Helen Cliff
LightNews LightNews
banner
helencliff.bsky.social
Helen Cliff
@helencliff.bsky.social
110 followers 210 following 16 posts
🌹Cllr Sysonby Ward #MeltonMowbray
Onesie-wearer & wannabe poet. Disciple of Hope, Faith & Love. Getting by with spoons #pwme #spoonie #refugeeswelcome
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Helen Cliff
monkemma.bsky.social
🚨Christian children were told they'd "be Muslim by year 6"!🚨

😱Sounds outrageous?

You know the drill…

If it sounds outrageous and designed to trigger you into being angry with “other” people, then you need to do some 🪏

1/25
🧵
October 14, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Reposted by Helen Cliff
monkemma.bsky.social
🚘 FREE DRIVING LESSONS FOR REFUGEES?!

If you've seen those headlines and felt a twinge of outrage, you're not alone.

But let's take a closer look at who's actually getting these lessons and why.

🧵
1/16
A series of headlines about refugees and benefit claimants getting free driving lessons
May 3, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Reposted by Helen Cliff
monkemma.bsky.social
Ok - you’ve seen the headlines about the “secretive” government agency planning on “dimming” the sun?

Sounds like something out of a Marvel film or a 1960’s James Bond, right?

Here’s a 🧵on who the government agency is and what *exactly* it is that they’re funding

1/
The Telegraph headline - The secretive government unit planning to dim the sun Daily Mail Headline: Experiments to dim the SUN in bid to curb global warming will be approved by the UK government within weeks
May 18, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Reposted by Helen Cliff
debbieabrahamsmp.bsky.social
The Work and Pensions Committee has written to the Work and Pensions Secretary urging a pause to the proposed restrictions to PIP & UC health eligibility to allow independent assessments to be conducted on their impacts.
Dear Liz Pathways to Work Green Paper As you might be aware, my Committee is conducting an inquiry into the Pathways to Work Green Paper, for which it has taken oral evidence from a range of stakeholders, including disabled people’s organisations, disability charities and academics, and received written evidence from other organisations. We plan to publish our report in due course, but since two of the most significant reforms (the change to eligibility for the daily living component of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and the rebalancing of Universal Credit (UC) rates) are to be legislated for very soon, as agreed when we designed the inquiry, we are writing now to set out some key findings and recommendations in respect of these measures, in advance of this. In summary, we strongly support the Government’s ambition to reform the social security system, including incapacity and disability benefits. We also recognise the financial challenges the Government faces, and in this context the desire to reduce spending on health-related benefits, particularly by supporting more disabled people into work. But we also have some concerns about the potential unintended consequences of the legislative changes, as well as the sequencing of reforms and the lack of a full impact assessment. In the light of these concerns, we ask the Government to delay any changes to PIP eligibility until it has completed its review of the PIP assessment. We also ask the Government to delay its changes to UC rates, as the evidence indicates it might not improve employment outcomes for most claimants, but instead push many into poverty and further away from the labour market. Changes to PIP eligibility and UC rates The Government will shortly be legislating to require a PIP claimant to score at least four points in at least one activity of the daily living component to qualify for that component, and to rebalance UC rates by freezing UC health for existing claimants and almost… guarantee of never being reassessed. It is not clear when it plans to legislate for the additional premium, however, and the Green Paper contains no information on how eligibility will be determined. The changes to PIP eligibility and UC rates are the first measures to be implemented from a package of proposals. The case for reform The Government has justified the change to PIP eligibility and UC rates on the grounds that spending on health-related benefits is financially unsustainable. As it says in the Green Paper, spending has increased by £20 billion since the pandemic and before the reforms were announced, it was forecast to rise by a further £18 billion by the end of the Parliament.1 It also notes that the number of people receiving working-age health-related benefits has increased by twice as much as the rate of disability prevalence.2 The Government is right to be concerned about the dramatic increases in the numbers of people claiming incapacity and disability benefits. We received evidence, however, that the best way to view the cost of working-age welfare is as a whole (both health and non-health related) and as a proportion of GDP, and that, measured in this way, the level of spending is roughly the same as it was in 2007.3 Whilst spending on working-age health-related benefits as a proportion of GDP has increased by 0.9 percentage points since 2007-08, the proportion devoted to non-disability and incapacity-related and non-housing support for children and working-age adults has fallen by 0.8 percentage points.4 The Government acknowledges this broad point in the Green Paper.5 We also heard that the increase in working-age health-related welfare spending had been offset, and could partly be explained by, reductions elsewhere, such as those resulting from the post-2015 benefits freeze, the benefit cap and the two-child limit, the last of which captures more and more people every year.6 This point needs to be borne in mind when considerin… system that the Government says have incentivised people to claim, including, in particular, the real-terms reduction in the value of the UC standard allowance since 2015 and the removal in 2017 of the additional payment for those found to have limited capability for work (LCW). As a result of these two changes, if a claimant is found to have limited capability for work and workrelated activity (LCWRA), the value of their benefit entitlement increases significantly. The claim that this has incentivised people to be found to have LCWRA has been made by others, including the OBR itself and the Lords Economic Affairs Committee.8 At this stage, we are inclined to agree with the Government and others: the design of incapacity benefits, particularly the disparity between the standard allowance and UC health, has probably incentivised some people to claim the higher rate. We were told, however, that other factors might also be driving people to claim both incapacity and disability benefits, including, in particular: rising ill-health, including mental ill-health; rising financial insecurity, particularly among disabled people; and the exclusion of disabled people from the workplace, exacerbated by the rise in the state pension age. It seems very possible that these other factors, which we will address in our final report, have indeed contributed to rising caseloads. If this is the case, the legislative changes might not incentivise work, as the Government hopes, but rather push people deeper into poverty, worsen health, especially in more deprived areas, and move people further from the labour market, as evidence suggests has happened in the past with similar reforms. Timing of the changes We believe the Government understands the complex relationship between work and health and the underlying causes of rising health-related welfare spending. This is evident from its Get Britain Working White Paper and much of the Green Paper, about which we will have m… We ask the Government to delay any changes to PIP eligibility or UC rates, extend and expand the current consultation, and work to co-produce measures with disabled people and their organisations, reflecting the Government’s commitment on ‘nothing about me, without me’. We strongly recommend that the Government take a ‘precautionary principle’ approach and immediately undertake an independent, comprehensive analysis of the impact of the proposed cuts in UC health support on employment, poverty and health outcomes. We also urge the Government to delay its plans to amend the eligibility criteria for the daily living component of PIP and engage disabled people and their organisations in order to coproduce proposals for a new PIP, as part of the PIP review. Most importantly, we need to guarantee that those who need PIP will not lose out. At that point, it should publish and properly consult on its proposals more widely. I would be grateful for your response to these conclusions and recommendations by Monday 2 June 2025. As is usual practice with the Committee’s correspondence, I will be publishing this letter and your response on the Committee’s website. Yours sincerely, Debbie Abrahams MP Chair, Work and Pensions Committee
May 22, 2025 at 9:07 AM
Reposted by Helen Cliff
samfr.bsky.social
A critical point in today's post. A lot of people assume that Labour places going Reform mean Labour voters are going Reform. But it doesn't.
May 5, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Reposted by Helen Cliff
bylinesnetwork.co.uk
The media prefer drama and squabbles to the dull business of government. But a steady flow of work is moving forward on most of Labour’s promises. Stephen McNair reports on some of this.

@eastangliabylines.co.uk @stephenmcnair.bsky.social
‘Labour’s gone back on all their promises.’ Really?
Labour is accused of abandoning its promises. But is this true, or is the activity simply not being reported?
eastangliabylines.co.uk
May 4, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Reposted by Helen Cliff
sebastiansalek.com
This might be the most delivery-focused government we’ve ever had.

Labour has already ticked off 10 manifesto promises – just months into power.

The full list:
May 1, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Reposted by Helen Cliff
bylinesnetwork.co.uk
The cruel impact of Labour’s new welfare reforms
Bedbound reflections on Labour's welfare reforms from a Labour Party member | Helen Louise Cliff

@centralbylines.co.uk
The cruel impact of Labour’s new welfare reforms
Bedbound reflections on Labour's welfare reforms from a Labour Party member
centralbylines.co.uk
April 16, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Reposted by Helen Cliff
paulsinha.bsky.social
Turns out Le Pen is not mightier than the fraud.
March 31, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Reposted by Helen Cliff
peterstefanovic.bsky.social
BREAKING: The House of Commons has just passed Labour’s Employment Rights Bill. This will deliver the biggest upgrade in workers' rights in a generation 👏
March 12, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Reposted by Helen Cliff
adambienkov.bsky.social
This really is ageing like vinegar
March 4, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Reposted by Helen Cliff
sebastiansalek.com
After Cameron turned Europe against us, May bungled Brexit, Johnson made Britain a laughing stock, Truss alienated global investors, and Sunak outsourced his statesman duties back to Cameron…

It’s good to have a world leader in No 10 again.
March 2, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Reposted by Helen Cliff
simongosden.bsky.social
Starmer, front and centre. What a great photo.
March 2, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Reposted by Helen Cliff
marshfamilysongs.bsky.social
youtu.be/pvT3aQjLxdE

Here's a 🎶 twist on Coldplay's thumping #VivaLaVida we're calling "Puppets on a Kremlin String?"

It reflects on the grotesque media spectacle hosted by #Trump & #Vance yesterday at the White House. In solidarity with Zelensky & Ukraine.

#SlavaUkraini
#Dontabandonthem
"Puppets on a Kremlin String?" - Marsh Family adaptation of Coldplay's "Viva la Vida" on Trump/Vance
YouTube video by Marsh Family
youtu.be
March 1, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Reposted by Helen Cliff
simongosden.bsky.social
"You are very, very welcome here in Downing Street. As you heard from the cheers on the street outside, you have full backing across the United Kingdom. We will stand with you and Ukraine for as long as it may take."
March 1, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Reposted by Helen Cliff
iandunt.bsky.social
Every single one of the Trump supporters sounds like a domestic abuser. "You should've let him hit you, you shouldn't have complained in public, you're never grateful, you never say thank you."
March 1, 2025 at 7:26 AM
helencliff.bsky.social
#SlavaUkraini
This is all.
March 1, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Reposted by Helen Cliff
paulbrand.bsky.social
President Zelenskyy of Ukraine says President Trump is “trapped in a disinformation bubble” after Trump falsely claimed last night that Ukraine started the war with Russia.

“With all due respect to President Donald Trump as a leader....he is living in this disinformation space”.
February 19, 2025 at 11:03 AM
Reposted by Helen Cliff
danielsohege.bsky.social
There are always times in politics where both sides of the aisle have to come together. Badenoch cannot handle that, she needs to use fictitious "culture wars" battles, because she can't comprehend real world issues which require unity. It is just appalling politics, as much as anything else.
sturdyalex.bsky.social Alex Andreou @sturdyalex.bsky.social · Feb 17
The world is on fire and Kemi Badenoch is giving a speech to a Tory think tank in which she says that "as the world becomes more complicated" it is "pronouns and DEI" that are "the real poison in our society".

Sunak has given full support to Starmer on Ukraine. She still has not responded.
February 17, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Reposted by Helen Cliff
zachwlambert.bsky.social
“We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was ‘legal.’”

- Martin Luther King Jr.
Trump tweeting “He who saves his country does not violate any Law.”
February 15, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Reposted by Helen Cliff
grahambett.bsky.social
So pleased Keir Starmer has accepted this invitation.

"Starmer’s involvement also highlights how the UK prime minister is becoming drawn into a European response, despite the UK having left the EU"

Europe need Britain; Britain needs Europe.

It's time for the grown-ups to take back control.
theaeronut.bsky.social Iain Ogilvie @theaeronut.bsky.social · Feb 15
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, was on Saturday night seeking to convene an emergency meeting of European leaders, including the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, as concerns grew over Donald Trump’s attempts to seize control of the Ukraine peace process.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...
Macron calls crisis summit amid concern over Trump’s plan for Ukraine
The French president has invited several EU leaders, as well as Keir Starmer, who officials said would attend if possible
www.theguardian.com
February 15, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Reposted by Helen Cliff
bylinetimes.bsky.social
🔴Like Brexit, Trump and Musk's Agenda is 'Ideologically Incoherent and Ultimately Self-Defeating'

The disaster of Brexit is now being replicated on a global scale by a US administration determined to shoot its country's own interests in the foot, argues former UK diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall
Like Brexit, Trump and Musk's Agenda is 'Ideologically Incoherent and Ultimately Self-Defeating'
The disaster of Brexit is now being replicated on a global scale by a US administration determined to shoot its country's own interests in the foot, argues former UK diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall
www.bylinesupplement.com
February 15, 2025 at 8:11 AM
Reposted by Helen Cliff
paulisci.bsky.social
A Brief History of Kids Today Are Too Rude

🧵
February 11, 2025 at 11:26 PM
Reposted by Helen Cliff
labourlist.bsky.social
"Labour is right to be worried about Reform. But seeking to dress up in Nigel Farage’s clothes is certain to end in failure."

Kieran Connell on why trying to out Reform Reform would be a mistake
‘Why trying to out Reform Reform would be a mistake’ – LabourList
It’s 1964 and a newly installed Labour government are worried about anti-immigrant sentiment among its core voters. At the general election in October that year,…
labourlist.org
February 7, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Reposted by Helen Cliff
chrisgiles.ft.com
If I told you that the Bank of England upgraded its growth forecasts yesterday, would you believe me?

It did....

i HAvE nOt gOne CRazY - honest

This is a hill I am prepared to die on - the BoE and others (all central banks, IMF, OECD etc etc) report their "forecasts" in a terrible way

🧵
February 7, 2025 at 1:32 PM