iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Dan Sohege @danielsohege.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

It's all either hints, as in this case, or blatantly misconstruing what she's doing, as with claiming previous "safe asylum routes" with increased restrictions are "new routes". She's still implementing the most hostile anti-immigration policies in a generation. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

theguardian.com

Shabana Mahmood hints she could water down controversial care worker visa plans

Home secretary under pressure over changes to indefinite leave to remain that would penalise foreign care workers

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Morgan Jones @morganj0nes.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

In Renewal, Steve discusses some testing Persuasion has done on the electoral appeal of this approach. renewal.org.uk/blog/the-cas...

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ProfAFinlayson @profafinlayson.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

This, from a Starmer adviser is worth reading for several reasons. One is this: he thinks digital post-material politics is ‘expressive’. It’s not. It’s participatory. It looks expressive because participation is blocked & has nowhere to go becoming more shrill. You have to give people things to do.

futureoftheleft.substack.com

What is politics for?

Do we still live in a material world?

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Will Reid-Tong @willthong.com · 10/09/2026

Really good stuff from @paulnowaktuc.bsky.social here - more Labour MPs should be saying the same. Mahmood's ILR reforms are unfair, will undermine migrant integration and only embolden the far right's attack on the world's best and brightest who want to contribute to the UK 👏

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Institute for Public Policy Research @ippr.org · 01/09/2026

Young people’s worsening mental health isn’t just affecting how they feel. It’s affecting what they can do. The share of 16–24-year-olds saying their mental health meant they accomplished less has risen more than fourfold since 2010–12. Find out more here: www.ippr.org/articles/the...

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Jon Featonby @jonfeatonby.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

And this comes with a huge cost to the taxpayer. @refugeecouncil.bsky.social estimated the Home Office could spend over £1bn supporting people while they wait for an appeal who will then end up getting refugee status www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/press-office...

refugeecouncil.org.uk

Analysis shows that the backlog of asylum appeals will cost hundreds of millions to resolve - Refugee Council

Poor quality decisions from the Home Office could cost up to £1.2 billion.

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Duncan Weldon @duncanweldon.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Very, very good stuff from @sarahoconnorft.ft.com engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-r...

The message that I really want to get across is please don’t cede the fight before it’s even begun. Don’t imagine that the technology itself, or the people making it, are these powerful forces that can’t be stopped. Technological change has always required society writ large to step in and say: ‘We have these new tools, now we need to figure out how to make the best of them, without costing us things that we don’t want to lose.’ The worst-case scenario would be that all those worst-case things do happen because we all just think that the battle’s already been lost. It’s only just beginning.

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Jim Lauder @mrjlauder.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

I'm not an expert on how these funding mechanisms work, but this sounds like exactly what we need. Properly funding FE would potentially be the most transformational step possible for education. More of this please Lucy Powell and John Healey. www.thesun.co.uk/news/4008650...

thesun.co.uk

Teens' college places will be fully funded to help youth crisis, Ministers say

ALL college places will be fully-funded for 16-19 year-olds to help reduce youth inactivity numbers. Education Secretary Lucy Powell says the cash will be guaranteed for all courses following GCSE …

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Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 06/08/2026

You can't run a world-famous nightlife district with a village-hall mindset. London's hospitality and nightlife support jobs, culture and growth. New powers for City Hall will help ensure decisions consider the wider benefits for our city.

theguardian.com

Council wants pubs in London’s Soho and West End to ban standing

Sadiq Khan criticises Westminster council’s ‘anti-growth policies’ after it recommends stopping ‘vertical drinking’

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Andrew Brook @anbrook.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

I'm a Housing First evangelist, but this really interesting article shows that it isn't a cure-all. Homelessness is yet another policy problem held back by neglecting the complexity and totality of human experience.

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Colin Yeo @colinyeo.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

The whole point of the original policy (which was and is terrible) was to target exactly this group. And now they’re going to introduce the policy and exempt them? Just abandon the policy! The whole thing is just a terrible idea.

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Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

On Burnham’s social care speech today, it was deeply refreshing to see him make a point to thank immigrants who provide social care. I hope that reflects where we go with ILR bill but beyond that it is good to hear gratitude and openness rather than scapegoating and penny pinching.

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Christabel Cooper @christabelcoops.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Labour must not take the wrong lesson from its recovery. Burnham's bounce is coming from progressive voters who currently see their values and priorities reflected in the new administration. But the previous government showed how quickly that support can disappear if they no longer do.

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Nick Garland @npjgarland.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

🧵 Progressives need to think much more ambitiously about citizenship: it can't only be a debate about the "who" - the boundaries of citizenship. Our new @ippr.org report today makes the case for a new politics of "democratic citizenship": www.ippr.org/articles/the...

ippr.org

The democratic citizen: Renewing citizenship and the public domain | IPPR

Often, this descends into little more than an argument about eligibility for welfare benefits. This is a disaster for progressives, who find themselves fig

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JWexTheSpa @jwsidders.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

This is what political bravery can achieve. Thousands of lives saved, tens of thousands of hospital beds not occupied, countless days off work not taken. Sadiq Khan stood up to the critics, the doubters and the bad faith experts and made London better. A true leader.

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Jon Featonby @jonfeatonby.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Looking at the most recent stats, there were over 18k people in all Home Office accommodation from either Afghanistan or Iran. Large numbers of people are not being returned to either country anytime soon. Granting leave to that group would cover around 90% of the hotel population.

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Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 24/06/2026

There were those who doubted us, but a new independent report shows major reductions in air pollution in our city are linked to an estimated 40% fewer annual premature deaths.

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Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

This is indeed a key test. The proposals are morally indefensible, legally questionable, economically self-destructive, and politically delusional. No-one with "legitimate concerns" about migration will vote Labour for pledging to deport care workers. inews.co.uk/news/politic...

inews.co.uk

Burnham could ditch tougher settlement rules for migrants already in UK

Shabana Mahmood has been planning to double the time it takes for most migrant workers to qualify for permanent residence

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Heather Stewart @guardianheather.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Having spoken to social care workers affected by the changes, I *hate* this language. Party management/vibes is a terrible way to make policy at the best of times but when the futures of several hundred thousand people is at stake, unforgiveable.

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Chaminda Jayanetti @cjayanetti.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

one of the insufferable aspects of Starmer Discourse is that because it's so incoherent and such a grab bag from different "bits" of the Labour spectrum - sometimes driven from the centre, other times by individual ministers - is that there's always evidence to characterise it however you want

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Joel Suss @joelsuss.ft.com · 06/05/2026

“Someone who cannot criticise the actions of the Israeli government without suggesting that British Jews should be punished for those actions is, at a basic level, incompetent.” Hear, hear @stephenkb.bsky.social as.ft.com/r/a0177a88-e...

as.ft.com

Row over Green candidates’ comments lays bare party’s real danger

Criticism of social media posts will not decide elections — but the quality of vetting matters for competency

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Helene von Bismarck @helenebismarck.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Fully agree and would add, possibly even more conservatively, that what children and students need more than anything else is time, attention and personal interaction with their teachers and peers. TIME, not a machine

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Charlie Beckett @charliebeckett.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

It's tragic that so-called progressives have allowed this to pass. This is a typically nuanced and balanced piece from Freedland, but it speaks of a deeper, wider failure on the left. I've never been so ashamed of people I thought were on 'my side'.

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Josh Westerling @joshwesterling.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Important piece that gets across the urgency needed in this dreadful situation

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Rima I Anabtawi @rimaanabtawi.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

"Of the more than 700 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire over the six months of the ceasefire, 269 were shot near the yellow line, according to UN data. Of these, more than 100 were children." www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

theguardian.com

Gaza’s yellow line creeps forward as Israeli forces expand zone of control

Residents waking to find line has moved overnight and they are now in free-fire zone as army takes more territory

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Lizzie Porter @lcmporter.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

#Iranians, already facing the trauma of war & a more hardline government, have seen their incomes decimated by both conflict-related layoffs & the continuing internet blackout. My special report www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

thenationalnews.com

'Zero income': Job cuts add to misery of war for Iranians | The National

Internet blackouts and soaring inflation squeeze normal Iranians' daily lives amid tense ceasefire with US and Israel

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Alison McGovern @allymcgovern.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

Horrendous - but neccessary - understanding of the impact bad temporary accomodation can have on our children. Linked to the deaths of 104 children over the past 6 years, 76 of them babies. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

theguardian.com

Temporary accommodation linked to deaths of 104 children in England in six years

Calls for ‘urgent, sustained action’ over rising number of children who do not have permanent home

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Andrew Brook @anbrook.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

You may be aware already, but @profafinlayson.bsky.social is really interesting on the equality component here: www.lrb.co.uk/podcasts-and.... Looking forward to reading/hearing your sketches.

lrb.co.uk

Podcast: Alan Finlayson and James Butler · On Politics: The Online Right (and Left)

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sianushka.bsky.social @sianushka.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

I spoke to a range of migrant people, experts, campaigners and MPs to learn how the proposed changes to immigration rules - and the recent change to asylum rules - would impact their lives. www.opendemocracy.net/en/labour-im...

opendemocracy.net

How UK government’s migration policy will shatter lives

Behind the headlines and rhetoric, what do Labour’s immigration plans mean for those affected?

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Lizzie Porter @lcmporter.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Centre for Human Rights in #Iran reports huge wave of arrests in Iran during the war, while @amnesty.org warns of more executions after 4 people were executed in the space of 24 hours www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

thenationalnews.com

More than 1,500 arrested amid wartime crackdown in Iran | The National

Students, protesters and rapper detained as human rights groups warn of executions

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Andrew Brook @anbrook.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Compelling, heart-breaking research showing that UK ‘Stop the Boats’ policies have caused a sharp rise in small-boat deaths since summer 2023 even as fewer people and dinghies arrive in the UK. www.borderforensics.org/investigatio...

borderforensics.org

How ‘stopping the boats’ kills: A digital counter-forensic investigation of the human cost of the UK’s externalised border in the Channel – Border Forensics

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Jon Featonby @jonfeatonby.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

By the Home Office’s own estimate, the pause will reduce asylum claims by around 1,400 over the next 18 months. More than 100,000 people claimed asylum in the UK last year. It’s a policy that has no operational benefit to the asylum system, while having a huge personal impact on those caught by it.

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Euan Healey @euanhealey.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Between a spiralling war with no end in sight, and the big green section of the donut, it's hard to see how the govt doesn't move to partially decouple energy prices. Already having this renewables infra makes this summer a real opportunity to conserve supplies for winter (and the global south).

A donut chart of the gb energy mix. Renewables are at 80%, Gas is at 3.5%

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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

Nobody understands this about the government’s settlement reforms. People think it's 10 years for most & 15 years for care workers But its 15 years for all midskill roles, whatever the salary, if not a graduate job role classified at RQF level 6. Lab technicians, data analysts, hotel managers

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Cori Crider @coricrider.com · 23/03/2026

This is *the* antimonopoly insight. Firms convert economic power to political power to economic power, until we step in. “If we will not endure a King as a political power we should not endure a King over the production, transportation, and sale of the necessaries of life.” Sen. John Sherman, 1890

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Dan Sohege @danielsohege.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

Mahmood's changes to both the immigration and asylum systems are already harming individuals and families, even before being fully implemented. The fear and anxiety these inhumane policies takes a toll. It's beyond time to scrap them all www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

theguardian.com

‘Constant uncertainty’: Mahmood’s ‘earned settlement’ immigration plan has families stuck in limbo

Home secretary’s new ILR rules mean couples such as Felix and Tessa King, from UK and US, face an insecure future

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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

We seem to be getting somewhere here. The retrospective and inequality elements are the most egregious, so MPs are right to focus on them. But the whole package of proposals is counter-productive, mean and pointess www.politico.eu/article/keir...

politico.eu

Starmer mulls compromise on migration reforms after backlash from MPs

Former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner branded the plans “un-British” in a speech on Tuesday night.

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Colin Yeo @colinyeo.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Let’s hope so. 10+ years to settlement is a terrible, terrible policy. Workers trapped in tied visas, families in relative poverty, massive damage to integration and social cohesion. This really matters.

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Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Important data about Gorton & Denton from @bwalker.uk. 1. Only around 5% of Lab 2024 voters switched to Reform vs 36% to Greens. 2. No evidence of support for Reform among under 35s (sub 10%) - it's all over 55s 3. Progressives were undecided til last minute www.newstatesman.com/politics/pol...

newstatesman.com

The rise of the undecided voter

Exclusive polling shows how late the Gorton and Denton by-election was decided

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Yasmin Ibison @yasminibison.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

Greater economic security for families is a key aim of the Government, and my new @jrf-uk.bsky.social paper sets out the role of social infrastructure - community spaces, active community groups and everyday connections - in helping deliver this goal. www.jrf.org.uk/neighbourhoo...

jrf.org.uk

Why social infrastructure matters for economic security

Economic security isn’t just about money, local connections and community support matter too. Pride in Place is a key intervention, but new analysis identifies two key challenges.

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Andrew Brook @anbrook.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

I share the instinct that little good can come from a confused war led by bloodthirsty imbeciles. But it also provides a sliver of hope that the brutal Islamic Republic regime could end. My Iranian partner has translated these accounts from Iranians inside Iran.

I want to say that even in this war, in these terrible and unbearable circumstances, my everyday fear of being arrested by the Islamic Republic - or being harmed by them in any way - is greater than my fear of the war itself. This is what life has been.

In my mind, the continuation of the current government in Iran means our certain destruction. War and its consequences mean possible destruction. So I feel better than I did last week. But it would be foolish to expect that we should feel "good" right now. It is something that, from this point onwards, our misery is no longer guaranteed. But only that.

I don't want to go to the north, even though I'm from there. My whole family calls and tells me to come. But I say I'm staying in Tehran. I want to be here. I want to be here on that day to celebrate it. In the middle of the street, loudly, with laughter and tears, for the end of them and for the beautiful souls of my country who were killed and won't be there to see freedom. War is bitter. Destruction is terrible. But living alongside these corrupt men is far harder. So we stand firm for the freedom of Iran.

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Andrew Brook @anbrook.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

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JWexTheSpa @jwsidders.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

Saw this on LinkedIn. Our immigration system is morally bankrupt and economically ridiculous. Shameful.

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Andrew Brook @anbrook.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

We’ve shifted from a society where work delivered security to one where assets determine security.

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Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

If Starmer wants a reset - and not yet another U-turn when the parliamentary party balks at a policy - here is his chance.

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Lizzie Porter @lcmporter.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

“We feel like we want to scream, but something is blocking our throats." Amid grieving for loved ones, fear over the prospect of renewed conflict, & struggling with sky-high inflation, many #Iranians feel hopeless & angry. My latest @thenationalnews.com www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

thenationalnews.com

'We want to scream': Iranians grapple with grief and anger in aftermath of crackdown on protests | The National

US-Iran talks set for this week fail to calm fears of new war

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