This year the Home Office moved to stop expert sheep shearers from Australia and New Zealand coming to shear British sheep. The people who keep the animals comfortable were declared surplus to requirements. For over a decade, around 75 of the best shearers on earth have flown in each spring on a simple visa concession. In a few brutal weeks they take the wool off up to two million sheep. A top shearer clears a ewe in two or three minutes. Hundreds a day. Calm hands, no panic in the animal. It is a global trade and a young body's game, and Britain has never grown enough of its own. The official line? Fourteen years to train Britons, so the door is closing. Here is what that tidy sentence ignores. A sheep must be shorn every year or she overheats, cannot move properly, and gets eaten alive by flies and maggots. Shearing on time is welfare, plain and simple, written into law and into the animal's own skin. So a government that lectures farmers without pause about welfare has quietly made the most basic welfare task harder to carry out. After the outcry they allowed one "final" year. Then the experts are gone for good. A sector already losing money on every fleece, already burning wool it cannot sell, now told it cannot even get the people in to take the wool off. You could be forgiven for thinking somebody wants the British sheep gone.

Student loans are becoming a headline area of interest recently. As a doctor who trained and is now working in the UK, I thought I would share my situation. Despite working for almost three years, my loan has continued to grow, and now sits at this amount. [1/7].

My home country Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 NO cases of cervical cancer in vaccinated women NOT ONE !

Imagine those living in Greenland just now Peaceful, relatively prosperous, minding their own business Then suddenly threatened with invasion by a fascist, authoritarian regime No reason. They’re not at war, no conflict, no social unrest… Now living in fear. Barbaric!

My partner wonders why our toddler prefers me, it's simple just sit on the floor while they play and PUT YOUR FUCKING PHONE DOWN

I once asked a high-performer why they stayed with their company for 10 years. ​I expected them to say "the salary" or "the bonuses options." Instead, they said: "A few years ago, I had a family emergency. My manager didn't ask for a doctor's note. They didn't check my performance. They just said: 'Take care of your family, we’ve got your back.'" ​Retention isn't a "perk." It's a feeling. ​If you want to keep your best people in 2026, stop looking at them as "resources" and start looking at them as humans. Perks like free snacks and fancy offices are great, but psychological safety is what keeps the lights on.

A candidate kept applying for the same role at the same company. Every time it was advertised, he applied. And every time, he wasn’t shortlisted. The reason? A gap on his CV. When HR saw his application for the fifth time, they decided to call him. The interview went exceptionally well. Confident. Clear. Highly capable. Curious, HR asked, “Why the employment gap? And why haven’t you been working despite being this impressive?” He paused, then explained: “My wife fell critically ill. I resigned to take care of her.” He got the offer. Today, he is one of the company’s top performers, and he’s now being lined up for a promotion with a better compensation package. Behind every CV gap, there may be a story of sacrifice, love, and responsibility. Let’s never forget the human side of hiring.

See how Reform Council's work: The Reform Councillor in charge of care homes in Lancashire is shutting council care homes, forcing residents to move to private care homes. The very same Reform Councillor is also the owner of multiple local private care homes in Lancashire.

THIS IS THE BEST THING WE’VE HEARD ALL YEAR

🆘 Hello Worcester hospitals team @WorcsAcuteNHS, I stumbled upon this job advert claiming that Neonatal Nurses can work as Neonatal registrars/consultants, looking after critically ill kids requiring intubation and ventilation 💀☠️☠️ ⭕️ You keep bragging about being equivalent to ST3–ST8 (neonatal consultants) who went through rigorous assessments and RCPCH membership exams, which is dangerous. ⭕️ You even had the audacity to have them supervise resident doctors. ⭕️ Another advert was for a consultant nurse practitioner with “Advanced Life Support” skills listed only as a desirable criterion! Your kids will be the sacrificial lambs of the modern/innovative NHS.

Can’t wait for the newspaper headlines in 5 weeks’ time to read 🚨 28% OF CHILDREN LEAVE PRIMARY SCHOOL UNABLE TO READ 🚨 not knowing kids were marked wrong for answering questions like this (Clip from @TeachSRpodcast’s pod ep: tinyurl.com/SATspodcast)

Coroner's Officers are appealing for help in tracing any known relatives of the following people. Simon Fagge, aged 45, from Leeds Road, Castleford, WF10 4LX who died on 20 January 2025. 1/2

2/2 Paul Tarrant, aged 77, of Eskdale Road, Wakefield, WF2 9HF who died on 21 January 2025. Philip Brogden, aged 74, from Rossefield Approach, Leeds, LS13 3RG who died on 20 January 2025. Anyone with information should contact the Wakefield Coroner's Office on 01924 302180.

Why can't we manage this in England?

#corrie I love how Shona can wear tight sleeved tops with a huge oversized cast. If only they could be slid on after getting dressed in real life!

Me in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023: "Letting Covid rip is going to lead to a huge wave of people too ill to work" Them: <lets covid rip endlessly> Them in 2024: "Why are so many young adults too ill to work?"

People who are still screaming about mask mandates need to take a breath and realize they adhere to mandates for the safety of others every day: - Seatbelts - Drunk driving laws - Smoking laws - Laws around disclosing STIs - isolation requirements for certain diseases /1

She's right.