'Don't compromise on values': UN's Tom Fletcher urges countries to maintain foreign aid | The National More swingeing cuts already in pipeline as humanitarian chief warns of Iran war's impact on aid

On why countries must maintain foreign aid - via @thenationalnews.com

www.thenationalnews.com/news/uk/2026...

Why the next Welsh Government must introduce a Welsh Child Payment Melanie Simmonds, Head of Save the Children Cymru Child poverty is an injustice seen and felt across Wales impacting so many families through no fault of their own but also affecting us all. Recent fi...

A dedicated Welsh benefit system, including a Welsh Child Payment, which can remove barriers and provide financial security to thousands of families, is one way of investing in everyone’s futures ✍️Melanie Simmonds, Save the Children Cymru

Reports of a third attempted arson attack on Jewish targets in North London this week. It's getting really scary and more people need to start taking it seriously.

If Mamdani and Obama singing The Wheels On The Bus with a group of tiny kids doesn't spark some sort of joy in you, I've got nothing for you.

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In addition, the “shit shit, gonna make the OBR light go green: cur welfare!” stuff hurts, not helps, working out how to reform “UK spends roughly the same as it did in 2008 to get more destitution”/“rising number of Neets”.

I mean look, a Labour government *cannot* cut welfare spending to increase defence spending. It’s just silly to pretend it can.
And more generally: “cut social spending to rearm” is just awful advice across the EU. Is Europe more or less secure if populists win elections?

✨Watch as children draw, create, and heal, turning their emotions into beautiful expressions of hope and resilience.🎨

Art helps reduce stress and anxiety, providing a healthy way for children to process their experiences and brighten their futures.

#WorldArtDay

It's the Prices, Stupid Consumer sentiment is at an all-time low because prices are at an all-time high. Consumer sentiment isn't broken, popular government data is just incomplete

The index of consumer sentiment isn't broken; models that try to predict it just don't have the right input variables. I fix that and find that, yes, high nominal price levels explain why the vibes are so off. It's the prices, stupid
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/2026-04-14...

🚨Today marks 3 years of devastating conflict in Sudan.

Since the first shots were fired, Sudan has become the site of the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today – and of the 21st century.

33 million people are in need of aid.

There was literally a pangolin that flew combat sorties with the CIA in a dirty war in Laos that then died after drinking too much gin, so there’s at least one pangolin whose record is morally ambiguous

Tories would reinstate two-child benefit cap to fund defence, says Badenoch Conservative leader promises biggest peacetime rearmament effort in UK history if her party is re-elected

"I'll tell you who isn't doing enough to pay for the defence of our country.

Toddlers.

Toddlers with two or more siblings, and whose parents don't have a lot of money, to be precise.

They really need to contribute more to our defence spending."

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

If you care about campaigns and positioning, would you not be interested or curious about "what is a viable electoral coalition for our re-election campaign"?

It remains the case that the only politician who has engaged seriously with what we would need to do to increase defence spending is @anneliesedoddsmp.bsky.social , in her resignation letter as Development Minister

"In my role as an expert in global public health, government officials often come to me and ask, 'How should we prepare for the next pandemic?' My response is that the top lesson for all countries must be that preparing for pandemics means investing in broader health and wellbeing. Not during a crisis, or in hospitals, but right now in communities, schools and homes." — How Not to Die (Too Soon): The Lies We've Been Sold and the Policies That Can Save Us by Devi Sridhar https://read.amazon.co.uk/kp/kshare? asin=BODJGD745R&id=dddoeydqlbgtdf3iku5rtv4giy

Some early quotes:

I like this one about being ready for a future pandemic.

It’s not about a set of box files (virtual or otherwise) to pull off a shelf when it arrives.

It’s about having a healthy society that values wellbeing all year round.

Well said @profdevisridhar.bsky.social!

Good briefing by @instituteforgovernment.org.uk on responses to the economic consequences of the Iran war.

Additional thought: just as during Covid, the UK government doesn't seem to have a plan or mechanisms to protect children during times of crisis.

Now's the time to sort this out.

Admiral Group and Save the Children announce new three-year £1 Million partnership to help tackle child poverty and climate change Save the Children and Admiral Group have announced a new three-year partnership worth £1 million to support the charity’s UK and global work in mitigating the impacts of climate change and poverty on ...

DATGANIAD I’R WASG: Rydym yn falch o gyhoeddi partneriaeth newydd tair blynedd, gwerth £1 miliwn gyda Grŵp Admiral sy'n canolbwyntio ar amddiffyn plant rhag effeithiau cynyddol newid hinsawdd a thlodi yn y DU ac yn fyd-eang.

Quote card: “Only one park has a toilet. I’ve been put off going to the park because of it. I end up doing the maths on how long I can be out and how long I can wait without a toilet. And it doesn’t just affect older people.”

Access to parks and green spaces can reduce loneliness and enhance mood while improving mental wellbeing, increasing physical activity and intergenerational social connection.

Today the two-child limit is gone. Parents have told us what this will mean for their kids:

- A first-ever birthday party for a 10-year-old
- Better quality food
- Clothes that aren't completely worn out
- Going on the school trip without getting into debt
- A new mattress
- Swimming lessons

The two-child limit is scrapped from today!

How has the policy affected children? And what will scrapping it mean for their lives?

Please listen and share.

Today is a landmark moment: the two-child limit has been scrapped!

450,000 children will be lifted out of poverty. This is a vital step toward building a healthier future for the next generation.

A colourful image that reads 'Scrapping the two-child limit is lifting 450,000 kids out of poverty'. In the background is a rainbow and sunshine

Campaigners hold number signs that read 450,000 - the number of children who will be lifted out of poverty by scrapping the two-child limit.

A baby smiles at the camera and his mum smiles at him.

Campaigners hold an open giant card to mark the two-child limit being scrapped

Today is a great day - the two-child limit is finally scrapped.

We went to Westminster to mark this moment - highlighting that 450,000 children will be lifted out of poverty by scrapping this policy. Investing in children, and lifting them out of poverty, is always the right decision

From today, every child counts equal. So if your family are on low wages or fall on hard times - universal credit is paid for every child, not just the first two

Cos every child matters - and every child deserves the chance to thrive

I am feeling really emotional thinking about the families who will open their monthly UC payment, see it’s several hundred pounds higher than before, panic in case it’s an overpayment - only to be told, it’s yours.

That money - which should always have been theirs - will transform things for them

The two-child benefit cap ends today in a move expected to lift 450,000 children out of poverty 👏

www.itv.com/news/2026-04...

Illustration of people looking at balloons and a sign saying 450,000 children lifted out of poverty.

Today is a good day for children!

450,000 will be lifted out of poverty thanks to the end of the two-child limit.

We're celebrating this along with 17 other orgs with an advert in The Times.

The advert has been funded by hundreds of small donations from people supporting @38degrees.bsky.social.

This is right

And political "experts" will respond: ahh, but let me explain politics, you'll be really unpopular if you don't do <insert stupid political idea> instead

And my answer is: you xxxxing "experts" have been having your way for years & none of you are popular either

So do as James says

Save the Children 'NEWS ALERT' banner, with the Save the Children logo at the top and the website 'SavetheChildren.org' at the bottom. Text reads: "Somalia Emergency Escalates as Middle East Conflict Drives Up Food and Fuel Prices, Delays Aid"

NEWS: #Somalia emergency escalates as Middle East conflict drives up food and fuel prices, delays aid

Read the full press release: https://bit.ly/417gawD

Quote graphic Lalitha Try, Economist at the Resolution Foundation said: "The cost of living crisis never ended for millions of households – and now a new price shock is on the way, care of the conflict in the Middle East. "Once again, it is the poorest families who will feel it most. They spend more of their income on essential costs like energy and food, meaning they experience a materially higher inflation rate than their better-off peers. "The Government's real-terms increase in Universal Credit this year is welcome and will go some way to reversing its historic erosion. But with energy bills set to rise sharply ministers should be preparing a social tariff that gives low-income households protection against the next price shock – and the one after that."

Happy new tax year?

Families at the bottom of the income distribution will be at the sharp end of the latest developments in the cost of living crisis.

Poorer households spend more of their income on energy and food, meaning they will feel any rises in inflation the most.

👉 buff.ly/koap9Hx

Getting rid of the 2 child limit is by my calculation worth *£12.5million* per year to Birkenhead's economy.

Over £1m extra a month. Not a small thing when you think about where it will be spent (locally) and by who (parents who have struggled to make ends meet).

Happy April everyone.