Oh I must read this. A favourite pastime of the Labour Party is feeling generally betrayed that its leader - and indeed the country - is not left wing enough.
09.03.2026 14:33
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Oh I must read this. A favourite pastime of the Labour Party is feeling generally betrayed that its leader - and indeed the country - is not left wing enough.
I reviewed a new biography of Ramsay MacDonald, Labour’s first prime minister or - as some might have it - the party’s original sinner.
For @newstatesman1913.bsky.social
I've just signed @londoncycling.bsky.social's petition calling for action on cycle theft...
40,000 bikes are stolen every year in London.
This has to change. Join me: action.lcc.org.uk/theft
With so many difficult challenges in the world, we should be redoubling our efforts to prevent and better manage the things we can improve. Creating a healthier and happier society is always a good policy choice.
Weight loss drugs should be for "a very small minority" - wider public health strategy needed learning lessons from France (who enjoy their food but have kept obesity levels stable for decades as ours have shot up)
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Healthy Life Expectancy falling across UK - deaths of despair and illnesses of austerity. Working class communities need purpose and investment - let’s build renewable energy, electric trains/ships, efficient homes and infrastructure in our old industrial centres
Meanwhile, in the real world, some real progress www.theguardian.com/law/2026/mar...
Musing on a substack piece about the local political and policy scene in my hometown of Harrow ahead of the May local elections.
The case for Harrowism - why and how we should live up to our motto of 'salus populi suprema lex' (the wellbeing of the people is the highest law)...
Keep eyes peeled for the World Happiness Report 2026, this year focussed on social media and wellbeing www.worldhappiness.report/news/leading...
The UK government is launching a consultation on how to protect children from social media harms.
Think the key tightrope to walk will be taking an evidence-informed approach whilst also acting decisively.
Issue has to be viewed within overall goal - a good childhood for all.
The Victorians were public health pioneers - creating key infrastructure from sewage systems to parks and putting in place a legislative framework (1875 Public Health Act).
Great piece by @drbeccycoopermp.bsky.social calling for a new act for a new age www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...
Action needed to protect children and young people from social media harms.
The APPG on Wellbeing Economics, chaired by Peter Lamb MP, will be considering the evidence in the coming weeks.
Also, look at for this year's World Happiness Report in March www.worldhappiness.report/news/leading....
"Public health isn't a culture war. It's about keeping our communities safe." Keir Starmer
Sad that children are becoming ill entirely unnecessarily - surely nobody wants this.
Vaccinations save and protect us news.sky.com/story/prime-...
Looking forward to 2nd draft then!
Not least, undertaking a multi-decade shift in spending from treatment to prevention and wellbeing.
Valuable read.
We need to ask is, what are we trying to achieve? Then comes the follow up issues of how much would that cost, how much can we afford and where should the money go.
I suspect, if our overall objective was to improve health and wellbeing, we would be making some different choices.
"In this country, one of the biggest challenges we face is that we’ve lost the ability to understand one another.”
Thoughtful, sparky and hopeful interview with Lisa Nandy - there are many talented Labour people in Parliament.
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
Many thanks for this analysis both. I feel we, as a country, have continued to pressed snooze on the public health wake up call we heard and saw during Covid-19 instead of jumping out of bed and seizing the change moment. Funding, or lack of, is one example. Modest progress under Labour to be fair.
Signs of a #prevention #shift? #really? What the latest #localgov #publichealth #allocations and wider trends tell us from me and Danielle Jefferies for @thekingsfund.bsky.social www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-...
Your points are entirely fair Ed, I also want the government to articulate a clearer vision and sense of purpose. The organiser in me is always very nervous about endless leadership speculation and division.
The pandemic was a wake-up call. Just as the financial crisis exposed wealth and income inequality, the pandemic exposed health inequalities. There does need to be a bolder agenda to create more health and wellbeing across society. Being well and happy is the greatest freedom of all.
Overall some important steps have been taken on public health such as around junk food advertising, breakfast clubs, lifting the two child benefit cap, expanding the sugar tax etc. What is lacking is real cross-government leadership on health and wellbeing, in terms of funding, politics and policy.
The government has announced a three-year settlement for the public health grant to local councils. Longer-term allocations support planning and help deliver value for money. The overall amount is up, but that has to be viewed in the context of a decade of cuts, inflation and high need.
Every government has an ongoing task of renewal, made harder today by the noise and pace of social media and the understandable impatience to see and feel the country improving. I hope Labour ups its game, I think it can and will. If change is necessary it should be in a calm and considered way.
The shortcomings are of a much lower magnitude than the catalogue of failures that came before, from austerity and Brexit to covid chaos (both in terms of policy and personal conduct) and economic incompetence. Not to say serious mistakes haven't been made but hardly comparable in scale.
Political leadership is tough and no human has the full range of skills and qualities. It is clear that Keir Starmer is a thoughtful and serious man. The government has many notable achievements - employment rights, renters' rights, new trade deals, lifting children out of poverty, breakfast clubs.
Significant work happening at UN level to encourage and support countries to measure their success in respect not just of GDP, but of human and environmental wellbeing.
Wellbeing of the economy, people and planet is an exciting new vision for the good society.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
"Bringing lidos back isn’t about nostalgia – it’s an investment in wellbeing, joy and community life."
@drbeccycoopermp.bsky.social on the renaissance of the great British lido. Enjoyable read.
www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti... @thehousemag.bsky.social
Many thanks for flagging here, absolutely on the same page about a national wellbeing measurement programme for young people - lets keep campaigning on this!
Healthy places APPG banner
Yesterday we attend the APPG on Healthy Places today chaired by @drbeccycoopermp.bsky.social & talk all things wellbeing measurement! Insightful contributions from @benwealthy.bsky.social & Ben Franklin
National wellbeing measure for young people would transform how local & national policy is made