“Social media really isn’t very social... We’re not really seeing each other anymore, we’re being shown things to watch and buy.”
🎙️ @sofiahewson.bsky.social on BBC Radio Wales.
🔗 Read more: www.ippr.org/articles/stu...
Over half of what we see on social media is posts from influencers, ads, brands and recommended content. Content from people we know makes up only 18% of what we see. These platforms personalise our feeds and promote one-sided relationships with influencers over social ones. We can demand better.
IPPR is calling for a new public service social media platform that puts people before profit and stronger regulation of existing platforms.
Read the full report here ⬇️ www.ippr.org/articles/stu...
But it isn’t just a shift in what we see, it’s a shift in how platforms work.
Social media is no longer designed to connect people. It's optimised to keep us scrolling, regardless of whether that means more division or isolation.
🤳🏻 Analysis shows Reform UK voters are the least likely to see posts from people they personally know, making up just 13% of content. They’re also the most exposed to brands and news.
🌱 While 23% of Green voters’ feeds come from people they know.
🚨📲 Social media users now see twice as much content from strangers as from friends and family.
IPPR analysis found that in the top four posts in feeds across major platforms, only 18% come from someone users actually know. 🧵
📱| NEW REPORT: Social media platforms are prioritising influencers, adverts and brands over posts from friends and family - contributing to a more divisive and less social online experience. Read our solutions here 👇 www.ippr.org/articles/stu...
The government has capped interest rates on some student loans at 6%. Here's why that won't make a difference to the majority of those paying them back in the UK.
🎙️ @henryippr.bsky.social on @bbc5live.bsky.social this week 👇
🚨 | NEW BLOG: The government’s cohesion plan is a welcome step, but can it deliver? We explore its strengths, gaps in prevention, and tensions with immigration policy 👇
www.ippr.org/articles/hol...
Over the weekend 5 european ministers called for coordinated action on windfall taxes. With the UK reconnecting with the EU, working together on this and throughout the crisis will have clear benefits - and be the tangible legs behind Labour's comms on profiteering
www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
Today the gov has adopted IPPR policies which will make the world of work fairer:
👉 Workers can now access sick pay from the first day of illness, reducing the risk of “presenteeism”
👉Improved access to sick pay for low-paid workers by abolishing the “lower earnings limit”
"British workers have half as many robots, machines or modern equipment than their equivalents in France and Germany. And that is setting them up to fail".
📻 @samalvis.bsky.social on LBC 👇
British workers are being set up to fail.
A factory worker in Germany or France has access to nearly twice as many machines, robots & modern equipment as a worker doing the same job here.
Businesses need to invest and the government needs to incentivise them to do so: www.ippr.org/articles/tur...
🚨 UK business investment is second lowest in the G7.
Our new blog argues that as energy prices rise again, government must use policy to drive investment, not just keep firms afloat: www.ippr.org/articles/tur...
🔋 | NEW REPORT: High energy costs are squeezing UK industry, but support must do more than keep firms afloat.
Our new blog argues the government should target support to businesses who will invest more as a result.
Read more here: www.ippr.org/articles/tur...
In other news,
@mariemcnairmsp.bsky.social asked @sa4dunfermline.bsky.social if she agreed with IPPR Scotland's assessment that high spending on social protection does more than just place a safety net for the economically disadvangated, that it helps economies to grow.
The cabinet secretary did.
"There's been this real fracturing in the political consensus on net zero. That's not happened in the public."
How have media negativity and populist narratives warped MPs perceptions of what people actually think of climate goals?
🎙️ @beccam-c.bsky.social on the Good Geist podcast 👇
Great to see further action being taken by the government today to tighten up regulations on money in politics and foreign influence following the Rycroft review.
Conflict in the Middle East means that rising energy costs are set to hit households again. Targeted support on bills is the most effective and efficient way to protect the most vulnerable from spikes.
📺️ @harryqp.bsky.social on Channel 5 News 👇
CPI held steady at 3% in February — as lower motor fuel costs were offset by higher core goods prices.
But today's figures are a snapshot of the world before Trump's conflict in the Middle East. The real story is what's coming next. 🧵
Government policy to date has successfully mitigated a projected rise in child poverty, but not delivered substantial reductions.
📺 @henryippr.bsky.social sets out two policy priorities to drive real change 👇
What options does Starmer have to lower energy bills?
📻 @praneshippr.bsky.social outlines the short term measures the PM might be considering on #BBC5Live 👇
A few thoughts on earned settlement after a busy week.
(1) Govt is going through consultation after over 200,000 people responded, far higher than other consultations of this type.
This means there is still a lot up for grabs to shape the policy, including transitional measures.
Media coverage of net zero is more than twice as negative as public opinion - no wonder politicians think it's risky territory.
@beccam-c.bsky.social @samalvis.bsky.social & @steveakehurst.bsky.social analysis in @theguardian.com on why staying quiet is a mistake👇 www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Politics is about the stories we tell - what we stand for and where we’re going. The right is doing this with confidence. Progressives need to do the same: making big, values-driven arguments about the future.
That's what @ippr.org's National Renewal work is all about - now with an🔥advisory panel.
🗳️ Just 4% of Reform switchers cite climate as a reason for leaving Labour. Staying quiet on net zero would be a political misread, and one that could cost the earth. Read our latest analysis here 👉 www.ippr.org/articles/apa...
Friday news! We're launching the advisory panel for @ippr.org's Decade of National Renewal today.
An incredible group of thinkers to keep us in line as we do some creative thinking about what the left should stand for in an increasingly uncertain world.
Find out more 👉 www.ippr.org/research-and...
Great to see our @ippr.org report on climate backlash in the FT this morning.
Anyone saying there is a breakdown in public support for climate policies is wrong. It’s entirely an elite confection, driven by people who don’t want to change.
The strategy should be take them on not accommodate
How real or not is the apparent backlash to Net Zero, clean energy etc in the UK? I have some new research out with @ippr.org today.
Easily the most in-depth look at this! Review of existing polling, new polling and message testing, interviews with ambivalent voters, etc
Here's a taster 🧵
🌎️ | NEW REPORT: The net zero "backlash" is a myth. Voters still back climate action, but politics and media are telling a different story. Our new analysis with Persuasion UK explains why and how we fix it 👉 www.ippr.org/articles/apa...
