iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 21h

Luna coming back to be to have her ball thrown, then realising she's left the ball behind & has to go back for it. I can relate.

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Just arrived at the studio to record BBC Politics North - looking at what we learned from the Labour Party conference & what to expect from the Conservatives this weekend.

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Institute for Government @instituteforgovernment.org.uk · 02/10/2026

We will then turn to social security, disability, and health-related inactivity, asking what is the Conservative case for reform? Join us to hear from our expert panel featuring Helen Whately MP, @helenbarnard.bsky.social, @frasernelson.bsky.social, @drbenpaxton.bsky.social and @tompope.bsky.social

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Playing Star Wars monopoly has led to an enthusiastic plan to watch all the films in order. And a fierce debate on whether 'in order' means - release order or chronological order.

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I did not expect this. Been years since we played monopoly. But 1 teenager came home having played online & wanted to do it IRL. And the other teenager decided to join in. 😲😲

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Institute for Government @instituteforgovernment.org.uk · 01/10/2026

CONSERVATIVE PARTY CONFERENCE 2026 | What is the Conservative case for reforming health and disability benefits? Join us on Monday 5 October in Birmingham to hear Helen Whately MP, @helenbarnard.bsky.social @trusselluk.bsky.social @frasernelson.bsky.social @drbenpaxton.bsky.social discuss

Social security, disability and health-related inactivity: What is the Conservative case for reform?
Monday 5 October | 15:45–16:45
Speakers:

Helen Whately MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Helen Barnard, Director of Policy and Research at Trussell
Fraser Nelson, Columnist at The Times
Ben Paxton, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government

This event will be chaired by Thomas Pope, Chief Economist at the Institute for Government.

This event is in partnership with Trussell.

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The Institute for Fiscal Studies @theifs.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

"Because of how uncertain the old triple lock was, it could save anywhere between £4bn and £20bn by the end of the next decade" 🎙️ Jonathan Cribb explains the difficulties in knowing how much the changes to the triple lock will save, in our latest podcast: has the triple lock been fixed?

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Is there any chance we can somehow sue Man City to pay for social care?

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Pantograph Klaxon! My train has been stationary for quite a while & we've just been told it's due to a technical fault with our pantograph. If we all shout 'Oh no it isn't!' will the train start moving again?

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

We shouldn't have a Quiet Carriage on the train. We should have a NoisyCcarriage. If you want to watch or listen to the phone without headphones, or have loud and never-ending conversations, you go and sit in the Noisy Carriage. The rest of the train is de facto Quiet. Who's with me?

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Good to hear @andyburnham reiterate his commitment not to make crude cuts to social security system, but tackle the reasons people need support with more affordable homes, better employment support and job opportunities... 1/3

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Always worth remembering what different governments inherit: - New Labour: healthy economy & public finances, but public services in a poor state - Conservatives/Coalition: economy still flatlining after the financial crash & weak public finances but public services doing well

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The weird thing about the whole ‘dementia tax/death tax’ stuff is it implies we don’t already have one. Surely we basically do, we just don’t tell people about it in advance and it’s totally unpredictable and random.

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Really interesting reading the September update from the Mayfield Review. Their emerging work on building a system that prevents people leaving the workforce through ill health or disability looks really promising. Slightly jaw-dropping stats underpin that focus...1/4 www.gov.uk/government/p...

gov.uk

Keep Britain Working review update: a national growth opportunity, September 2026

September 2026 update on implementing the independent review of employers' role in tackling health based economic inactivity and promoting healthy and inclusive workplaces to change outcomes, improve ...

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

You do feel that someone who’s been in the music industry for 25 years might be starting from a slightly different position than someone who’s a dog trainer unexpectedly on a Channel 5 dog show. #Strictly

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Awww! They’re playing cards! No phones in sight.

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Always feels a tad unfair when the judges criticise them for not doing enough if the dance they’re supposed to be doing. Surely that’s not the celebrity’s fault. it’s the professional’s choice of choreography? #Strictly

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Anna Clarke @annaclarke.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Help to Buy is back! Or rather, a new version - more tightly targeted and less likely to overinflate the housing market. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

theguardian.com

Andy Burnham announces new homes scheme for first-time buyers

Exclusive: Policy initiative for England will help more young people on to property ladder, prime minister tells Guardian

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

It's my youngest's birthday this weekend so we have a houseful of teenage girls for a sleepover. The sheer volume of giggling is incredible.

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

A weekend treat! Foodbanks across the UK are asking people to join them and @trusselluk.bsky.social and write to @andyburnham.bsky.social asking him to use the Autumn budget to reconnect Local Housing Allowance & rents. Because no one should have to choose between food & rent.

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

A clarification: 👬People on Universal Credit 👬Workers 👬Taxpayers Are not distinct groups. c4/10 of those on UC work, many will pay NICs, some also income tax. Everyone pays VAT. Most people pay council tax. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

In this new phase of parenting, suddenly realise I'm not actually sure how many teenagers are in the house. Time to count. Brb.

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Intrigued by the backstory that's led to the Conservative Party Conference handbook giving the balloon prohibition its very own heading:

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Item no 4587 on why council tax is crazy and needs reform: "by 2030-31, the average effective annual tax rate on a £100,000 home will be almost three times that on a £1 million home." www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...

resolutionfoundation.org

Home economics • Resolution Foundation

England’s housing taxes are a mess: Council Tax still rests on 1991 valuations, and Stamp Duty gums up the market. This briefing note shows who loses out, and sets out a roadmap to a fairer, proportio...

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

This might not look like much. But I’m about to put cauliflower cheese in the oven and my sauce *has not* split. This is rare and precious achievement in my cheese sauce career.

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

It was great to be able to give a couple of quick thoughts on Good Morning Britain this morning about the new social security plans announced by the the Conservatives. Here's an article with a slightly longer version of my view on this: lnkd.in/eP6RwEc5

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Is there a word for feeling simultaneously glad you didn't have to do a social thing and sad you weren't invited?

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Which would you choose? 🏚️Pay the rent. 🍊Put food on the table. ♨️Heat your home. The bleak choice facing many private renters. Because LHA has fallen far below rents & is frozen. @trusselluk.bsky.social are asking the Prime Minister to act this Autumn. action.trussell.org.uk/local-housin...

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

It feels like a bit of a cheat to have no one leave #BakeOff

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Hibiscus sounds so lovely and is so disappointing. It's the fruit tea of baking. #BakeOff

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I'm assuming you can't do #BakeOff if you have a nut allergy?

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

'I can cover that with frosting' is the true #BakeOff spirit.

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Chocolate Genache and whisky. Gary's playing my tune. #BakeOff

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Nigella did the eye thing. We do not like the Eye Thing. #BakeOff

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Oh man. Noel is now the #BakeOff Legacy rep. This is Not Good.

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Sounds crazy but I'm anxious about Bake Off. I'm worried it'll be the 'Nigella & Paul' show. She's good at what she does (if it's your thing), but Bake Off should be about the contestants & baking. With accidental double-entendres, not mannered flirting & judges centre stage...

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Iain Porter @iainkporter.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

A Protected Minimum Floor in UC would be a quick/pragmatic fix, providing breathing space to children facing the deepest poverty. This would build on Fair Repayment Rate which limits debt deductions to 15% of basic UC, extending it to benefit cap deductions too. 3/4

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Iain Porter @iainkporter.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

The first benefit cap stats have been published since the 2-child limit was scrapped. 165,000 families - containing over 370,000 children - are now hit by the benefit cap. That’s 50,000 more families than before. 1/4

Chart from the DWP showing the number of benefit capped households in Great Britain over time. It shows that 164,000 families receiving Universal Credit were affected by the benefit cap in May 2026, up from 115,000 families in February 2026. (These figures are slightly different from those quoted in this post because we have added the separate benefit cap statistics for Northern Ireland into the DWP’s statistics for Great Britain.)

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Train announcement includes asking people to use headphones if listening to mobile devices. ✅ But only in how to be considerate in the Quiet Carriage. ❌ We shouldn't normalise idea it's ok to listen to stuff without headphones unless you're in a specially designated area!

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

3 things to note on all the current tax debates: 1. Raising the income tax Personal Allowance does *not* benefit those on the lowest incomes most. It's people in the richest half of the country who mostly benefit. (Although mainly middle earners rather than the very rich.)

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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Former PM Rishi Sunak in the Sunday Times challenges the rise of ethno-nationalism in British politics, as an argument within the right about Britishness being about ancestry, DNA and ethnicity www.thetimes.com/article/e89d...

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Julian Jessop @julianhjessop.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Some potentially better news - including for the public finances? 🤔 A new (improved) ONS methodology suggests that productivity slowed by less than previously thought after the GFC. Could this encourage the OBR to be more optimistic about the future too? ons.gov.uk/economy/econ...

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Possibly not the point but - why on earth would the London Zoo have a chicken??

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Not a new observation, but it is just staggering how much Trump does not understand very basic economics.

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

PSA: surveys on social media are totally meaningless & 'share to increase sample size' makes absolutely no difference to that. They are representative of the exact people who chose to take part and no one else. Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Is anyone else thinking that it's a terrible idea for Lynda & Robert to jump into a business that's all about safe places for dangerous dogs? Imagine the social media & reviews! Fruing pan...fire?! ##TheArchers

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Inflation hits 3.1%. Energy price cap about to go up to £1723. And some scary predictions of where energy costs might go next year (see next tweet). Foodbanks already see too many people pushed to the brink. We’ll need targeted support to protect people already facing hunger.

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Interesting eg of how views can change when people have to deal with the real life consequences of policy failure. Housing support has fallen way below rents, meaning large numbers of people on low incomes face hunger, hardship & homelessness. Massive knock on effects & cost for local authorities.

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Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Today I'm traveling to a memorial gathering for one of my best friends from uni who died suddenly a few months ago. Today would have been his 50th birthday so his amazing family have organised a friends & family get together to celebrate his life. He was kind, funny & brilliant.

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