Sam Alston
@moosealston.bsky.social
Working in energy advice, qualified teacher former youth worker, suffering follower of England Cricket, Liberal Jewish Green Party Member. Treasurer of Acorn Oxford, Iffley Road Residents association, and Secretary of Jewish Greens
Very good piece how eco will be remembered will depend on what cones next.
If we are still waiting for trances of funding and implementation details in March 2026 then it may be remembered fondly.
If WHLG is fast flexible innovative Eco may be recalled as a flawed scheme put out to pasture too late.
If we are still waiting for trances of funding and implementation details in March 2026 then it may be remembered fondly.
If WHLG is fast flexible innovative Eco may be recalled as a flawed scheme put out to pasture too late.
We've got some Nesta reaction to the Budget up, underpinned by some brilliant speedy analysis by my colleague Dan Lewis.
📉 What does the budget mean for energy bills?
www.nesta.org.uk/blog/what-do...
@nestauk.bsky.social
📉 What does the budget mean for energy bills?
www.nesta.org.uk/blog/what-do...
@nestauk.bsky.social
What does the Budget mean for energy bills?
Major changes to energy bills in the Budget will affect households across the country
www.nesta.org.uk
November 26, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Very good piece how eco will be remembered will depend on what cones next.
If we are still waiting for trances of funding and implementation details in March 2026 then it may be remembered fondly.
If WHLG is fast flexible innovative Eco may be recalled as a flawed scheme put out to pasture too late.
If we are still waiting for trances of funding and implementation details in March 2026 then it may be remembered fondly.
If WHLG is fast flexible innovative Eco may be recalled as a flawed scheme put out to pasture too late.
Does anyone on here know a good explanation of how outlook ended up with so many versions of its email platform
November 26, 2025 at 7:03 AM
Does anyone on here know a good explanation of how outlook ended up with so many versions of its email platform
Reposted by Sam Alston
There have been rumours swirling that the Chancellor might cut subsidies for heat pumps in the budget. This would be a terrible idea, and I've written a blog with all the reasons why...
www.nesta.org.uk/blog/seven-r...
@nestauk.bsky.social
www.nesta.org.uk/blog/seven-r...
@nestauk.bsky.social
Seven reasons we still need heat pump subsidies
Accelerating the switch from gas to electricity, make electricity cheaper, and balancing electrification with insulation are key policies that could reduce bills and carbon emissions for households
www.nesta.org.uk
November 20, 2025 at 12:08 PM
There have been rumours swirling that the Chancellor might cut subsidies for heat pumps in the budget. This would be a terrible idea, and I've written a blog with all the reasons why...
www.nesta.org.uk/blog/seven-r...
@nestauk.bsky.social
www.nesta.org.uk/blog/seven-r...
@nestauk.bsky.social
Microsoft ability to make terrible versions of their own products and billing software that are obscure beyond the opaque is truly something to behold
November 19, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Microsoft ability to make terrible versions of their own products and billing software that are obscure beyond the opaque is truly something to behold
Eco 4 is in pretty poor shape anyway a kick in teeth probably shuts the sector down for a generation
In case you're not across the Budget next Wednesday, it looks like it's going to be really bad for helping Britain reduce its carbon emissions. I'll explain... 🧵
November 19, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Eco 4 is in pretty poor shape anyway a kick in teeth probably shuts the sector down for a generation
Reposted by Sam Alston
In case you're not across the Budget next Wednesday, it looks like it's going to be really bad for helping Britain reduce its carbon emissions. I'll explain... 🧵
November 19, 2025 at 2:14 PM
In case you're not across the Budget next Wednesday, it looks like it's going to be really bad for helping Britain reduce its carbon emissions. I'll explain... 🧵
The internet was worth it: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBvo...
“We Didn’t Start The Fire” The Silmarillion Edition
YouTube video by BardOfArda
www.youtube.com
November 16, 2025 at 5:54 PM
The internet was worth it: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBvo...
Reposted by Sam Alston
From @moosealston.bsky.social : "They could not pass the girdle of melian to doriath where her children walked as it is a school street"
November 9, 2025 at 8:34 PM
From @moosealston.bsky.social : "They could not pass the girdle of melian to doriath where her children walked as it is a school street"
I don't think anyone argues that the retrofit and electrification schemes are working well. There a number of ideas for reform.
However this is not reform it is a sudden halt
It is going though treatment deciding it is not working fast enough and therefore stopping everything
However this is not reform it is a sudden halt
It is going though treatment deciding it is not working fast enough and therefore stopping everything
Hundreds of thousands to lose heat pump subsidies in Reeves’s budget plan
Exclusive: Supporters say grants largely going to middle-class households, but experts warn move will slow transition from gas boilers
www.theguardian.com
November 14, 2025 at 8:14 PM
I don't think anyone argues that the retrofit and electrification schemes are working well. There a number of ideas for reform.
However this is not reform it is a sudden halt
It is going though treatment deciding it is not working fast enough and therefore stopping everything
However this is not reform it is a sudden halt
It is going though treatment deciding it is not working fast enough and therefore stopping everything
Reposted by Sam Alston
Consistent policy is essential for manufacturers to invest and installers to scale in order to deliver the Government's legally binding climate targets.
HMT: Hold my Beer.
HMT: Hold my Beer.
Hundreds of thousands to lose heat pump subsidies in Reeves’s budget plan
Exclusive: chancellor plans to fund energy efficiency levies via warm homes plan as part of drive to lower energy bills
www.theguardian.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Consistent policy is essential for manufacturers to invest and installers to scale in order to deliver the Government's legally binding climate targets.
HMT: Hold my Beer.
HMT: Hold my Beer.
Reposted by Sam Alston
New from BBC Verify: 'Our job is only killing' - how Sudan's brutal militia carried out a massacre
Our team verified dozens of videos, analysed satellite imagery and tracked RSF fighters across social media to piece together how the mass killings unfolded www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Our team verified dozens of videos, analysed satellite imagery and tracked RSF fighters across social media to piece together how the mass killings unfolded www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
'Our job is only killing' - how Sudan's brutal militia carried out a massacre in el-fasher
BBC Verify tracks how the RSF killed unarmed people in a massacre that humanitarian officials believe left 2,000 dead.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 7, 2025 at 10:07 AM
New from BBC Verify: 'Our job is only killing' - how Sudan's brutal militia carried out a massacre
Our team verified dozens of videos, analysed satellite imagery and tracked RSF fighters across social media to piece together how the mass killings unfolded www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Our team verified dozens of videos, analysed satellite imagery and tracked RSF fighters across social media to piece together how the mass killings unfolded www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
So we already did this it cost 22bn first time.
However sure it will work this time.
(Would feel differently about the hydrogen levy)
www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-cut...
However sure it will work this time.
(Would feel differently about the hydrogen levy)
www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-cut...
November 5, 2025 at 10:09 AM
So we already did this it cost 22bn first time.
However sure it will work this time.
(Would feel differently about the hydrogen levy)
www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-cut...
However sure it will work this time.
(Would feel differently about the hydrogen levy)
www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-cut...
Shocked at the lack of understanding played by leading greens in the vital role that Lord Lieutenant plays in the everyday lives of oxfordshire residents.
Too often at full council we get to too few motions.
30 minutes at the beginning of full council to hear from a representative of the King is not a good use of our time (Marjorie Glasgow seems lovely btw).
25 minutes from the start of motions to the usual end of the meeting (3.30pm) is woeful.*
30 minutes at the beginning of full council to hear from a representative of the King is not a good use of our time (Marjorie Glasgow seems lovely btw).
25 minutes from the start of motions to the usual end of the meeting (3.30pm) is woeful.*
November 4, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Shocked at the lack of understanding played by leading greens in the vital role that Lord Lieutenant plays in the everyday lives of oxfordshire residents.
However id cards days of banner headlines
Great read from @iandunt.bsky.social on whether Starmer should stay or go, including the mystery of how, if you’re launching a popular climate, energy, and growth strategy, why wouldn’t you stage a press conference on it?
iandunt.substack.com/p/a-world-wi...
iandunt.substack.com/p/a-world-wi...
October 31, 2025 at 6:14 PM
However id cards days of banner headlines
National trust is key part of how we see ourselves ( I had a great time at a temprate rainforest last week)
If you can please vote to stop if falling into the hands of those scared of the past
If you can please vote to stop if falling into the hands of those scared of the past
If you're a National Trust member, it's that time of year again: Midnight tonight is the deadline. It's a shame people have to keep doing this to keep a toehold on historical truth in this country, but here we are. Voting link: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/who-we-are/a...
![[Scene is the entrance cabin to a NATIONAL TRUST PROPERTY AND GARDENS]
1
NATIONAL TRUST EMPLOYEE [inside cabin]:
Hello there
2
[A young family - two parents two kids - have arrived at the front desk].
DAD:
Hi - do you have an activity trail, for the kids?
3
NT EMPLOYEE:
Of course – you’re just in time for the Autumn Gammon Trail!
4
MUM:
That sounds fun, doesn’t it kids?
5
NT EMPLOYEE [handing an activity sheet and pencils to the kids]:
Every autumn, the Reform Trust gammons flock back to the National Trust for the AGM. Just follow the trail round the grounds, and see how many you can spot!
6
NT EMPLOYEE [hearing something in the gardens]:
Listen - that's their call
[Calls emanating from the landscape]:
tut-tut
woke-woke
7
NT EMPLOYEE [showing the family an apparently empty fenced enclosure with some bushes in]:
They are extremely sensitive and fragile...
But you can bring them out of hiding if you put a little sign down mentioning slavery.
8
KIDS [pointing]:
There they are!
[Some little red faced PEOPLE wearing Barbour jackets and gilets emerge cautiously from the bushes. They are creeping towards a TINY SIGN in the middle of the enclosure].
[Little people noises]:
woke-woke
tut-tut
woke-woke
9
[Close-up of the TINY SIGN - we can read that it says]:
Slavery had a bit to do with building this massive house.
[Noises from the little people again as they inspect the tiny sign]:
tut-tut
woke-woke
10
MUM [pointing]:
What's that one doing there?
NT EMPLOYEE:
Oh, that's so sweet…
11
[We see that one of the people is sat on a rock, with a little laptop open on a tree stump, and they are furiously typing away].
NT EMPLOYEE:
I think he's writing a column for the Daily Telegraph…
12
[We see close up to the little person’s screen, it is a word document reading]:
Are National Trust scones secretly WOKE?
[ends]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4m3we4apbjayclzcnhwe3pfp/bafkreib7lt736b6rmzinml5s7kxjdaapo2a36xp4d4lssypimx3taqicdm@jpeg)
October 31, 2025 at 11:47 AM
National trust is key part of how we see ourselves ( I had a great time at a temprate rainforest last week)
If you can please vote to stop if falling into the hands of those scared of the past
If you can please vote to stop if falling into the hands of those scared of the past
Reposted by Sam Alston
It perfectly sums up modern sport/business to make great play of having a UNICEF ambassador in attendance, at an event sponsored by a company whose activities United Nations experts have highlighted as being a threat to human rights.
October 30, 2025 at 10:33 AM
It perfectly sums up modern sport/business to make great play of having a UNICEF ambassador in attendance, at an event sponsored by a company whose activities United Nations experts have highlighted as being a threat to human rights.
Bibi in any possible situation continues to do the worst thing possible.
Middle East crisis live: Benjamin Netanyahu orders immediate ‘powerful strikes’ on Gaza
Israeli prime minister orders IDF to carry out strikes on Gaza after it accusing Hamas of violating the ceasefire
www.theguardian.com
October 28, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Bibi in any possible situation continues to do the worst thing possible.
The other bit here is where the cost energy goes
Funding gas has directly proped up a regime that's now invading Europe pushing up defense costs and on a lesser scale funded energy incumbents that flooded us, both literally and with climate disinformation.
Funding solar propped up farmers.
Funding gas has directly proped up a regime that's now invading Europe pushing up defense costs and on a lesser scale funded energy incumbents that flooded us, both literally and with climate disinformation.
Funding solar propped up farmers.
Wind power has cut £104bn from UK energy costs since 2010, study finds
Reduction comes from energy generated from windfarms and lower cost of gas owing to lower demand
www.theguardian.com
October 28, 2025 at 5:08 PM
The other bit here is where the cost energy goes
Funding gas has directly proped up a regime that's now invading Europe pushing up defense costs and on a lesser scale funded energy incumbents that flooded us, both literally and with climate disinformation.
Funding solar propped up farmers.
Funding gas has directly proped up a regime that's now invading Europe pushing up defense costs and on a lesser scale funded energy incumbents that flooded us, both literally and with climate disinformation.
Funding solar propped up farmers.
Potentially the most significant achievement of this government (after grid decarbonisation that they look set to bottle).
The chilling effect of section 21 on complaints can barely be overstated and condems the most vulnerable to poor conditions while enriching the unscrupulous of already rich.
The chilling effect of section 21 on complaints can barely be overstated and condems the most vulnerable to poor conditions while enriching the unscrupulous of already rich.
The Renters’ Rights Act is NOW LAW!
Soon S21 evictions, which have forced millions of people out of their homes for no reason & with just 2 months notice, will be a thing of the past.
This is what our movement can achieve when we stand together.
Soon S21 evictions, which have forced millions of people out of their homes for no reason & with just 2 months notice, will be a thing of the past.
This is what our movement can achieve when we stand together.
October 28, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Potentially the most significant achievement of this government (after grid decarbonisation that they look set to bottle).
The chilling effect of section 21 on complaints can barely be overstated and condems the most vulnerable to poor conditions while enriching the unscrupulous of already rich.
The chilling effect of section 21 on complaints can barely be overstated and condems the most vulnerable to poor conditions while enriching the unscrupulous of already rich.
Cricket is not punishment it is progress
I don't understand why we even let the Canadians play baseball. The never fought a revolution war. They are still part of the Commonwealth!
They should have to play Cricket as a sort of historical punishment.
They should have to play Cricket as a sort of historical punishment.
October 25, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Cricket is not punishment it is progress
Reposted by Sam Alston
Marginal Gains: how wind is pushing gas out of the power market and cutting costs
Growth in British renewables cutting electricity prices by up to a quarter.
eciu.net/analysis/re...
Growth in British renewables cutting electricity prices by up to a quarter.
eciu.net/analysis/re...
Marginal Gains: how wind is pushing gas out of the power market and…
Growth in British renewables cutting electricity prices by up to a quarter.
eciu.net
October 25, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Marginal Gains: how wind is pushing gas out of the power market and cutting costs
Growth in British renewables cutting electricity prices by up to a quarter.
eciu.net/analysis/re...
Growth in British renewables cutting electricity prices by up to a quarter.
eciu.net/analysis/re...
Reposted by Sam Alston
Almost nobody in the Cons Party or beyond it had noticed that the Shadow Home Secretary with two other frontbenchers and 5 backbenchers tabled a bill in May to deport 3 million people - stripping almost every pensioner, parent or nurse who did not take out citizenship of their right to live here
October 23, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Almost nobody in the Cons Party or beyond it had noticed that the Shadow Home Secretary with two other frontbenchers and 5 backbenchers tabled a bill in May to deport 3 million people - stripping almost every pensioner, parent or nurse who did not take out citizenship of their right to live here
Excellent thread.
Would argue having got to stage where renewables saves money in the medium to short term (shorter with reforms outlined below) . If we can not complete this it bad for other types of climate action where benefits are more long term
Would argue having got to stage where renewables saves money in the medium to short term (shorter with reforms outlined below) . If we can not complete this it bad for other types of climate action where benefits are more long term
This would be a regressive step. Shows a poverty of thinking inside No10
Why? 🧵🧵
1. There are ways of bringing bills down and keeping costs lower whilst continuing to build out clean power.
2. The problems the renewables build out addresses haven't gone away
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Why? 🧵🧵
1. There are ways of bringing bills down and keeping costs lower whilst continuing to build out clean power.
2. The problems the renewables build out addresses haven't gone away
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Keir Starmer prepares to miss key green target in effort to keep energy bills down
Exclusive: Promise to remove almost all fossil fuels from UK’s electricity supply by 2030 may be quietly abandoned over cost
www.theguardian.com
October 23, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Excellent thread.
Would argue having got to stage where renewables saves money in the medium to short term (shorter with reforms outlined below) . If we can not complete this it bad for other types of climate action where benefits are more long term
Would argue having got to stage where renewables saves money in the medium to short term (shorter with reforms outlined below) . If we can not complete this it bad for other types of climate action where benefits are more long term
Reposted by Sam Alston
One reason why the government is in a mess is that “is that true tho?” doesn’t get anywhere near enough weight against “what do the public think?”
Home Sec describes a widely held public perception (UK is the destination of choice for asylum seekers in Europe) + endorses it as true. Home Office data shows it is not true. Whatever merits of her policy change, should not make false factual claims
www.thesun.co.uk/news/3709465...
www.thesun.co.uk/news/3709465...
Migrants come to Britain because they think we're Europe's most generous country
TODAY’S small boat numbers are shameful, and the British people deserve better. They contain a lesson: we must go further and faster to secure our borders. Under the last Conservative Government, t…
www.thesun.co.uk
October 23, 2025 at 9:46 AM
One reason why the government is in a mess is that “is that true tho?” doesn’t get anywhere near enough weight against “what do the public think?”