Jim Pickard 🐋 has more on the shift over the New Deal for Working People.
Another sign of Reeves’ consultative & pro-business approach winning out.
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Labour set to unveil weakened package of workers’ rights on.ft.com/3QoMqq1

My latest for the Times on Labour's relationship with business:
1 Rachel Reeves is good at politics
2 Business fears over the New Deal for Working People are overdone, because Labour is listening
3 both sides should be talking more about labour shortages

thetimes.co.uk/article/0a0336…

Almost five years since JonathanThomas at Social Market Foundation suggested a return to AVR. (The Home Office at the time was… less enthusiastic.)

smf.co.uk/press-release-…

Today we’re publishing our latest joint report with our partners ⁦Child of the North urging govt to rocket-boost children’s mental health support through schools. 👇👇 centreforyounglives.org.uk/news-centre/ca…

When police officers wait for a coffee before responding to an emergency call to “a domestic”, women are put in danger.
A small story from my local shop suggests the culture of policing domestic abuse still has a long way to go.

spectator.co.uk/article/the-me…

People should pay more into their pensions. There is a simple way to make that happen. But politicians don't feel under any pressure to do it.
My thoughts on why sensible, necessary increases in minimum pension contributions aren't happening. spectator.co.uk/article/the-pe…

Thomas Hobbes on climate change. ABBA on historical determinism. Scones and wokeness.
Free Thinking - now on BBC Radio 4 - really is public service broadcasting - thank you to Matthew Sweet for letting me join the conversation.

bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00…

Child poverty has risen more in the UK - international comparisons

People in their 50s are spending their pension pots on new kitchens, holidays and paying off their debts. That means they can't use the money to support themselves in later life. Ten years on, is it time to revisit pension freedoms? spectator.co.uk/article/a-pens…

People in their 50s are spending their pension pots on new kitchens, holidays and paying off their debts. That means they can't use the money to support themselves in later life. Ten years on, is it time to revisit pension freedoms?

'Defined pension decumulation' is hardly a phrase to get politicians or voters excited. But sooner or later, MPs will need to revisit pension freedoms and a system that leaves voters making near-impossible financial decisions alone.

spectator.co.uk/article/a-pens…

Not a football fan but I’ll listen to this anyway, because Mehreen is mesmerically brilliant on football. (Still remember a 2014 DT piece on Pirlo, “greatest human man”)

Britain is too sick to work
- #Budget2024 analysis by the OBR shows that poor physical and mental health are now a serious drag on the U.K. economy.
Improving the nation’s health should be an economic priority, for policymakers and businesses alike.

spectator.co.uk/article/britai…

Britain is too sick to work
- #Budget2024 analysis by the OBR shows that poor physical and mental health are now a serious drag on the U.K. economy.
Improving the nation’s health should be an economic priority, for policymakers and businesses alike.

spectator.co.uk/article/britai…

This picture should hang in the National Gallery, entitled ‘British Politics 2010 - 2024’.

It’s my 48th birthday, so I’ve celebrated by writing long and gloomy assessment of how people my age are screwed by a huge shift in pension provision.
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The pension bomb facing Generation X spectator.co.uk/article/the-pe…

It’s my 48th birthday, so I’ve celebrated by writing long and gloomy assessment of how people my age are screwed by a huge shift in pension provision.
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The pension bomb facing Generation X spectator.co.uk/article/the-pe…