Duncan Smith
@dnmns.bsky.social
Software engineering, mountaineering, cycling, making things.
Reposted by Duncan Smith
This is a Trump shakedown of the NHS that nobody voted for.
The government will divert billions of pounds away from frontline NHS services- all on the whim of a foreign president
They must put the deal to a vote in Parliament.
The government will divert billions of pounds away from frontline NHS services- all on the whim of a foreign president
They must put the deal to a vote in Parliament.
December 1, 2025 at 5:15 PM
This is a Trump shakedown of the NHS that nobody voted for.
The government will divert billions of pounds away from frontline NHS services- all on the whim of a foreign president
They must put the deal to a vote in Parliament.
The government will divert billions of pounds away from frontline NHS services- all on the whim of a foreign president
They must put the deal to a vote in Parliament.
Reposted by Duncan Smith
"These estimates suggest that by 2025, Brexit had reduced UK GDP by 6% to 8%, with the impact accumulating gradually over time. We estimate that investment was reduced by between 12% and 18%, employment by 3% to 4% and productivity by 3% to 4%"
Link: www.nber.org/papers/w34459
Link: www.nber.org/papers/w34459
November 26, 2025 at 8:42 AM
"These estimates suggest that by 2025, Brexit had reduced UK GDP by 6% to 8%, with the impact accumulating gradually over time. We estimate that investment was reduced by between 12% and 18%, employment by 3% to 4% and productivity by 3% to 4%"
Link: www.nber.org/papers/w34459
Link: www.nber.org/papers/w34459
Reposted by Duncan Smith
The numbers in here are hilarious.
Do you use AI on the job?
Execs: 87%
Managers: 57%
Workers: 27%
Planned investment by 2030: $5T
"Necessary" annual revenue to justify that spend: $650B
Current annual revenue: $50B
Do you use AI on the job?
Execs: 87%
Managers: 57%
Workers: 27%
Planned investment by 2030: $5T
"Necessary" annual revenue to justify that spend: $650B
Current annual revenue: $50B
Three years into the generative-AI wave, demand for the technology seems surprisingly flimsy
Investors expect AI use to soar. That’s not happening
Recent surveys point to flatlining business adoption
econ.st
November 30, 2025 at 12:28 AM
The numbers in here are hilarious.
Do you use AI on the job?
Execs: 87%
Managers: 57%
Workers: 27%
Planned investment by 2030: $5T
"Necessary" annual revenue to justify that spend: $650B
Current annual revenue: $50B
Do you use AI on the job?
Execs: 87%
Managers: 57%
Workers: 27%
Planned investment by 2030: $5T
"Necessary" annual revenue to justify that spend: $650B
Current annual revenue: $50B
Reposted by Duncan Smith
If the Venezuelan sailors were enemy combatants, then the 2nd strike is a war crime.
If the Venezuelan sailors weren’t enemy combatants, then both strikes are criminal murder.
It’s that simple.
If the Venezuelan sailors weren’t enemy combatants, then both strikes are criminal murder.
It’s that simple.
November 30, 2025 at 8:42 PM
If the Venezuelan sailors were enemy combatants, then the 2nd strike is a war crime.
If the Venezuelan sailors weren’t enemy combatants, then both strikes are criminal murder.
It’s that simple.
If the Venezuelan sailors weren’t enemy combatants, then both strikes are criminal murder.
It’s that simple.
Reposted by Duncan Smith
Really bad news. And completely irresponsible given where we are.
Can’t decide who this is worse for, the EU or the UK. But the real looser, of course, is European defence. So all of us.
on.ft.com/4pb0xP6
UK talks to join EU defence fund break down
on.ft.com/4pb0xP6
UK talks to join EU defence fund break down
UK talks to join EU defence fund break down
Discussions fail after Britain refuses to pay billions of euros in fees
on.ft.com
November 30, 2025 at 7:07 AM
Really bad news. And completely irresponsible given where we are.
Reposted by Duncan Smith
Britain didn’t get any more hilly between 1949 and 2024.
November 29, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Britain didn’t get any more hilly between 1949 and 2024.
Reposted by Duncan Smith
The reason the top 10% of income earners pay more than half of all tax revenue is NOT because they are taxed more than ever.
Their tax rate has been cut FIVE times in the last 25 years.
They are paying more because their INCOME has increased astronomically, where the income of the bottom half has
Their tax rate has been cut FIVE times in the last 25 years.
They are paying more because their INCOME has increased astronomically, where the income of the bottom half has
November 29, 2025 at 12:23 PM
The reason the top 10% of income earners pay more than half of all tax revenue is NOT because they are taxed more than ever.
Their tax rate has been cut FIVE times in the last 25 years.
They are paying more because their INCOME has increased astronomically, where the income of the bottom half has
Their tax rate has been cut FIVE times in the last 25 years.
They are paying more because their INCOME has increased astronomically, where the income of the bottom half has
Reposted by Duncan Smith
A RECORDING of Angus Miller's @geowalks.scot online talk on 25 November, 'WHERE'S THE VOLCANO? The story of the making of Calton Hill' is now posted on Vimeo:
caltonhilltrust.org/recording-of...
caltonhilltrust.org/recording-of...
November 28, 2025 at 8:38 PM
A RECORDING of Angus Miller's @geowalks.scot online talk on 25 November, 'WHERE'S THE VOLCANO? The story of the making of Calton Hill' is now posted on Vimeo:
caltonhilltrust.org/recording-of...
caltonhilltrust.org/recording-of...
Reposted by Duncan Smith
Why would a fervent Brexit supporter upsticks ... to go to live in Europe?
The double standards is off the scale, given what they have inflicted on our country, and by default the European Union.
@bylinetimes.bsky.social
The double standards is off the scale, given what they have inflicted on our country, and by default the European Union.
@bylinetimes.bsky.social
Very much enjoying this BBC article explaining how David Coburn, Nathan Gill’s fellow MEP who acted as an echo chamber for Gill’s Ukraine position, is now another bloody immigrant living in his “chateau in France” (but took no 🇷🇺 money)
His Wiki page is worth a read
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
His Wiki page is worth a read
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Former Brexit Party MEP denies taking payment from pro-Russian campaign
A prominent former MEP for Nigel Farage's old party denies taking bribes in a pro-Russian campaign.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 28, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Why would a fervent Brexit supporter upsticks ... to go to live in Europe?
The double standards is off the scale, given what they have inflicted on our country, and by default the European Union.
@bylinetimes.bsky.social
The double standards is off the scale, given what they have inflicted on our country, and by default the European Union.
@bylinetimes.bsky.social
Reposted by Duncan Smith
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025... Good now start taxing the idiots who drive petrol and diesel cars around residential areas with deliberately noisily tuned exhausts. Driving like this is clearly too cheap.
Per-mile EV tax is just the first stop on the road to vehicle taxation reform | Letters
Letters: Taxing EVs on the amount of electricity they use is fairer than the per-mile system outlined in the budget, writes Edward Leigh, while David Abrams reckons EV owners are being penalised for t...
www.theguardian.com
November 27, 2025 at 7:54 PM
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025... Good now start taxing the idiots who drive petrol and diesel cars around residential areas with deliberately noisily tuned exhausts. Driving like this is clearly too cheap.
Reposted by Duncan Smith
Russia wrote that it would not attack Ukraine in the Budapest Memorandum. We see how that went.
⁉️ Putin says Russia can put in writing it will not attack Europe
Putin says Russia can put in writing it will not attack Europe
Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has said that Russia has been ready to state in writing that it does not intend to attack Europe.
www.pravda.com.ua
November 27, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Russia wrote that it would not attack Ukraine in the Budapest Memorandum. We see how that went.
Reposted by Duncan Smith
This was a Budget born of political and intellectual weakness, not strength
Labour has to realise that moving the pieces on the board is not e enough. Affluence is essential for social democracy. And there isn't a plan to create it.
Latest from me 👇
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Labour has to realise that moving the pieces on the board is not e enough. Affluence is essential for social democracy. And there isn't a plan to create it.
Latest from me 👇
substack.com/home/post/p-...
A budget born of weakness, not of strength
Labour needs affluence to remake society. Yet it seems curiously uninterested in creating it.
substack.com
November 27, 2025 at 5:21 PM
This was a Budget born of political and intellectual weakness, not strength
Labour has to realise that moving the pieces on the board is not e enough. Affluence is essential for social democracy. And there isn't a plan to create it.
Latest from me 👇
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Labour has to realise that moving the pieces on the board is not e enough. Affluence is essential for social democracy. And there isn't a plan to create it.
Latest from me 👇
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Reposted by Duncan Smith
Rachel Reeves says this Labour Governments decisions are "necessary."
Why is it always necessary to hit the living standards of the 99%?
When are we going to make the necessary decisions about extreme wealth?
Why is it always necessary to hit the living standards of the 99%?
When are we going to make the necessary decisions about extreme wealth?
November 27, 2025 at 8:05 AM
Rachel Reeves says this Labour Governments decisions are "necessary."
Why is it always necessary to hit the living standards of the 99%?
When are we going to make the necessary decisions about extreme wealth?
Why is it always necessary to hit the living standards of the 99%?
When are we going to make the necessary decisions about extreme wealth?
Reposted by Duncan Smith
My carefully considered, nuanced and balanced policy view is that we should tax gambling profits, including sports betting, at like 98% and one executive's kidney per quarter.
I'm not sure having every UK mainstreet be three quarters Ladbrokes is good, actually.
I'm not sure having every UK mainstreet be three quarters Ladbrokes is good, actually.
November 27, 2025 at 8:57 AM
My carefully considered, nuanced and balanced policy view is that we should tax gambling profits, including sports betting, at like 98% and one executive's kidney per quarter.
I'm not sure having every UK mainstreet be three quarters Ladbrokes is good, actually.
I'm not sure having every UK mainstreet be three quarters Ladbrokes is good, actually.
Reposted by Duncan Smith
Any uk taxpayer found an accessible explainer for Making Tax Digital? I actually watched the HMRC webinar which was a superb example of how to bore people stupid without giving them the information they need. Someone surely has cracked this?
November 27, 2025 at 6:45 AM
Any uk taxpayer found an accessible explainer for Making Tax Digital? I actually watched the HMRC webinar which was a superb example of how to bore people stupid without giving them the information they need. Someone surely has cracked this?
Reposted by Duncan Smith
The Trump administration will raise prices and add new fees next year for international tourists visiting U.S. national parks, the latest change amid steep cuts and bureaucratic turmoil at the National Park Service and a decline in foreign tourism.
Here's what to know.
Here's what to know.
Trump Administration Will Raise Prices for Foreign Tourists at National Parks
The price increases comes as more and more international travelers are choosing to stay away from the United States and amid turmoil at the National Park Service.
nyti.ms
November 26, 2025 at 12:55 PM
The Trump administration will raise prices and add new fees next year for international tourists visiting U.S. national parks, the latest change amid steep cuts and bureaucratic turmoil at the National Park Service and a decline in foreign tourism.
Here's what to know.
Here's what to know.
Reposted by Duncan Smith
Imagine TV News covering this farmer protest - banned, but turned up anyway, grinding capital to a halt - if it were about Palestine or climate change, not inheritance tax. Would they present protesters as heroes? Or showing "I need to get to work" and "me auld mam missed her hip operation" voxpops?
November 26, 2025 at 10:42 AM
Imagine TV News covering this farmer protest - banned, but turned up anyway, grinding capital to a halt - if it were about Palestine or climate change, not inheritance tax. Would they present protesters as heroes? Or showing "I need to get to work" and "me auld mam missed her hip operation" voxpops?
Reposted by Duncan Smith
the degree to which Labour have limboed under my lowest expectations for them is remarkable.
what the fuck
November 25, 2025 at 7:48 PM
the degree to which Labour have limboed under my lowest expectations for them is remarkable.
Reposted by Duncan Smith
Because anyone can give up five years of their lives and just pick up where they left off afterwards, obviously.
Absolutely *hideous* that it’s being reported this change will be accompanied by a reduction in appeal rights, rather than a presumed right to appeal and have that go to jury!
Absolutely *hideous* that it’s being reported this change will be accompanied by a reduction in appeal rights, rather than a presumed right to appeal and have that go to jury!
So the actual bar being discussed for juryless trials seems to be anything where the sentence is less than 5 years.
Anything less than 5 years would not require a jury and could be decided by a judge in a closed room.
Worth noting that 3 years is the top number for activists generally...
Anything less than 5 years would not require a jury and could be decided by a judge in a closed room.
Worth noting that 3 years is the top number for activists generally...
David Lammy considers scrapping jury trials for all but the most serious cases
Senior lawyers criticise justice secretary’s radical plan, saying it could ‘destroy justice as we know it’
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Because anyone can give up five years of their lives and just pick up where they left off afterwards, obviously.
Absolutely *hideous* that it’s being reported this change will be accompanied by a reduction in appeal rights, rather than a presumed right to appeal and have that go to jury!
Absolutely *hideous* that it’s being reported this change will be accompanied by a reduction in appeal rights, rather than a presumed right to appeal and have that go to jury!
Reposted by Duncan Smith
I just don't get why it isn't policy for Labour to say fuck it, we need to rejoin, even if it takes years.
November 25, 2025 at 7:03 PM
I just don't get why it isn't policy for Labour to say fuck it, we need to rejoin, even if it takes years.
Reposted by Duncan Smith
Who had 'Moving the M25' on their list of things that the 'committed to tackling climate change' Labour administration would do?
Heidi Alexander chooses larger of two options for Heathrow 3rd runway, requiring part of M25 to be moved - www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...
November 25, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Who had 'Moving the M25' on their list of things that the 'committed to tackling climate change' Labour administration would do?
Reposted by Duncan Smith
This is £600m from the same university sector that is pretty close to collapse in a growing number of major institutions?
Many of them universities that are among the biggest employers in the very ‘left behind’ towns and cities that Labour talks so much about…
Many of them universities that are among the biggest employers in the very ‘left behind’ towns and cities that Labour talks so much about…
i: Reeves to unveil £600m raid on foreign student
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
November 24, 2025 at 7:45 PM
This is £600m from the same university sector that is pretty close to collapse in a growing number of major institutions?
Many of them universities that are among the biggest employers in the very ‘left behind’ towns and cities that Labour talks so much about…
Many of them universities that are among the biggest employers in the very ‘left behind’ towns and cities that Labour talks so much about…
Reposted by Duncan Smith
I once knew a Federal bank examiner, and one time someone asked him why we had to KEEP inspecting banks over and over. He basically said every new batch of business school grads invents bank fraud from first principles.
AirBnB CEO calling it “vibe revenue” just 👨🍳 😘
The underlying cause of every bubble - debt masquerading as financial innovation - depends on not just short financial memory & speculative neophytism, but reinventing jargon of finance, like how each generation of kids has new ways to say same things.
The underlying cause of every bubble - debt masquerading as financial innovation - depends on not just short financial memory & speculative neophytism, but reinventing jargon of finance, like how each generation of kids has new ways to say same things.
November 22, 2025 at 6:02 PM
I once knew a Federal bank examiner, and one time someone asked him why we had to KEEP inspecting banks over and over. He basically said every new batch of business school grads invents bank fraud from first principles.
Reposted by Duncan Smith
I implore someone, anyone, in the media…
Do your job
And the next time you have Farage on, please ask him directly:
…what were the motivations behind this?
Do your job
And the next time you have Farage on, please ask him directly:
…what were the motivations behind this?
November 24, 2025 at 3:39 PM
I implore someone, anyone, in the media…
Do your job
And the next time you have Farage on, please ask him directly:
…what were the motivations behind this?
Do your job
And the next time you have Farage on, please ask him directly:
…what were the motivations behind this?
Reposted by Duncan Smith
I don't understand how anyone can watch how blatantly Grok is manipulated to answer the way ownership desires it to and then act like the other LLM chatbots couldn't possibly be similarly but less obviously compromised to produce responses in whatever way corporate interests and priorities dictate.
November 23, 2025 at 7:13 PM
I don't understand how anyone can watch how blatantly Grok is manipulated to answer the way ownership desires it to and then act like the other LLM chatbots couldn't possibly be similarly but less obviously compromised to produce responses in whatever way corporate interests and priorities dictate.