Alex
@alexsz.bsky.social
Cycling, urbanism, politics, housing, London, sometimes dogs
Reposted by Alex
Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson, one of the greatest comic strips of all time, was born on this day, November 18, 1985 -- December 31, 1995.
And Calvin's dad remains a beacon of inspiration to cyclists everywhere.
And Calvin's dad remains a beacon of inspiration to cyclists everywhere.
November 18, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson, one of the greatest comic strips of all time, was born on this day, November 18, 1985 -- December 31, 1995.
And Calvin's dad remains a beacon of inspiration to cyclists everywhere.
And Calvin's dad remains a beacon of inspiration to cyclists everywhere.
Jesus fucking Christ, what is wrong with this country?
Great news team! Labour is ahead of the Conservatives when it comes to immigration!
Oh that's good news. Can we see the figures?
No.
Oh that's good news. Can we see the figures?
No.
Best party on asylum and immigration
November 17, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Jesus fucking Christ, what is wrong with this country?
Reposted by Alex
Since the counter was fixed, well over half a million cycle journeys have been made in less than two months. At peak times, records show that rush hour traffic consists of 250 motor vehicles ph in the am & 350 in the pm, considerably less than the number of bikes. Time for another cycle lane
November 16, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Since the counter was fixed, well over half a million cycle journeys have been made in less than two months. At peak times, records show that rush hour traffic consists of 250 motor vehicles ph in the am & 350 in the pm, considerably less than the number of bikes. Time for another cycle lane
Reposted by Alex
NEW REPORT: the govt has been running the NHS in England for 16 months
So how are they doing?
Tl;dr there are some signs of progress, but the overall approach to reforming the service has been chaotic, with little coherence between policies
🧵👇
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
So how are they doing?
Tl;dr there are some signs of progress, but the overall approach to reforming the service has been chaotic, with little coherence between policies
🧵👇
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
Performance Tracker 2025: NHS | Institute for Government
NHS performance is improving, but a complex and haphazardly planned reform package might slow progress.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk
November 16, 2025 at 2:47 PM
NEW REPORT: the govt has been running the NHS in England for 16 months
So how are they doing?
Tl;dr there are some signs of progress, but the overall approach to reforming the service has been chaotic, with little coherence between policies
🧵👇
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
So how are they doing?
Tl;dr there are some signs of progress, but the overall approach to reforming the service has been chaotic, with little coherence between policies
🧵👇
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
Reposted by Alex
About 50 antiasylum protesters led by far right UKIP leader Nick Tenconi were outnumbered by over 400 anti fascists in Bristol today. Lots of refugees waved at the crowd protecting the Mercure Hotel, with one girl making a silver heart and holding up against the window.
November 15, 2025 at 4:47 PM
About 50 antiasylum protesters led by far right UKIP leader Nick Tenconi were outnumbered by over 400 anti fascists in Bristol today. Lots of refugees waved at the crowd protecting the Mercure Hotel, with one girl making a silver heart and holding up against the window.
So the experiment was successful, that was enough, let's never do this anywhere else.
Free bike schemes in deprived communities improve people's health, wellbeing and social mobility, report shows
The trial took place in three areas across the UK and found the scheme also resulted in healthcare savings in relation to preventable deaths and disease
road.cc
November 15, 2025 at 2:45 PM
So the experiment was successful, that was enough, let's never do this anywhere else.
Reposted by Alex
Ah yes, but: innovative jam, blue passports, etc
November 14, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Ah yes, but: innovative jam, blue passports, etc
This is very good. The development is very unequal, but we are going to win.
The charts that show why cyclists could soon outnumber drivers in London
In the capital, cycling has become easier and much more appealing than driving, experts say
inews.co.uk
November 12, 2025 at 9:20 PM
This is very good. The development is very unequal, but we are going to win.
Reposted by Alex
Yesterday I helped give a presentation on immigration law options to a room full of people trapped by the Health and Care Visa.
Promised work, paid £££, unable to work and can't find new sponsors.
This crisis i wrote a thread on 5 months ago isn't going away.
Promised work, paid £££, unable to work and can't find new sponsors.
This crisis i wrote a thread on 5 months ago isn't going away.
The debate around care visas in the political space boils down to people saying stuff like this - we desperately need people.
It's a good soundbite but...
A significant surge in care visas were issued since 2020 in response to sector demand and yet the problem of shortage has persisted.
Why?
It's a good soundbite but...
A significant surge in care visas were issued since 2020 in response to sector demand and yet the problem of shortage has persisted.
Why?
BREAKING: “We will be closing the care worker visa for overseas recruitment” - Home Secretary Yvette Cooper
Don’t we have a desperate shortage of care workers?
Don’t we have a desperate shortage of care workers?
November 7, 2025 at 7:53 AM
Yesterday I helped give a presentation on immigration law options to a room full of people trapped by the Health and Care Visa.
Promised work, paid £££, unable to work and can't find new sponsors.
This crisis i wrote a thread on 5 months ago isn't going away.
Promised work, paid £££, unable to work and can't find new sponsors.
This crisis i wrote a thread on 5 months ago isn't going away.
Why did @theguardian.com journalists went back there? The UK media and political elite is so used to kowtowing to right-wing media owners, they just don't see the difference or is there something else there?
Then why is the British government still on X?
Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how
November 6, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Why did @theguardian.com journalists went back there? The UK media and political elite is so used to kowtowing to right-wing media owners, they just don't see the difference or is there something else there?
Reposted by Alex
The haters said they couldn't do it. And they were right. Honestly, great call from the haters.
NEW: The End of the Line: the centrepiece of Saudi Arabia’s Neom gigaproject - a 500m tall, 170km long wall-like building intended ultimately to house 9 million people - can’t get out of the ground, say more than 20 former Neom architects, engineers and senior executives.
ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...
ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...
End of The Line: how Saudi Arabia’s Neom dream unravelled
Mohammed bin Salman’s utopian city was undone by the laws of physics and finance
ig.ft.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:08 AM
The haters said they couldn't do it. And they were right. Honestly, great call from the haters.
Just draw an 700 meter line around a station, and then a 3km line. The first shows the comfortable distance by walk the second is by bike. Where I live I have access to one overground line with the first option and at least 7 with the second. The easiest way to provide access to public transport
Public transport often treats bikes as a luxury—or worse a competitor—but without them leaves revenue on the table.
For 25 years, the Dutch have extended the reach of their railways through investments in (300,000) parking spaces and (25,000) shared bikes. The result? A doubling of train ridership.
For 25 years, the Dutch have extended the reach of their railways through investments in (300,000) parking spaces and (25,000) shared bikes. The result? A doubling of train ridership.
November 4, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Just draw an 700 meter line around a station, and then a 3km line. The first shows the comfortable distance by walk the second is by bike. Where I live I have access to one overground line with the first option and at least 7 with the second. The easiest way to provide access to public transport
I love these Shelter ads, I hope they won't have it that easy to find inspiration next year, but I am not optimistic.
Every 12 minutes, a family in England becomes homeless. And for families stuck in temporary accommodation, life feels like it's on hold.
This winter, Shelter’s advisers are there to answer every urgent call, giving someone to turn to and helping families fight for a safe home.
This winter, Shelter’s advisers are there to answer every urgent call, giving someone to turn to and helping families fight for a safe home.
November 4, 2025 at 11:06 AM
I love these Shelter ads, I hope they won't have it that easy to find inspiration next year, but I am not optimistic.
GB News career should have prevented his hiring, by any decent company, instead I am sure it had the opposite effect on the good old boys at the BBC.
Fishier and fishier. And in broad daylight too. New Director of Programmes for BBC News John McAndrew spent a year as Editorial Director and Director of News and Programmes at GB News.Unconscionable. @bbcnewsnight.bsky.social
@bbcnewsuk.bsky.social @hzeffman.bsky.social @bbcmarcosilva.bsky.social
@bbcnewsuk.bsky.social @hzeffman.bsky.social @bbcmarcosilva.bsky.social
November 4, 2025 at 8:48 AM
GB News career should have prevented his hiring, by any decent company, instead I am sure it had the opposite effect on the good old boys at the BBC.
WTF
Fishier and fishier. And in broad daylight too. New Director of Programmes for BBC News John McAndrew spent a year as Editorial Director and Director of News and Programmes at GB News.Unconscionable. @bbcnewsnight.bsky.social
@bbcnewsuk.bsky.social @hzeffman.bsky.social @bbcmarcosilva.bsky.social
@bbcnewsuk.bsky.social @hzeffman.bsky.social @bbcmarcosilva.bsky.social
November 4, 2025 at 8:38 AM
WTF
When Orbán's cronies take over any news outlet you can confim the fact by seeing a similar interview with him at the outlet. He does not give interviews to independent Hungarian journalists.
“60 Minutes paid me a lot of money”
In an edited-out part of the Trump interview Trump brags about extorting CBS for millions for… editing out a part of Kamala’s interview.
(He also makes it clear new CBS chief Bari Weiss is in his pocket) #RIPCBS
In an edited-out part of the Trump interview Trump brags about extorting CBS for millions for… editing out a part of Kamala’s interview.
(He also makes it clear new CBS chief Bari Weiss is in his pocket) #RIPCBS
November 3, 2025 at 9:00 AM
When Orbán's cronies take over any news outlet you can confim the fact by seeing a similar interview with him at the outlet. He does not give interviews to independent Hungarian journalists.
Reposted by Alex
When children going missing from Home Office and local authority care was flagged couple of years back #r4today presenters uncritically repeated claims children were "voluntarily trafficked". It was an angle used by politicians, and still the idea of protecting kids is dismissed as a "pull factor"
Jesus Christ. We go mad about one bloke we wrongly released, yet hear next to nothing about this horror? www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
More than 50 child asylum seekers still missing after disappearing from Kent care
Council data obtained by the Guardian shows 345 children have gone missing in recent years, many probably taken by traffickers
www.theguardian.com
November 1, 2025 at 2:38 PM
When children going missing from Home Office and local authority care was flagged couple of years back #r4today presenters uncritically repeated claims children were "voluntarily trafficked". It was an angle used by politicians, and still the idea of protecting kids is dismissed as a "pull factor"
Reposted by Alex
there is no debate to be had about integration in the UK. The debate should be about what we do about the way we indulge delusional people by pretending their arguments are not bad faith.
November 1, 2025 at 10:56 AM
there is no debate to be had about integration in the UK. The debate should be about what we do about the way we indulge delusional people by pretending their arguments are not bad faith.
This model just does not work. We need developers to pay local authorities directly instead of complex schemes and then local authorities could use this money to buy/build flats for social housing and TA. There is no way around this.
Labour plans to sell off 'affordable homes' at higher price to private buyers
Developers claim thousands of affordable new-build homes are left empty because councils and housing associations are not buying them
inews.co.uk
November 1, 2025 at 12:36 PM
This model just does not work. We need developers to pay local authorities directly instead of complex schemes and then local authorities could use this money to buy/build flats for social housing and TA. There is no way around this.
Reposted by Alex
Labour government preparing to hike income taxes - blaming bond markets.
not one adult in the room will say the obvious:
1. Britain's fiscal rules are shambles
2. Bank of England has too much power over fiscal decisions
3. ignore bond vigilantes
www.ft.com/content/5c8f...
not one adult in the room will say the obvious:
1. Britain's fiscal rules are shambles
2. Bank of England has too much power over fiscal decisions
3. ignore bond vigilantes
www.ft.com/content/5c8f...
Keir Starmer puts Labour MPs on notice for Budget tax rises
Prime minister declines to rule out higher income taxes as Treasury lays foundations for bigger fiscal buffer
www.ft.com
October 31, 2025 at 7:44 AM
Labour government preparing to hike income taxes - blaming bond markets.
not one adult in the room will say the obvious:
1. Britain's fiscal rules are shambles
2. Bank of England has too much power over fiscal decisions
3. ignore bond vigilantes
www.ft.com/content/5c8f...
not one adult in the room will say the obvious:
1. Britain's fiscal rules are shambles
2. Bank of England has too much power over fiscal decisions
3. ignore bond vigilantes
www.ft.com/content/5c8f...
Reposted by Alex
Kavin came here to work. He ended up a modern slave.
Kavin came here to work. He ended up a modern slave.
Revealed: UK’s employment visas are causing thousands of legal migrant workers to end up in modern slavery
bit.ly
October 31, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Kavin came here to work. He ended up a modern slave.
Reposted by Alex
Reposted by Alex
My friend Sarah is on the board of the American Friends of Jamaica, which has pledged $1 million in matching funds to disaster relief. They are well-connected on the ground and I trust the money will be spent wisely and quickly
theafj.org/disaster-rel...
theafj.org/disaster-rel...
Disaster Relief – American Friends of Jamaica
Support Jamaica’s Hurricane Melissa Relief Fund. AFJ provides emergency aid, food, and shelter to affected communities.
theafj.org
October 30, 2025 at 3:15 AM
My friend Sarah is on the board of the American Friends of Jamaica, which has pledged $1 million in matching funds to disaster relief. They are well-connected on the ground and I trust the money will be spent wisely and quickly
theafj.org/disaster-rel...
theafj.org/disaster-rel...
Reposted by Alex
Long thread on house building... Clearly, the government's 1.5 million new homes in England in the 5-year parliament isn’t going to happen, & everyone in the industry knows it, even if the new Secretary of State keeps repeating it. (1/n)
#ukhousing #ukconstruction
#ukhousing #ukconstruction
October 29, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Long thread on house building... Clearly, the government's 1.5 million new homes in England in the 5-year parliament isn’t going to happen, & everyone in the industry knows it, even if the new Secretary of State keeps repeating it. (1/n)
#ukhousing #ukconstruction
#ukhousing #ukconstruction