iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Jim McCormick

The Institute for Fiscal Studies @theifs.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

📊 #IFSSatStat: The new triple lock announced by the Prime Minister this week removes the most expensive and unpredictable part of the triple lock: the fact that it permanently ratchets up state pension spending over time.

Chart shows Real-terms increase in value of the state pension since year 1 over an illustrated timescale, for the new and the old triple lock. Title states: "The state pension will still grow under the new triple lock, but will no longer permanently ‘ratchet up’ in value relative to earnings."

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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

It feels like Britain and ireland needs to start talking about the mass scale of cocaine usage that seems to be happening Just got off train to bunch of lads outside station playing techno and snorting lines. But seen similar in rural ireland And that’s before get to the ‘patriots’

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Jim McCormick @jimmccormick.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

And 1984 didn't deserve Forest Fire. The live version in Glasgow, 2025 was sublime.

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Jim McCormick @jimmccormick.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Fair, though there was the 1974 ESC performance in Brighton by The actual Wombles as the half-time act before the voting. In which ABBA triumphed with precisely zero help from the UK jury.

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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Here's a chart from the post.... quite a change in a single generation.

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Jim McCormick @jimmccormick.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Yep and it stays with you in angsty/visceral/zero perspective kind of way. Very hard to revisit and give stuff you actively hated a fresh hearing.

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John Burn-Murdoch @jburnmurdoch.ft.com · 08/09/2026

Two extraordinary charts from today’s PISA test results: 1) School test scores continue to collapse internationally, underscoring how this is no longer a Covid effect but sustained decline. Those falls in reading and maths are equivalent to about two years of lost schooling.

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Jim McCormick @jimmccormick.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

It was pound shop Boney M 3 years after their peak. Weird UK for 1982.But then, we do have plenty of form. I'm looking at you, Joe Dolce.

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Jim McCormick @jimmccormick.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

One and the same. It is gives me the fear.

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Jim McCormick @jimmccormick.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

1/ Safety Dance 2/ Dance Hall Days 3/ Walk of Life 4/ IJCTSILY (sorry Stevie Wonder, you're a genius. The song sucks) 5/ Seven Tears

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Kenny Stewart @kennystew.art · 10/09/2026

The whole war on drivers thing has so broken heads that some people are lamenting building actual stuff on the King Street car park, an actual wasteland.

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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

On the importance of ministers understanding delivery. Guess the politician she's talking about...

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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

New post: With climate change now visible all around us opponents of action are changing tack. Dismantling their new attacks helps identify a hidden structure in political argument that is often used to try and kill popular + necessary policies. (£/free trial) samf.substack.com/p/how-to-kil...

samf.substack.com

How to kill a popular policy

Opposing action to tackle climate change is getting tricker.

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Jim McCormick @jimmccormick.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Yeah, but Gotta Pull Myself Together was another level Dave.

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Lizzi Collinge MP @lizzicollinge.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Transport BlueSky's new favourite person just dropped.

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Eddie Robson will be at Fantasycon @eddierobson.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

This reaction is hilarious. Is it really going to take that much of your resources to build a "cancel my subscription" form on the website instead of forcing people to phone someone whose job is not to process your cancellation but talk you into staying.

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James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

This by CNN is genuinely reprehensible. Everyone involved should be embarrassed. -The 'new pain' case vs Mamdani is *solely* his religion. -He was in NYC on 9/11, at grade school -Soon after attack GWB himself gave famous speech warning against blaming all Muslims for terrorism -25 yrs later, this.

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Jim McCormick @jimmccormick.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

If access to social housing had been restricted to UK nationals in the past: my Irish Mum in the 60s and Austrian Great Aunt in the 50s would have faced very different lives. Or would they still have been eligible for, you know, *other* reasons?

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Jim McCormick @jimmccormick.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

The Laurieston would do it with more authenticity and affordable for what is a pretty simple menu.

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Jim McCormick @jimmccormick.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

I started to think I had imagined it!

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Jim McCormick @jimmccormick.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Found the show Inwas thinking of. It was called The Roxy, summer 87 on ITV. Watch from 19:30 into Episode 11. Majestic! youtube.com/watch?v=snth...

youtube.com

The Roxy - Episode 11 (August 18, 1987)

YouTube video by Greg Palmer

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Jim McCormick @jimmccormick.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Dave, there was a performance of this under-rated gem in the summer of 1987 on some ITV music show whose name escapes me. Bound to be available on Y/T. Would have been bettered only by this being a Shirley/Billy duet.

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Jim McCormick @jimmccormick.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Hounds of Love Sensual World The Red Shoes

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Resister Sister Nicki Smith @worldtraveldiva.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

In 1944, MN teenager Jeanne Gibson went to work in the Seattle shipyards welding destroyers for the Allies. She then moved to Juneau and joined the Army Transportation Corps supplying ships in the Pacific. She later got a Master’s and her pilots license. RIP, hero. 🫡 www.kron4.com/news/bay-are...

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John Burn-Murdoch @jburnmurdoch.ft.com · 31/07/2026

New from me: Until recently, the gap between comfortably-off and just-getting-started could plausibly be crossed in a decade or two of hard work. Growth in asset prices means that’s no longer true: even a lifetime of striving doesn’t offer a realistic prospect of feeling you’ve “made it”.

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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Amazing how many of the people currently creating havoc around the world were radicalised during covid.

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Jo Kibble (Political Animal) @politicanimal.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

A fine example of why the BBC should not publish vox-pops (“‘Bus fare cut is no good for those who drive’ says Durham man” is literally the headline here) without challenge or context. Buses, famously the preserve of the managerial classes.

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Just one para from @jdportes.bsky.social brilliant (and beautifully written) @theguardian.com piece on Burnham and the economy. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

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The Robertson Trust @therobertsontrust.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

We are seeking two new Trustees📢 If you think your skills and experience can help us, and you share our commitment to build lasting solutions to poverty and trauma in #Scotland, we would love to hear from you. Applications close on the 3rd of August⤵️ www.therobertsontrust.org.uk/news/vacanci...

therobertsontrust.org.uk

Vacancies: We are seeking two new Trustees

We are now seeking two new Trustees to join our board. If you have the skills to help us, and you share our commitment to solving poverty and trauma challenges in Scotland, we would love to hear from ...

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Rory Cellan-Jones @rorycj.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

What a moving interview on R4 BH with Peter Hennessey - says he’s retiring because his Parkinson’s means he can longer think clearly, but he sounded far clearer and made more sense than most people you hear on the radio

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The Robertson Trust @therobertsontrust.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Our fourth Impact and Insights Report, focused on our theme of Nurturing Relationships, is now available💡 It highlights the challenges facing organisations, the impact our grant holders are having and the patterns of practice emerging across #Scotland. www.therobertsontrust.org.uk/news/impact-...

therobertsontrust.org.uk

Impact and Insights: Nurturing Relationships

Our Nurturing Relationships Impact and Insights Report explores how poverty and trauma are deeply interconnected, highlights the importance of strong family and community relationships in supporting r...

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Kenny Stewart @kennystew.art · 06/07/2026

I think it’s also just the case that this is the World Cup! It’s naked political interference *on the pitch* at the World Cup! No one’s naive enough to think that the awarding or even organising of the tournament is politics-free. But changing match decisions is next level.

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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Sepp Blatter criticising Infantino for Corruption is a bit like the devil complaining you've set the thermostat too high.

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Jim McCormick @jimmccormick.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

It was abysmal. After seeing off Germany. Bad enough to have those tactics but what a stain on the full refereeing team on the pitch plus VAR

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Duncan Robinson @duncanrobinson.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

Starmer saying it’s impossible for a prime minister to spend less time on foreign affairs has got me thinking that we need a cabinet position dedicated to foreign policy. Ideally they’d have their own department.

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Minna Ålander 🌻 @alanderminna.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Always good to make it to the Arctic circle before the sun sets (before 8 July, that is). Pic taken at midnight a couple sunny nights ago

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The Robertson Trust @therobertsontrust.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

We’re delighted to share details of two new social impact investments that aim to increase financial security and strengthen sustainable housing across Scotland. www.therobertsontrust.org.uk/news/two-new...

therobertsontrust.org.uk

Two new social impact investments in Scotland announced

We are pleased to announce two new social impact investments in Scotland through investment in Moneyline and Ecology Building Society.

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Christabel Cooper @christabelcoops.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Extraordinary credit to Sadiq Khan for pushing through this deeply controversial policy. This is what can happen when politicians are prepared to stick to their principles.

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Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Obama: I am not immune to anger or doubt. But I do know this when we lose faith in each other, when we stop believing that voting matters… we open the door to the most ruthless or the most careless, or the most fearful among us who see some groups and some people as more equal than others

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Jim McCormick @jimmccormick.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

More banger than clanger but far too marginal a call after the brilliance of The Lebanon.

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Gavin Kelly @gavin-kelly.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

If your mind (and those of your children) is turning to the World Cup then read this pitch perfect & joyful piece. www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer...

irishtimes.com

Paul Howard: You spend your life chasing the way the World Cup made you feel when you were 11

I wish I could say I enjoyed Japan and South Korea 2002 as much as the World Cups of my childhood

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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

DfE pupil data is out today and shows that the number of private school pupils has dropped 5.6% since VAT was introduced. Not 25% like the independent schools council predicted. Or the 50% we saw in some right-wing papers. 5.6%.

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