Steve Bundred
@stevebundred.bsky.social
Former CEO of Audit Commission, local govt improvement agency and Camden Council. Chair of health regulator etc. Interested in politics, public service improvement, education and the performing arts
Watching Boris Johnson giving evidence to the Covid Inquiry about school closures is excruciating. Rats in a sack doesn't adequately describe it.
October 21, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Watching Boris Johnson giving evidence to the Covid Inquiry about school closures is excruciating. Rats in a sack doesn't adequately describe it.
Reposted by Steve Bundred
By 2028, statistically all holders of A-level English Language will be migrants.
October 14, 2025 at 10:08 PM
By 2028, statistically all holders of A-level English Language will be migrants.
For Starmer, the Maccabi Tel Aviv row and the Chinese spy row both fall firmly into the category of "events dear boy, events!". Can we therefore expect a high profile prison escape any day soon?
October 17, 2025 at 1:29 PM
For Starmer, the Maccabi Tel Aviv row and the Chinese spy row both fall firmly into the category of "events dear boy, events!". Can we therefore expect a high profile prison escape any day soon?
Reposted by Steve Bundred
America has entered the 'disappearing of political dissidents' phase.
what is it called when people who aren't cops and don't have a warrant drag you away, because I don't think "arrest" is the word
Brad Lander, NYC comptroller and mayoral candidate, is arrested outside immigration court
New York City comptroller and Democratic mayoral candidate Brad Lander has been arrested at a federal building in Manhattan as he was trying to accompany a person out of an immigration courtroom.
apnews.com
June 17, 2025 at 6:57 PM
America has entered the 'disappearing of political dissidents' phase.
Feeling deeply moved by reading Isabel Wilkerson's The Warmth of Other Suns and very humbled by not having come across it before.
June 15, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Feeling deeply moved by reading Isabel Wilkerson's The Warmth of Other Suns and very humbled by not having come across it before.
Reposted by Steve Bundred
Increase in productivity since 1979: 86%
Increase in hourly pay since 1979: 31%
Just so happens that ~25% of workers were unionized in 1979. Today? 10%.
As unions declined, the super-rich have taken a larger share of wealth generated by labor. We must build back union power.
Increase in hourly pay since 1979: 31%
Just so happens that ~25% of workers were unionized in 1979. Today? 10%.
As unions declined, the super-rich have taken a larger share of wealth generated by labor. We must build back union power.
May 1, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Increase in productivity since 1979: 86%
Increase in hourly pay since 1979: 31%
Just so happens that ~25% of workers were unionized in 1979. Today? 10%.
As unions declined, the super-rich have taken a larger share of wealth generated by labor. We must build back union power.
Increase in hourly pay since 1979: 31%
Just so happens that ~25% of workers were unionized in 1979. Today? 10%.
As unions declined, the super-rich have taken a larger share of wealth generated by labor. We must build back union power.
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck.
This comes just days after the The U.S. Naval Academy removed nearly 400 books from its library after being told by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s office to review and get rid of ones that promote diversity, equity and inclusion. www.navytimes.com/news/your-na...
Naval Academy removes nearly 400 books from library in new DEI purge
Academy officials were told to review the library late last week, and an initial search had identified about 900 books for a closer look.
www.navytimes.com
April 4, 2025 at 11:24 PM
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck.
Reposted by Steve Bundred
Fiscal rules can be useful. But the Treasury always attaches more importance to them than they deserve. And something which can be broken with impunity on a regular basis isn't a rule. It's a target. Much more important is whether the public finances are sustainable.
March 31, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Fiscal rules can be useful. But the Treasury always attaches more importance to them than they deserve. And something which can be broken with impunity on a regular basis isn't a rule. It's a target. Much more important is whether the public finances are sustainable.
Reposted by Steve Bundred
I don't generally go nuts for learning from leaders in other domains, but I would strongly recommend Gareth Southgate's Dimbleby Lecture. I found what he said about creating the right culture spot on and quite moving. He brings together when so many are keen to divide. www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...
The Richard Dimbleby Lecture - Sir Gareth Southgate
Former England football manager Sir Gareth Southgate reflects on his personal journey as a leader and the importance of belief and resilience.
www.bbc.co.uk
March 20, 2025 at 8:02 PM
I don't generally go nuts for learning from leaders in other domains, but I would strongly recommend Gareth Southgate's Dimbleby Lecture. I found what he said about creating the right culture spot on and quite moving. He brings together when so many are keen to divide. www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...
"The most important political question on which modern times have to decide is the policy that must now be pursued in order to maintain the security of Western Europe against the overgrown power of Russia." - John Mitchell (1838)
March 18, 2025 at 4:19 PM
"The most important political question on which modern times have to decide is the policy that must now be pursued in order to maintain the security of Western Europe against the overgrown power of Russia." - John Mitchell (1838)
Tonight, I feel very proud of my Prime Minister
March 1, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Tonight, I feel very proud of my Prime Minister
Reposted by Steve Bundred
If you missed today's newsletter, in which I said 'look, come on, we really do need to be increasing spending back to 1966 to 1990 levels and it's mad to think you can get political consent for that without increasing spending elsewhere', don't worry: I will be saying it for most of the year I think
Labour will have to ditch tax pledges sooner or later
Spending cuts to fund increased defence spending will not impress UK voters and something will have to give
www.ft.com
February 18, 2025 at 1:00 PM
If you missed today's newsletter, in which I said 'look, come on, we really do need to be increasing spending back to 1966 to 1990 levels and it's mad to think you can get political consent for that without increasing spending elsewhere', don't worry: I will be saying it for most of the year I think
Reposted by Steve Bundred
Before we start looking for solutions to these problems in the form of curriculum or pedagogical reform, might it not be worth checking first to see whether similar wellbeing deterioration has occurred for teenagers in lesser performing countries in the last few years...?
England may be 'best in the west' for reading and maths, but pupils are less happy, behaviour is getting worse and more children skip school
How can Labour fix pupil wellbeing without torpedoing school standards?
This week's feature takes a look...
How can Labour fix pupil wellbeing without torpedoing school standards?
This week's feature takes a look...
buff.ly
February 3, 2025 at 7:19 AM
Before we start looking for solutions to these problems in the form of curriculum or pedagogical reform, might it not be worth checking first to see whether similar wellbeing deterioration has occurred for teenagers in lesser performing countries in the last few years...?
Reposted by Steve Bundred
We seem to be nationalising the existing railway but privatising a new one…
January 19, 2025 at 4:44 PM
We seem to be nationalising the existing railway but privatising a new one…
Reposted by Steve Bundred
Huge gratitude for our neighbors, Mexico and Canada have sent fire fighters and army to help us.
January 12, 2025 at 1:40 AM
Huge gratitude for our neighbors, Mexico and Canada have sent fire fighters and army to help us.
I have a high regard for Peter Mandelson and no problem with this appointment, but I think it's a mistake for Starmer to keep appointing high profile people from the Blair years to senior posts. Another rave from the grave does not feel like the chnage we voted for.
Govt source: "We’re sending someone close to the prime minister with unrivalled political and policy experience, particularly on the crucial issue of trade. He’s the ideal candidate to represent the UK’s economic and security interests in the USA.”
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/peter-...
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/peter-...
Peter Mandelson To Be Named Britain's Ambassador To America
It's another remarkable twist in his colourful political career.
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk
December 19, 2024 at 8:49 PM
I have a high regard for Peter Mandelson and no problem with this appointment, but I think it's a mistake for Starmer to keep appointing high profile people from the Blair years to senior posts. Another rave from the grave does not feel like the chnage we voted for.
Granary Square Brasserie at King's Cross just invited me to include a tip, after adding a 13.5% service charge to the bill. Very shady practice!
November 19, 2024 at 10:51 PM
Granary Square Brasserie at King's Cross just invited me to include a tip, after adding a 13.5% service charge to the bill. Very shady practice!
Reposted by Steve Bundred
I am speaking at #LitdriveCPD25! 😍
Session Title: How to Read a Poem
To book tickets: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1016588552...
It was truly fabulous last time, so don't miss out on the nerdery 🤓
@LitdriveUK #LitdriveCPD
Session Title: How to Read a Poem
To book tickets: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1016588552...
It was truly fabulous last time, so don't miss out on the nerdery 🤓
@LitdriveUK #LitdriveCPD
November 1, 2024 at 5:54 PM
I am speaking at #LitdriveCPD25! 😍
Session Title: How to Read a Poem
To book tickets: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1016588552...
It was truly fabulous last time, so don't miss out on the nerdery 🤓
@LitdriveUK #LitdriveCPD
Session Title: How to Read a Poem
To book tickets: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1016588552...
It was truly fabulous last time, so don't miss out on the nerdery 🤓
@LitdriveUK #LitdriveCPD
Have just voted in the election for Chancellor of Oxford. The 38 candidates are a generally unimpressive lot. One opposes 'woke ideology', one promises to end student drug taking and another to have more plant based options in college dining rooms. After 800 years, I had hoped for a better choice.
October 28, 2024 at 9:19 PM
Have just voted in the election for Chancellor of Oxford. The 38 candidates are a generally unimpressive lot. One opposes 'woke ideology', one promises to end student drug taking and another to have more plant based options in college dining rooms. After 800 years, I had hoped for a better choice.
It may be more than ten years old but Longitude remains both readable and important.
Science friends! If you were stocking the science section of a book store, what popular (as opposed to academic) titles would you put on the shelves? What books, in your opinion, are absolute essentials? 🧪 🔭 👩🔬
(To keep things manageable, let's say from the last ten years.)
(To keep things manageable, let's say from the last ten years.)
October 5, 2024 at 8:31 AM
It may be more than ten years old but Longitude remains both readable and important.
So far, I've gathered that Tory Leadership candidates are promising to move the UK embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, or leave the ECHR or abolish maternity pay. I can't truly say they talk of little else in The Island Queen.
September 29, 2024 at 9:08 PM
So far, I've gathered that Tory Leadership candidates are promising to move the UK embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, or leave the ECHR or abolish maternity pay. I can't truly say they talk of little else in The Island Queen.
Reposted by Steve Bundred
UPDATE: Taylor Swift's post on Instagram endorsing Kamala Harris brought 405,999 visitors to vote.gov in the 24-hour period the post was live, per GSA (via Monica Alba, NBC)
September 12, 2024 at 5:02 PM
UPDATE: Taylor Swift's post on Instagram endorsing Kamala Harris brought 405,999 visitors to vote.gov in the 24-hour period the post was live, per GSA (via Monica Alba, NBC)
