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Neil O'Brien

@neildotobrien.bsky.social
410 followers 46 following 165 posts

Conservative MP for Harborough, Oadby & Wigston. Local news: facebook.com/neil4harborough Blog: neilobrien.co.uk

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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
The "economy reset" is not going... that well
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
Yikes
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
People aren't able to have the children they say they want to have. It's a huge problem we can't afford *not* to solve. A short film with me, (aged 46),@PMArslanagic (aged 29) and Emina (age 0). www.youtube.com/watch?v=l21q...
youtube.com
A new deal for parents? Tackling the birth gap
YouTube video by Neil O'Brien MP
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
The Telegraph reports on data I’ve obtained showing there are over 600k graduates on Universal Credit. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/07...
telegraph.co.uk
More than 600,000 graduates on benefits
Official figures cast doubt on the value of ‘Mickey Mouse’ degrees
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
My new longread on residential sorting - Is Britain Balkanising? www.neilobrien.co.uk/p/is-britain...
neilobrien.co.uk
Is Britain Balkanising?
Whether by age, migration, or education - are we flocking together, or coming apart?
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
My piece on why the new sex education guidance will fail open.substack.com/pub/almondtr...
open.substack.com
The new sex education guidance will fail
There are big problems - and this won’t fix them
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
What a mess. They promised more teachers, they delivered fewer, so they are trying to move the goalposts. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/07...
telegraph.co.uk
Labour has no clear plan to recruit teachers despite VAT raid
The party plans to attract 6,500 teachers over the next five years and is being funded by applying 20 per cent VAT on private school fees
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
Even Schools Week talking about "shapeshifting" on this. If we had try to spin away declining teacher numbers like this Labour would have gone mad schoolsweek.co.uk/the-shapeshi...
schoolsweek.co.uk
The shapeshifting 6,500 teachers pledge
Education secretary confirms promised teachers won't all be new, and target omits key subjects aim
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
V interesting www.tes.com/magazine/new...
tes.com
One year in for Labour: is it hitting its education pledges?
Tes assesses how much progress has been made in Labour’s mission to ‘break down barriers to opportunity’ a year after it was elected to government
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
I’ve obtained a load of new data under FOI about where in the country recent migrants have moved to. I use it to look at the impact on wages and rental costs. open.substack.com/pub/almondtr...
open.substack.com
New FOI data: where in the UK did recent migrants move to?
And what impact did they have?
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
I have a longish two-part piece out, on what's gone wrong with sex education in schools. Part one is here: www.neilobrien.co.uk/p/sex-educat...
neilobrien.co.uk
Sex education in schools: part one
How sex education in schools has gone wrong
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
Ironically I am traumatised by this sign
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Best thing on here
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Let’s get smartphones out of the classroom. Our new film looks at the harm a smartphone-based childhood is doing to our kids. youtu.be/1EHCupqEUsk
youtu.be
Get smartphones out of the classroom
YouTube video by Neil O'Brien
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Reposted by Neil O'Brien
John Rentoul @rentouljohn.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
Do read; you won’t regret it: @neildotobrien.bsky.social on what matters in life www.neilobrien.co.uk/p/stargazing
neilobrien.co.uk
Stargazing
.
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
Whyyyyy would you say that
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 22/06/2025
A non-political piece for a sunday www.neilobrien.co.uk/p/stargazing
neilobrien.co.uk
Stargazing
.
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
Interesting thread
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
Bridget Phillipson wants to boast teacher numbers are up, even though teacher numbers are down, so she now says the loss of 2,900 primary school teachers doesn't count. I made a tool so you can look up what happened to primary school teachers in your constituency. www.datawrapper.de/_/kX04l/
datawrapper.de
Change in teacher numbers in primary schools - 2023/24 academic year to 2024/25 | Created with Datawrapper
Create interactive, responsive & beautiful charts — no code required.
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 08/06/2025
It's amazing this central pledge has been binned so early in the parliament.
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
I have a short piece up on Labour's decision to abandon one of their main election manifesto promises: www.neilobrien.co.uk/p/labour-hav...
neilobrien.co.uk
Labour have abandoned their main manifesto promise on education
In their General Election manifesto Labour promised they would employ an extra 6,500 more teachers. They have now abandoned that promise.
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
There's 2,900 fewer teachers in English primary & nursery schools than last year. I've made an interactive map. 47 constituencies have lost more than 5% of their teachers. Labour's response? To say they *no longer count* against their Manifesto promise of 6,500 extra teachers.
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
🔥🔥🔥🔥This is HUGE.🔥🔥🔥🔥 One of the central planks of Labour's Manifesto - abandoned - because teacher numbers are falling! There have lost 2,900 teachers in primary this year and their response is - to say they now don't count! @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...
tes.com
Primary schools not included in DfE’s 6,500 new teacher target
Government confirms its target will only be based on teachers in secondaries, special schools and colleges
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
Massive mistake - this will damage public services, blow an 11,000-nurse hole in the NHS workforce plan and make it impossible to get in to the professions for kids who don't go to uni. No surprise they have announced this in recess feweek.co.uk/level-7-appr...
feweek.co.uk
Level 7 apprenticeship funding to be axed from January 2026
DfE also announces 'priority' bootcamp funding for next year and confirms apprenticeship budget increase to over £3bn
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
- Labour said they would hire 6,500 more teachers - They just announced schools will be left £400 million short on the underfunded pay deal (and NI) - That's the equivalent of sacking... 6,500 teachers.
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Have visited so many schools that are being forced to make redundancies recently - bleak
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
The government will (inevitably) be forced to close at least some of the funding gap their broken promises have created - but by then schools will have sacked teachers ahead of school year 25/26 and set timetables. Mad.
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
👨‍🏫Don't sack Sir 👩‍🏫Don't dismiss Miss The government should keep their promises - and stop the teacher redundancies
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
On Sky News I talked about how the government's broken promises are putting 13,000 teacher jobs at risk
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
> Labour promised they would fully fund the National Insurance tax rise for schools - they didn't. > They promised they will fully fund the pay awards - they haven't. > The result is that teachers are getting sacked across the country:
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
Sadly lots of schools I speak to are making redundancies at the moment - partly as a consequence of the broken promise to fully fund the National Insurance increase & partly due to expected underfunding of both staff pay awards.
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
14% of drivers aged 65 and over now avoid driving at night because of dazzling headlights - and I'm getting more and more emails from constituent about this. I've written a short piece about it: www.neilobrien.co.uk/p/blinded-by...
neilobrien.co.uk
Blinded by the light?
I'm getting more and more complaints about car headlights
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
This may be Phillipson's final, shameful, legacy - she's about to cut almost all higher (L7) apprenticeships. A leaked letter reveals she would have cut them all if other departments hadn't intervened, but will now preserve a tiny number for under 21s. MAD. feweek.co.uk/phillipson-t...
feweek.co.uk
Phillipson to exempt young people from level 7 apprenticeships funding axe
Education secretary makes ‘important concession’ amid backlash from other government departments
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
This is horrific, hope they can get out of the slide to full blown war
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Reposted by Neil O'Brien
Henry Mance @henrymance.ft.com · 07/05/2025
"Children born in August are 20% less likely to go to a Russell Group University than children born in September." - h/t @neildotobrien.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/almondtr...
open.substack.com
Phonics in primary schools: an unfinished revolution
Phonics and the phonics check have improved standards - but there is much more to do
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
A table you can stare at for a long time. Why is the FSM ‘gap’ so much bigger for White British kids than any other group? Why is the male-female gap is much bigger for black children and white British kids on FSM? Why do boys do worse? Do we need to rewrite Harry Potter with Ron as the swot?
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
-Nurseries, schools and colleges are in financial meltdown thanks to Labour's tax raid. -The Schools Bill, Ofsted reforms & apprenticeship cuts are all a disaster. -But the Education Secretary is spending her time not on this, but a briefing war with No.10 to try keep her job. Sad state of affairs
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
Though there is a long way to go on phonics in England it is a lot better than in Labour-run Wales, where the government still push Cueing, and the results are disastrous: www.itv.com/news/2024-09...
itv.com
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
My new piece looks at the (unfinished) phonics revolution in primary schools, and why - despite rising standards - there is still a long way to go for many groups and places. www.neilobrien.co.uk/p/phonics-in...
neilobrien.co.uk
Phonics in primary schools: an unfinished revolution
Phonics and the phonics check have improved standards - but there is much more to do
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
My new piece looks at school improvement and income. Over the period 2010-2024 the biggest gains were in the bottom half of the income distribution - but particularly in IDACI deciles 2 to 5. (🧵... 1/5)
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Reposted by Neil O'Brien
Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
“Are we absolutely making the best use of resources for higher education that we could at the moment? I'm not convinced that’s true,” @neildotobrien.bsky.social tells @helenpacker.bsky.social & @twilliamsthe.bsky.social www.timeshighereducation.com/news/neil-ob...
timeshighereducation.com
Neil O’Brien: ‘Are we making the best use of HE? I’m not sure’
Shadow skills minister calls for end to post-study work visa and denounces changes to apprenticeship funding as he settles in to new role
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Weirdly fascinating: time to see what's on the telly right now in in Albania or Eswatini tv.garden
tv.garden
Watch Global & Local Live TV Online for Free - tv.garden
Watch Free Live TV from Around the World on tv.garden! Stream live news, sports, and entertainment—no subscription needed. Start watching now!
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
Govt nursery anno today is so micro and dishonest: -Spending £37m, but the NI increase COSTS nurseries over half a *billion*. -Will create 6,000 places (0.06% of total), most of which are term time only - Fees for parents are rising 10% & many nurseries are on edge of closing
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
It's wild that a notionally social democratic government has focussed its main tax rise on... low income workers
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
Government making a £15 micro-announcement on nurseries today while increasing tax on nurseries by over half a *billion* All parents will see is fees going up 10% (if they can even get a place)
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Reposted by Neil O'Brien
Kevin Schofield @kevinschofied.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
Blow For Keir Starmer As Labour Plummets To Lowest Ever Level In Shock Poll More than half of voters now support either the Tories or Reform UK with the local elections just a month away. www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/huge-b...
huffingtonpost.co.uk
Huge Blow For Keir Starmer As Labour Plummets To Lowest Ever Level In Shock Poll
More than half of voters now support either the Tories or Reform UK with the local elections just a month away.
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
Interesting report
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
Good piece on how the NI increase is hammering nurseries www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
National Insurance rise 'will lead to nurseries closing' - BBC News
Charities and childcare centres say they are being hit by the tax increase but cannot raise prices.
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Neil O'Brien @neildotobrien.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
The NI increase kicks in at the end of this week. OBR say 76% is passed through into lower wages. So someone on £13k loses £500. Someone on £9K loses 5% of their income. Amazing that a left wing government has gone with a tax increase that's laser-targetted on low paid workers.
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