Libby

public finance, politics and policy. usual disclaimers, retweets =/= endorsement.

[Libby @aiabez]

Honestly such a weird awful movie

[Film Updates @FilmUpdates]

‘PROJECT HAIL MARY’ debuts on Prime Video this Friday.

[Libby @aiabez]

Backdate it until the birth of the first bloodline son

[Phil 🦄 @NetflixAndPhil_]

Currently Buckingham Palace pays £1828 per year in council tax, under Andy Burnham's proposed property tax, it would have an annual bill of between £4.8 million and £14.88 million

[Will Norman @willnorman]

We've doubled the amount of TfL wildflower verges to 520,000m² in 2 years. 🌺🌻🌹🥀🌷🌼

Not only do these flowers look amazing, they help boost biodiversity & support wildlife across the capital - we've see 50% increase in butterfly sightings in last 12 months alone.🦋🦋🦋

[Libby @aiabez]

This guy is everywhere and nowhere all at once. My Mayor 🤍

[New York City Kopp @NYCkopp]

💦 Mayor Mamdani kicked off NYC’s outdoor pool season today by jumping into the Thomas Jefferson Pool in East Harlem!

This year marks the 90th anniversary of New York City’s iconic WPA-era outdoor pools. Summer is officially here! ☀️🏊‍♂️🌊

[S1dTR0tt3r147 @S1dTR0tt3r147]

It's impossible to overheat on Elizabeth Line trains, the AC is SO good. A fitting tribute to a woman that produced a sweatless child 😍

[Bobbi @kittenaround_51]

Just a momma and her baby frolicking in the stream.
I often wonder if they have memories like we do since they do remember people and places.

[Anon Opin. @anon_opin]

Tony Blair has become a brilliant indicator on any given issue. If he supports it, it's guaranteed to be totally and utterly morally reprehensible. He's Schrödinger's cunt.

[Stewart Wood @StewartWood]

15 years ago I wrote "The God That Failed" for @NewStatesman, on the logic of neoliberalism, how it was behind many of the challenges Britain then faced after the 2008 Crash, & giving some pointers on how Labour should respond. I thought now would be a decent time to dig it out.

[createstreets @createstreets]

Britain is baking. As our summers get hotter, we need to stop regulating against the simple, proven ways of keeping homes and streets cool.
As outlined in @Telegraph, here are six simple reforms to help Britain adapt 👇🧵

[Cat Hobbs @CatHobbs]

In France 6 out of 10 households are served by publicly owned energy company EDF 💡

EDF just announced it will invest €80 million on cooling systems for schools, nurseries and daycare centres ❄️

This is why we need ambitious PUBLIC OWNERSHIP

https://t.co/IsWmy1x59T

[Saul Staniforth @SaulStaniforth]

Sally died because the supported living home she lived in forgot to give her her medication for 300 days. An inquest found she died from neglect but the CQC failed to bring forward a prosecution

The problem isn't just the regulator. Its the fact that we've privatised social care

[Libby @aiabez]

Who put this tweet on my timeline 🥹

[Morgan @simplymorgn]

a good middle manager looks like a guy who just drinks coffee and forwards emails, but his actual job is secretly absorbing insane executive requests so the team can just do their work

[Paul Powlesland @paulpowlesland]

A stunning reminder of why we cannot give up on our rivers yesterday, as I stumbled across an adult eel on the Roding for the first time, lounging in the shallows in the shade of a council tower block & within earshot of the North Circular.

This now rare & magical sight used to be common, until eel populations crashed on the Roding in the 1980’s & have not recovered. Seeking to understand & reverse this population crash should surely be a key role for the governments environmental regulator, but as usual they have done nothing to improve water quality or remove barriers to eel migration. Worse, they are actively blocking my efforts to help the eel population recover.

Ordinarily, baby eels (elvers) for restocking are expensive to buy. However, I managed to secure a kind donation of elvers from fishermen on the River Severn (where the elvers often get stuck behind barriers on the river). I applied for my @EnvAgency restocking permit like a good boy & all they had to do to help recover eel populations on the Roding was to say yes. Perhaps predictably, my application was rejected, because there was no positive evidence that reintroducing eels to the Roding would be a good thing. Perhaps most annoyingly, my application to restock eels on the Roding was rejected because reintroducing them would interfere with the EA’s monitoring of their continued decline.

I asked what would happen if I went ahead & released the elvers anyway & was told that the EA would fine me up to £50,000. Yet another example of the malevolent uselessness of the EA: obsessed with procedure, but will do absolutely sod all to actually reverse the decline in our rivers.

[Lewis Goodall @lewis_goodall]

Yet another indictment of the politically (and literally) bankrupt water industry in this country. England had its 8th wettest winter on record. And yet the total lack of investment from the companies to build new reservoirs and capacity leaves us here. Urgent change needed.

[Resolution Foundation @resfoundation]

When it comes to homeownership, younger millenials are still far behind many previous generations at the same age.

By age 28, almost half (47%) of people born between 1961-65 were home owners.

For those born between 1991-95, this had fallen to less than a third (27%) of people.

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

We cannot consider #AI to be morally neutral. In reality, every technical tool embodies choices and priorities through what it measures, ignores, and optimizes, and how it classifies people and situations. Ethical discernment cannot be limited to asking whether we are using a system for good or bad purposes. It must also examine how that system is designed and what vision of the human person and society is embedded in the data and models that guide it. #MagnificaHumanitas

[Libby @aiabez]

Yes so boomers can go on 4 luxury cruises a year

[The Telegraph @Telegraph]

Young people are staying at home for longer than ever.

Almost two-thirds of 20 to 24-year-olds now live with their parents, with many unable to afford the cost of renting independently.

➡️ https://t.co/Ni8fwEeR2t

[Libby @aiabez]

PLEASE

[Politics UK @PolitlcsUK]

🚨 NEW: The Government is now considering a maximum workplace temperature limit amid the ongoing UK heatwave

[Libby @aiabez]

How can someone not like Twister and a Solero?!?

[YouGov @YouGov]

With temperatures soaring outside, what is the UK's favourite ice lolly? Here are the top 5

Magnum: 28%
Fab: 8%
Solero: 8%
Twister: 7%
Feast: 6%

https://t.co/Fi98NnowEw

[Libby @aiabez]

Good Lord

[camilo @AscendedYield]

NHS update