If ending the 'small club gets windfall of replay at bigger club's stadium' in the FA Cup, should at least also have done a Carling Cup and not had extra-time for the bigger team's fitness advantage to tell, go straight to penalties.
Five points off second, with Wrexham and Wycombe to play in the last three games - Charlton are going to sneak into 2nd, you heard it here first #cafc
Do you have any insight on the relative importance of these issues, for the progressive activists? Just interested to know if ‘the culture wars’ overstates the importance of an issue, say blocking roads, when actually that voter might be far more interested in reducing child poverty.
Lots of useful analysis here. Standout stat - 2 million economically inactive people want a job. They don’t need harsher benefit conditionality or lower incomes. They need better support & more accessible jobs. That’s what health & disability reforms should focus on.
Make Euston marginally less shit with this one weird trick (advertisers HATE him).
A graphic showing how much wider cars are getting and especially in the SUV market
Cars are getting 1cm wider every two years. That may not sound much, but over time it adds up, and they're showing no signs of slowing down 😬
That's #carspreading. Our new campaign is calling on city leaders to make parking policies fairer by varying costs based on the size of a car.
Why? 🧵1/8
Does any other place in the UK have a station for each point of the compass?
Good grief!
youtu.be/Ue1U9Se6jQI?...
Me with a big sign that says, “it’s very good at telling me how to do things in excel”.
Man City 0-1 Chelsea Ederson is wearing an AI designed kit today apparently. This is what Manchester City say: "In a first for world football, Manchester City will showcase a bespoke goalkeeper kit designed by City stars using generative AI on-pitch this weekend. "City players Ederson, Stefan Ortega and Rico Lewis together designed the limited-edition goalkeeper kit using PUMA AI Creator – a generative AI design platform that enabled fans to create their dream Manchester City kits using text prompting, customisation tools and intuitive sliders." I'm not even going to try to work out what any of that means.
genuinely impressive they've found a way to make Man City even less likeable
Outrageous that Tamworth won’t get the trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (and accompanying £££) that they’ve earned here
More than 500 million passenger journeys have been made on the Elizabeth line in its first two and a half years, making it the single busiest railway service in the UK, according to new Transport for London data released today
Imagine what they'd be like if we had a right to roam, like Scotland
According to Reform UK's election manifesto, the UK is "ruled by an out-of-touch political class who have turned their backs on our country". So it's heartening that one of the party's latest big donations comes from a patriotic British businesswoman who lives in, er, Monaco. On 5 December, the Electoral Commission released donation figures covering the third quarter of 2024. Hepburn Bio Care UK Ltd, a small company based in Southampton, gave Reform £20,000 – its third largest donation that quarter. Hepburn Bio Care is owned by founder Margaret Hepburn, a Brit who has lived in the tax haven since at least 2005. The firm makes "environmentally friendly" cleaning products for cruise liners, including major operators like Carnival, and describes itself as a "multimillion dollar company". However, the UK branch which donated to Reform is listed as a "Small Company" that only publishes "filleted abridged" accounts and shows a small annual profit of £12,000 in the latest (2023) accounts – less than the sum it gave Reform. Hepburn Bio Care does have branches in Monaco, Dubai and Florida, so it is possible the multimillions of dollars are in their accounts. It also supplies products to the "superyacht industry", suggesting Reform is not just a party for the have-nots, but the have-yachts too. The article appears to be highlighting what it sees as irony in a political party that claims to represent people against an "out-of-touch political class" receiving significant donations from a Monaco-based businesswoman whose company provides services to luxury industries like cruise ships and superyachts.
Blimey, this is big. Reform UK is already effectively receiving foreign donations. Via Private Eye
Completely fascinating Guardian long read about the deeply eccentric and hugely secretive Samuel Smith group of pubs, and how they treat staff, historic buildings and customers.
www.theguardian.com/news/2024/de...
"The right to roam seems like a leap forward in how we think of others—not as strangers to be mistrusted, but as equals with whom natural resources, scenery, and collective fates are shared."
www.backpacker.com/stories/issu...
You shouldn't be able to complain about a noise that is older than you/predates your presence in area. It should be that simple, your noise complaint should automatically fail if the noise is 'the laundrette that was here when I moved in'.
“the Westminster government’s drive to get people with long-term health conditions and disabilities into work feels driven by numbers over people.
It’s acknowledged that services such as transport and health need to be improved to support people into work, yet that isn’t being addressed.”
The BBC appears to be taking its MasterChef PR strategy to new extremes
“As a child I needed free school meals, as mayor, I provide them. And this policy works – here’s the proof”
Sadiq Khan👏
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reasonable majority on assisted dying, at top of what projected. But will only take ~28 MPs to be dissatisfied with what emerges from committee/report stage for Bill to fall at 3rd reading. Debate continues & if/whether meeting public’s high expectations on safeguarding can be met will now be key
It would be intolerable if someone chose an assisted death because they were unable to choose to access palliative and end-of-life care. If we don’t improve palliative care that could be a risk — with some people feeling they don’t have a real choice in their end of life decisions
on.ft.com/3ZnzGES
‘Get Britain Working’ white paper launched today.
Read ERSA’s briefing here if you're interested:
mailchi.mp/ersa/get-bri...
Great work by Resolution Foundation highlighting this - seems quite relevant in light of ‘Get Britain Working’ white paper to be released later.
This is a great opportunity to join a great board (and no, that's not just because I'm on it!)
Demos and @andrewphillips.bsky.social have argued youth hubs should be a ‘central element’ of Labour’s Youth Guarentee.
www.demos.co.uk/research/launch-pads-the-future-of-youth-employment-hubs/
Claimant experiences of Job Centres are important for engagement. It's one of the key reasons the ‘Youth Employment Hub’ model has been effective for engaging young people - by letting young people meet their work coach in a more positive environment with co-located support.
