Abby Jitendra
@abbyabhaya.bsky.social
Leading care, work and family policy at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Previously Citizens Advice & Trussell Trust. Views always my own.
This is good news. But the framing that moves to reduce poverty are simply backbench tantrums is bizarre revisionism.
The govt has manifesto commitments to reduce foodbank use and MPs and members have a deep commitment to reduce poverty & improve social mobility. Strange to ignore that.
The govt has manifesto commitments to reduce foodbank use and MPs and members have a deep commitment to reduce poverty & improve social mobility. Strange to ignore that.
Rachel Reeves insists that the wider welfare bill must be tackled as polling shows Britons would prefer public service spending cuts to tax rises
Chancellor to scrap two-child benefit cap but pledge welfare reform
Rachel Reeves insists that the wider welfare bill must be tackled as polling shows Britons would prefer public service spending cuts to tax rises
www.thetimes.com
November 23, 2025 at 10:08 AM
This is good news. But the framing that moves to reduce poverty are simply backbench tantrums is bizarre revisionism.
The govt has manifesto commitments to reduce foodbank use and MPs and members have a deep commitment to reduce poverty & improve social mobility. Strange to ignore that.
The govt has manifesto commitments to reduce foodbank use and MPs and members have a deep commitment to reduce poverty & improve social mobility. Strange to ignore that.
"The grave of my dad, who escaped Lebanon as a refugee, reads: “An Armenian, An Englishman”. A tribute to a life built in the tolerant country he made home."
Remember integration? That thing voters "really, really" care about? Where's that in the latest plans?
My column:
My column:
Labour has given up on integration
Shabana Mahmood's latest asylum plans prioritise return at the expense of integrating newcomers
www.newstatesman.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:51 AM
"The grave of my dad, who escaped Lebanon as a refugee, reads: “An Armenian, An Englishman”. A tribute to a life built in the tolerant country he made home."
Characteristic clarity here from @blimeysimon.bsky.social on the false binaries of the social care debate, and how we might navigate them.
www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-...
www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-...
Yes, no, maybe... where do you stand on the top 12 arguments in adult social care? | The King's Fund
As the Casey Commission investigates the future of adult social care, Simon Bottery explores 12 key questions it will need to answer
www.kingsfund.org.uk
November 18, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Characteristic clarity here from @blimeysimon.bsky.social on the false binaries of the social care debate, and how we might navigate them.
www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-...
www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-...
Truly fascinating stuff here! Kitchen table concerns vs things your newsfeed tells you to worry about…
Yesterday, we put out a report on the most important issues to voters.
We know that immigration now tops the traditional most important issues question (see below from @yougov.co.uk).
But that doesn't tell the full story.
Here is a rundown of the experiments we did to test this out (A THREAD):
We know that immigration now tops the traditional most important issues question (see below from @yougov.co.uk).
But that doesn't tell the full story.
Here is a rundown of the experiments we did to test this out (A THREAD):
November 17, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Truly fascinating stuff here! Kitchen table concerns vs things your newsfeed tells you to worry about…
Our inability to sustainably pay for our ageing society’s care needs is hastening the decline of community cohesion and trust.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
English councils plan to sell off social clubs and sports centres to balance books
Survey finds 60% of key cities councils are planning to sell assets to meet costs of adult and children’s social care
www.theguardian.com
November 16, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Our inability to sustainably pay for our ageing society’s care needs is hastening the decline of community cohesion and trust.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Props to Reeves here - this can't have been easy, we know they will get flak for this.
But it's the right thing to do if getting child poverty down is the goal - which we know it is for Labour voters.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
But it's the right thing to do if getting child poverty down is the goal - which we know it is for Labour voters.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Rachel Reeves suggests family benefit limits will be lifted
The chancellor tells the BBC children in bigger families should not be "penalised" by the welfare system.
www.bbc.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Props to Reeves here - this can't have been easy, we know they will get flak for this.
But it's the right thing to do if getting child poverty down is the goal - which we know it is for Labour voters.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
But it's the right thing to do if getting child poverty down is the goal - which we know it is for Labour voters.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Practical and progressive action here from the govt. Healthy workers benefit their companies and society overall. Right that employers are part of making that happen.
📒 Government published Sir Charlie Mayfield's ‘Keep Britain Working’ report today.
An ambitious framework for how employers can support workers in ill-health.
Focus must be here to shift the dial on employment of disabled people & benefit spend, not cutting people's benefits. 🧵
An ambitious framework for how employers can support workers in ill-health.
Focus must be here to shift the dial on employment of disabled people & benefit spend, not cutting people's benefits. 🧵
This morning's reading: "Employers join forces with government to tackle ill-health and keep Britain working" from Department of Health and Social Care www.gov.uk/government/n...
November 6, 2025 at 9:22 AM
Practical and progressive action here from the govt. Healthy workers benefit their companies and society overall. Right that employers are part of making that happen.
If you want to restore faith in government, fix social care funding. That’s where your council tax is going & why libraries and bus services are being cut.
Good to see this getting airtime. I wrote about this, and how we fix care, in a paper last month: www.ippr.org/articles/who...
Good to see this getting airtime. I wrote about this, and how we fix care, in a paper last month: www.ippr.org/articles/who...
November 3, 2025 at 10:31 PM
If you want to restore faith in government, fix social care funding. That’s where your council tax is going & why libraries and bus services are being cut.
Good to see this getting airtime. I wrote about this, and how we fix care, in a paper last month: www.ippr.org/articles/who...
Good to see this getting airtime. I wrote about this, and how we fix care, in a paper last month: www.ippr.org/articles/who...
Our brilliant analyst on new earnings data >>
1/ 📉 Real earnings growth in the UK has slowed sharply and the hit is falling hardest on lower earners.
A quick thread on what the latest Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) tells us 👇
A quick thread on what the latest Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) tells us 👇
October 29, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Our brilliant analyst on new earnings data >>
Reposted by Abby Jitendra
England's adult social care system is in crisis.
@abbyabhaya.bsky.social spoke to ITV News about the challenges and solutions.
@abbyabhaya.bsky.social spoke to ITV News about the challenges and solutions.
October 24, 2025 at 1:10 PM
England's adult social care system is in crisis.
@abbyabhaya.bsky.social spoke to ITV News about the challenges and solutions.
@abbyabhaya.bsky.social spoke to ITV News about the challenges and solutions.
Remember when dozens of energy companies failed in 2022 and it turned out Ofgem had been ignoring consumer protections and we were all calling for stronger regulation?
Pledges to cut regulation are constant unless there's just been a disaster/failure. Then everyone calls for more regulation.
The constants of British policy over my life:
- pledges to cut red tape/regulation
- talk of a ‘contributory welfare system’
- calls for more ‘on the beat’ police officers
The cyclical one: a pledge to cut backroom health/education staff & promises of more support staff to free up frontline staff
- pledges to cut red tape/regulation
- talk of a ‘contributory welfare system’
- calls for more ‘on the beat’ police officers
The cyclical one: a pledge to cut backroom health/education staff & promises of more support staff to free up frontline staff
October 21, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Remember when dozens of energy companies failed in 2022 and it turned out Ofgem had been ignoring consumer protections and we were all calling for stronger regulation?
Reposted by Abby Jitendra
To be clear: deportations to increase cultural homogeneity is the text book definition of ethnic cleansing. Demands that come even close to this are so far outside any democratic norm and the rule of law. What has happened to a country when this is not condemned in the strongest possible terms?
October 21, 2025 at 10:47 AM
To be clear: deportations to increase cultural homogeneity is the text book definition of ethnic cleansing. Demands that come even close to this are so far outside any democratic norm and the rule of law. What has happened to a country when this is not condemned in the strongest possible terms?
Reposted by Abby Jitendra
Apropos of nothing, I really do think UK journalists and politicians need some reminding that mass deportation of LEGAL immigrants, particularly those with permanent status, is far more extreme than even Trump's America and would basically place Britain completely on its own among democracies.
October 19, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Apropos of nothing, I really do think UK journalists and politicians need some reminding that mass deportation of LEGAL immigrants, particularly those with permanent status, is far more extreme than even Trump's America and would basically place Britain completely on its own among democracies.
Who will have to ‘go home’? How many is enough to leave a ‘culturally coherent’ group? What is the culture she’s talking about here?
No potential Tory leader should be talking like this about foreign born or nonwhite British citizens. The Overton window has expanded gigantically, for the worse.
No potential Tory leader should be talking like this about foreign born or nonwhite British citizens. The Overton window has expanded gigantically, for the worse.
Sunday Times interview Tory "rising star" Katie Lam
She is clear she wants lots of legal migrants to be told to "go home" so as "to leave a mostly but not entirely culturally coherent group of people"
(The interviewer suggests she is scrapping ILR or stripping people of it)
She is clear she wants lots of legal migrants to be told to "go home" so as "to leave a mostly but not entirely culturally coherent group of people"
(The interviewer suggests she is scrapping ILR or stripping people of it)
October 19, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Who will have to ‘go home’? How many is enough to leave a ‘culturally coherent’ group? What is the culture she’s talking about here?
No potential Tory leader should be talking like this about foreign born or nonwhite British citizens. The Overton window has expanded gigantically, for the worse.
No potential Tory leader should be talking like this about foreign born or nonwhite British citizens. The Overton window has expanded gigantically, for the worse.
The care system is complex - to policymakers it can seem too complex to solve.
So this is essential reading for anyone thinking about what the big problems are to building any future care settlement. Glad that JRF supported this work!
www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-...
So this is essential reading for anyone thinking about what the big problems are to building any future care settlement. Glad that JRF supported this work!
www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-...
Fixing Social Care: The Six Key Problems And How To Tackle Them
Different people have different opinions about what’s ‘wrong’ with social care and how to fix it. This long read outlines the six key issues and the options cited to tackle them.
www.kingsfund.org.uk
October 13, 2025 at 1:01 PM
The care system is complex - to policymakers it can seem too complex to solve.
So this is essential reading for anyone thinking about what the big problems are to building any future care settlement. Glad that JRF supported this work!
www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-...
So this is essential reading for anyone thinking about what the big problems are to building any future care settlement. Glad that JRF supported this work!
www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-...
Helsinki’s public library is an absolute marvel.
Visited this weekend and it was genuinely moving to see a community asset be this beautiful, functional, and multi-generational. Look at those windows!
Visited this weekend and it was genuinely moving to see a community asset be this beautiful, functional, and multi-generational. Look at those windows!
October 13, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Helsinki’s public library is an absolute marvel.
Visited this weekend and it was genuinely moving to see a community asset be this beautiful, functional, and multi-generational. Look at those windows!
Visited this weekend and it was genuinely moving to see a community asset be this beautiful, functional, and multi-generational. Look at those windows!
Saying this when your boss (& leader of your party) is a person of colour is actually bonkers. We're in uncharted territory.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Jenrick defends calling Handsworth 'worst-integrated'
The shadow justice secretary is accused of racism after saying the Handsworth area was one of the
www.bbc.co.uk
October 7, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Saying this when your boss (& leader of your party) is a person of colour is actually bonkers. We're in uncharted territory.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
We called our (female) friend Gary, and then Gaz, for *years* because a stranger once got her name wrong.
A lot of cultures are hilarious (eg North Indians) and the UK is absolutely up there. Love this from @sofiejenkinson.bsky.social
renewal.org.uk/blog/mr-blob...
A lot of cultures are hilarious (eg North Indians) and the UK is absolutely up there. Love this from @sofiejenkinson.bsky.social
renewal.org.uk/blog/mr-blob...
October 6, 2025 at 9:57 PM
We called our (female) friend Gary, and then Gaz, for *years* because a stranger once got her name wrong.
A lot of cultures are hilarious (eg North Indians) and the UK is absolutely up there. Love this from @sofiejenkinson.bsky.social
renewal.org.uk/blog/mr-blob...
A lot of cultures are hilarious (eg North Indians) and the UK is absolutely up there. Love this from @sofiejenkinson.bsky.social
renewal.org.uk/blog/mr-blob...
Stark numbers out today from ONS on loss of earnings and reduction in work amongst mothers *years* after childbirth.
Like our own @jrf-uk.bsky.social research, shows that caring requirements have a long tail of financial impact. Makes the success of the govt's childcare reform even more vital.
Like our own @jrf-uk.bsky.social research, shows that caring requirements have a long tail of financial impact. Makes the success of the govt's childcare reform even more vital.
October 3, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Stark numbers out today from ONS on loss of earnings and reduction in work amongst mothers *years* after childbirth.
Like our own @jrf-uk.bsky.social research, shows that caring requirements have a long tail of financial impact. Makes the success of the govt's childcare reform even more vital.
Like our own @jrf-uk.bsky.social research, shows that caring requirements have a long tail of financial impact. Makes the success of the govt's childcare reform even more vital.
Really like this from @morganwild.bsky.social.
Lots of attention on the immigration implications. But not enough on the radical potential on social policy - counting unwaged work like care as contribution, proper income protection, long-term care funding.
www.labourtogether.uk/all-reports/...
Lots of attention on the immigration implications. But not enough on the radical potential on social policy - counting unwaged work like care as contribution, proper income protection, long-term care funding.
www.labourtogether.uk/all-reports/...
The case for contribution — Labour Together
This essay, by Labour Together’s chief policy adviser, Morgan Wild, argues that this Labour government should root itself in an ethic and expectation of contribution : the actions we take that make o...
www.labourtogether.uk
September 23, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Really like this from @morganwild.bsky.social.
Lots of attention on the immigration implications. But not enough on the radical potential on social policy - counting unwaged work like care as contribution, proper income protection, long-term care funding.
www.labourtogether.uk/all-reports/...
Lots of attention on the immigration implications. But not enough on the radical potential on social policy - counting unwaged work like care as contribution, proper income protection, long-term care funding.
www.labourtogether.uk/all-reports/...
This is such an interesting idea.
NI is regressive and not broad based. The funding challenges of the future, like expanding social care and defence, might need a different approach.
NI is regressive and not broad based. The funding challenges of the future, like expanding social care and defence, might need a different approach.
To do this we propose a 2p 'tax switch' from employer NI to Income Tax.
This would raise £6bn, and be a step on the way to abolishing employee NICs
Extra revenue would come from:
- Landlords
- The self-employed
- Pensionsers
Combined basic rate would still be lower than for decades pre-2024
This would raise £6bn, and be a step on the way to abolishing employee NICs
Extra revenue would come from:
- Landlords
- The self-employed
- Pensionsers
Combined basic rate would still be lower than for decades pre-2024
September 23, 2025 at 9:02 AM
This is such an interesting idea.
NI is regressive and not broad based. The funding challenges of the future, like expanding social care and defence, might need a different approach.
NI is regressive and not broad based. The funding challenges of the future, like expanding social care and defence, might need a different approach.
So grateful to Ed for his leadership on care.
We need more politicians speaking out about the personal experiences they have of caring - making the private public is the first step to making care a policy priority.
We need more politicians speaking out about the personal experiences they have of caring - making the private public is the first step to making care a policy priority.
When I was young, being a carer simply wasn’t talked about. We’ve come a long way since then, but government still all too often ignores the millions of carers across Britain.
I was proud to write the foreword to this IPPR report calling for real and transformative change.
I was proud to write the foreword to this IPPR report calling for real and transformative change.
.@eddavey.libdems.org.uk has been a carer for his mum, his nanna & now his son. As he says, most care isn’t in care homes but in our homes, given by families. We’re a nation of carers — but govt rarely sees it that way.
Read his foreword to our new report: www.ippr.org/articles/who...
Read his foreword to our new report: www.ippr.org/articles/who...
September 19, 2025 at 1:43 PM
So grateful to Ed for his leadership on care.
We need more politicians speaking out about the personal experiences they have of caring - making the private public is the first step to making care a policy priority.
We need more politicians speaking out about the personal experiences they have of caring - making the private public is the first step to making care a policy priority.
Reposted by Abby Jitendra
Britain’s care system is running on unpaid labour — and most of it falls on women.
Read the report by @jrf-uk.bsky.social's @abbyabhaya.bsky.social here: www.ippr.org/articles/who...
Read the report by @jrf-uk.bsky.social's @abbyabhaya.bsky.social here: www.ippr.org/articles/who...
September 19, 2025 at 8:31 AM
Britain’s care system is running on unpaid labour — and most of it falls on women.
Read the report by @jrf-uk.bsky.social's @abbyabhaya.bsky.social here: www.ippr.org/articles/who...
Read the report by @jrf-uk.bsky.social's @abbyabhaya.bsky.social here: www.ippr.org/articles/who...
Excited to share a new report I've written for @ippr.org's Decade of National Renewal project.
We are all living longer but policy isn't meeting the scale of the current - or future - challenge.
Progressives have a generational opportunity to shape the future of a vital public service. (1/
We are all living longer but policy isn't meeting the scale of the current - or future - challenge.
Progressives have a generational opportunity to shape the future of a vital public service. (1/
September 19, 2025 at 5:51 AM
Excited to share a new report I've written for @ippr.org's Decade of National Renewal project.
We are all living longer but policy isn't meeting the scale of the current - or future - challenge.
Progressives have a generational opportunity to shape the future of a vital public service. (1/
We are all living longer but policy isn't meeting the scale of the current - or future - challenge.
Progressives have a generational opportunity to shape the future of a vital public service. (1/