your child's exam schedule is on Zoop, login via the LernPortal to access it, the results will be on HoneyTree, their homework is on Zappp & NumberHub
Messages from school now: Your child's exam schedule is on Zoop, login via the LernPortal to access it, the results will be on HoneyTree, their homework is on Zappp & NumberHub
November 24, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Messages from school to my parents in the 90s: Fill in the slip at the bottom & bring in £2 for the trip to the zoo
Messages from school now: Your child's exam schedule is on Zoop, login via the LernPortal to access it, the results will be on HoneyTree, their homework is on Zappp & NumberHub
Messages from school now: Your child's exam schedule is on Zoop, login via the LernPortal to access it, the results will be on HoneyTree, their homework is on Zappp & NumberHub
Reposted by DHinrio
Scrapping the two-child limit *is* welfare reform. Defining ‘reform’ solely as ‘cut’ is one reason why it’s proved so difficult
November 23, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Scrapping the two-child limit *is* welfare reform. Defining ‘reform’ solely as ‘cut’ is one reason why it’s proved so difficult
Reposted by DHinrio
Making these changes retroactively is a fundamentally unethical thing. Moving the goalposts. It’s cheating
At least 160,000 people have been granted refugee status over the past five years. It now seems they are intended to be caught by the Government’s plans to make refugees wait up to 20 years for settlement - even for those just months away from ILR
www.thetimes.com/article/6f83...
www.thetimes.com/article/6f83...
November 24, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Making these changes retroactively is a fundamentally unethical thing. Moving the goalposts. It’s cheating
Reposted by DHinrio
Taps the "lads you're on 17% without breaking the pledge, could it really be worse?" sign
This government's relentless focus on growth has got out of hand.
i: Reeves to unveil £600m raid on foreign student
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
November 23, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Taps the "lads you're on 17% without breaking the pledge, could it really be worse?" sign
Reposted by DHinrio
Most accounts on Twitter turn out to be Russian MAGA bots. Here’s why Bluesky has an intellectual diversity problem
November 23, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Most accounts on Twitter turn out to be Russian MAGA bots. Here’s why Bluesky has an intellectual diversity problem
Reposted by DHinrio
This is a really important question, in that an underrated argument for wealth taxes is 'concentrations of wealth are bad' - they can be democracy and competition maximising tools, they just often aren't good revenue raisers!
That’s a very helpful post. I went to look before I asked you ‘what if I want less super-richness, will that come down under the right tax circs?’. He sort-of-deals-with-it in his bit about the Laffer curve.
November 23, 2025 at 11:13 PM
This is a really important question, in that an underrated argument for wealth taxes is 'concentrations of wealth are bad' - they can be democracy and competition maximising tools, they just often aren't good revenue raisers!
Reposted by DHinrio
If you wanted one chart that would make me continue to say that the pandemic policy response and tradeoffs thereafter were worth it (from a macro perspective) this would probably be it. Sustained periods of v v high prime-age EPOP are rare!
Prime age (25-54 years old) EPOP measures core labor market strength, omits people on fringes of work steady at 80.7%, below record-high of 80.9% a year ago
It was never higher than this during 2002-'22 (80.4% high).
Constrains adding jobs without immigration = working age folks are working.
It was never higher than this during 2002-'22 (80.4% high).
Constrains adding jobs without immigration = working age folks are working.
November 20, 2025 at 1:50 PM
If you wanted one chart that would make me continue to say that the pandemic policy response and tradeoffs thereafter were worth it (from a macro perspective) this would probably be it. Sustained periods of v v high prime-age EPOP are rare!