I'd take the government's dog whistle words on the so-called sick note culture seriously if they were accompanied by dramatically better real terms investment in NHS treatment and prevention services, particularly for mental health.

Interesting that there were 3 Tory scandals yesterday and “sicknote culture” is once again on the telegraph front page.

When I say “interesting” I actually mean deliberately throwing disabled people under the bus to take the heat off them, obviously

Tell me again how the obscure minutiae of Angela Rayner's private financial affairs are so important and scandalous.....
amp.theguardian.com/politics/2024/…

Happy Thursday

Absolutely love this thread - on a) the privilege of telling people's stories, and b) the importance of listening and being flexible when those stories turn out to be different to what you expected.

She was appointed by a hereditary monarch without recourse to a general election.

Can we have a grown-up conversation about ID cards now, please? Otherwise how is this brilliant scheme going to work when adults are being challenged over their age?
BBC News - Will Rishi Sunak's plan to ban smoking in UK work?
bbc.co.uk/news/health-67…

So little good news from Parliament these days - this is wonderful

BBC News - MPs back smoking ban for those born after 2009
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politi…

Fantastic segue on BBC Radio 4 PM from an interview with Nigel Farage to a piece on black hole vacuums and expired stars.

Stop, and I cannot stress this enough, reporting what Liz Truss says. It is a totally irrelevant distraction from the actual world. She should be left honking away in the corner, utterly ignored.

Oh my. This letter to The Times by a former *Tory MP* on the Angela Rayner story is quite something.

'I suppose that her attackers cannot bear the idea that they are about to lose to a woman who pulled herself up by her bootstraps. And who is going wipe the floor with them.' ~AA

I find it painful to give Rishi Sunak any credit for anything positive. But this would be a truly historic step. Let's hope the headbangers' rebellion is also snuffed out.

BBC News - MPs to vote on smoking ban for Generation Alpha
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politi…

When you have two major films inspired by one programme it obviously makes huge sense to hack away at that programme it till it is barely recognisable. #Newsnight

Binge-watching #Coma at the moment - superb 👌
And really looking forward to the return of the brilliant #BlueLights next week. Best terrestrial TV drama of the last couple of years.

This is a fascinating episode on the failures of Ofsted. First time I've heard parallels drawn between it and the Post Office scandal: the same lack of accountability, the same lack of emotional intelligence, the same assumption that people have something to hide.

I no more wish to try 'the new Outlook' or be bounced into new Microsoft Teams than I wish to have my eyes pecked out by crows, thank you very much.

Yesssssss indeed.

Health secretary in command of huge detail while simultaneously hopelessly out of her depth on the bigger picture. Classic.

'To have been entrusted with the responsibility of informing people of what’s been going on locally has been a great honour.'
What a lovely summary of the joy - and privilege - of community journalism
holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2024/news/head…

The deliberate and cynical destruction of Sure Start stands out - against stiff competition - as one of the worst long-term policy decisions taken by a British government in recent decades.