Mike Harrison
@higheredactuary.bsky.social
Pensions, Higher Education, medieval history, running, diversity, climate change, grade 3 piano (2024). Partner @ Mercer. Actuary (both sides of the Atlantic 🇬🇧🇨🇦). Views my own.
Pinned
a cartoon minion is standing in the snow and waving .
ALT: a cartoon minion is standing in the snow and waving .
media.tenor.com
Put your virtual hand up (and pass it on) if you’d be personally happy to PAY MORE TAXES so we could have better public services, fewer benefit cuts and faster progress on climate change.
I’ll start…
I’ll start…
My professionalism advice to colleagues and family is always:
“never write anything down you wouldn’t be happy for everyone to read; and never say anything you wouldn’t be happy for everyone to hear”
This mantra keeps you out of all sorts of trouble.
“never write anything down you wouldn’t be happy for everyone to read; and never say anything you wouldn’t be happy for everyone to hear”
This mantra keeps you out of all sorts of trouble.
Ministers, advisers and civil servants are braced for political fallout from the impending release of tens of thousands of documents relating to the disgraced peer Lord Peter Mandelson and his appointment as UK ambassador to the US
www.ft.com/content/ffcc...
www.ft.com/content/ffcc...
Westminster fears release of ‘embarrassing’ exchanges in Mandelson data dump
Ministers, advisers and officials will see their communications about former peer’s appointment as UK ambassador released
www.ft.com
February 12, 2026 at 9:05 AM
My professionalism advice to colleagues and family is always:
“never write anything down you wouldn’t be happy for everyone to read; and never say anything you wouldn’t be happy for everyone to hear”
This mantra keeps you out of all sorts of trouble.
“never write anything down you wouldn’t be happy for everyone to read; and never say anything you wouldn’t be happy for everyone to hear”
This mantra keeps you out of all sorts of trouble.
Reposted by Mike Harrison
Ministers, advisers and civil servants are braced for political fallout from the impending release of tens of thousands of documents relating to the disgraced peer Lord Peter Mandelson and his appointment as UK ambassador to the US
www.ft.com/content/ffcc...
www.ft.com/content/ffcc...
Westminster fears release of ‘embarrassing’ exchanges in Mandelson data dump
Ministers, advisers and officials will see their communications about former peer’s appointment as UK ambassador released
www.ft.com
February 11, 2026 at 9:51 PM
Ministers, advisers and civil servants are braced for political fallout from the impending release of tens of thousands of documents relating to the disgraced peer Lord Peter Mandelson and his appointment as UK ambassador to the US
www.ft.com/content/ffcc...
www.ft.com/content/ffcc...
70% of Britons believe it should be illegal for people to film strangers without their consent and share it on social media, amid concerns "manfluencers" are using smart glasses to record such videos featuring women without their knowledge
Legal: 15%
Illegal: 70%
yougov.co.uk/topics/techn...
Legal: 15%
Illegal: 70%
yougov.co.uk/topics/techn...
February 11, 2026 at 5:59 PM
Go 2026!
💀
💀
The CMI have released their first mortality monitor of 2026.
Based on death registrations, death rates in each of the first 5 weeks of 2026 were lower than last year.
Mortality year to date in 2026 is equal to the best years on record.
www.actuaries.org.uk/learn-and-de...
Based on death registrations, death rates in each of the first 5 weeks of 2026 were lower than last year.
Mortality year to date in 2026 is equal to the best years on record.
www.actuaries.org.uk/learn-and-de...
February 11, 2026 at 5:58 PM
Go 2026!
💀
💀
Top effort.
😂
😂
🚨 WATCH: Independent MP Ayoub Khan says rubbish is "building right beneath my very nose" as he looks down at the Reform MPs sitting below him
"It's becoming a serious problem in Birmingham"
#PMQs
"It's becoming a serious problem in Birmingham"
#PMQs
February 11, 2026 at 1:49 PM
Top effort.
😂
😂
Doff your hats.
Top lad.
Top lad.
Emergency call released of boy who swam for hours to save family
Austin Appelbee, 13, swam to get help for his mother and siblings after they were swept out to sea.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 11, 2026 at 1:11 PM
Doff your hats.
Top lad.
Top lad.
Reposted by Mike Harrison
‘That is why diversity in leadership is so important.’ That is why I, a man, need to be leader.
Ignore the smears: I was never a close friend of Peter Mandelson. And I fully understand the lessons we must learn | Wes Streeting
Ignore the smears: I was never a close friend of Peter Mandelson. And I fully understand the lessons we must learn | Wes Streeting
I knew him but not well, and worry now that he thrived in our political culture. There was a failure of moral seriousness, says health secretary Wes Streeting
www.theguardian.com
February 9, 2026 at 11:08 PM
‘That is why diversity in leadership is so important.’ That is why I, a man, need to be leader.
37 seconds is my new benchmark…
February 9, 2026 at 6:41 PM
37 seconds is my new benchmark…
Odd indeed.
Other social media are available…
Other social media are available…
Not today's main point, but I do find it odd that ministers are signalling their support of Keir Starmer - pretty important as their silence is interpreted as a sign they might quit and force him to resign! - by... posting on X.
You know, the site condemned for being an AI porn hellscape last month
You know, the site condemned for being an AI porn hellscape last month
February 9, 2026 at 5:42 PM
Odd indeed.
Other social media are available…
Other social media are available…
Today’s FT.
The penal nature of student loan repayments vs the largesse of the pensioner triple lock is quite the generational issue.
The penal nature of student loan repayments vs the largesse of the pensioner triple lock is quite the generational issue.
February 9, 2026 at 6:24 AM
Today’s FT.
The penal nature of student loan repayments vs the largesse of the pensioner triple lock is quite the generational issue.
The penal nature of student loan repayments vs the largesse of the pensioner triple lock is quite the generational issue.
Reposted by Mike Harrison
There’s a certain amount of throat-clearing talking about female victims before launching into talking about men again with the Epstein case
It’s depressing
It’s depressing
February 8, 2026 at 1:39 PM
There’s a certain amount of throat-clearing talking about female victims before launching into talking about men again with the Epstein case
It’s depressing
It’s depressing
“Quits” is a lot more honourable than “gets fired” or “resigns in embarrassment” or “leaves office to start a well paid job in banking and to write his memoirs”
Morgan McSweeney quits as PM's chief of staff following Mandelson scandal
www.bbc.co.uk
February 8, 2026 at 2:26 PM
“Quits” is a lot more honourable than “gets fired” or “resigns in embarrassment” or “leaves office to start a well paid job in banking and to write his memoirs”
There’s #alwaysapensionsangle
Work and Pensions Secretary, Pat McFadden has claimed there would be “no point” in removing Morgan McSweeney “if the Prime Minister stays”.
“In fact, I think if the Prime Minister stays there, I don’t think that would make any difference at all,” he said.
“In fact, I think if the Prime Minister stays there, I don’t think that would make any difference at all,” he said.
February 8, 2026 at 12:34 PM
There’s #alwaysapensionsangle
Reform must just love all the free publicity this stuff gives them.
February 8, 2026 at 11:44 AM
Reform must just love all the free publicity this stuff gives them.
I’ve always thought it’s a cliché to say there was book you couldn’t put down… but here it is.
Frightening stuff.
Frightening stuff.
February 7, 2026 at 8:10 AM
I’ve always thought it’s a cliché to say there was book you couldn’t put down… but here it is.
Frightening stuff.
Frightening stuff.
Interesting stuff on USS - the Higher Education sector’s behemoth pension scheme.
Thanks to @henrytapper.bsky.social for collating and sharing.
Thanks to @henrytapper.bsky.social for collating and sharing.
USS pension performance under the Clacher and Keating microscope. henrytapper.com/2026/02/06/u... An underperfomer ; It is however good to see USS open and proving the sceptics 10 years ago, very wrong.
USS pension performance under the Clacher and Keating microscope.
Some unlucky stocks picked? Private – does that mean opaque rather than transparent? Is this delivering value for money? Con Keating doesn’t think so The rosy funding statements are bas…
henrytapper.com
February 6, 2026 at 7:14 AM
Interesting stuff on USS - the Higher Education sector’s behemoth pension scheme.
Thanks to @henrytapper.bsky.social for collating and sharing.
Thanks to @henrytapper.bsky.social for collating and sharing.
😡
“The vast majority of people I met . . . consider our appointment of Peter Mandelson an unnecessary provocation. Several people showed me a photograph of him blowing out the birthday candles with Jeffrey Epstein...Withdraw Peter Mandelson. He is the wrong man at the wrong time in the wrong place.”
February 5, 2026 at 10:17 PM
😡
Fabulous writing as always from Bagehot @economist.com.
“ ‘Keir… thinks he’s driving the train, but we’ve sat him at the front of the dlr,’ a driverless train in east London, which has a pretend control panel for the enjoyment of toddlers. Somehow the Starmer train has still crashed.”
“ ‘Keir… thinks he’s driving the train, but we’ve sat him at the front of the dlr,’ a driverless train in east London, which has a pretend control panel for the enjoyment of toddlers. Somehow the Starmer train has still crashed.”
Whole column here if you like reading column www.economist.com/britain/2026...
Britain’s worst political scandal of this century
The Mandelson affair threatens Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership
www.economist.com
February 5, 2026 at 6:12 PM
Fabulous writing as always from Bagehot @economist.com.
“ ‘Keir… thinks he’s driving the train, but we’ve sat him at the front of the dlr,’ a driverless train in east London, which has a pretend control panel for the enjoyment of toddlers. Somehow the Starmer train has still crashed.”
“ ‘Keir… thinks he’s driving the train, but we’ve sat him at the front of the dlr,’ a driverless train in east London, which has a pretend control panel for the enjoyment of toddlers. Somehow the Starmer train has still crashed.”
Doff your hats….
February 5, 2026 at 5:48 PM
Doff your hats….
"Where's the white ball going?"
RIP JV.
😢
RIP JV.
😢
John Virgo dies aged 79
John Virgo, who co-presented TV show Big Break and commentated on the BBC for 47 years, has died.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 4, 2026 at 10:31 AM
"Where's the white ball going?"
RIP JV.
😢
RIP JV.
😢
Reposted by Mike Harrison
Absolutely...I no longer file my stories on X.. hope other journos follow suit. That's the way to kill X
and no I haven't put the Mandelson-Epstein-Reinaldo scoop on twitter
we journalists *can* make Bluesky the place to break news
we journalists *can* make Bluesky the place to break news
February 2, 2026 at 4:53 PM
Absolutely...I no longer file my stories on X.. hope other journos follow suit. That's the way to kill X
It’s not quite the image of a socialist utopia I hoped for back in 1997…
Our running summary of the Mandelson email leaks is now updated with this: taxpolicy.org.uk/2026/02/02/m...
Mandelson leaked No 10 documents to Epstein; sought $4m job
New emails show Peter Mandelson leaked confidential No 10 documents to Jeffrey Epstein, who later helped him pursue a $4m job.
taxpolicy.org.uk
February 3, 2026 at 3:01 PM
It’s not quite the image of a socialist utopia I hoped for back in 1997…
Reposted by Mike Harrison
Who leaked this Number 10 discussion to Jeffrey Epstein? And are there consequences for the leaker?
It’s an internal discussion re. getting markets moving in the aftermath of the financial crisis. No doubt of great interest to Epstein and his financial market clients.
It’s an internal discussion re. getting markets moving in the aftermath of the financial crisis. No doubt of great interest to Epstein and his financial market clients.
February 2, 2026 at 9:09 AM
Who leaked this Number 10 discussion to Jeffrey Epstein? And are there consequences for the leaker?
It’s an internal discussion re. getting markets moving in the aftermath of the financial crisis. No doubt of great interest to Epstein and his financial market clients.
It’s an internal discussion re. getting markets moving in the aftermath of the financial crisis. No doubt of great interest to Epstein and his financial market clients.
Reposted by Mike Harrison
New Epstein emails show Peter Mandelson secretly advising JPMorgan’s CEO on how to fight Labour’s 2009 bankers’ bonus tax - even suggesting he “mildly threaten” the Chancellor.
Mandelson was Business Secretary at the time.
A year later, he was seeking work with JPM.
Mandelson was Business Secretary at the time.
A year later, he was seeking work with JPM.
February 1, 2026 at 5:26 PM
New Epstein emails show Peter Mandelson secretly advising JPMorgan’s CEO on how to fight Labour’s 2009 bankers’ bonus tax - even suggesting he “mildly threaten” the Chancellor.
Mandelson was Business Secretary at the time.
A year later, he was seeking work with JPM.
Mandelson was Business Secretary at the time.
A year later, he was seeking work with JPM.