Owen Jackson
@owenjackson.bsky.social
Policy 📑 | Science 💉 | Sport 🏈🏏🏉
Director of Policy
Trustee, 93% Club
Reposts ≠ endorsements, views my own
Director of Policy
Trustee, 93% Club
Reposts ≠ endorsements, views my own
If there was ever a week to drive me into being a prepper, this might be it.
January 19, 2026 at 11:35 AM
If there was ever a week to drive me into being a prepper, this might be it.
Policy wonk q: years ago I saw a brill diagram of the 10+ "constituencies" UK ministers are responsible to (constituency party, nat party, constituents, family, cabinet etc). I think as part of Civil Service PGCS course. Does anyone remember it / know where it is? @ukcivilservant.bsky.social ?
January 14, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Policy wonk q: years ago I saw a brill diagram of the 10+ "constituencies" UK ministers are responsible to (constituency party, nat party, constituents, family, cabinet etc). I think as part of Civil Service PGCS course. Does anyone remember it / know where it is? @ukcivilservant.bsky.social ?
Reposted by Owen Jackson
X is demonstrably not in full compliance with UK law: it has duties in law to address illegal hateful content when reported, to have an effective system + to proactively prevent
Important that Ministers + Ofcom recognise that - since intervention can compel change.
bsky.app/profile/sund...
Important that Ministers + Ofcom recognise that - since intervention can compel change.
bsky.app/profile/sund...
2. "GO HOME P___" to the former Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi on the occasion of his defection to the Reform UK party.
This is an incessant user of the racial slur on the X platform, to Apsana Begum MP, to Shockat Adam MP, even to Jayda Fransen of far right Britain First
x.com/ERROR_350/st...
This is an incessant user of the racial slur on the X platform, to Apsana Begum MP, to Shockat Adam MP, even to Jayda Fransen of far right Britain First
x.com/ERROR_350/st...
January 14, 2026 at 12:49 PM
X is demonstrably not in full compliance with UK law: it has duties in law to address illegal hateful content when reported, to have an effective system + to proactively prevent
Important that Ministers + Ofcom recognise that - since intervention can compel change.
bsky.app/profile/sund...
Important that Ministers + Ofcom recognise that - since intervention can compel change.
bsky.app/profile/sund...
What is funny (*not funny) about the "why pick on X" line of argument in light of the latest egregious action is the absolutely enormous body of evidence that X has been the wrong side of the law for at least two years and nothing has been done.
New 2026 thread to retest in real time if X reporting system *mostly* ignores/protects unlawful racist abuse reported to it
Criteria: direct racist abuse @ people that would be unlawful on the bus + is unlawful online + that broad consensus (9/10 people across parties) would agree should be stopped
Criteria: direct racist abuse @ people that would be unlawful on the bus + is unlawful online + that broad consensus (9/10 people across parties) would agree should be stopped
January 13, 2026 at 12:22 PM
What is funny (*not funny) about the "why pick on X" line of argument in light of the latest egregious action is the absolutely enormous body of evidence that X has been the wrong side of the law for at least two years and nothing has been done.
STEP is exciting and pro-growth - it needs stuff the UK is very good at (cutting-edge R&D; precision engineering; energy technologies) and stuff policymakers are saying they want to be better at (smart regulation; AI-partnered sci/tech; commercialising technology).
My blogpost explains the science and engineering behind STEP - the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production.
Success isn't guaranteed, but imo we should do it anyway. It's an area where the UK has a genuine leadership position, and the prize is abundant clean energy.
softmachines.org?p=3229
Success isn't guaranteed, but imo we should do it anyway. It's an area where the UK has a genuine leadership position, and the prize is abundant clean energy.
softmachines.org?p=3229
Putting fusion power on the UK grid – Soft Machines, by Richard Jones
softmachines.org
January 12, 2026 at 2:32 PM
STEP is exciting and pro-growth - it needs stuff the UK is very good at (cutting-edge R&D; precision engineering; energy technologies) and stuff policymakers are saying they want to be better at (smart regulation; AI-partnered sci/tech; commercialising technology).
Won't you look at that. The majority of Londoners, being the ones who would know, say London is a safe place to live.
2024 Reform UK voters are the most likely to say London is an unsafe place to live, at 85%
Reform: 85% unsafe
Con: 67%
Lab: 50%
Green: 50%
LD: 43%
34% of Londoners say London is not a safe place to live, although only 15% say so of their own local area
Reform: 85% unsafe
Con: 67%
Lab: 50%
Green: 50%
LD: 43%
34% of Londoners say London is not a safe place to live, although only 15% say so of their own local area
January 9, 2026 at 4:42 PM
Won't you look at that. The majority of Londoners, being the ones who would know, say London is a safe place to live.
Sitting in the footwell of a Morris Minor because there weren't enough seats
Without revealing your actual age,what's something you remember that if you told a younger person they wouldn't understand?
January 9, 2026 at 10:36 AM
Sitting in the footwell of a Morris Minor because there weren't enough seats
Ok, this one is good enough to have tipped me over into subscribing to @samfr.bsky.social's Comment is Freed. Hugely interesting interview providing the kind of grand, realistic sweep of real policymaking that it is a) really rare and b) insightful from many perspectives.
Absolutely magisterial interview with John Bew by @samfr.bsky.social and @ldfreedman.bsky.social. In a highly competitive field the most interesting thing I've read on Comment is Freed, on everything from the style of four administrations to our foreign policy challenges:
Interview with John Bew - adviser to four Prime Ministers
On Whitehall, Ukraine, Trump and the global challenges facing Britain
samf.substack.com
January 8, 2026 at 4:52 PM
Ok, this one is good enough to have tipped me over into subscribing to @samfr.bsky.social's Comment is Freed. Hugely interesting interview providing the kind of grand, realistic sweep of real policymaking that it is a) really rare and b) insightful from many perspectives.
Reposted by Owen Jackson
Who’s who at X, the deepfake porn site formerly known as Twitter.
Featuring illustrations by Grok, because “pixels 🟰 zero harm” apparently. www.ft.com/content/ad94...
Featuring illustrations by Grok, because “pixels 🟰 zero harm” apparently. www.ft.com/content/ad94...
January 6, 2026 at 10:26 AM
Who’s who at X, the deepfake porn site formerly known as Twitter.
Featuring illustrations by Grok, because “pixels 🟰 zero harm” apparently. www.ft.com/content/ad94...
Featuring illustrations by Grok, because “pixels 🟰 zero harm” apparently. www.ft.com/content/ad94...
This is top drawer Christmas content.
Christmas carols, as written by Parliamentary lawyers
Christmas carols, as written by Parliamentary lawyers
The Parliamentary Counsel Office has been putting its skills to work drafting legislatively clear versions of Christmas carols. How many can you identify?
buff.ly
December 19, 2025 at 1:12 PM
This is top drawer Christmas content.
"Rose Macaulay attempted a serious conversation in which I did not shine"
Evelyn Waugh speaking for the jeopardy we all feel at drinks receptions and Christmas parties at this time of year...
Evelyn Waugh speaking for the jeopardy we all feel at drinks receptions and Christmas parties at this time of year...
Happy 79th anniversary to this diary entry from Evelyn Waugh, in which he drinks enough to make you wonder how he lived for a further 19 years:
December 19, 2025 at 12:27 PM
"Rose Macaulay attempted a serious conversation in which I did not shine"
Evelyn Waugh speaking for the jeopardy we all feel at drinks receptions and Christmas parties at this time of year...
Evelyn Waugh speaking for the jeopardy we all feel at drinks receptions and Christmas parties at this time of year...
Reposted by Owen Jackson
Imperial scientists have been testing quantum-enhanced sensors for inertial navigation with the Royal Navy.
Unlike GPS, which doesn’t work underground or underwater, quantum sensors are super accurate, stable over long periods of time, and resilient to interference.
📺 ⤵️
Unlike GPS, which doesn’t work underground or underwater, quantum sensors are super accurate, stable over long periods of time, and resilient to interference.
📺 ⤵️
December 18, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Imperial scientists have been testing quantum-enhanced sensors for inertial navigation with the Royal Navy.
Unlike GPS, which doesn’t work underground or underwater, quantum sensors are super accurate, stable over long periods of time, and resilient to interference.
📺 ⤵️
Unlike GPS, which doesn’t work underground or underwater, quantum sensors are super accurate, stable over long periods of time, and resilient to interference.
📺 ⤵️
Excellent. His coverage of the Balkans conflicts were some of the first media coverage that made a lasting impression on me.
Things that will interest Bluesky; Misha Glenny, author of McMafia, replaces Melvyn Bragg as host of In Our Time.
December 3, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Excellent. His coverage of the Balkans conflicts were some of the first media coverage that made a lasting impression on me.
Reposted by Owen Jackson
once more I am begging everyone to do policy based on evidence, not on vibes from the loudest-shouting pressure groups. What the NHS is leaning towards - targeted screening for those most at risk - is the right way to do this. Blanket screening with an unreliable test causes harm.
🔺UPDATED: Start prostate cancer testing regardless of advice, Wes Streeting told
Start prostate cancer testing regardless of advice, Wes Streeting told
Start prostate cancer testing regardless of advice, Wes Streeting told
www.thetimes.com
November 28, 2025 at 12:30 PM
once more I am begging everyone to do policy based on evidence, not on vibes from the loudest-shouting pressure groups. What the NHS is leaning towards - targeted screening for those most at risk - is the right way to do this. Blanket screening with an unreliable test causes harm.
Reposted by Owen Jackson
![Comic. Panels up to the 10-year point are grayed out. New panels since the Ten Years comic, which chronicles the first ten years of PERSON 1's journey with cancer: (1) [two people in bed] PERSON 1 (woman): One more chapter? PERSON 2 (man): Don’t we both have to get up early? PERSON 1: Nnnnnggggh PERSON 2: Sure, good point. (2) [many people wearing masks, walking while looking at graphs on their phones] (3) [birds landing on people] PERSON 2 in beanie and scarf: Hah! They like *my* seeds best. PERSON 1 in scarf holding phone with a bird sitting on it: Wait, how do I take a picture of this one? (4) [two people rowing boats with tree landscape] (5) [Person 1 carries overflowing stack of things to Person 2 in bed] PERSON 1: I brought you honey lemon tea, more pillows, a cinnamon roll, Tylenol, another blanket, a– PERSON 2: It was just Appendicitis, I’m really– PERSON 1: *It is my turn to take care of you and I am going to do it right!* (6) [Two people in car] (7) [still in car) PERSON 1: Oh my god. PERSON 2: Oh my god. (8) [car driving] PERSON 1: Pull over! PERSON 2: I am! (9) [both people get out of car] (10) [Large colored panel of aurora borealis over water with both people looking on] (11) [Person 1 sits against tree while Person 2 lies on the ground] PERSON 1: Fifteen years. No sign of the cancer. (12) I *am* having some weird symptoms. Joint pain. Fatigue. I think I’m losing my close-up vision. PERSON 2: Yeah. Me too. (13) PERSON 2: I think we’re getting old. (14) PERSON 1: I guess that’s okay. PERSON 2: It’s all I wanted.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreihwhjblp5lyiwp63ouar7ocfea7evmckytoeo7rkfuoo4gw5rnrra@jpeg)
November 26, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Just finished listening to this series last night. Incredible story, and highlights some failures in the UK policing, prosecutorial and judicial systems that really don't get enough attention.
“Blood Relatives,” a new series from the Pulitzer Prize-winning podcast In the Dark, examines the story of the Whitehouse Farm murders—the most infamous family massacre in British history.
In the Dark Releases “Blood Relatives,” an Examination of a Notorious British Crime
The New Yorker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative podcast returns with a six-part series that asks whether one of the U.K.’s most famous murder cases ended with a wrongful conviction.
www.newyorker.com
November 27, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Just finished listening to this series last night. Incredible story, and highlights some failures in the UK policing, prosecutorial and judicial systems that really don't get enough attention.
So can we all just shortcut the political theatre bit now and get to everyone publishing their "what the budget means for your finances" calculators a few hours early?
November 26, 2025 at 12:26 PM
So can we all just shortcut the political theatre bit now and get to everyone publishing their "what the budget means for your finances" calculators a few hours early?
Reposted by Owen Jackson
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
Coming up with good photos for PR is hard. I'm jealous of this one - I reckon they could do even more with the theme of "babies playing in front of HMT", including making it clearer what building it is
edition.cnn.com/2025/11/24/u...
edition.cnn.com/2025/11/24/u...
Britain is one of the world’s richest countries. So why do a third of its children live in poverty? | CNN
Child poverty has reached a record high in the United Kingdom as the country’s cost of living soars and its social security safety net falters following years of government austerity.
edition.cnn.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Coming up with good photos for PR is hard. I'm jealous of this one - I reckon they could do even more with the theme of "babies playing in front of HMT", including making it clearer what building it is
edition.cnn.com/2025/11/24/u...
edition.cnn.com/2025/11/24/u...
Some valid and thought-provoking challenges in here @jamestplunkett.bsky.social!
On the opportunities to experiment, the Cabinet Office through the 2010s was doing this pretty effectively I thought - PolicyLab, OIT, BIT... People like Halpern, w/ministers like Letwin and Gove providing pol cover
On the opportunities to experiment, the Cabinet Office through the 2010s was doing this pretty effectively I thought - PolicyLab, OIT, BIT... People like Halpern, w/ministers like Letwin and Gove providing pol cover
Are a small number of legacy disciplines dragging the whole of government down? A provocation:
medium.com/@jamestplunk...
Government seems increasingly unable to cope with the pace and complexity of today's world. Why? 1/n
medium.com/@jamestplunk...
Government seems increasingly unable to cope with the pace and complexity of today's world. Why? 1/n
The disciplines theory of government
Are legacy disciplines dragging the whole operation down?
medium.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Some valid and thought-provoking challenges in here @jamestplunkett.bsky.social!
On the opportunities to experiment, the Cabinet Office through the 2010s was doing this pretty effectively I thought - PolicyLab, OIT, BIT... People like Halpern, w/ministers like Letwin and Gove providing pol cover
On the opportunities to experiment, the Cabinet Office through the 2010s was doing this pretty effectively I thought - PolicyLab, OIT, BIT... People like Halpern, w/ministers like Letwin and Gove providing pol cover
What a great one day match!
November 21, 2025 at 9:51 AM
What a great one day match!
Reposted by Owen Jackson
🚨 Just announced: your new favourite podcast!
We’re so excited to be partnering with Goalhanger, Europe’s largest independent podcast producer, to bring you The Rest Is Science: a brand-new podcast hosted by Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens 👇
@fryrsquared.bsky.social #CRUKscience
We’re so excited to be partnering with Goalhanger, Europe’s largest independent podcast producer, to bring you The Rest Is Science: a brand-new podcast hosted by Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens 👇
@fryrsquared.bsky.social #CRUKscience
November 18, 2025 at 10:33 AM
🚨 Just announced: your new favourite podcast!
We’re so excited to be partnering with Goalhanger, Europe’s largest independent podcast producer, to bring you The Rest Is Science: a brand-new podcast hosted by Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens 👇
@fryrsquared.bsky.social #CRUKscience
We’re so excited to be partnering with Goalhanger, Europe’s largest independent podcast producer, to bring you The Rest Is Science: a brand-new podcast hosted by Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens 👇
@fryrsquared.bsky.social #CRUKscience
This is absolutely brilliant.
Plug in your postcode. deprivation.communities.gov.uk
deprivation.communities.gov.uk
November 14, 2025 at 4:47 PM
This is absolutely brilliant.
Who wrote this headline? Peter Mannion? Alan Partridge? www.economist.com/britain/2025...
Brand Britain has bounced back
Despite all the gloom at home, the country’s reputation is surprisingly bright
www.economist.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Who wrote this headline? Peter Mannion? Alan Partridge? www.economist.com/britain/2025...
Shocking, but not surprising. The inevitable (?) unwinding of cross-subsidy between international student fees and domestic teaching and research will be painful for HE sector.
'Nottingham put part of the blame for the continued financial uncertainty on the proposed international student fee levy, pointing out that it will “wipe out any benefits” that will come from the Westminster government’s recent decision to link fees to inflation.' 3/3
November 6, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Shocking, but not surprising. The inevitable (?) unwinding of cross-subsidy between international student fees and domestic teaching and research will be painful for HE sector.