Steve Ball
@steveball.bsky.social
British resident of France; director of UK care company; trombonist; sailor.
@lewisgoodall.com Hi, I do think you need to revise your narrative that welfare spending is out of control (in otherwise excellent reporting and analysis)
Is welfare spending ''out of control''?
Total welfare spending in Britain in 2025-26 is estimated to be 10.8 per cent of GDP.
That's just 0.8 per cent of GDP higher than in 2007-08, and total welfare spending has actually fallen fallen by 1.2 per cent of GDP since 2012-13⤵️
buff.ly/s5mz97u
Total welfare spending in Britain in 2025-26 is estimated to be 10.8 per cent of GDP.
That's just 0.8 per cent of GDP higher than in 2007-08, and total welfare spending has actually fallen fallen by 1.2 per cent of GDP since 2012-13⤵️
buff.ly/s5mz97u
November 28, 2025 at 9:30 AM
@lewisgoodall.com Hi, I do think you need to revise your narrative that welfare spending is out of control (in otherwise excellent reporting and analysis)
@zackpolanski.bsky.social this article is worth your time, I think (from a supportive point of view)
My pre-budget take for the LSE Politics blog is up:
Labour are unable to articulate any vision or sense of purpose.
Much of the left has convinced itself that government spending can be maintained without broad-based tax increases.
Not a great budget backdrop.
blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...
Labour are unable to articulate any vision or sense of purpose.
Much of the left has convinced itself that government spending can be maintained without broad-based tax increases.
Not a great budget backdrop.
blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...
Wealth tax and looser fiscal rules won’t save the Budget | British Politics and Policy at LSE
The narrative on the left that a wealth tax and looser fiscal rules would solve the Chancellor's 2025 Budget headaches has got out of hand.
blogs.lse.ac.uk
November 25, 2025 at 6:56 PM
@zackpolanski.bsky.social this article is worth your time, I think (from a supportive point of view)
@sturdyalex.bsky.social a possible wokey dokey?
Nothing can prepare you for the factual basis behind this 'wokeness gone too far' anecdote.
October 29, 2025 at 7:44 PM
@sturdyalex.bsky.social a possible wokey dokey?
Reposted by Steve Ball
When I was a teenager there was a bus direct from my hometown in Germany to London - we had a British army base, and this direct bus connection was one of the benefits of that. One summer I went on that bus to go volunteer in an old people's home in Southend-on-Sea. I had just turned 18 and was... 🧵
September 29, 2025 at 12:32 PM
When I was a teenager there was a bus direct from my hometown in Germany to London - we had a British army base, and this direct bus connection was one of the benefits of that. One summer I went on that bus to go volunteer in an old people's home in Southend-on-Sea. I had just turned 18 and was... 🧵
Reposted by Steve Ball
Sukhjot Singh
"This fierce peregrine mom was patrolling her territory to provide a safe airspace for her newly fledged babies. I thought she was going to attack a few gulls that flew close, but she decided to take a hard right and turn around, offering a rare face-to-face moment with the camera."
"This fierce peregrine mom was patrolling her territory to provide a safe airspace for her newly fledged babies. I thought she was going to attack a few gulls that flew close, but she decided to take a hard right and turn around, offering a rare face-to-face moment with the camera."
June 4, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Sukhjot Singh
"This fierce peregrine mom was patrolling her territory to provide a safe airspace for her newly fledged babies. I thought she was going to attack a few gulls that flew close, but she decided to take a hard right and turn around, offering a rare face-to-face moment with the camera."
"This fierce peregrine mom was patrolling her territory to provide a safe airspace for her newly fledged babies. I thought she was going to attack a few gulls that flew close, but she decided to take a hard right and turn around, offering a rare face-to-face moment with the camera."
Reposted by Steve Ball
Hey @bsky.app @support.bsky.team please stop suspending Palestinians. If Bluesky were around during the Shoah, would you also suspend accounts of my family members in Nazi concentration camps? There's no difference.
March 17, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Hey @bsky.app @support.bsky.team please stop suspending Palestinians. If Bluesky were around during the Shoah, would you also suspend accounts of my family members in Nazi concentration camps? There's no difference.
Would appreciate some amplification of this thread if you feel it is appropriate, please @samfr.bsky.social @mrjamesob.bsky.social @lewisgoodall.com @zoejardiniere.bsky.social
The Government's refusal to address social care funding is threatening services. We are a provider of community support to people with learning disabilities in a south-west county. We've just learned what our fee increase will be for next year, and it is alarming. 🧵 #socialcare #learningdisability
February 13, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Would appreciate some amplification of this thread if you feel it is appropriate, please @samfr.bsky.social @mrjamesob.bsky.social @lewisgoodall.com @zoejardiniere.bsky.social
The Government's refusal to address social care funding is threatening services. We are a provider of community support to people with learning disabilities in a south-west county. We've just learned what our fee increase will be for next year, and it is alarming. 🧵 #socialcare #learningdisability
February 13, 2025 at 2:25 PM
The Government's refusal to address social care funding is threatening services. We are a provider of community support to people with learning disabilities in a south-west county. We've just learned what our fee increase will be for next year, and it is alarming. 🧵 #socialcare #learningdisability