Joined July 2009
- Tweets 15,809
- Following 471
- Followers 597
- Likes 23,753
587 Photos and videos
Phil π retweeted
Jun 13
Nothing says World Cup more than lettuce
52
728
28,991
287,299
Phil π retweeted
The Government should call time on the Triple Lock.
The policy has been far too expensive, failed to reduce poverty, and is unhelpfully arbitrary.
Read the full report hereβ‘οΈ buff.ly/FY93tV6
ALT Ruth Curtice, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, said: βThe pensions Triple Lock is a terribly designed policy that has proven to be far more expensive than originally planned, far less effective at reducing poverty than many hoped, and risks causing further economic harm if it continues for much longer. βThe most sensible way to keep the State Pension rising in line with the living standards of the rest of society is through a smoothed earnings link, rather than a random ratchet. Doing this next year would save Β£650 million a year by the end of the Parliament β enough to treble the current support available to help the one million young people not in employment, education or training back into work. βWe cannot afford to keep this policy for another Parliament. The Government should call time on the Triple Lock as soon as possible and put the savings from doing so to far better use.β
41
30
132
57,808
Phil π retweeted
Jun 10
Of all the demands for additional public spending, this is surely one of the least deserving. If heβs caving in on this, God help us.
Jun 10
NEW: Andy Burnham has hinted at a new multibillion-pound spending commitment if he becomes PM, saying that more than 3.5mn women βdeserveβ compensation over what he regards as a pension scandal
Earlier I attended a Makerfield hustings event hosted by @MENnewsdesk, in which Burnham said: βI stick by campaigners that I support. I stuck by the Hillsborough families, Iβll stick by the Waspi women because they deserve some recompense for the unfairness.β
Stressing he wouldnβt ditch his longterm support for Waspi women, he said he felt βuncomfortableβ that some politicians threw their support behind a cause but then went into government and βdidnβt do anythingβ
ft.com/content/1021ae5f-aab3β¦
55
199
1,848
148,928
Jun 7
Bloody brilliant
A phenomenal turn around π€©
Demi Vollering wins the Giro dβItalia Women in incredible fashion after overturning a 49β deficit ππ»
1
56
Jun 7
Very little point in giving me a 4 hour window if the delivery doesn't happen in it @ao
Stuff I needed to do this afternoon. Thanks for wasting my time.
1
56
Jun 4
π€―
'It is more dangerous to give birth in the UK today than it was in 1985. That's hard to believe, isn't it?'
@SkySarahJane opens tonight's special programme which is highlighting the pressures facing maternity services in the UK
Watch live: trib.al/rmQU2ca
11
May 30
Slot sacking is ludicrous. Look at the history of any club that has had a player die pre/mid season. Unsurprisingly they all underperform. Needed another season then judge him.
1
38
Phil π retweeted
May 29
If the Burnham critique of Blair was he was silent on inequality, then the critique of Burnhamβs essay in The Times is how poorly it understands the drivers of economic growth. His diagnosis is that good growth stems from (local) control of economic essentials.
Iβm afraid tight control of the planning system has led to UK building houses at half the rate of the G7 - fuelling rent inflation. Control of low pay rates has accelerated the rise of youth unemployment and NEETs (Milburn Report). Control of energy permissioning has led to the highest electricity costs in the IEA, and control of capital allocation has shrunk bank lending to the economy to the lowest in 30 years.
The problem is that all these started off as noble microeconomic aims (preventing urban sprawl, reducing in-work poverty, net zero, reducing risky lending), justifying tight control, that have combined/ run too far to now create a huge macroeconomic headwind in the form of elevated inflation and stagnant per capita growth.
I get it, Burnham must knock on 1000s of doors in and around Manchester and be told that voters donβt feel they have any control over their economic conditions. Hell, this was why βtake back controlβ was such a seductive soundbite a decade ago.
The argument to take to the country could be we will be a centre-left govt that enables much faster delivery of housing, pluralism of energy, and reduced frictions to deploying capital. And make it much easier to employ young people. And that, in turn, will reduce inflation in key staples/ raise living standards.
That argument isnβt being made from Makerfield it seems.
36
94
418
44,288
May 28
Exactly
May 28
Unit Labour Costs in the UK have gone from some of the most competitive in the G7, to the worst since the introduction of the National Living Wage in 2016 (and amplified by employer NICs, and the recent ERA). Yet politicians trumpet it as one of their signature achievements. The overall package has made employing young people increasingly unattractive for employers.
39
Phil π retweeted
May 27
Growth in owned outright, decline in owned with mortgage & rise in private renting shows huge generational change. Older groups used decade of v low interest rates to pay off mortgage. Young can't get on housing ladder at all.
Had not realised social renting has not declined.
The private rented sector has more than doubled in size over the past 25 years - that's 8 million more people living in the private rented sector today than in the early 2000s.
π Read more in our latest Housing Outlook β‘οΈ
buff.ly/SNjZ77G
ALT The chart shows the number of people by tenure of household head in GB. The private rented sector (PRS) has grown hugely since the early 2000s, a shift that has played a significant role in how living standards have changed in Britain over the last quarter century. In 2024-25, 12.9 million people (in 5.2 million households) lived in the PRS, more than double the number in 2000-01 when the figure stood at 5.1 million people (in 2.5 million households)
16
31
96
28,007
May 27
I really don't love TB as a person at all but his points are spot on.
May 27
Tony Blair is talking about UK politics here, but he could very easily be talking about UK economics - perhaps this was deliberate. His essay is one hell of a good read: institute.global/insights/poβ¦
27
Phil π retweeted
Aderlass era has been being schooled for a while... We have moved since sUAEner and RaboVisma beat Pantani's records two years ago
May 16
π¨π΄ Bernal remains positive after Blockhaus setback: 'I did my best 40 minutes ever'
βI mean it's difficult. I don't want to talk too much about numbers because in the end I lost three minutes, but at the same time I think I did my best 40 minutes ever.β
π° domestiquecycling.com/en/newβ¦
πΈ Cor Vos
1
1
15
5,429
May 12
Just finished watching Legends on @netflix
Best piece of TV I've seen in years since series 1 of SAS - Rogue Heros. Spectacular acting and production that previously only the Beeb could have made. Bravo π
122
Phil π retweeted
May 12
Labour MP: Bond markets βwill have to fall into lineβ with Burnham agenda bit.ly/4u9ETgH
6
17
124
6,849
Phil π retweeted
May 10
If Labour moves even further to the left it will be the end, permanently.
A lot of people voted for this government thinking they were getting a Blair/Brown philosophy adapted to modern times. It turned out a lot more left wing than expected.
Going further left is oblivion.
331
84
595
38,977
May 10
Absolutely π―
May 10
I would suggest this diagnosis from Rayner is for an economy some parts of the Labour Party believe exists - not the reality of one where the tax take is already at an 80 year high, concentration of tax on high earners & on assets is already high by international standards. The minimum wage has moved way higher than the international benchmark, and growth is clearly impaired by the frictions of the high cost of energy, building & capital. I would predict that if the Rayner statement became a detailed policy platform you would see the Gilt vs Other Sovereign spread widen, not narrow.
66