Hello, we are Jonathan and Abigail - unashamed pedants who want to bring this affliction to bear on all things public policy and practice.
We believe that details matter, especially in public administration. This is why today we are founding quibble: a campaign to fix the small stuff.
Think, for example, about the cookie banner that we click on every webpage. Each instance is not a big deal, so we just put up with it. But its cumulative impact adds up - on average we press it 5 times per day. The European Commission estimates that it costs EU citizens 343 million hours per year.
And who is there to represent the impacts of seemingly minor issues like this in a systematic way? We want quibble to be the answer. In the case of the cookie banner, lots of advocacy has rightly focused on privacy, but has this meant that user experience has taken a backseat? We believe there are ways to improve user experience without compromising on privacy. We will share more about this soon.
Consider another example. Did you know that in some government-run car parks you can be fined for a minor keying error, such as accidentally typing a zero instead of an “o”? Again, we will come to the detail of this quibble in the coming weeks, but for now just consider again the question: who? Who is there currently to systematically represent the interests of the parker who is given an unfair ticket?
An inherent feature of consumer interests is that those who have them rarely have enough other things in common to make collective organisation and representation feasible. This is the gap that quibble seeks to fill. Now of course excellent consumer interest groups exist. But understandably quibbles might not be at the top of their lists. Our hope is that quibble will be complementary; picking up the bottom-of-the-list issues faced by various groups - the stuff they are almost too embarrassed to raise because they are too small.
We are not embarrassed about detail. If you’ve ever had a splinter, you know small things can have a big impact. This is what quibble is committed to tackling, and our wider hope is that by doing so we will also incentivise policy makers to be even more careful about detail.
Check out our website here, including our first four campaigns: https://t.co/gZiqqHbhIL
It boggles my mind that after decades of being told to not walk alone at night, lock your doors, don't get into an elevator alone with a strange man, be careful of stairways, watch your drink, carry your keys in your hand, don't go into the park at night...
"SNP Government 'pressured' Scottish Water not to publish sewage dump data before election"
Well, well, well, would you look at that. What have they got to hide apart from 1,000,000s tonnes of sh*t?
https://t.co/zuw6Q46lWg
Very Important Message!!
Do NOT, and I repeat do not buy plants treated with Neonicotinoids. Bees take the pollen back to the hive and feed it to the brood.
This is a number one cause of the colony collapse. It's important to NOT buy these plants!
Make sure to share this post!
⚔️ROGUE BILL FALLS AS PARLIAMENT PROROGUED!
👀WATCH the moment at 13.56 today when the parliamentary session ended and the assisted suicide bill officially fell. Many thousands of lives have been saved. The flawed Bill was dangerous, divisive & distracting, but is now dead.
I wrote this in @thetimes in 2022:
“Rarely in politics is it easy to draw a direct line from a single policy decision to the harm it’s done, but in this case, it will be simple. If any woman or girl suffers voyeurism, sexual harassment, assault or rape in consequence of the Scottish government’s lax new rules, the blame will rest squarely with those at Holyrood who ignored safeguarding experts and women’s campaigners.”
We knew women and girls were being placed in danger, we knew the Scottish government was planning to introduce measures that would make those dangers more acute, but women trying to make the government listen to their well-evidenced concerns were described by Sturgeon in her turgid memoir as ‘hysterical.’
https://t.co/TLJfRpvXV8
@theglassfish13 So your argument is that female-presenting members of the sex class that commits 88% of sexual crimes are at such danger from their fellow men that women and girls (who make up between 98 and 99% of sexual assault victims), should lose their right to single-sex spaces.
Foxes pose no threat to chickens (Fox, 2022).
Chickens must think foxes are chickens (Fox, 2023).
Chickens don’t lay eggs, but foxes do (Fox, 2024).
Saying chicken is a dog whistle (Fox, 2025).
Only foxes are real chickens (Fox, 2026).
23 years ago today in Gaza, British photographer Tom Hurndall was shot in the head by an Israeli sniper while trying to protect Palestinian children.
Humanity will never forget him
Cadburys Easter eggs are being boycotted in all shops! People do not want palm oil they want the proper eggs we used to have! Get it off the shelves! Boycott Cadbury!
🚨Next Monday, at 4.30pm, Parliament will be debating my petition calling for a halt to the monstrous puberty blockers trial.
The petition has 146,000 signatures.
I’ll be there in person to see which of our MPs support child safeguarding.
You can watch online (link below).
Never buying @CadburyUK@CadburyWorld@DairyMilkIn unless you change it back to milk 🥛
Here’s a solid list of international chocolate makers using real cacao (cocoa mass/butter), dairy milk, sugar, and natural flavors—no palm oil or vegetable fats:
- Tony’s Chocolonely (Netherlands): Milk chocolate with sugar, whole milk powder, cocoa butter, cocoa mass.
- Divine Chocolate (UK/Ghana): Fairtrade milk bars with cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cocoa mass.
- Guylian (Belgium): Seashells & pralines reformulated palm-free with cocoa butter, whole milk powder.
- Butlers Chocolates (Ireland): 40% milk with sugar, cocoa mass, whole milk powder, cocoa butter.
- Hotel Chocolat (UK): Premium milk slabs using real dairy & cocoa butter only.
Check labels for latest batches, but these stick to traditional recipes. Enjoy the real stuff! 🍫
Hi @BBCWomensHour Today’s piece on misogyny was a classic example of misogyny. You interviewed a cross dressing man on a topic about which he is not qualified to speak. Why didn’t any woman involved with WH call it out for what it really was? You’re cowardice shames you all