Reposted by Paul BivandMike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 13hThis was somewhat upended by Silicon Valley business culture because small businesses did get access to cash from investors, but only because that model allowed bigger companies to underinvest internally in R&D and then acquire a promising startup instead. 111
Reposted by Paul BivandRick @flipchartrick.bsky.social · 14hSmall business isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Big companies are the engines of economic growth. The more an economy is dominated by small businesses, the more likely it is to be a weak one. 52010
Reposted by Paul BivandDaniel Knowles @dlknowles.bsky.social · 4hThere's something a little depressing in the fact that the British establishment stood up against Enoch Powell's racism in the 1960s than it seems to be willing to be now 718830
Reposted by Paul BivandAlfie Stirling @alfie-stirling.bsky.social · 11hAlways fascinating how the principle of diminishing returns quietly reverses itself in the politics of UK labour supply. If you want people with some money already to work more, you need to offer them a bit more. If you want people without much money to work more, you need to take some away. 063
Reposted by Paul BivandianVisits @ianvisits.co.uk · 02/10/2026A man who deliberately blew up a ULEZ camera in south-east London has been jailed for 15 years after an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing London. 67315
Reposted by Paul BivandProf. Ian Walker @ianwalker.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Autonomous vehicles offer to entrench, for another generation, the idea that the any other use of urban streets must come second to the rapid movement of metal boxes 35019
Reposted by Paul BivandWill Norman @willnorman.co.uk · 02/10/2026Cargo bike use in London is booming - up 126% since 2022. This week I joined 50 businesses - from Royal Mail to delivery firms, waste companies & tradespeople - to celebrate & raise awareness of this clean, green & economical alternative to diesel vans. #CargoBikeCruiseLDN 925149
Reposted by Paul BivandFrances Ryan @francesryan.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Disability doesn’t care how old you are. Specialist food is no cheaper if you’re 19. Employers don’t lose their prejudice if you’re 21. This is blatant intergenerational inequality from Labour. Younger disabled people of all severities deserve better. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...theguardian.comKey disability benefit for young people may be axed under major welfare changesExclusive: Plan under discussion involves intensive support to help young people into employment 24600258
Reposted by Paul BivandResolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 01/10/2026The evidence is clear: countries with lower NEET rates than the UK get there almost entirely through higher rates of post-18 education. In these countries, more young people stay in education for longer and often combine it with work. 5157
Reposted by Paul BivandAnna Clarke @annaclarke.bsky.social · 01/10/2026I also think the degree of transience in this population is underestimated. I know loads of young people (own kids included) who've been NEET for a period during their teens and early 20s. Sometimes it's a choice (eg going travelling). Other times it's job-hunting, or waiting to start a course. 1121
Reposted by Paul BivandStuart McDonald @actuarybyday.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Shocking new ONS statistics underline the urgency of the PM's focus on homelessness. c1,000 homeless people died in 2025. The 2nd consecutive year at that level. Most of these deaths were men in their 40s & 50s. Around a third were a direct result of drug poisoning. www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula... 0136
Reposted by Paul BivandWorld Bollard Association™️ @worldbollardassoc.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Listen to that CRUNCH. Absolutely delicious. #WorldBollardAssociation 1151905289
Reposted by Paul BivandYaroslava @strategywoman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Kyiv. A building of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine hit by a russian drone on Monday. You see what I saw a few hours ago. 2521170
Reposted by Paul BivandTim Daw @timdaw.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Historic England vanishing archive - details of why it is broken : www.sarsen.org/2026/09/hist...sarsen.orgHistoric England’s Vanishing ArchiveNot just the aerials. The lot. Historic England still holds the negatives, the prints and the scans. What the public lost, in early Sept... 510354
Reposted by Paul Bivandpeterkwells @peterkwells.com · 29/09/2026You could read this blogpost from the GDS Geospatial Data team about building on the £1bn Public Sector Geospatial Agreement without realising that the PSGA includes a chunk of money for open data that anyone, including those outside public sector!, can use gdsgeospatial.blog.gov.uk/2026/09/29/b...gdsgeospatial.blog.gov.ukBuilding on the PSGA: better data, wider impactThe Public Sector Geospatial Agreement has transformed access to Britain’s national location data. We look at what GDS, Ordnance Survey and public-sector users have achieved together, how organisation... 1104
Reposted by Paul BivandSurprised Eel Historian, PhD @greenleejw.bsky.social · 29/09/2026It's Tuesday, and you're wondering: "Why should I care about eels?" Well...in addition to being great fodder for memes, eels are super-important to stream ecologies! Historically, eels have made up as much as 50% of the total fish biomass in lower reaches of US & European rivers. 🗃️🧪 215023
Reposted by Paul BivandKent Current @kentcurrent.news · 29/09/2026Southern Water has had an expensive year, with £9.5m in pollution fines in Kent. Most offences happened years ago, so has anything changed? Evidence shows improvement, but recent inspections are less reassuring. Plus 122 councillor complaints, bleak housing figures and more.kentcurrent.newsSouthern Water keeps being fined for polluting Kent. Has anything actually changed?Plus 122 councillor complaints, a bleak housing picture, recycled clothing in potholes and more from across Kent 031
Reposted by Paul BivandLocal Authority @localauthority.news · 29/09/2026Glyn Griffiths spent 30 years representing Twydall and helped create Medway Council. Now he chairs the board overseeing £20m of investment in the area. In our interview, he discusses how it should be spent, what austerity changed, and why he moved from the SWP to Labour.localauthority.news“We’ve got to try and give an agenda of hope”What Steven asked Glyn Griffiths, new chair of the Pride in Place Twydall board. 011
Reposted by Paul BivandProfessor Peter Matthews @urbaneprofessor.bsky.social · 29/09/2026The one I like is the idea that the state pension should be means tested. We already do that in the most efficient way the state has ever found: Income Tax. People really do seem to think pensioners pay no tax at all 🤷🏻♂️ 2185
Reposted by Paul BivandClare Griffiths @statsgeekclare.bsky.social · 25/08/2026Do you use Health trends in England fingertips.phe.org.uk/static-repor...? We are looking to replace it with a new integrated service for public health data and we're running a survey with users at the moment to understand what they currently use it for. forms.office.com/Pages/Respon...fingertips.phe.org.ukHealth trends in England 077
Paul Bivand @paulbivand.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Report explaining how the ONS under previous management was able to get away with a decade and more of falling response rates to the Labour Force Survey. Never admit a problem. The 'give us a number' people didn't ask for full details. Only admitting a problem alerted them. 031
Reposted by Paul BivandDavid Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Ending the triple lock isn’t the same as cutting pensions. Thatcher linked the state pension to inflation rather than earnings growth with the result that the value of pensions fell relative to earnings. The triple lock was designed to reverse than trend. It’s done its job. Restore the earnings link 1611425
Reposted by Paul BivandDavid Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 29/09/2026As a matter of logic you cannot be “hard working” if you rely on the state pension. I hope ministers will keep (start?) explaining that the state pension isn’t paid out of an investment fund but by the contributions of those currently working. 3118233
Reposted by Paul BivandJonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Mahmood on "earned settlement": deliberately bland. No explanation of why punishing workers who have been here legally for 5+ years with ongoing insecurity (and in many cases kicking them out of the country) would be "fair" to British workers "and the young". 410637
Reposted by Paul BivandChris Giles @chrisgiles.ft.com · 28/09/2026Important to note that ONS is now doing the right thing and trying to find the truth. This is nothing like the 2010s when it actively sought not to change stats (RPI) that it knew were wrong 3317
Reposted by Paul BivandRichard Jones @richardaljones.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Good piece. It should be obvious that technological progress is very uneven, and that productivity growth is disproportionately driven by a relatively small number of firms operating in sectors where fast technological progress is taking place, but this is not widely enough appreciated. 112
Reposted by Paul BivandDan Davies @dsquareddigest.bsky.social · 28/09/2026As I keep saying, not repairing a bridge imposes a cost on future generations, just not the kind of cost that is immediately visible in the accounting system 610125
Reposted by Paul BivandDavid Kernohan @dkernohan.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Healey just announced it. It's a good thing. Here's why. 011
Reposted by Paul BivandWorld Bollard Association™️ @worldbollardassoc.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Probably the greatest parallel parking you’ll ever see. #WorldBollardAssociation 791896314
Reposted by Paul BivandSimon is on strike ✊🏻 @simonxix.com · 28/09/2026Historic England outsourced their digital image provision to a third-party company. Then the company went bust and now all their images are inaccessible. Tell me again how outsourcing to the private sector is sustainable? 8238131
Reposted by Paul BivandEd Pybus @epybus.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Is the asset means test in Universal Credit really just a benefit rule? Or is it a hidden wealth tax? New research looks at how capital limits can impose very high effective rates of taxation on the savings and inheritances of low-income households. 235
Reposted by Paul BivandMark On A Bike @mtonabike.bsky.social · 17/09/2026Well these are eye catching from Better Streets for Liverpool 918380
Reposted by Paul BivandNigel Stanley @nigelstanley.bsky.social · 28/09/20261/5 Around #Malvern Following from yesterday's snap, I'll have a week of further pix from a couple of days in Great Malvern in August. The Malvern Hills go straight up from the edge of the town. Here's a view from near the highest point. It should be greener! #photography #landscapephotography 0171
Reposted by Paul BivandNeal Hudson @resi-analyst.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Good piece on prices but doesn’t really mention the other side: transactions. Turnover has collapsed in London, especially central areas. That means the price evidence is based on thin volumes and most people are sitting it out (thanks high rents!). That’s prevented further price falls. 32411
Reposted by Paul BivandAlick Simmons @parliamentarygoose.bsky.social · 28/09/2026If these incidents were taken seriously one would expect the time between the incident and the request for information to be substantially less than two months. And if these places were properly regulated and they were charged for the privilege, then an effective enforcement body could be funded. 0278
Reposted by Paul BivandDr Rebecca Wragg Sykes @lemoustier.bsky.social · 28/09/2026🏺 The #SecretsOfTheIce project is of course only possible thanks to the #ClimateCrisis, but it has revealed extraordinary diversity of ancient projectile tech: arrows made from ground slate, mussel shell, and bindings not just of sinew but also birch bark secretsoftheice.com/news/2026/09... 14811
Reposted by Paul BivandJonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 28/09/2026This is *not* the result of "the success of Mahmood's reforms", but of earlier measures/other factors. Her proposals could make it considerably *worse* in future years. A few other points linked below.. archive.ph/0psJ8 5297111
Reposted by Paul BivandJonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 27/09/2026I see Marios has made the same point with even more relevant data. bsky.app/profile/mari... 131
Reposted by Paul BivandMarios Richards @mariosrichards.bsky.social · 27/09/2026So you're jumping from Occupational Economic Class data (premised on being able not think about age/housing wealth) to making an inference about housing costs ... ... but the housing patterns run sharply the other way. CON+REF voters least likely to be concerned about rents/mortgages. 432
Reposted by Paul BivandDavid Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 27/09/2026The BBC is capable of decent reporting when it tries. Personally I find people dressed like this very intimidating, which is sadly why they do it. A major challenge for overstretched police forces. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...bbc.co.ukBalaclava boys on electric bikes: How to tackle the problem?The sight of masked young men on electric bikes or motorcycles is becoming increasingly familiar - what can be done about it? 4237
Reposted by Paul BivandTyler Morgan-Wall @tylermw.com · 26/09/2026This corner of a children’s coloring placemat has literally no entertainment value, I’m fairly sure it was developed purely to trigger millennial parents and get engagement on social media 081
Reposted by Paul BivandNeal Hudson @resi-analyst.bsky.social · 26/09/2026Probably took about two years for H2B equity loan to be additional (deliver more new build homes than without it) 1106
Reposted by Paul BivandMauri Pelto @mauri-pelto.bsky.social · 26/09/2026Ultramarine Glacier, Alaska has had no accumulation zone in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2026. The lack of a persistent accumulation zone indicates a glacier that cannot survive. The glacier has retreated 2.2 km since 1986. glacierchange.blog/2026/09/26/u...glacierchange.blogUltramarine Glacier Retreat: 1986 to 2026 Landsat InsightsDiscover dramatic retreat of Ultramarine Glacier, Alaska losing 2.2 km since 1986. After 2018 it lost all snow cover most years, indicating it can't survive. 051
Reposted by Paul BivandRobert Wright @reporterrwright.ft.com · 26/09/2026The incident that killed the man riding the e-bike is now being treated as murder: news.met.police.uk/news/murder-...news.met.police.ukMurder investigation launched following fatal collision in North KensingtonDetectives have launched a murder investigation after a cyclist died following a collision 1115
Reposted by Paul BivandRick @flipchartrick.bsky.social · 26/09/2026The government, banks, utilities and similar services MUST make it easier for those with Power of Attorney to manage stuff online. I find I'm having to do a lot of stuff by phone. It's like being back in the 90s except without the 90s infrastructure to help. 1312425
Reposted by Paul BivandTim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 26/09/2026Seconded - by any of us who've had to deal with this stuff! 2437
Reposted by Paul BivandHelen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 26/09/2026A 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. 14817
Reposted by Paul BivandJanine Gibson @janinegibson.ft.com · 26/09/2026The Weekend FT debut of new feature writer Will Lloyd is a deeply reported and terrifying analysis of how prepared Britain is for omnipresent crisis. Alt headline "Why are we so screwed?" giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...giftarticle.ft.comHow resilient is Britain?As climate and geopolitical risks cast doubt on the UK’s ability to cope in a crisis, leaders are turning from ‘just in time’ to ‘just in case’ as a governing philosophy 3195
Reposted by Paul BivandJonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Rayner is correct: these proposals are economically damaging and politically counterproductive. Pretty clear that view is now almost universal in the Cabinet/Labour Party and the informed public. www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...thetimes.comAngela Rayner condemns Labour’s migrant visa crackdownSpeaking before the party conference, the housing secretary says Shabana Mahmood’s immigration plans would affect care workers 22677183
Reposted by Paul BivandKatie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 25/09/2026I have blamed The agents That hacked Your website And which You probably Reasonably thought I controlled Forgive me I am rich And unaccustomed To taking responsibility 5776462129