Ben Walker

Co-Founder of @BritainElects. Senior Data Journalist for the @NewStatesman. Borough Councillor for Chester's city centre, West Cheshire

[Levi Pay @soppystern]

I love it when people make things like this, without, I assume, being asked or paid to do so. The passion for getting things rights shines through every page of this proposal.

My favourite detail is the ‘tick and notch’ detailing on the wayfinding signage.

The sector I work with - higher education - could learn so much about branding and about wayfinding campus signage from reading this one PDF visual identity proposal document.

[Dan Neidle @DanNeidle]

Three ways to improve high streets by *raising* business rates:

1. Higher rates on long-empty shops, to force realistic rents

2. End exemption for charity shops.

3. Make landlords pay when candy/vape shops vanish with unpaid rates. They'll ensure rates are paid up-front.

[Lewis Bergen ( == Rail == ) @railLKB]

Not only are liveries a form of micro-wayfinding within station contexts, it has never been more important than now to formally adopt and standardise our accessibility and door surround graphics standards, not just to meet the RVAR Legislation, but to far exceed its expectations.

[Robert Ford @robfordmancs]

This all strikes me as rather odd behaviour. What exactly did these anonymous MPs think Burnham was going to do if he arrives in Westminster - go on an open top bus sight seeing tour?

[Damian Lyons Lowe @DamianSurvation]

Well known journalist on Times Radio just now saying the polls in Makerfield are too small to be meaningful and unless someone paid for a 10 (Ten!) THOUSAND! sample they couldn’t say much. Then launched into some anecdotal comments about what he’s hearing in the doors and confirming that those trends were *real*

[Ben Walker @BNHWalker]

It's the Reform almost coming second among 2014 Yes voters that's the underappreciated story for me

[YouGov @YouGov]

🧵/ How Scotland voted at the 2026 Holyrood election: our new study breaks down how Scottish voters cast their ballots in last month's seismic election by all the key demographic and political divides

[Ben Walker @BNHWalker]

DIre numbers for Sarwar, pretty impressive for the Green leaders

[A.M.MacJ @ammacj]

Scottish poll on political leader favourability.👇
Ipsos, 22-29 May (1028)

+2 Swinney
-11 Cole-Hamilton
-11 Mackay
-15 Greer
-32 Sarwar
-36 Findlay
-48 Offord

-32 Badenoch
-40 Starmer
-49 Farage

[Ben Walker @BNHWalker]

FIRE UP THE MID RANGE SALOONS

[Joe Pike @joepike]

BREAK: Andy Burnham confirms he’ll stand to replace Keir Starmer as Labour leader.

His clearest answer yet was on #bbcqt (iPlayer now or BBC One at 10.40pm):

“I think Wes Streeting seems to have launched a leadership contest, so if that is running, I would seek to join it.

“But I'd have to persuade members of the Parliamentary Labour Party to do the same. So that's the only question... I've said to my team, let's have a proper look at this and let's develop a policy."

[Artur Nadolny @ArturNadol7566]

BBC PAID A WOMAN HALF A MAN SALARY FOR THE SAME JOB AND THOUGHT NO ONE WOULD NOTICE

Carrie Gracie spoke fluent Mandarin. Ran the @BBC Beijing bureau. Thirty years of service. One of four international editors at Britain's most prestigious broadcaster.

Then the BBC was legally forced to publish salary data in 2017. Gracie looked at the list. Her male counterpart covering North America was on up to £249,000. She was below £150,000. Not even on the published list. Neither was Europe editor Katya Adler. The two women. Funny that.

She had explicitly made equal pay a condition of taking the China role. The BBC said yes. Then paid her nearly half anyway and apparently hoped she'd never check.

She checked.

She asked for equal pay. The BBC, with the confidence of an institution that had been getting away with this for decades, offered her a raise that still left her short.

She turned it down. Resigned from the post. Published an open letter to the licence fee payers explaining exactly what their public broadcaster was doing with their money.

The BBC's response was to put her through nearly a year of their own internal grievance process. Run by the same institution she was complaining about. Investigating itself. Shockingly, it went nowhere.

It took three separate meetings with the Director-General and the concrete threat of an employment tribunal before the BBC caved, issued a public apology, and paid her £361,000 in backdated wages.

She gave every single penny to the Fawcett Society (@fawcettsociety).

A publicly funded broadcaster. Breaking equality law. Caught red-handed. Dragging a 30-year employee through a year of institutional theatre. Paying up only when a judge became a realistic possibility.

[Ben Walker @BNHWalker]

The wee bab

[Ben Walker @BNHWalker]

Pleased to announce Britain Predicts (v.5) will be back for public use later this month, including a return to much missed Create Your Own poll-led forecasts.

The model is the best it's been. I'm very proud of it. And I look forward to your dunks + my panicked edits post-release

[Ben Walker @BNHWalker]

It's the definitive article
https://t.co/ohxsafstwh

[Ben Walker @BNHWalker]

Really interesting is Queensbury, one of the few wards in the country to vote in BNP in 2010 during a general election, only went Reform by 43% in May. Other surrounding more resiliant wards went Reform by +50

[Ben Walker @BNHWalker]

I am reminded of almost every Labour ad in the Runcorn by-election bearing Starmer's face
??????????

[Ben Walker @BNHWalker]

It's why Starmer visiting is the greatest sabotage Labour can have on the Labour campaign in Makerfield.

[Luke Tryl @LukeTryl]

4. While the groups split on Kenyon vs Burnham, they are united in dislike of the PM. This is very definitely one of the more hostile areas for Starmer we've visited. For some vote Burnham to get Starmer out is attractive, for others it's hard to conceive voting Labour might be the best way to change PM.

[Ben Walker @BNHWalker]

This kind of campaigning is designed to appease anti-Reform voters, not appeal to Reform-minded voters. Absolutely asinine approach.

[Ben Walker @BNHWalker]

oh wow

[Ben Walker @BNHWalker]

The BNP still providing support through the coronavirus crisis

[Ben Walker @BNHWalker]

Good cllrs know when groups like these speak for resident angst, or a select set who wish to remake the neighbourhood in their own image. Cllrs who doorknock on the regular to go beyond these groups and get real resident feeling won't be quite as lickspittled as those that don't.

[Lewis Goodall @lewis_goodall]

The Soho Society is objecting to *every* new bar/restaurant licence in what is supposed to be the centre of London’s nightlife. More planning/licensing insanity.

I asked them to come on my Sunday LBC show: "We will absolutely not be taking questions from journalists". Of course not.

https://t.co/0UfHJs9Klg

[Ben Walker @BNHWalker]

@Off_DanielH1 It's real but hard to quantify, Reform have a whole approach if they find a Restore voter on the doorstep. So given they're taking it seriously I suppose we ought to too.

[Ben Walker @BNHWalker]

image from Makerfield