judecooper

Teacher formerly, but not so formal. Slow runner, lover of words, and far quicker with them! Activist Senior Citizen, woke do - gooder, evidently.

[David Aaronovitch @DAaronovitch]

You often find that people who want to support the notion that 'Zionism equals racism' haven't thought through what its implications are. Adam explains them here

[Faye Brown @FayeBrownSky]

NEW: Neal Lawson, Director of the left wing compass think tank, says his ‘Council for the progressive majority’ will launch by the end of the year.

He said it will bring together Labour, Greens & Lib Dem figures to discuss an overarching strategy to keep out the right at the next general election.

He says it will also help parties figure out how to govern together as the results of the next GE are ‘very likely to be a hung parliament’.

I revealed the plans for this were underway earlier in the year. Understand timings pushed back due busy scheduling, as it was due to launch by summer.

https://t.co/JOQi2p88Fm

[Martin Lewis @MartinSLewis]

'Ending' the State Pension triple lock: what is really likely to happen? Many are confused, and think the State Pension won't rise. Actually the change is subtle, it's about loosening, not ending, one of the three locks - the link to average earnings. So I want to try to explain as simply as I can.

CURRENT TRIPLE LOCK
The State Pension(s) rise each April by highest of:
- 2.5%
- CPI inflation
- Average earnings growth

[State Pension(s) as it applies to the new State Pension and older basic State Pension. Though not the old additional State Pensions (eg SERPS) and a few other additional pension which only go up with CPI. The new system will likely be similar.]

PROPOSED NEW SYSTEM
The State Pension(s) will rise each April by at least the higher of:
- 2.5%
- CPI inflation

The 'at least' is because it will also rise due to average earnings, but not specifically for that year instead over a longer period.

Yet the exact mechanisms aren't set out, so I'm going to use one example of a way it could work, where the rise keeps up with average earnings since the system start date of 2030, as I think its easier to understand.

HOW THIS COULD WORK IN PRACTICE
Here's a made up example to set it out...

Current System:
Year 1: Inflation 3%, earnings up 2%. Pension rises 3%.
Year 2: Inflation 4%, earnings up 6%. Pension rises 6%.
Year 3: Inflation 3%, earnings up 1%. Pension rises 3%.
TOTAL RISE: 12.5% over the 3yrs as the increases compound.

New system:
Year 1: Inflation 3%, earnings up 2%. So it rises 3%.
Year 2: Inflation 4%, earnings up 6%.

A rise of only 4% would be a total rise since the start of 7.1%, yet that's less than the total rise in average earnings of 8.1%. So the Pension would rise about 5% that year to match the total rise in average earnings.
Year 3: Inflation 3%, earnings up 1%, so it rises by 3%.
TOTAL RISE: 11.4% over the three years
------------------
I hope that makes sense, again this is just a rough example to give you an idea as best as I understand it, but I think I'm in the ballpark.

I will try and do a video on it if time as that may make it easier to understand.

[judecooper @judecooper]

@Mike_Fabricant You present yourself as without imagination and empathy. Show a bit of emotional intelligence at least.

[ALASTAIR CAMPBELL @campbellclaret]

Hard to overstate how significant that speech was in terms of a new policy agenda and political direction for the country. So many big issues on which he has kicked off a national conversation. Also extremely well crafted and well delivered, at times very moving. Apart from the Swinney quote and a ref to johnson and Truss I don’t think he mentioned any of the other parties. They would be wise to think carefully before rushing to judgement on it.

[judecooper @judecooper]

@DonnaDlm71 Untrue. He has cancelled events at conference, and released a statement. Anything premature or too detailed would be counter to public security. Keep up.

[Anna Soubry 🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇺🇦🇪🇺🖤🤍 @Anna_Soubry]

Well said @andyburnham
Impressive in the face of tough questioning from
@bbclaurak

#Labour #Liverpool

[judecooper @judecooper]

@McivorJaymey What a dumb comment.

[judecooper @judecooper]

@SarahForRuncorn What palpable nonsense. As an MP, it’s your responsibility to familiarise yourself with international law, not deliberately misrepresent it. Yet again, a shameful remark.

[Andy Burnham @andyburnham]

It’s estimated that one in five women in the UK will experience a miscarriage in their lifetime.

But if you lose a pregnancy before 24 weeks, there is currently no legal right to bereavement leave.

I don’t think that’s right.

Losing a pregnancy can be devastating. You and your partner shouldn’t have to worry about going straight back to work.

So we’re changing the law.

From April, women and their partners will be entitled to two weeks off after any pregnancy loss.

And we’re making wider changes, with new rights to time off when you lose someone you love.

When you’re grieving, you deserve the time and space to do that.

[Neal Lawson @Neal_Compass]

It felt strange heading into Labour conference that no one had examined Starmerism. It happened and it can’t be allowed to happen again. So here you go: https://t.co/Mh71hQNM9D

[BladeoftheSun @BladeoftheS]

The incredibly right Joe Lycett is still the only good guest to go on Laura Kuenssberg's show.

He nearly got her fired, and she hates being reminded of it, so don't RT.

#bbclaurak

[Anita 💙 @Neets21]

Translated:

Don’t fuck with the RNLI.
The public know who the real patriots are 👌👏

[Torsten Bell @TorstenBell]

So much of the right these days just have a massive patriotism problem. This guy:
- is a tax exile (left long before this govt)
- hates his own country while complaining he doesn’t get big enough subsidies from it
- laments the hit to manufacturing driven by a Brexit he supported

[David Pinto-Duschinsky MP @DavidPintoD]

The level of ignorance about how the Bank of England works is breathtaking.

Senior trade unionists have sat as directors of the Bank continuously since 1998, including numerous heads of the TUC.

Tories talk about growth but don’t have a clue how our economic institutions work. No wonder they made such a pig’s ear of running things

[Pippa Crerar @PippaCrerar]

Paul Nowak is replacing Frances O’Grady, his predecessor at the TUC, who was appointed a Bank of England director in 2019 under a Tory government.

She in turn replaced Unison chief Dave Prentis, also appointed under a Tory govt. He replaced Brendan Barber (TUC), who replaced Bill Morris (TGWU), who replaced Gavin Laird (appointed under Thatcher) etc etc. This is not new!

[richard bacon @richardpbacon]

I find this moving. And impressive. And a relief.
That finally a government is willing to say this.

[judecooper @judecooper]

@EstherMcVey1 Recent travels to Europe and talking with trades people tell us that although they would like to deal with the UK, the tariffs prohibit it. I really can’t believe that you ignore the impact that this, and paperwork has had on our trade. Are you wilfully in denial?

[David Smith @digidavey]

My daughter came home from school and said,
“Mum, you’re not going to believe what happened in history class today.”
Her teacher told the class they were going to play a game.
He walked around the room and whispered to each kid whether they were a witch or just a regular person. Then he gave the instructions:
“Form the biggest group you can without a witch. If your group has even one, you all fail.”
She said the whole room instantly lit up with suspicion.
Everyone started interrogating each other. Are you a witch? How do we know you’re not lying?
Some kids clung to one big group, but most broke off into smaller, exclusive cliques. They turned away anyone who seemed uncertain, nervous, or gave off even the slightest hint of being guilty.
The energy shifted fast. Suddenly everyone was suspicious of everyone.
Whispers. Finger-pointing. Side-eyes. Trust dissolved in minutes.
Finally, when all the groups were formed, the teacher said,
“Alright, time to find out who fails. Witches, raise your hands.”
And not one hand went up.
The whole class exploded. “Wait! You messed up the game!”
And then the teacher dropped the bomb:
“Did I? Were there any actual witches in Salem, or did everyone just believe what they were told?”
My daughter said the room went dead silent.
That’s when it hit them. No witch was ever needed for the damage to happen. Fear had already done its work. Suspicion alone divided the entire class, turning community into chaos.
And isn’t that exactly what we’re seeing today?
Different words, same playbook.
Instead of “witch,” it’s liberal, conservative, vaxxed, unvaxxed, pro-this, anti-that.
The labels shift, but the tactic is the same.
Get people scared. Get them suspicious. Get them divided.
Then sit back while trust crumbles.
The danger was never the witch.
The danger is the rumour. The suspicion. The fear. The planted lies.
Refuse the whisper. Don’t play the game. Because the second we start hunting “witches,” we’ve already lost.
[Naomi Dennis]

[judecooper @judecooper]

@EstherMcVey1 It is not retrospective legislation, a fact that Reform understands utterly, and then can claim false outrage. You also understand that union funding represents thousands of people, not the interests of two crypto billionaires.