Excellent summary of what is going on with SEND policy here, as well as new polling on teachers' views on possible solutions.

Anyone who was intrigued by the Citizens Advance idea (lump sum now in exchange for postponing your state pension by a year) I've got a thought piece out today on it with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.

actuaries.org.uk/think/

Would you take £12.5k now in exchange for pushing back your state pension by a year?

I'm currently exploring the idea of a Citizens Advance, which Andrew Lewin MP, its originator, makes the case for in a great blog piece for Best for Britain

bestforbritain.substack.com/p/would-you-...

(1/2)

13 out of 28 cabinet posts taken by new people - in line with a the 'big but infrequent' reshuffles we expected from Starmer so far, with 40-50% turnover. For the junior ranks...(1/3)

Charts galore in my analysis of reshuffles past - could Starmer really change up to 40% of his front bench?

www.smf.co.uk/commentary_p...

Congratulations to those receiving results today, but worrying indicators for the post-16 education sector

For policymakers and the HE sector, #ResultsDay reveals a great deal about
- how the higher education system is functioning
- who it is reaching
- how well it is navigating a turbulent financial environment.

4️⃣ trends to keep in mind when the results and UCAS data land tomorrow🧵

Want to raise some money whilst discouraging the most harmful forms of an activity and protecting a UK heritage industry? Raise gambling taxes, with a higher rate on 24/7 remote gaming says
@smfthinktank.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/4d20...

This by-election shows the ‘Mersey wall’ is breached
This result demonstrates that Reform’s strength in the polls was able to translate to votes. This will be of concern enough to Labour, but the geography of this loss portends bigger risks…(map explained below) (1/12)

We know what populism is - but what is the data behind it?🧐

In our second video on Understanding Populism,
@jamiegollings.bsky.social sets out what defines Reform-leaning areas, regional variations and where centre-ground parties need to respond.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSiT...

Starmer promised in a speech today to listen to communities 'failed' by politics. Our @smfthinktank.bsky.social latest research on populism explores some of the causes of this rising dissatisfaction with mainstream parties.... (1/2)

We’ve all seen poll after poll showing the rise of populism and Reform UK - but what is driving this?

At SMF @smfthinktank.bsky.social, we are looking at populism through a policy lens, gathering 73 bits of data on 500+ English constituencies.

Here’s the main takeaways... (1/8)

I have had loved ones be told that their BMI was not low enough to access NHS support for eating disorders, and to come back when it was lower - i.e. when their condition had worsened, which it duly did. (1/2)